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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Why Are You Avoiding Me?
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“What? The oven exploded? When am I supposed to wait another week?”
Hee-jin wore a disappointed expression at Sweet Honey’s blog hiatus notice.
“Should I invite her to our house?”
She figured she could at least suggest it.
Hee-jin clapped her hands, thinking it was a great idea, and opened the message window.
[Sweet Honey-nim. Have you bought a new oven? Until it arrives, why don’t you bake at our house? I’m curious about your thoughts on that cake from before, and I’d love to make it together. Here’s my number. Contact me if you need anything. Even if you don’t need anything, feel free to contact me.]
Hee-jin sent the message to Sweet Honey.
She received so many messages that there might not be a reply to hers, but she desperately hoped for one anyway.
She clasped her hands together like a girl praying and left the study.
Then she went up to Jun-woo’s room. Though Jun-woo cleaned his own room, once a month on deep-cleaning day, Hee-jin would go in and clean it for him.
She wiped down the window frames, the shelves under the bed, and every hard-to-reach corner with a damp cloth.
After finishing the thorough cleaning and heading out, she suddenly grew curious about the contents of the drawer.
She normally respected her son’s privacy and never opened his drawers or touched his things, but today an intense curiosity drew her toward it.
Jun-woo’s expressions had always been consistent.
He didn’t smile much, but he didn’t get irritated either.
His face stayed the same, but lately he’d been cracking slight smiles or furrowing his brow seriously on some days.
Either way, she was glad to see his expressions becoming more varied.
“Something must be going on...”
Hee-jin carefully opened the first drawer.
There was no chance Jun-woo would suddenly burst in, but she stayed cautious as she opened it.
“I’ll just take a peek and close it.”
The first compartment held writing tools neatly organized in a case.
“He’s got it all sorted himself.”
He did it so well that Hee-jin pouted, feeling a bit hurt instead.
She opened the second drawer.
“Why is there clothes in here?”
Inside was the gray crewneck T-shirt they’d bought at the department store not long ago.
It was folded impeccably, as if displayed in a store.
Bewildered, Hee-jin sniffed it.
Something was off.
“It doesn’t smell like our house’s fabric softener...”
She only used the fabric softener her cousin sent from France, so she could tell the scents apart.
It definitely wasn’t laundry she’d done.
“Could it be... he’s dating someone?”
She was quick on the uptake and had sharp instincts.
Hee-jin sniffed it again.
“It’s definitely not ours.”
She’d thought his aloofness would turn girls off.
The idea that her son might be dating made her feel good.
“He probably won’t answer if I ask.”
She was dying to know, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask.
He might even get mad about her rummaging through his drawer, so Hee-jin folded the T-shirt back exactly as it was and closed the drawer.
* * *
It wasn’t that she’d deliberately ignored the call.
She’d hesitated on whether to pick up until it went to voicemail, and when it rang again, she hesitated once more.
“What would I even say if I answer?”
Her mind was a mess; she didn’t even know what to talk about.
Whether to accept his confession was a separate issue.
For now, she just wanted to stall.
When she spotted him following her, she’d nearly yelped in surprise.
She’d rushed back to the classroom, steadied her shaking hands while organizing her supplies, and when he tried to sit next to her, she’d bolted up from her seat without thinking.
Embarrassed and awkward, her body stiffened, and since she was already standing, she figured she might as well grab a book from her locker.
But he’d stopped her, looking furious.
‘He’s gotta be mad since I’ve been ghosting his texts.’
She kept coming up with excuses.
She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever, but she didn’t have the courage to face him either.
She followed him to the back of the building.
He stared at her, looking furious.
No, more hurt than angry.
“Why do you keep avoiding me?”
He cut straight to the point.
“Huh?”
“You keep dodging me.”
“It’s just...”
“Did I do something wrong to you?”
He hadn’t.
A-jin shook her head, saying no.
“Wrong? No.”
“Then why? Why avoid me? Why ignore my texts? Did I say we should date right now?”
His words came like a storm.
She was already intimidated, and his machine-gun questions terrified her even more.
“Don’t corner me like that! Isn’t it obvious? After a confession... I mean, hearing something like that, how am I supposed to act normal around you?”
“......”
“You might be used to this, but it’s my first time.”
He seemed to accept her words.
It really was her first confession.
With no prior experience, she had no idea how to handle it.
“Hey, just to check... you’re not messing with me, right?”
She asked seriously.
He’d played so many pranks before that she wondered if this was another one.
At her question, he let out a hollow laugh, looking incredulous.
His eyes said that even if he pranked sometimes, she couldn’t seriously think he’d joke about a confession.
“Do I seem like someone who’d joke about that?”
“No, but... you’ve teased me so much before.”
“Absolutely not.”
“O-okay. But I don’t get it. I’ve never even thought about it, and it feels like I shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t?”
“Just... somehow... a bit...”
She wasn’t sure if his confession was good or bad, but one thing was clear: it kept making her heart uneasy.
“You don’t have to answer right now.”
“Then?”
“I’m just telling you how I feel. It’s not a joke, and I’m not demanding anything from you right now. I just wanted to say it. I was frustrated.”
“......”
He was being considerate.
Even if he wanted something, he decided stepping back for her sake was right for now.
“Let’s go home together after school.”
“I’m with Cho-hee today...”
“You’re not giving back my clothes?”
“Oh, right. I haven’t washed them yet. Can I give them tomorrow?”
“No need to wash. Just give them.”
Last time, he’d tried to return the T-shirt but left the shopping bag behind when her dad suddenly appeared.
A-jin had washed it and given it back since he’d left it.
She planned to do the same this time.
“They’re dirty. I’ll wash and return them.”
“I need to wear it tonight. I’ll wash it at home, so just hand them over.”
“Then I’ll ask my mom to wash them for you.”
After a moment’s thought, he spoke.
“Yeah. Then we can go pick them up together.”
Whatever it took, he’d walk home with her.
In the end, he got his way, and they headed home together.
* * *
A-jin went to Cho-hee’s class to tell her they couldn’t walk home together.
“Cho-hee.”
Standing at the back door, A-jin called her out.
At A-jin’s voice, Cho-hee clenched her teeth.
But she quickly plastered on a bright smile and approached.
“We’re about to see each other soon. Why’d you come?”
“Well... I don’t think I can go home with you today.”
“Why not?”
“Actually, Jun-woo lent me some clothes on Saturday. I need to give them back, so I have to go with him.”
Her bright smile nearly vanished at Jun-woo’s name, but she wasn’t amateur enough to show her feelings outright.
“Oh? What do we do? I had something important to tell you.”
“What?”
At A-jin’s question, Cho-hee pouted sadly.
“I’ve been worried about something lately.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not great to talk about here. Can’t you come with me today?”
Cho-hee’s eyes glistened wistfully.
She was trying to tug at her heartstrings.
* * *
In the end, A-jin fell for Cho-hee’s acting, apologized to Jun-woo, and walked home with Cho-hee.
The two entered a sandwich shop.
Various veggies, cheeses, and sauces were neatly lined up in front of them.
“Plain bread, please. All veggies except jalapeños.”
Cho-hee ordered confidently, and the sandwich was ready quickly.
“Here’s yours.”
A-jin took her sandwich but didn’t unwrap it.
She set it down on the tray and asked.
“So, what’s the worry?”
“What’s the rush? Eat first.”
“You’ve never said you had a worry before.”
A-jin looked at Cho-hee worriedly.
But Cho-hee seemed unfazed.
She’d never had a real worry to begin with, so it made sense.
She’d just wanted to keep her from going with Jun-woo.
Of course, if it was a worry, it was that Park Jun-woo liked Kang A-jin,
and how to interfere with the two of them.
“Actually...”
No matter how she thought about it, this was the only way.
She should’ve been upfront from the start.
She’d claimed to know A-jin so well, but she’d misjudged.
If she’d said something sooner, A-jin would’ve avoided Jun-woo out of consideration for her.
A-jin listened intently as Cho-hee cautiously opened her mouth.
“I like someone.”
“Who?”
Cho-hee had so many boyfriends that A-jin wasn’t too surprised.
But the next words left A-jin speechless.
“Jun-woo. Park Jun-woo from your class.”
Her heart strangely hurt.
She now understood why his confession had left her so confused.
She’d vaguely sensed Cho-hee’s interest in Jun-woo.
She’d thought she was just confused by it.
But looking back, she’d felt a bit glad too.
That’s why it hurt now.
There was no need to agonize; she simply couldn’t accept his confession.
A-jin said nothing.
Cho-hee sensed it instinctively.
That Kang A-jin had some interest in Jun-woo too.
She needed to drive the wedge deeper.
“Help me out a bit.”
“With what?”
“You’re close to him. Jun-woo. Say good things about me in the middle.”
“Me...”
He likes me.
Should she confess everything to Cho-hee honestly?
Or if Cho-hee said she liked him, would he start liking Cho-hee?
That seemed likely, so maybe she should just play dumb?
Her already complicated mind grew more tangled.
As if reading her turmoil, Cho-hee smirked to herself where A-jin couldn’t see.
‘Just stay out of it—that’s helping. Please don’t meddle and get lost!’
