Chapter 178 – Her X Her X Her (27)
“Haaaah……”
Back home, Ye-hwa sighed, for what felt like the umpteenth time today.
She sank onto the bed, enjoying its softness as she lay askew.
In the end, they had just eaten and parted ways.
They hadn’t even had dessert, which was practically a given.
‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’
She had planned to treat them to a delicious meal at a great restaurant, talk about manga, introduce them to a café, and everything.
Then, if she ran into Jin-hyun at the café, she would have told him to thank her for bringing him a new regular customer.
But, of all things, the Dragon and My Author was Yoon Da-jung.
“Ugh.”
Is this really happening?
Ye-hwa sat up on the bed.
“Let’s just work……”
When things are like this, working is the best solution.
Still wearing her clothes, Ye-hwa grabbed her laptop from her handbag and left the house for the studio.
Thump, thump.
She walked down the street, entered a building, and climbed the stairs.
“Um, excuse me……”
“?”
As she was going up the stairs inside the studio building, someone’s voice stopped her.
Turning around, she saw a rather awkward-looking man scratching his head.
“Could I, um, maybe get your number……?”
Ah.
Ye-hwa chuckled inwardly and turned away, not wanting to hear any more.
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, is that, is that so…… Okay. Ahaha.”
The man laughed awkwardly to himself and then fled out of the building.
Ye-hwa clicked her tongue.
It wasn’t a joke; she got asked that at least two or three times a week. By strangers.
Click.
She opened the studio door and went inside.
New equipment caught her eye.
Come to think of it, Jin-hyun had helped her bring in that equipment on Saturday. Even though she told him it was okay, he just picked it up and moved it all by himself.
The veins on his arms were clearly visible as he carried the equipment.
“……”
Right. If they were going to ask for her number, they should at least do it confidently. That kind of attitude was worse than not asking at all.
Ye-hwa set up her laptop and started working.
“Ah, I can’t focus……”
But it wasn’t long before she leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Why is this happening?
She couldn’t focus at all today.
It felt like her concentration had run out just two hours after starting work.
The excuse that she wasn’t used to the new equipment yet didn’t hold up.
She had been able to focus much better than usual yesterday with the new equipment.
“Hoo. Should I go to a café?”
Ye-hwa wrapped up her work at the studio, grabbed her laptop and headphones, and went outside.
Clink, clink.
The moment she entered the café, she felt a little more at ease.
Ye-hwa looked around for an empty seat, found one on the second floor, and went up to start working. Of course, coming to the café didn’t immediately make her work better, but it was a bit better than the studio.
‘Let’s take a break.’
Ye-hwa had been drinking too many beverages lately, so she ordered just an Americano and took a sip.
Somehow, she had managed to focus, and it was now a bit dark outside.
Just as she was looking around, watching the other people in the café, she suddenly saw Jin-hyun, Yoon Da-jung, and Yoon Yu-jung coming out of the staff area.
Giggle.
Chatter, chatter.
The two were clinging to Jin-hyun, talking happily. They both looked like they were in great spirits.
‘Ah.’
Having seen Soo-jung and Jin-hyun doing something like that inside not too long ago, Ye-hwa felt a slight pang in her chest.
“……”
Just as she was thinking that, she made eye contact with Yoon Da-jung. She looked a little surprised, then gave an awkward smile and nodded in greeting.
She also made eye contact with Yoon Yu-jung, but since she knew her only as a frequent customer, they didn’t exchange greetings.
It seemed like Jin-hyun was seeing them off.
Her concentration was slipping even more.
Ye-hwa looked back at her laptop, and before long, it was night.
******
Click.
Clink, clink.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh-.
“……No.”
Ye-hwa froze as she looked up at the sky.
Pat, pat.
Rain was pouring down.
The chilly wind carried the distinctive smell of rain.
It had been so clear this morning, so why the sudden downpour?
The weather forecast hadn’t mentioned rain either. That’s why she hadn’t brought an umbrella.
‘Ugh.’
Should she buy a new umbrella at the convenience store?
If she ran for about 30 seconds across the crosswalk, she could reach the nearest convenience store.
She would get a little wet, but still… she should run.
As she was waiting for the light to change, a voice suddenly spoke next to her, and a large umbrella cast a shadow over her.
“You don’t have an umbrella? Would you like me to share mine?”
Ye-hwa turned to look.
She knew the voice.
It was Jin-hyun.
The smell of rain mixed naturally with Jin-hyun’s scent.
Ye-hwa spoke to him with a slightly sulky tone, which came out naturally.
“……Share it?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get an umbrella, Jin-hyun?”
“? Where else? I bought it.”
His expression, as if he was asking something obvious, made her face flush slightly.
“No, not that. There was no news of rain today……”
“Ah~ There are a lot of spare umbrellas at the café.”
“Ah…… Then, can I borrow your umbrella? I’ll use it and return it to you tomorrow.”
She was a VIP who visited the café every day.
She could ask for this much, right?
But Jin-hyun chuckled and shook his head.
“No.”
“What? Why not?”
Ye-hwa looked at Jin-hyun.
“I can return it without forgetting, don’t you trust me?”
Could she really have so little credibility?
But then, Jin-hyun said something unexpected.
“It’s not that. It’s just that I want to walk with you while talking. I’ll share my umbrella. Let’s go.”
Jin-hyun said that and started walking, as if he wouldn’t accept any objections.
“……”
Ye-hwa opened her mouth, then followed him silently.
Pat, pat.
“……”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
He said he wanted to walk while talking.
But other than asking why she was staring at him, Jin-hyun didn’t say anything else.
He just walked silently until they reached her house.
A few minutes later, a stylish six-story villa appeared. It was Ye-hwa’s building.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
“Hoo. Then, I’ll be going now.”
Jin-hyun said that and turned around. She could see his slightly wet shoulder.
That’s when it happened.
Her phone rang.
‘Hmm?’
Looking at the screen, it was Fantasy Yoon. No, now that they had exchanged numbers, it was a text from Yoon Da-jung, not Fantasy Yoon.
[Yoon Da-jung: I’m sorry about today, Unnie ㅜㅜ]
Her text was quite long, mostly apologizing for suddenly bringing her brother.
But most of it was about how he was a really good person, and not to hate him, trying to paint Jin-hyun in a good light.
“……”
[Ugh, ah, Oppa…… Hehe.]
[Oppa, give it to me quickly.]
[Do you want to eat this? Should I spoon it for you?]
Suddenly, the scenes of the two of them being lovey-dovey at lunch flashed through her mind again. Especially the moments when Jin-hyun was being so kind to Da-jung.
Ye-hwa called out to Jin-hyun.
“Wait a minute……”
“Yes?”
Jin-hyun, who had walked a few steps away and was heading back to the café, turned to look at Ye-hwa.
She hadn’t originally intended to do this.
It was almost an unconscious impulse that made her stop Jin-hyun.
“Y-your clothes are wet, Jin-hyun…… Would you like to come in and dry off before you go?”
