“Ji Ho, I’ll get off at that crossing over there.”
Yi Soo spoke as if preparing to get off, clutching her bag in her hand.
There was still about one more bus stop’s distance to go before reaching the school.
“Why so suddenly?”
Ji Ho turned to look at Yi Soo with puzzled eyes.
“It feels a bit awkward getting off the car with you. There’s no one at our school who doesn’t know you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Ji Ho’s head turned to the side with a frown.
“If someone sees us going to school together in the morning, it’s a perfect situation for misunderstandings.”
Yi Soo spoke carefully after a moment’s pause, glancing at Ji Ho’s reaction.
“I’d prefer if no one knew we were dating.”
“I don’t like that. Why should we do that?”
It wasn’t that she hadn’t anticipated Ji Ho’s reaction, but she didn’t expect him to refuse so immediately.
Was there no room for consideration?
“I told you before. I’m uncomfortable and dislike being the center of attention. If rumors spread about me dating you… I don’t know about you, but I think I’d be really uncomfortable.”
Yi Soo shook her head as if the mere thought was terrible.
People would naturally say Ji Ho was wasting himself on her, they’d have to endure curious glances wherever they went, and Yi Soo would have to bear the full brunt of jealousy from people she didn’t even know.
Yi Soo wasn’t confident she could calmly endure such things.
“You don’t have to mind those things, just ignore them.”
“I can’t do that. This is also why I thought you’d be hard to handle. I want to avoid it if I can. We just need to not reveal it in front of people. It’s not that difficult.”
Ji Ho was bewildered by Yi Soo’s firm attitude.
They had just confirmed their feelings for each other, and now she wanted to date in secret.
He couldn’t just say he absolutely disliked it, fearing Yi Soo might withdraw again.
Ji Ho let out a long, frustrated sigh.
“Alright. I’ll think about it.”
“I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I’d appreciate if you could say you’re okay with it.”
If nothing else, Yi Soo couldn’t compromise on this issue.
“I don’t like you being uncomfortable, but honestly, I’m not confident I can hide it.”
Every morning, going to school with Yi Soo, waiting for her after classes to take her home, having lunch together, drinking coffee…
Ji Ho’s plans to share daily life with Yi Soo were going awry from the start.
He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the fact that he had been excitedly pondering today’s lunch menu, not knowing Yi Soo had such thoughts.
“Ah! The light just turned red. I’ll get off here. See you later.”
Yi Soo quickly opened the car door and got out while the car was momentarily stopped.
The door slammed shut before Ji Ho could even try to stop her.
Yi Soo got off without hesitation, as if she had been waiting for the right moment to exit.
**
Yi Soo walked with heavy steps.
Though she had fled from the car, the problem lay ahead.
Looking at the school in front of her, she felt a bit overwhelmed.
Meeting Seo Ji Ho.
She wasn’t unaware of what that meant, but now that it was a reality, worry took precedence.
She felt sorry for unilaterally asking Ji Ho, but she couldn’t take it back since it was clearly troublesome if it became known.
As she walked, troubled by various thoughts, Yi Soo’s phone rang.
It was Dong Woo.
“Oh, Dong Woo, I’m late again. I was going to call you first…”
There had been several missed calls and messages from Dong Woo yesterday.
By the time she arrived home, she was already exhausted, so Yi Soo had only left one message saying she’d call tomorrow.
And then she had completely forgotten about it due to Ji Ho’s sudden visit.
[Haha, I should have waited a bit longer. Where are you?]“I’m in front of the school now.”
[Then, can you wait a bit at the main gate? I’m almost there too.]“Okay. Got it. Take your time.”
Yi Soo stopped at the main gate and looked around.
She saw Dong Woo running from the bus stop.
So much for taking his time.
Yi Soo smiled gently, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she watched Dong Woo.
Dong Woo arrived in front of her in no time, taking long strides.
“Why are you running? You’ll be out of breath first thing in the morning.”
“You’re waiting, aren’t you? Whew… Want to grab a coffee? Do you have time?”
Dong Woo’s face was bright with a smile, even as he was gasping for air.
“Sounds good. I have about 30 minutes to spare.”
“Did you sleep well yesterday? Your face looks much better than yesterday.”
The last time he saw Yi Soo’s face, she had been exhausted upon arriving at the mountain.
He had been curious and worried when he couldn’t reach her all day yesterday.
“Yeah. I fell asleep early last night and woke up to the alarm in the morning. I just have a bit of muscle soreness in my legs.”
“Wasn’t it hard coming down?”
“Yeah. I rested for a long time until I regained my strength before coming down. I also took frequent breaks while descending.”
“You did well.”
Although it bothered him that she had been with Ji Ho, he was relieved that she had made it down safely, even if that’s how it happened.
The two walked side by side towards the cafe inside the school.
**
Ji Ho, who had arrived before Yi Soo, was watching from inside the car, waiting for her to come.
Yi Soo walked up with her phone to her ear, looking around as if waiting for someone, and then Dong Woo was seen running up excitedly.
‘She says it’s uncomfortable to even get off the car with me, but she’s so comfortable with Dong Woo like that.’
Ji Ho rubbed his face with his large hand.
He felt something hot surging up inside him.
He watched the two with a deep sigh.
While he understood Yi Soo’s reasons for feeling uncomfortable, he couldn’t help feeling bitter.
“Oppa!”
Someone knocked on the car window.
“Ji Ho oppa!”
Turning his head, he saw Yoo Mi standing outside the car door with a smile.
Ji Ho got out of the car.
“Oh, Yoo Mi.”
“What a coincidence to meet like this in the morning!”
Yoo Mi said brightly in a refreshing voice.
Walking towards the main gate, Yoo Mi had spotted Ji Ho’s car going to the parking lot and came running over, delighted by the chance encounter.
She couldn’t suppress a genuine smile at unexpectedly meeting Ji Ho on a Monday morning.
Ji Ho’s gaze continued to follow the path where Yi Soo and Dong Woo were walking together.
“Oppa! If you have time now, instead of standing here, shall we go for coffee?”
Yoo Mi tugged on Ji Ho’s arm, acting cute.
“We didn’t get to have coffee last time after eating. I’ll treat you today.”
Coffee? He could see a cafe on the path Yi Soo and Dong Woo were heading.
It seemed those two were going for coffee as well.
Ji Ho felt as if Dong Woo had stolen Yi Soo, whom he had carefully brought here.
‘I should be the one having coffee with Yi Soo, not Dong Woo…’
“Okay, let’s go for coffee.”
“Hoho, great, oppa.”
Yoo Mi smiled, lifting the corners of her mouth fully.
**
As the automatic door button was pressed, the cafe entrance door slid open smoothly.
Despite the early morning, the cafe was bustling with people.
“What would you like to drink?”
Dong Woo asked as they entered the cafe.
“I’ll have a vanilla latte. You?”
“I’ll have the same. Sit down. I’ll go order.”
“No, we probably won’t have time to sit and drink anyway. Let’s drink as we walk.”
Yi Soo and Dong Woo stood side by side at the end of the long line.
“You made it up well yesterday, right?”
Dong Woo asked, examining Yi Soo’s expression.
She should have arrived at the lodging by 3 PM at the latest, so she should have been able to receive calls from then on.
What had she been doing all day, not answering her phone?
He wanted to ask if she had been with Ji Ho the whole time, but the words wouldn’t come out easily.
“Of course. I came back just fine.”
Yi Soo’s brief answer sounded like she didn’t want to talk about it in detail.
Dong Woo just nodded with a faint smile.
When there were 5 groups left in line in front of Yi Soo and Dong Woo, it happened.
A familiar voice reached Yi Soo’s ears from right behind.
“Oppa, what are you going to drink?”
“…”
“I want to have a strawberry smoothie. What about you, oppa? Will you have coffee?”
“…”
“Oppa, shall we eat tiramisu too? I’m hungry because I didn’t have breakfast, what do you think?”
“…”
The affected voice continued to grate on Yi Soo’s ears.
Although the tone was higher than Yoo Mi’s usual voice, Yi Soo recognized it as Yoo Mi’s immediately.
It seemed she had come with someone, but the person she was calling ‘oppa’ wasn’t saying anything while Yoo Mi kept talking.
‘Should I acknowledge them? Should I pretend not to notice? Will Yoo Mi acknowledge me if she sees me?’
All her attention was focused behind her back while waiting in line.
‘I’ll just buy coffee and leave without turning around until the end.’
Just as Yi Soo made up her mind, it happened.
“I’ll have an iced coffee.”
Ji Ho’s voice, unmistakable, was heard.
Yi Soo’s eyes widened in surprise.
Yoo Mi and Ji Ho had come together.
‘Ji Ho must have been watching me from behind all this time.’
At that moment, Yi Soo felt her heart pounding loudly and her throat tightening.
Dong Woo reacted similarly to Ji Ho’s voice.
Dong Woo’s head quickly turned around.
“Oh! Ji Ho.”
“Yeah. Dong Woo.”
At Ji Ho’s calm voice, Yi Soo bit her lower lip gently and kept looking straight ahead.
Her facial muscles were stiffly frozen, making it difficult to manage her expression.
Dong Woo looked with puzzled eyes at Yi Soo, who was standing still and only looking forward.
Yi Soo’s head, after hesitating on what to do, slowly turned around belatedly.
‘Haa… I don’t know.’
“Oh! Ji Ho.”
“Why are you so surprised?”
Maybe it was Yi Soo’s mood, but Ji Ho’s tone sounded a bit brusque.
Ji Ho didn’t intend to make Yi Soo uncomfortable, but the moment he saw her with Dong Woo, he felt a surge of heat inside.
Knowing it was childish, he still ended up following them here and making his presence known.
“Huh? I didn’t expect to see you here.”
At the end of Yi Soo’s gaze towards Ji Ho, Yoo Mi’s face came into view.
Yoo Mi’s expression, realizing belatedly that it was Yi Soo, was equally surprised and flustered.
“I wanted to have coffee too.”
He felt a bit hurt that Yi Soo was trying to pretend not to know him when she clearly knew he was behind her.
Surely, meeting secretly didn’t mean not even acknowledging each other.
“I see. Well, enjoy your coffee.”
While Ji Ho and Yi Soo were facing each other, Yoo Mi looked back and forth between them.
Yoo Mi looked at Yi Soo as if she were a stranger.
Observing the expressions of the two, Yoo Mi was a bit puzzled.
‘After giving a perfume as a gift and even taking her home, why is the atmosphere so awkward?’
Yi Soo seemed to be reluctantly acknowledging them, and Ji Ho’s tone was also somewhat displeased.
Their expressions were ambiguous, but they certainly weren’t happy expressions.
Seeing them together with her own eyes, it really did seem like they were nothing to each other, just as Yi Soo had said.
‘Of course. There’s no way Ji Ho oppa would like someone like Yi Soo.’
The corners of Yoo Mi’s mouth began to curl upwards.
“Customer, may I take your order?”
At the cafe worker’s call, Yi Soo turned her head back to the front.
“Two vanilla lattes, please.”
After the payment was completed, Yi Soo and Dong Woo stepped out of the line.
As they stood waiting for their ordered drinks, Yoo Mi’s gaze could be felt.
Glancing over, Yi Soo saw Yoo Mi standing close to Ji Ho with a leisurely smile, as if to show off.
Yoo Mi’s hand was holding Ji Ho’s elbow, as if she had casually linked arms with him.
‘Is she deliberately doing this for me to see?’
Yi Soo found Yoo Mi ridiculous.
Suppressing a smirk, she looked at Ji Ho.
Ji Ho seemed not to care whether Yoo Mi was holding his arm or not.
‘Is he pretending not to notice? He can’t not know, but are they close enough that linking arms is nothing to him?’
Yi Soo clenched her fist, feeling a slight tingling at her fingertips.
Even knowing there was no room for jealousy, she didn’t feel particularly good.
__________
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.