“Che. You exaggerate. If I composed this, I would’ve gone to music school.”
As Soo-yeong grumbled, Woo-jin looked incredulous. What did she think of the standards of Korean music schools?
“Let’s eat. I made fried rice.”
She closed the piano cover and suggested. However, Woo-jin turned towards his room.
“I don’t feel like it.”
“You’re going to leave me to eat alone again? You know my arms are shaking from carrying you around, right? I cooked like a chef with these arms. Wow, what a personality.”
Woo-jin’s eyebrows twisted like seagulls at the mention of his personality.
“You, your mouth…!”
He raised his hand as if he wanted to pinch her mouth but then dropped it, resigning.
“And you’re holding back what you want to say?”
“Just sit with me while I eat. I hate eating alone.”
She didn’t used to mind eating alone, always doing so at the library. But after repeatedly saying she hated it to Woo-jin, she started to dislike it.
It’s true what they say, words can control actions.
Woo-jin shook his head and reluctantly followed her into the kitchen. Realizing that she too had been stressed, he felt oddly calmed.
Sitting down to eat with her, he felt like he was lending her strength, and his bruised pride somewhat healed.
After eating and tidying up, Soo-yeong took out a notebook and pen from her bag and deliberately paced in front of Woo-jin’s room.
She wondered why she couldn’t just knock instead of making her presence known every time. She thought that Woo-jin felt safe in his room and worried that knocking might disturb his refuge.
Whether he was aware of her consideration or not, he abruptly opened the door and asked wearily, “What?”
“Let’s write a contract.”
“What contract?”
“A long-term work contract.”
“Write it with Seol Ji-hyun. I don’t know about it.”
As he was about to re-enter his room, Soo-yeong lightly grabbed his arm, then quickly let go, saying, “No, we need to discuss this together.”
“Why?”
“To clarify the concept of that 5-minute walk.”
“Why?”
“Honestly, just riding the elevator up and down isn’t really a walk. A walk is supposed to be around the block…”
“The elevator was the first time in 7 years.”
“What?”
“I haven’t ridden it in my right mind since moving here.”
Not fully understanding what he meant by ‘in my right mind,’ but realizing it was a first for him, Soo-yeong exclaimed in surprise, “Really? You haven’t ridden it at all?”
“Right.”
He must have ridden it to go to the hospital, but since he was always unconscious, he couldn’t remember.
Suddenly, she grabbed and vigorously shook his hand. Despite wanting to pull away, he remained still, affected by her warm touch.
“Wow, wow! You did great, Woo-jin! Really great!”
Confused by her unexpected praise, Woo-jin stammered, “What did I do well?”
“You rode the elevator for the first time in so long! That’s so brave!”
Brave for riding an elevator after 7 years? Not a coward?
With his eyes wide open, Woo-jin looked down at her, “You did great, really great.”
Soo-yeong repeated her praise, then suddenly let go of his hand, saying seriously, “But let’s clarify the concept of a walk in the contract. And set a duration for the long-term contract.”
“How long do you want to stay? By my side.”
His phrasing startled her. Not how long she wanted to work, but how long she wanted to be by his side?
Soo-yeong fell silent, and Woo-jin suddenly stepped back and opened his door wide.
“Come in and talk. I’m a bit tired.”
“Okay?”
Although she’d been in his room before, it was the first time she’d been formally invited. Hesitant, she didn’t move until Woo-jin indifferently entered his room and sat in his desk chair, turning on his nebulizer.
As the hissing filled the large, dim room, Soo-yeong cautiously stepped inside and asked, “Are you in pain?”
“No.”
He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, his voice muffled by the breathing apparatus, “Then why are you using that?”
“Just. ”
“Just? Does it make you feel better?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you get a lot of stress going outside?”
Soo-yeong cautiously asked, glancing at him.
“Yeah.”
“Did I push too hard with my condition?”
“Yeah.”
“Should I cancel it?”
“If you want.”
As she hesitated, Woo-jin took a few more puffs from the nebulizer, then put it down. His pumpkin-colored eyes sparkled even in the dim room.
Soo-yeong thought his eyes looked like those of a fairy.
“Do you want to cancel?”
Challenged by the fairy-like question, Soo-yeong wavered for a moment. But her rational mind screamed not to cancel. It was his bravery; she couldn’t let it crumble.
“We can’t just stay inside all the time, can we?”
“Why do you want to go out with me so much? Seol Ji-hyun didn’t ask you to.”
“Just, it seems suffocating to stay inside…”
“I’m not suffocating.”
“Even dogs get depressed if they stay inside all the time, you know? Didn’t you see that dog training show? They say to walk them at least once a day.”
“Am I a dog?”
His fairy-like eyes suddenly turned tiger-like. Startled by his fierce look, Soo-yeong muttered.
“No, I mean, if even dogs are like that, what about humans? You might have depression, Woo-jin.”
She thought he definitely had depression but added ‘possibility’ to be polite. As expected.
“I had it before, but it’s much better now.”
As she’d suspected, Soo-yeong said seriously.
“Then, if you do the 5-minute walk for me, I’ll do something for you during our long-term contract. What do you want?”
As she spoke, Soo-yeong imagined lines like ‘your body’ from male characters in web novels. What if he wanted that? Then she’d have to…
The thought of buying underwear made her silently sigh. Crazy, Kim Soo-yeong is crazy.
“Read to me every night… like you did that time.”
Surprised by Woo-jin’s words, Soo-yeong stared at him blankly. Then, cautiously, she asked.
“……Next to me?”
“What? Over the phone!”
Startled by his outburst, Soo-yeong blushed and stuttered.
“That, that’s what I meant! Me too, lying down and over the phone!”
“Lie down or not, do whatever you want!”
Though he reacted strongly, Woo-jin felt a tense thrill at her words. What on earth is in this woman’s mind…?
How can she be more daring than me, a man?
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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