<CHAPTER 03>
It’s noon on a leisurely Sunday.
The top of the modern black desk was vibrating earlier.
The man, who was just staring at his shiny cell phone, seemed to have no intention of answering the phone, just tapping his fingers on his desk.
The reception sound that had been going on for a while suddenly stopped, but the steady tapping rhythm did not stop.
Ki-yeon, a man sitting in the study of his own home, was thinking about the woman he encountered at the club yesterday.
Nam Yu-in was smiling at me with her eyes filled with alcohol.
As I heard, it was purely by chance that I met a woman there who had a face that looked very similar to Nam Yu-jin.
Ri-ing-.
This time, it wasn’t a phone call, but a message notification vibrated.
Ki-yeon glanced at the lit screen. As before, the sender was ‘Jihan’, and
the message was set to be visible as if he had nothing to hide, so the simple content caught my eye.
[Yu-in, why aren’t you answering the phone? I’m so worried I’m going crazy-.]
The text message that was cut off in the middle seemed obvious even without looking any further.
The saved name seems too dry to be a boyfriend, and the other person’s reaction is too excessive to say no.
What is the identity of that thing that has been alternating between calls and messages from earlier?
While Ki-yeon was engrossed in curiosity, the long-lasting vibration sound was heard again.
Is it again? When his irritated eyes looked at his cell phone screen, there was a caller’s name that made him stop moving his fingers ceaselessly.
‘Mom’
Ki-yeon pressed the call button without hesitation and placed it against his ear.
“yes.”
-……
The person on the other side of the receiver was very quiet with no response even though he walked over first.
However, even the silence seemed to indicate that the caller was Nam Yu-in, so Ki-yeon bit her lip and held back the laughter that was about to escape.
And he asked first instead of the other person who was still quiet.
“Nam Yu-in?”
-……It’s there.
Yu In’s voice sounded resigned, as if he hoped Ki-yeon wouldn’t hear it, but he pretended not to notice.
“I know. “The owner abandoned it, so I picked it up.”
-Why would I throw it away?
“no? “Even when I called, he ignored me and left.”
-……ah.
As thin and delicate as she looks, her voice is full of embarrassment.
I thought I knew what kind of expression Yu-In would be making. He must be rolling his eyes and making the same troubled face next to me.
Her sister had never seen that face before. Ki-yeon thought that although their faces were similar, their personalities were completely different.
Nam Yu-in, younger sister of actor Nam Yu-jin.
Ki-yeon already knew about her before he actually saw her in person yesterday.
Nam Yu-jin wanted her private life to be completely hidden from the public, and Ki-yeon was the person who had a duty to protect it.
In order to do that, she had to know Nam Yu-jin in more detail than anyone else, and of course she knew the basic details of her family.
Even though she knew it, it was a face so similar that she couldn’t help but be confused, but she was able to realize it the moment she made eye contact from up close.
The atmosphere, facial expressions, voice, and even actions were all completely opposite to Nam Yu-jin.
After asking her name just in case, I found out that she was Nam Yu-in, Nam Yu-jin’s younger sister, just as I had guessed.
Of course, even if she was Nam Yu-jin’s younger sister, what she was doing in the hallway of the high-end bar that only her members went to had nothing to do with her talent.
But for some reason, she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her, smiling brightly and transparently as if not a single impurity of her own, in a place full of strange people like her.
Just a simple whim. Light kindness. That was exactly it.
-… … Leave it in a convenient place and I will come pick it up. What are you okay with?
Ki-yeon frowned as if his nerves had been scorched when she clearly said that she did not want to see him.
What makes Nam Yu-in so uncomfortable and anxious? He had only shown kindness.
At that moment, his distorted mind turned into a grumpy one and he wanted to punish Nam Yu-in even more.
“why.”
-……yes?
“Do you not want to meet me?”
-Oh…that’s not it, I guess you’re busy.
“Today is Sunday. “No matter how busy I am, I take the weekend off.”
-……Yes. Today, of course, is Sunday.
“Why?”
When I repeated the annoying word again, Yu-In mumbled softly, saying, “That’s not it.”
Ki-yeon had to hold back the laughter that was about to come out because it felt like a puppy was making that little sound.
Forgetting how upset he had just been and the fact that he didn’t really like animals.
“Shall I go? Nam Yu-in wants to come. “Choose.”
For a style like Nam Yu-in, who thinks a lot and hesitates a lot, you need to drive a wedge to make it faster.
According to his original nature, he would not have given her a choice, but he showed an uncommon kindness to yu-in.
Then Yu-In, who had been silent for a while, let out a small sigh and answered.
-I’ll go. Where should I go?
****
SJ Hotel Lounge Bar.
The lounge, which the owner of the lounge remodeled with special effort, was decorated with a luxurious interior that combines sophistication, elegance, and old-fashioned , making it popular with those with a little money.
Luxurious private rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the city are almost impossible to use without advance reservations, but this fact did not matter to ki-yeon.
For no reason, he called her here because he wanted to show that he was a capable person, but she seemed completely uninterested and uncomfortable.
“Would you like something to drink? coffee? “The cakes here are also delicious.”
“Just coffee. I’m fine with skipping the cake.”
Ki-yeon chuckled as she quickly said that she skip the cake.
As expected, Yu-in, who was about to receive the cell phone and go back as soon as she arrived, suggested that he repay his debt and have a cup of tea since he saved her yesterday and found her cell phone today. Yu In, who was worried, couldn’t help but sit in front of ki-yeon.
There was no other meaning. It was pure curiosity towards a person I would never have encountered except by coincidence.
And, Nam Yu-in’s reaction is so funny.
“ice?”
“no. “Warm.”
Yu-in responded softly and bit her lower lip with her teeth.
This habit-like behavior, which I had seen several times yesterday, caught the attention of Ki-yeon, who was placing an order.
Is that a habit you have when you’re in trouble? I think it would hurt if I bit down on it that hard.
Ki-yeon, who smiled slightly and squinted at a passing thought, asked politely.
“It must have taken quite a while to get here. “After all, it’s the weekend.”
The shoulders wearing the thin beige coat twitched slightly as if he understood the emphasis on ‘because’.
“It didn’t take that long.”
“What did you ride on?”
“A bus.”
“hmm.”
Nam Yu-jin’s younger sister,one of the top 10 people who make a lot of money and are successful in Korea, travels by bus.
There was already a rumor in the company that Nam Yu-jin was robbing department stores every quarter and buying enough to fill her van with designer clothes, shoes, and bags to take home.
She was Nam Yu-jin, who was such a spendthrift, but it was a bit ironic that she, who she said she cared for so much, didn’t even buy her sister that kind of car.
Could it be that she didn’t even get a license because it was dangerous?
Well, it must be a little unsettling to see those gentle and innocent-looking hands holding the steering wheel.
Ki-yeon rested his chin leisurely, thinking something Yu-in could never know.
Come to think of it, Yu In’s outfit today was very simple.
A burgundy knit that matches her pale white skin under her thin coat. Jeans that reveal the lines of her legs.
Long straight, well-combed hair, and a face without makeup.
Ki-yeon thought that this side of her suited her better than her flashy styling from yesterday.
Just as she was unable to take her eyes off her, there was a knock on her door.
The slide door opened and a staff member came in with a tray and placed the orders. When Yu-in saw that there were pieces of cake on the table, she said “Uh”.
After finishing setting up, the staff member nodded and left, and Ki-yeon, who had changed the order on her own, said with a grin.
“Try it because it’s really delicious.”
“ah… … yes.”
Yu-in responded as if she was disapproving, but as expected, she didn’t even eat the cake, let alone the coffee she said she would drink, and just fidgeted while touching the cup.
For a while, only the faint sound of classical music played over the table where the two were sitting, and then Ki-yeon spoke first.
“Why were you there yesterday?”
“Because it’s my friend’s birthday.”
Your friend’s birthday.
He had heard somewhere that the bar she went to was run in conjunction with her regular club.
It was the first time he knew that the two places were connected by a hallway, but it was easy to infer that the club that Nam Yu-in, a 23-year-old college student, went to with her friend was, of course, that club.
“Where did your friend go and you wandered around drunk alone?. Not even a lost puppy do that ”
Her frail-looking fingers paused as they lifted the large mug.
The eyes that looked directly at Ki-yeon for the first time after entering the room had large pupils and were slightly watery.
ah. I thought it was because he was drunk, but those eyes are always like that.
What does it look like to cry? I think your crying face is really pretty.
At that moment, Ki-yeon, who had a dangerous sentiment, pressed his lips with his index finger to cover the rising corners of his mouth.
Then, as if something was bothering her, an uncomfortable feeling was evident in her voice.
She said, “I came out to go home, but I thought it was the exit and was mistaken. “Because the door is open.”
“Are you the type of person who drinks to the point where you can’t find the way out?”
“no.”
“Do you go to that club often?”
“That’s not it either.”
“So you’re saying that because it was your friend’s birthday, you had no choice but to go and drink alcohol?”
“… … “Yeah, whatever.”
Yu-In’s face slowed down her answer by half a beat, and a look of criticism appeared on her face as she asked why he was curious about that.
At the same time, her answers were consistently good, so even though he knew that Yu-In didn’t like him, he kept wanting to talk to her.
Like the mischievousness of a boy who breaks the rubber band that the girls were playing with and runs away.
Ki-yeon sees her small lips moving as if she wants to say something. Then he spoke in a very clear voice.
“You seem to be very kind to strangers.”
“It’s me? “I’m not the kind of person who wastes time on things like that.”
“But why to me?”
“ah. Because you are special.”
Ki-yeon threw an even bigger bait at her words of self-praise.
Then Yu-in’s eyes wandered here and there in confusion before she returned to ki-yeon.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“is it so? “The coffee will get cold, drink it.”
“… … .”
Normally, if you’ve done something like this, you’ll be curious about the origins or at least have to ask what you just said.
Yu-in actually became quieter than before and just stared at her smiling face.
Her thoughts, which had been clearly visible up until now, were not read this time, so her spirit also closed her mouth and stared at her.
What is that little head thinking? What kind of reaction will I get this time?
Yu-in shattered her expectations and suddenly started drinking a full cup of coffee.
After she downed her cup and placed it loudly on the table, she held out her hand to ki-yeon and said,
“I’ve finished drinking, so please give me the phone.”
“Nam Yu-in.”
“Quickly. “You promised.”
The frozen expression is quite stern.
It was a pity that he had laughed out loud because Yu-In didn’t do anything as he expected, but to keep her promise, he took out Yu-in’s cell phone from his jacket pocket.
And as soon as he held it out to her, it was quickly snatched away.
“I am coming?”
“yes.”
“I’ll take you there.”
When Ki-yeon tried to get up from the chair, she said no. Immediately a voice of rejection was heard.
Yu-in was already in front of the room door. It seemed like she was resolute that she would never be caught this time.
Before he could stop him, Yu-in blocked him first.
“Do not.”
“What?”
“Everything you want to do.”
“… … .”
“I hope we never run into each other again.”
please. I couldn’t hear the words behind him, but I was able to understand just by looking at his mouth.
The door swung open and she went out so quickly that Yu-in’s figure disappeared before the door even closed.
What is she?
Gi-yeon burst out laughing at the absurdity of Yu-in running away at the word of special. After looking at the door that Yu-in left out for a while, he muttered.
“Well, it’s cute.”
That was it. What does ki-yeon think is the reason?
Thanks to you, yesterday and today were fun and not boring. He added.
And just like Yu-in said, Ki-yeon also decided that he would never see her again.
