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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: We're Dating
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Once classes were over, Jong-min turned to Jun-woo and asked.
“Hey, we’re done early today. What’re you gonna do?”
“Why?”
Worried Jong-min might suggest another double date, Jun-woo eyed him warily.
“Let’s hang out.”
“Nah. You two go ahead.”
“Sun-ho’s mom dragged him somewhere.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t a double date.
Jun-woo looked at Jong-min with puzzled eyes.
Reading his expression, Jong-min explained.
“Our school’s the only one finishing early today.”
There was a staff meeting, so shortened classes were held for everyone except the seniors.
“Oh.”
Jun-woo nodded, remembering the detail he’d forgotten.
“I’m heading to your place with Mini.”
“No way.”
“Why not?”
Jong-min furrowed his brows, looking hurt, but Jun-woo signaled with his eyes that he planned to spend time with A-jin.
“That’s not fair. You get a girlfriend and suddenly you won’t hang out at all. That’s not how it works. Pay a little attention to us too.”
“You’re crazy.”
Jong-min threw a tantrum, but Jun-woo easily ignored him.
He approached A-jin, who was packing her bag.
“Let’s go.”
A-jin froze for a moment when Jun-woo came over and spoke.
Since they’d started dating, they’d avoided talking much or sticking together at school.
He’d never outright asked her to walk home together like this before.
“What are you doing?”
A-jin glanced around at the others and whispered softly.
“This much is fine, right?”
“Still, you go on ahead.”
Maybe because he’d spoken to her with everyone around, her tone came out curt.
Was she upset?
“Are you mad?”
“Mad? No.”
“You seem mad.”
“Why would I be mad? You’re just gonna make the kids misunderstand. Hurry up and go.”
“Is it really a misunderstanding? It’s true.”
He’d been considerate by keeping it hidden, but sometimes it felt frustrating and upsetting.
Jun-woo spoke curtly and left the school as she wanted.
While waiting for her, he felt inexplicably grumpy and huffed.
For a brief moment, he thought about just blurting it out, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Still, he wanted to wait until she was ready.
A few minutes later, she came out past the school gate.
“Jun-woo.”
“…….”
At A-jin’s call, he silently stood beside her and started walking.
After a short walk, A-jin stared openly at his blank face without a word.
Jun-woo flicked his eyes toward her and asked.
“What?”
“Are you mad?”
“No.”
“You seem mad.”
“Why would I have a reason to be mad?”
At his response, A-jin pouted her lips and shot him a glare.
“But why’s your tone like that?”
“Like what?”
“It’s just... kinda cold.”
“I’m always blunt like that.”
He kept up his indifferent attitude.
Who had the right to be mad right now?
The guy who said he’d come to her house had been with Cho-hee.
No matter how much he couldn’t ignore an injured person, letting Cho-hee answer the phone was upsetting.
A-jin stopped walking.
He stopped too.
“What?”
“Honestly, shouldn’t I be the one mad?”
“Why?”
“Do you know how baffled I was yesterday when Cho-hee picked up the phone?”
He looked flustered for a second.
They’d completely misunderstood each other.
“Oh, I told you over the phone. Cho-hee was hurt...”
He had no right to be mad.
“I know. Me too. It was unavoidable. But you could’ve at least texted me first. I was worried. Do you know how shocked I was when Cho-hee answered? My heart dropped.”
“Sorry. Next time...”
“Forget it. I hate that it even happens.”
A-jin grumbled and stepped ahead of him.
Jun-woo felt bad for snapping unnecessarily and smiled at her more tenderly than usual.
“Were you really that worried?”
“No.”
She denied it to hide her feelings, but her face clearly showed the worry and jealousy.
Her jealousy somehow made him feel good.
“But why were you mad?”
She turned around abruptly as she walked ahead.
The startled Jun-woo screeched to a halt.
Then he made an excuse.
“I’m not mad. That’s just how I am.”
“No, it’s not. You definitely sounded mad.”
“Really? I’ll work on it.”
He brushed it off and walked past her.
* * *
The second preliminary round was over.
Fortunately, it was held on the weekend, so Jun-woo could go along.
“What should we eat?”
Hee-jin, who was driving, glanced at A-jin in the rearview mirror and asked.
“Anything’s fine for me...”
“Mom, we’ll hang out just the two of us today.”
But Jun-woo, in the passenger seat, answered for her.
Hee-jin looked disappointed and a bit hurt.
“Can’t I join too, sweetie?”
“We want to be alone today.”
“That’s not fair. For real.”
A-jin awkwardly interjected between the bickering mother and son.
“Please come with us, ma’am. I’ll treat you today. Mom insisted I buy you a meal.”
“Really? Thank you. But tell her it’s fine. A-jin worked so hard—let Auntie treat you to something delicious...”
Hee-jin suddenly felt a prickling on the side of her head.
Jun-woo kept signaling with his eyes: *Let us have fun alone.*
She hated missing out on time with A-jin, but she didn’t want to ruin her son’s date.
“No, you two have fun today. I’m super disappointed, but for the sake of family harmony, Auntie will yield A-jin to my son.”
Hee-jin dropped the two off near the department store and drove away.
A-jin watched the car leave, feeling guilty.
She kept staring until it was completely gone.
“What’re you doing? Coming or not?”
But the indifferent son just urged A-jin along.
“I was gonna treat you to something nice today.”
“Is today the only day? Next time.”
“But she seemed upset.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about Mom.”
He knew why Hee-jin was bummed.
Her one and only son was so heartless.
“What should we eat?”
For once, he seemed immature, thinking only about dinner options.
“Anything you want?”
“I’ve been around bread smells so much, greasy stuff turns me off just thinking about it.”
He wrinkled his brow at the mere thought.
“Then... how about some refreshing blood sausage soup?”
“Blood sausage? Out of all the hangover stews, why that one?”
This time, Jun-woo grimaced like it upset his stomach.
“You said no greasy stuff. It’s super refreshing.”
“How do you even eat that?!”
“Then, grilled intestines?”
“You eat that too?”
He looked at her like *How can anyone eat that?*
“They sell out fast. Can’t you handle intestines?”
“Isn’t there anything without organs?”
“Ribs stew? Or something spicy? Stir-fried baby octopus?”
“That sounds best.”
Jun-woo nodded, finally approving.
She felt oddly happy, like she’d passed a test.
A-jin flashed a bright smile, and he smiled back.
He held out his hand.
As they walked hand-in-hand looking for a baby octopus place, someone called out to her.
“A-jin.”
The two stopped swinging their arms lightly and turned toward the voice.
It was Kwang-hyun.
It had been a while, so A-jin called out happily.
“Uncle?”
“What brings you here? Together like this...”
Kwang-hyun noticed Jun-woo late and his expression stiffened a bit.
He saw their hands affectionately clasped.
Feeling Kwang-hyun’s gaze, Jun-woo let go of A-jin’s hand first.
She still wanted to keep it secret.
But A-jin grabbed his hand tightly again.
Jun-woo’s eyes went wide at her unexpected move.
A-jin went even further.
She hooked her fingers firmly through his and lifted their joined hands forward with a big smile.
Then, proudly to Kwang-hyun, she said.
“We’re dating.”
“You’re dating?”
Kwang-hyun’s face looked bitter but also resigned, like he’d expected it.
“Yeah. But Uncle, please keep it secret from our school friends. No one knows yet.”
“Got it.”
Kwang-hyun nodded.
“But what brings you here?”
“I had an appointment.”
“Okay. See you later then. Let’s go.”
A-jin gave a quick nod and pulled Jun-woo along.
Jun-woo nodded to Kwang-hyun too and followed her.
He really wanted to smile but held back out of courtesy to Kwang-hyun.
Only after passing him did a grin spread across his lips.
His eyebrows twitched smugly in triumphant delight.
He was grateful to her.
The hurt from hiding their relationship vanished in that instant.
* * *
The rainy season seemed to kick off in earnest, with the downpour fierce and unrelenting.
Today was supposed to be the overnight trip to Ganghwa Island.
It was part of the special activities schedule, and each class had different dates.
But with the rain, Kyung-hee’s class trip got canceled.
They decided to pitch tents in the auditorium and simulate camping instead.
Some kids were excited about the novel experience, while others complained it was a hassle.
“Can’t they just cancel if it’s pouring like this?”
“Exactly. I hate sleeping outside in the rain. It’s so stuffy.”
“I was gonna finish a whole workbook today. Just let us go home.”
“Our homeroom teacher’s such a stickler. She sticks to the schedule no matter what.”
“She’s got zero flexibility. Why’s the auditorium so hot? They gonna turn on the AC or what?”
The auditorium was hot without AC.
The humidity made it muggy and irritating.
Kids fanned themselves with their hands or pressed mini fans to their faces for faint relief from the heat.
To preserve the camping vibe, the lead teacher wouldn’t let them use the AC.
Kyung-hee pleaded, but got told it wouldn’t be real camping without a little hardship.
Feeling bad for the overheated kids, Kyung-hee turned on large fans around the room.
She angled them away so the tents wouldn’t blow over.
Some tents were already set up neatly, while others hadn’t even gotten their frames up.
“Why’s there extra?”
She’d built a solid-looking tent, but poles were left over.
A-jin squatted, holding the extras and checking the instructions.
“Uh, um. A-jin, careful!”
Suddenly, Jung-hwa from the other side called out urgently.
“Huh?”
A-jin turned, wondering what was wrong.
The tent was collapsing right toward her.
Worse, a jutting pole was arrowing straight at her face.
Panicked, A-jin froze in place and couldn’t dodge.
