YAIMF 31 🍒

Chapter — 31

Who Is His First Love?

Luckily, the police who arrived from the local precinct included someone Ji-un knew—Inspector Kim. He knew better than anyone how vile President Cheon was, so there was no need for a long witness statement. When Ji-un left the station looking a bit tired, Inspector Kim followed him out and grabbed his arm.

“Good work, man.”

“Good work, my ass… He already ran. When do you think you’ll catch him?”

“Hey, hey, give it a little time. There’ve been a lot of robbery cases around here lately, so it’s high alert. And even if that bastard Cheon runs, how far can he really go? From what I hear, the rumors aren’t good.”

If even the police were hearing about it, President Cheon’s situation was obvious without asking. Something had felt off ever since he started playing interest games with Junsik’s pocket money. Not wanting to deal with it anymore, Ji-un let out a low sigh and waved goodbye to Inspector Kim.

Inspector Kim suddenly grabbed his hand and asked with a sly grin, “By the way, the caller was a woman. You got yourself someone now?”

He wiggled his pinky finger like a child. Ji-un’s stomach had already been tight because of that whole thing. He didn’t even want to answer—he neatly folded the man’s pinky down and turned away. Behind him, Inspector Kim loudly congratulated him on finally escaping lifelong singlehood. The best move in moments like this was to ignore it. Not wanting to become the butt of more jokes, Ji-un hurried into his car.

He pulled out his phone to ask Yong-sik about Junsik’s condition. He dialed without thinking—then froze when he saw the name on the screen and quickly hung up.

“Am I crazy? Why would I call there?”

He had called Moon Sae-na by mistake. He was already a mess because of the kiss he’d given her at the karaoke place, and now his body was acting on its own.

“What is wrong with me? Why won’t I listen to myself?”

Staring at his fingers as if they were possessed, Ji-un swallowed hard. Just then, the phone buzzed in his palm.

Seeing “Moon Sae-na” on the screen, he knew he was screwed. If he’d just answered earlier and casually asked whether she got home safely or told her to forget about today, it wouldn’t have been this bad. But he’d called and then hung up like a guilty thief. Holding his head, Ji-un stared at the ringing phone. When it was about to cut off, he finally answered.

—What is it? Why didn’t you pick up right away?

“Ah, well… I just came out of the station, so things were hectic.”

—Mm-hmm. Then why did you call?

“Uh… nothing special. I just wondered if you got home okay.”

—I personally put you in a taxi. Of course I got home fine.

Her words sounded kind, but her tone was oddly sharp. Ji-un quickly replayed everything that had happened while they were together, wondering what he’d done wrong. No matter how he thought about it, the only thing that came to mind was the kiss at the karaoke place. Had she been upset? That was possible. In such a tense moment, he’d kissed her without thinking—he must have looked pathetic. Not knowing what to say, Ji-un just licked his lips.

—Should I hang up?

“Huh?”

—You’re not saying anything. I thought maybe you called even though you’re busy.

“No, no, it’s not that… I mean, I was just—”

—Oh, right. There’s something I want to ask.

“Huh?”

—Did we really date because we loved each other?

What kind of question was that all of a sudden? He couldn’t tell where he’d lost track of the conversation, and his head started to spin. Without knowing how confused he was, Sae-na’s voice grew openly irritated.

—I mean, we dated for five hundred days and even lived together. So I’m suspicious about why you had to take me to that department store.

“The department store? We went to buy clothes and things you needed.”

—Mm-hmm. I’m asking why you had to go to that department store. Is that the only one in this city?

“Yeah. It’s the only one.”

There was no reason for a small city to have two department stores. Was going there the problem? He didn’t understand at all. After hearing it was the only one, Sae-na went quiet for a moment, then continued in a sulky voice.

—You could’ve bought everything online. This is Korea—an IT powerhouse. You can buy anything on the internet. So isn’t there another reason you took me there?

Was she upset because they ran into President Cheon since they went there and got delayed? He had been the one to rush her out, saying they were busy, and insisted on going that day even though he could’ve gone to work the next day. Thinking about it, her anger made sense.

“I just… wanted to buy things that suited you, with my own eyes.”

—Is that really the only reason?

Was there another reason? Ji-un carefully examined why he needed to bring her to his office, and what it meant that he’d bought her clothes and sneakers as a ‘first day at work’ gift. Then he remembered—how he’d tried to use a woman he couldn’t even remember to get at Chairman Moon’s assets, and how he’d ended up liking her instead. A deep sigh escaped him.

—See? You sighed.

“Huh?”

—Is that your way of saying you’re done talking? I’m being really serious right now.

“No, it’s not that. I mean—”

What excuse could he even give? Should he stop this ridiculous revenge now? If he did, he’d have to send her back to where she belonged.

‘It looks like she had an engagement ceremony,’ Yong-sik had said.

If that was true, then stopping the revenge now meant handing her back to another man. Could he do that? He’d thought his heart was balanced—right between revenge and his feelings for her—but now he had no idea where he stood.

“I’m sorry.”

That was the most consideration he could offer. If she asked what exactly he was sorry for, what could he say? His heart ached sharply, and he bit down on his lip.

—That’s not something you can just apologize away.

“I’m still sorry.”

—Tch. I’m letting it slide because I’m cool like that, okay?

“Yeah.”

—What woman in the world would acknowledge her boyfriend’s first love? I’m doing this because it’s me.

“Yeah—wait, what?”

—What?

“No, what did you just say?”

—Seriously, you don’t listen at all. Your first love—the woman who owns that department store, right? And you took me there? Even showed your face openly? When I heard that, I was ready to tear you apart. But after what happened today, and since you apologized, I’m letting it go.

Barely keeping up with her rapid-fire words, Ji-un was stunned. So all this pressure was because of his first love? But… who did she think his first love was?

“W-wait! Who do you think my first love is?”

—Do I really have to say it again? You’re hopeless.

“I just want to make sure I didn’t hear wrong.”

The person she was talking about and his actual first love were completely different. If she meant Seo Ji-hye, that was a huge mistake. Just imagining it sent chills all over his body.

—Unbelievable. How could you make your first love face her? And she’s even your best friend?

“Are you crazy—no, seriously, this is insane….”

—What? Are you calling me crazy?

“No, not you—this whole idea is crazy!”

He felt sick to his stomach. Where had she even heard something so ridiculous? Ji-un stuttered, completely flustered.

—I’m not crazy, and even the neighborhood taxi drivers know about this. Don’t even think about denying it.

“That’s not true! Unless I’ve completely lost my mind—no, unless my eyes, my heart, everything is broken—there’s no way I’d see Seo Ji-hye as a woman!”

—See? You’re getting all worked up. Liars always get defensive first.

“I’m telling the truth! I’d sooner love Yong-sik than Seo Ji-hye!”

Of course, there was no reason to love Yong-sik romantically either, but he wanted her to know how sincere he was. Was this what she’d been upset about all this time? Feeling unfairly accused, his voice rose.

“And my first love wasn’t even from this area to begin with!”