Chapter 9

Yoon-ah looked at Young-won, who was hesitating at the café door. She asked softly:

“Why… aren’t you coming in?”

“…Are you closed?”

“Yes—oh, no! What would you like to drink?”

Embarrassed about how drunk she had been the night before, she quickly gathered the job applications on the table and stood up. But before she could hurry to the counter, Young-won came inside and sat down.

Without looking at her directly, he searched his backpack.

“It’s not that… Did you change your course registration? You didn’t say anything.”

“Ah…”

He clearly didn’t plan to mention last night at all. Relieved, Yoon-ah sat down across from him.

“The add/drop period ends tomorrow… right?”

“Yes, but I found an elective with open spots.”

He placed his laptop on the table and began searching. Yoon-ah watched his handsome profile, then suddenly said:

“Your girlfriend must be lucky.”

“…What?”

He froze and finally looked at her. Yoon-ah smiled.

“Her boyfriend is this handsome, kind, and smart too.”

Young-won stayed quiet, head lowered. Luckily, she really remembered nothing. But where did she even get the idea he had a girlfriend? Yoon-ah often gave him compliments—“smart,” “amazing”—though he never believed them. For him, it always felt awkward.

Now she was adding “kind” to the list. He didn’t know how to answer, so he just opened the syllabus on his screen.

“This elective is Understanding Korean Traditional Architecture.”

“Oh, that sounds nice!”

Excited, Yoon-ah leaned closer, surprising him. He straightened back in his seat.

“There are no weekly classes. Just a couple of orientation sessions. The midterm is a research paper, the final is a report after a field trip.”

“That’s perfect.”

“But… the trip is 2 days in Andong during vacation. And since there are only two reports, the grade depends a lot on them. Probably why freshmen dropped it.”

“Hmm…”

She frowned slightly while reading closely. Watching her long lashes and focused face, Young-won was about to say something when—

“…Do you have a girlf—”

“So we go to Andong on our own?” she interrupted.

He nodded. Yoon-ah quickly reached out and touched his touchpad.

“Sorry, let me register right away. I feel rushed.”

“…Sure.”

Her cool, soft skin brushed against his fingers. He pulled his hand back at once.

Later, Seo-yeon sat in Yoon-ah’s passenger seat as she drove, watching in awe.

“Unnie, you look so sexy driving like this.”

“It’s just driving… anyone can if they get a license.”

“No way. You’re too cool.”

Yoon-ah blushed, hiding her face with her hand. Because of her ex-mother-in-law’s busy social life, she had often acted as driver, so now she was quite skilled.

The back seat was stacked with boxes—today was Yoon-ah’s moving day.

“Introduce me to that real estate lady too. She sounds amazing.”

“Of course. She’s really kind.”

Yoon-ah smiled, happy to help her new friend.

“Thanks so much for helping with my move. I’ll treat you to something delicious, or I can cook for you.”

Seo-yeon had volunteered to help when Yoon-ah said she couldn’t meet because of moving. It wasn’t enough boxes for a moving company, but too many for one person. Yoon-ah had hesitated, but Seo-yeon insisted.

They chatted until the car entered the underground parking lot. Then Seo-yeon suddenly remembered.

“Hey… what about that rude guy, Do-hyun? Was that the end of it?”

“…How do you know about that?”

Yoon-ah slowed the car and looked at her.

“I was at the convenience store too. I lost a drinking game and went to buy jelly. I saw everything.”

“…Oh.”

“And I found that ginseng keychain outside. It was so satisfying to watch.”

“So that’s why you said I looked tough…”

Yoon-ah gave a small laugh. She parked near the elevator. Seo-yeon then handed her phone over.

It was a video—shot through the convenience store window. It clearly showed Do-hyun threatening her.

Back then, Yoon-ah’s hands had been shaking, but when Do-hyun mentioned Young-won, she had felt strong enough to slap him. Seeing Young-won arrive afterward made her feel even safer. She realized she had relied on him a lot.

Wanting to stay cautious, she said firmly:

“You should delete this. If someone finds it, you could get sued.”

“I know. I have tons like this on my private cloud.”

“…Why?”

“My family owns motels. Six or seven big ones nearby. People are always begging for CCTV footage. Dad won’t hand it out, so he puts me in charge of keeping it safe. We keep evidence of creeps for years before deleting.”

Yoon-ah stared, surprised. Seo-yeon shrugged.

“Anyway, just from what I know, I can guess why you divorced. If a man can’t control himself, he shouldn’t marry. Idiots are everywhere.”

“…Wait. How do you know about my divorce?”

Startled, Yoon-ah gripped the steering wheel tightly. Seo-yeon also looked surprised.

“…You didn’t know the other classmates are talking? I only heard it from them…”