“Why are you so burdened like that? You’re trying to feel hurt, so do it moderately. …Oh right! In the shopping bag.”
Ji An looked around the dining table. She saw another shopping bag that Ha Joon had put down.
“What’s that?”
“I meant to tell you slowly, but my mom came with side dishes and she knew you moved. I told her vaguely that you moved near the academy, so she knows that.”
After finishing the door lock replacement, Ha Joon changed the password and tapped on the shoulder of Ji An, who was sitting on the sofa.
“The password is the usual one. …Why are you twisting your lips like that? It looks like lasers are coming out of your eyes.”
Her resentment was now directed at Yoo Jin as well.
“Yoo Jin spoke badly. She should have asked me first if she wanted to show the house.”
Ha Joon sat next to Ji An and rested his head on the sofa head.
Thinking back on yesterday’s phone conversation, a sense of disappointment surged in. There were no words asking for help, no mention of the move.
When he heard about the move from an unexpected place, he was also engulfed by a strange energy that he couldn’t explain.
“Is that something to be so angry about? There was no mention of moving when you called. Try to understand how I felt hearing it through Yoo Jin. What my mood might have been.”
“…Was the mood bad?”
“Of course. I understand that you made an important decision in Jeju Island, but excluding me from Ji An’s affairs can be done at leisure.”
“Ha Joon.”
“I also need time. Because it wasn’t just you who got used to that life. We…we need time to keep distance.”
Ji An’s heart wavered. She thought she was the only one hurt, but it sounded like Ha Joon, who was like a sturdy wall, was also hurt inside.
She looked up at him with confused eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like you’re going to cry. …But Ji An, I’m proud of you. For moving all by yourself. You’ve grown a lot.”
“What? What’s with that tone treating me like a kid?”
Ha Joon ruffled Ji An’s hair and laughed playfully. The more she tried to avoid, the more persistently his hand ruffled Ji An’s hair.
Ji An caught his thick wrist with both hands and shook off the ruffled hair.
Then she looked askance at Ha Joon and suddenly sniffed and asked.
“Did you start smoking again? This smells like cigarettes.”
“No. You asked me to quit. So, I quit.”
“No, it definitely smells like cigarettes.”
“It must have rubbed off during the meeting. It’s not like you’re verifying with a dog’s nose. What kind of smell are you talking about?”
Ji An didn’t give up and narrowed her eyes, sniffing loudly.
Ha Joon just lifted his lips into a smile, undisturbed by Ji An’s probing gaze. Then, pointing at the clock leaning at an angle on the opposite floor, he asked.
“Where should I hang the clock? What’s the boiler’s model year? What’s the water pressure?”
“I referred to the points to check when inspecting a house. I checked everything that needed to be checked. It’s all fine.”
Ji An opened the bathroom door and was about to step in when she finally threw a word at Ha Joon.
“Ha Joon, you don’t have to worry. If I need something while living, I’ll try to solve it myself first. And… if there’s something I can’t do, I’ll ask.”
Click, as soon as the bathroom door was locked, Ha Joon sighed deeply.
He hated to admit it, but it felt like a long curtain had unknowingly fallen between him and Ji An.
The sedan driven by Ha Joon entered the residential area of Samsungdong. It was a neighborhood where the interiors of the houses couldn’t be seen because of the high walls.
Following the navigation guide, he gently stepped on the accelerator.
“It seems familiar here.”
“We probably have to go a bit more. It’s been a few years for me too.”
Ha Joon looked at Ji An with worried eyes.
She used to say she visited home every year. That was proved to be a lie from her answer a while ago.
It wasn’t just distaste, but a house she hated to the point of wanting to bang her head against a wall. Shouldn’t he have thought deeply about Ji An’s feelings at least once?
An unnecessary regret swept over him.
Ha Joon pressed the brake, slowing down the car and pointed outside the window.
“There. Your father is coming out.”
Ji An lifted her head and looked straight ahead. Spotting Jae Yoon loitering around, she relaxed her stiffened face by moving her lips up and down.
Stepping out of the car, she called out to Jae Yoon with a broad smile.
“Dad!”
“Ji An.”
Patting Ji An’s back, Jae Yoon shifted his gaze to Ha Joon. He added a comment with a smile.
“You did well asking Ha Joon.”
“I was going to come alone. So Dad, shouldn’t it be okay if I tell Ha Joon to just leave?”
“Your father wanted to invite Ha Joon. It’s been a long time thinking. You’ve eaten a lot at Ha Joon’s place.”
“Don’t tell me another wish?”
“Yes, your father’s wish.”
Ha Joon stood side by side with Ji An, holding the gift set he took out from the trunk. He then bowed to Jae Yoon in greeting.
“Welcome. You’ve had a lot of trouble?”
“Not at all.”
Ji An fixed her gaze on the gift set in Ha Joon’s hand.
What on earth is this?
As Ji An looked up at him with a question in her eyes, Ha Joon shrugged his shoulders and replied.
“A gift set of Hanwoo.”
“So why that?”
“When you go to your girlfriend’s house, they said you should bring it. The flowers,”
“Are you crazy?”
“That’s why I didn’t buy them.”
When Ha Joon looked down at her with a ‘So should I have come emptyhanded?’ expression, Ji An replied with a ‘Please don’t.’ look in her eyes.
A fierce battle of exchanging looks ensued. Amid this, Ha Joon thought it was a relief that Ji An’s mood was back to normal.
Interrupting the two’s stareoff, Jae Yoon urged them to move on.
“Let’s go in. The weather is cold, you’ll catch a cold.”
As Ha Joon stepped alongside Jae Yoon, Ji An followed behind them with heavy steps.
To show Ha Joon the sight of being with family.
Wishing that her mother, who she hasn’t seen for a long time, wouldn’t treat her like an ornament and wouldn’t even look at her. Then I could sit quietly and leave.
Ji An entered the yard, murmuring words mixed half with worry and half with prayer. A twostory house, with large windows and flamboyant decorations, perfectly harmonized, came into view.
She didn’t understand why such a nice house was necessary when one didn’t even live there for a few months in a year.
Seeing Ji An slow down, Ha Joon stopped. Jae Yoon softly spoke.
“You feel strange because you haven’t been here in a while? Your dad has been negligent. It would’ve been good if you were called more often.”
“No, it’s not that. The trees have grown a lot in the meantime.”
Hiding her inner thoughts, Ji An pointed to the wellmaintained garden trees.
Only when Jae Yoon turned his back did Ji An press her stiffened chest with her palm.
Her nerves, especially sensitive only to her mother, already made her hands and feet cool.
It would be nice if all the senses in her body were completely frozen. So that she couldn’t feel any emotion.
As they entered the front door, Jae Yoon called out to his wife, Eun Ji. He gestured for Ha Joon and Ji An to come upstairs and headed towards the master bedroom.
“Honey. Ji An is here. … Honey.”
Ji An indifferently watched her father’s back going to the master bedroom.
A greeting returned in silence was ‘low’ in terms of difficulty. In other words, this much was something to laugh off lightly.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
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.
_____
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