80.
After the lecture, I went to the campus cafe for a group project meeting and met up with the team members who had already arrived.
As December entered, assignments and exam preparation began to overlap. Because I was busy every day, I was able to put what happened with Yoo Chae to the back of my mind.
Because of this situation, it was not easy to access Zenoris even on weekends. Actually, even if I had free time, I wouldn’t have thought to turn on the game anyway…
“Then, if you organize the materials and hand them over by the end of the week, I will make a PPT.”
“Good. Everyone can put their email addresses in the group chat room.”
The meeting that lasted over an hour finally came to an end.
Since I was in charge of the presentation, I had nothing to say. While I was drinking Americano while watching my team members coordinate their schedules, my cell phone, which I had placed on the table, vibrated.
[Chae Yoo-jeong: Hyung]
[Chae Yoo-jeong: Are you angry?]
[Chae Yoo-jeong: If I did something wrong, can you please let me know?]
“……”
After reading the message through the preview window that appeared on the screen, I turned my phone over without replying.
Ten days have passed since I went to Chae Yoo-jeong’s house and lost contact with him. Meanwhile, Chae Yoo-jeong has been sending me messages non-stop, but I have never responded to him.
It wasn’t that I disliked or felt uncomfortable with Chae Yoo-jeong. Still, we had been meeting almost every week for over a month, having meals and going to my house to play, so there was no way I was feeling uncomfortable anymore but at the same time, I wasn’t that interested.
‘It’s funny when I think about it.’
From October, when I first met Chae Yoo-jeong at Seo Tae-young’s wedding hall, until now, December, I have been working hard to find a possible connection between Chae Yoo-jeong and Yoo Chae, as if I was possessed by something.
I was sensitive because I had once been the victim of someone deliberately deceiving me, and there was also the reason why I was upset, and my pride was hurt by the sight of the two of them exceeding my expectations every time. Whatever it is, the reality is that I misunderstood.
It was all complicated in my head and heart. Meanwhile, with exams and assignments coming up, I couldn’t afford to deal with Chae Yoo-jeong.
‘I can’t keep avoiding him.’
Since it’s hard to do so today, I’ll try to reply tomorrow, even if it’s late.
One of the most important tasks will be completed today, so tomorrow I will be able to face Chae Yoo-jeong with clearer feelings.
“Let’s go, Yoo Ji-han.”
Meanwhile, the meeting ended. Kim Dae-seok, who cleared the cafe table and carried his bag, stood up.
After standing up and saying hello to our team members, we walked towards the front door.
“Are you going to be busy too?”
“I have to do it. Until tomorrow.”
“You’ve already completed everything, and the only thing left to do is finish it. Why don’t you go home and get some rest today?”
“It’s easier to finish it at school and go home. Let’s go get dinner.”
My skin was very rough because I worked late at school every single day. Normally I was always busy around this time, but this time I felt especially exhausted, perhaps because I had a lot to worry about.
I felt once again that I lacked stamina. After exams are over and vacation begins, I will have to exercise harder again. I also have to start a part-time job. I have to go see my parents before the sun goes down.
I stopped walking and lowered my head as the pain radiated from my eyes and forehead. I must have drunk my Americano too quickly at the cafe; it was too cold inside and outside.
“What, what’s wrong?”
“No... nothing.”
As Kim Dae-seok said, I guess I’ve been overdoing it these past few days. I’ll just hold on for today and get some rest tomorrow without any assignments.
That was when I raised my head again after pressing my sore eyes with my hands. Behind Kim Dae-seok, who was standing with a puzzled expression, I saw an unexpected person approaching me.
“Yoo Ji-han.”
My expression became cruelly distorted when I saw the other person’s shameless face. I let out a sigh, feeling my heart go cold.
“I’m sorry for coming here suddenly. No matter how many times I tried to contact you, there was no reply.”
“...Kim Eui-chan.”
The face with a shy smile was familiar yet unfamiliar.
Kim Eui-chan, who must have changed his hairstyle and brushed off his curly hair, took a step closer to me.
“How have you been doing? It’s been a while, Dae-seok.”
“Hu…….”
Kim Dae-seok, who was glaring at Kim Eui-chan with a puzzled expression, let out a laugh at the greeting.
As Kim Eui-chan and I were once really close, Kim Dae-seok also knew a fair amount of what happened between Kim Eui-chan and me. So it was not unreasonable to react that way.
“Uh, how are you? Why did you come here?”
“I told you. I came because there was no answer.”
“Then you should just ignore it and get out of the way. Why are you coming here?”
As I answered sarcastically while standing crookedly, Kim Eui-chan’s eyes hardened. But he soon awkwardly pulled up the corner of his mouth and spoke as if nothing had happened.
“I think you’re still very angry with me, Yoo Ji-han.”
“It’s a bit crazy that you’d come to me so suddenly like this.”
“Let’s not do this here, let’s go somewhere warm and talk.”
Kim Eui-chan grabbed my arm. When I saw that, an instinctive feeling of discomfort came over me, and the corners of my eyes pinched.
Did this kid really turn around? I was about to rip out my grabbed arm and curse, but a hand much larger than Kim Eui-chan’s suddenly came between us.
“Let go.”
A soft scent wafted in the air and a familiar voice was heard. A large pale hand grabbed the wrist of Kim Eui-chan, who was holding my arm.
“You’ve startled Hyung.”
“Ugh…!”
Chae Yoo-jeong warned in a low voice, and the bones on the back of his pale hand surfaced, veins appearing at the same time. Then Kim Eui-chan let out a painful groan and hastily withdrew his hand from my arm.
I opened my mouth in bewilderment.
“Chae Yoo-jeong?”
Why is he here again? Yoo-jeong let go of Kim Eui-chan’s wrist and greeted me sullenly, whilst I looked at him in shock.
“Hello, Hyung.”
“Why are you here…”
“I thought you were angry, so I wanted to apologize.”
Oops, only then did the appearance of Kim Eui-chan remind me of the issue of contact with Chae Yoo-jeong, which I had forgotten about. I was planning on replying tomorrow, but he couldn’t take the wait and came to school?
No, if you look at it, it’s true that I was wrong for ignoring the contact without any explanation, but the timing was also bad.
“What’s with you? Who are you?”
Kim Eui-chan shouted at Chae Yoo-jeong while holding his red-marked wrist.
Chae Yoo-jeong, who had been observing me with drooping eyebrows, hardened his expression and gently covered me with his body.
“Ji-han is my closest Hyung.”
“You mean Hyung? Wait a minute, are you… Player Gamgack?”
“Yes.”
“What? Oh, really…”
Chae Yoo-jeong lifted his chin and looked down at Kim Eui-chan expressionlessly. Kim Eui-chan, who was shorter than me, was almost 10 cm shorter than Chae Yu-jeong.
‘I’m going crazy, really.’
I don’t know how this shitty situation came to be. When I noticed the other students passing us by, I cursed endlessly in my mind and pushed Chae Yoo-jeong, who was blocking my way.
“I understand, so stop. Let’s go to a nearby cafe. I’m going to die of embarrassment.”
If the guys are gathered in front of the front door and fighting, even I would be curious and glance at them.
First of all, the priority was to look back at Kim Eui-chan. Chae Yoo-jeong and I can talk to each other step by step after that. While I solve Kim Eui-chan’s problem, I’ll leave Chae Yoo-jeong in the care of Kim Dae-seok for a while.
A series of unexpected events occurred, and my headache, which I had forgotten for a while, came back to haunt me. Oh, I’m so tired.
***
Four people entered the cafe right in front of the school and sat down separately.
While Yoo Ji-han and Kim Eui-chan sat in a corner and talked, Chae Yoo-jeong and Kim Dae-seok decided to sit near the entrance and wait.
While Kim Dae-seok, who ordered a chocolate drink topped with whipped cream, scooped up the cream with a straw, Chae Yoo-jeong fidgeted and felt anxious, unable to take his eyes off Yoo Ji-han.
Kim Dae-seok asked since Chae Yoo-jeong didn’t even touch his drink while he was looking at the back of Yoo Ji-han’s head, which was obscured by the cafe decorations, “Why do you care so much?”
“I’m worried about whether it would be okay to let them have a conversation alone.”
“Hmm.”
Kim Dae-seok, who had finished eating the cream, put the straw aside and took a gulp of his drink. He then finished more than half of his drink in two or three mouthfuls, then opened his mouth with an indifferent expression.
“He’s a good guy who kept it up. We’ve been playing together since high school, and even though he’s a bit grumpy, he’s loyal and pretty nice. He’s not a loser, he’s very kind.”
What he said lightly came back with a sincere answer. Kim Dae-seok, slightly embarrassed, cleared his throat and continued what he was saying.
“Yeah, well… Anyway, he’s very gentle with someone he has set his heart on. But that’s only limited to people he’s close to.”
“……”
“There’s no mercy for a guy who broke up with him once and cut him off. So don’t worry and let’s wait. It will be over in less than 20 minutes anyway.”
Chae Yoo-jeong’s fingertips, which were on the table, were shaking slightly. Chae Yoo-jeong lowered his head and slowly shut and opened his eyes a couple of times.
After a while, Chae Yoo-jeong raised his head again and stared at Yoo Ji-han’s back, and his eyes were full of unknown emotions.
HM: Whoaaaa….. How did CYJ know he was there……? Stalking….0-0
MM: CYJ’s starting to fear for his life lmao Ji-han will not forgive people who have deceived him so I wish CYJ luck
---
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor: Meimei
Support on Kofi:
HM: Whoaaaa….. How did CYJ know he was there……? Stalking….0-0
MM: CYJ’s starting to fear for his life lmao Ji-han will not forgive people who have deceived him so I wish CYJ luck
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