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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Finding the Prettiest Girl
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“Why isn’t he coming?”
Second period was almost over, but Jun-woo still hadn’t shown up.
A-jin looked worriedly at his empty seat.
At that moment, the back door opened with a screeching friction sound.
And Jun-woo walked in.
“What’s this? Our top student in the whole school is late. Never thought I’d see the day. Tired from all that studying?”
“Sorry.”
At the teacher’s question, Jun-woo bowed his head awkwardly in greeting and hurried to his seat.
She had been worried he might not come at all.
“Good. He’s here.”
Relieved, A-jin turned her head and sat up straight.
“You sick or something?”
Then Ho-jin looked at her and asked.
“Huh? Oh… no. Why?”
Why would he ask that?
“Your face is red.”
“R-Really?”
Red?
She placed both hands on her cheeks.
They really felt hot, like she had a fever.
‘If I get this embarrassed, it’s gonna show.’
A-jin fanned her face with her hand to cool down her cheeks.
* * *
“Kang A-jin!!”
Someone called A-jin from the end of the hallway.
She knew who it was just from the voice.
It was Jun-woo.
‘Wait a sec… Did I hear that right? Kang A-jin?’
She hadn’t even hoped for a nickname, but hearing her full name with the family name felt a bit upsetting.
A-jin turned her back around again, ignoring him, and kept walking.
Bewildered, he ran up and blocked her path.
“What’s up? Why are you just walking away?”
“……”
“Didn’t you see me?”
“……”
A-jin didn’t respond.
She just pouted her lips and avoided his gaze.
“You mad?”
It was obvious from her sulky face, so he asked with his expression.
“No? Why would I be?”
The word ‘mad’ stung her pride a little.
A-jin shook her head, denying it.
“You totally are. What did I do wrong?”
He racked his brain, thinking back from last night until now.
No matter how he thought about it, he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Wrong? What wrong?”
“Then what is it? Tell me.”
His expression looked wide open, like his heart.
It wouldn’t make her seem petty to say this, right?
“You called me… Kang A-jin…”
No. It probably would make her seem petty.
Getting upset over just a family name.
Her voice got quieter and quieter.
“What? I can’t hear you.”
Pretending he couldn’t hear, he brought his ear right up to her lips.
Embarrassed, she pushed him away.
“No. Forget it.”
“You mad ’cause I used your full name?”
“What! You heard me!”
A-jin puffed her lips out even more.
Her sulky face was cute, but he wished she wouldn’t pout like that.
Because of her lips last night, he’d barely slept.
Every time he tried to fall asleep, he’d think of them, and every time he tried again, they’d pop back into his head.
He ended up tossing and turning until he woke up past 10 a.m.
It had been a while since he’d woken up with chills like that.
Since A-jin was at school, he couldn’t skip washing up, so he quickly washed his hair without drying it properly and rushed to school by taxi.
When he entered the classroom, their eyes met.
For some reason, she looked different today.
Prettier, maybe.
He hadn’t known why, but now, seeing that pout, he got it.
‘She’s wearing lipstick.’
Her lips had always been pretty and red, but bright red was too lethal.
He tried not to look, but his eyes kept going there.
“So what should I call you? Princess?”
At his joke, she rolled her eyes in horror.
Was the joke weird?
“No! Don’t ever do that. Just A-jin is fine.”
Calling her ‘A-jin-ah’ sweetly would be too embarrassing.
“I’ll think about it.”
“What’s there to think about? But why were you late?”
If he said he couldn’t sleep thinking about her all night, it’d be too cringey.
“Had to help Mom with something this morning.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Why? Worried about me?”
“No.”
A-jin shook her head exaggeratedly.
They could act like a couple, but everything still felt awkward.
‘She was worried.’
Jun-woo smirked, his lips curving up.
It was all over her face—why bother hiding it?
* * *
“Oppa, this is the latest thing. Do you know how many hours I waited in line to buy it for you?”
Ji-yeon approached Jun-woo while he was eating.
She handed him a luxury wallet.
Choi Jong-min, who was eating with him, stared at her in disbelief.
“……”
But Jun-woo ignored both the gift and Ji-yeon, just keeping on with his meal.
“Aren’t you gonna open it?”
Ji-yeon frowned and pressed him.
“Why would I open something that’s not mine?”
Jun-woo looked at her with an expression that said to stop bothering him and leave.
“If it’s not yours, whose is it?”
“I told you I have a girlfriend.”
“We can just break up.”
Her stupidity made both Jun-woo and Jong-min burst out laughing in disbelief.
Ji-yeon scowled, clearly offended by the laughter.
“Go.”
“I’ll go if you take it.”
“My girlfriend’s watching. That’s why I said go.”
At his words, the kids around them started buzzing.
Suddenly, it was like a girlfriend-hunting game had begun—everyone’s eyes lit up with competitive spirit.
“Is oppa’s girlfriend from our school?”
“Yeah.”
“Who is it?”
“What’re you gonna do about it?”
“We need to see the target to make a plan.”
Jun-woo let out another chuckle.
Jong-min chimed in, amused.
“She’s out of your league, so give up.”
“She that pretty?”
Ji-yeon asked sharply.
She seemed confident no one was prettier than her.
Answering felt like a hassle, but this time Jun-woo put some effort into it.
“You really wanna know? Just find the prettiest girl in school.”
His romantic line made every kid in the cafeteria cringe and cheer, banging their trays.
The cafeteria erupted in noise.
A-jin was in there too.
Watching the whole thing.
“That’s gotta be embarrassing for her.”
Park Jung-hwa mocked Ji-yeon with a laugh.
Then she asked A-jin.
“A-jin, you okay?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Your face is super red.”
At Jung-hwa’s words, A-jin touched her cheek.
It was burning hot.
What if she got caught like this?
“C-Caught a cold maybe.”
A-jin coughed awkwardly for no reason.
* * *
Come to think of it, she’d never properly watched a whole movie.
Whenever she tried, something always came up.
Worried the plans might cancel again, Jun-woo came to pick her up.
On the bus, A-jin asked something she’d been curious about.
“Is it okay to ask this?”
“What?”
“When did you start liking me?”
She knew it was a cliché question.
She held back from asking ‘why me?’
“Not sure.”
“You don’t know? Why?”
She figured there’d be some trigger, even if it wasn’t clear-cut.
“Was it when I tripped in your arms? Or when you saved me at the studio? Really no idea?”
He didn’t brush it off with an ‘eh, dunno.’
He thought hard for a while before speaking.
She appreciated that.
“On the bus?”
“Bus? Oh, when you grabbed me so I wouldn’t fall?”
“No, last year.”
“Last year? You didn’t meet me until this year.”
“Didn’t realize it was you at first, but then I thought back and it was.”
It was the day the last midterm of the second semester of first year ended. Short, bittersweet autumn was over, and endless winter had begun.
The weather was brutally cold that day, so early that kids were already pulling out their long puffer jackets.
But he, numb to the cold, threw on a windbreaker and headed out.
The wind made his body shiver—he remembered that day clearly.
He’d left school a bit later than the others on a teacher’s errand.
It was before 3 p.m., so the bus was empty.
Then, a child’s loud wail pierced through his earbuds’ music.
“Waaah!”
Jun-woo pulled out his earbuds and turned.
The baby was crying hysterically, and the mom was trying to soothe it.
But the crying wouldn’t stop.
Some understood, but others couldn’t hide their annoyance.
The mom was sweating bullets, apologizing profusely.
She must’ve felt like she was on pins and needles.
Worried staring would make her feel worse, he looked out the window—then someone started making weird noises to calm the baby.
“Peek-a-boo, peek-peek-a-boo, furrr-lurru, eh! What’s this?”
A girl in the same uniform, with thick horn-rimmed glasses and bushy hair, made funny faces, covering her face with her hands over and over.
Then she pulled a lollipop from her pocket and asked the mom first.
“Can I give this?”
The girl kept eye contact until the baby got off, making faces, holding hands, playing.
As if rewarding her, the baby giggled nonstop to its stop, and the mom thanked her over and over.
That was A-jin.
He wasn’t even the one being soothed, but watching her made him smile like the baby.
“You remember that?”
He hadn’t expected her to.
“Well, why would you.”
“What?”
A-jin widened her eyes sassily and glared at him.
It was cute.
By the time they finished talking, they’d reached their stop.
“Huh? We gotta get off.”
Jun-woo grabbed A-jin’s hand firmly.
And they got off together.
* * *
Hee-jin attended the doctors’ wives’ gathering for the first time in a while.
Today’s spot was a Japanese restaurant.
“Long time no see.”
“Yeah. You still look so elegant and pretty, ma’am.”
“How does Director Park’s wife not age at all? You look the same as when I first saw you ten years ago.”
As she entered the room, the wives who’d arrived early welcomed her.
Some genuinely, but others eyed the pretty young woman with envy.
They scanned her bag and clothes, eyes darting to check for procedures.
This was why Hee-jin didn’t like these gatherings.
Director Choi’s wife from plastic surgery entered behind Hee-jin.
Too much Botox? Her lips looked unnatural.
“Isn’t that limited edition? There’s only one in the country, right? That one.”
“Didn’t they open another hospital? Money makes money. Should’ve told my husband to open a plastic surgery clinic.”
“No, her family’s loaded. She married on the condition they fund his hospital.”
“What’s good about a loveless marriage? Every time I see her, I think she looks too harsh-faced.”
With Director Choi’s wife’s entrance, the women’s eyes busied themselves again.
Hee-jin already felt bored.
Finally, Director Kang’s wife from dermatology arrived.
Said to be the CEO of Rolling Bread, top in Korea’s bakery industry.
Daughter of LB Corporation’s chairman.
Starting line so different, she couldn’t even be compared to ordinary wives.
The women tried desperately to catch Da-hae’s eye.
“Ma’am, saw you on the news. Expanding to South America this time?”
“Impressive. Guess some are born for business.”
“For our new building, can’t you put a branch there?”
All attention was on Da-hae.
“Sorry, we already have one there.”
“We get tons of foot traffic—Gangnam has two on the same street.”
Da-hae stopped responding to the tough questions.
She ignored their fawning too.
Instead, she asked Hee-jin, who’d come after a while.
“Long time no see, Director Park’s wife.”
Hee-jin, picking up a piece of sashimi, set it down at Da-hae’s greeting.
“Yes. Hello.”
“Do you still bake these days, ma’am?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You still go to baking classes?”
“No, haven’t in a while. Now I just follow blogs.”
“Blogs? There are so many good classes now. Want me to recommend one? A patissier who was on TV recently.”
Director Choi’s wife butted in, her thick lips pressing together.
For these wives, classes weren’t just about learning.
They were for flaunting wealth or expanding networks.
Hee-jin smiled politely.
“No thanks. My blog teacher is really skilled.”
“You just follow the internet?”
Director Choi’s wife looked puzzled.
“Yes. The explanations are so good, easier than classes.”
“With everyone an influencer these days, is it reliable?”
Hee-jin didn’t like Director Choi’s wife’s words.
It felt like insulting her mentor A-jin—she almost lost her composure.
“Yes. I tried the teacher’s cake once, and it was the best I’ve ever had.”
Da-hae showed interest at Hee-jin’s words.
“What’s the name? If they’re that good, I’d know them.”
“Not a patissier, just a hobbyist.”
“Really? Someone you rave about that much—too wasteful for a hobby. Tell them to enter our company’s contest coming up.”
“Contest?”
Hee-jin’s eyes widened.
“Yes. Great prizes and awards.”
“But she’s still a student…”
“Anyone 15 or older can join. A student?”
“Yes.”
“That makes me even more curious.”
Da-hae emphasized with her eyes to make sure she entered.
The gaze of a businesswoman scouting talent.
Hee-jin smiled and put off answering for now.
She’d long thought A-jin’s talent was too good to keep to herself.
It seemed like a perfect chance to show it off, so she felt tempted too.
But A-jin’s will came first, so she delayed her reply.
