Chapter 12 (Part 4)
That morning, Jinwon had contacted the rental car company to cancel the remaining rental period.
It was a decision made to consider In-ah, who was startled by the elevator incident the previous day.
Afterward, the rental car employee had come to the hotel and was driving the car away when the accident happened.
While In-ah sighed in relief, Shin-hye’s expression turned sharp.
“So it was the car you rented, Jinwon? This isn’t something to just let go. Did you report it?
Report it?
In-ah looked at Jinwon with a puzzled expression.
In-ah instinctively knew there was something she didn’t know.
It was because of Jinwon’s unreadable expression.
When Jinwon didn’t answer, Shin-hye spoke as if frustrated.
“It might not have been an accident.”
“Do you have any evidence?”
Jinwon asked calmly. At this, Shin-hye, who had been pushing, was taken aback.
“What?”
“I asked if you have any evidence to say that.”
At Jinwon’s pointed question, Shin-hye mumbled with a noticeably reduced voice.
“Well, not yet, but…”
Jinwon glanced at In-ah and then spoke firmly to Shin-hye.
“You should leave now.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you come here for your own business too?”
Again, Shin-hye answered in a shrunken voice.
“That’s true.”
Supporting In-ah, Jinwon whispered softly.
“Let’s go, In-ah.”
Shin-hye couldn’t say anything more and watched the two walk away, pouting.
This isn’t the end, never. Just know that, Seo In-ah.
At that moment, a male hotel staff member approached Shin-hye. He politely presented a tray to her.
On the tray were wet tissues and a small hand mirror.
“What is this~”
Glancing at the tray, Shin-hye reacted indifferently.
Then the male staff spoke.
“Um…”
At those words, Shin-hye suddenly turned around and asked the male staff. Pointing at Jinwon’s retreating back,
“Did that guy over there tell you to bring this to me?”
Then she quickly picked up the wet tissues from the tray.
“No, that’s not…”
“Huh? Or are you interested in me?”
“…”
The male staff couldn’t answer immediately. Then Shin-hye continued as if she expected it.
“This approach is troublesome. Especially in such a public place.”
Unable to bear it, the male staff picked up the hand mirror from the tray and showed Shin-hye her face.
As she turned her head inadvertently, Shin-hye was shocked to see her reflection in the mirror.
“Oh my, what is this?”
In the mirror, Shin-hye’s face looked like it was painted with charcoal due to the mascara smudged by tears.
The moment Shin-hye confirmed her face, she fled at lightning speed.
The male staff blinked, and she was gone in an instant.
***
Jinwon supported In-ah as they entered the hotel room.
“Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything yet. I ordered room service, so just wait a bit.”
Just as Jinwon carefully seated In-ah on the sofa, the doorbell rang.
“That must be it.”
While Jinwon went to receive the room service, In-ah sniffed around, catching a scent from somewhere.
Following the strong spicy smell, she found a crushed food container in the trash can in one corner of the room.
Carefully taking it out, it was untouched spicy octopus stew. Of course, it was in a mess from being dropped and stepped on.
In-ah raised her voice to ask Jinwon.
“What is this?”
Returning from sending off the room service staff, Jinwon saw the octopus stew In-ah found and answered.
“Oh, I went to a famous restaurant this morning to buy it, but it got ruined.”
“Oh…”
“I forgot I was holding it in the chaos earlier, but the staff somehow knew and brought it back.”
In-ah suddenly hugged Jinwon tightly.
Startled, Jinwon blinked, caught in In-ah’s embrace with his neck held.
“What’s wrong, In-ah?”
“Just stay like this for a moment. Just for a moment.”
In-ah was already touched by Jinwon thinking of her from the moment she woke up, but imagining Jinwon leaving the hotel early in the morning to get food for her… she couldn’t help but hug him.
More than anything, she was grateful that he was unharmed and by her side, considering he could have been in the accident.
Not knowing how to express this feeling, tears flowed before words could.
In-ah buried her face in Jinwon’s chest to hide her tears.
“Huh?”
The next moment, a flustered In-ah quickly lifted her head.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Oh no! In-ah had left a clear snot mark on Jinwon’s white shirt.
What should I do? How do I fix this?
Panicked, In-ah suddenly reached for Jinwon’s shirt. Then, without hesitation, she started unbuttoning his shirt.
Jinwon, caught off guard by the sudden assault(?), quickly pulled back.
“What’s wrong? All of a sudden.”
“Hold on. Just stay still for a moment.”
In-ah spoke rapidly, her eyes fixed on Jinwon’s shirt buttons as she lunged at him.
I can’t let him see the snot-stained shirt!
Seeing In-ah charging with a fierce momentum, Jinwon started backing away.
But In-ah wasn’t about to back down either.
“Why are you doing this? You said just for a moment earlier, now this?”
“Ugh, just stay still for a moment. Let’s take it off first.”
“What?”
Jinwon was so shocked his eyes almost popped out.
“Just once!”
In-ah raised her index finger with an earnest expression and shouted.
“Huh? Oppa, just take it off once. Can’t you do that much for me?”
“What? What are you saying? Get away from me.”
Jinwon now genuinely started running away from In-ah.
In-ah had no intention of giving up either.
Jinwon continued to dodge In-ah, who was determinedly chasing him around the room.
An unexpected chase ensued between Jinwon and In-ah in the hotel room.
***
With his shoulders hunched, Seongtae cautiously entered Seong-jun’s house.
Seong-jun was eating alone at the dining table.
Seeing Seong-jun, Seongtae approached cautiously, step by step, watching for any signs.
Then, Seong-jun picked up his rice bowl and, without hesitation, threw it at Seongtae.
Startled, Seongtae narrowly dodged the flying bowl.
‘Crash!’
Seongtae placed a hand over his pounding heart, taking deep breaths as he looked at the shattered bowl on the floor.
“You idiot, do you have a brain? No, right? If you had a brain, you wouldn’t do something like that.”
Seongtae clasped his hands together, speaking in the most servile tone he could muster.
“Ah, hyung. I did it for you and me…”
Before Seongtae could finish, Seong-jun picked up a side dish plate.
Seeing this, Seongtae raised his arms to shield his head and closed his eyes tightly.
But when no impact or sound came, Seongtae cautiously opened one eye.
“Did you think it would end well if someone died at Jinseong Hotel?”
“Well, that…”
“Shut up.”
Seong-jun’s voice was chillingly low and calm, making Seongtae snap his mouth shut.
“If you have a brain, use it to think. Understand?”
Seong-jun’s eyes were bloodshot, a stark contrast to his calm voice.
Seeing this, Seongtae flinched but couldn’t help boasting.
“Of course I thought. I even have a plan B. Though it failed.”
Seongtae found Seong-jun’s silence even more terrifying.
Barely lifting his eyes to gauge Seong-jun’s face, Seongtae cautiously spoke.
“Hyung, you’re not doing this because of that woman, right? The one hanging around with Jinwon. Right?”
A chilling coldness passed over Seong-jun’s face.
“Listen carefully. Don’t touch that woman.”
Seongtae involuntarily swallowed hard.
“If your actions cause even a scratch on her, I won’t miss next time. Understand?”
Having said his piece, Seong-jun stood up. Startled, Seongtae huddled again, shielding his head.
Seong-jun walked past Seongtae and left.
Once Seong-jun was gone, Seongtae finally let out a quiet sigh.
He had seen a terrifying look in Seong-jun’s eyes he had never seen before. This wasn’t just talk.
***
In the hotel room in Jeju, Jinwon and In-ah were having an unexpected chase.
Jinwon hadn’t realized until this moment how quick-footed In-ah was.
He had just come to understand that this wasn’t a simple game of ‘catch me if you can.’
‘Rip!’
In-ah’s hand, which had grabbed Jinwon’s collar, now held a piece of his shirt.
Jinwon quickly felt the front of his shirt.
The exact spot In-ah had targeted was torn away.
Having no idea why, Jinwon quickly covered the torn area with his hand and looked at In-ah with a reproachful gaze.
But In-ah, having achieved her goal, smiled with satisfaction.
Moreover, Jinwon’s smooth and firm collarbone, revealed under the torn shirt, felt like a bonus.
In-ah couldn’t take her eyes off Jinwon’s collarbone, regardless of her will.
How can a man’s collarbone be so sexy?
Did he always have such a collarbone? How did I not notice?
Sensing In-ah’s lecherous gaze, Jinwon turned his back.
“Do you know that’s the second one?”
“What is?”
In-ah tilted her head at Jinwon’s random comment.
“You forgot you ruined one of my shirts yesterday?”
“Oh, right!”
During the elevator accident yesterday, In-ah had also torn Jinwon’s shirt.
In-ah hurried to explain.
“That wasn’t on purpose.”
“It wasn’t. Then what about this one?”
At Jinwon’s calm question, In-ah stammered.
“This one…”
She tried to brush it off, but Jinwon looked at her directly, waiting for an answer.
In the end, as if resigned, In-ah answered boldly.
“I had my reasons!”
Still, her eyes flickered towards Jinwon’s collarbone.
Jinwon found her audacity amusing and let out a dry laugh.
“So what are those reasons?”
With no more room to retreat, In-ah switched tactics. She clasped her hands and put on a pitiful expression.
“I’ll buy you a new shirt, a nice one. Sorry.”
So you’re not going to answer until the end?
Jinwon glanced at her briefly before turning away.
Then, heading towards the room with the suitcase, he said,
“I’m glad I had a spare T-shirt. In-ah, you should be thankful this T-shirt saved you.”
In-ah mumbled with genuine regret.
“Oh, what a waste.”
He had another spare? How can a guy be so thoroughly prepared?
From the room, Jinwon’s voice came.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. I said the food looks delicious.”
Raising her voice to cover up, In-ah watched the room Jinwon was in.
Meanwhile, she successfully shoved the snot-stained shirt piece deep into the trash can.
Mission clear!
***
Returning to Seoul from Jeju, Shin-hye headed to the Jinseong Group Chairwoman’s house instead of her own.
“Could you please wait a moment? Since you came without an appointment, I can’t guarantee the Chairwoman will see you. You understand that, right?”
In response to the secretary’s formal tone, Shin-hye replied confidently.
“It’s a security issue concerning Jinseong Hotel. No, it’s a matter that could shake the reputation of Jinseong Group, the industry leader. Please convey that.”
A moment later,
The secretary returned to Shin-hye and conveyed the Chairwoman’s message in a flat tone.
“The Chairwoman says to make an appointment and come back another time. If you have something urgent, you can tell me…”
Shin-hye, her face flushed with anger, interrupted the secretary.
“Tell her she’ll regret it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Tell her there will come a day when she’ll say she’s sorry she didn’t meet me today. Tell the Chairwoman that.”
With that, Shin-hye turned on her heel and left.
It Was You From The Start, Volume 2
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