Chapter 73: Sinful Man (2)

10:30 AM. In front of a VGC building in Gangdong District, Seoul.

“…….”

Kang Hye-eun, dressed impeccably, scanned the surroundings at the meeting spot.

Her outfit consisted of a dress perfectly blending white and sky blue, paired with a cashmere jacket. While the clothes themselves were quite stylish, the real eye-catcher was the model wearing them.

Inheriting her mother’s genes, she possessed a beauty that was immediately apparent. Standing at a considerable height of 175cm, exceptionally tall for a woman, with a noticeably large bust. Her body, sculpted with various large and small muscles, gave her a stylish figure.

It was only natural that a beauty like her, standing alone and waiting for someone, would attract a lot of attention.

‘Even so, did I come a bit too early….’

Yet, she paid no mind to the gazes of others, seemingly preoccupied with waiting for someone.

It was a date with her childhood friend, whom she was supposed to meet, so meeting him near her house and heading out together was an option. However, despite considering it, Kang Hye-eun specifically chose to meet at the designated location.

She felt it was a bit more fitting for a date.

‘…If we met near home, it would just feel like childhood friends going out.’

Having been childhood friends since they were very young, there was a time when Kang Hye-eun felt nothing more than friendship towards Sung Taekyung.

However, as she went through her immature middle school years, her feelings gradually became more honest. In high school, she became completely aware of her affection when she felt indignant about what her childhood friend, Sung Taekyung, had gone through. And recently, after engaging in acts typically reserved for couples with him, her love deepened further. Currently, Kang Hye-eun’s feelings for him had grown immensely.

If she hadn’t hesitated, they could have easily become lovers. But Kang Hye-eun was unaware of this fact.

Because Kang Hye-eun kept delaying her confession without properly expressing her true feelings, and because Sung Taekyung possessed a secret awakening ability he hadn’t revealed, the relationship between the two, who once harbored good feelings for each other, had already passed the point of becoming lovers.

‘…Taekyung seems a bit strange lately, so I should probably ask him about it today.’

Their relationship, which started as close childhood friends, somehow shifted, creating distance. Then, for a while, he seemed to treat her normally again, followed by a period where he seemed to shut himself off emotionally.

And now, after becoming physically intimate like a long-term couple, he drew a line, stating they weren’t actually lovers. Kang Hye-eun’s heart, which she thought had reached its limit, was now burning with impatience.

Therefore, today’s date was not only to see the face of the person she loved after a long time, but more importantly, it was driven by her determination to clearly define their current strange relationship.

To ascertain whether Sung Taekyung truly desired a romantic relationship with her, or if all the feelings she had felt for him thus far were merely a misunderstanding.

…Meanwhile, the man himself was nowhere to be seen, even as the appointment time drew near, leaving her waiting alone.

“Taekyung-ah is a little late….”

Unlike his usual self, who would comfortably arrive at least 20 minutes before the appointment, his lateness today made Kang Hye-eun feel a bit anxious.

“There’s still a little time left….”

She considered sending a text asking where he was, but hesitated, worried she might sound like an annoying girlfriend nagging him about being late.

While Kang Hye-eun hesitated, the clock on her smartphone ticked past the appointment time of 11 AM.

“Mmm….”

His continued absence, not even showing up at the scheduled time, made her feel even more anxious.

…This had never happened before. He had never failed to show up past the appointment time.

“Is he perhaps waiting somewhere else…?”

We had agreed to meet in front of the VGC building, so she was waiting at the main entrance where they always met during school days. But perhaps he had mistaken the location and was waiting at the back gate? The possibility wasn’t zero.

With that thought, harboring a sliver of hope, Kang Hye-eun walked to the building’s back gate, but her childhood friend was nowhere to be seen there either.

“…Or maybe, he’s already inside the movie theater?”

Sung Taekyung, as far as she knew, would never be late or completely disregard an appointment without a word.

So, Kang Hye-eun entertained one last possibility and walked into the building. It was only after failing to find him even at the ticket booth that she calmly reached a conclusion.

Her childhood friend, Sung Taekyung, was late for their appointment for the first time in his life.

“Ah, there’s still about 20 minutes until the movie starts.”

Even though it was already 10 minutes past the scheduled time, Kang Hye-eun tried to remain as calm as possible.

Since the appointment time was set generously, a delay of 1-20 minutes wouldn’t significantly disrupt the date. And considering the commercials before the main movie, she still had about 30 minutes to spare.

Thinking it was acceptable now that he was late, Kang Hye-eun sent a KakaoTalk message to her childhood friend.

「Where are you?」

She kept the message short, trying her best to suppress any tone of anger or impatience about him being late for the appointment.

However, five minutes after sending the message, with no reply and not even a read receipt, Kang Hye-eun began to feel increasingly impatient.

“The movie is starting soon…”

If he got any later, it would be beyond salvageable. Kang Hye-eun resorted to calling him as a last resort, but instead of his voice, she heard the automated response.

‘The other party is unavailable, please leave a message after the beep.’

“Why are you so late, Taekyung-ah…”

The movie they were supposed to watch together had already started, and the appointment time had long passed. Yet, she didn’t give up, continuing to send him calls, texts, and KakaoTalk messages.

The movie itself wasn’t really important. What mattered was the act of dating itself, sharing time with him.

During their school days, she often chose horror movies when they met, hoping he would get scared and run to her. In reality, Sung Taekyung watched them nonchalantly, while she, despite being scared, couldn’t bring herself to cling to him out of pride.

“…….”

Lost in her swirling emotions, the movie had already begun, and another 30 minutes passed meaninglessly.

It had been an hour since the appointment time. And over two hours since Kang Hye-eun had started waiting for Sung Taekyung at the meeting spot.

“Taekyung-ah…. Please pick up….”

Still no answer to her calls, no reply to her texts. The KakaoTalk message still showed the ‘1’ indicating it hadn’t been read.

Finally, two hours after the appointment time, Kang Hye-eun let one possibility surface in her mind.

“Could it be… I’ve been stood up…?”

As the possibility she had tried to ignore crept into her thoughts, Kang Hye-eun’s eyes began to well up.

“If you couldn’t make it because something came up…. You could have at least told me beforehand…”

In a quiet corner of the garden in front of the building, where she first waited, Kang Hye-eun discreetly wiped away her tears, avoiding the eyes of others.

It wasn’t just the disappointment of the date ending futilely or the fact that she had waited for over three hours. It was the feeling of being wronged by Sung Taekyung, who hadn’t even sent her a single message all this time, that made her feel even more miserable.

He could have called once.

He could have texted once.

Why hadn’t he called or texted until now, just leaving her to wait endlessly? Why hadn’t the read receipt even disappeared from the KakaoTalk message? As her sorrow deepened, Kang Hye-eun’s thoughts reached a certain point.

“……No way?”

Another possibility, one that could explain why Sung Taekyung couldn’t possibly show up, cautiously dawned in Kang Hye-eun’s mind.

Sometimes, don’t we all have those moments?

The moment you wake up, and the thought ‘I’m screwed’ flashes through your mind.

Especially when you wake up naturally according to your body clock, rather than to an alarm or timer, that uneasy feeling tends to make your heart pound even faster. It was no different the moment I woke up.

“…This is bad.”

Even without checking the time, I could tell I was late for my appointment; the view outside the window was clearly mid-day, not morning.

The first thing I did was check my smartphone lying by my head. The moment I opened the screen, a single exclamation escaped my lips.

“……Shit.”

The appointment time of 11 AM had long passed, and my smartphone blinked the time: 3 PM.

For a moment, I wished it were 3 AM instead. But the list of piled-up missed calls and text messages wouldn’t let me escape reality.

‘9 missed calls’

’22 unread messages’

The list of calls and texts, all from the same person barring one or two, immediately brought forth worry about Kang Hye-eun, who must have waited for me at the meeting spot for hours without any notice.

“Haa…. Why today of all days….”

I already had the goal of improving my relationship with Hye-eun-i, which had become distant, on this very date.

At this rate, instead of improving things, the emotional gap would only widen further. I had to somehow make up for it starting now.

If she thought I stood her up and went home, I should immediately go to Hye-eun-i’s house and beg…

“…Huh?”

But just as I was blaming myself for being an idiot and trying to get out of bed, extreme fatigue washed over me, making my body collapse onto the floor.

-CRASH!

After falling with a loud noise, I realized my body felt unusually tired. And just in case, I figured out why I had slept through all three alarms I had set.

The fatigue, forcibly removed by a recovery spell, had prevented me from noticing the pre-symptoms of a cold virus. By the time the spell wore off, the flu was already quite advanced.

My eagerness to become a Rank B Hunter had made me fail to notice the abnormal symptoms in time. The recovery spell only affected physical damage, not viral illnesses.

“…Haa, this isn’t the time to be like this.”

It’s possible Kang Hye-eun is still waiting for me like an idiot even now. Even if she went home thinking I stood her up, I still needed to go out.

So, as soon as I came to my senses, I tried to get up somehow to grab my fallen smartphone.

-CRASH BANG BANG!!!

The moment I put my hand on the desk to push myself up, my body gave out again, and I fell hard.

-SPLASH!!

Simultaneously, the sensation of cold water enveloped me, jolting me awake. It seemed I had knocked over the washbasin on the desk while falling.

‘…A washbasin…?’

…Come to think of it, why is that here now?

As I questioned the sudden sense of unease, something else fell from my forehead onto the floor. Only then did I realize that a wet towel had been cooling my forehead.

“What’s this now….”

-THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!

While still trying to process what had happened while I slept, I heard the sound of someone running hastily up the stairs outside my door. The sound grew closer and then burst open my room door.

“Taekyung-ah, are you okay?!”

“Kang… Hye-eun…?”

What are you doing here…?