CHAPTER 74………………………………….
“This is the real thing!”
Taein trembled, clenching his fists tightly as he tried to suppress his anger.
“You used to laugh at me for being stuck doing part-time jobs, and now look at you, sunbae, working here like this.”
“What do you know? I’m just helping out for a bit!”
“In terms of part-time job experience, I’m actually more senior than you. Want me to give you some tips?”
“Shut that mouth of yours.”
Haru snatched the cup Taein was holding and poured the drink out in one smooth motion.
She quickly separated the lid from the cup and tossed it into the plastic recycling bin.
“The straw goes in general trash.”
The way she emphasized the word trash didn’t sound like an accident.
As if making a point, Haru threw the straw into the general trash bin and gave a quick greeting.
“I moved nearby. See you around often from now on, sunbae.”
Holding the coffee she had ordered, Haru leisurely left the café.
In Taein’s enraged hands, the plastic cup crumpled with a loud crack.
***
Haru couldn’t stop smiling the entire way home.
Seeing Taein trembling with anger, unable to refute a single word she said, had been incredibly satisfying.
“I bought coffee.”
“Thanks. But did something good happen on the way here?”
Noticing the smile on her lips, Ihan asked. Haru nodded.
“Something like that. Oh, I bought coffee, but look at the time already. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Should we eat?”
“Yeah! Let’s order jjajangmyeon. You always eat jjajangmyeon on moving day.”
“Sounds good.”
Excitedly saying they should order sweet-and-sour pork too, Haru opened a delivery app.
After entering the new address, she picked a highly rated restaurant and ordered a Chinese set menu.
By the time they finished their filling dinner and organized the rest of the boxes, night was already approaching.
“Thank you so much today. If it weren’t for you, Ihan, I might’ve had to sleep buried in a pile of boxes.”
“No need to thank me. It’s only natural.”
“You worked hard today. Go home and get some good rest now.”
Just as Haru stood up to see him off, Ihan leaned deeper into the sofa instead.
“I’m sleeping here tonight.”
“Huh? You’re staying the night?”
“It’s scary to sleep alone in a new house.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Hearing her answer, Ihan shook his head.
“Seriously, this woman has no fear.”
“You checked the window bars, the door lock, and even the outside CCTV thoroughly. Besides, it’s not like I’ve only been living alone for a day or two.”
What a fearless woman.
Shrugging his shoulders, Ihan asked her,
“Then what’s the scariest thing in the world for you, Dan Haru?”
“Hmm… starving? And not being able to watch videos? I really can’t stand being hungry. And I can’t even imagine not watching movies or dramas.”
Hearing her answer, Ihan burst out laughing. It was completely unexpected—but somehow it sounded exactly like her.
“You’re not afraid of ghosts or cockroaches?”
“Cockroaches? Just spray them with insecticide. And ghosts don’t scare me.”
“So you must watch horror movies well.”
“Of course.”
“It’s still early to sleep. Want to watch a movie together?”
“You’re not tired?”
Ihan immediately nodded. There wasn’t a trace of fatigue on him.
Haru quickly gave up on seeing him out and sat next to him on the couch.
“How about this one?”
“Sounds good.”
After logging into an OTT platform, Ihan chose a horror movie with ghosts.
Haru returned with an armful of snacks and drinks, apparently forgetting she had just said she was full.
Since nothing scary appeared at the beginning, Haru even yawned.
She munched on snacks while rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Then—
As if mocking her carelessness, a ghost suddenly jumped out from the bedroom ceiling above the main character.
With its mouth torn wide to its ears, the hideous ghost filled the entire screen as if it would leap out of the monitor.
“AAAH!”
Haru screamed in shock.
The snacks inside her bag burst out like a fountain.
Watching her, Ihan burst into laughter.
“I thought you said you’re good with horror movies.”
“I usually am! But why does that ghost look so disgusting? Even the Joker would run away from that! Why is its mouth ripped like that? That’s terrifying!”
After the commotion settled, the next scene played.
Haru collected the snacks that had fallen while calming her pounding heart.
In the movie, the character bent down in a dark room to pick something up from under a desk.
At the same moment Haru unconsciously held her breath—
Suddenly, in the quiet house, a phone vibrated loudly.
“AAAH!”
The phone on the table rattled with an unpleasant scratching sound.
Meanwhile, in the movie, the character’s foot was grabbed by the ghost and dragged helplessly away.
Haru threw the snack bag aside and jumped into Ihan’s arms in terror.
“So it was all bluffing. You’re such a scaredy-cat.”
“That’s not true! This movie is just especially scary!”
“You jumped at a phone vibration and you’re saying ghosts don’t scare you?”
Haru buried her face in his chest, saying she couldn’t watch anymore.
Looking down at her fondly, Ihan asked,
“Can you sleep alone tonight?”
“No.”
A faint whimper slipped from her voice.
“Then I guess I’ll have no choice but to stay.”
As he said that, Ihan lifted the corner of his lips and silently smiled.
***
“Ugh… I seriously hate blind dates.”
Dain muttered to herself while sitting in the café of the Silas Hotel.
Her parents had found out she skipped the previous blind date.
As if getting a secretary job on her own wasn’t enough, now she even wanted to start a film company—no wonder her parents were furious.
In the end, to put out the immediate fire, Dain came to this blind date she had absolutely no interest in.
“If I look like this, he’ll run away on his own, right?”
She planned to end the date quickly and leave.
So she copied Haru’s infamous blind-date-ruining outfit—a red leather skirt and a studded biker jacket.
Thinking about it, she almost felt respect for Haru for actually showing up to a blind date dressed like that.
“I should buy Haru dinner. This is no joke.”
Fanning her flushed face with her hand, Dain muttered quietly.
“I needed heavier makeup too. I should’ve asked Haru to do it!”
Grumbling, Dain suddenly frowned.
It had already been five minutes past the meeting time, and the guy still hadn’t arrived.
“This place is annoying enough already, and he’s late too?”
She decided she would wait only five more minutes—if he didn’t show up, she’d just get up and leave.
She had been wondering what excuse to use to ruin the blind date, but now the other person had conveniently provided one.
“Don’t show up.”
At this point, she almost hoped he wouldn’t appear at all.
While staring at the clock on her phone, waiting for the five minutes to pass—
“Miss Bae Dain?”
Dain sighed and squeezed her eyes shut.
Since he had arrived, using the “you’re late” excuse to cancel the date was now impossible.
Reluctantly, she turned her head.
“You’re here for the blind date, right?”
The moment she saw the man behind her, Dain nearly jumped out of her seat.
To her shock, the blind date partner was someone familiar.
“Why are you here, Cha Seungjae?”
“I came for a blind date with you, Miss Bae Dain.”
Seungjae calmly sat down across from her.
Dain, completely confused, waved her hands.
“What are you doing? This isn’t your blind date!”
“What do you mean? I’m the one who came to see you.”
“The man I was supposed to meet was Park Junghoon—”
“—He left.”
Seungjae cut her off.
“I sent him away. Executive Director Park Junghoon from Cheorin Trading is an acquaintance of mine. I told him you already had plans with me… that we were, well, that kind of relationship. So he left.”
“Are you crazy? What on earth is this…?”
Dain couldn’t finish her sentence, her lips just moving silently.
“Why? Disappointed? Did you want to go on the blind date with Park Junghoon instead?”
Seungjae’s eyes deliberately scanned her outfit.
“For someone trying to make a good impression, that outfit is pretty aggressive. Almost like you wanted him to see it and run away.”
Caught red-handed, Dain could only cough awkwardly.
“Anyway, it was a blind date you didn’t want. I helped ruin it for you.”
“…”
“So instead…”
Seungjae leaned back slightly.
“Why don’t you go on the blind date with me instead?”
