At that moment, from the association’s break room came the sound of sorrowful crying and sighs that seemed weighed down by headaches.
“Hyo, oppa! I came to see you, so what am I supposed to do if he’s not here? Please call Eunhyeol oppa quickly!”
“I already called him, so can you stop now?”
James and Cha Hyunseo, who had stopped by the association’s break room to rest for a bit, were troubled by the unexpected troublesome visitor.
James was busy trying to soothe Cheon Yeonju, while Cha Hyunseo stood at a distance with his arms crossed, looking at her indifferently.
Even when James sent him pleading glances to help, Cha Hyunseo had no intention of comforting Cheon Yeonju.
‘Annoying.’
He only wished he could stop hearing those wailing sounds and furrowed his brows in frustration.
Back in school days, he had been as popular as Eunhyeol.
James, who had lived abroad and only recently come to Korea as an adult, probably didn’t understand, but Cha Hyunseo had seen these kinds of girls until he was sick of them.
“Just one of those annoying clingy types.”
Though things had improved a lot nowadays, when he was a student, it was no joke—some fans would even invade his personal life, chasing after him relentlessly.
Sneaking into his house to take pictures or pilfering his clothes was commonplace.
That was why Cha Hyunseo was completely fed up with female students like Cheon Yeonju and her tears.
He knew comforting her would only make her cry more, so he was determined not to.
“Where is Eunhyeol anyway?”
But James, unable to just ignore the crying female student, narrowed his eyes and asked where Eunhyeol was.
“Don’t know.”
Cha Hyunseo answered curtly, then pulled a book from the shelf in the corner of the break room and started reading.
At first, Cheon Yeonju cried loudly, but as one person tried to comfort her and the other ignored her, she gradually began to dry her tears.
When the wailing was turning into hiccups, the hallway outside the association started to buzz, and they felt someone approaching the break room.
Cheon Yeonju suddenly stood up and dashed to the door.
Of course, she didn’t forget to glance at Cha Hyunseo on her way.
Clothes, clothes, clothes.
As soon as I arrived at the association, I flung open the break room door and stormed in.
Phew—
“Kyaa!”
I was trying to assert dominance, but unfortunately, Cheon Yeonju was standing right by the door.
Her face was soaked with tears and flushed red as she grabbed the edge of her mouth, stumbling backward.
***
That jerk—
I couldn’t hold back the faint laughter that burst from me.
I had heard what kind of person Cheon Yeonju was on my way here, so my mood wasn’t good, and that was why I laughed.
After hearing about Cheon Yeonju’s past, she suddenly seemed less annoying than before.
‘She totally toyed with Han Jibin’s older brother.’
It was no surprise that Han Jibin’s family was well-known in our country as the scions of a conglomerate.
Eunhyeol’s family, Han Jibin’s family, and Cheon Yeonju’s family had been constantly interacting through rich family gatherings since they were young, building close relationships.
Cheon Yeonju was said to have an unusual possessiveness since childhood.
She fell for Eunhyeol, but after being rejected, she suffered a huge emotional wound.
Then, she proposed to Han Jibin’s older brother, whom she had liked, and deliberately created opportunities to hang out with Eunhyeol.
Neither Eunhyeol nor Han Jibin ever suspected that Cheon Yeonju had ulterior motives because she was dating Han Jibin’s older brother.
But when they all ended up studying abroad together due to their families’ arrangements, Cheon Yeonju revealed her true colors.
“How can you say you want to see another guy in front of your boyfriend?”
Han Jibin had every right to hate Cheon Yeonju with a passion.
Cheon Yeonju, who sang songs saying she missed Eunhyeol, eventually gave up studying abroad and returned to Korea.
Only to see Eunhyeol.
Meanwhile, Han Jibin’s older brother prevented her from meeting other women, claiming she was his, making it an infuriating situation.
“Oppa! I’m sorry for what I did before. I shouldn’t have caused a scene in the bookstore. I came all the way to Korea just to see you. Can’t we just talk for a little while?”
Cheon Yeonju naturally leaned into Eunhyeol’s arms.
But as she tried to cling to him, Eunhyeol, trying to avoid her, lost his balance and almost toppled forward.
Once again, Yeonhayeon couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Cheon Yeonju’s face was red as she pouted but suddenly glared at me as if ready to swallow me whole.
Since it didn’t seem right for her to keep acting like that with everyone watching, I took her outside.
We went into an empty meeting room and started talking in earnest.
“Sit.”
“Huh? Are you ordering me around now?”
Bright—
“I said, sit. Here.”
“…Hmph.”
I banged on the desk, trying to sound a little intimidating, but I misjudged my strength.
Cheon Yeonju’s eyes widened at the sight of the cracked desk, and she quickly pulled out a chair and sat down properly.
‘I’ll have to buy a new desk…’
I frowned at the thought of replacing the desk, but Cheon Yeonju immediately straightened up, suddenly tense.
“If you give up so easily just because of strength, and you know I’m the champion, then why do you keep picking fights?”
Hadn’t she ever seen a champion up close?
Or was it because she’d never been scared by anyone’s strength before that she was so bold?
Caught off guard by her quick change in attitude, I couldn’t understand Cheon Yeonju’s actions.
“Is it really okay to use force on a civilian like this?! …Huh?!”
What’s she doing now?
She suddenly switched from informal speech to formal mid-sentence, all on her own, even though I hadn’t said a word.
“I didn’t use force on you.”
“But breaking a desk like this means you could split me in half if I don’t listen, right?”
Even though she was scared, Cheon Yeonju kept speaking harshly.
The idea that I might split her in half if she disobeyed was a strange warning.
‘What the heck did she grow up watching in America?’
Getting so worked up over a desk being hit made me feel like I’d become a really bad person.
“No, I’m just trying to protect Eunhyeol from you.”
A boyfriend?
I never thought the day would come when I’d call Eunhyeol that.
And it felt even more natural as if the word had popped out by itself.
Seeing me stay silent, Cheon Yeonju swallowed hard and glanced at me.
Then, seemingly deciding there were no more threats or attacks coming, she quietly sat back down.
“Sit.”
Every time I saw her like this, I felt she wasn’t really scared of me.
The more I looked, the more curious she became.
“You said you have a boyfriend in America?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Why is it none of my business? You came to Korea wanting to see Eunhyeol, not Han Jibin’s older brother. Jibin is my friend, and Eunhyeol is my boyfriend. How is that not my business?”
Feeling a little cornered, Cheon Yeonju stuck out her lower lip but didn’t reply.
‘At least she can communicate.’
If she were completely hopeless and couldn’t understand, I’d have to call a corporal to scare her, but since we could talk like this, it seemed manageable.
“Have you never thought about the damage your actions could cause between those two? You only think about your own feelings and ignore others.”
“Damage? I’m dating Jibin oppa’s older brother, so how could that possibly harm the relationship between Jibin oppa and Eunhyeol oppa?”
…Is that genuine innocence?
Her wide, innocent eyes made me feel choked up.
‘Scratch that. No chance of this going smoothly. I’d rather deal with a brazen kid than this type.’
As I tried to explain why her behavior was wrong, my head started to throb.
Annoyingly, Cheon Yeonju sat on the chair, tilting her head from side to side with a completely clueless expression.
“Are you doing that on purpose?”
It was a reasonable suspicion.
If I were being scolded for something I didn’t understand, I’d never tilt my head like that.
I knew that kind of reaction could make the person lecturing even angrier.
Still, just in case she really didn’t get it, I tried to explain her mistake again, this time in simpler terms. Cheon Yeonju just looked even more puzzled.
“But do I really have to lecture you about what’s right and wrong?”
After several attempts, I gave up and started rationalizing how to get out of this situation.
I wasn’t her guardian, and I didn’t have to teach her every little thing, especially not to someone who clearly didn’t understand.
“Just remember this: if you’re dating Jibin’s older brother but like Eunhyeol, you’re hurting both of them.”
“Then why…”
“Just memorize it. Don’t question it. Even if you understand that you like Eunhyeol, it’s not okay to do that when you already have a boyfriend. Got it?”
“Then can I meet Eunhyeol if I break up with Jiseong oppa?”
“…Don’t you see Eunhyeol standing right in front of you with his girlfriend?”
Unable to bear the suffocating tension any longer, I almost expressed my anger toward Cheon Yeonju.
‘Patience, patience. Three times patience can save a life.’
But I think I’ve already been patient ten times over.
Just as I was about to lose it and show my anger, something stopped me.