Anyway, after committing that crazy act of going to her boyfriend’s school and crying and begging him to see her again, she was hit on the back more than ten times by her friends.

Seung Joo and Sun Jin were embarrassed, saying what kind of disgrace this was, and other friends who heard the situation shook their heads, saying she had now clearly become the subordinate in the relationship.

Although she didn’t understand what meaning there was in winning or losing in love, Na Eun was fine because she was confident that she could overcome it with her loving heart even if Jae Kyung lorded over her after that.

Of course, after that, Jae Kyung returned to being just a caring boyfriend as if he had never broken up, so she didn’t have to test her love.

Anyway, as can be seen from this anecdote, Na Eun is the type who doesn’t bother to maintain her pride in relationships.

If she likes something, she likes it, and if she dislikes something, she dislikes it infinitely.

She would dislike someone she dislikes even if they brought gold and silver, but anything from someone she liked, even a pebble picked up on the way, was infinitely precious.

So this time too, Na Eun shot out her feelings without hesitation.

“I’m upset.”

“……”

“……”

Sun Jin and Seung Joo, who were eating ice cream for dessert on the stairs in the corner of the playground after lunch in a slightly more awkward atmosphere than usual, frowned.

It was a reaction like ‘What nonsense is this all of a sudden?’

Na Eun hurriedly emphasized, fearing they might pretend not to have heard.

“I’m upset. I’m upset. I’m saying I’m upset-!”

“Ah, my ears are going to fall off.”

“What are you saying?”

Sun Jin, who seemed to have heard the whole story of yesterday’s commotion, also narrowed her brows as if unable to understand Na Eun’s eccentric behavior.

Na Eun felt she should kindly explain what she was upset about, so she shot at the main culprit who caused this emotion.

“Would you really kill me if I secretly talked about you to someone else?”

Sun Jin, sitting next to her, was surprised and rolled her eyes, looking back and forth between Seung Joo and Na Eun.

Seung Joo flinched at the frighteningly direct question and hurriedly corrected.

“Did I say I would kill you? That bastard said he would kill you!”

“That or this!”

Is who said it important now? I’m upset that you didn’t say anything when you heard that! Na Eun raised her voice.

“If that thug really tries to kill me, won’t you stop him!”

“……”

Seung Joo hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Of course I’ll stop him. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you…! Ah, damn it!”

Before he could finish speaking, Seung Joo was hit on the crown of his head with the opposite end of the popsicle he was eating and cursed in irritation.

“Why did you hit me!”

“You hesitated for 3 seconds.”

Na Eun glared with eyes full of betrayal and muttered.

While the answer was satisfactory, the 3 seconds of hesitation before giving that answer was vexing.

Seeing Na Eun seriously angry, Seung Joo opened his mouth in exasperation.

“So you hit me for that?”

“Compared to the wound in my heart, this level of pain is nothing!”

I, I!

“Even if I get kidnapped because of you, I won’t blame you!”

“Why do you always get kidnapped!”

Are you really wanting to get kidnapped once? At Seung Joo’s pressing, which was even becoming suspicious now, Na Eun mumbled sadly while putting ice cream in her mouth.

“It’s my fate…”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Seung Joo roughly shoved ice cream into his mouth as if to purify his boiling insides.

Sun Jin, who had been carefully watching the two, quickly intervened to change the mood.

“Na Eun, Seung Joo says he’ll buy you malatang tomorrow.”

Tomorrow there are only morning classes due to a school event, so they can eat out.

At Sun Jin’s coaxing tone, Na Eun glanced up at Seung Joo.

“…Will you add extra meat?”

Seung Joo snorted but answered.

“Yeah.”

“…Then I like it.”

Extra meat is love.

Na Eun’s anger melted away, though she maintained a prim expression, happy that tomorrow she could indulge in the luxury she usually couldn’t afford because adding ingredients made the per-person cost well over 10,000 won.

Of course, she didn’t forget to ask him to definitely save her if she ever almost died at the hands of that thug.

She’s from a well-off family but is weak to things like this.

Sun Jin sighed inwardly, then suddenly rolled her eyes as she recalled her team leader whom Na Eun had referred to as a thug.

Knowing that her friend wasn’t the type to judge others solely on appearances, she suddenly became curious as to why she had formed such an appropriately negative first impression.

“By the way, did our team leader bother you too?”

“He asked for my number, so I threw it away.”

Na Eun’s expression was as if she didn’t want to think about it.

As expected of my friend. Her eye for people is accurate. Praising her for doing well, Sun Jin said,

“You did well. That guy is famous for his complicated relationships with women.”

Wasn’t it said that his hobby was stealing other people’s girlfriends? It must be. When she slightly revealed the rumors about him that had circulated in the center, Na Eun’s expression changed.

“…I really hate that.”

At the faint contempt that came from sincere feelings rather than a simple exclamation, Seung Joo and Sun Jin briefly exchanged glances.

Knowing that while Na Eun wasn’t one to clearly divide her likes and dislikes in relationships, she would become merciless if someone entered her ‘dislike’ category, the two inwardly thought it was for the best.

Because the rumors were almost close to the truth.

Going out on weekends was banned for the time being.

Although it wasn’t intentional, she had broken the set curfew once, and her parents were greatly shocked by the fact that she had almost died after being involved in a major accident.

All the academies she used to attend daily were replaced with private tutoring, and as a result, she was stuck at home for two whole days on the weekend. While it would be understandable to be frustrated, Na Eun wasn’t.

If she can’t go out, she can just bring the person she likes in.

“Welcome. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jae Kyung.”

Na Eun’s mother, Soo Hyun, smiled and greeted Jae Kyung as he entered the front door.

Jae Kyung smiled back and bowed his head.

“It’s good to see you, Mother.”

Ah, this reminded me of my mother.

As Jae Kyung held out the bouquet he was holding, Soo Hyun exclaimed “Oh my” and quickly took it.

Na Eun, standing next to her, stretched out her arms as if urging.

“Where’s mine?”

Looking at her as if her demanding attitude was cute, Jae Kyung handed Na Eun a slightly smaller bouquet.

Soo Hyun gently admonished as Na Eun happily looked at the bouquet of pastel-colored, cute flowers gathered together.

“How does a student have money to buy things like this? Next time, come comfortably without feeling burdened, okay?”

Even while saying that, she too didn’t seem to dislike the gift she received.

As Soo Hyun headed to the living room to find an empty vase to arrange the received flowers, she said,

“Both of you go upstairs. I’ll bring up some snacks.”

“What about dinner?”

“Dad will be home from work in the evening. Dad will cook himself.”

“Ah…”

Doomed. Na Eun bowed her head, filled with despair she couldn’t voice out loud.

While she didn’t dislike her dad’s affection in preparing dinner himself on weekend evenings when he occasionally came home early, the problem was her dad’s cooking skills.

Although he always prepared the recipe and ingredients perfectly, her dad, who always displayed genius creativity in every step of the cooking process, always reproduced unexpectedly outlandish flavors.

Na Eun always ate silently considering her dad’s sincerity in making it, but she felt regret that it would have been nice to eat something delicious when her boyfriend was visiting.

I should have noticed when I didn’t see the sisters and the aunty anywhere today…

She should have noticed when she didn’t see the household staff who were usually around various parts of the mansion.

Na Eun’s father, Seok Hoon, always dismissed the staff on days when he prepared meals himself.

He said he was embarrassed to be seen struggling with cooking, which he wasn’t good at, but he was a man who smiled saying he was happy as long as his wife and daughter ate the food he made with enjoyment.

The two women who loved his innocent appearance, hard to believe was a man nearing his 50s, decided to give up their sense of taste once again today.

“…Jae Kyung, I’ll bring up lots of snacks, so eat a lot in advance.”

She and Na Eun were already used to Seok Hoon’s cooking to the point of being seasoned, but it could be a big shock for Jae Kyung, so she gave him a hint.

Jae Kyung, who already knew well from Na Eun, nodded with a bitter smile.

With Soo Hyun’s consideration, they headed up to the second floor towards Na Eun’s study room.

Looking around at the huge bookshelf that seemed like two classrooms put together and the spacious interior, which was amazing enough that the bedroom and study room were separate, Jae Kyung remarked anew,

“I was indeed dating a princess.”

“There you go again with that.”

Remembering Jae Kyung laughing and saying ‘I guess I was dating a princess’ when she first invited him home, Na Eun chided him.

At Na Eun’s reaction that it was nonsense, Jae Kyung said it was sincere.

“It’s true. I was even amazed that your parents were kind to me.”

“Of course they’d be kind to their daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Rather than that…”

You know, like those chaebol parents who oppose and shout ‘Someone like you is not allowed.’

Although it’s now completely unimaginable given how kind Soo Hyun and Seok Hoon had been from the first meeting, Jae Kyung had initially made such predictions.

Na Eun’s expression after hearing Jae Kyung’s honest impression was worth seeing.

“You tell me to cancel my OTT subscription all the time, but you’re the one who needs to stop watching dramas.”

“Haha. Maybe so?”

While taking out and placing books on the desk, Jae Kyung muttered in passing.

“Well, we’re still students after all.”

I wonder if they would oppose if we said we were getting married? It was just a joke.

They were now in their third year of high school, and next week was the last final exam. Marriage was too distant a topic for nineteen-year-olds for whom college entrance was important right now.

When there was no reaction from across after throwing out words just meant to be laughed at, Jae Kyung stopped his arm that was taking out writing utensils and raised his head.

Then, his girlfriend’s face, which had turned completely red like a radish from her ears to her cheeks, came into full view.

Seeing her noticeably flustered reaction, it was Jae Kyung who became embarrassed instead.

“Uh…”

“……”

An awkward silence that had rarely occurred in their nearly year-long relationship swept between the two.

The sound of the second hand moving on the clock on the wall seemed unusually loud.

How many seconds had they been standing facing each other like this?

“…Shall we study?”

As they had come to study for the exam together, Jae Kyung opened a book to break the awkward atmosphere, and Na Eun hurriedly accepted his consideration, quickly opening a book and sitting down, burying her nose in the book.