Chapter 5
Walking to the Store
Senior Do-hyun led the way, and Yoon-ah followed behind.
“You run a café, right? You must know which ice creams are good.”
“I only buy bulk for the café… so I don’t really know convenience store ones,” she answered politely, though she was surprised—she’d never told him about the café.
The campus streets in March were crowded, but Do-hyun brought her into a small, quiet convenience store. Inside, he leaned close with a smile.
“What do you want to eat, noona? My treat.”
“…Maybe I should have checked how many people we need to buy for.”
He laughed loudly.
“Why would I buy for everyone? Just for us. You’re so innocent. I like that.”
She felt uneasy. She didn’t choose anything, so he grabbed two ice cream bars and paid. Outside, when she tried to hurry back, he stopped her.
“Let’s eat here.”
“…Why?”
“If they see us with ice cream, they’ll all beg for some.”
Uncomfortable, she looked away and unwrapped her walnut ice cream. He watched her closely.
“You bite it, huh?”
“…Is that a problem?”
“I prefer sucking. Biting hurts.”
She froze, catching his dirty meaning, and dropped the ice cream. Her voice turned sharp.
“I know what you mean. You’re crossing the line.”
He sneered.
“What, don’t like it? You bled your doctor husband dry, then divorced to chase younger guys in college?”
“…What did you just say?”
“Already used up by an older guy, now pretending to be pure? Please. Even a younger man counts, right?”
He stepped toward her, reaching for the phone in her jacket pocket.
“You might as well—”
But he didn’t finish. She shoved his ice cream into his mouth. He spat it out angrily, face smeared.
“You little—”
“If you want to play, do it alone. Maybe study for once.”
She tossed her ice cream in the trash and turned to leave—but he grabbed her wrist hard.
“Then why drink everything I gave you and smile at me? You wanted this too.”
“You’re delusional.”
“What, am I not good enough compared to Choi Young-won? Heard he was desperate to get you since he started working at your café. You even packed him lunches.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I packed them for myself too. What, are you stalking me?”
“First you flirt, now acting like a crazy—”
He raised his other hand—when a calm voice cut in.
“Plenty of lunch boxes in the store. Want me to buy you one?”
It was Young-won. Both turned. Yoon-ah’s eyes widened—she’d heard he wasn’t coming.
Do-hyun let go, smirking as he swaggered up to Young-won.
“So, you two are really together. Fun?”
“You talk big for someone aiming at law school.”
“…”
“Oh, maybe that’s why you’re still here, failing the test while your friends graduate?”
“You little—”
“Didn’t you start the insults first?”
Furious, Do-hyun grabbed his collar. Before a fight broke out, two voices shouted:
“Stop it!” — Yoon-ah
“Whoa, calm down, hyung!” — Gitae, who appeared suddenly.
Gitae pulled Do-hyun back, while Yoon-ah clung to Young-won’s arm.
Separating them, Gitae warned, “There’s a police car on the next street. Don’t leave a record, hyung. You’re supposed to be a lawyer.”
Do-hyun cursed, “You’re dead if I see you again, Choi Young-won,” and stormed off.
Relieved, Gitae sighed. But when he saw Yoon-ah’s pale, trembling face, his words died.
Earlier, he’d even stolen his mom’s car to play knight for her—trying to fix his mistake of spreading info about her. But after getting lost in traffic, he was late. He knew the one who should protect her wasn’t him, but Young-won.
He whispered, “Take care of our boss, please…” and left.
Now only Young-won and Yoon-ah were left in front of the store. She stared at the melted ice cream on the ground, then said with trembling lips:
“…I’m sorry, Young-won.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“I just… didn’t want to ruin the mood. But… how did you know I was here?”
“I was at the party. A classmate said you left with Do-hyun.”
“Oh…”
Realizing she had wrinkled his shirt from gripping it, she quickly let go. He stripped it off—knowing she’d otherwise insist on washing it.
“You spoke well,” he said.
“…You saw? He started it. He came at you…”
Before she could finish, she collapsed out of sight. The alcohol finally hit her now that the tension was gone.
“…You’re drunk.”
Looking down at her crouched on the pavement, tiny and trembling, Young-won gave a small smile. She looked like a curled-up pebble—almost cute.
He draped his shirt over her and hailed a taxi. Soon, both of them were gone.
But from the convenience store, someone had been watching.
“Heh… That’s the spirit of Chungnam’s daughter…”
A girl came out, smiling slyly, and picked up a ginseng-shaped keychain from the ground before pocketing it.
