Chapter 7
“Why are you two together again?”
“Where’s my money?”
Hana completely ignored Jin-sang’s question and fired back with one of her own.
“Didn’t you read my message? I said I’d give it to you once I finished sorting out the house.”
“You come all the way here with no money?”
She looked him up and down as if she were staring at an insect.
At that point, Jin-sang suddenly turned to Dogyeong.
“I need to talk to her alone for a second, so could you step aside—”
“If you can’t say it in front of her, then don’t say it at all.”
When Hana cut him off, Jin-sang’s face twisted. But realizing he had no other option, he immediately launched into excuses.
“I passed out at a company dinner, and that woman dragged me off and did that to me. I’m the victim here too.”
The aggrieved look on his face was laughable.
“Then report it to the police. And do you normally celebrate a hundred-day anniversary with someone who supposedly did something horrible to you?”
Jin-sang flinched, then snapped back angrily, turning the blame around.
“We work at the same company! I’m just pretending to date her so rumors don’t spread! Do you think I’m seeing her because I like her? I’m the one having a hard time here!”
Wow. So this was how he planned to explain it?
The faintly trembling voice full of excitement she’d heard behind his back yesterday had unmistakably belonged to a man in love.
Hana was so dumbfounded she lost her words.
How ridiculous must I look for him to think he can get away with lies like this?
It felt almost mocking—so unpleasant it made her sick.
Even then, Jin-sang kept ranting in his indignant tone.
“Men can’t help it when women throw themselves at them. If she’s determined, there’s nothing you can do. I was scared I’d get kicked out of a company I worked so hard to get into—”
Dogyeong, who had been listening quietly, suddenly cut in.
“Not all men are like that. This seems to have happened because you never mentioned you had a girlfriend in the first place. Am I wrong?”
Jin-sang stiffened, his shoulders jerking.
Dogyeong looked at him sideways and issued a cold warning.
“Don’t disgrace men.”
“And who the hell are you to butt in like that?”
Furious, Jin-sang roared like an animal, even dropping into casual speech.
Dogyeong snorted and threw the words right back at him.
“You know exactly who I am. Yoo Hana’s friend.”
“Tch. You’re rotten to the core.”
Jin-sang’s crazed laughter filled the alley.
“Hey. Isn’t it embarrassing as a man to stick around as ‘just a friend’ while liking her?”
“Why are you dragging him into this too?!”
As if he’d reached some grand realization, Jin-sang kept talking.
“Crazy. You’re the one who cheated, and now you’re trying to pin it on me?”
Hana was momentarily speechless, but she forced her voice out.
“They say you only see what’s in your own eyes, and you’re exactly that kind of trash. You’re the one who messed around—why are you taking it out on me?!”
There was no reason to hold back anymore, so Hana didn’t.
“Watch your mouth! You’re really going to talk to me like that?”
She’d wanted to keep things quiet since they were in the neighborhood—but she couldn’t anymore.
“He’s not even my boyfriend. Why should I be careful? Especially with an ex who was two-timing!”
“Hey. Since when did we break up? How can you cut people off like that—”
“This is going nowhere. Let’s go, Yoo Hana.”
As Jin-sang stubbornly kept pushing, Dogyeong stepped in firmly.
Jin-sang fumed, looking like he might throw a punch at any moment.
“Just get lost already!”
With madness in his eyes, Jin-sang suddenly burst into mocking laughter.
“Oh. You like Yoo Hana, don’t you?”
Hana felt a surge of guilt—like asking Dogyeong for help had only made him hear things he shouldn’t have.
Jin-sang’s attitude had gone beyond pathetic to outright repulsive, and just as she was about to snap back properly—
“Yeah. I do.”
“…!”
“So don’t treat the woman I like however you want.”
Her heart dropped heavily.
She knew it was a lie—something said for the situation.
And yet, for some reason, Dogyeong’s voice sounded sincere.
Get it together, Yoo Hana.
Overwhelmed by the strange atmosphere, she couldn’t move.
“Hah. Looking at it now, you two were probably tailing me that day just to find an excuse to squeeze money out of me, weren’t you?”
“Are your ears blocked, or do you just not understand? I said I like her.”
Dogyeong shot back coldly, continuing his warning without mercy.
“I don’t want to repeat myself, so listen carefully. Paying back borrowed money is basic decency. And if you don’t want to be reported for dating violence, end this cleanly.”
“What? Dating violence?”
“Let’s go, Yoo Hana.”
Ignoring Jin-sang’s rage, Dogyeong draped an arm over Hana’s shoulders.
It was similar to the playful headlocks he used to put her in—but her attention fixed on the spot where his arm touched the back of her neck.
What’s wrong with me?
An unfamiliar emotion surged violently inside her chest like crashing waves.
“Hey! Hey! Yoo Hana!”
In a moment like this, she should’ve bristled at Jin-sang shouting behind her.
Instead, all she could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding.
This is weird. What is this?!
A feeling she’d never experienced before wandered strangely through her chest.
It was… unsettling.
The two of them climbed the stairs in an unfamiliar silence and stopped in front of Hana’s door.
Only then did Dogyeong’s arm fall away.
The sudden emptiness at the back of her neck strangely turned into a sense of regret.
“See you tomorrow.”
As Dogyeong said goodbye at her door, Hana spoke carefully.
“Hey… come in for a bit. He’s probably still outside. If he starts something—”
“I’m busy.”
Dogyeong cut off her concern immediately.
Feeling awkward, Hana pretended it didn’t matter and changed the subject.
“Alright then. Um—my mom says to come over for a meal this weekend. Are you free?”
“This weekend?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t know you take such good care of yourself alone, so she wants to feed you some home-cooked food.”
They’d grown up in the same neighborhood, always looking out for each other, and that atmosphere had lasted to this day.
Since Dogyeong had been raised by his grandmother, Hana’s parents had always been especially attentive to him.
Strictly speaking, they weren’t family—but after his grandmother passed away, they felt bad leaving him on his own and took even more care of him.
“If Auntie’s inviting me, I’ll make time no matter what.”
Thankfully, his answer was positive.
“My mom will be happy.”
“Anything else?”
At his question, Hana carefully expressed her feelings.
“Thanks for helping earlier. I’m sorry you had to hear weird stuff because of me.”
“Why are you apologizing for his screw-up? Stop saying nonsense and open the door.”
“The door?”
As she echoed his words, Hana reached for the door lock.
When the door opened, Dogyeong carefully checked the extra latch at the top.
“That guy earlier didn’t look stable. Lock up properly. If he comes back talking crap, don’t open the door just because you’re angry.”
“I won’t. Don’t worry.”
“If anything happens, call me.”
“Huh?”
“It’s fine even if it’s late. Anytime.”
The words made her chest feel soft and warm.
Holding onto emotions she didn’t understand, Hana looked at Dogyeong quietly, then slowly nodded.
“…Okay. I will.”
She couldn’t understand herself—why she kept reacting to his words like this.
She’d always been certain that even if the two of them were stranded alone on an island, nothing would happen.
Yet that single kiss felt like it had cracked something in their relationship.
And because of that—
So don’t treat the woman I like however you want.
Those words he’d thrown out like a warning kept bothering her.
“Then I’m going.”
“Get home safe.”
Even their final exchange was no different from before.
And yet, Hana stood there, watching Dogyeong disappear.
For some reason, she couldn’t make her feet move.
Did I get too shaken up because of Do Jin-sang?
Did it mess with my head somehow?
There was that saying, after all.
Right after a breakup, you’re emotionally unstable—more likely to have your heart swayed by someone else.
Even so… Cha Dogyeong?
Hana stared down the stairwell where he’d vanished, then pressed a hand to her forehead.
The air between them had turned strange for a moment—but one thing was certain.
She would never see Dogyeong as a man.
Never.
