CHAPTER 73………………………………………
After the drinking gathering ended, Yihan returned home with Haru.
Seungjae and Dain had been unable to hide their shock after learning that the two of them had first met in Italy.
Even that alone surprised them so much—if they found out that the two had lived in the same house for a month, they would probably faint.
Though there were only a few days left for them to enter the same house like this.
As soon as he got out of the car, Yihan suddenly felt a pang of regret and tightly held Haru’s hand.
Just as they left the parking lot and headed toward the elevator, they ran into an unwelcome face.
“Long time no see. I was hoping we’d run into each other at least once.”
Byulna said as she blocked their path as if she had been waiting.
“Let’s go.”
Ignoring her, Yihan was about to walk past with Haru when Byulna spoke again.
“Oppa, you must’ve worked hard pretending all this time just to fool me.”
The unexpected remark made both of them stop walking.
Byulna clicked her heels as she approached them and scoffed when she saw Yihan’s hand on Haru’s shoulder.
“I know everything now. You two were in a contract relationship just to get rid of me.”
Haru’s eyes widened.
Byulna continued as if to show off.
“I heard everything Seungjae oppa was muttering. So stop the show now.”
“Looks like you heard the first half but not the rest.”
Yihan replied quietly.
Byulna’s eyebrows twisted as she tried to figure out what he meant.
“Fine. The beginning part was true. I couldn’t stand the sight of you.”
“What?”
“But now it’s real. We’re seriously dating.”
“Don’t lie.”
Byulna still looked suspicious.
Yihan laughed as if the situation was ridiculous.
“You’ll see eventually. Whether it’s real or not.”
With that, Yihan led Haru away and started walking again.
Watching their backs as they left, Byulna stomped her foot on the ground in irritation.
One clear autumn day with a high blue sky.
The sun was shining, and a gentle breeze was blowing—the perfect day for moving.
From early morning, Yihan helped Haru move into her new place.
After the moving company workers left, the two of them went inside to organize the remaining boxes.
Yihan casually placed a pair of his dress shoes and sneakers by the entrance.
“Huh? What are those?”
“They say a woman living alone can become a target for crime, so people leave a man’s shoes like this. It makes it look like a man lives here too.”
Only then did Haru nod in understanding.
She was grateful that he had thought ahead and prepared something like that.
But beside the two pairs of men’s shoes, there was a pair of unfamiliar women’s sneakers.
“What about those?”
“Those are a housewarming gift for Miss Danharu.”
They were the same design as Yihan’s sneakers, just in a different color.
While organizing the boxes, Haru hurried over and looked at the sneakers he had placed down.
“When did you prepare these?”
“Do you like them?”
“Yes. They’re pretty. Wait… are these couple sneakers?”
“As you can see.”
When Yihan nodded, Haru smiled softly.
It was her first couple item, and it made her feel excited and giddy.
While quietly looking at the shoes, Haru suddenly seemed to realize something.
“But if you leave your sneakers here, how will you wear them? They’re couple sneakers, remember?”
“That just means I’ll be coming here often. I’ll come here, wear these, go exercise with you, eat delicious food, and go on dates.”
Haru nodded happily, then immediately tried on the new sneakers.
They fit perfectly, and she exclaimed in amazement.
Only after thanking him several times did she return to organizing the boxes.
“I guess I chose a good place this time. Remember the day I got scammed before? It was raining. Today the weather is really nice.”
“It better be a good place. Do you know how hard it was for me to let you go?”
Yihan replied while carrying a box.
He said it because he still felt regretful about her moving out of his place.
Haru noticed and said,
“I’ll come visit often.”
“I’m leaving your room exactly the way it was. If you ever want to come back, just come.”
“That makes me a little sad.”
Yihan turned to look at her.
Seeing his questioning gaze, Haru answered quietly.
“That sounds like you’re saying we should sleep separately.”
After saying it herself, she shyly avoided his eyes and picked up another box.
Just as she took a step forward to carry it, her body was suddenly pulled back.
Yihan had hugged her from behind.
“Our Haru really thinks deeply. I guess I wasn’t thinking far enough.”
Yihan’s lips briefly brushed against Haru’s reddened cheek.
Taking the box from her hands, he said,
“Looks like I’ll have to get rid of that spare bed in that room as soon as I get home.”
Haru burst out laughing at his bold remark.
After moving the box, Yihan opened another package.
“These go in the dresser, right?”
“Yes. They’re small things, I’ll organize them.”
“Let’s do it together.”
As he opened the box and looked through its contents, Yihan’s expression changed slightly.
The corner of his lips curled up.
“You still kept this?”
“Huh? What?”
When Haru lowered her gaze, she was startled.
In his hand was a box of strawberry-flavored condoms.
“No! I definitely threw that away! It must’ve ended up in the boxes without me realizing!”
“Our Haru really thinks ahead.”
“That’s not it! I didn’t pack it! Last time Dan Haneul found it, and I panicked and shoved it into the drawer, and somehow it must have—”
Flustered, her explanation kept getting longer.
Yihan quietly listened to her rambling and smiled.
“I’m really glad I bought it back then. Don’t you think?”
At his teasing question, Haru’s face turned bright red.
That strawberry-decorated object of love and hate had embarrassed her more than once.
“I’ll organize here. You go rest for a bit.”
“How can I rest when you’re here working?”
“Oh—coffee! We should have coffee, right? I’ll quickly go out and buy some.”
When Haru hurriedly tried to change the subject, Yihan couldn’t help but laugh.
Stopping her as she took off her gloves to leave, he said,
“Stay here. I’ll go buy it.”
“No, it’s okay. I want to look around the neighborhood too.”
“Should I come with you?”
“No. You stay here. Sit right here on the sofa. Don’t touch anything, okay?”
Haru sat Yihan down on the couch, grabbed her wallet, and headed outside.
“I really need to throw away that stupid condom already.”
Muttering in embarrassment, Haru lifted her head and looked around the neighborhood.
She walked along, taking note of places she might visit often.
Before long, she spotted a coffee shop.
“Nice, there’s a café close by.”
Haru immediately opened the door and went inside.
After glancing around the fairly large café interior, she ordered coffee.
Just as she took the vibrating pager and headed toward a table, a familiar face suddenly caught her eye.
“Senior Taein?”
Taein, who had been sorting cups and drinks at the recycling station, turned when he heard his name.
The moment he saw Haru’s face, he was so startled that he dropped the tray he was holding.
Clatter!
The loud noise echoed through the café.
“If you’re not here to watch a show, take your coffee and leave. And don’t pretend you know me.”
Taein muttered under his breath as he hurriedly picked up the fallen cups.
Looking down at him as he crouched and busily gathered them, Haru said calmly,
“You seem to be having a tough time.”
After placing all the cups back on the tray, Taein stood up.
He glared at her as if he wanted to stab her with his eyes.
“This is all because of you. If you hadn’t gotten greedy over something you didn’t deserve, if you hadn’t acted out of your place, I wouldn’t be like this!”
Using CCTV evidence, Yihan had filed a lawsuit demanding compensation.
With the legal team of a large corporation behind the case and clear evidence, Taein had no chance of winning.
In the end, he had to pay damages, and rumors spread throughout the industry.
Almost no company wanted to give work to a translator known for deliberately deleting someone else’s work.
Taein had ended up jumping from one part-time job to another.
“You should get your facts straight,” Haru said calmly.
“If you hadn’t tried to steal your junior’s position, if you hadn’t tried to crush someone with such a despicable method, you’d probably still be living comfortably thanks to your connections.”
“What?”
“You dug that grave yourself, senior.”
