Ha Joon came to the convenience store but couldn’t think of anything particular to do.
While vaguely looking around the interior, he noticed a dandelion occupying the window seat.
Do I not need this now?
A moment later, he placed a can of beer and grape flavored jelly on the counter.
Min Chan opened his mouth while scanning the barcode of the can of beer.
“This combination is usually Sister’s. …Do you need a bag?”
Instead of answering, he nodded his head and extended his card.
‘Beer and jelly. That’s the worst combination.’
Ha Joon remembered the nagging he had received countless times and headed towards the inner rest area of the convenience store.
He took a seat at the table for solo diners, where Ji An always sat, read the graffiti on the wall opposite, and laughed out loud.
[Seat of our big hand Ji An sister], [Sister Kim Ji An is the best], [Please come back Sister Ji An]“Kim Ji An was popular.”
After taking a sip of beer, he opened the entrance to the grapeshaped jelly. Chewing the jelly, Ha Joon involuntarily thought of Ji An.
The beginning and end of Ha Joon’s thoughts these days was always Ji An. It had become a natural part of his everyday life.
What would you have thought sitting here?
How lonely must you have been until the everyday life of being alone seemed natural and familiar?
How much did you endure to be able to accept loneliness as a given?
“Kim Ji An.”
Ha Joon murmured a belated question to himself.
Min Chan looked at Ha Joon’s back with a worried gaze.
A moment later, the entrance door to the convenience store opened, and a group of students in uniform entered. The inside of the convenience store quickly became noisy.
“Hey! That’s where the big hand sister usually sits.”
“Hey! Where in the convenience store is there a seat owner? And that guy over there can sit.”
Min Chan said, pointing at the student with glasses.
“But when is Sister Ji An coming? I did really well on this mock test at the academy. She said she’d treat me if my grades went up.”
“Did your grades really go up?”
“Yes, they did.”
Ha Joon listened to the students’ conversation, especially the stories about Ji An. There were stories he heard for the first time, so he perked up his ears.
After the noisy students left the convenience store, he handed Min Chan a fifty thousand won bill.
As Min Chan took the bill, he asked.
“Do you need anything else?”
“Those kids earlier. If they come tomorrow, make sure Ji An keeps her promise. …Take care.”
As he exited the convenience store, the wind felt unusually chilly.
Ha Joon missed Ji An unbearably that day.
“If you miss someone, you go see them. When did I start keeping my distance that I can’t even make a call.”
Instead of going home because he missed Ji An, he started the car.
Ji An was a friend who he could visit suddenly and the only person he could pour out his heart to, exchanging drinks all night.
Their relationship hadn’t changed just because they lived in different places.
Without a reason to hesitate, Ha Joon drove to Lake Tower.
He had to stop once again.
Because of the heartbreaking embrace of the lovers that filled his sight.
It would have appeared that way to a stranger.
But it was not.
As Ji An in a yellow tshirt rushed in, Woo Dan Woo pulled her in for a deep embrace.
Faced with an unexpected scene, Ha Joon’s mind went blank. It was the first time he had been stunned like this in his life.
Ji An was always there when he turned his head and would immediately come when he reached out his hand.
But the moment twisted by the word ‘parasite’ became an unmanageably tangled and tight knot.
Ji An was a knot that he knew how it got tangled but couldn’t untie, yet he couldn’t cut her out of his life either.
He vented his agitated emotions in an unlikely direction.
“Even this damn Jung Won Do.”
Ha Joon found the act of trying to acquit Jung Won Do, the bad guy, disgusting and suffocating.
Whenever he felt repulsed by something he didn’t want to do, he always missed Ji An.
On such occasions, he would call Ji An using latenight snacks as an excuse and listen to her stories. They were mostly about movies or dramas, pouring out like a flood.
Seeing her like that, he would comfort himself by resolving, ‘I’ll live a little harder to protect that sight.’
Every time Ji An envied her sister, Genesis, he wanted to become an even brighter person by her side.
Thus, he worked harder on his cases and strived to gain a reputation.
To think like that. It was arrogant and selfish pride.
Kim Ji An was enough in herself, and he only realized that now.
When Ji An disappeared into Dan Woo’s car, Ha Joon wanted to shout for her to get out right away.
But he couldn’t step forward and pretend to know Ji An.
Would doing so bring back my relationship with Ji An to the way it was?
In front of Woo Dan Woo, he would just look more pathetic.
Ha Joon wanted to stay cool.
He wanted to be by Ji An’s side without being shaken by Woo Dan Woo’s existence. There was a reason as a friend, but to do that, he had to accept Woo Dan Woo, which was not easy.
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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