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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Is Anyone There?
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She stepped into the entrance of an old apartment complex.
Though the building was over twenty years old, a recent paint job made the exterior look clean.
“This is my place.”
A-jin pointed to her home with her finger.
“Oh.”
His expression showed a hint of regret at arriving at her place sooner than expected.
“Thanks. You bought me dinner and walked me home. Next time, it’s on me.”
Her words seemed to ease his disappointment.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth before quickly vanishing.
“Keep that promise.”
“Yeah. But when does the cast come off?”
“Why? Hard to take care of me?”
Of course, she was genuinely curious, but she couldn’t deny a small desire to be free from running his errands.
She admired how sharply he had read her mind.
“No way. Just curious.”
“……”
Her voice grew exaggeratedly loud under his still-suspicious gaze.
“For real. It must be uncomfortable wearing the cast all the time.”
Looks like taking care of him really was tough.
Jun-woo let out a chuckle at her transparently honest expression that revealed her true feelings.
“Next Saturday.”
“That’s soon. Good thing. Must’ve been really uncomfortable, right?”
Jun-woo nodded indifferently.
Taking care of him was her responsibility due to her mistake, but she felt sorry again for the discomfort he must have endured. As she drooped her head, he spoke up right away.
“No, it was fun. Especially the food you brought.”
“What?”
‘Liar. It was uncomfortable…’
She knew it was just an excuse to keep her from feeling guilty. That made her even more grateful.
“I should head in now. You go on home.”
“Alright.”
A-jin scurried into her building.
Jun-woo watched her through the transparent glass door until she disappeared, then slowly turned away.
And someone was there, watching his retreating footsteps.
* * *
Saturday arrived.
Even though it was the weekend, the students who came to school for the mock exam wore faces full of dissatisfaction.
-Ding-dong-dang-dong-
As the bell signaling the end of the exam rang, the kids bolted from their seats all at once.
A-jin had come to meet Cho-hee.
“I think I have to head home separately today.”
“Why?”
“Jun-woo asked me to go to the hospital with him.”
“He asked you to go together?”
Though her feelings twisted inside, Cho-hee tried not to show it on her face.
Her eyebrows twitched slightly, the only sign of her restraint.
“Yeah, today’s the day the cast comes off.”
“But why does he have to go with you specifically?”
“I’m the one who suggested it.”
“You’re not a doctor, and you’re not the one removing it. He could go alone.”
A-jin thought Cho-hee was angry at Jun-woo for bothering her.
“You’re right. But since it’s the last day, I should help out till the end.”
“You don’t want to go with him?”
Jealousy made her true feelings slip out for a moment.
‘They’re using every excuse to stick together. Seriously!!’
A-jin flinched at Cho-hee’s unusually twisted lips, full of irritation.
Realizing her slip, Cho-hee quickly corrected her attitude, pretending to take A-jin’s side with exaggerated anger.
“That’s what I mean! Why does he keep making you run around till the end? So annoying. You’ve done enough already. Seriously.”
“You’re the only one who really looks out for me. Even I think he’s doing it on purpose sometimes.”
“Right? It’s ridiculous. A guy being petty over a hurt arm… What’s he been doing for a whole month?”
“Thanks for getting worked up for me. But it’s fine. It ends today anyway.”
A-jin hugged Cho-hee and patted her back, telling her not to get so excited.
Cho-hee’s eyes sharpened venomously as she rested her face on A-jin’s shoulder.
She remembered the two of them talking in front of A-jin’s apartment.
She remembered Jun-woo’s reluctant expression as he turned away.
She had to make sure they couldn’t stick together anymore.
“I need to use the bathroom. You go ahead. I’ll text you when I get home.”
As A-jin stepped away, Cho-hee instantly switched to a gentle expression.
“Okay. Take care.”
Watching A-jin head into the bathroom, Cho-hee’s lips curled into a wicked grin.
* * *
‘No one’s here.’
She checked all the stalls except the one A-jin had entered.
As if the world were helping her, the place was empty.
Cho-hee opened the cleaning supply closet and grabbed a rag.
She wedged it slantwise between the door handle and the wall of A-jin’s stall.
Then, she tried to leave the bathroom.
She really intended to just walk out.
But her eyes caught the bucket under the sink, filled with dirty mop water.
She really planned to leave just like that…
She had only meant to lock her in and go to the hospital herself.
But seeing the red bucket drew her hand toward it like a spell.
‘It’s your fault. You flirted with Jun-woo acting all innocent. It’s all on you.’
Cho-hee dumped the bucket of water into A-jin’s stall.
* * *
Jun-woo left the classroom and waited for A-jin on the first floor.
“Jun-woo.”
Someone called his name.
Assuming it was A-jin, he turned immediately.
But the person running toward him wasn’t A-jin.
It was Cho-hee.
“A-jin had something urgent come up and left already.”
“Something urgent?”
“Yeah, she told me to go to the hospital with you.”
Disappointment creased his brow.
What could be so urgent that she’d break their promise without a word?
“What urgent thing?”
“Uh… well, just family stuff.”
Cho-hee brushed it off vaguely.
Family stuff seemed like something he wouldn’t pry into, so she thought it was the safest excuse.
“Whatever. I can go alone.”
There was no need to go to the hospital with anyone but A-jin.
Jun-woo turned toward the school gate.
If things stayed like this, locking A-jin in the bathroom would have been for nothing, and he’d just go home.
Cho-hee quickly grabbed his arm and turned him around.
She gave him a pitiful look.
“She insisted I go with you.”
* * *
With a splash, water poured down from above.
A-jin screamed.
She was drenched from head to toe, water dripping from her soggy hair and clothes.
Even with an undershirt, her blouse was soaked enough to show her bra underneath.
Embarrassed by her wet body, she tried to curl up and get out, but the door wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she pushed.
She pounded on the door and screamed for help, but no one came.
It had been thirty minutes since she’d been trapped in the bathroom.
Who could have locked her in and poured water on her?
Tears fell in drops.
Everyone must have gone home already, leaving the school in dead silence.
“Is anyone there? Sniff.”
Still, just in case, she knocked intermittently and pleaded in a whimpering voice.
She’d left her phone in her bag, of all things.
It was warm weather, like early summer past spring, but the wetness stole her body heat, and chills set in.
A-jin huddled tighter and rubbed her arms.
“Who the hell… Please help. Please.”
Thick teardrops fell endlessly from her eyes.
* * *
“All done?”
Cho-hee had been waiting for Jun-woo to come out.
As he emerged from the exam room, she bounced over happily and stuck close to his side.
“……”
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“I told you to just go. It’s just getting the cast off.”
“Still, going to the hospital alone feels lonely.”
“……”
“Now that the cast is off, want to grab something tasty? You probably couldn’t eat well with it on.”
“No, I’m heading home first.”
Hurt by his curt attitude, Cho-hee cast her eyes down sadly.
“You don’t have to push me away that hard.”
“……”
“I get it. You don’t like me. But is it so hard to have a meal as friends?”
“……”
Jun-woo found the situation awkward.
“It’s not possible, huh.”
“It’s just… uncomfortable.”
“What?”
“Just… girls are kind of…”
“But you… you’re close with A-jin.”
It was a fact he hadn’t realized himself.
Come to think of it, he never felt awkward or uncomfortable around A-jin.
A glimpse of A-jin appeared in his eyes.
Regretting bringing it up, Cho-hee quickly changed the subject.
“You made me come all the way here, and you’re really going home?”
Considering her effort in coming to the hospital with him, Jun-woo asked as if he had no choice.
“What do you want to eat?”
She’d thought he’d insist on going home to the end.
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Cho-hee paused.
“Huh? Oh, what do you like?”
“Anything. Eat whatever you want.”
His indifferent tone and cool demeanor seemed aloof but subtly caring. Cho-hee felt like she could never give up on Jun-woo.
* * *
Another thirty minutes passed.
“What do I do? It’s Sunday tomorrow… No one’s really coming, are they? Sniff.”
Fear gripped A-jin.
Exhausted from crying, she could only sniffle. Her lips turned purple from the cold, and her body shivered like she had a fever.
“No. I have to get out.”
Refusing to give up hope, A-jin pounded on the door furiously.
-Bang bang bang-
“Hello? Is anyone there? Help! Someone’s trapped in here. Please help!”
-Bang bang bang-
A-jin kept knocking so someone would hear.
“Is anyone there?”
Finally, light came.
Someone had heard her voice and entered the bathroom.
She praised herself for not letting go of hope.
‘Thank goodness… Really, thank goodness.’
Overjoyed and relieved, A-jin jumped and shouted.
“Yes! Yes!! There’s someone here. The door seems broken. Please get someone to help!”
She repeated ‘thank goodness’ in her mind dozens of times.
A-jin hoped the person outside would call a repairman.
-Creak-
But the door opened all too easily.
She didn’t even have time to think it strange.
She was just grateful it had opened.
A-jin wondered who her savior was.
She peered through the widening gap in the door.
But with tears pooling in her eyes and sunlight streaming through the small window, she couldn’t see clearly.
‘My savior, who are you?’
A-jin strained her eyes.
The blurry figure sharpened bit by bit until it fully came into view.
‘No way!’
Shocked by the unexpected person, A-jin’s mouth hung open.
