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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Item Not Returned
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“How does some extra casting director not know the place? You pervert!!”
Jun-woo glared down at the man, his gaze full of condemnation as if the guy were utterly filthy.
“What? You little brat with no manners. Let go of me! Ack!”
As the man struggled, Jun-woo twisted his arm even harder to keep him from moving.
The man screamed for him to let go, while A-jin paced anxiously, not knowing what to do.
“What’s going on over there?”
Just then, two neighborhood patrol ladies who happened to be passing by shone their flashlights and approached.
“He’s a pervert.”
Jun-woo introduced the man with those short words.
“So this is the creep getting all the complaints lately!”
“Caught red-handed, you scum.”
“Student, we’ll take him to the police station.”
Jun-woo handed the pervert over to the two sturdy ladies, who were even more built than he was, then turned to A-jin.
Her face looked pale, like she was badly shaken.
With her dazed expression, he scolded her to snap out of it.
“Hey! Get it together!”
“Huh? Oh.”
“Are you an idiot?”
“What?”
His scolding left A-jin utterly baffled.
Meeting a pervert was bizarre enough—why did she have to hear this too?
“You could tell he was eyeing you up. Are you naive or just stupid? That creep was staring at your ass the whole time you were talking.”
“…….”
Seeing his pitiful look toward her, her shock faded, replaced by growing irritation.
“You’re supposed to run if something feels off.”
“How was I supposed to know? I thought he was just asking for directions. And I wasn’t going to follow him anyway?”
“Yeah, right. You liked hearing you’re pretty. If you’ve got any brains, you know that’s just flattery.”
‘What kind of kid is this? When did he even see me to talk like that?’
A-jin rolled her eyes at Jun-woo’s rudeness, exasperated.
“Creeps these days don’t care what you look like.”
In her anger, she’d admitted she wasn’t pretty.
She felt oddly deflated, pursing her lips in dissatisfaction.
Jun-woo let out a smirk.
“At least you know that much.”
His laugh felt like mockery, souring her mood further.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Fine, whatever.”
“What do you mean, whatever?”
He was playing both sides of the argument.
A-jin shot Jun-woo a dirty look, annoyed.
“But don’t you have anything for the guy who saved you?”
“Huh? Saved me?”
“Just now. I saved you from that pervert.”
‘Well, he did save me.’
It wasn’t wrong, so she nodded in agreement.
Then she tilted her head.
“Thanks. But what am I supposed to give you?”
“You’re more shameless than you look.”
“What? Shameless?”
“Whatever. Lend me that.”
He looked fed up with the pointless debate and pointed at the portable battery in her hand.
“This?”
A-jin stared at her own battery in confusion.
“Yeah. Hurry up. I’m short on time.”
“Why this?”
The event was about to start.
He sighed in frustration, biting his lip as he spoke.
“Why do you think? I need a battery. You gonna lend it or not?”
He urged her on, leaving her flustered.
“I mean, I can lend it, but… why are you talking down to me? Do you even know me?”
“Nah. Aren’t you waiting for that girl? The one standing with Jong-min over there.”
He nodded toward Cho-hee, who was standing with Jong-min.
A-jin might be a nobody, but Cho-hee was known at school—too pretty to ignore, and Jong-min talked about her enough that anyone would recognize her face.
Jun-woo assumed A-jin was just a friend tagging along with Cho-hee.
Like he was.
“Yeah, that’s right. You have to give it back.”
A-jin clutched the portable battery tightly, hesitating.
She didn’t really want to lend it, and something felt off about doing so.
“Hand it over.”
Jun-woo snatched the battery from her grip with brute force.
A-jin stared worriedly at her now-empty hand.
“You have to give it back. Promise!”
“Sure!”
Like anyone’s gonna steal a stupid battery!
He replied curtly and headed back to where he’d been sitting.
* * *
“What did you want to say?”
At Cho-hee’s question, Jong-min’s cheeks flushed red.
“Well…”
As he hemmed and hawed, Cho-hee, looking bored, took the lead.
“You like me?”
“Huh? I mean, yeah.”
Just as I thought…
She nodded knowingly and glanced off into the distance.
Jun-woo was sitting on the bench.
Despite what she’d said about not knowing him well, Cho-hee was aware Jong-min was Jun-woo’s best friend.
That’s why she’d been subtly catching his eye, pretending it was coincidence when their gazes met, and flashing a greeting smile.
Sure enough, Jong-min had reached out soon after.
No one was a better stepping stone to Jun-woo.
“I wasn’t expecting it, so I’m a bit flustered. Still, thanks.”
“Who at school doesn’t like you?”
Jong-min was too embarrassed to look her in the eye, but Cho-hee just wanted to wrap up this dull conversation.
“Come on, you’re just saying that to flatter me.”
“No, really. You’re super popular.”
“Thanks anyway. You’re such a good guy.”
Jong-min’s mouth spread into a huge grin at her praise.
“But I just broke up with my boyfriend recently.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m saying this. I’ve been waiting.”
“Really? But it hasn’t been long since the breakup, so jumping into something new feels rude. Could you give me a little more time?”
“You’re so sweet. Yeah, of course. You need time.”
“Thanks for understanding. But… are you close with Jun-woo?”
“Jun-woo? Totally. We hang out all the time. Why?”
“Oh, just… people talk about him a lot.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty popular.”
Timing it perfectly, Cho-hee brushed her hair back prettily, her innocent eyes sparkling.
She stepped closer to Jong-min, flashing a slight smile.
His cheeks burned even redder as she drew near.
“I don’t dislike you or anything, but don’t we need some time to get to know each other? Being alone together feels a bit much… How about I join when you guys hang out? Invite me if there’s a group thing.”
“O-Of… course.”
Jong-min nodded eagerly, honored.
‘He’s such a pushover.’
Everything was going according to plan.
Cho-hee’s lips curved in satisfaction.
* * *
“Let’s go.”
Cho-hee approached A-jin, who was checking new comments on her blog.
“Talk over?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
“You’re not gonna ask?”
“What, did you turn him down again? He’s not your type.”
“Right, my type’s someone else.”
“Who?”
“Never mind.”
Cho-hee grinned like it was a secret and quickly changed the subject.
“But Cho-hee, from now on, don’t go out late when someone messages you. It’s too dangerous. I ran into a pervert earlier.”
Shocked by A-jin’s words, Cho-hee checked her over worriedly.
“Really? You okay? What did he do?”
“I’m fine. Luckily, the patrol ladies were on rounds.”
“That’s a relief. Must’ve been scary.”
“I’ve seen a few in middle school, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Remember that pervert from back then? The one peeking from the building across—oh!”
A-jin suddenly remembered something.
She hadn’t gotten her battery back from Jun-woo.
“What?”
“My battery.”
“Huh?”
“Wait a sec.”
A-jin hurried back to the bench.
But he was gone.
And he’d taken the battery with him.
“Oh no, my battery…”
Her cheeks drooped in a pout.
It was precious to her…
* * *
The spacious living room and terrace, luxurious furniture, stylish artwork, and tasteful decor brightened the house.
“I’m home.”
Jun-woo passed through the living room and headed up to his room on the second floor.
He set his phone on the desk to change clothes.
Hot pink flashed from under his phone.
Only then did he realize he’d taken A-jin’s portable battery as-is.
“Oh! I didn’t give this back! She really loves pink.”
Pink clothes, pink phone case, even a pink battery.
Amused by the hot pink, Jun-woo examined the battery closely.
Her name was engraved on the back in English letters.
[To A-Jin]
“A-jin, huh… Even her name’s tacky.”
All he could picture was pink floating around in his head.
He set the battery down, shaking his head to clear the thought.
* * *
The new semester began. Since he’d come to school two days early to study anyway, it didn’t feel like it’d been long.
Still, with a new grade and class came exciting new classmates he was curious about.
A-jin had ironed her uniform extra carefully for the occasion.
Her unaltered uniform hung loose on her frame, looking comfy and roomy.
“A-jin!”
Spotting her, Cho-hee waved and ran over.
With each big stride, the hem of her shortened skirt—stitched almost to the end—stretched precariously, threads straining.
“Cho-hee.”
“A-jin, eat lunch with me.”
“Sure, but aren’t there any girls in our class?”
“Of course there are. Lots. Han Jin-su, Kim Do-yoon…”
“No, I mean girls, not guys.”
Cho-hee let out a sigh at A-jin’s question.
“Even if there are, you think they’d eat with me?”
A-jin looked at her with pity, knowing she had no close female friends.
“Start the conversation first, don’t act so standoffish, and stop pretending to be cute.”
“I’m not pretending—I am cute. They’re just jealous ‘cause they’re not!”
Cho-hee scrunched her eyes in irritation at the girls’ jealousy.
A-jin pitied her even more.
She acted tough, but A-jin worried the sensitive girl might be hurt.
* * *
“Hi.”
Entering the classroom, A-jin greeted a few familiar faces and squeezed into a seat among them.
As she started unpacking her bag, a murmur rose from behind.
A-jin turned toward the noise.
“Oh! My battery.”
Jun-woo was in the back row.
He was rude and blunt, but she was glad to see him. She’d been planning to track him down for her battery anyway—perfect timing.
A-jin waited for him to head to the bathroom.
* * *
“Hey.”
She followed Jun-woo to the bathroom without missing a beat.
He turned at the sound of her voice.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember me?”
“Who are you?”
It was ridiculous that he didn’t remember, but knowing how unmemorable she was, A-jin accepted it.
“I lent you my portable battery. A week ago. At Love Park—ring any bells?”
Jun-woo stared at her face, clearly trying to place her.
After a moment, he nodded as it clicked.
“Oh! That idiot.”
‘Idiot!’
Such a rude guy.
A-jin bristled and argued back.
“Idiot? Why am I an idiot? I told you, I wasn’t gonna foll—”
“Why’d you call me?”
But he cut her off with an impatient tone, ignoring her mood.
What a jerk.
A-jin pouted and said,
“Why do you think? You took my battery.”
“Battery?”
He looked genuinely puzzled.
Did he lose it?
A-jin asked worriedly.
“Yeah. Pink one with my name engraved.”
“Pink?”
His confusion deepened.
Her expression grew more serious.
He really lost it?
“It’s pink—hot pink. Bright pink. About this big?”
A-jin urgently traced the battery’s shape in the air with her fingers.
“Oh, that tacky one…”
He finally remembered.
Relief washed over her.
But his next words left her jaw dropping.
“Don’t have it.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t.”
“You don’t? Why?”
She couldn’t believe it, her eyes wide as she denied what she’d heard.
“Threw it out.”
“Threw it away?”
A-jin froze.
Then her face flushed red with anger.
She was mad about it being lost, but his shameless attitude without a hint of remorse was beyond absurd.
“Hey! You’re hilarious. It’s not even yours—why throw it out?”
“Sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.”
He stared at her like she was overreacting about some cheap battery.
“Sorry? Is that how someone who’s sorry acts? A new one? Who asked for a new one? How do you just toss someone else’s stuff?”
“I’ll get you a pricier one.”
“Hey! Seriously. I’m too stunned to speak.”
Unlike her, who couldn’t hide her agitation, he smirked again.
He’s laughing?
It was infuriating.
“You’re laughing? This is funny to you?”
When she demanded an answer, he smirked once more and said,
“You think I really threw it away? I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
He’d been joking.
They weren’t close enough for jokes.
His attitude baffled her.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Your reaction was just too funny.”
He tossed the words out casually and headed back to the classroom first.
What?
A prank because her reaction was funny?
Unbelievable.
She was relieved about the battery but still annoyed.
A-jin glared at him as he entered the classroom ahead of her.
“What the hell is his problem!”
