Chapter 105
“Ki Seo-jung, you’re here early?”
“Yes, are you just getting off work, sunbae?”
“Yeah. I’m dying after pulling an all-nighter.”
The one who stopped Seo-jung was his colleague Seung-won, with whom he had dinner the night before. Seo-jung chuckled at Seung-won’s exaggerated complaint and added, “Hang in there a little longer.”
“You’re on vacation for two weeks starting the day after tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Seung-won mentioned Seo-jung’s unusually long vacation. As Seo-jung nodded lightly, he felt a playful pat on his shoulder.
“What are we going to do without our Ki Seo-jung?”
“It’s not like you’ll never see me again. Don’t tease the others just because I’m not around.”
“When have I ever teased anyone?”
Seung-won grumbled about being falsely accused, then his eyes suddenly lit up as if he’d noticed something.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this?”
Seung-won’s eyes had landed on the shopping bag in Seo-jung’s hand. He leaned forward to check its contents. After confirming the untouched sandwich and juice inside, Seung-won squinted his eyes.
“What’s this? You haven’t been bringing these for a while… Are you back together with the person you were seeing before?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Come on, you know how sharp my eyes are. It’s exactly the same as what you used to bring for breakfast before.”
“I’m telling you it’s not, sunbae.”
Seung-won, with his keen eye for detail and good memory, had hit the mark. Although Seo-jung had lost his memories, it was indeed packed by the same person, so he had no choice but to insist otherwise.
“Hmm, then can I eat it? I’m actually quite hungry after staying up all night.”
Seung-won reached for the shopping bag with a mischievous smile. Just before his hand could touch it, Seo-jung reflexively pulled his arm back. Seung-won’s hand froze in mid-air. It was a sufficiently embarrassing situation, but the smile on his face didn’t fade.
Seo-jung, who always willingly shared with others if they wanted something, had shown an uncharacteristic behavior. There was only one reason for this exceptional action.
“Still saying it’s not? You can’t fool a ghost, man.”
“Sunbae, it’s not like that…”
Flustered, Seo-jung trailed off. He certainly hadn’t intended to act this way. The problem was his hand, which had moved before he could even think. Seo-jung extended his hand as if he was about to give the shopping bag to Seung-won.
“It’s okay. I was just kidding. I should go home, eat, and sleep too. Take care.”
Seung-won waved his hand dismissively and left the break room, saying he’d be going. Left alone, Seo-jung stared at the closed door for a moment before shifting his gaze. He looked down at the still heavy shopping bag and let out a small sigh.
***
“Ki Seo-jung!”
Just as Seo-jung was getting out of his car after arriving at the X House after work, he heard someone calling him. Turning around, he saw Da-bin waving at him from the top of the hill.
Seo-jung smiled at her enthusiastic waving and waved back. As Da-bin quickly approached him, she smiled and spoke.
“Just getting off work?”
“Yeah, what about you, Da-bin?”
“Umm… I’m going on a date?”
After a slight pause, Da-bin honestly shared the truth. The face that came to mind at the mention of a date was Woo-jun’s. Woo-jun, who had consistently shown interest in Da-bin since the first day they entered the X House, and Da-bin, who didn’t entirely dislike his attention. As Seo-jung thought about the two of them, he looked around.
On the empty path, he realized that this was one of the few times they could be free from broadcasting, as neither of them was wearing a microphone. Seo-jung brought up the topic he had been wanting to discuss.
“Da-bin. About the promise we made, I really don’t mind if you follow your heart.”
After all, the reason he came here was for Da-bin’s sake. Though he hadn’t experienced it for long, Woo-jun seemed like a decent person too. So if Da-bin was okay with it, not becoming the final couple with her wasn’t a problem at all. As Seo-jung waited for Da-bin’s response after conveying his sincere thoughts…
Da-bin, who had been looking at Seo-jung for a moment, soon opened her mouth.
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
“Huh?”
“You came here because of my request, but I don’t want you to be bound by that promise anymore and feel like you can’t do anything.”
Unexpected words flowed from Da-bin’s mouth. As Seo-jung stood speechless, not quite understanding, Da-bin shrugged.
“You might be wondering why I’m saying this now after suggesting we become the final couple, right?”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t think that.”
Although he was indeed surprised, Seo-jung had no intention of blaming Da-bin. As Seo-jung hurriedly shook his head, Da-bin laughed briefly, as if she had expected such a reaction, then continued.
“At that time, I was so consumed by anger and frustration. I couldn’t see anything clearly. But as time passed, I suddenly wondered if hurting him was really more important than my own happiness.”
“…”
“Of course, it would look good if we became the final couple. But that’s where it ends. Thinking about it that way, I started to question whether it was right to waste our time on revenge against such a guy.”
Da-bin’s calm voice carried on the cool autumn air to Seo-jung.
“So from now on, I want to focus more on my own feelings and happiness. You know, they say the best revenge is living well, right?”
“…”
“So I hope you’ll prioritize yourself over me or anyone else. I’m going to do the same.”
“Do you understand what I mean?” At Da-bin’s sincere voice, Seo-jung naturally thought of Cha Yoon’s face. Da-bin’s words sounded like they were comforting him, saying it was okay to stop suppressing his emotions and avoiding things. Even though he knew it was impossible for her to speak with such meaning without knowing his situation, he couldn’t shake off that thought.
After the two had been looking at each other for a while, Da-bin was the first to move. Taking a step closer to Seo-jung, she raised her heels and whispered softly.
“And that bastard will probably be dying of jealousy and hurt pride just knowing you came here with someone other than him.”
He’s such an attention seeker. Da-bin’s giggling voice, as if telling a funny story, snapped Seo-jung back to reality.
“Alright, Ki Seo-jung. If you understood what I said, let’s pinky promise.”
Da-bin, who had instantly lightened the somewhat heavy atmosphere, held out her pinky finger. Seo-jung smiled and linked his finger with hers.
“Now that you’ve pinky promised, there’s no backing out. Make sure you keep this promise. I’ll be watching you, okay?”
“Okay, I got it.”
As Seo-jung was watching Da-bin, who was shaking their linked fingers and urging for a response, finding her cute…
The sound of rapid footsteps hitting the ground from somewhere made Seo-jung turn his head. Da-bin also turned her head, apparently having heard the sound too.
“What are you two doing right now!”
Cha Yoon was looking at them, breathing heavily. He quickly approached where Seo-jung and Da-bin were standing, holding a shopping bag in one hand.
Both of them stood dumbfounded at Cha Yoon’s sudden appearance, which seemed to displease him even more as he shouted again.
“Let go of each other’s hands!”
I said let go! At Cha Yoon’s voice echoing through the path, Seo-jung released Da-bin’s finger. It wasn’t a conscious decision. It was just a reflexive, ingrained movement.
As Seo-jung’s finger slipped away, Da-bin also seemed to come to her senses and shivered slightly.
“Wow, Cha Yoon’s timing is insane.”
Does he have some kind of radar or something? Da-bin exclaimed in an amazed voice as she adjusted the strap of her bag.
“I’d like to go in together, but Cha Yoon’s expression is too fierce. I’ll go in first.”
Da-bin shook her head. She seemed to be reminded of the incident with Soo-ho before. She patted Seo-jung’s shoulder and showed him a fist. It seemed like her own way of cheering him on.
Da-bin looked apologetic about leaving alone, but for Seo-jung, this was actually better. To calm down the highly agitated Cha Yoon, it was much easier without Da-bin present.
Seo-jung smiled at her as if to say go ahead. Just as Da-bin disappeared through the main gate, Cha Yoon arrived in front of Seo-jung. It was indeed perfect timing, as Da-bin had said.
Cha Yoon, while catching his breath, thoroughly scanned Seo-jung’s face and body.
“What? What were you two doing?”
“We weren’t doing anything. We were just talking.”
“No, you weren’t. You two were all cuddly and whispering… I saw everything.”
You even linked pinkies with Shin Da-bin sunbae like this… Cha Yoon demonstrated by linking his own pinkies and shaking them.
Seo-jung found it a bit absurd. As Cha Yoon said, all he had done with Da-bin was link pinkies. It wasn’t enough to be called cuddling or whispering. He couldn’t understand why Cha Yoon was grumbling like this.
“We were just talking and had something to promise, so we just linked pinkies. That’s all.”
But what he understood least of all was himself explaining this to Cha Yoon. The feeling of getting caught up whenever he saw Cha Yoon, even when things were going well. What on earth was he doing with this kid?
Seo-jung let out a small sigh. But he had already spoken. Once words are out, they can’t be taken back, so it was too late for regrets.
While he was thinking this, Cha Yoon, seemingly encouraged by Seo-jung’s explanation that wasn’t really an explanation, whined even more.
“How could you make promises with someone other than me? And not just a promise, but even linking pinkies… You won’t even properly answer when I try to make promises with you, let alone link pinkies…”
“…”
“I’m jealous. I’m really so jealous. I wouldn’t link pinkies with anyone but you… I want to do everything only with you…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
