Harin Kim sat on the sofa, waiting for Dohyun Kim to return.
On a normal weekend, she would usually stay in her room and read light novels all day.
‘Where on earth did he go…?’
‘It was suspicious that Dohyun had left early this morning, using the excuse that he had plans.’
Harin fiddled with her nails as she continued to speculate.
‘Could it be that he went to meet the owner of that cosmetic stain on his tracksuit?’
The scene flashed through her mind.
She had been about to do the laundry when she discovered a strange mark.
It was definitely foundation.
Dohyun had claimed that he accidentally bumped into someone, but believing that at face value would be foolish.
‘No way… Did some fox-like woman ask him out on a date?’
Just the thought of it made her blood boil.
‘Dohyun was indifferent and oblivious, making him an easy target for women.’
‘If a girl tried to seduce him physically, he might just fall for it in an instant.’
‘If someone was trying to steal him away…’
‘I won’t let it happen.’
She would stop it no matter what.
Harin turned on a video of Mochi-kun to calm herself down.
As she watched the cute character wave and smile, she slowly began to regain her composure.
Just then—
Ding-dong.
She heard the front door open.
Jumping up from the sofa, she rushed to the entrance.
“You’re back?”
Dohyun was stepping inside.
As always, his expression was indifferent.
But something was off.
He was holding a shopping bag.
‘What is that? Did he receive a gift?’
Dohyun glanced at her and wordlessly handed over the bag.
“This.”
“What is it?”
She peeked inside the bag.
Inside was…
A limited-edition Mochi-kun plushie!
The one she had desperately wanted.
“No way…!”
She had scoured the internet but couldn’t find it anywhere.
“Oppa, are you really giving this to me? Don’t tell me the reason you went out today was…”
Dohyun nodded, looking as if he couldn’t be bothered to explain.
“You really wanted it. I found someone selling it, so I bought it.”
“Really?!”
Harin started bouncing excitedly in the hallway.
She had never imagined he had gone out just to buy this for her.
‘Haa, haa, as expected of Oppa…’
Her heart pounded.
The thought that he had done this just for her filled her with overwhelming emotion.
“Oppa, thank you so much! I love you!”
Unable to contain her excitement, she tried to throw herself into his arms—
“Stop.”
He lightly placed a hand on her forehead, stopping her.
‘So close.’
She had planned to naturally fall into his embrace and indulge in his scent…
Maybe even subtly bury her face into his chest.
But perhaps her intentions had been too obvious.
“Really, thank you. I don’t know how to repay you!”
“Forget it. You always work hard doing house chores.”
He responded nonchalantly before heading to his room.
Harin pulled the plushie out of the bag and hugged it tightly.
“Ahh, Oppa…”
She felt like she could die from happiness.
This was an indescribable joy.
‘As expected, the one I love most.’
Sitting back on the sofa, she stroked the plushie and sank into thought.
‘He should only look at me. There has to be a way to make sure of it…’
Countless ideas began swirling in her mind.
Just imagining Dohyun with another woman was unbearable.
He should treasure her as much as she treasured this plushie.
Harin hugged Mochi-kun tightly.
The soft texture seemed to soothe her anxious heart.
“Oppa, Harin will always stay by your side. Forever.”
***
By the time I arrived at the boxing gym for my usual evening workout, it had already become routine.
Jinyoung, who had gotten there before me and was warming up, approached with a smirk.
“Hey, you even turned down the PC cafe. Where have you been?”
“I had plans.”
“What kind of plans?”
There was no reason to hide the fact that I had met Choi Dabin, so I answered honestly.
“I went to buy something with Choi Dabin.”
At that moment, Jinyoung’s eyes lit up.
“What? With Choi Dabin?”
Before I could even respond, he dramatically clapped a hand over his mouth and shouted in an exaggerated voice—
“This is the life of an alpha male! Incredible!”
“Shut up.”
It was obvious he was about to start spouting nonsense again.
As I grabbed the jump rope to warm up, Jinyoung suddenly tapped my wrist.
“Hey.”
His voice was unusually serious.
He followed up with a grave expression.
“Are you in big trouble?”
“What?”
“This is that situation.”
“What situation?”
“A catfight. Seo Yuna and Choi Dabin fighting over you.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
I responded half-heartedly while skipping rope.
“It’s nothing like that. My little sister really wanted a plushie, so I met up with Dabin to get it.”
Jinyoung stared at me intently before tilting his head in confusion.
“No matter what, a girl wouldn’t just meet anyone on a weekend. She must have some interest in you.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Jinyoung nodded, then shook his head in disbelief.
“But does Seo Yuna know that you and Choi Dabin met over the weekend?”
“She doesn’t? If Dabin didn’t tell her, she wouldn’t know.”
At my response, Jinyoung waved his hand as if warning me.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell Seo Yuna. I don’t want to see their friendship fall apart because of love.”
“Love? Stop spouting nonsense.”
“I’m serious. What if they end up pulling each other’s hair and fighting?”
I lightly smacked Jinyoung’s waist to shut him up for a moment.
“Ow! Okay, okay!”
He took a step back to avoid another hit, though his expression remained playful.
Taking a sip of water, he changed the topic.
“I should’ve joined the book club with you.”
“Why?”
“Soccer club is boring as hell. Seriously.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Jinyoung continued.
“I mean, damn. The seniors are just one or two years older, but they act like total boomers. It’s so annoying.”
“Boomer behavior?”
“Yeah. They make the first-years act as ball boys, force them to play defense, and hog all the fun positions for themselves. They’re complete trash.”
Hearing that, I burst into laughter.
“That’s just how society works.”
Jinyoung shot me a resentful look, as if disappointed that I wasn’t sympathizing with him.
“Wow, you sound like an old man. Sometimes, you remind me of my uncle.”
“Maybe you’re just immature.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
We spent a while exchanging pointless banter.
Then, Jinyoung suddenly turned serious.
“But seriously.”
“What.”
“Don’t ever tell Seo Yuna.”
I sighed as I replied.
“Dabin probably already told her anyway. And like I said, it’s not what you think.”
Jinyoung shook his head, still looking unconvinced.
“If she finds out, she’s definitely going to sulk.”
I ignored him and grabbed my jump rope again.
Jinyoung kept talking about something, but I was too tired to care anymore.
***
As soon as I got to class in the morning, I slumped over my desk.
Mondays are hard for everyone—students, workers, and, of course, me.
I was just about to close my eyes when a familiar voice came from beside me.
“Dohyun Kim.”
When I lifted my head, Seo Yuna was standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at me.
Her slightly furrowed brows made it clear this wasn’t an ordinary conversation.
“What.”
“What did you do over the weekend?”
Thrown off by the sudden question, I replied indifferently.
“Nothing much.”
But she narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharpening.
“Nothing much? Then why did you ignore my messages?”
“Oh, that.”
To be honest, I ignored them because I couldn’t be bothered.
They were just messages I could have skimmed over and dismissed.
Jinyoung’s warning from yesterday flashed through my mind.
—Don’t ever tell Seo Yuna.
Ignoring a friend’s advice never ends well.
So, I decided to make something up.
“I didn’t check my phone. I was just sleeping all day.”
Yuna still didn’t look convinced.
She uncrossed her arms and stared at me.
“Really? You always nap at school, but you’re telling me you slept all weekend too?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed and plopped into her seat.
“Seriously, being friends with you is exhausting.”
“I never asked you to be.”
“Your life just seems so boring. People our age should be having fun so they won’t regret it later.”
“Then go have fun yourself.”
Yuna pouted.
Maybe she’d gotten too used to hanging out with me on the weekends.
I ignored her grumbling, resting my chin on my arm and lowering my head.
Just as I was hoping for some peace and quiet—
The classroom suddenly buzzed with murmurs.
“Hey, did you see the Bamboo Forest post?”
“What is it?”
“Someone said they saw Choi Dabin and Dohyun Kim on a date in Hongdae!”
My heart sank.
I quickly lifted my head and glanced around.
Students were giggling while looking at their phones.
From the back of the classroom, someone started reading aloud.
[Spotted Choi Dabin and Dohyun Kim in Hongdae eating fruit waffles together. The vibe was really sweet, and they looked great together!]
Bzzzt.
At that moment, Yuna picked up her phone and turned to look at me.
‘Relax your eyes a bit. You’re shooting lasers.’
Her gaze was growing colder by the second.
She didn’t show it outwardly, but I could feel the ominous pressure of her presence.
The atmosphere around us became heavy, pressing down on me.
Then, Yuna smiled.
A bright, pleasant smile.
Maybe I was overthinking it after all—
‘Damn it, Jinyoung, you jinxed this.’
And then.
“What is this about?”
A chilling voice, thick with venom.
That voice wrapped around me like a noose.