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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Incarnation of Jealousy
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A-jin had been in a pretty good mood lately.
Thanks to Jun-woo's comforting words, the hurt she'd received from Cho-hee had mostly healed.
That said, she couldn't help but feel a bit deflated whenever her friends showed curiosity about Jun-woo's girlfriend.
Someday it would all come out into the open, but she worried that people's reactions might be negative.
"I saw Jun-woo's girl yesterday."
"Really? Where?"
We watched a movie over the weekend—did they see us then?
Her ears perked up at the mere mention of Jun-woo's name.
"She was insanely pretty."
Jun-woo was with me.
So who was this insanely pretty girl?
A-jin, eavesdropping on her friends' conversation, furrowed her brows.
"A-jin. I've got a part-time job these days."
Just then, Ho-jin spoke up from beside her.
A-jin stopped eavesdropping and turned to him.
"A part-time job? What kind?"
"I work at a hotel."
"A hotel?"
She'd thought part-time jobs were things like snack bars or coffee shops.
A hotel, though? A-jin's eyes went from round to saucer-wide.
"Shh, it's a secret from the others. Not that they'd say anything..."
Ho-jin pressed his index finger to his lips and spoke quietly.
He glanced around warily, checking if anyone had overheard.
Fortunately, no one seemed interested in their talk.
"Is it okay for a student to work at a place like that? Do you need money or something?"
A-jin's eyes softened with pity, and Ho-jin let out a small chuckle.
"Nah. It's my uncle's hotel—they're short-staffed, so I'm just helping out."
"Oh, I see. Is it tough?"
"Not really. Just dishwashing and sorting laundry. Nothing weird like catching sights I shouldn't."
"Weird stuff?"
A-jin's eyes sparkled innocently, wondering what he meant by "weird."
Ho-jin's cheeks flushed at her utterly naive expression.
"But where are we doing our project?"
Ho-jin quickly changed the subject.
"At home? Coffee shops might not work since it'll take a while."
"Home? Sure."
"Wanna come to my place, then?"
"Yeah."
"What are they talking about so intently?"
Jun-woo muttered as he watched A-jin and Ho-jin.
From his seat, he had a clear diagonal view of hers.
He liked that she smiled a lot, but not when she smiled at other guys.
What could they be whispering about?
Isn't An Ho-jin into Kang A-jin?
So why is she so nice to everyone?
They never stopped chatting during every break.
His brows twisted in irritation.
* * *
"I'm heading to the bathroom real quick."
One of Ji-yeon's crew got up to go.
As soon as she did, Ji-yeon launched into gossiping about her absent friend.
"Hey! She totally bought that lip balm copying mine, right?"
"You think? Not sure."
"What do you mean? The color's exactly the same. I should ask to borrow it later."
"Didn't she copy yours last time too?"
One of the group chimed in agreement.
"Exactly. I threw mine out the second I got home. She knows I hate duplicates—why does she do that?"
"Hey, she's coming back."
The friend returned from the bathroom, and they seamlessly switched topics as if on cue.
"You guys hear about that?"
The friend started, and Ji-yeon's eyes lit up, expecting juicy news.
"Cho-hee unnie got doused with water. By her bestie, no less."
"Doused?"
Ji-yeon urged her on, hooked.
"Right in the classroom with all the seniors watching—she dumped a whole bucket on her."
"No way, epic. Did a huge fight break out?"
"Nah. Apparently it fizzled out super lame."
Ji-yeon looked thoroughly disappointed.
She'd hoped for something more intense.
"But Cho-hee unnie doesn't know you started the rumor, right?"
One of the group whispered to Ji-yeon.
"How would that bitch know? Whether I spread it or not."
"Still, that unnie seemed kinda scary. What if she finds out you blabbed? Last time..."
"Hey! If she tries anything, what're you gonna do about it? If she pulls that crap on me one more time, it won't end with just rumors."
That day when Cho-hee was on the phone with her aunt, just before A-jin entered the bathroom, Ji-yeon had been there.
She'd been about to go in when she overheard Cho-hee's voice and pressed her ear to the door to eavesdrop.
Furious at how Cho-hee had treated her, she thought it served her right.
Ji-yeon had immediately gathered her friends and spilled the phone conversation.
* * *
"Um, hi."
Someone blocked A-jin as she tried to enter the classroom.
He greeted her, leaving her flustered as she greeted back.
"Uh, hi."
It was Ha Jung-hoo sunbae, the third-year baseball team captain.
With his warm looks and solid build, he was pretty popular.
But A-jin didn't recognize him.
"I'm a third-year."
"Oh... Hello, sunbae."
"You don't know me?"
"Sorry."
A-jin bowed her head apologetically and glanced around awkwardly.
She wondered if she could go inside now.
As if reading her mind, he held out a palm-sized gift box.
"Here."
"What's this?"
"Open it."
Bewildered as to why he was giving her a gift, she opened it anyway. Inside was a set of tint lip products shaped like manicures.
Pink and coral colors.
"Tint... right?"
"Didn't know what color you'd like, so I got both."
"Oh... But why are you giving this to me?"
"Why do people give gifts? Like, maybe because..."
He paused dramatically, puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth.
* * *
"What? Is Jung-hoo sunbae and A-jin a thing?"
Choi Jong-min said as he came back from the bathroom.
"Why?"
Jun-woo's eyes sharpened at A-jin's name.
"They're out in the hall together?"
The word "together" made Jun-woo's eyes narrow sharply.
"Are they dating?"
Sun-ho tossed out casually.
The air turned icy in an instant, the mood chilling.
Jong-min shivered, glanced at Jun-woo, and yelled.
"Hey! Why's the plot twisting so fast?"
"Come on, guy and girl meeting alone during break? What else could it be? Maybe a confession."
Sun-ho spoke carelessly again.
'Shut up already!'
Jong-min screamed internally.
"But Kang A-jin has gotten prettier lately, hasn't she? And she's so nice. Her actions are kinda cute too, right?"
Jong-min nearly ripped Sun-ho's mouth off.
He never imagined not telling Jun-woo and A-jin were dating beforehand would lead to this disaster.
"Nah, she's the same. What's pretty about her?"
Jong-min checked Jun-woo's reaction.
His eyes blazed with fiery rage.
"No, she really has gotten prettier. Took off her glasses, and something else changed. If I ask and she's not with Jung-hoo sunbae, maybe I should shoot my shot? Someone like A-jin would totally go for me, right?"
'Please just shut up, you clueless idiot.'
Jong-min was on the verge of tears.
Jun-woo, fists clenched, was slowly rising.
If this continued, Sun-ho's life was in danger.
"You bastard!!"
Jong-min jumped up and grabbed Sun-ho by the collar.
It was for his own good, but Sun-ho looked baffled.
"Ah, what the hell! Why're you freaking out?"
"You're seriously pissing me off today. Come out here first."
"Huh? Why?"
Jong-min dragged the struggling Sun-ho to the bathroom.
He planned to reveal A-jin's true identity to him.
Once they were gone, Jun-woo let out a long sigh.
"She keeps doing makeup and now this..."
His lips twisted in anger.
His fists clenched so hard they left marks, and his fury propelled him into the hallway.
* * *
"Do you have a boyfriend by any chance?"
"Huh?"
Jung-hoo's question just left her confused.
As A-jin stood there dazed, he smiled and said,
"I'll be direct. I like you."
Another confession.
What kind of luck was this year that she was suddenly getting confessions left and right when she'd never had any before?
She was just flustered.
"I always hung around the restaurant hoping to run into you—didn't you notice?"
"Not at all."
"Yeah? Doesn't matter. We can get to know each other now. Go out with me."
He was incredibly bold.
But she couldn't just stand there blankly forever.
A-jin racked her brain for a polite way to turn him down.
"Sorry, but I..."
"She has a boyfriend."
A urgent voice cut her off.
Jun-woo, face flushed red, was glaring at Jung-hoo as he approached.
"Jun-woo."
A-jin blinked in surprise.
She hadn't done anything wrong, yet guilt washed over her.
"She has a boyfriend?"
Jung-hoo asked.
"Yeah."
A-jin nodded.
"But she said no..."
Jung-hoo shook his head, puzzled by the contradiction.
Jun-woo drove the point home again.
"She really has a boyfriend."
Jung-hoo's eyes flicked to Jun-woo's intense glare, then he pointed at him and asked A-jin,
"Is this guy your boyfriend?"
"Well..."
Was it coming out like this?
She wasn't mentally prepared yet.
As A-jin hesitated, Jun-woo, looking at her, spoke for her.
"She's my best friend's girlfriend."
A-jin gave Jun-woo an apologetic look.
Sorry for not being able to declare it boldly.
Jun-woo nodded.
It was like he understood, magnanimously brushing it off.
"Yeah... Too bad. Still, it's your gift—keep it."
Jung-hoo eyed the gift wistfully.
Realizing she'd accepted it, Jun-woo snatched the box from A-jin and shoved it into Jung-hoo's arms.
"No. As you can see, she doesn't do makeup."
"But she wears stuff on her lips?"
"No. She doesn't."
"Then why are you..."
"Because she's my closest friend's girlfriend."
Jun-woo said through gritted teeth.
* * *
"Are you mad?"
He hadn't said a word the whole way home.
"No."
"Then why aren't you talking?"
A-jin tilted her head cutely to meet his eyes.
'Who could talk with you looking at me like that?'
She thought she could get away with anything just by gazing at him lovingly.
She was subtly arrogant.
He pouted and clamped his mouth shut again.
"Is it because of that oppa earlier?"
The word "oppa" grated on him.
He scowled and shot her a glare.
"Oppa?"
"No, I mean sunbae."
"Sunbae?"
"What do you want me to call him? He's not oppa or sunbae, then what?"
"Just don't call him anything."
"Got it."
She pursed her lips sulkily.
Since when had he become such an open book, his temper flaring at the drop of a hat?
She'd been oblivious to her own effects on him.
"Are you gonna keep wearing that on your lips?"
"Lips? You gave that back earlier."
"Not that one. Yours. You've been wearing it around lately."
"You knew?"
How could he not, when he could taste strawberry on her lips?
"Of course. I devour those lips every day."
"Hey!"
A-jin glanced around, worried someone might hear.
Fortunately, the bus was empty.
"What?"
Unlike her, he was utterly nonchalant.
"Don't say stuff like that."
"What? It's true. So stop wearing it."
"Why? Doesn't it suit me?"
It suits you.
Suits you too well, that's why I hate it.
I want you to look pretty only in my eyes.
"The taste sucks."
"Heyyy!"
Startled again, A-jin clamped her hand over his mouth.
