Chapter 16

Haji twisted her body backward, and as expected, Seojin was standing there. He straightened his body that had been leaning against the wall.

“Since when have you been standing there?”

In front of the women’s restroom, no less.

“You weren’t coming out.”

“Were you waiting for me?”

Why?

Haji’s eyes seemed to ask that.

“Since you left like that, I couldn’t help but follow.”

“What did I…?”

What did I do?

Haji muttered softly, as the situation from a moment ago flashed by again.

Seojin took a step closer, and another. His eyes seemed to be smiling, though he wasn’t actually smiling.

“Why are you so upset?”

“Pardon?”

“This is an unexpected gain.”

She couldn’t understand what he was saying. It seemed like he was pleased that she was upset.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Just happy.”

“I mean, what is…?!”

Haji’s words were cut off. Because of the hand that touched her chin.

“What are you doing?”

Seojin, holding her face with one hand, began to press her cheeks. More precisely, he kneaded them like dough, making Ha-ji’s pronunciation come out all messed up.

“Stop it.”

Even though Haji glared at him with sharp eyes, he didn’t care at all. Instead, he let out a small laugh.

This person is really…

She couldn’t help but get more irritated. Already feeling strange and confused, his playful actions were adding fuel to the fire.

“Stop it.”

Enough already!

Her head felt hot, her heart confused by these strange feelings. She couldn’t understand or wanted to understand why he was acting like this.

“This is the last warning. Stop it now.”

She gave him a final warning. Thinking that if he ignored this warning, she wouldn’t let it slide.

If he didn’t remove his mischievous hand from her cheek, she was determined to get revenge somehow.

“I was going to stop after doing it once. But it’s more fun than I thought.”

What? Fun?

A flame of anger flared up in Haji’s eyes. He was touching her cheeks without permission and ignoring her words to stop, clearly underestimating her.

The uneasy feelings she had before disappeared, leaving only the desire to teach him a lesson.

Haji clenched her fists tightly.

Yes, even worms squirm when stepped on.

Grabbing Seo-jin’s hand on her chin with both hands, Ha-ji opened her mouth wide.

Chomp, she bit down hard. At the same time, Haji’s eyes widened and her mouth opened again. She was surprised by her own action.

“Why didn’t you avoid it?”

You could have easily avoided it!

“Why would I?”

“Huh? Why?”

“If you’re going to bite, you should have bitten harder.”

Seojin’s indifferent attitude made Haji even more flustered. And now, he was even giving her a lecture.

“That’s not what you’re supposed to say right now.”

Who says that after getting bitten?

The person who bit was more surprised and confused than the person who got bitten.

“Is your hand okay?”

Despite the brief shock, she was concerned about his hand.

She looked at his hand where her teeth had made contact, worried it might be injured.

Tsk, a clicking sound came from him.

“How can you be so soft-hearted?”

Though his words were scolding, Seojin gently patted Haji’s head. His touch made her hair feel soft.

“If you’re angry, you should stay angry till the end.”

“But biting is…”

It seems wrong.

His gentle reprimand softened her heart. The desire to give him a good scolding also faded.

As Haji hesitated with her words, Seojin lightly stroked her hair.

“It’s okay. It’s the other person’s fault that you’re angry.”

His warm hand made her feel dazed for a moment. Though his touch felt unfamiliar, it was comforting.

It didn’t seem entirely wrong, so she had nothing more to say. She didn’t feel like arguing about right and wrong.

“Shall we go home?”

“Okay.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Seojin turned around. This caused Haji to stagger.

“Your hand, your hand…!”

Holding Haji’s hand.

***

In the dim evening, Haji suddenly opened her eyes while tossing and turning in her blanket.

“I can’t sleep.”

It was an indescribable feeling. Her heart felt itchy somehow.

This unfamiliar emotion made her eyes even more alert. Haji stretched out her arm.

With eyes accustomed to the darkness, she looked at her hand. The hand that had held Seojin’s.

Why do I keep wanting to see this hand?

The time Seojin held her hand wasn’t long. It naturally fell away when they got into the car after leaving the fashion show.

“When was it?”

The last time I held someone’s hand?

It seemed like it had been so long that she couldn’t remember anymore. Seonghee was much taller than her, so it was strange to hold hands when they would usually link arms or put an arm around her shoulder.

“Is that why?”

Because it’s been so long, this unfamiliar emotion feels awkward.

Lying on her side, Haji stared blankly at the door.

“Did he get home safely?”

She thought of Seojin, who went on a business trip right after dropping her off at home.

Glancing at the phone on the table.

He must have arrived safely. He’s not a child.

“Hmm. What time is it now?”

Haji cleared her throat and reached for her phone. Even though she knew no one was around, she felt a bit embarrassed.

“It’s not even 12 yet?”

5 minutes to go, but still.

That means he wouldn’t be asleep yet.

Seojin, as she had observed while living together, didn’t seem to sleep much.

He often came home later than her and sometimes arrived after she had already fallen asleep. In the morning, he usually left earlier than her.

As Seojin said, he hardly spent any time at home. Considering he started his business trip today, a Friday, work seemed to be constant regardless of weekdays or weekends.

“He must be busy now too.”

Haji mumbled while tapping her phone with her nail. Feeling somewhat disappointed.

Her thoughts about Seojin drifted back to the fashion show. His unfamiliar smile.

And the sight of him with another woman.

“What kind of relationship do they have?”

Given how easily the woman was touching Seo-jin, they couldn’t be just ordinary acquaintances.

I could never do that.

She wasn’t close to him and was just a tenant living in his house.

It was then. Her phone in her hand lit up.

Haji carefully brought the phone to her ear, focusing on the voice on the other end.

“Sunbae?”

– Yeah, Haji.

“What’s up?”

– You haven’t slept yet?

His voice sounded unexpectedly pleasant. In the stillness, his voice seemed even louder.

“I was just about to.”

– Then can you do me a favor before you sleep?

***

Click, the dark room lit up. It was Seojin’s room, where she had once stayed after getting drunk.

Haji, who had entered cautiously, saw a paper on the floor.

“Is this it?”

He said he was missing an important document. It seemed to have fallen in the room, and he asked her to take a picture and send it if she found it.

Click, she took a photo of the paper with numbers she couldn’t understand and sent it to him.

After completing his request, Haji looked up.

“The things we bought back then are here.”

The furniture they had picked out together was all there. Most of it was chosen based on her opinions.

The bed, the bedside table, and the stand lamp that softly illuminated them.

“Huh? Was that always that color?”

Haji tilted her head. The color of the tall lamp’s base seemed different from what she remembered.

“It used to be white.”

Muttering softly, she poked it with her finger.

“Oh my.”

She was surprised to see her finger stained dark.

“What on earth is this?”

No way.

“He hasn’t cleaned it even once, has he?”

It had been almost a month since she picked out the furniture.

“I need to check.”

Haji stared at the message screen with the ‘1’ notification gone.

***

As the sun set, Seojin’s car entered the apartment complex.

After parking, Seojin let out a low sigh. His eyes, lined with red veins, showed his fatigue.

“Oh, why?”

Seojin spoke indifferently into the phone that rang before he turned off the engine. His hoarse voice scratched at his throat.

– Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You’ll be back in a week anyway.

Matthew’s rough voice echoed in the car, questioning Seojin’s decision to shorten the originally 3-night, 4-day trip to a non-stop 2-day trip. Because of that, they had barely slept during the trip.

“Then stay there.”

– What am I supposed to do here after you’ve done all the work?

That guy’s like a ghost, I can’t tell what he’s thinking. A monster, a monster.

Seojin abruptly ended the call amidst Matthew’s continued muttering. He didn’t have the energy to waste on such pointless talk.

“I said I’d come today, so I have to come.”

His voice, lower than usual, scratched at his throat, making his vocal cords sting.

The reason he returned today, despite being called a monster, was because of the message Haji had sent.