Chapter 117
I stepped back in shock as if I’d seen a ghost. Why was he here when he should have been lying in bed?
“How did you get here…?”
Joo Kwon-oh picked up the shopping bag from the floor instead of me, who was frozen in surprise.
After a moment of confusion, I quickly snatched the shopping bag from his hands, worried he might check its contents.
“Why are you so startled? It’s suspicious that you snuck out at dawn.”
“Weren’t you, weren’t you sleeping?”
“I woke up to the sound of you getting dressed.”
“Ah.”
“Now, tell me. Why did you come back here at the crack of dawn?”
Joo Kwon-oh urged with a suspicious look, as if he had caught a cheating lover.
Even with my heart pounding, I hid the shopping bag behind my back.
I hadn’t expected Joo Kwon-oh to follow me at all, so I didn’t have a decent excuse ready.
“I came to get something I left behind.”
“So what did you leave behind? That?”
Joo Kwon-oh nodded towards the shopping bag. I nodded slightly but couldn’t help feeling uneasy. If he insisted on seeing what was inside, all my secret preparations would be for nothing.
“You could have come to get it during the day. What was so urgent that you rushed out in the middle of the night?”
“……”
“Don’t tell me it’s from that guy who winked at you earlier?”
Joo Kwon-oh’s lip twitched as if recalling an unpleasant memory.
“Wink? Who… Oh. It’s not like that.”
Why did his mind go there? It has nothing to do with the people at the bar. He seems to be seriously misunderstanding something.
…Ah. I don’t want to cause another misunderstanding over nothing.
But is it right to reveal the birthday present I’ve been secretly preparing here? To be caught so ridiculously.
“For something that’s not like that, the bar’s logo is quite prominently displayed on the shopping bag.”
“Ah, this is…”
I belatedly checked the design of the shopping bag. As he said, it had the same design as the bar’s sign.
“They put the things I left behind in this shopping bag…”
“……”
“……”
Joo Kwon-oh stared at me intently. It was as if he was saying, ‘Will you show me what’s inside voluntarily, or should I check it myself?’
He seemed determined not to budge until I explained properly.
Finally, I gave up. From the moment I encountered Joo Kwon-oh in front of the bar, there was no other option but to tell the truth.
“I didn’t want to say because it’s a present for you.”
“A present? For me?”
“Yes. It’s your birthday soon.”
I mumbled in a small voice.
“So I prepared it in advance… I don’t know the people at this bar well. It’s my first time here, so don’t misunderstand.”
“……”
“I wanted to give it as a surprise. But now it’s been discovered.”
Joo Kwon-oh looked alternately at the shopping bag and me after hearing my gloomy explanation.
“Ah, my birthday…”
For some reason, Joo Kwon-oh couldn’t continue and closed his mouth.
“…Why? Did I get something wrong? Your birthday is soon, right? August 6th.”
For a moment, I panicked, thinking I might have gotten the date wrong. But Joo Kwon-oh immediately shook his head.
He rubbed his mouth and stood still for a few seconds as if at a loss for words. Then, covering his face with both hands, he muttered.
“That’s right. It’s not that you’re wrong, I just didn’t expect this kind of thing. Just…”
“I ordered it to the store because I thought you might see it if I ordered it to your apartment.”
Although I was a bit deflated, it didn’t matter when I gave it as long as I gave it to the person I intended to give it to.
“It’s a bit early, but since it’s been discovered, I’ll give it to you now.”
I smiled awkwardly and urged him to open the box. However, Joo Kwon-oh just stood still for a while, holding the box I had handed him.
“Aren’t you going to check it?”
When I prodded him, Joo Kwon-oh finally unwrapped the first package containing the Apple Watch strap.
“I noticed you often wear an Apple Watch.”
After checking the leather strap with his name engraved, he put it back in the box after a while.
Unlike usual, his expression seemed somewhat complicated.
“I feel like such a pathetic bastard.”
“What, what do you mean?”
“Ah, shit. Why am I acting like such a loser? I thought you were…”
Joo Kwon-oh sighed, ruffling his hair.
“Somehow, everything gets urgent when it’s related to you.”
Joo Kwon-oh muttered to himself in a dejected voice.
I thought he would be happy if I told the truth, even if it took away some of the surprise. I didn’t expect this kind of reaction.
“Do you… not like the strap?”
“Not like it? No, I like it. I’m acting like this because I like it too much. That’s the problem.”
“Then wear it all the time when school starts. You use your Apple Watch when you go to school and exercise, right?”
Joo Kwon-oh didn’t answer my question. Instead, he opened the next gift.
I thought he would obviously agree to wear it… Did he not like the design?
I felt a bit hurt that I didn’t get an answer about the strap, even as I heard Joo Kwon-oh thanking me while smelling the perfume. His expression seemed somewhat anxious, unlike usual, so I couldn’t bring myself to press the issue.
After finishing looking at the gifts, he put the boxes back in the shopping bag, and we walked towards the direction of the motel.
“By the way, yesterday, how did you come to the bar? You arrived at the bar really quickly after answering the phone.”
I asked him, suddenly curious.
“I was nearby because I wanted to see you.”
“Even though we agreed you wouldn’t come near the store for a while.”
“I was just going to watch you leave work and go. It’s fine as long as I’m not caught, right?”
“You were going to come and watch without telling me?”
“You stalked me too. I think we’re even now that we’ve done it to each other once.”
Joo Kwon-oh said shamelessly. It was absurd but strangely logical, so I nodded with a smirk.
“Yeah.”
Joo Kwon-oh smiled back, poking my cheek.
The shopping bag in his hand kept catching my attention as it swung with his movements. …I put a lot of thought into the birthday present. I felt dejected because Joo Kwon-oh’s reaction earlier was different from what I had expected.
It bothers me that he didn’t answer whether he would wear the strap until the end. Is it lacking compared to the other expensive items he has? Or was there a problem with the design…
I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling as I entered the motel with Joo Kwon-oh.
*
The next day.
Before going to work at the store, I agreed to meet Joo Kwon-oh nearby for lunch. Since we decided to continue dating, making plans felt as natural as before.
After leaving the motel early in the morning and returning to my family home, I was only able to escape after listening to my mom’s nagging about going out early for thirty minutes.
I returned to my room, made up for the sleep I couldn’t get at the motel, and after watching for an opportunity, I packed my bag and left home again when my mom went grocery shopping.
There were still two hours left until the time I was supposed to meet Joo Kwon-oh, but I wanted to spend more time with him since it had been a while since we met alone. I also wanted to surprise him, so I headed to his apartment without contacting him.
It seemed nice to sit close together, chat, and then leave for Yeonhui-dong together.
Making various plans, I arrived at Joo Kwon-oh’s apartment. Joo Kwon-oh seemed surprised for a moment when he saw me barging in without warning, but soon opened the door and told me to come in.
As soon as I entered the room, a cool breeze from the air conditioner brushed my face.
“What were you doing?”
“Just hanging out. Sit over there for now. Want some water?”
I sat down in the chair as Joo Kwon-oh suggested and looked around the room.
The room hadn’t changed from before. It gave an overall well-organized impression.
On one side of the desk, the birthday present I had given him this dawn was neatly arranged.
And next to it, I noticed a colorful template I hadn’t seen before. I read the letters written on it without much thought.
—Korea University Global Internship and Employment Support Program
Global internship and employment?
“Choi Kyung-won brought it.”
Joo Kwon-oh said, handing me a glass of water after noticing that I was looking at the template.
“Why did he bring that?”
“He said to consider overseas internships since I can’t do the expo anymore.”
“Ah.”
“That guy’s always meddling.”
Joo Kwon-oh spoke in an indifferent voice. It was the same tone as usual, but I felt a bit strange.
“Yeah… Looking into overseas options is a good idea too.”
Actually, I was a bit surprised by the word ‘overseas’. I had heard before that many business school students go abroad for training, employment, or studying, but I had never associated Joo Kwon-oh with that.
Looking closely at the template, I saw that the ‘International Netherlands Furniture Fair’ was also included in the internship connection list.
Even though I had just drunk water, my mouth felt dry for some reason.
I tried to act nonchalant and spoke lightly.
“…Did you apply?”
“Not yet.”
‘Not yet’ seemed to imply the possibility that he might apply.
It was natural for Joo Kwon-oh to look for other options since he couldn’t get the staff position he originally applied for.
“Why? If you’re not going to do it domestically, it would be helpful to do it abroad. If it’s connected through the school, preparing the documents would be easy too.”
I asked him, half sincere and half probing.
How long do people usually stay when they go abroad? A year? Six months? Probably at least six months.
Suddenly, my head becomes complicated.
