EX Ch 4

When I couldn’t figure out who it was and asked, Woosik rubbed the back of his neck, laughing as if he were embarrassed.

“A gift.”

“…”

“It’s been almost a hundred days since we started dating, so just letting it pass by felt a bit wrong.”

Uh, uh, wow. As soon as Woosik finished speaking, I reached out and opened the jet-black box. Then, a dazzling gold ring caught my eye. I immediately put the ring on my ring finger and waved my hand this way and that.

“Wow… It’s pretty.”

“Do you like it?”

Of course I liked it. Looking at how it sparkled, it seemed to be about 24K. I thought it would be perfect to go to Jongno, swap this for a 14K one, and then use the remaining money to pay back my student loans and handle my own pocket money. I’ve been strapped for cash lately, so this was truly a stroke of luck. I stroked the glittering gold ring with my fingertips, my eyes instantly sparkling toward Woosik.

“…Woosik, thank you.”

“Whatever, it’s just something small. Don’t worry about it.”

“…”

“This much is a given between lovers.”

To be honest, I had intended to break up around today because I was scared of Yoon Hyeonjo’s threats. I was so terrified of that guy that I was even having nightmares.

‘And Lee Danyeong, I’m warning you—break things off with Kim Woosik right now.’

‘…’

‘If you appear before my eyes one more time, I will collect every single penny of that watch’s value.’

But as long as I had this gold ring in front of me, I couldn’t break up with Kim Woosik. I can’t break up. I’ll never break up! Of course, if Yoon Hyeonjo found out about this, he would surely come charging at me, telling me to break up with Kim Woosik this instant. Because of my long trainee life, I lack economic sense and social skills compared to others; if I don’t even have Kim Woosik, how on earth am I supposed to endure this harsh world?

I must never break up; I have to hold on tight. I cherished the ring settled on my finger and spoke as if making a vow.

“I’ll wear the ring well. Truly. I won’t take it off when I wash, when I eat, or even when I sleep.”

Of course, it’ll be a different one with the same design as the one you gave me, but anyway…

“I’m touched, Danyeong.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m going to be a really wonderful girlfriend.”

Haha. Woosik laughed as if he were enjoying my words. After that, Woosik and I lost track of time as we diligently tilted our glasses. However, there was one thing I overlooked here. It was that Woosik’s alcohol tolerance was weaker than mine.

“Danyeong, I’m going to go to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

At first, I thought Woosik was fine just like I was. So when he said he was going to the bathroom, I just nodded and said okay. While Woosik was in the bathroom, I took the opportunity to eat my fill of the expensive cheese and olives, humming busily. Every now and then, I held the ring up to the shining lights.

Perhaps because I was wearing an expensive ring, I felt like my body was floating high up in the sky. I spent a long while tilting my glass, intoxicated by the tipsy feeling, when I felt Woosik’s phone on the table vibrating. And it was happening continuously.

“What is it?”

Fearing it might be an urgent call, the moment I reached out, I instinctively froze in place at the familiar photo that appeared on the screen.

“…It’s Yoon Hyeonjo.”

This was a photo taken when Yoon Hyeonjo and I went to the East Sea for our hundred-day anniversary trip. Specifically, it was a photo I took of Yoon Hyeonjo’s back. There must be plenty of other photos, so why is he still using this one as his profile picture? Is it just a coincidence? Somehow, I felt strange. I was staring blankly at the screen when Yoon Hyeonjo began sending messages like a barrage.

Yoon Hyeonjo

Woosik. Where are the sneakers I lent you?

Answer me

Where are you

Aren’t you looking at your messages?

Hey

Hey

It seemed Woosik had borrowed Yoon Hyeonjo’s sneakers and tossed them just anywhere. I couldn’t answer for him, and as I was staring at the screen in a difficult situation, one more line of text appeared next to Yoon Hyeonjo’s solo photo.

Yoon Hyeonjo

Are you with your girlfriend by any chance?

Eek. At the mention of “girlfriend,” I was startled and quickly turned off the screen, scurrying back to my seat. It’s strange; between friends, asking if someone is with their girlfriend is something that can be done without a second thought, but because it was Yoon Hyeonjo, it felt weird for no reason.

I’m not sure how long I sat there toying with my glass with an anxious face. I saw a staff member, who had been lingering near the bathroom with a troubled face, hesitantly approaching me. What is it? Thinking something might have happened, I stood up, and the staff member addressed me with a difficult expression.

“Um, you’re with the gentleman in the brown suede jacket, right?”

“Ye, yes.”

“That person fell asleep in the bathroom.”

“What?”

“I think you need to call someone else from your party and take him away immediately.”

Ah. I thought he was drinking more excessively than usual, and it seemed he had finally blacked out. I just stomped my feet with a troubled face before hurrying toward the bathroom. As soon as I turned the corner, I saw Woosik slumped over like a discarded teddy bear in the corner of the hallway. Startled, I even cast aside the coat in my hand and hurriedly knelt down beside Woosik.

“Woosik, are you okay? Are you alright?”

“A… ugh. I’m dying.”

“You, you have to go home. Try to get up.”

Looking at his slumped body, his condition was no ordinary matter. I tried to slide my arm under his torso to desperately haul Woosik up, but it wasn’t easy since he was dead drunk.

“Try to snap out of it, okay?”

“…”

“We have to go catch a taxi or something. A taxi…”

I looked around, but I couldn’t see anyone who could help. I was just brushing back my hair in frustration when Woosik, who was as drunk as could be, rubbed his face with both hands and called out a familiar name.

“Hyeonjo… Call Hyeonjo.”

“Huh?”

Hyeonjo, Yoon Hyeonjo. At that familiar name, my hands, which were trying to lift Woosik, froze. It was only the other day that Yoon Hyeonjo had threatened me not to meet Kim Woosik again and told me to break off the relationship immediately.

If he found out we were chatting and laughing together again today, then I might really end up in a jail cell right away as a watch thief. Shivering at the ominous imagination, I shook my head quickly and grabbed Woosik’s collar again.

“No, besides Hyeonjo, is there no one else?”

Then I hurriedly handed the phone into his hand.

“Hyeonjo knows, the house address. Hyeonjo…”

No way. I can’t call Yoon Hyeonjo. While I was just hesitating with a troubled face, the drunken Woosik lifted the phone himself. It seemed he intended to call Yoon Hyeonjo himself. Flustered, I quickly snatched the phone away and shouted loudly at Kim Woosik.

“Nooo, not Hyeonjo!”

However, Kim Woosik kept saying “Hyeonjo, Hyeonjo” with heavily sleepy eyes before quietly closing them. No, you really can’t! I grabbed Kim Woosik by the collar and even pulled his hair to wake him up. But there was no way I could wake someone who had fallen asleep due to the alcohol.

The remaining options were either me carrying Kim Woosik on my back or calling Yoon Hyeonjo. Neither made sense, but I thought carrying him myself would be slightly better. I struggled on the bar floor to piggyback the completely drunken Kim Woosik. However, even after trying all sorts of tricks, I couldn’t piggyback an adult male who was over 180cm tall.

“Darn it…”

In the end, after ten minutes of struggling, I gave up on carrying him and slumped down on the cold floor. Now the only method left was to call Yoon Hyeonjo. After hesitating for a long time, I found Yoon Hyeonjo’s number on Kim Woosik’s phone. Seeing as the number looked familiar, it seemed he was still using it without changing it. Even though I had changed mine long ago…

While I was lost in thought for a long while, as if it had been waiting, the phone in my hand began to ring. Eek. Startled by the coincidental timing, I checked the caller, and the three characters of the name [Yoon Hyeonjo] were stamped on the screen. Why, why is he…

While I was hesitating whether to hang up or not, I spotted Kim Woosik slumped further onto the floor, and the moment I reflexively pressed the call button—the voice that was all too familiar through the receiver pierced my ears.

—Hey. Why aren’t you replying? I asked where the shoes are.

“…”