#042
#042
Last night he persistently fiddled with my lips and ended up kissing me, yet he has the nerve to bring up a sense of stability. I clicked my tongue at the guy taking advantage of the fact that I couldn’t raise my voice because of Grandma. He acts pitiful and then does whatever he wants.
“Does this give you a sense of stability?”
“It does.”
Sun Woo answered firmly. So firmly that I felt embarrassed for even asking the question.
“Okay. I get that. I get it, but. People are looking, you know? Can’t you hold back a bit in public places like this?”
“So what if they see? They’ll think we’re close. You like that, don’t you? Us looking close. Grandmother would like it if she saw this. Right?”
“…”
Sun Woo is pretty good with words? He’s very persuasive.
As we walked with him holding my hand like that, I suddenly thought of Ha Jin in the webtoon. What kind of expression would Ha Jin have made in this situation? I couldn’t even imagine. I couldn’t even guess that the bastard would have a happy face. Come to think of it, if we’re talking about a ruined character, Ha Jin was worse than Sun Woo.
Whether people came from the opposite side or not, Sun Woo didn’t let go of my hand. I could be shameless since I was wearing sunglasses, but Sun Woo exposed his bare face without even changing his expression. I had guessed to some extent that Sun Woo had a stubborn side, but he’s really amazing. Admiring his shamelessness, I continued walking along the forest path, my mind emptying and filled with only a refreshing feeling.
“It’s nice to walk here.”
The forest path was suitable for walking as it only led to flat ground. To think they created an artificial forest a thousand years ago. I was newly amazed by the wisdom of our ancestors.
Sun Woo suddenly stopped walking. Since I was also holding his hand, I stood with him, and he gave me a meaningful smile. There was no one coming from the opposite side at the moment, so I sensed a strange energy.
“Why?”
When I looked at him suspiciously, he suddenly brought his face close to mine and quickly stole a kiss before pulling away. I had a feeling, and I was right.
As if he gains points every time he touches my lips, he rushes to make contact whenever there’s a chance.
“Is this also for your sense of stability?”
“You know it well.”
“I feel like I’m being used right now.”
At my words, Sun Woo didn’t answer and started walking again. Seeing his back, I had a feeling that tonight wouldn’t be easy either. No matter what happens today, I think I either need to sleep next to Grandmother or send Sun Woo to her side. The sleeping area was no different from a battlefield for me.
As we sat on a bench in the middle to rest, my phone rang. When I took out my phone, Sun Woo looked at me as if it was a big deal. Even I felt awkward about answering the phone. I had no memory of answering incoming calls. But I was waiting for a place to contact me.
[Secretary Kim] appeared on the screen of the phone I took out. I got up for a moment and moved away from Sun Woo.
“Yes, Secretary Kim.”
“Young Master Ha Jin. Are you doing well? I heard you’re far away.”
“I’m putting into practice what I said about spending time in a quiet countryside.”
“I didn’t think you would actually go. Ah, and the thing you asked for has been scheduled.”
“Thank you. It must have been difficult.”
“Not at all. We need to schedule it as quickly as possible, but the director is currently on a medical volunteer trip to Vietnam. He said he’ll see you as soon as he returns.”
I had asked Secretary Kim to receive a proper diagnosis regarding Grandmother’s condition.
“Which hospital and what day should I go?”
“Hope Hospital.”
Hope Hospital, really.
I’m curious if the webtoon world is really small or if it’s structured in a way that the main characters have to be entangled. Hope Hospital is the hospital with the largest scale and best skills in Korea, where the father of the male lead Sin Yeo-un is the director.
As I was dazed for a moment at Secretary Kim’s words, he informed me of the schedule again.
“You can visit Hope Hospital in 3 days. The director says he’ll accommodate your schedule as much as possible and that any time is fine on the 3rd day after he returns to Korea.”
Eunha Group is really amazing. I heard that the basic reservation wait for Hope Hospital is a month, and even using connections, you have to wait a week. When Eunha Group makes a request, the director himself accommodates it.
“Then I’ll go on that day.”
“Yes, if you let me know when you go, I’ll send an employee.”
“Okay, thank you.”
While answering, my eyes kept going to Sun Woo. He was sitting on the bench, continuously looking at me. When our eyes met, he gave me a comfortable smile. I couldn’t believe that good-looking guy was kissing me all the time. I quickly turned my head away from him.
“The article didn’t have that big of an impact. There are so many strange incidents that this kind of thing doesn’t even become an issue.”
Secretary Kim spoke to me as if comforting me. A laugh escaped at his awkward consolation.
We said goodbye to each other and ended the call like that. When I approached Sun Woo, he patted the seat next to him, telling me to sit. Standing instead of sitting next to him, I conveyed the content of the phone call.
“Grandma. Let’s go to Seoul and get you properly examined at a big hospital.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Sun Woo spread his arms. When I took a step forward, he wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me. Sun Woo rested his face on my stomach and stayed like that for a long time. As my hand naturally fiddled with Sun Woo’s hair, he tightened his arms embracing me even more.
“Don’t worry.”
At my comfort, Sun Woo slightly lifted his head and looked up at me.
“I’m worried though. I think I might feel a bit better if you kiss me.”
He showed a fresh smile that suited the summer forest too well, as if he had shaken off all the sadness from yesterday. With a clear face without a trace of worry, he’s spouting nonsense again.
“Let’s go see Ok-bun.”
Thoroughly ignoring his words, I said what I wanted to say, and Sun Woo stood up with a small smile.
“Let’s do it at night.”
“Do what?”
“Kiss.”
‘Author, the male lead has gone crazy!’
We stopped by a nearby cafe, bought cool omija tea, and headed back to the medicinal herb market. Seeing Grandmother happily conversing with a customer among the crowd, a smile unknowingly formed on my lips.
“Ok-bun!”
When I called out to Grandmother with a nasal voice, she turned her head, spotted me, and showed an even brighter smile. Grandmother said something to the customer with a kind face and pointed at me with her hand.
“My grandson’s friend. I said you go to the same school, right?”
Seeing Grandmother kindly speaking to the customer, I thought the customer’s height was quite tall at a glance. I couldn’t see the customer’s face because of the crowd. Without looking closely, I approached and handed the tea to Grandmother.
“Why are you back already?”
“I came because I missed you. Have some of this cool drink.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I’m almost done selling, so wait a bit. Let’s buy some fried chicken with Grandma and go home.”
“Okay.”
Grandmother took a sip of the tea and gestured for me to look to the side.
“Jin-i. This student goes to the same school.”
Following Grandmother’s gesture, I finally looked at the customer. The tall guy was smiling at me so brightly that his eyes weren’t visible. With a face that would look quite fierce and cold if he weren’t smiling.
“Kim Shin?”
‘What? How do I run into Kim Shin in a place like this?’
Kim Shin was dressed very comfortably. Wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, he gave the feeling of having just stepped out of his house. His house and this place are 4 hours apart though. My eyes widened at Kim Shin’s appearance.
“Ha Jin. Meeting everyone here, huh?”
Compared to me, who was very surprised, Kim Shin didn’t seem to have much change in emotion. It was the same smile he always showed me.
Well, he always maintained the same appearance, but still. He should be a bit surprised in this situation. It’s an incredible coincidence.
“What brings you here?”
I asked him with wide eyes, as if surprised.
“I’m just traveling alone.”
“Are you doing a nationwide tour?”
“Not that. I’m just going wherever my feet take me.”
Seeing Kim Shin in an unexpected place, I was happy to see him. Grandmother, who had been listening to our conversation, was also surprised.
“You said you were from the same school, but you were friends with our Jin-i?”
“This is Kim Shin, who goes to the same school as me.”
“Yes. I’ve been friends with Ha Jin since we were young.”
“Oh my, how can such a coincidence happen?”
“I know, right? But why did Ha Jin come here?”
“Our Jin-i came to visit Grandma’s house. Right?”
Grandmother answered for me. At Grandmother’s words, I introduced Grandmother to Kim Shin.
“That’s right. Ah, this is Sun Woo’s grandmother.”
“Hmm, Sun Woo?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Shin smiled brightly. Then he bowed to Grandmother and spoke to her very affectionately.
“Can’t I come visit Grandmother’s house too? I’m bored traveling alone during the break. I want to hang out with friends now.”
“Huh? Oh, why not? Of course you can. Aren’t you friends with our darling too?”
“That’s right. I’m really close with Sun Woo. And with Ha Jin too.”
“Then come. If you’re our darling’s friend, you’re a grandson to Grandma too.”
Kim Shin stood up with a big smile. He playfully hugged me and rocked my body slightly from side to side.
“Meeting everyone here, we must be really destined.”
In this dumbfounding situation, I was held by Kim Shin like that for a long time.
Is it because it’s a webtoon? I had a feeling that the connections with people were strangely well-linked. I was even introduced to the hospital of the male lead Sin Yeo-un’s father. Thinking that the encounter with Kim Shin was a characteristic of the webtoon, my surprise subsided a bit.
“Wouldn’t this be considered a match made in heaven?”
I laughed as if dumbfounded at Kim Shin’s words while hugging and swaying me, and I separated from him. Grandmother was laughing as if watching a cute little act. Then she looked around as if searching for someone.
“Jin-i. Where’s our darling?”
Grandmother was looking for Sun Woo, who was out of sight.
“There was no parking space, so he must be wandering around. I got out first to give you the drink.”
“Oh dear, don’t go around alone. You’ll get lost. Stay close to our darling.”
“Yes. I will.”
Kim Shin, who had been listening to the conversation, put his hand on my shoulder. Despite his cold face, he smiled prettily at Grandmother.
“Don’t worry, Grandmother. I’ll take good care of Ha Jin by his side.”
At Kim Shin’s words, Grandmother laughed and waved her hand.
“Oh, you don’t need to do that as a student. Our darling is taking good care of him.”