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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Do You Have Someone You Like?
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It was a restaurant with a refined, lofty atmosphere.
Tempting dishes were laid out before Cho-hee, but she couldn't bring herself to touch them.
“Why? Doesn't it taste good?”
Sitting across from her was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
The guy, draped head to toe in designer labels, had been bragging about himself nonstop for the past hour.
“No.”
“But why aren't you eating? I reserved this place a whole month ago just to treat you. Do you know how much the steak here costs? You couldn't afford this without me.”
At the man's boastful words, Cho-hee sneered inwardly.
‘He's making such a big deal out of buying this crap.’
“Oppa struck gold with that app this time, right? Wanna come check out my office sometime? I'll give you a tour.”
“…….”
“I don't let just anyone see my office. Oh! Check this out.”
The man shoved the watch on his wrist right in front of Cho-hee's face.
“This is a limited edition. You have no idea how many months I waited to get this.”
The conversation dragged on tediously, and the food tasted like ash.
Time seemed to crawl to a halt.
She had no desire to play along with the man's bluster.
To her, even delicious food and expensive gifts meant nothing anymore.
Jun-woo didn't trust her, and Kang A-jin had his love.
Not even her father's neglect had left her this hollow.
Everything felt pointless.
The man kept yammering on alone, until Cho-hee, unable to stand the boredom, stood up from her seat.
“Oppa, I'm heading out first.”
“Already? There's still so much food left.”
“You eat well, oppa. Finish it up.”
The man batted his eyes coquettishly, wondering if he'd done something wrong.
“Why? Did I mess up? Was I talking about myself too much?”
“No, it's not that.”
“Then what's wrong? Didn't you say you wanted a new phone, Cho-hee?”
A developer whose app could flop any day, yet all he did was brag about money.
She had no intention of wasting more time.
With an annoyed expression, Cho-hee said,
“Let's break up.”
“What?”
The sudden declaration left the man dumbfounded.
“Thanks for everything.”
Cho-hee tossed the words out flatly and left the restaurant.
The man chased after her and grabbed her.
“Break up? What's this all of a sudden? What's the reason?”
“No reason. It's just not fun anymore.”
He was incredulous at the flimsy excuse.
But to Cho-hee, it was more than enough.
It really wasn't fun.
“What? Fun? Hey, Han Cho-hee. You think we're just fooling around for fun?”
“Isn't that what it is? You're just having fun with me, oppa. You're not exclusive with me.”
“Hey! Even so, this is too much. You take the bag I got you a week ago and now you wanna break up?”
Cho-hee rolled her eyes at his clinginess.
“Did I ask you to buy it? You got it on your own. The cheapest one in the store, and you act like it's a big deal.”
“Hey! You done talking?”
“I'll send it back by courier, so don't worry. Oh, and the dress you bought too.”
“Courier? Wow. You really a high schooler?”
She was fed up with the whiny guy.
She was already on edge lately.
Overwhelmed by everything crashing down on her, she turned away sharply.
“Yeah, I am. So, mister, go find some women on your level instead of hanging with a high schooler.”
“This is how you talk after I kept saying how pretty you are!”
“Yeah, I've got no manners. So let go and get lost already!”
The man, who had been all talk about doing anything for her, finally showed his true colors.
He grabbed Cho-hee's hair as she turned away, and she yelped in shock.
“You crazy bitch!”
“Kyaa!”
“You sweet-talked me with 'oppa' when you wanted stuff, and now you're done with me? Girls like you need to be taught a lesson.”
“Damn it! Let go! What the hell are you doing? It's embarrassing!”
The man shook her by the hair.
It hurt, but the crowd around them made it mortifying.
People started gathering one by one.
“Hey! Let go! I said let go!”
Cho-hee screamed, and the more she did, the harder he yanked and shook her hair.
No one stepped in to help.
Not a single person tried to intervene.
They just watched the spectacle, treating it like entertainment.
Some were even filming.
‘Damn humans! What's there to gawk at?’
Tears welled up in frustration.
The bystanders irked her more than the guy pulling her hair.
Then, someone pushed through the crowd toward her.
“Let her go.”
Cho-hee turned to see who it was.
It was Jun-woo.
Shame flooded her; she couldn't lift her head.
The grip on her hair didn't even hurt anymore.
The man waved Jun-woo off, telling him to mind his own business.
“I said let her go.”
Jun-woo's voice was firmer this time, more commanding.
The man waved him away again, his face saying "scram."
“Get lost, ahh!”
Finally, Jun-woo grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it hard.
The man screamed in pain.
“Ahh! Shit! Let go!”
“I told you to let go.”
“Let go! Why butt into someone else's business? Ah... ahh!”
Jun-woo twisted harder.
In the meantime, Cho-hee smoothed her disheveled hair and hid behind him.
“Okay, okay, just let go. Please let go.”
At the man's plea, Jun-woo released the arm and shoved him to the ground like trash.
“You fucker!”
Freed, the man spat curses as if he'd never begged and lunged at Jun-woo.
“Kyaa!”
Terrified, Cho-hee screamed and squeezed her eyes shut.
A thud and a crash followed.
Worried for Jun-woo, she opened her eyes.
But Jun-woo stood unharmed; the one sprawled out was the guy who'd grabbed her hair.
Jun-woo had kicked the charging man square in the gut.
The weakling went flying from that single blow.
Sensing he was outmatched after one hit, the man backed away slowly.
He instinctively knew this wasn't a game.
Cameras everywhere captured it all.
Knowing he'd just be a laughingstock if he kept going, the man turned and bolted.
As he vanished, the crowd dispersed one by one.
Only after he was gone did Jun-woo pick up Cho-hee's bag from the ground, brush off the dirt roughly, and hand it to her.
“You okay?”
His tone wasn't gentle, but she appreciated the concern.
Even if it was just polite.
Tears brimmed in her eyes again.
His gaze on her had always been cold, bordering on contempt.
Today was the first time it held any warmth.
Even if it was just pity, she was grateful for it.
Her body burned hot.
The tears overflowed, streaming down her cheeks.
“You gonna take it or not?”
He felt awkward seeing her cry and wanted to leave ASAP.
Jun-woo urged her to take the bag.
The stares from onlookers were uncomfortable too.
The crowd had thinned, but people still watched.
“They're watching.”
“It was so scary.”
Cho-hee wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.
“Hey!! What are you doing!”
Startled by the sudden embrace, he tried to push her away, but she clung harder, locking her hands.
* * *
The next morning, the classroom buzzed with chaos.
“Isn't that Jun-woo and Cho-hee?”
“What's up?”
“Check this out. It got uploaded to YouTube yesterday.”
“Whoa, Park Jun-woo is so cool.”
Not even a full day had passed, but the video of Cho-hee and Jun-woo was already on YouTube.
True to its IT powerhouse status, the clip spread like wildfire; practically everyone at school had seen it.
[Date Abuser Gets Reverse Tour]
That was the video's title.
“A-jin, you see this?”
Jung-hwa shoved her phone at A-jin.
“What's this?”
A-jin watched casually at first.
Jun-woo kicked a guy, then Cho-hee cried, and finally, she hugged him.
‘What...'
The video ended there.
She felt an odd unease.
Normally, she'd worry for Cho-hee, who'd been attacked, and be grateful to Jun-woo for saving her.
She'd even celebrate the two getting closer, as Cho-hee wished.
So why did it bother her?
Lost in thought, Jung-hwa asked,
“You're close with Han Cho-hee, right? Are they dating?”
“…….”
“A-jin? Kang A-jin?”
“Huh?”
“What're you thinking? Are they going out or what!”
“Not sure.”
“What? She didn't tell you? Cliques stick together, huh. Hate to admit it, but they do look good together.”
‘Look good... together.’
A-jin pouted sullenly.
‘Didn't he say he liked me?’
Petulance bubbled up.
He was the one who'd been rejected, yet here she was, getting pissy.
Cheers erupted in the classroom then.
Jun-woo had arrived.
The sudden cheers and disappointed glares from girls left him baffled.
With an indifferent "what's this about?" look, he ignored it and sat at his desk.
“Why're you here so early?”
He asked A-jin, who'd arrived first.
But she didn't respond or even glance his way.
Jong-min dragged him into the hall, puzzled by her behavior.
“What?”
“Look at this.”
He showed him a video.
“What? This?”
There I was in the video.
“That's you, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jun-woo wasn't too surprised.
Lots of people had been filming yesterday; he figured one might go up.
He just hadn't expected the last part.
“Ah... shit.”
Jong-min eyed him like "why'd you let her hug you," and Jun-woo scowled irritably.
“She hugged me. I didn't do it.”
“So you just let her?”
“Crazy. I shook her off right away.”
“That's it?”
“What else would there be? I know you like Han Cho-hee, but it's not my fault...”
“I don't like Han Cho-hee. Whatever. But Kang A-jin saw it too, right.”
“What?”
Everyone at school had, so of course she had.
Did she misunderstand?
“Wait...”
Was that why she'd been so cold?
No greeting, no eye contact.
Maybe...
He wore a subtle expression.
Then asked Jong-min,
“She'll misunderstand, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jun-woo entered the classroom and looked at A-jin.
She pointedly avoided his gaze, sitting ramrod straight and staring ahead.
Then someone approached him.
“Oppa, are you dating Cho-hee unnie?”
It was a shrill, sharp voice.
Kim Ji-yeon. The first-year had blown up on arrival with looks rivaling Cho-hee's.
She was popular but dumb and rude, so she never matched Cho-hee's popularity.
Cho-hee actually envied her popularity but was kind to friends, just picky about close ones.
“Are you dating Cho-hee unnie?”
Ji-yeon demanded.
Her piercing voice made Jun-woo wince.
“Why should I answer you?”
“Because I like you, oppa.”
“I don't like you.”
“You don't know that. So, are you?”
“…….”
Ji-yeon was bold.
What a pain first thing in the morning.
Annoyed, should he just blurt out he liked Kang A-jin?
He turned to look at A-jin.
She, who'd been ignoring him, was now looking his way.
Their eyes met, and she quickly looked away.
Does it bother her?
“Are you dating?”
Snapped from his thoughts by her voice, he turned back.
“I like someone else.”
“Really? Who?”
“Ha...”
He was exhausted. Hoping she'd leave, he stopped responding.
“I said I like you, oppa.”
“So?”
“Are you dating her?”
“Yeah.”
He figured that's what it'd take to make her go.
