The gazes around them turned toward Jaehee. They all had faces that seemed to ask, “Then what is this about someone who is not your lover escorting you and even bringing food?”
“I’m a sunbae from high school. He happened to need a partner, so I came along.”
“Ah…so, Miss Min Jaehee, you’re single then?”
“Yes.”
She felt Yoon Jung-hoo’s gaze piercing through the side of her face. It was like being pricked by a needle, making her eyelids twitch. But she couldn’t turn to face him. If she did, she might freeze up. Instead, she lowered her gaze and took the plate from his hand.
“Thanks, Jung-hoo. I’ll go eat over there. You chat comfortably with your friends.”
She left the spot as if nothing was wrong. In reality, she was trembling with fear. This was Junghoo’s lifelong friends’ gathering. Even if she was just a passing woman, she judged that there was no need to give them the impression that he frequently changed women. After all, they were not in any kind of relationship.
Jaehee mechanically put the food in her mouth, then suddenly bit her tongue.
“Is Jung-hoo really not in a relationship with you?”
Someone approached her and asked. From the voice, it seemed to be the woman who was with Yoon Jung-hoo earlier.
“No, he’s not.”
“There is no way that Jung-hoo would bring a woman to this kind of gathering. He’s very thorough with things like that. Because of the YS Group’s image, he doesn’t bring women to formal events. He doesn’t want any false rumors to spread. That household is quite strict in those matters.”
“…I just begged him to bring me because I’ve never been to a place like this before.”
She said that, but the woman looked skeptical.
“Which family are you from?”
Someone asked her bluntly. Yoon Jung-hoo was seen talking seriously with some of his colleagues at a distance.
“I’m really just a sunbae from high school.”
“You must have been a very close sunbae. He’s the type of guy who wouldn’t even pour a cup of water for girls. Unless their wrist is broken, he tells them to pour it themselves.”
That was the case even when he dated Yoojung. It was also the biggest reason for their breakup. Yoojung chased after him during their college years and eventually they started dating, but that was it. He didn’t treat her kindly or stay by her side. He treated Yoojung, his girlfriend, the same way he treated other female classmates. Seeing him take care of Jaehee in front of Yoojung and even serve her food was enough to make everyone think she was some kind of amazing rich girl.
“Excuse me first.”
As they didn’t seem to listen to her words at all, Jaehee eventually chose to leave. She walked with wobbly steps and climbed the stairs to the second floor. There were a few people gathered there, each talking to the other. Jaehee confirmed that there were no suspicious individuals and moved her steps to the third floor.
The hallway on the third floor was dark, and it seemed like it only opened up to the second floor. Jaehee leaned against the railing on the third floor and looked down at the first floor. She saw Junghoo looking for someone. As soon as he looked up, Jaehee took a few steps back from the railing.
She found the “powder room” and moved there. The powder room was also without light, like the hallway. Instead, there was no one inside. A mirror on one side of the wall, an integrated dressing table, three chairs, and a window that showed the outside were all there was. She could distinguish objects in the space by the light from the street lamps outside. It was only now that she felt relieved to be in an empty space, where even the sound of the music was faint.
“Ah…”
She sighed deeply.
Her tongue, which she had bitten earlier, now relaxed.
Sitting on the windowsill, Jaehee looked outside. Then she pressed her eyelashes with the palm of her hand. Her false eyelashes, which she had applied for the first time in her life, pricked her palm.
*Knock knock*
“Sunbae, are you here?”
Jaehee didn’t answer. She just wanted Jung-hoo to leave the place quickly. Before she knew it, she was staring at the door without even breathing.
*Thud*
Translator’s note: Follow the link to discover more enthralling stories today.
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The next chapter will be updated on March 18, 2023, Saturday.
More about my translations can be found here.
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