#072
“How long have you been here?”
I asked while walking toward Woo Dohwan. It didn’t seem like he’d slept long, but judging by the state of his voice, he seemed to have slept quite a while before waking up. His voice was locked tight and came out low and husky.
A round stool was placed in front of him as he sat sprawled in the armchair. When I naturally sat in that spot, Woo Dohwan reached out and moved his body to gently stroke my disheveled hair.
“I asked if you slept well.”
“I slept well. Thanks to you. But what were you doing while I was sleeping? You could have woken me up…”
I leaned my face diagonally against the palm softly cupping my cheek and blinked my eyes that were still drowsy.
“Just watching you sleep made me lose track of time. It was interesting. I didn’t know you could make so many different expressions while sleeping. You were smiling, as if having good dreams.”
Woo Dohwan wore a gentle smile on his lips as if lost in thought for a moment. The hand that had been tickling my earlobe traced my dry, rough lips.
“It felt different from when you sleep drunk. Both are defenseless, but today seemed prettier somehow.”
After rubbing persistently, he lightly touched my lips and moved away.
“Isn’t it because there’s no smell of alcohol?”
“Maybe. But what dream were you having?”
“I don’t remember.”
When I answered with a shrug, Woo Dohwan closed the book he had spread on his thighs and straightened up. A gallery book? My gaze went to the book on his thighs. At my gaze mixed with mild curiosity, he lifted the considerably thick book and turned it toward me so I could see it. He said he was studying art, and it seemed he was still continuing.
When I moved my gaze from the book to examine his clean face, Woo Dohwan smiled as if he was dying of annoyance. How many paintings did he draw? Along with his reproachful, drawling words, his loose posture straightened up.
“I’ve been thinking, honey.”
“Suddenly what thoughts? Weren’t you studying art?”
“You only need to look at art with your eyes. More than that, I talked to a lawyer this morning, and he said while writing up charges wouldn’t be difficult, it’s insufficient to get him punished.”
Ah, only then did I realize what Woo Dohwan was talking about.
“That bastard apparently said he was drunk and doesn’t remember. Mental weakness, fuck. If he did it while drunk, they should give him aggravated punishment so he won’t spout such bullshit. Anyway, continuing the story, since there are no clear criminal facts like assault or property damage, it seems he’s already been released with a warning. Even if there are witnesses… witness testimony for this level of incident doesn’t really help either.”
His voice explaining gently was deeply infused with regret and irritation, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. Actually, I didn’t think Chu Gangmin could be dealt with to that extent. Literally, there was no way Chu Gangmin would be punished for just grabbing my wrist and dragging me around. In other words, to get rid of him, evidence was needed. More concrete evidence.
“I’m sorry to Woo Dohwan-ssi, but I actually didn’t expect much.”
“Let’s not do that. Have some expectations. There must be a way to screw that bastard over within the bounds of law. Of course, if you don’t want to do it legally, there’s also a way for me to handle screwing him over myself, honey.”
Woo Dohwan reached out and gently stroked my wrist where bruises remained like bluish bands.
“Which would you prefer?”
At the quiet question, I rolled my eyes slowly then slowly opened my mouth.
“If… I were to get injured, would the law definitely be on my side?”
“It would depend on the degree of injury. And if you’re thinking of getting injured to gather evidence, I think it would be better for me to handle it myself. You said not to hit even with flowers. How can you think of getting injured after saying that, honey?”
Woo Dohwan slipped his hand between my spread fingers and tightened his grip on my hand while drawing my lowered gaze up.
“How would Woo Dohwan-ssi handle it yourself?”
“Well… should I create charges that don’t exist? It’s not impossible if I spend some money. Or.”
Should I just eliminate him? Woo Dohwan lowered his voice and asked ominously. Seeing his slightly mischievous expression, it didn’t seem like he was serious, so I laughed with a deflating sound.
“I’ll just try to gather more evidence. Without getting injured. I don’t want to get hurt to the point of making Woo Dohwan-ssi’s heart ache either. It would probably hurt if that person actually hit me.”
“How admirable. You’re even thinking of me. But Ranho.”
The movement stroking the back of my hand stopped.
“Me handling it myself. Think about it seriously. I’m starting to get annoyed that you keep worrying about that bastard.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I smiled at Woo Dohwan, who was looking at me with a worried face, as if to say it was okay. It would have been great if I could avoid any contact with Chu Gangmin at all, but that seems wrong now… As Woo Dohwan said, entrusting everything to him might be a good method too. But what if Woo Dohwan gets hurt in the process? What then? What if it doesn’t end with just getting hurt? As if restraining thoughts that were getting too deep, a gentle hand reached out and carefully stroked around my eyes.
“Let’s install CCTV in the flower shop first. Good quality ones with no blind spots that even record audio.”
“Actually, before opening the flower shop, I wondered if that would be necessary so I didn’t install any, but I’ll contact a security company. I was thinking it might be needed anyway.”
When I nodded in agreement, the hand that had been stroking all over my face gently stroked my hair, then slipped his fingers between mine.
“Good girl. Where did such a kind and pretty thing appear from?”
Woo Dohwan was good at saying ticklish things just like how he looked. Feeling the area around my cheekbones getting hot, I turned my head for no reason and cleared my voice with “ahem ahem.”
“…I have something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“That… how should you break up with someone who undermines your self-esteem?”
At my sudden question, Woo Dohwan’s eyes widened. His body that had been leaning toward me jerked up greatly.
“Who are you talking about? I think that’s important, honey. My heart just dropped. Did I make some mistake with you? What did I say? Whatever it was, if I made some mistake, that wasn’t sincere. Is it because I told you to leave it to me? Sorry, I-“
“Ah, no. It’s not that. Woo Dohwan-ssi, calm down. This isn’t about me. I’m sorry. Don’t misunderstand.”
Only after hearing my hurried answer did Woo Dohwan let out a long breath in relief. He doesn’t look it, but he’s incredibly kind.
“I think I just understood why people look for God when they’re dizzy, honey.”
“I’m sorry.”
At the pointless laughter that burst out, I rubbed the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and met his eyes. Woo Dohwan, whose eyes curved prettily, tapped my hand and only opened his mouth after a long while.
“But… wouldn’t that kind of thing need counseling through a professional?”
“Even if I wanted to… the problem is that the person involved doesn’t realize that it’s wrong.”
“I think Kim Yujin’s friend was like that before… But why are you suddenly asking?”
Eyes full of curiosity turned toward me. I pondered for a moment, then decided to reveal just a little bit about Gyoyeon.
“A close friend is seeing someone, and that person keeps saying… strange things.”
“How so?”
“You… don’t know well. They keep saying you’re wrong, and I’m the only one who can tell you these things. But… at first my friend seemed to know that was strange, but now they say that person is always right.”
At the story I told with a sigh-mixed voice, Woo Dohwan’s expression also became serious.
“It does seem a bit dangerous. I probably can’t help, should I call Kim Yujin? She might be able to help. Kim Yujin has a really close friend, and the bastard she’s seeing as her boyfriend hits her all the time then begs for forgiveness, repeating that, and destroys her self-esteem by saying who would date someone like you.”
“Kim Yujin-ssi’s friend?”
“Yeah, I don’t know the details either. I’ve heard hyung and Kim Yujin talking about it a few times.”
At the mention that there was a friend in a situation similar to Gyoyeon’s, I unconsciously nodded. At my repeated nodding, Woo Dohwan reached out and picked up his phone, stopping the hand that had been rhythmically tapping the back of my hand. Don’t tell me he’s going to call her now…?
“Are you calling now?”
“Why?”
“Not now. It’s too late and it was raining heavily outside. And…”
“Because it’s our date?”
Woo Dohwan’s eyes sparkled for a moment. At his gaze tinged with strange anticipation, I quickly blurted out what I was going to add.
“No. That’s not it, Kim Yujin-ssi is pregnant. It’s dangerous for her to come now on rainy roads when the night is deep. Next time. If she has time during the day, then.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Only after hearing my words did Woo Dohwan nod several times as if remembering Kim Yujin-ssi’s pregnancy.
“Thank you for helping.”
“Save the thanks for after you actually get help from Kim Yujin.”
“I’ll definitely do that. Even if I can’t get help, I’ll greet her.”
Good girl. Woo Dohwan reached out and gently stroked my hair casually yet affectionately.
“Then it’s a bit late, but let’s have dinner. You must be hungry. You slept without eating.”
As Woo Dohwan got up from his seat, I was also pulled up. From the moment I sat facing him, our interlocked hands didn’t let go and remained held as we left the room.
“Do you like braised galbi?”
“I love it.”
“Wine? Do you like wine too?”
“I don’t really enjoy it…”
“Then sleep? It’s raining, want to sleep over?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
