Chapter 18
“HAHAHA! I’m sorry, Miss Seyeon… I just can’t believe it. You don’t have to go that far. What would I gain from watching high schoolers kiss?”
“Ah… yes.”
I could kind of understand why Yeon Jaehyun lost his manners in front of the Association President.
I stared at him with cold eyes, then abruptly let go of Jaehyun’s hand.
I almost kept holding it.
“You heard it from Jaehyun, right? That you can work at the Association.”
“…!”
When I nodded hard, Seong Taewoo rubbed his chin as if thinking.
“Did you hear what kind of job it is?”
“…Kind of.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
Of course not. Seong Taewoo clicked his tongue while looking at Jaehyun.
Jaehyun said nothing.
“Actually, before Jaehyun entered school, I joked about it. I told him that if he went to school and got a girlfriend, I’d value her inner qualities highly and hire her into the Association…. You know, right? The hair and the glasses.”
“Yes….”
“And her personality too… Pfft. It must’ve been hilarious.”
Seong Taewoo tried to hold in his laughter but eventually burst out laughing alone, clutching his stomach.
What the hell is wrong with him?
“Ah… Jaehyun stood out too much when he was in middle school, so there were many troublesome situations. His identity… Ah, you know Jaehyun is the White Killer, right? Miss Seyeon, even if you two break up someday, please keep this a secret.”
The topic kept jumping all over the place.
Too lazy to react to everything, I just kept nodding.
“So the higher-ups even attached an acting teacher to train him. I didn’t know, but he’s talented at acting. Heh…. Anyway, the role is this! I said I’d make his girlfriend his secretary.”
“Secretary?”
“Yes. If he has to hide various things at school, it would be very inconvenient… so you’d help him from his side.”
It made sense.
The problem was that, for something the Association did, it felt way too sloppy and playful. But since I benefited from it, I had nothing to complain about.
“But I didn’t think Jaehyun would actually bring someone…. And not even a month later.”
Flinch.
I avoided Seong Taewoo’s gaze for no reason.
Jaehyun lowered the leg he had crossed and leaned forward slightly, glaring at Seong Taewoo.
“That’s enough. Send the contract.”
“Alright, brat. You’re really something.”
This story didn’t appear in the original novel. The heroine, Myung Ahjin, never even met Seong Taewoo in person.
‘This won’t twist the future in some weird way again… right?’
Whatever. If it twists, so what? It’s already twisted enough.
I cleared the complicated thoughts from my head. If things change, that’s good! Maybe even my lifespan could change.
“But are you okay with it, Miss Seyeon? Supporting Jaehyun. It’s nothing difficult, and the pay will be decent, but since you’re doing it, I’d like you to help properly. If Jaehyun’s activities are exposed, we’d be in a difficult position too~”
“I’m confident.”
“Oh, confident too? Then I’ll trust you.”
Seong Taewoo laughed heartily again.
After saying goodbye to the Association President—whom I probably wouldn’t meet again—I left the building feeling like I was walking on clouds.
My steps felt incredibly light.
“Done.”
“Wow… seriously. You’re amazing!!”
I raised a thumbs-up at Yeon Jaehyun and exclaimed.
Once again, I could feel the influence of the main character.
“So now will you tell me? Can I ask everything I’m curious about?”
“After you sign the contract.”
“Yes!!”
I was so excited that I jumped around on the street without caring about embarrassment.
Now that I had strong backing, Seo Jinhyung at home wasn’t scary anymore.
‘I’m gonna scratch him. Like a scratching post.’
Of course, just enough so he wouldn’t get so pissed that he’d try to kill me.
‘Uh… but what happens now? From here on?’
Seo Jinhyung’s psychological treatment, the plans… the direction of the murders, evidence—everything floated around in my head.
When I thought about it, nothing had been solved yet. I was just briefly intoxicated by my racing heart.
“…Stop.”
I halted my sinking mood in a very primitive way.
And bit the inside of my cheek hard.
The stinging pain cleared my head a little.
‘Of course. I haven’t received the information yet. Let’s wait. Sign the contract, hear everything properly from Yeon Jaehyun, then decide.’
At least today, I could relax.
After all, I had gone through hell at Jaehyun’s house and the Association headquarters.
“Hey, I’m heading off.”
I turned to the stiffly standing Jaehyun and said.
“Yeah.”
I didn’t expect a warm “bye,” but he really was cold.
Anyway, in a good mood from a decent outcome, I smiled and waved at him.
Knock, knock.
That evening, as a prospective affiliate of the White Killer headquarters, I cheerfully opened the door.
Seo Jinhyung was standing there. My mood crashed.
“What.”
It was already past 11 p.m.
I had naturally assumed it would be Mom, not Seo Jinhyung, who hadn’t been around much lately.
Startled, I took a step back. Seo Jinhyung smiled faintly.
“Seyeon, are you being shy again?”
“No….”
“It hasn’t even been that long.”
He stepped closer and reached out, fiddling with the ends of my hair.
For some reason, it felt more awkward than hugging.
“Touch me and you die.”
Smack.
I slapped his hand away and turned sharply into my room. Seo Jinhyung followed silently and closed the door.
“What’s this all of a sudden? I need to sleep.”
I flopped onto the bed and looked up at him sharply.
But his face, expression, and aura were the same as usual.
No matter how I looked at him, he didn’t seem like someone who had killed.
“Just. I thought I’ve been neglecting you lately.”
“Hah. Like you ever took care of me.”
Unbelievable. If I didn’t go to him first, he wouldn’t even look for me.
If we count… when I looked for him ten times, he maybe came to me once or twice?
‘I only did that because of the therapy. It’s not like I liked you.’
The words circled inside me but never came out.
“Were you upset? I’ll take better care of you from now on.”
“Get lost, damn it…. Why are you like this?”
Before I could finish, he came over to the bed and claimed a spot. Our shoulders touched.
“Come here. I’ll take care of you.”
“What nonsense. Did you get shot in the head? What’s wrong with you?”
He seemed the same as always, yet strangely different.
When I tried to move away, frowning at the close distance, his hand grabbed my shoulder and stopped me. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt.
“Don’t you like it?”
I couldn’t answer.
It felt too sudden.
We’d even slept hugging once before. Me acting distant now seemed weirder.
‘No, but… this is sudden.’
It had been almost a month since we’d properly talked.
When I stayed silent, Seo Jinhyung smirked and buried his forehead in my shoulder.
“Are you sulking? I said I’ll take better care of you now.”
“I’m not sulking—!”
“If you like being in another guy’s arms more, tell me quickly.”
His voice turned cold.
My body froze instantly.
‘What is he talking about…?’
It was the same feeling as when Jung Sumin suddenly hugged me earlier today.
Creepy. Unfamiliar… No.
It was something deeper than that.
My heart beat strangely. It wasn’t good, nor bad.
Just… too strange.
‘That’s not a line meant for us.’
My mom is dating his dad….
Even an oblivious idiot would feel the awkwardness. Another guy?
‘Does he think I’m seeing him as a man right now? Or is that too much of a leap…?’
My head spun.
“Seyeon. Aren’t we playing kangaroo anymore?”
His soft voice from below snapped me back.
‘Ah, kangaroo… wait.’
In that moment, fragmented puzzle pieces began fitting together in my mind.
The first time I accepted his hug. The psychological therapy. The kangaroo game….
‘Did the treatment for affection deprivation backfire?’
I had only meant to fulfill the affection he didn’t receive in childhood, build a healthy attachment, and teach him the value of life. But maybe something twisted inside him.
‘No. That’s going too far.’
Maybe, from his perspective, he just came to do what we always did, and my rejection made him anxious. Like when a younger sibling is born and the first child feels insecure.
The comment about another man probably came from that context.
Once I reached that conclusion, I didn’t have time to think further.
“N-No…. Don’t talk nonsense.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck.
It felt a bit awkward since it had been a while, but not unbearable.
As if he had been waiting, Seo Jinhyung buried his face deeper into my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my waist.
Because of our height difference, my upper body lifted slightly. I ended up hanging onto him.
“Which part was nonsense?”
“Just… from the beginning.”
“Beginning where?”
“Ah, damn it. Did you eat something weird?”
He was unusually persistent. Or maybe this was just like him.
Despite my rough curse, Seo Jinhyung quietly waited for my answer. I had no choice but to speak.
“The part where you said I’m being shy… and that you’ve been neglecting me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Actually, I… was the one… neglecting you.”
Maybe.
As my voice trailed off, I felt his small laugh against my shoulder.
‘Damn it. I was supposed to scratch him, but I’m the one getting scratched.’
Seo Jinhyung really wasn’t ordinary.
“!”
Thud.
Holding my waist, he lifted me and laid me down on the bed. My arms were still around his neck.
I stared up at him, flustered, as he leaned over me.
“W-What?”
“That’s a relief. So I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.”
Huh?
‘I’m the one who avoided you!’
I wanted to shout, but my throat felt blocked.
“Same house, same school. We sleep right next door… right?”
“!”
My heart dropped.
It was true that he’d been busy lately. Always wandering somewhere. I rarely saw him.
‘…Really?’
No. If I’d wanted to, going to him, talking to him, continuing the therapy—it wouldn’t have been hard.
Like he said, same house, same school, right next door.
‘But… it’s scary.’
Seo Jinhyung, who might have started killing.
Seo Jinhyung, whose thoughts I couldn’t read.
…Me, who knew nothing.
‘Ah.’
Only then did I realize.
I was the one who had been avoiding him.
