INC

Episode 6

If there was one more resolution Jin Ihyun had made in her life, it was to avoid getting caught up in gossip. This wasn’t a principle born out of particularly righteous or steadfast conviction. It was because of her face, which immediately revealed the truth.

She didn’t like hearing other people’s secrets. She simply knew she couldn’t keep them if someone asked her about them later.

In fact, she had experienced something like this briefly in college. Ihyun had witnessed a senior and a junior from her department secretly dating, and the two had earnestly pleaded with her.

“Ihyun, please. You know what people would say if they found out we’re dating. You’ll keep it a secret, right?”

Dating someone from the same department was practically an invitation for gossip. Ihyun, fully aware of this, clenched her fists and accepted their plea without refusal. She had no idea how much of a stir it would cause.

She managed to keep their secret for only a day. While idly spending time in the student lounge, she noticed the pair’s unusual atmosphere, and someone’s remark triggered the disaster.

“They seem really suspicious. Aren’t they dating?”

At that very moment, Ihyun’s face flushed bright red. It wasn’t just red—it blazed with the intensity of a torch. She pressed her hoodie down tightly, trying to conceal the truth, but it was futile.

In an instant, everyone’s attention focused on Ihyun, and they swarmed her with questions, as if realizing something. Without uttering a word, she had unintentionally revealed the secret.

Everyone knew about Jin Ihyun’s chronic blush, so they quickly interrogated her. She kept shaking her head, refusing to answer, but there was nothing she could do about her face turning explosively red.

Ihyun still remembered clearly—the vacant eyes staring at her, the hands and voices directed at her as if in ecstasy.

And so, she was running now. She didn’t want to know Liam O’Connor’s secret. Even if it meant running barefoot with one slipper flying far behind her.

“Jin Ihyun! Stop right there!”

Even if Liam picked up her slipper with an angry face and chased her fiercely. She had been irritated and frustrated since he had been calling her in Korean so confidently—it felt as though now that he had caught her, everything was done and over with.

In truth, it was a game with an obvious outcome. Liam, who was twice her height and far more athletic, would inevitably catch up to her. Searching for a place to hide, Ihyun changed direction and ran even faster.

Thanks to the gap created earlier while Liam bent down to pick up her flying slipper, she had survived for now. Knowing her appearance was ridiculous, she had to hide even more. After passing through the crowded market, she ducked into a secluded alley, pressing her body against a wall to catch her breath.

It had been so long since she had run like this that her shallow breaths kept escaping. As she pressed her hands to her knees, barely calming her pounding pulse, she heard Liam’s presence at the alley’s entrance.

The sound of his heavy footsteps hitting the ground made her immediately cover her mouth. She closed her eyes tightly, breathing as quietly as possible, desperately praying.

Please, please don’t let this crazy guy find me.

Focusing all her senses on her ears, she heard his footsteps stop quietly. She let go of her hands covering her mouth and exhaled in relief—but then a strong scent of cologne reached her. It was familiar. The sandalwood scent that always lingered whenever she rushed past Liam.

Startled, Ihyun opened her eyes to find him standing before her, a look on his face she couldn’t quite read. One hand held her slipper, looking pitiful.

She didn’t know how to begin speaking and just stared blankly, lips moving. Liam furrowed his brows harshly before leaning down.

He helped her slip back into her slipper, stained black from running barefoot. Not only was it dirty, but faint blood also trickled from her soles. Watching this, Liam asked in a drained voice,

“Why are you running and even bleeding like you’ve committed a grave sin?”

“…It’s not that.”

“Now I get it.”

Liam stood up and briefly summed up the situation. Ihyun, still bewildered by his fluent Korean, opened her mouth in astonishment, questioning if this was real.

Yet, contrary to her thoughts, Liam spoke with a somehow hollow expression, muttering,

“Jin Ihyun, it turns out you didn’t like me—you hated me to death.”

“Excuse me?”

“Since you hated me so much, you ran away like this, worried you’d find out my secret and get involved, right?”

There was no hint of embarrassment or apology. It was a bitter tone saying, “So you felt the same way, huh.”

Ihyun’s mouth opened wider and wider. She could barely understand the man in front of her. If it wasn’t liking, was extreme dislike really the only two options? There was always the neutral choice of just being casual colleagues at work.

She couldn’t gauge how to explain why she wanted to ignore his secret or how to define their relationship. How could she explain that knowing it would lead to nothing good?

As Ihyun kept flapping her hands in the air, trying to express herself, Liam asked,

“You don’t mind if I tell people I know Korean?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“I wasn’t planning to stick around long anyway, so do as you like.”

It was really strange. He spoke as if assuming she would naturally reject him, dropping words casually without giving her a chance to respond. Even if she wanted to speak, Liam already seemed to have finished his own mental summary, expression calm.

“I’ll go ahead.”

The bittersweet, lonely expression on his face made Ihyun’s chest ache. Just this morning, he had been irritating and bothersome—why was he now showing such vulnerability? She quickly stepped forward, blocking his path.

“I’m not going to tell anyone what I saw earlier.”

Hesitating, she revealed her true thoughts.

“I’ll do my best not to let it be noticed. There must be a reason you hid it.”

Surprised, Liam looked down at her with wide eyes. Of course, there was a reason for hiding it. A trivial one, but still. Ihyun, cheeks flushed as usual, handed him the puffed rice snack she had been holding and said,

“So don’t worry, walk confidently. I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”

As Liam frowned slightly at the snack in his hand, Ihyun swiftly left the alley. Her ears and cheeks were burning bright red. Stunned, Liam watched her disappear in quick steps, like a tiny hamster scurrying away.

Ihyun turned back and shouted,

“Just make sure you know this! You know I don’t like you, right?”

Hearing her urgent shout, Liam nodded lazily. Before Ihyun turned at the alley’s end, he called out,

“So… you dislike me?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I said, do you dislike me?”

Hearing this, Ihyun pursed her lips, making a strange face. What kind of mindset drives your conclusions to extremes like this? Not wanting any further entanglement with him, she replied swiftly,

“What do you mean like or dislike? We’re just colleagues.”

Satisfied, Ihyun walked away with an indifferent expression. Staring blankly at the puffed rice snack, Liam muttered,

“Just colleagues, huh.”

After a moment of thought, he realized—so it wasn’t dislike.

Ironically, Liam began to like Ihyun a little. Her fearless, warm-hearted behavior was both cute and amusing.