NILWM - 20

“Ah! I got it.”

Sung-joon snapped his fingers at the end of his personal fantasy.

“Were you dumped? Ah, no. It’s a bit different from that. This feeling, this sense that the anger is directed somewhere other than Ye-seo... Ah! I know!”

He snapped his fingers again.

“Jealousy. When your gaze at Ye-seo subtly changes, that is, when you suddenly look angry, it’s always when, who was it? Oh, Choi In-ha! When Choi In-ha from the Accounting Department goes near Ye-seo.”

Wow, what insane observational skills!

“So, to summarize, it’s like this: You and Ye-seo were a campus couple, and you broke up. Both of you can’t let go of your lingering feelings and are conscious of each other, and then a third person suddenly approaches Ye-seo. That’s Choi In-ha! Even though you’ve already broken up, you consider Choi In-ha your romantic rival. Ha, this crazy insight.”

He clenched his fist, unable to suppress his admiration for his own analysis. The fact that the two weren’t actually a campus couple was entirely out of his mind. He didn’t seem to notice Han Ju-hyeok’s complexion turning cold.

“You seem to have completely lost your mind.”

Han Ju-hyeok loudly closed his laptop and stood up.

“I’m leaving, so keep your fantasies to yourself. Don’t drag others into it.”

At his cold turning away, as if he wasn’t worth dealing with, Park Sung-joon shook his head, looking wronged.

“Hey, it’s not all nonsense. Yeah, well, even if your relationship with Ye-seo is my fantasy, the vibe that Ye-seo and Choi In-ha might be dating is true, you know.”

“...”

“Turns out their families are close, so they’ve been friends since way back. No wonder the usually reserved Min Ye-seo calls only Choi In-ha ‘Oppa, Oppa.’... Yawn.”

He delivered a final jab at Ju-hyeok’s back as he left the lounge.

“Who knows, maybe they’re already dating and just haven’t announced it yet. Ah, why am I so tired even though I haven’t done anything? I need to get some sleep...”

Sung-joon crawled to a corner sofa and sprawled out. He had no idea what kind of ripple effect his carelessly thrown words would have on the other person.

Ju-hyeok stared intently at his cousin, who was lying with his back turned, then left the lounge. As he exited the building and headed towards the back entrance, there was no trace of agitated emotion anywhere.

He seemed detached and unmoved, but the veins on the back of his hand, clenched into a fist, bulged as if they would burst. His eyes, on the verge of exploding, were deeply sunken beneath his long eyelashes.

________________________________________

________________________________________

Somehow, Choi In-ha and she ended up having dinner alone. On Friday after school, the original five people had enthusiastically decided to eat together in Itaewon. However, two suddenly had something come up and postponed, and even Sae-eun, who remained, had to drop out at the last minute.

“Oh no! My Gamja and Hodo both got sick and went to the vet! I was planning to go home tomorrow, but...”

“Your cats and dogs? Oh no, they must have eaten something weird together. What do we do?”

“Sorry, In-ha Senior! Sorry, Ye-seo. I have to go quickly. I’ll text you!”

Since the next station was Yongsan Station, Sae-eun hastily gathered her bag and said goodbye.

“I’d be worried. Hope nothing serious happened.”

“Yeah. They should be okay...”

Ye-seo agreed with In-ha.

“Then what about us? It feels weird just the two of us, maybe we should just go home...”

“The next stop is Itaewon, let’s just go. What’s wrong with just two of us? I’m so hungry I’m going to collapse. Ugh!”

Choi In-ha overreacted, bending at the waist. At his childish exaggeration, Ye-seo chuckled. In moments like these, he seemed childish and lighthearted, unsuited to his build, but she didn’t dislike him.

As they walked out of the station and side-by-side, women passing by gave Choi In-ha long glances. She hadn’t really noticed it before, but he also possessed looks that drew attention. His height of about 180cm was slightly shorter than Han Ju-hyeok’s, but his build was similar...

Ye-seo unknowingly stopped. It felt like she had been hit hard on the back of the head. She was dumbfounded as to why Han Ju-hyeok suddenly came to mind, or why she was making an involuntary comparison with Choi In-ha.

“Ye-seo, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, no... nothing, really.”

“Are you too hungry to walk? Should Oppa give you a piggyback ride?”

“Don’t make those jokes. I’m not a child anymore...”

Ye-seo cast a sidelong glance at Choi In-ha, who was making silly jokes, and entered a narrow alleyway. A blue brick house, clearly visible from afar. A sign written in Thai came into view.

“Wow, they said it was a hidden gem, and it looks really delicious! It’s so old and rundown, it really has that authentic restaurant vibe.”

Choi In-ha’s mouth watered even before they entered, and he led Ye-seo inside. The two-person set menu, consisting of Phad Phuk Phong Curry, Popia, and Pad Thai, was indeed as delicious as they had heard. The two cleaned off a considerable amount of food and left the restaurant, heading to a cafe.

Choi In-ha insisted on buying dessert and led her to a nearby dessert cafe. The small, almost cramped, shop was a personal tea house well-known as a hot spot in the area. The two ordered the shop’s signature apple crumble pie and coffee and took a seat by the window in a corner.

“I guess I’m still immature. I wonder why I still like things like this.”

“Age doesn’t matter, does it? Everyone likes delicious things.”

“That’s true, but I love sweet things so much my teeth will rot. Here, eat a lot.”

He meticulously divided the pie in half and placed her slice on a plate. Ye-seo’s face went blank for a moment as she accepted the plate. “Eat a lot”—a low voice, different from Choi In-ha’s high pitch, floated above the cheerful indoor music. The same hand that used to pile up only chicken drumsticks for her.

Snap out of it, Min Ye-seo. Why do you keep doing this...?

“By the way, how’s Jeong-woo doing? I was hoping to visit him in the US during my backpacking trip this time, but I couldn’t, which was a shame. We can’t text or message often because of the time difference.”

“I don’t know much either since he doesn’t contact me often, but... he’s probably doing well. If something happened, Mom would have been notified immediately.”

“It must be tough, but he really needs to work hard and graduate on time. Both your mom and you are having a hard time.”

“I’m fine, but as Oppa said, I really hope he graduates on time. That way, Mom can relax a bit, and I can...”

And I can finally be free. Because then she could finally escape the suffocating atmosphere and environment where it was only natural for the entire family to fully support and sacrifice for Min Jeong-woo alone.

“Honestly, it should have been you who went to study abroad, not Jeong-woo... Ah, no. I said something useless. My bad.”

“...”

“I’m sorry. Did I upset you?”

“No. It’s okay.”

Ye-seo smiled faintly. It was a genuine smile, not an attempt to force him into ease.

“What can I do? Mom wanted to send Jeong-woo. I can handle myself well, but Jeong-woo kept failing entrance exams and had nowhere to go... He kept insisting he couldn’t retake the exam and begged to be sent.”

“Ugh. If he were my younger brother, I’d really not let him off the hook. That immature b... ahem.”

“...”

“Then what about you? Do you plan to go to grad school and get your doctorate, and then join your uncle’s company?”

“Doctorate? Oh no. MBA is already overwhelming. And I’m going to work for a foreign company. It’s as good as settled that my second brother will inherit the family business, so I’ve made it clear they shouldn’t even think about squeezing me.”

Choi In-ha crossed his arms and chuckled, hee-hee. His eldest brother was working as a pharmacist at their mother’s pharmacy, and his second brother, who majored in business administration, was in charge of management and accounting at their father’s construction company. Perhaps because of this, he, the youngest, seemed to have wider and freer options.

“Oppa, I’m really jealous.”

Her true feelings blurted out unknowingly.

“That you were raised with love.”

She envied that fact far more than his gender. He complained that he had always been his brothers’ meal ticket since childhood, that as the youngest, he inherited nothing but more scolding, but she knew better than anyone how warm an environment he grew up in and how much love he received.

His uncle was kind, but his aunt was also very warm and easygoing. Her reputation as a respected local figure wasn’t just because she was the pharmacist of the largest pharmacy in the area.

Come to think of it, Han Ju-hyeok’s family also ran a pharmacy, didn’t they?

Hah, Ye-seo gripped the glass tighter as his face unexpectedly intruded on her thoughts again. Then, she deliberately smiled even more brightly and looked back at Choi In-ha.

“Oppa, your bright and unblemished personality... it’s all thanks to that upbringing, isn’t it?”

“Nah, not really. You should try living at our house for a few days; you’d see if it’s really as good as it seems from the outside.”

“I genuinely want to live there.”

“Then come. My eldest brother moved out last year, so the guest room is empty; come anytime. Really. I’m not joking, Mom would love it if you came. She always said she wanted you as her youngest daughter.”

“She’s just saying that, you know.”

Ye-seo laughed, half-joking, half-serious. Her heart felt a little lighter from the unpretentious conversation.