Chapter 07
Yoo I-yeon’s eyes widened, a fleeting look of surprise crossing her face.
‘The senior who was supposed to visit today… was Cha Woo-kyung?’
Even the unflappable I-yeon seemed not to have anticipated Woo-kyung’s appearance, as she was left speechless.
“Yoo I-yeon, what are you doing over there? Don’t you know Attorney Cha Woo-kyung?”
How could she not know?
Cha Woo-kyung, the star attorney at Jeongyul Law Firm with a 100% win rate, the one who was currently the talk of the town.
More than that, she knew all too well that he was her husband.
“Hello.”
The two exchanged greetings, maintaining an appropriate distance.
“Why did you call me over?”
However, as soon as the greetings ended, I-yeon turned a stiff face towards the teaching assistant and asked in a sharp voice.
“What? ‘Why did you call me over?’?”
Teaching Assistant Kim, his pride seemingly scraped raw, let out an awkward laugh as if conscious of Woo-kyung’s gaze.
“Yoo I-yeon, do you know how many times I called you? It took you long enough to come.”
Woo-kyung calmly watched Teaching Assistant Kim, who was acting like a child trying to get attention by teasing the girl he liked, putting on a clumsy performance.
“Hey, come a little closer. I have something to say.”
Teaching Assistant Kim beckoned I-yeon to come closer.
“It’s about the assignment you submitted a while ago.”
As the distance closed, Teaching Assistant Kim naturally stretched out his hand and, as he finished speaking, placed it on I-yeon’s shoulder.
He pretended it was a gesture to explain a mistake, but the point of contact was clearly over the line.
Should he just let that slide?
A cold tension crept down Woo-kyung’s spine.
But he had his dignity to maintain, so he swallowed back the words rising in his throat.
However.
“Teaching Assistant, why is your hand on my shoulder right now?”
Her voice was low, but the firmness within it was unmistakable.
“Ah, this is just to explain in detail.”
As I-yeon’s piercing gaze squarely pierced through him, the teaching assistant’s expression stiffened momentarily, and he removed his hand. He then forced a smile, as if trying hard to hide his embarrassment.
“If you can explain it with words, is there a need to put your hand on me?”
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“I appreciate your help, but I’d like you not to cross the line. I find this behavior unpleasant, Teaching Assistant.”
“What? Unpleasant?”
As if he found I-yeon’s boldness audacious, the look in Teaching Assistant Kim’s eyes turned cold and distorted, his expression changing completely.
“I told you last time. If something like this happens again, I would tell the professor directly.”
“Oh, here we go with the professor again.”
The teaching assistant, who had been grumbling, ultimately said nothing more and swallowed his suppressed resentment.
Yoo I-yeon is handling it well.
Woo-kyung felt inexplicably proud. I-yeon’s firm remark gave him a strange sense of relief, and he let out a laugh.
Perhaps hearing Woo-kyung’s soft chuckle, the teaching assistant, finally becoming self-conscious, raised his voice.
“Hey, Yoo I-yeon, don’t you dare skip the department gathering today.”
The teaching assistant, looking for something to nitpick, brought up the gatherings I-yeon often missed and became irritable.
Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly changed his attitude—having been sharp with I-yeon just moments before—and politely asked Woo-kyung:
“Oh, Attorney, after the lecture today, we have a department gathering. Would you be able to attend?”
It seemed the whole department was buzzing at the news of Woo-kyung’s potential visit.
“Hmm, I’m not sure about my schedule.”
“The students would be really happy.”
The teaching assistant persisted with Woo-kyung with a pleading look in his eyes.
At that moment, Woo-kyung turned his gaze towards I-yeon and asked.
“It’s Yoo I-yeon, right?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be attending?”
I-yeon hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“It seems I have about an hour to spare.”
Woo-kyung’s deliberation, who had been tapping the face of his wristwatch, also ended there.
***
Entering a pub in the heart of the university district, long tables were densely lined up in the spacious area.
Squeezing through the space, loud and cheerful voices clamored from all sides simultaneously.
“I-yeon, come sit here.”
Yujin, a classmate, raised her hand and waved it like a windshield wiper, then tapped the seat next to her. I-yeon smiled and sat down in that spot.
“They say the teaching assistant is bringing Attorney Cha soon.”
Yujin, who was pouring beer into a glass, filled it to the brim as if it would overflow and handed it to I-yeon.
Having pushed her body to the limit finishing assignments until just yesterday, she felt it would be hard to handle alcohol on top of her exhaustion.
I-yeon gently pushed the beer glass placed in front of her away.
Truthfully, she hadn’t planned on coming to this gathering. She didn’t want to come because the pushy teaching assistant made her uncomfortable, but she felt uneasy inside knowing Woo-kyung was attending the department gathering.
“I-yeon, Attorney Cha is here.”
Following the direction Yujin pointed to with excitement, Woo-kyung was entering with the teaching assistant. A series of “Wow”s and exclamations erupted from the students who saw Woo-kyung.
The teaching assistant guided Woo-kyung to his seat, then strode over towards I-yeon. In that brief moment, I-yeon, whose eyes met Woo-kyung’s, deliberately averted her gaze.
“Yoo I-yeon, you came without skipping out this time.”
The teaching assistant’s blurred features, his arrogantly raised eyebrows, and his haughty demeanor were all equally unpleasant to look at.
“Don’t even think about running away today.”
A creepy shiver ran down I-yeon’s spine at the teaching assistant’s sticky, blatant gaze scanning her.
*This is really disgusting.*
When the teaching assistant moved to Woo-kyung’s table, I-yeon’s dilemma deepened as she stared at the newly placed beer glass.
*Should I drink it or not?*
But as if to render such worries meaningless, I-yeon picked up the beer glass and emptied it before the fizz had even settled.
***
How much time had passed like that?
Although she wasn’t particularly weak when it came to alcohol, her body soon began sending strange signals.
The focus in her eyes sharpened and blurred, and a dizzy feeling made her words slur without her realizing it.
*Maybe some fresh air will help.*
I-yeon picked up her bag and got up from her seat. Squeezing through the long, narrow space between the cramped tables, I-yeon walked towards the entrance.
Just as she was about to push the glass door open, a man’s strong grip suddenly pressed down on the door first, opening it.
It was Woo-kyung.
“I’ll go with you.”
Whether she heard Woo-kyung’s answer or not, I-yeon wordlessly left the pub and sat on a nearby bench, thinking it might help sober her up. But Woo-kyung, who had somehow followed her, sat down next to her, tracing her path exactly.
*What would people think if they saw this?*
As if the effects of the alcohol had gently settled on her shoulders, strands of hair that had escaped from I-yeon’s tightly tied hair softly fluttered in the spring breeze.
When I-yeon remained silent for a while, Woo-kyung turned his head slightly towards her with concern.
“Yoo I-yeon? You’re not asleep, are you?”
But then I-yeon, her face flushed red, suddenly turned her head.
“Cha Woo-kyung, do you think I’m unattractive too?”
With the alcohol in her system, I-yeon was spouting drunken complaints she wouldn’t normally make.
“Were you bothered by what he said?”
He hadn’t expected her to be affected by what the teaching assistant said when the gathering was in full swing.
*’Aren’t kids these days exhausting? If they get their feelings hurt, they look down on their seniors and talk back sharply. What good is a pretty face if their personality is like that?’*
The teaching assistant’s words were clearly aimed at I-yeon. As others around seemed to agree and focused on I-yeon, the atmosphere gradually cooled. Those who were laughing stopped, and a few others stiffly fiddled with their glasses.
I-yeon silently listened to the teaching assistant’s words. She didn’t want to escalate the situation unnecessarily.
She thought it would pass if she just endured it this once.
But the teaching assistant didn’t stop.
*’How long do you think you’ll last in the real world with that attitude? Honestly, shouldn’t you fix your attitude first?’*
At that moment, I-yeon, who was sitting at the table opposite the teaching assistant, quietly stood up.
She walked over to the teaching assistant’s table and spoke.
*’Why don’t you say that to me directly?
Seeing you talk indirectly in a place with so many people… I wonder if you’re upset because I said I disliked you touching me so casually?’*
In that instant, the chattering around the table fell silent.
The teaching assistant, who had been frowning, stopped his hand on the glass he was holding. A stifled laugh escaped from somewhere nearby.
The teaching assistant’s expression twisted微妙하게.
Recalling the incident from a moment ago, I-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
“They say looks aren’t everything. That I have no tact, that I’m rigid and boring.”
Woo-kyung chuckled softly. Seeing I-yeon, whom he thought had matured early, voicing age-appropriate worries under the influence of alcohol, she finally seemed her age.
“Don’t worry about it. Should I scold him for you if you want?”
At Woo-kyung’s playfully sly question, I-yeon let out a small laugh.
“Well, it’s not a big deal anyway.”
“It’s really not.”
It really wasn’t a big deal. Even if it was a short-lived relationship, it was natural to get tired easily. While cases have a clear end, relationships are like problems with no correct answers, so it couldn’t have been easy for Woo-kyung either.
“Well, I have you, Cha Woo-kyung.”
Woo-kyung’s gaze, which had been fixed on I-yeon as she drawled her words, slowly moved. But it followed her without losing sight of her.
“So, speaking of which. You must have dated a lot, of course, Cha Woo-kyung.”
“What?”
“Then you must have kissed someone too.”
A child should know what to say and what not to say. Did she have no awareness that he was her husband?
But the thought that she looked cute came to the forefront. Woo-kyung unconsciously, carefully, reached out and stroked I-yeon’s head.
The hair that touched his fingertips was soft and warm.
But then, *sliiide*.
The loosely tied hair tie couldn’t withstand even that small movement and slid down as if giving way.
*Cascading…*
As the hair tie came undone, her long hair cascaded over her shoulders. The loosened hair softly tangled along the collar of I-yeon’s clothes and her neckline.
Even without a breeze, her disheveled hair momentarily obscured I-yeon’s vision. I-yeon slowly raised her hand and tucked it behind her ear.
And as the wind brushed past once more, her hair fluttered again. It was then that I-yeon muttered softly.
“So, how does it feel to kiss?”
Why did he do it? I-yeon’s eyes, filled with curiosity, were clear and transparent.
Was that why?
Without even realizing it, Woo-kyung uttered words closer to an impulse.
“Shall I show you?”
In that brief moment, as Woo-kyung tilted his head slightly, I-yeon’s lips were swallowed by his in an instant.
