NILWM - 17

[I’m sorry for making things awkward.] [That’s not it.]

His fingers moved on their own.

[You meant it. Towards me.]

Ha. A deflating sound escaped between his teeth. Crazy bastard. After pushing her away so cleanly, what is he doing?

He tasted a metallic hint of blood on the tip of his tongue. Without realizing he had been biting his lip, he gripped his phone tightly, waiting for Ye-seo’s message.

How ridiculous must she find him? It wouldn’t be strange if insults came flying his way. But instead of insults, a calm reply returned.

[You don’t have to worry. I’ll get myself together.]

Because I won’t like Senior anymore.

That’s how Ju-hyeok read it.

[When the new semester starts in September, I’ll see you as good seniors and juniors again. I hope you have a good rest of your summer.]

No more messages came. Ju-hyeok stared at the smiling emoji attached to the last message, then immediately called. It was a thoroughly impulsive action. But Min Ye-seo’s phone was off.

A cicada began to cry, clinging to the open window screen. The end of the humid summer felt incredibly distant.

________________________________________

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Commuters, working even on weekends, were rushing to work early. It was a damp morning with high humidity due to the rain falling since dawn. People standing at the bus stop, each holding an umbrella, already looked exhausted.

As the Jeong-woo Pharmacy door opened, a man in a lab coat entered as if he had been waiting, his complexion no different from the tired commuters. But the moment he saw the woman at the counter, the Vice Director, in his lab coat, brightened. There were almost no customers at this time on Saturday, allowing for a relaxed conversation.

“Ye-seo, hello? Can I get a vitamin drink, please?”

“Hello, Vice Director? Are you seeing patients today, even though it’s Saturday?”

The pharmacist’s daughter smiled brightly, warmly greeting the dentist from the building across the street. Her bare face, always clear and transparent, was dazzling to behold.

“Yeah. That’s the life of a paid doctor. I wish I could open my own practice soon and have weekends off.”

“You work hard. Here you go.”

“Is the pharmacist coming in the afternoon? You’re coming out like this during your break to help, Ye-seo, you’re the one who works hard. You said you have another part-time job too, so you must be swamped.”

“It’s okay since it’s vacation. Su-min unnie has some family matters, so I might have to come in for a while longer...”

“Oh dear. Then you’ll have to suffer a few more days.”

He secretly rejoiced. In his mind, countless thoughts raced: How could he get a chance to share a meal with her? What excuse should he use? Would it be better to win over her mother, the pharmacist, first?

No, I’ll just go for it. How many months have I been putting it off? At this rate, nothing will come of it.

“You know, Ye-seo. Then perhaps for lunch today...”

“Oh, my head! Ye-seo, please give me one hangover remedy. I’ve been running until dawn, I can’t tell if I’m a person or a rice cake!”

Just then, the door burst open, and the owner of the rice cake shop across the street stumbled in. Several other neighborhood adults followed him, each shouting, “Me too, me too!” The small pharmacy was instantly filled with the stale smell of alcohol.

Ye-seo brought out a whole box of hangover remedies and handed one to each of the adults. The Vice Director awkwardly stood behind them and eventually walked out of the pharmacy. His face, as he crossed the traffic light and returned to the hospital building, was filled with regret.

There was still plenty of time until his consultation hours. He bought coffee at the convenience store at the back entrance, sat under a parasol, and lit a cigarette. Suddenly, the Vice Director’s eyes widened.

A magnificent supercar was parked in the public parking lot facing the convenience store. The man who got out of the driver’s seat was tall and, even hidden by an umbrella, his appearance was so handsome he looked like a celebrity.

Wow. Who is that? An idol? Or just a car-poor person?

He couldn’t take his eyes off both the car and its owner when his phone suddenly rang loudly. It was his mother, urging him to meet someone from a marriage information company, insisting he should at least go on one date.

“Mom, let’s put that on hold. I told you, there’s a good woman living in the same neighborhood.”

-”What’s that? The daughter of that tiny pharmacy in front of the hospital? Oh, no. Just hearing about it, she’s from a single-mother household with nothing to offer. How could she even help you open your clinic? It seems like she’d just drain your finances rather than contribute, so don’t even think about it.”

Even though it wasn’t on speakerphone, her shrill voice pierced through the rain.

“Oh, come on, Mom. You never know until you check someone’s family assets. She sent her son to study abroad, so they might be secretly loaded.”

-”Didn’t you say she’s only a second or third-year university student? She’s ten years younger than you, too young. Of course, my son is so youthful-looking and handsome that he’ll obviously look like her peer, but if you meet someone so immature, you’ll only exhaust yourself. Wouldn’t a four- or five-year age difference be just right?”

“She’s not immature, Mom. I checked, and she’s a model student at S University, deep-minded, and has a very good reputation in the neighborhood for her excellent conduct. Of course, if she didn’t have the looks, I wouldn’t have even bothered looking.”

Especially her body. He added, chuckling vulgarly. It was his true nature, hidden beneath a mask, only revealed in front of his mother, who was always on his side.

“Anyway, just wait, Mom. I’ve properly marked her. I’ll check her out first... I’ll also find out if her family is truly empty or if they have something. Even if they’re completely broke, they still have the pharmacy site, right? Even though this neighborhood is underdeveloped now, it’s an area that will truly be transformed by redevelopment.”

-”Then, honey, give me her birth date and name so I can get her fortune read. Do you have a picture? So I can check her face reading too.”

“I have a few secret photos, but I don’t know if they’ll show well. Her name is Min Ye-seo. Her birth date... I heard it before...”

His two eyes, listing off someone else’s personal information, gleamed sinisterly behind his glasses. He was so engrossed in his phone call that he didn’t notice someone had been standing behind him for a while. After the call ended and he put his phone down, a vulgar sigh and cigarette smoke simultaneously escaped his lips.

“Perhaps that entire dilapidated building belongs to her family? Then that would be a total jackpot. If it gets redeveloped... damn.”

His eyes, blurred with greed and lust, pierced through the raindrops towards the worn-out pharmacy sign across the street.

“I’m going crazy, I want to screw her so badly. Her body is just... sigh...”

“Are you Dr. B from this building’s dental clinic?”

The Vice Director was startled by the voice at the crown of his head and spun around. The man who had gotten out of the Aston Martin earlier was standing behind him, holding an umbrella.

“Oh, y-yes. I’m the Vice Director.”

Surely he didn’t hear my muttering. He was about to put on his usual dignified mask, thinking the man might be a patient.

“You’re a bit early, as the clinic isn’t open yet. You can go up and wait...”

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

“...Pardon?”

The Vice Director couldn’t believe his ears and widened his eyes. The man, with a physique as solid as an athlete’s, had a gaze so chilling it made his knees weak. Looking closely, his appearance made it difficult to guess his age.

His looks were fresh, making him seem like he was in his early to mid-twenties. But the aura emanating from his entire body and his eyes were extraordinarily uncommon, hard to believe for such a young age.

“I’m telling you not to get your hopes up about Min Ye-seo. From this moment on, it would be best if you don’t approach the Jeong-woo Pharmacy daughter.”

“What...?”

The Vice Director’s eyes bulged, and he stood up. He wasn’t short himself, but having to look up at his opponent’s eye level made him feel humiliated.

“This isn’t a request; it’s a warning.”

“No, who are you to say that? Are you anything to Min Ye-seo?”

“I’m her senior from school.”

“Oh, that’s what it is. Look, it seems you’re also hitting on that woman, so let’s just play fair, okay? Huh? You’re just a greenhorn acting tough... Mind your own business and go on your way.”

The Vice Director’s eyes scrutinized the other man’s attire from top to bottom. Even without his handsome face, he exuded an air of subtle wealth, but there were no luxury items to be seen. Just a T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and an old leather wristwatch.

Bullshit. You’re just a worthless punk. Did you steal that car from a car wash or a hotel guest?

“Don’t touch what’s mine.”

As the man spoke again in a low voice, the Vice Director’s lips trembled. Against the backdrop of the steadily falling rain, an indescribable aura emanated from the man.

“It seems you don’t understand when I speak politely, so I’m telling you to back off because Min Ye-seo is mine.”

The man took another step closer to him. His astonishingly handsome face showed not a single crack. But the gaze that bore down on him, and the calm, low voice, were utterly terrifying.

“Saying you want to screw someone else’s woman, making remarks no better than an animal, and even sharing personal information, which is practically a crime... That’s not right, Doctor.”

A string of emotionless profanities followed, like a self-mutter. The Vice Director’s pupils shook violently. His mind reeled from the utterly vulgar cursing, almost beyond belief.

“You, you insolent young punk, how dare you...”

But that was all. He had taken one step forward, but he couldn’t do anything more. The unknown fear was far greater than the anger of being suddenly cursed at.

His blood ran cold, and his tongue felt frozen, unable to move. Even though it was a bright morning, like broad daylight, in front of a building on a busy main street with people constantly passing by, he felt as if he were confronting a very dangerous person, alone.

“This is my final warning. Stay away from Min Ye-seo.”

While I’m still being nice.