Chapter 30
While drinking our drinks, we walked around the path that was half filled with cherry blossoms and half with people. When Myung A-jin said she was hungry, we went into a nearby restaurant.
After ordering food and waiting for a bit, Myung A-jin proudly showed off the photos she had taken.
“Wow, Myung A-jin takes damn good pictures.”
“Ahem. If you’re a Korean high school girl, taking good photos is a must.”
“What does that even have to do with anything…?”
I replied awkwardly, but honestly I was impressed too.
They were all candid photos—I didn’t even know when she had taken them—but every single one looked natural and beautiful, like they were taken by a professional photographer.
While flipping through the photos, Jung Soo-min pointed at one and asked me,
“Can I use this as my profile picture?”
It was a photo of Soo-min and me smiling brightly under a cherry blossom tree.
What the? When did I ever smile like that?
“If I tell you not to, will you listen?”
“You know I won’t. A-jin, send me this photo.”
“Okay!”
That bastard…
Ignoring my sharp glare, Jung Soo-min grinned and updated the photo.
‘Looks like he likes it.’
At that moment, Myung A-jin, who was looking at the photos on her phone, murmured quietly,
“It would’ve been nice if Jae-hyun came with us….”
“Cough!”
I quickly turned my head and coughed while holding my cup.
“You… finally remembered Yeon Jae-hyun’s name?”
When I asked, Myung A-jin laughed sheepishly.
“I saw it on the messenger name. You should’ve told me… Geez, Se-yeon and Soo-min are so mean!”
“I thought you were calling him that on purpose. To tease him.”
When Jung Soo-min answered casually, Myung A-jin puffed up her cheeks, saying there was no way.
“But why did Jae-hyun suddenly say he couldn’t come? And only one hour before we were supposed to meet… Do you think he’s sick?!”
“Maybe he just didn’t want to come. Do we really have to keep talking about him?”
Jung Soo-min made it very clear he was annoyed, but Myung A-jin scolded him with a serious expression.
“Soo-min, aren’t you worried about your classmate? What if he got mugged on the way here! He could’ve gotten beaten up badly!”
“What exactly do you think Yeon Jae-hyun is?”
I asked in disbelief. No matter how much of a loser he seemed, he was still a well-built guy over 180 cm tall.
“Jae-hyun? Umm…”
Myung A-jin trailed off awkwardly for a moment. Then she suddenly smiled brightly.
“A guy who gets his bread stolen by a girl a head shorter than him!”
“……”
She wasn’t wrong.
After that, we filled the table with food and ate until we were stuffed.
After leaving the restaurant, we walked around nearby alley shops to help our digestion. Then, because Myung A-jin kept whining about wanting something sweet, we even went to a dessert café.
It turned out to be a pretty packed course, and time flew by.
By the time the sun started to set, we decided to split up.
“Ah, come on. I said I’d walk you home.”
“Take Myung A-jin instead. Your house is in the opposite direction anyway, so stop showing off.”
Ignoring Jung Soo-min, who kept whining that it didn’t matter, I forcibly pushed the two of them away.
“Message me when you get home!”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get lost.”
Jung Soo-min kept glancing back at me until the end, while Myung A-jin bounced around excitedly. Once they disappeared from view, I pulled out my phone to call a taxi.
“Hm?”
Just then, my phone—which I had set to silent—started receiving a call.
“Hello?”
I answered curiously, and a gentle voice came from the other side.
“Where are you?”
“Jamsil Station. I’ll be heading back soon.”
“I’m nearby too. Let’s go together. Wait outside.”
“What? Where are you right now—”
Click.
The call ended before I could finish speaking.
“That bastard….”
I grumbled angrily. For a moment I thought about just leaving first, but in the end I sat quietly on a nearby bench and waited.
My life was still precious.
Then—buzz.
This time, I got a text message from Yeon Jae-hyun.
“Huh?”
My eyes widened as I quickly tapped the notification.
It was the first time Yeon Jae-hyun had contacted me first.
But as I read the message, my expression gradually stiffened.
[Yeon Jae-hyun: You should’ve just signed a contract with Jung Soo-min.]
“…What the hell is he talking about?”
I frowned at the meaningless sentence.
Seong Tae-woo too… Do all White Killers just not know how to write properly?
I wish they’d just say things clearly so people could understand.
‘Whatever. It’s not like I can teach him now.’
It would be faster to just ask him directly.
Just as I opened the keyboard to reply and ask what he meant, my surroundings suddenly grew darker.
When I looked up, Seo Jin-hyung was standing in front of me.
Reflexively, I turned off my phone screen and shoved it into my pocket.
It would probably look like I read the message and ignored it, but Yeon Jae-hyun—who was practically a pseudo-psychopath—probably wouldn’t care.
“Did you wait long?”
“No… you came quickly. Let’s go. Where’s the driver?”
“I didn’t call him.”
As I stood up and asked, Seo Jin-hyung said something ridiculous.
He didn’t call the driver?
“Why?”
“Let’s walk.”
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
‘If we walk, it’ll take two hours. What kind of crazy talk is that?’
It was so absurd that I didn’t even feel angry. I sighed and turned my body away.
“I’d rather take the subway. You walk by yourself.”
“Here, give me your hand.”
Ignoring my words completely, Seo Jin-hyung held out his hand beside me.
From bad to worse…
I couldn’t hide my shocked expression.
“Did studying all day finally break your brain? Go to a hospital instead of the study room.”
“What if you get lost while walking?”
“Am I five years old?!”
Even if I got lost, I could just grab a taxi.
Despite my temper, Seo Jin-hyung didn’t take his hand back. My eyes trembled and wandered everywhere without direction.
At this point, it wasn’t about walking or taking a car anymore.
‘Should I grab it or not… Damn it. I’m going crazy.’
Many opinions clashed inside my head.
‘Whatever. Let’s just die.’
I shut my eyes tightly and grabbed his hand.
Yeah, he must be acting like this because of affection deprivation.
This was probably just an extension of that kangaroo-game thing. Thinking like that made me feel a bit better.
“Good boy.”
“Shut up. I want to die.”
“Why? You’re okay sleeping together, but you hate holding hands?”
“Th-that’s when we’re alone! We’re outside right now….”
Holding hands was already embarrassing enough, but because Seo Jin-hyung stood out so much, every passerby kept staring at us.
When I protested in a barely audible voice, Seo Jin-hyung chuckled.
How annoying.
‘Yeah, laugh all you want. May it bring you good luck, bastard.’
Walking with a look of enlightenment, I stared blankly into the air. Then suddenly Seo Jin-hyung tightened his grip on my hand.
“Ugh.”
It hurt just enough to sting.
When I looked at him questioningly, Seo Jin-hyung lowered his head and met my eyes.
“Why is your body like this, Se-yeon? Your ankle too, your hands too. If I apply the wrong strength, it feels like you might break.”
“……”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
If he thought I might break with the wrong amount of strength, then why did he squeeze my hand on purpose?
I didn’t even want to ask.
I just rubbed my cold chest and turned my head, pretending not to hear.
But Seo Jin-hyung kept creating a sense of fear, clenching his teeth as he spoke.
“That’s why every time we slept together, I was scared. That I might accidentally kill you.”
“W-what are you talking about… How could someone accidentally kill a person while sleeping?”
This time, there was no way I could pretend not to hear.
When I asked with a trembling jaw, Seo Jin-hyung smiled brightly.
“You know how you shouldn’t sleep in the same bed with a newborn.”
Where the hell is there a 165-cm newborn?!
My shoulders trembled as I barely held back a shout.
Without exaggeration, this was the most terrifying moment of my life.
Even more chilling than that surprise encounter in the science lab.
While I was sleeping peacefully without knowing anything, Seo Jin-hyung had been thinking about something like that.
‘Crazy bastard.’
Logically, he couldn’t seriously think I was as fragile as a newborn.
Was this just his way of keeping me in line?
Anyway, just when I started to forget, he would show his psychopath side again and make me tense.
“Haha, I’m joking. Relax your face. Someone might think I’m really going to eat you.”
“D-don’t joke like that, seriously….”
Seo Jin-hyung nodded as if he understood, but my tension didn’t fade easily.
It was the first time I had heard something so direct about killing someone, and it felt like my head would explode.
‘I need to work harder on treatment. His mental state is still pretty messed up. No matter what… what was that? Damn it… this is awful.’
How long did we walk in that strange atmosphere?
Before I knew it, the night sky had turned completely dark, and a cherry blossom petal gently floated down in front of my eyes.
When I turned toward the direction the petal came from, I saw a row of cherry blossom trees in full bloom.
“…They planted cherry blossom trees here.”
“Yeah.”
The location felt random, but it was beautiful.
Do cherry blossoms look prettier at night than during the day?
As I stared blankly up at the line of cherry blossom trees, Seo Jin-hyung asked softly,
“Pretty?”
“Huh? No, I’m just looking because they’re here.”
“Should we plant cherry blossom trees in front of the house?”
“What nonsense. Just come outside and look at them. Why would you….”
I really couldn’t understand the way rich people think.
“Then… until the blossoms fall, should we come out and look at them together every day?”
“…!”
Seo Jin-hyung gently rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.
Startled, I turned my gaze.
Seo Jin-hyung wasn’t even looking at the cherry blossoms.
He was staring straight at me.
