Episode 5
Inhyeok had instantly occupied her field of vision. His long, thick eyelashes looked down at her intently.
She thought he was asleep, but it seemed he had been out exercising.
His thick chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his breathing was slightly labored.
“S-sorry.”
Harang, who had been leaning against him almost as if in an embrace, hastily pulled her body away and retreated.
“No need to be sorry.”
Inhyeok brushed back his damp bangs and entered the house.
Harang followed behind him like a puppy.
“Um, Oppa…”
She had almost called him ‘Oppa’ out of habit and quickly corrected herself.
“I mean, Teacher. I set the table with breakfast. You said you only have salad for breakfast.”
“Oh, really? Thanks.”
He grinned, then grabbed the hem of his wet shirt with one hand and pulled it off over his head in one swift motion.
“Gasp!”
A feast of skin was instantly revealed. Startled, Harang’s eyes lost their place and wandered through the air.
In that fleeting moment, the smooth muscles she glimpsed looked perfectly defined, like a finely chiseled sculpture.
They were similar to her athlete brother’s muscles, but the feeling they evoked was entirely different.
How to put it? A bit more elegant and… sexy? His soaking wet, jet-black hair seemed to add to the effect.
Meanwhile, Inhyeok, now nonchalantly shirtless, went to the kitchen for a drink of water.
His attractive Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
The way he wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand drew her gaze like a magnet.
“Heading to school?”
Harang’s shoulders, which had been stealing glances without permission, flinched.
She unnecessarily adjusted her clothes as she replied.
“…Ah, yes. I have a morning class. Will you be home today, Teacher?”
“Maybe?”
“What will you do at home?”
Once again, her words jumped out before she could think.
It seemed she was curious about Inhyeok’s every move.
“I have plenty to do.”
He took out a towel, slung it over his shoulder, then leaned one arm on the table and grinned.
“Why? Want me to pick you up when your classes finish?”
“No!”
Her answer was practically a reflex.
Embarrassed by her own sudden, high-pitched tone, she gritted her teeth.
What is wrong with me?
She found it ridiculous how she was overreacting to such a simple comment.
“Alright. I’ll be waiting at home, so come back early.”
It sounded like something a wife seeing her husband off to work would say. The feeling was strange.
“Ah, right.”
As he headed for the bathroom, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back with a smile.
Did he have something to say to me?
Harang unconsciously swallowed dryly and clasped her hands tightly together.
“We’ll start doing one-hour mock interviews daily from today, so be prepared. See you tonight.”
“Ah… Yes.”
So it was about the tutoring.
She didn’t know what she had been expecting, but the corners of her eyes drooped with a slight sense of emptiness.
After giving her a brief glance, he disappeared into the bathroom.
The sound of water soon followed, and simultaneously, wicked imagination infiltrated Harang’s mind.
The cool streams from the showerhead would be pouring over his crown, the nape of his neck, his biceps, and his abs…
A wet Tae Inhyeok. Just the thought was stimulating.
Bzzzt—
Just then, Inhyeok;s phone on the table vibrated finely.
“Ah! You scared me!”
Snapped out of her delusion, Harang patted her cheeks sharply to pull herself together.
Thinking she should inform Inhyeok if it was an important call, she checked the caller ID and was greatly taken aback.
Harang couldn’t focus in class at all. She was bothered by the contact name Inhyeok had saved.
<Do Not Answer 2>
Just who is it that he’s told not to answer?
After deducing throughout the three-hour major class, her conclusion was that it was probably an ex-girlfriend.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be anyone he needed to avoid answering.
In a complicated mood, Harang headed to the student cafeteria with her classmate, Bomi.
They ordered pork cutlet and omelet rice sets and sat at a sunny window table.
“You got a live-in tutor?” Bomi asked, tilting her head with a puzzled expression after hearing Harang’s story.
“Ha-jun Oppa doesn’t even like you texting guys at night. For him to allow you to live under the same roof 24/7 with an unrelated man… he must be a really trusted friend.”
“That’s what Oppa says. That they have a tight friendship, loyalty… There must be something I don’t know.”
Bomi, who had been listening quietly, now had her eyes sparkling brightly.
“You know, in dramas and movies, a lot of history happens when a guy and a girl live together. So? Is your Teacher handsome?”
“Is he handsome?”
Harang recalled Inhyeok’s face, as if drawn with a brush.
As she pondered how to describe him, something Ha-jun had once said flashed through her mind.
‘Among my friends, there’s one who’s insanely handsome.’
When she first heard it, she thought Ha-jun was just exaggerating.
But now, facing Tae Inhyeok’s, she realized that description fell short.
“Well, he’s just… kind of…”
Just then, a voice piped up from behind her.
“Who’s handsome?”
“Cough, cough!”
Startled, Harang choked and coughed.
Turning her eyes, she saw Min-woo, the class president, standing before her.
“Guess I came at just the right time. Here, drink this.”
Min-woo, dressed in a neat checkered shirt and jeans, handed her a glass of water he had just fetched.
Harang looked back and forth between Min-woo and the cup before reluctantly accepting it.
“…Thank you, Sunbae.”
“It’s nothing.”
Min-woo was in the same fourth year as Harang but was two years older, having returned from military service.
With his gentle appearance and soft leadership skills, he was the model student type.
He even got straight A+s in all his subjects, making him a favorite among the professors.
At first, Harang had viewed Min-woo favorably too.
But not now, knowing that image was a mask.
Harang subtly set down the water Min-woo gave her without drinking it.
Min-woo’s lips tightened almost imperceptibly, not missing the action.
“So, what were you talking about? I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but it sounded like guy talk.”
The answer came from Bomi.
“Ah, we were just talking about Harang getting an English tutor.”
“A tutor?”
“The tutor is a friend of Harang’s brother, and we were wondering if he’s handsome.”
“So the teacher is a man. How does he look to you, Harang? Is he handsome?”
Min-woo stared intently at Harang with a meaningful gaze.
Harang felt sick to her stomach. She hadn’t even finished half her meal, but her appetite had completely vanished.
“I don’t know. You know I don’t have the luxury to be interested in anything other than getting a job right now.”
“…”
“B-Bomi, we have that assignment for the afternoon class to submit. We should go do it.”
“Huh? We have an assignment?”
Harang stood up, pulling a confused Bomi with her, and bowed to Min-woo.
“Sunbae, we’ll get going first.”
“Alright. See you later.”
Min-woo’s eyes followed Harang’s retreating back until she was completely out of sight.
His gaze was cold and chilling.
The moment they left the cafeteria, Bomi began her interrogation.
“Lee Harang. Something’s going on with you and Min-woo Sunbae, isn’t it?”
“What could be going on… Nothing like that.”
“You’re deliberately avoiding him even now. What is it? Spill it.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Harang spilled the story of what had been happening.
“What? You think Sunbae is stalking you?”
Bomi’s voice rose as if she were holding a megaphone. Harang quickly looked around and whispered.
“It might be my misunderstanding. I’m not sure yet.”
“Him watching your dark room and then leaving is seriously creepy.”
“I told him I wished he wouldn’t, and he apologized, but then he started putting things I said I liked in my locker.”
The drinks she frequently enjoyed, bouquets of flowers, cakes, and scones were one thing.
The most chilling incident was the day after she mentioned she liked sky blue—a sky blue lace lingerie set appeared in her locker.
“This is insane… Let’s report it to the police! Or shouldn’t you at least tell Ha-jun Oppa?”
Harang shook her head weakly.
“Oppa is overseas for training camp right now. And if I report it to the police, the situation will just get bigger. I hate making a scene.”
Above all, she didn’t think anyone would believe that Min-woo, with his good reputation, would do such a thing.
“If I get a job and start working at a company during the semester, I’ll run into Sunbae less.”
This was another reason she needed to get a job quickly.
Bomi looked at Harang with pitying eyes, then clenched her fists tightly.
“Stick with me at school for the time being. I’ll form an iron wall defense so Min-woo Sunbae can’t even get near you!”
“Thanks, Bomi.”
Harang felt a little reassured by her dependable friend’s words.
