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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: That Rude Guy
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A-jin couldn’t understand Jun-woo at all.
Why play a prank on someone you’re not even close to?
What if he really throws it away?
Her trust in him plummeted.
“What are you doing here?”
At that moment, Cho-hee spotted her in the hallway and approached.
“Oh, Cho-hee?”
“Why aren’t you going into the classroom?”
“I should...”
Her expressions were so transparent that Cho-hee immediately read A-jin’s mood.
“Something wrong?”
“No.”
“Looks like something is.”
At Cho-hee’s question, A-jin smiled lightly, thinking how her friend really got her, and opened her mouth.
“Well... You know Park Jun-woo? The top student in our school.”
At the mention of Jun-woo’s name, Cho-hee showed curiosity.
“Park Jun-woo? Of course. Who at our school doesn’t know him? But why?”
A-jin nodded toward her class.
“That’s him, in our class.”
Cho-hee shifted her gaze to where A-jin’s chin pointed.
There was Jun-woo, half-hidden by the back door of the classroom.
In that instant, Cho-hee thought she could use A-jin as an excuse to come see him.
“You’re in the same class as him, huh. So what?”
Cho-hee asked casually, pretending to be uninterested despite her intrigue.
“Yeah. But he’s kind of weird.”
“Weird?”
“The day you got confessed to...”
“When? I’ve been confessed to plenty of times.”
“At Love Park, last week.”
“Oh, then? When Choi Jong-min called me out?”
“Yeah.”
“What about it? Did he ask you something about me?”
Men often asked about her through A-jin.
Cho-hee’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, wondering if Jun-woo had done the same.
But A-jin gave a completely different answer.
“He didn’t ask. He just borrowed my power bank.”
“Power bank?”
It wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for, and it was disappointing.
But since it was about Jun-woo, she wanted to hear more.
“Yeah. I forgot to get it back that day, so when I asked for it today, he said he’d thrown it away!”
“Thrown it away?”
“No, he didn’t really throw it away, but he kept saying he did even though he didn’t, and calling me an idiot.”
“Idiot? Why call you an idiot?”
“That’s what I mean. He’s really weird.”
“Did you get the battery back?”
“No. He said tomorrow. He’ll give it, right? Yeah, he will.”
A-jin looked worried that he might not keep his promise.
“A power bank...”
Meanwhile, Cho-hee seemed lost in thought.
When she muttered to herself, A-jin asked.
“What?”
“Nothing. Class is starting. See you later.”
But Cho-hee shook her head, saying it was nothing, and returned to her own classroom.
* * *
“Hello, I’m Ga Kyung-hee, your homeroom teacher for the year. We met in class last year, so I’m sure everyone knows me.”
Wearing charcoal slacks and a white blouse, with a neat bob haircut, the homeroom teacher wrote her name on the blackboard as soon as she entered.
“Nice to meet you all. Welcome to the real college entrance battle. You’ll be studying nonstop for a year, but I hope it’s a time filled with unforgettable memories amid it all.”
The class booed at the mention of college entrance exams.
Kyung-hee smiled at the expected reaction and pressed her index finger to her lips to quiet them.
“Alright! Quiet! It’s the first day, so let’s do roll call.”
Kyung-hee opened the attendance book and called names one by one.
“Park Jung-hwa.”
“Yes.”
“Choi Jong-min.”
“Yes.”
“Park Jun-woo?”
“Yes.”
At Jun-woo’s name, the girls’ eyes turned to him all at once.
“You’re Jun-woo? I didn’t expect the top student in the whole school to be in our class. But why are you sitting in the back?”
Kyung-hee looked at him curiously, seated at the very back.
“Teacher, these days, the good students don’t sit in front. They do well anywhere.”
The kids snickered at Jong-min’s words.
“Is that so? Alright, next.”
Kyung-hee laughed too, finding it amusing, and continued roll call.
Then it was A-jin’s turn.
“Kang A-jin.”
“Pfft.”
The moment A-jin’s name was called, a snicker came from the back.
It was soft, but the quiet classroom made it sound loud.
Everyone’s eyes snapped to where the laugh came from.
A-jin turned to look behind her as well.
Jun-woo was holding back a laugh.
“Why?”
At Kyung-hee’s question, Jun-woo lowered the hand he’d been using to cover his mouth and answered.
“Oh! Sorry. I thought it was Kang A-ji, like puppy...”
His words set off laughter from the other kids.
The classroom grew noisy.
But Jong-min looked at Jun-woo strangely for laughing at something so trivial, unlike his usual self.
And one other person shooting him a look—
Humiliated by her friends’ laughter, A-jin glared at Jun-woo with furious eyes, her face flushed red.
“Quiet, quiet. You’re not elementary kids, laughing at a name. It’s cute, though. Right, A-jin? Your nickname must be Puppy too, huh?”
“Uh... Yes.”
At Kyung-hee’s question, A-jin nodded shyly.
Inside, she cursed Jun-woo.
‘Park Jun-woo! What did I ever do to you to treat me like this? Ruining my mood since morning.’
It felt like something was seriously off from the start of the new semester.
* * *
“Ugh, I’m so pissed. Can you believe that?”
On the way home, A-jin vented to Cho-hee, full of irritation.
“But Puppy is your nickname, right?”
“Yeah, it is. But does he have to mock it like that? In class, too. Everyone stared at me—do you know how embarrassing that was? Why’s he picking on me? We’re not even friends.”
“Yeah. Why pick on you? Is he usually that frivolous?”
“No idea. But one thing’s clear: his personality is seriously weird.”
Cho-hee felt oddly bothered by A-jin talking about Jun-woo all day.
“But that battery’s super important to you. Want me to get it for you? What if he doesn’t bring it tomorrow?”
“No way. He’ll bring it tomorrow.”
“Still. You said he’s weird.”
“He is weird.”
“Since we’re on the way, I’ll get it for you.”
“Do you even know where he lives?”
Cho-hee panicked for a second.
She didn’t want to show her interest in Jun-woo to A-jin.
“No. I was gonna ask Choi Jong-min.”
“Oh! No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s no big deal...”
“No.”
A-jin smiled brightly, grateful just for Cho-hee taking her side.
But Cho-hee looked a bit anxious somehow.
* * *
The cloudy weather dragged on until it finally rained. Cho-hee deliberately ditched her umbrella near Jun-woo’s house.
She pressed the doorbell while getting soaked.
-Who is it?
The voice was mixed with static, but she recognized it instantly.
“Hi. It’s Cho-hee. Han Cho-hee.”
-......
Does he not know me?
Cho-hee prettily swept her wet hair to one side and leaned into the camera.
Can’t recognize me like this?
“Don’t you know me?”
-I do. But why?
He knew who she was.
Relieved, but annoyed that he neither opened the door nor came out, just responding over the intercom.
She was already chilled to the bone from the rain.
Cho-hee furrowed her brows pitifully to evoke sympathy.
“Can’t we talk inside? It’s so cold.”
She shivered and rubbed her arms, and only then did Jun-woo open the door.
* * *
“Rich kid confirmed.”
There was quite a distance between the gate and the front door.
The path had a stone bridge, expansive lawns, well-manicured trees and flowers surrounding the house.
Cho-hee glanced around the yard, shook her head, and hurried to the front door.
No time to leisurely sightsee.
She checked her appearance before entering.
Her wet uniform clung to her figure.
Even her pink underwear showed through.
Too obvious might kill the charm, so she peeled the shirt slightly away from her body.
Then she stepped inside.
Entering the warm interior, her body shivered.
Cho-hee hugged herself with her arms.
She swept her soggy hair forward so the dripping water would be visible.
She hoped to look fragile and pitiable to him.
“What is it?”
But contrary to her wishes, Jun-woo stopped her at the entrance and asked indifferently.
No, not indifferent—annoyed.
Flustered by the unexpected reaction, but having come this far, she couldn’t just leave.
“Your house is so nice inside. The garden was beautiful too.”
Cho-hee made a face like she wanted to come in further.
But he looked like he wanted her to get to the point.
No man had ever been unkind to her.
Her pride stung, but she didn’t let it show.
“A-jin said you have something for her.”
“What?”
“The battery.”
His brows furrowed slightly.
“Now? She can get it tomorrow.”
“Yeah. She’s kinda impatient.”
“......”
He seemed unable to understand why A-jin would send a friend over for just a battery.
Cho-hee smiled inwardly.
“That battery means a lot to her. She wouldn’t stop talking about you taking it that day. Her favorite...”
“Got it. Wait a sec.”
She wanted to say it was from someone she liked.
But he didn’t let her finish, went up to his room, fetched the battery, and handed it over.
“Here.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“......”
With business done, he gestured for her to leave and turned back to his room.
‘Just leave like this?’
Panicking, Cho-hee called out to stop him.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
He paused his steps and approached her.
‘That’s more like it.’
No way he’d just go back to his room.
Cho-hee anticipated his next move.
“Just close it on your way out.”
But he walked past her and opened the gate via the intercom.
‘This isn’t what I want!’
Cho-hee couldn’t hide her disappointment.
After coming all the way here, no warm drink, no offer to dry her hair—his total lack of reaction pissed her off.
Too regrettable to leave like this, she swallowed her pride and called him again.
“Hey, can I borrow some clothes? I’m soaked and might catch a cold. No umbrella either.”
“Sigh......”
He openly showed his annoyance, went upstairs again, and brought his gym clothes.
“Bathroom’s that way. Give the clothes to Kang A-jin or keep them, I don’t care. Gate’s open, just close it when you go. Oh, umbrella’s by the front door.”
He spelled out exactly what she should do, as if telling her not to bother him anymore, then went back to his room.
Far from falling for her, his stingy hospitality hurt her feelings badly.
She glared at the second floor, gripping the gym clothes and A-jin’s battery tightly.
“Let’s see if you can resist me!”
* * *
The sky wasn’t clear today either. The ongoing fine dust haze made tall buildings look blurry.
But A-jin’s mood was always bright. Her sunny personality wasn’t swayed by the weather.
-Clank-
As she passed through the school gate, someone yanked her bag strap rudely.
“Who? Cho-hee?”
Stumbled by the pull, A-jin turned to see who it was.
But no one was there. Her bag strap had caught on a wire tied to the gate.
“What the!”
A-jin tried to free the strap, but couldn’t reach.
While struggling, someone appeared and untied the wire.
“Thanks...”
It was Jun-woo.
A-jin stopped mid-bow.
“Thanks.”
“What are you doing since morning?”
“Well...”
A-jin gave an embarrassed smile, and Jun-woo passed her indifferently, saying.
“But what now! Your clothes are torn.”
“Huh! Really?”
Shocked, A-jin spun around trying to see her back.
He pressed his lips together to stifle a laugh at her comical sight.
“What do I do? Is it torn bad? Where?”
“Idiot. Just take it off and check.”
“Oh! Right.”
A-jin clapped as if struck by great insight.
She wedged her bag between her legs and quickly took off her jacket.
“Where’s it torn? No... Where... Huh?”
There was no tear.
Only then did she realize he’d pranked her.
“Pfft.”
He burst out laughing, and A-jin scowled at him.
“What. It’s fine.”
“You fell for that?”
“What? Why prank me first thing in the morning.”
He made a face like it was her fault for falling for it.
Finding him infuriating, A-jin pouted and stepped up beside him.
“My battery?”
“Gave it yesterday.”
“Huh? I didn’t get it.”
“How precious is it that you couldn’t wait a day and sent a friend?”
“Friend? Who?”
“Han Cho-hee.”
“Cho-hee?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“......”
He didn’t answer further and entered the classroom.
No reply to her question, but she could hear about it from Cho-hee.
A-jin was just happy to have gotten her battery back.
