WYK 38

Suddenly Jeong-yoon felt dizzy. What on earth was going on? In the living room, Chae-heon’s ex-girlfriend was eating snacks, and Chae-heon was asking random questions on the phone. As someone who had just come out of the shower, it was all very incomprehensible.

‘If you wanted to ask, why didn’t you ask yesterday? Why call today with these questions?’

Jeong-yoon tried to dig into the meaning of this phone call on his own. There was nothing he could understand about it at the moment.

‘When has Chae-heon ever made sense? The more you know, the stranger he gets.’

In that context, it was easier to accept. If someone does something crazy once, it’s crazy, but if they do it ten times, it becomes ordinary. Jeong-yoon nodded to himself and threw his cell phone on the sofa.

Da-jung, who had just finished eating the last remaining chocolate snack, raised her head again.

“Is the call over? Jeong-yoon, you haven’t changed a bit?”

“Neither have you. The short hair suits you.”

“Really? Thanks. But you really remember me.”

Da-jung chuckled as she brushed off the crumbs. Jeong-yoon, now with a slightly lighter expression, sat down on the opposite sofa.

There was no way he couldn’t remember Yoo Da-jung. She was so famous, and he had cried for days after seeing her with Chae-heon.

Even though it had been a while since he had seen her, she was as vivid as if he had seen her just yesterday. The finely contoured eyes when she smiled, the rosy cheeks glowing brightly. All of it.

Da-jung looked around Jeong-yoon and asked.

“Were you at XX University?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I heard about you at the alumni gathering… Now that I think about it, why have you never shown up? We’ve met occasionally at year group events.”

“I just… didn’t feel like it.

Jeong-yoon mumbled. He had a very different personality from people like Da-jung and Chae-heon, who were always surrounded by people. He was the type of person who felt burdened by gatherings with many people. He attended department events out of obligation, but alumni gatherings were not mandatory, so he didn’t attend.

“Everyone would be happy if you came. It’s a shame.”

Da-jung smiled softly. Jeong-yoon roughly nodded in response. Suddenly, he became curious. Was Chae-heon attending the alumni gathering? If so, would he also meet Yoo Da-jung? Lost in thought as he brushed his wet hair, Da-jung leaned towards Jeong-yoon and spoke again.

“Give me your number.”

“…You mean my number?”

“Whose number would it be if not yours? I’ll contact you before the alumni gathering, so come once.”

Jeong-yoon swept his heart alone. He had worried for a moment that Da-jung might ask for Chae-heon’s number. After all, they had gone to the same school. But upon further thought, Da-jung could probably get Chae-heon’s contact information without asking him. They were all from the same alumni group anyway. Being infatuated with Chae-heon made him overly sensitive to trivial matters like this.

“My number… Here.”

After saving the number, Da-jung casually placed her phone beside her. Then, she whispered to Jeong-seon as if to herself.

“Unnie, unnie. Can I ask Jeong-yoon for a favor?”

“Like what?”

“A photo. That one for repellent.”

“Ah…”

Jeong-seon stared at Jeong-yoon, who was sipping juice and eating a snack. Then, she clicked her tongue disapprovingly and shook her head.

“No, you can’t.”

“Why not, sis?”

“He’s a loner. It’s too pitiful to start something like that.”

“Oh… Really? Then it’s not possible.”

“That’s right. It’s awkward.”

“But is Jeong-yoon really never dated? Interesting. Anyway, if that’s the only option left… Ah, I don’t want to ask that jerk for a favor…”

Jeong-yoon suddenly raised his head in the unknown conversation between the two. He wiped the corners of his mouth and looked at Jeong-seon and Da-jung. He didn’t know what the two of them were talking about, but suddenly the topic of dating came up and he suddenly became a strange, and pitiful person.

“What? What are you two talking about? Are you talking about me?”

The two women shook their heads at the same time.

“It’s nothing.”

“Why? What is it?”

“It’s nothing. Just eat your snack.”

When his sister told him to eat, he did. But feeling unjustly accused, he swallowed the snack forcefully and spoke again.

“It’s true that I’ve never had a girlfriend, but why is that pitiful? I’m fine with it. Why?”

Although he didn’t quite understand what was happening, he felt like he needed to justify himself somehow. But after speaking, he didn’t feel any better. Somehow, it felt like self-consolation.

His sister looked at him as if he were pathetic, and Da-jung apologized, saying, “I see. I’m sorry.” He should have just kept his mouth shut.

Da-jung chuckled when she saw Jeong-yoon’s sullen face. Then, Jeong-yoon started hearing the name he never wanted to hear from her.

“By the way, you said you were in the same department as Kang Chae-heon, right?”

“Yeah…”

His heart raced again. He had unknowingly squeezed the snack tightly, and it crumbled in his hand. He wiped away the crumbs with a tissue, trying to maintain a calm expression.

‘Finally, it’s happening.’

Was she going to ask him to give her Kang Chae-heon’s contact information? She was asking about her ex-boyfriend. The situation seemed too obvious.

But despite waiting with his head bowed, Da-jung didn’t say anything further.

Jeong-yoon lifted his head after cleaning up the crumbs. Da-jung, who had mentioned Kang Chae-heon’s name, was now chatting casually with his sister as if nothing had happened.

He had intended not to give his contact information if she asked. Petty as it was, that was his plan, but the expected situation didn’t unfold.

Jeong-yoon looked at Da-jung with a slightly puzzled expression. Da-jung was still having a pleasant conversation with his sister, swinging her feet. They had met in a Russian language study group and often chattered in Russian.

But when Jeong-yoon saw that, his heart felt heavy for some reason. It was inevitable, considering Da-jung was intricately linked with Kang Chae-heon.

“Noona, I’m going to the room. Da-jung, have a good time.”

He roughly cleaned up the table and entered the room. As he lay down on the bed, the faces of Yoo Da-jung and Kang Chae-heon came to mind again.

‘What day is today? Why do Yoo Da-jung and Kang Chae-heon always confuse people together? They’re not even soulmates.’

He sighed and got up from the bed to grab the hairdryer. His spirit was depressed, but at least his hair had to be fluffy and neat.

Suddenly, he really missed Kang Chae-heon. It was presumptuous of him to be greedy, but he felt like his depressed mood would improve if he could just see his smiling face. But all he saw was his own gloomy face in the mirror across him

***

The house was empty. It was mid-morning turning into afternoon. Jeong-yoon, who had been tangled up in his blanket, woke up groggily. It wasn’t time for the alarm he had set yet, but the vibrating of his phone disrupted his sleep. Zzz… The phone trembled faintly on the table beside the bed.

Jeong-yoon groped for it and checked the sender with blurry eyes. Then, his eyes widened, and he had no choice but to sit up abruptly. ‘Kang Chae-heon.’ His name was clearly displayed on the screen.

“Hello?”

He tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice cracked a bit.

– Were you sleeping?”

“Yeah… Afternoon classes.”

It was surprising to receive a call from Kang Chae-heon himself, and his caring voice asking if he was asleep was also surprising. Chae-heon’s voice came again from the other end of the phone.

– You leave home around 12 o’clock, right?

“Yeah. Around then.”

– See you then.

“Huh?”

Jeong-yoon blinked his sleepy eyes. Soon Chae-heon answered Jeong-yoon’s doubts with a playful tone.

– I’ll come pick you up.

“Huh?”

– See you later.

Before Jeong-yoon could respond, Chae-heon ended the call abruptly. He always did that. His tone was gentle and friendly, but his actions were sharp and decisive.

Jeong-yoon quietly stared at the blackened phone screen. Despite having lived a fairly competent life, lately, whenever he faced Chae-heon, he could only muster foolish responses like, “Huh?”

“Does having a crush make people like this?”

Jeong-yoon muttered and stood up. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was 10:50.