“What kind of person is Professor Seo Hyunwoo? It seems like you always avoid or act flustered around him. Is he not a good person? Does he have a bad personality?”
Why is she suddenly asking about the professor? So-ri scratched around her temples for a moment.
“It’s a bit awkward to be asked suddenly. He’s not someone I can evaluate.”
“Are you reluctant to talk about that professor?”
“It’s not like that.”
Hyunwoo, secretly curious, decided to play along with Hyejin’s prank. He raised his index finger to his lips, gesturing quietly.
“He seemed good-looking, but he looked a bit sharp. Is he really not a nice person?”
“No, it’s just… Does he seem too perfect? A selfish person who makes you feel relatively deprived. He creates a sense of relative deprivation by being so perfect.”
“Oh, too perfect?”
Somehow, So-ri found herself pouring out the feelings she had been harboring for a few days to Hyejin. She added some gossip with a hint of humor.
“Yeah. He’s more skilled at using a whip than a carrot. This is a secret I’m telling you. Lately, I’ve been avoiding him a bit.”
Hyunwoo, standing behind her, gradually narrowed his eyes. Seeing this, Hyejin chuckled.
“But… Hyejin, this is a bit of a different story.”
“Yes. What is it?”
So-ri suddenly approached Hyejin, whispered, lowering her voice like a secret.
Upon hearing this, Hyunwoo, standing behind, also leaned in close behind So-ri to listen.
“…Professor Seo seems like a bit of a bad guy.”
“Me?”
“Oh my!”
Startled by the unexpected presence, So-ri turned around and was even more surprised when she saw Hyunwoo.
“How long have you been here?”
“Well…”
Feeling betrayed, So-ri rolled her eyes and looked at Hyejin. Hyejin, for some reason, found it extremely amusing and burst into laughter, holding her stomach.
“Hyejin, it’s really you.”
She said there was no one trustworthy in the world.
So-ri fled the hospital corridor as if escaping from the room.
Suddenly, she felt hungry.
Maybe I should eat a cup ramen.
Hyunwoo, who had checked on Hyejin and followed So-ri out, came chasing after her.
“Yoo So-ri.”
Can’t hear you.
“Teacher Yoo!”
Still can’t hear anything.
Why she was running away again, even after seeing the long-sought-after Seo Hyunwoo, was a mystery.
But she couldn’t stop.
So-ri kept walking forward, and suddenly, Hyunwoo leaped in front of her, blocking her way.
“…”
She felt his gaze. For some reason, So-ri couldn’t look directly at him.
“What’s this inferiority complex about now?”
It’s not an inferiority complex; it’s awkwardness.
After being upset with him alone for the past few days, it would be challenging to regulate her facial expression for a while.
His nonchalant look at her was somewhat unpleasant.
“Well, it’s not like I feel inferior to the professor.”
That’s not it. She ended up sounding too aggressive again.
Ignoring it, Hyunwoo asked, “Lunch?”
“I haven’t eaten.”
“Let’s go.”
Hyunwoo grabbed So-ri’s wrist, busy avoiding him again today.
She pulled her hand away, saying, “Why are you doing this here? What if someone sees you?”
“So what? We’re getting married.”
He caught So-ri’s wrist again. Then, he pulled her along somewhere.
“…!”
Without anyone in the hospital noticing, wasn’t that the condition between us?
Whether his feelings had changed or if it was originally acceptable for a relationship like ours.
There was still plenty of time until marriage.
So-ri had no idea how to handle his abrupt actions.
But the marriage was still a long way off.
So-ri’s anxiety about being caught grew. She had asked not to do this in the hospital.
“You don’t have to look at it that way. Once we get married, everyone will find out anyway.”
“Still… It’s absolutely not allowed. Let me go.”
In the blink of an eye, the two found themselves standing on a deserted staircase.
He looked at So-ri and said, “If I let you go, will you follow me quietly?”
“That’s too much. I told you it’s dangerous to say this and that about Professor. I’ve warned you several times to be careful while working at the hospital. Yet, you act as you please, please don’t act on your own and consider my feelings a bit.”
“What did I do on my own, I!”
In the end, even the teary-eyed Hyunwoo raised his voice, contrary to his feelings. It was the first time he had shouted with mixed emotions.
So-ri’s moist eyes widened in surprise.
“…I’m not mad at you. I’m sorry for yelling, So-ri.”
Hyunwoo immediately apologized.
In fact, he didn’t know that he had worked harder on rounding because he wanted to see her.
But now, the situation had become strangely complicated, and So-ri was also perplexed.
Despite the fact that the lover she wanted to see was right in front of her, the two couldn’t see each other. They faced different walls while suppressing their emotions.
“I honestly don’t know what the problem is. But I’ll apologize. I’m sorry.”
“…”
In response to the blind apology, So-ri’s eyes shook slightly.
“Anyway, it seems like I didn’t understand your feelings well. And I did what I wanted, which is also true.”
“…”
“But. We need to resolve this misunderstanding. It wasn’t about you saying that you feel inferior to me.”
There was a suppressed frustration in his voice, as if he was holding back tears.
“It meant that no one should feel such emotions as inferiority.”
He sighed like a long breath.
Worried if he had gripped too hard, he cautiously checked So-ri’s wrist and gently let it go.
His disappearing warmth suddenly made So-ri’s wrist feel numb.
“Yeah. Since this is a hospital. Let’s talk about it at home in the evening.”
“…”
“Let’s finish work early today.”
“…”
“Don’t starve yourself whenever you’re in a bad mood.”
Looking a bit tired, he passed by So-ri and descended the stairs.
As he moved away, she felt a cold wind rushing through her body, as if there were holes in her heart.
Professor…
Professor, don’t leave like this.
The words on the tip of her tongue couldn’t become So-ri’s voice. As she moved step by step, she eventually pressed against the staircase railing and kept her eyes on him.
As he disappeared from view, she felt a piercing sensation, as if there were a hole in her heart. Chilled air enveloped her entire body.
Professor…
Professor, please don’t go like this.
She couldn’t utter the words. While she stared at where he had been, So-ri squeezed her head with her hands.
During this journey, her heightened sensitivity became a problem. Unintentionally, she had exploded, causing him to run away.
How should I reconcile?
No, should I apologize too?
Because of my clumsy mistake, the dilemma only deepened.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
