Chapter 2.3

After crying herself to sleep all night, Moonkyeong began the next day looking perfectly composed.  

She didn’t have the time to dwell on how much of a crazy woman she must have seemed to him.  

I live like this so I don’t go insane. You’d never understand.  

“What does it matter how I live my life?”  

Moonkyeong tried hard to smooth out her crumpled heart, like a sheet of paper.  

She took a photo to send to Hyeran and endured the grueling hours in the prison-like practice room all day.  

There was no time to rest. She couldn’t let the monotonous, hamster-wheel-like days take over.  

The following Wednesday, she didn’t go to the café. She gave up the luxury of a cup of coffee and headed to the practice room early in the morning, mimicking the life of a workaholic.  

A message arrived from Lee Heejin.  

〈Target spotted! Thanks. See you at the next Sankt meeting.^^〉  

Closing her phone, Moonkyeong scratched her forehead. She couldn’t help but wonder about the mystery surrounding Seojun.  

***

When she woke up, both the tops and soles of her feet were swollen.  

The excruciating pain made her grimace.  

Even though it was something she experienced regularly, the pain never became bearable.  

It wasn’t until she had completed her morning practice that she could stop by the hospital for physical therapy.  

The transition from spring to summer came quickly. This year’s dynamic Russian summer weather was as unpredictable as ever.  

Aside from the increasingly erratic weather in Moscow, Moonkyeong’s life hadn’t changed much.  

Ah, but one significant change was that even in Sankt, Lee Heejin no longer ignored her.  

As she left the hospital after finishing therapy, Lee Heejin called.  

“Hello?”  

– We’re going to the club with some of the others tonight. Wanna come?  

“What time?”  

– Not sure yet. I’ll text you.  

“Okay.”  

After sending her updated schedule to Hyeran, she turned around and noticed a familiar-looking Asian man.  

Even though she knew it wasn’t Kim Seojun, she found herself instinctively turning her head whenever she saw someone with a similar silhouette.  

It had already been over three months since she stopped going to the café on Wednesdays.  

Moonkyeong never once asked Lee Heejin what happened with Kim Seojun after that day.  

Since it was best not to provoke her, Moonkyeong avoided any curiosity about him altogether.  

This was precisely what Lee Heejin liked about Moonkyeong.  

‘She’s got a refined and pretty face, but she doesn’t act coy or talk too much. She’s just the right kind of person to get along with,’ Heejin would say.  

And Moonkyeong understood exactly what Heejin meant.  

In short, she meant that Moonkyeong knew her place.  

Late at night, when she arrived at the club after receiving a call, Lee Heejin was already half-drunk, as usual.  

Despite the overwhelming smell of alcohol that stung her nose, Moonkyeong smiled as if it didn’t bother her.  

Heejin handed Moonkyeong the bottle of alcohol she had been drinking and placed a hand on her shoulder, flaunting their camaraderie.  

“Welcome, Moonkyeong.”  

“Looks like you met up with the others earlier?”  

“Yeah, we met two hours ago, had dinner, and started drinking.”  

Heejin subtly hinted that the group of chaebol heirs had met two hours earlier, keeping it exclusive to themselves.  

Without any change in her expression, Moonkyeong accepted the alcohol Heejin handed her.  

The mouth of the beer bottle reeked of cigarettes, but she drank from it without hesitation.  

Heejin lightly tapped the top of Moonkyeong’s head with her free hand.  

“See? This is why I like you.”  

She led Moonkyeong to a room on the second floor. Inside, a mix of male and female members of prominent royal families—names anyone would recognize—were gathered.  

The fresh appearance of a new face drew all their attention to Moonkyeong.  

“Who’s she?”  

To be precise, they were asking which family she belonged to.  

“Seo Jaewoo, National Assembly Member.”  

Ah.  

With a short sigh, the attention focused on Moonkyeong began to scatter.  

To those who thought not all assembly members were equal, Seo Jaewoo was an unfamiliar name.  

Realizing she was just the daughter of an unremarkable family, their gazes completely drifted away from her.  

At that moment, Moonkyeong thought, ‘I wish my mom could see this.’ 

She wanted to show her, even if through a video, that her daughter’s position was only this insignificant.  

“Sit over there.”  

“Okay.”  

Heejin pointed out exactly where Moonkyeong should sit.  

The conversations exchanged during the drinking session were dull and tedious.  

Mostly about which family’s son or daughter was dating whom. Or how someone turned out to be a notorious playboy but was amazing in bed.  

The same old gossip.  

It was nothing like the stories of heirs and heiresses depicted in dramas.  

They talked endlessly about shares, business dealings, and whose father’s company was doing what.  

It was far from what Moonkyeong had imagined.  

Well, after all, everyone here was only twenty or twenty-one.  

‘Youth,’ she thought.  

Unable to join their conversations, Moonkyeong was lost in her own thoughts when a familiar name caught her ear.  

“Heejin, what happened with Kim Seojun?”  

While Heejin would eagerly gossip about other men, she hesitated when it came to Seojun.  

“Ah… Kim Seojun?”  

“Yeah, didn’t you boast you’d sleep with him within a month? What’s taking so long? Why haven’t we heard any updates?”  

Heejin, who had been downing a strong vodka shot, furrowed her brow and slammed the glass on the table.  

“He’s gay.”  

“No way. Did he tell you that himself?”  

“Yeah.”  

The people who had been eagerly awaiting an update on Kim Seojun’s story now looked disappointed.  

Even though it didn’t matter whether he liked men or women, Moonkyeong’s expression mirrored theirs.  

For a moment, she wondered why she felt so disappointed, and a wry smile crept across her face.  

Heejin, noticing this, asked directly, 

“Seo Moonkyeong, why are you suddenly smiling?”  

Without showing any signs of embarrassment, Moonkyeong scratched the back of her neck.  

“It’s my first time drinking vodka, and it’s worse than I expected.”  

“Ah.”  

“Can I drink something else?”  

Heejin laughed.  

“Why are you even asking? Do whatever you want.”  

Moonkyeong chose a milder-looking drink instead of vodka, opened the bottle, and took a sip.  

She glanced toward the door with a hazy gaze, wondering how she would endure this seemingly endless, boring time.  

***

Despite her hectic overseas performance schedule, Moonkyeong finally got a summer break.  

She planned to spend it doing absolutely nothing, lying in bed all day.  

She wanted to stay in bed so long that she wouldn’t even know whether the sun had risen or set, and then get up in the dark to buy and eat late-night snacks.  

Last weekend, while having dinner together, Lee Heejin had suggested they spend their summer vacation on Spain’s Ibiza Island, but Moonkyeong declined.  

If Hyeran had heard about it, she would have been utterly shocked.  

But it was vacation, and Moonkyeong just wanted to rest.  

Moonkyeong had no intention of pandering to Lee Heejin, who seemed to know nothing but men and sleeping with them, especially after being dragged along to such a place.

What interrupted her peaceful sleep, unexpectedly, was a call from Bora. Her phone, left on the bed amidst the remnants of an unfinished cup of ramen, rang incessantly.  

With no choice, she answered the call, only to hear Bora immediately bring up Hyeran.  

– The professor, she’s headed to the airport.”  

“What?”  

– Apparently, she’s spending her vacation in Moscow, where you are.”  

Completely caught off guard, Moonkyeong shot up from her bed. She immediately called Hyeran, who, fortunately, was still at the airport.  

“Mom?”  

– Yes, you heard, didn’t you? Guess where I’m going. I just missed you. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”  

Biting her lip, Moonkyeong finally brought up Lee Heejin’s name.  

“Um, well, Heejin invited me to spend summer vacation with her on Spain’s Ibiza Island.”  

– Oh? When?”  

“Tomorrow. It was mentioned last week, but I forgot because I’ve been so busy with performances lately. I’m sorry.”  

On the other end, there was a noticeable pause, as if Hyeran hadn’t anticipated this response.  

After a brief silence, Hyeran spoke again.  

– You’re not going alone, right? Don’t act recklessly. You know what I mean, don’t you?”  

“Yes, of course.”  

– Alright. Pick out the clothes you’ll wear on the trip and send me pictures right now.”  

“Yes.”  

As soon as the call ended, Hyeran transferred a large sum of money into Moonkyeong’s account. Even by the standards of the wealthy, the amount was extravagant for a summer vacation.  

“Another debt to repay.”  

Moonkyeong repacked her bags, which she hadn’t even fully unpacked yet.  

She called Lee Heejin directly and flew to Spain, to the island of Ibiza—the paradise of clubbers, the hedonistic island.  

By the time she arrived at their accommodation, the day had already changed.  

Three men and two women. Oh, counting herself, that made it even.  

So, again. Three men, three women. What perfect balance.  

Yet, despite this, Lee Heejin had rented a massive mansion with over eight rooms.  

Moonkyeong recognized one of the other women, but the two men were strangers. One of them was Russian, but regardless, both were unbearably loud.  

Lee Heejin gestured toward Moonkyeong.  

“That one’s a model, and that one’s a hockey player.”  

Her tone seemed to suggest that Moonkyeong should pick whichever one she liked.  

Detesting the noise, Moonkyeong instinctively sought out the third man.  

After all, it didn’t matter who the partner was as long as she played along. Still, she hoped the third man would at least be quiet.  

While setting down her luggage, Moonkyeong asked,  

“What about the third man?”  

Sitting on the sofa in a bikini, swirling a glass of wine, Lee Heejin gave a sly smile.  

“Kim Seojun.”  

For a moment, she stopped breathing.  

Not wanting to show any change in her expression, Moonkyeong casually opened the living room window wide.  

The pouring sunlight and hot air engulfed her all at once.  

Without being asked, Lee Heejin spoke again from behind her.  

“I thought it was over, but I made one last suggestion. And guess what? He said he’d come.”  

Only now did Moonkyeong realize that what Lee Heejin had said at the club about Seojun had been a lie.  

She asked in the driest tone possible, devoid of emotion,  

“You said he was gay.”  

Lee Heejin stood up with a cheeky whistle.  

“Who knows? Maybe he changed.”  

At that moment, Seojun walked through the door, wearing nothing but shorts.  

What she had previously thought of as simply a manly frame turned out to be much more—a body sculpted with tight, detailed muscles.  

Having seen countless ballet dancers’ n*ked bodies, it shouldn’t have surprised her, but Moonkyeong found herself breathless once again.  

As the sticky heat of the hedonistic island brushed her cheeks, his gaze began to shift toward her.  

“Hey, Senior.”  

Lee Heejin’s voice, an octave higher than usual, clung to him as she wrapped her arm around his.  

Moonkyeong stared blankly at the backs of the two as they climbed the stairs together.  

The part of her she had suppressed for so long surged upward like a parabola, refusing to stay down.  

A curse rose from the depths of her being.  

“Shi…”  

Jealousy and resentment.  

Moonkyeong couldn’t tell which was real, leaving her utterly confused.