episode_0050

The weekend has arrived.

With Yoon Jichang away on a short trip for two days, leaving the house empty, I decided to stay with Jung Siwoo for the day on Saturday.

If Min Chaewon had asked me not to move until I was fully recovered, I would have obediently stayed home. Unfortunately, now that I’ve revealed my identity, it’s unlikely to have that effect.

So, I had to come and sit down myself.

“Here. Eat a lot.”

“You’re just using me like a credit card now.”

After setting down a plate full of neatly sliced strawberries, I playfully poked Siwoo’s forehead with a half-moon eye.

“Who was the person who said I was just like Min Chaewon?”

“Oh. Was that me?”

“Was it? You don’t even remember what you said. Is this really what Siwoo is like….”

“Alright, back off….”

Maybe it’s the contents. The guy who should like Min Chaewon seems to get competitive whenever he gets close.

“Are you feeling too nervous and uncomfortable? Honestly, if it were me, just sitting face to face with Chaewon at this small dining table would make me breathless.”

“Exactly, so back off a bit.”

Feeling Siwoo’s chubby gaze, I subtly stepped back.

I see. It’s not because of the contents, but because I was too unaware.

‘Maintaining a distance should be easy.’

Skinship between guys is more common than you’d think. Just playing soccer or basketball during gym class often leads to bumping into each other, and lightly punching or bumping shoulders in the classroom is just a daily routine.

I wonder if the person who gets offended and accuses you of mocking them sexually every time you touch them is suspicious.

Plus, Siwoo isn’t bad enough to make you want to throw up if you touch him.

He showers every day, so there’s no smell, and maybe because it’s me, I can feel even more relieved.

“Come on, eat quickly. Vitamin C.”

“Don’t act like a mom.”

“What are you saying? There’s no mom here.”

“Yes~ The next person without a mom.”

“Idiot.”

“You too.”

Exchanging silly jokes, we enjoyed the ripe strawberries.

Maybe because they’re in season, they were sweet and delicious. I didn’t know before, but it’s true that expensive strawberries taste better. Now I realize that fruit grades are not just for show.

“So, what do you want to do today?”

“Just lie down.”

“You’ve been lying down for almost two weeks now.”

“That’s true, but there’s nothing to do when I’m up, right?”

“…Well, if you don’t play the piano, what else will you do?”

“That’s true.”

Living alone is boring.

There’s no piano, no computer, no TV.

I didn’t even bother to sign up for anything, so what’s the point of wasting money.

“Should I get a computer?”

“There’s no use in having one.”

“That’s true. But wouldn’t it be useful sometimes? How about a laptop?”

“Forget it. I’m fine with the iPad I have now.”

Siwoo pointed to the iPad on the desk next to the bed.

It’s used occasionally to display sheet music or watch performer videos, and the screen is small in the old version.

“Then should I buy a new iPad?”

“Oh. Don’t spend money recklessly.”

“I’ll buy it for you.”

“I said forget it. Don’t make me reject you three times.”

“I’ll buy it~ I’ll buy it~ I’ll buy it~.”

“Ah! Why are you like this, seriously.”

Siwoo grumbled and covered his face with the thin blanket.

Did I joke around too much… If I think like that, I’m not Siwoo. I got up and grabbed my phone.

“Fine, I’ll buy it, so just lie down.”

“Come on, seriously.”

Siwoo quickly got up and put on a thin sweater.

“What’s this? Just lie down.”

“No. If someone offers to buy something for you, you should just lie down and accept it? That’s not polite.”

“What are you saying? You’re not buying it for me. You’re going to buy your own.”

“……”

Oh, Jung Siwoo. You even know how to make such a foolish expression.

I always thought you were stuck with a face full of irritation due to exhaustion.

“Do whatever the hell you want.”

“Wow. How can you say ‘what the hell’ in front of someone you like?”

“Oh, you don’t like it?!”

“Just kidding around. Are you saying Jung Siwoo doesn’t like Min Chaewon? Are you a fake Jung Siwoo?”

“Uh, um… Ah.”

Siwoo, scratching his head, quickly saw through my lie about going to buy my iPad.

As expected, good communication skills come in handy.

“I like the real thing, not you.”

“Aww, I know very well. I’m sorry for being fake.”

“… No. I didn’t say you were fake.”

“Apologizing for being fake. Truly, Jung Siwoo. Level 1 in sincerity. Full marks.”

Laughing gleefully, I patted Siwoo’s head lightly as he went downstairs first.

He silently brushed off my hand, groaning in pain from his rib injury. It had improved significantly, but it still wasn’t easy for him to move his arm freely.

I held onto his hoodie tightly as we descended the villa stairs, just in case Siwoo tripped and fell.

“If you fall in that state, I’ll choke on my neck.”

“You want me to catch you and fall together? How can I support you with this body?”

“Well… that’s true.”

“Did you just react to not doing it?”

“I didn’t.”

The reason Siwoo finds teasing me amusing is probably because of Min Chaewon, who has captured half of my attention.

Was her taste like this?

Perhaps she was fascinated by Siwoo’s silent and blunt reactions, so she kept by his side?

“Maybe she just liked me since childhood. Maybe she always liked me.”

But just like how I expressed inferiority to Song Seonghyuk not long ago, comparing man to man, Song Seonghyuk is far better.

Just look at his career as a pianist, winning the Chopin Competition two years later and not even winning a domestic competition. Who would you choose between the two?

I only hold the title of Professor Baek Joong-eon’s official disciple, “A student who can shine on the international stage if he finds his color,” but I haven’t achieved anything visible.

Why did Min Chaewon fall for me?

It couldn’t be just because she found the Acodia doll for me.

There’s a saying that those born in April often fall in love at first sight, but that’s just a statistical data close to superstition.

***

When we arrived at the store, there were quite a few people even though it was a weekday.

Siwoo took a guard position to prevent bumping into people and slowly made his way into the store.

“Look at this. It’s really big.”

“Hey. The price… the price…”

“Wow. It’s only 1.8 million won.”

“Are you out of your mind…?”

It’s not like I’m blindly spending Chaewon’s money. I already had the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro in my hands and asked Chaewon how she felt about it.

Isn’t this great? It’s good for reading sheet music, right?

“Yeah~ I got permission from her~.”

“….”

“What color do you want? Black? White?”

Siwoo stared at the iPad for a while with an uncomfortable expression, then muttered softly.

“Black.”

“I knew it would be black.”

“Just buy it however you want. You already know what to buy even without asking.”

“Even though I won’t be using it?”

“…. Earlier, you said you were buying it for yourself?”

“Do you believe that? So naive.”

Siwoo’s expression is quite interesting.

Am I really right in thinking this way?

‘He’s not exactly the same person… Maybe my thoughts aren’t wrong.’

As I mentioned before, humans can become completely different people depending on their environment and the years they’ve lived.

So, I can’t say that the me from three years ago and the me now are completely the same. I mean, I’m even combined with Chaewon.

“…?!”

I was about to ask the employee if they had black products in stock, but Siwoo jumped in surprise and looked around.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh… nothing. Didn’t you feel it?”

“What?”

I didn’t know what he meant by ‘feel,’ but I could tell he was on guard about something.

“Wait. No way.”

“Oh. ‘It’ is here.”

“Where? I don’t see anything.”

“It’s somewhere here. Feels like it’s hiding.”

A belated sense of eyes on me. The source was outside the store.

“I know where it is. Just talk to the employee for a bit.”

“Oh. Oh? You’re going alone?”

“I know who it is, no need to be scared.”

“Wait! If you go, it might—.”

Siwoo muttered something behind me, but she was a woman who would eventually collide with me.

If we meet, it might be better to have a fiery confrontation right now.

Otherwise, she’ll probably follow Siwoo around and annoy him. That would be troublesome. He’s a busy guy recovering.

‘Found you.’

The shadow quickly ran behind a pillar. I swiftly ran to where the shadow had been standing.

Inyoung moving again. This time towards the women’s restroom.

What a coincidence. Now I can even go into the women’s restroom. I opened the door cheerfully to corner the rat in the trap.

Clunk. This time it was inside the restroom stall.

How far are you planning to run? It’s a dead end.

Knock knock. I knocked politely and nervously tapped my foot.

“Sorry, but running away won’t do you any good. I saw you hiding among the crowd watching us earlier.”

Then click. The latch clicked and the restroom door opened.

The person who appeared from behind the shadow was, as expected, Baekcheong—.

“What, who are you. Lady. Do I know you?”

Snap.

I heard something snap in my head.

It wasn’t me who reacted. It was something inside me. The members of the Chaewon Love Squad, who always smiled brightly, turned red and began to swell like a cola bottle about to explode.

“What did you just say?”