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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Are You Serious? For Real?
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He didn’t seem like the type to wear cologne.
But the faint scent of fabric softener from Jun-woo’s clothes pricked at Cho-hee’s nose.
Her mind grew hazy from the warm smell, like clothes dried perfectly in the sun—not the sticky sweat you’d expect from a typical teenage boy, but something like the floral fragrance carried on a spring breeze.
Inside the pharmacy, Jun-woo sat close to treat Cho-hee’s scalded hand.
The shorter distance made his face come into sharp focus.
‘This is weird. Why is my heart racing like this?’
She’d dated plenty of guys, but she’d never felt her chest tremble like this before.
The hand he was holding shook, the scent was intoxicating, and the face right in front of her was dizzying.
‘This can’t be happening.’
She’d been interested, sure, but not seriously in love.
She just wanted the thrill of stealing something every other girl coveted and desired.
Never giving her heart away was how she handled guys—and how she protected her pride.
Anxiety crumpled her features.
“I’m good. The coffee wasn’t that hot after all.”
He looked up, and their eyes met in that instant.
His face was right there, practically touching her nose at such close range.
Cho-hee’s face flushed bright red in a flash.
She even felt feverish.
“…….”
“Here! Put some more on when you get home.”
He handed her the bag with the ointment inside.
“Th-thanks.”
Flustered, she snatched the bag and jumped to her feet.
“What? Does it hurt?”
“N-no.”
“Alright, I’m really heading out now. Oh! Text Jong-min. He’s probably waiting alone.”
He left the pharmacy first.
But Cho-hee couldn’t tear herself away.
She just stared at the spot where he’d been for a long while.
‘What do I do… I think I really like him.’
* * *
“Eat some ramen.”
“Yeah.”
Cho-hee set the fully cooked ramen on the table and called out to A-jin in her room.
“Ugh. How can a girl who pretties up her face so nicely leave her desk such a mess? They say the cleaner you keep yourself, the messier your space gets.”
A-jin had come into Cho-hee’s room to charge her phone.
The room was dirty and cluttered—who knew the last time it had been cleaned.
Clothes were strewn about, and the desk was a tangle of books and random junk.
A-jin slotted the scattered books back onto the shelf and gathered up the used cotton pads and tissues, nagging like a mom.
“The trash can’s right there—how hard is it to throw stuff away!”
She looked for the trash bin under the desk to dump the garbage she’d collected.
That’s when she spotted something familiar amid the trash.
A-jin reached deep into the bin and pulled it out.
It was her portable battery—the one she’d said Jun-woo threw away.
“Why is this…?”
She froze for a second, confused.
The obnoxiously bright pink color suggested it was hers, but just to be sure, she checked closely.
Sure enough, her name was engraved on it.
Even the scratches from carrying it around confirmed it was definitely hers.
This was baffling.
Why was it in Cho-hee’s room?
She needed confirmation—and an explanation.
“Hurry up. It’s ready.”
Cho-hee called out to A-jin, who still hadn’t left the room, so A-jin grabbed the battery and headed to the kitchen.
Cho-hee grumbled as she pulled out some kimchi.
“You were cleaning my desk again, weren’t you?”
“…….”
“I told you not to! It might look messy, but it’s got its own order.”
“…….”
“Sit down already. I even added some rice cakes today.”
“Cho-hee…”
“Hm?”
Cho-hee turned as she set down the chopsticks and side plates, looking at A-jin who’d called her name.
“This…”
A-jin placed the portable battery on the table.
‘Oh right. I should’ve emptied the trash!’
Cho-hee’s spine chilled.
She scrambled to come up with an excuse.
“Why do you have this?”
“Huh? Well… um.”
“You said he threw it away. That Jun-woo did.”
“Mom, seriously. I told you not to touch my room.”
A-jin’s expression hardened more and more.
She couldn’t believe Cho-hee was lying to her.
She hoped it was just a misunderstanding she could clear up.
“I found it.”
“Found it?”
Seeing A-jin’s baffled look, Cho-hee added an explanation.
“You were so upset about it. So I dug it out of their recycling bin.”
“For real? How’d you find it in all that trash?”
A-jin shook her head—it sounded ridiculous.
“Good luck, I guess. The color’s so bright it stood out.”
“Still, it must’ve been filthy.”
Cho-hee was the type to skip fried chicken or potato stew because she hated getting her hands dirty.
A-jin still couldn’t quite believe it and pressed further.
Simpler than she’d expected, Cho-hee swallowed her irritation inwardly.
‘Just let it go already!’
“But why didn’t you give it back right away?”
“Hey! It was covered in trash—I had to clean it first. I was gonna disinfect it too, but then it went missing on me and I freaked out. Guess Mom threw it out because it was dirty.”
Even with the plausible excuse, A-jin’s suspicious gaze didn’t waver, putting Cho-hee on edge.
A-jin, who usually fell for even the smallest pranks without a clue, seemed unusually sharp today, ramping up the tension.
A-jin approached her slowly.
Cho-hee swallowed hard.
She wasn’t about to hit her, was she?
“Cho-hee! You’re the only one, seriously. Thank you so much! I love you!!”
Contrary to her fears, A-jin pulled her into a hug.
She even planted a kiss on her forehead.
‘Of course. She’s so simple.’
Mocking A-jin inwardly, she hugged her back.
And put on a show of affection.
“What? I love you too.”
“I love you more.”
“No, I love you more.”
“I got scared for a second thinking you were lying to me.”
“No way, you know I wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t.”
As if.
Relieved but still sneering at A-jin inside.
She quickly changed the subject.
“The ramen’s getting cold. Let’s eat!”
“Okay.”
They sat down and lifted the noodles with their chopsticks.
It had bloated up, but it was still good.
“But what happened to your hand? You hurt?”
A-jin spotted the gauze on one of Cho-hee’s hands.
“Oh… this? Got a little scalded.”
“From boiling ramen?”
“No. Yesterday.”
“How’d it happen?”
“Just… stuff came up.”
“Be more careful. Want me to redo the ointment?”
Unlike worried A-jin, Cho-hee smiled at the gauze.
“Nah. I’m never taking this off.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
The plain white gauze had her giggling nonstop.
“Why are you laughing?”
A-jin wondered what was so funny about an injury, but Cho-hee shook her head, saying it was nothing.
What happened with Jun-woo yesterday—she wanted to keep it a secret between just the two of them.
* * *
“Why were you late today?”
On the way home from school, classes ended early for Culture Day.
Cho-hee asked the question she hadn’t gotten to during lunch.
“Oh… well.”
That morning on the way to school, A-jin had agonized over the two chargers on her desk.
The hot pink one from the uncle, and the pale pink one from Jun-woo.
Had Jun-woo really thrown it away?
Maybe his mom tossed it while cleaning?
Would it be weird to take it right after getting it as a gift?
But should she show him she found it?
Then she’d have to explain how again.
After agonizing, she dismissed it as pointless worrying and shoved one into her bag.
“So which one’d you bring?”
Cho-hee showed curiosity about A-jin’s choice.
“Oh, this one.”
A-jin slung her bag to the front to show her.
“Han Cho-hee!”
Just as she went to open the bag, voices of boys called from afar.
Both turned toward the school gate at the same time.
Three or four handsome guys were waving at her.
“There they are again.”
“Annoying. Seriously. They should be practicing.”
“Are they really debuting?”
“That’s what they say, but who knows. Guys like that are a dime a dozen.”
“They’re too good-looking for that.”
“Still, Park Jun-woo’s way better than them.”
“Huh?”
Cho-hee muttered to herself, and A-jin asked what she’d said, unable to hear.
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
Cho-hee flashed a bright smile at A-jin, saying she didn’t need to know.
“But you’re the only girl there?”
“Why? Worried?”
“Of course. How do you know they’re really trainees?”
“I’ve seen their practice room. Don’t worry.”
“Still, be careful.”
“Yes, yes, got it.”
Cho-hee acted annoyed at A-jin’s mom-like nagging.
“Puppy.”
Then someone called A-jin from behind.
Both whipped around.
Jun-woo was walking toward them.
A-jin stared with a why’d-you-call-me look, while Cho-hee pondered how to greet him.
“Come to ‘Eodiya’ at 7 later.”
But Jun-woo just tossed that at A-jin and brushed past without a second glance.
“Huh?? Uh…….”
‘Why’s he taking her to a cafe alone?’
Cho-hee frowned.
“Why Eodiya?”
“Gotta do the project. I was gonna bake early since it ends soon.”
A-jin looked disappointed at her derailed plans.
“Just you two? Isn’t the study group six people?”
“You guys haven’t checked yet, huh. This assignment’s pairs—two per team.”
“And you got paired with Park Jun-woo?”
“Yeah. I must have the luck of the draw this year. Same group wasn’t enough—now same partner too.”
A-jin’s lips drooped sadly.
‘She’s sneakily clever. Don’t tell me she likes Park Jun-woo?’
Their constant pairing was starting to grate.
Cho-hee grew more and more anxious.
* * *
“He’s not here yet.”
A-jin, who’d arrived first, sipped her ordered green grape ade and quickly scanned the empty seats.
Unlike the noisy first floor full of chatting people, the second floor was quiet with studiers and workers.
Luckily, a window seat was free on the second floor, so A-jin snagged it fast.
She set down the ade first and pulled out her laptop from the pink pouch.
While waiting for Jun-woo, she checked the comments on her blog.
[Sweet Honey, I’d love to invite you to my place. I make your recipes one by one every day looking at your blog, but why can’t I get it right? I want to learn up close.]
“I’d be happy to teach if I could.”
A-jin mirrored the commenter’s regret with a wistful expression.
Staring at the screen, she reached for the ade beside her.
But she fumbled, her fingers knocking the cup over.
“Wha—wha—what.”
She grabbed it in time, but more than half the full ade had already spilled across the table.
Thankfully, she lifted her laptop before the liquid soaked in, averting disaster.
A-jin clutched the cup and laptop, one in each hand, flustered about how to wipe the table.
That’s when someone approached her with a wad of tissues.
