Episode 6
The empty house.
Inhyeok lay sprawled on his bed, gently closing his eyes.
Even amidst this, calls from ‘Don’t Pick Up 2’ were coming in relentlessly.
[I think Taegang has noticed something.]
Inhyeok had received a message from his informant this morning.
There was no mention of what had been noticed, but he knew immediately.
The proof was that damn ringing phone that Bakgi hadn’t given up on.
“Really, it’s so noisy.”
Finally, Inhyeok turned his phone off.
Complete silence finally descended.
Ah, how long had it been since he’d felt such peace?
An empty house.
A location no one could predict.
Peace that couldn’t be enjoyed at any time.
On top of that, he’d ended up playing the role of a live-in tutor, something he never expected in his wildest dreams.
A chuckle escaped him.
“Our old man. It would be quite a sight to see his expression if he knew I was here doing this.”
Inhyeok curled his lips in a faint sneer, picturing his father’s furious reaction.
“The Korean sunlight feels… different somehow.”
The room was small, even smaller than the bathroom in the house he lived in in the US, but it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.
Especially the scent of soap that seemed to emanate from Harang, lingering around the house, was quite pleasing.
Under the shattering sunlight, Inhyeok drifted off for a nap, like a contented cat.
After her afternoon classes, Harang headed to the library.
Tailoring her cover letter to each company’s ideal candidate was a task in itself.
After finishing some of the paperwork, Harang hit the save button and stretched her stiff neck.
Checking her phone, she found missed calls and messages from Inhyeok.
[I’m hungry. Feed me. PM 7:17]
[Aren’t we having a lesson? PM 8:30]
[Skipping on the first day is a bit much, don’t you think? PM 9:56]
[No reply in 1 hour and I’ll change the door passcode? ㅎ PM11:02]
“Yikes, look at me.”
She had completely forgotten about the one-hour mock interview session she was supposed to have with Inhyeok each day.
She had a tendency to become intensely focused on one thing, and if she didn’t set hourly alarms, she could spend hours rooted to the spot.
She had set her phone to silent in the library, and this was the result.
Harang quickly sent a text saying she was on her way, hurriedly packed her laptop, and left the library.
“Harang, are you heading home now?”
At the chillingly familiar voice, Harang turned her head. Minwoo was standing at the library entrance.
“You’re working hard, even this late.”
Perhaps because it was almost midnight, there was no one else around the library.
Harang instinctively took a step back.
“I see you were studying too, senior.”
“I was waiting for you. It’s late, let me walk you home.”
“…senior. I appreciate your concern, but honestly, you doing this repeatedly makes me uncomfortable. I’m sorry, but I’ll go alone.”
“Hey, Lee Harang.”
It was then that the smile, which had been precariously hanging on Minwoo’s lips, vanished.
“Can’t you stop playing hard to get? Why do you have to embarrass someone who’s trying to be friendly first? Why do you keep rejecting my kindness?”
Minwoo’s eyes widened.
It seemed, with no one around to see, he had decided to drop the act.
Harang’s hands began to tremble.
At first, she had taken Minwoo’s kindness as the class representative’s genuine warmth.
Accepting his drink with thanks had been her mistake.
Since then, Minwoo had shown an abnormal obsession, and whenever Harang tried to distance herself, he couldn’t contain his anger.
It was enough to make her feel fear, beyond just discomfort.
‘What do I do? There’s no one to help.’
As she glanced around the deserted area, Minwoo reached out for her.
Terrified, Harang clutched her phone and quickly stepped back.
“M-my brother is coming to pick me up. So please, just go, senior.”
Minwoo let out a contemptuous laugh.
“Harang, why are you lying? Your brother went to Hawaii, he’s not home.”
“…!”
Harang gasped silently.
Goosebumps prickled all over her body.
How did this senior know about Hajun’s schedule, which was decided less than two days ago?
Rrrr- Rrrr-
Then, as if by a miracle, her phone rang.
<Teacher Tae Inhyeok>
Harang immediately pressed the answer button.
“-You finally pick up, Student Lee Harang?”
It was a soft, gentle voice, but one that was clearly laced with sarcasm.
“O-oppa!”
Feeling as if she had found her savior, Harang cried out urgently.
“-I told you not to call me oppa. You only call me that for one of two reasons. Either you’re hitting on me, or you’re defying me.”
Unfortunately, Harang wasn’t in a position to give a proper response to Inhyeok right now. Her plan was to pretend she was talking to her real brother, Hajun, to get Minwoo to back off.
“Uhmmm… I’m in front of the library right now. Where are you?”
“-Oh, now you’re using casual speech? Your defiance is rather cute.”
“W-what? You’re already at the school’s main gate? I’m coming now.”
“-….”
Nothing came from the other end of the phone. He’d probably hung up, hearing her nonsense. But she had no choice. The act had to continue.
Fortunately, it was working.
Because Minwoo was now sneakily glancing around his surroundings.
It seemed he was preparing to make an exit, just in case Harang’s brother really was coming.
“-By the way, who’s that bastard who looks like a snakehead fish in front of you?”
“…!”
Harang’s eyes widened.
His words sounded as if he was looking right at her.
She didn’t even have time to look around. A heavy scent from behind her announced its owner’s presence.
Swallowing a trembling breath, Harang slowly turned around.
Inhyeok was standing there like a post, wearing a matching black tracksuit set.
His skin, pale as if white paint had been spilled, and his ink-black clothes created a strange harmony.
Harang’s jaw dropped in surprise.
She was shocked by Inhyeok’s sudden appearance, but seeing him arrive just in time, relief and joy surged within her.
“You should come home early. What if someone snatches you away?”
Inhyeok, with his hands in his pockets, looked back and forth between Harang and Minwoo with a blank face.
“So, who are you?”
It was clear that anyone who saw Inhyuk would feel the same way.
Overwhelmed by Inhyeok’s commanding aura, Minwoo stammered, unlike his usual self.
“W-who are you?”
“That’s none of your business, student.”
His gentle voice carried a soft melody, but it was laced with a chilling coldness that could freeze one’s bones.
Minwoo shook his head in disbelief.
“N-no, that can’t be… I made sure… I made sure Harang had no other guys around but me…”
Inhyuk, who had been looking pityingly at Minwoo as he bit his nails and rambled, frowned.
“My cute student, I’m genuinely curious about something.”
“…Yes?”
“Is collecting losers a hobby of yours?”
From Inhyeok’s perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable question.
Last time in the alley near the study cafe, and today as well.
It just so happened that Inhyeok was the witness every time she found herself in a difficult situation. It was enough to make him misunderstand. But she wanted no part of this particular misunderstanding.
Her face flushing red, Harang jumped up.
“N-no, it’s not!”
“What a relief. I almost thought your taste ran in that direction and was about to be disappointed.”
“…But how did you get here?”
“By car.”
A simple answer came back. Indeed, behind him, the bright red sports car she’d seen last time was visible.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“I came to catch a student who skipped her very first lesson. Thanks to you, I felt like a dog waiting for its owner in an empty house.”
Although his tone was characteristically teasing, Harang sensed the scolding hidden within it.
“I’m sorry. The application deadline is coming up soon, and I forgot.”
“Wow. So I got pushed aside by some papers?”
What was so funny?
Inhyeok burst out laughing, even making ‘pfft’ sounds. Harang could only stare at him blankly.
The man’s subtle expressions, gestures, and tone of voice seemed alive, pulling Harang in.
As she was losing her sense of reality, Minwoo stomped over towards her, fuming.
“Harang. Who is this guy, I’m asking?”
Ah, right. This sunbae was still here.
Answering for Harang, who had unintentionally been treating Minwoo as invisible, was Inhyuk.
“Why are you so curious about who I am?”
The dry pupils set within his long, narrow eyes scanned Minwoo as if licking him from head to toe.
