CHAPTER 13 – Rice Cake Soup (Part 4)

Dojun’s behavior was simply astounding. Seo-yeon had been the one to ask about the clothes first, and it was she who had said she would come if he didn’t like them. He may have seized the opportunity, but she didn’t deserve to be treated like this. If his goal from the beginning was to sleep with her, he would have been under her by now.

“What’s the point of calling me to say you didn’t like the clothes?”

Seo-yeon bit her lip hard and she glared at Dojun. 

Your pride is hurt. What’s the big deal about some clothes?

Check it out, whether you like it or not. For Dojun, it was just a bothersome and tiring matter. He had never meticulously examined clothes to the point of making a complaint in his life.

Even with the personal shopper, it was the same. He agreed because Heritage sent the designer first, and he wore what was set out for him. It was just for business purposes, and he had no interest in suit combinations in the first place.

“I don’t know if you’re pretending to be naive or if you’re really naive.”

It all escalated to this point just because he wanted to hear her voice on the phone, but wasn’t this something that happened with implicit consent? Even if Dojun initiated the kiss, Seo-yeon accepted it. There were moments when she could have refused, but she followed him obediently.

Dojun stared intently at Seo-yeon, who was clutching the front of her blouse. The recent scenes overlapped with her current state. The times when she had tightly closed her eyes, looked at him with teary eyes as she clung to him, and sobbed while covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Having felt all of that…

“Are you playing hard to get with me now?”

If it was some petty game of hard to get, his expression said to cut it out. Seo-yeon looked disbelieving as she stared at Dojun.

Do you think I’m using shallow tricks to flirt with you right now? Who do you think you are? Playing hard to get? You’re kidding me. Do you think I’m someone who would come running at the snap of your fingers?

“It doesn’t matter what you think, Sir. If you don’t mind, I’ll leave now.”

Seo-yeon quickly began buttoning her blouse. She was going to leave this place. Even if Dojun didn’t call her for s*x explicitly, the clothes were just an excuse, and if it didn’t matter what he wore, then there was no reason for her to stay here.

Dojun slowly closed and opened his eyes. A faint irritation flickered through him. Whether it was because of Seo-yeon, who was coldly buttoning up her blouse, or because of the lingering desire that still hadn’t subsided even after seeing her like this, it was hard to tell, but one thing was clear: he was annoyed.

“Fine, then.”

The sarcasm didn’t ease his irritation, so Dojun turned away and added another word.

“The exit door is that way.”

* * *

– Uh?

Through the intercom, Danmi’s surprised voice could be heard. Seo-yeon lifted the plastic bag she was holding.

“Do you want a drink?”

– What’s the occasion for dropping by without notice? I was actually planning to contact you. Perfect timing.

With a click, the intercom disconnected, and with a beep, the entrance door of the officetel opened. Seo-yeon went up to the second floor, where Danmi’s workroom was.

“Coming to see me on the first day of the new year.”

Danmi came down the stairs, dragging her slippers. Seo-yeon handed her the soju and tteokbokki she was holding. Danmi sniffed and smelled the aroma of the tteokbokki.

“From Sinheung Tteokbokki, huh? As expected. Did you add intestines and lungs?”

“Lots of lungs, but no liver, right?”

“Wow. It’s been a while, but you still remember?”

With a thumbs up, Danmi took the lead. They walked through the hallway and opened the front door to a living room with several desks. Judging by the trash on the floor and the stacks of disposable dishes, it looked like she was in the middle of finishing a project.

“Is Mingyeong not here?”

“Oh, she went home. We finished the project this morning. I collapsed, just woke up a little while ago. You can see from the trash.”

Thick glasses. Greasy hair swept back with a headband. Wearing loose pajama pants. Danmi pointed to herself and said.

“Finished the project?”

“For this week, at least. Ugh… This serialization is really tough. I want to finish it quickly and go have some fun.”

Leaving Danmi flopping down on the couch, Seo-yeon opened the window. She let the room air out and roughly organized the trash pile. She did a quick tidy-up every time she came by, and now Danmi wanted to do the same, so she decided to take a shower first.

After setting up, Danmi, who had cleaned up after her shower, sat at the table looking fresh and clean. She raised her elbow and hit the back of the soju bottle. Clear soju poured into the glass with a refreshing sound. After placing down the soju bottle, Danmi picked up a beer can and poured it into Seo-yeon’s glass.

“I’ll just have soju today.”

Danmi’s eyes widened at Seo-yeon’s words. She looked at Seo-yeon cautiously over her glasses. Seo-yeon smiled faintly.

“I have an important meeting tomorrow.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t drink then.”

“Shouldn’t I?”

In response to Seo-yeon’s innocent remark, Danmi said, “No, you shouldn’t.” But then she said, “Drink up,” and filled half of Seo-yeon’s cup with soju. The transparent liquid swirled gently. Danmi turned on the TV, and the news was playing, showing people celebrating the New Year.

Seo-yeon ate the tteokbokki that Danmi enjoyed. It was spicy and sweet. As she chewed on the chewy rice cakes, she recalled the cold gaze of Hwang Dojun watching her.

How will I face him tomorrow? 

Thinking about tomorrow’s New Year’s gathering, Seo-yeon picked up her cup. She gulped it down, and the clear soju burned down her throat.

It wasn’t good to drink on an empty stomach. 

She thought that but laughed as she took another bite of tteokbokki.

I’m the one who’s worried about my stomach right now.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just because.”

“Such a dry response.”

Danmi refilled the dwindling soju glass.

“The comic is really popular.”

“Webtoon. Kids these days don’t call it a comic.”

“Yeah, webtoon.”

Seo-yeon held her cup silently and asked Danmi.

“Do you ever regret it?”

“Sometimes I do.”

Danmi replied honestly, understanding what she meant right away. Seo-yeon remembered the big placard that Danmi had hung up when she passed the medical school entrance exam. Danmi’s father, who was the only veterinarian in a family of doctors, had cried when Danmi passed the exam.

“How did you do that?”

How did you change direction so abruptly? How did you throw away your parents’ expectations in one go? How did you choose a career with no promise, how did she persevere through all those years?

Things Seo-yeon hadn’t been curious about before now intrigued her.

“There’s no such thing as life. Just making it up as you go.”

Danmi shrugged.

“And how do you live like that? I feel suffocated just thinking about it.”

Danmi shook her head slightly. Seo-yeon smiled wryly.

Just making it up as you go.

Those words were never applicable to Yoon Seo-yeon’s suffocating life.