Chapter 100
A woman who looked about our age glanced at Joo Kwon-oh as he played with the dog, rubbing its curly brown fur vigorously.
“He usually doesn’t act like this, but today I put shoes on him because I was worried the ground might be hot… Whew. Suddenly he started running wildly.”
“So that’s why he’s wearing shoes.”
“He’s cute.”
I mumbled, looking at the poodle’s glistening black nose twitching. Joo Kwon-oh, who was bent over, looked up at me.
“Jeong-ha, do you like dogs?”
“Yeah, I’ve never had one, but I like seeing them.”
The poodle wagged its tail and scratched at Joo Kwon-oh’s clothes with its shoe-clad front paws, as if asking to be petted more.
“We need to go now, Choco. Come here.”
As the owner approached carefully, looking troubled, Joo Kwon-oh stood up.
“You must have been startled because of Choco. I’m really sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. He’s very affectionate.”
“Excuse me.”
As Joo Kwon-oh turned around smiling, the owner hurriedly spoke up.
“Choco has an Instagram… if you’re okay with it, maybe we could follow each other…?”
“I don’t use Instagram, sorry.”
“Ah, I see…”
At Joo Kwon-oh’s firm reply, the owner nodded hastily, looking embarrassed, and turned away.
“Bye, Choco.”
Joo Kwon-oh waved at the dog. Knowing he was being considerate so she wouldn’t feel too awkward, I just watched quietly.
A moment later, we resumed walking along the path.
“Where were we in our conversation?”
“You were saying you had dinner with your classmate who came back last week from studying abroad…”
“Right.”
“You stayed out late. Seems like you had fun.”
“Yeah, it was fun.”
Joo Kwon-oh added, slowing his pace to match mine:
“But I still prefer hanging out with you.”
“…”
“But since you said you wanted to rest, I just hung out with them.”
My ears feel so ticklish. This brief tickling sensation completely overshadowed the anxiety that had been gnawing at me for the past few days.
“I-I wanted to hang out with you too, Kwon-oh…”
“I know. You weren’t feeling well all this time. It might be air conditioning sickness. From sitting in air conditioning and eating cold things.”
“Cold things? Ah…”
It was already last week, but you still remember that I ate cold noodles.
Actually, my poor condition was more of an excuse, so I felt sorry for making Joo Kwon-oh worry continuously.
At the same time, I felt foolish for worrying alone and suffering needlessly after hearing just a few words.
That’s enough now. I should stop worrying unnecessarily. Considering how quiet things have been, it doesn’t seem like senior Lee Sung-rok spread any rumors about us. Joo Kwon-oh hasn’t said anything unusual either.
I guess I worried too much after all.
“If you’re still not feeling well, let’s go to the hospital. Should we go together now that we’re out?”
“I’m all better now, it’s fine. I’ve been going to my part-time job well too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Remember, you’re the one who said you’re fine.”
Joo Kwon-oh emphasized, as if double-checking. Feeling uneasy, I glanced at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that…”
“If you’re not sick, stay over at my place tonight.”
Since that wasn’t a difficult thing to do, I nodded.
“It’s been a week since we last did it.”
He leaned towards me and whispered in my ear.
“I even did it alone yesterday.”
“Ah.”
I was at a loss for words at the unexpected statement. I immediately looked around to see if anyone was passing by nearby.
“How can you say such things outside?”
“What’s the big deal? It’s just us here.”
“Still…”
“I heard peaches are in season these days.”
Joo Kwon-oh grinned mischievously. Then he quickly made a pained expression and gently hit my shoulder with his stiff shoulder, groaning.
“My arm is all better now, but I can’t even peel a peach. Do you know how many times I’ve looked at your photos every night?”
“If-if you were holding back that much, you should have said something…”
“Forget it. How could I ask something of someone who’s sick?”
“I told you I wasn’t that sick.”
“Since I’ve been patient all this time, do that for me today.”
“…Do what?”
“The thing where you get on top and move your hips. You’re good at it, Jeong-ha, making people lose their minds.”
“Oh, really!”
I blushed and smacked Joo Kwon-oh’s arm. His low chuckle was as refreshing as carbonated drink bubbles popping.
Fearing this would lead to endless dirty talk, I quickly racked my brain for a different topic.
“Ah, right. I have to go to my part-time job tomorrow.”
“What? Why?”
“The boss said we got a lot of online orders, so we need to pack them by the shipping date…”
“Ah, wait. Who’s calling now?”
As I was explaining how I ended up having to work on my day off, Joo Kwon-oh frowned and took out his phone. I stopped talking and nodded for him to answer it.
“Yeah, what?”
Joo Kwon-oh answered the phone in a tone that clearly showed his annoyance. However, in less than three seconds, he stopped walking.
“What nonsense are you talking about? If you want to go, just take someone else with you.”
Is it a friend’s call? Where are they asking him to go?
Feeling awkward just standing quietly beside him, I took out my phone to check if there were any new notifications. However, most of my attention was focused on Joo Kwon-oh’s conversation.
“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not interested in introductions, so stop bothering me and hang up, damn it.”
Joo Kwon-oh cursed and got angry.
“I don’t care if it’s a senior or whatever. I said I’m not going.”
With those words, he unilaterally ended the call. Judging by the buzzing sound from the phone until just before he pressed the end call button, it seems the other person was still talking.
From the moment I heard the words “introduction” and “senior,” I had been thinking of senior Lee Sung-rok.
“Then it wouldn’t matter to you if Kwon-oh dated another girl?”
The voice that had spoken sarcastically to provoke me was still vivid in my memory.
The mood that had just stabilized plummeted again.
Although the call might have been from Joo Kwon-oh’s classmate, given that a senior and blind date were mentioned, I couldn’t help but interpret it as Lee Sung-rok’s involvement. That’s how I saw it.
“Let’s go, Jeong-ha.”
When I stopped in the middle of the park path, Joo Kwon-oh called my name. I looked up at him and moved my lips. My stomach, which had been calm, now felt nauseous.
I was confused.
“Aah, it’s fucking hot today. Let’s walk a bit more and then go inside a building.”
Joo Kwon-oh grumbled, flapping his clothes. Watching him, I was conflicted.
…Should I just pretend I don’t know? That might be better.
But I want to confirm.
In the end, curiosity gripping my anxiety won out.
“Who’s trying to set you up with a girl?”
“Huh.”
“…”
As I thought. Even though it was the answer I expected, I couldn’t prevent my breathing from becoming unsteady.
“Of course I refused. You heard me, right?”
To think they’re still trying to set up a blind date for Joo Kwon-oh, days after that conversation took place. Was senior Lee Sung-rok’s interest in our relationship that great?
Why is he trying so hard to test our relationship? Is he upset that I lied about us not dating? Or does he simply dislike same-sex relationships? …Or if not that, does that senior just dislike me?
“Why do you look like that? Is the peach upset?”
“No.”
I slowly shook my head. Joo Kwon-oh narrowed his eyes and looked down at me.
“Right. You don’t look angry at all. Too calm. It’s disappointing.”
I couldn’t react to his playful words.
Thinking I was feeling down because of the blind date, Joo Kwon-oh started explaining in detail to cheer me up.
“I’ve told them before that I’m seeing someone. I said I’m dating someone, but they think I’m lying because I won’t show a picture, so they keep contacting me with this nonsense.”
“…”
“They’re strangely persistent. You’d think they’d understand if I said I have a partner.”
Ah. So they’ve been contacting him continuously about blind dates for a while.
The fact that he can’t completely ignore it suggests it might not be just talk among classmates, but someone else might be involved. For example, Lee Sung-rok…
The seeds of fear that had been tormenting me for days began to grow vigorously again.
Senior Lee Sung-rok’s gaze and his meaningful words clung to my mind like leeches, squirming.
Even if I can’t help how he thinks of me, I worried that Joo Kwon-oh, who is in the same department and his direct junior, might be negatively affected because of me.
The fact that Lee Sung-rok is influential in the department and that Joo Kwon-oh follows him well was the reason I couldn’t shake off my fear.
If Joo Kwon-oh keeps refusing blind dates while already under suspicion… They would definitely find it suspicious. I was scared of senior Lee Sung-rok becoming more certain of his suspicions.
As my anxiety increased, so did my guilt towards Joo Kwon-oh. Just thinking about how this incident might affect his academic life made me feel suffocated.
After hesitating, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“It’s okay if you go on a blind date.”
“Huh?”
“If it’s just sitting there at a group meeting…”
That much should be fine, so it’s okay if you go.
I thought it might look less suspicious to others, but I trailed off without finishing the sentence.
Just imagining Joo Kwon-oh sitting at a table and talking with a woman made my chest sting.
“Are you serious? How can you say that?”
Joo Kwon-oh asked back with a serious expression. Hearing the confusion in his voice, I hastily explained.
“Ah, no. I just meant hypothetically… Since they keep asking you to go on blind dates.”
“I won’t go to such places without you.”
Joo Kwon-oh said firmly.
“Even if you’re upset, don’t talk like that, Jeong-ha. Just get angry instead.”
“It’s not that I’m upset… I…”
The atmosphere suddenly became too heavy. Flustered, I stumbled over my words.
“If-if you keep completely avoiding those situations… People might think it’s strange.”
I don’t even know what I’m saying after saying it. Pushing my boyfriend to go on a blind date.
My judgment began to blur completely due to rising anxiety. Realizing my words lacked logic, my voice grew progressively quieter.
“The senior said so too.”
“What about the senior?”
“When you were on the phone earlier, you mentioned senior Lee Sung-rok…”
“When did I mention senior Lee Sung-rok?”
Joo Kwon-oh immediately cut in.
“Ah.”
At his sharp correction, I finally realized I had misspoken.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
