Chapter 206

Mira’s reaction was surprisingly nothing special. She was just busy teasing Eun-a like me.

“I really never imagined it. You say you’re writing erotic stories, but your taste is just….”

“What does that have to do with this?!”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. Considering the age, it’s a bit unethical, don’t you think?”

“What age difference are we talking about! It’s not like we’re dating or anything!”

“By calculating the age difference, it seems you weren’t completely oblivious.”

“Ah!”

Watching Mira tease Eun-a was really entertaining. Since I had already made a promise, I couldn’t tease her further, but it was none of Mira’s business, right? Thanks to that, I could enjoy some vicarious satisfaction. By the way, Ji Kang-hyeon really dislikes him. Is he really that bad? He looks fine.

“So what did he take you to do?”

“Not much! We just went to a cafe, had a drink, talked a bit, and that was it.”

“The article said it was a date….”

“We didn’t even stay long enough to call it a date! If we had gone somewhere for fun, I wouldn’t have said anything! He just suggested going out, and it ended up being just a chat!”

“What did you talk about?”

“That is…!”

Eun-a seemed like she was about to shout something loudly but froze and shut her mouth instead. Both of us raised our eyebrows at her unusual reaction. She had been actively denying it until now, so why was she suddenly so quiet?

“What did you talk about?!”

“…No comment.”

Mira asked again, but Eun-a refused to answer. In situations like this, curiosity is only natural. What on earth did they talk about? Besides, Eun-a isn’t an idiot; she must have known that being so secretive would make people even more curious. Was it really that important?

“Hey, why are you acting suspiciously? Did you get a confession or something?”

“No way!”

…This is suspicious, really.

“Then you can just say it.”

“…There is something.”

Did she really get a confession or something?

Her reaction is odd. Mira’s face even stiffened a little. I guess it’s not like it didn’t hit her at all. While Mira might not genuinely like Ji Kang-hyeon, just the feeling of them being in some sort of situationship could definitely be uncomfortable.

“Forget it. If she says she doesn’t want to talk about it, let’s stop.”

In the end, it was Mira who gave up first. With those words, Eun-a let out a sigh of relief, but from my perspective, that’s not it, Eun-a.

“Anyway, we really didn’t talk about anything significant, so don’t worry about it. The article is a lie, after all.”

Even though she said that, at the point of not revealing what they really talked about, all sorts of suspicions inevitably arose. For now, I decided to keep my mouth shut too. If I poked further here and something exploded, it was clear I wouldn’t be able to control Mira’s expression.

Of course, Mira was now smiling normally, having loosened her earlier rigid expression. She looked so normal that I could think it was my misunderstanding. But just in case, I should be careful.

If it goes the way I’m worried it will, then, um…

I mean, it can’t be, right?

After both Eun-a and Mira left the house, I decided to contact Ji Kang-hyeon just in case of any unforeseen situations. Fortunately, he answered the phone right away.

“Hello?”

“It’s me. Hey, can’t you be a bit more careful? What kind of situation is this again?”

“Oh, that? Well, Eun-a noona didn’t recognize me, so I just took off my hat and sunglasses for a moment, and I didn’t think a photo would be taken.”

“Is there even a reason for you two to meet? What did you talk about?”

“Nothing particularly amazing.”

“If it’s not amazing, then what is it?”

“Can I say it as it is? I don’t mind, but is this a secret?”

“I won’t say anything outside, so go ahead.”

Am I crazy? Regardless of what comes out, would I go around spreading this kind of story?

“I asked for help because I wanted to charm Mira noona a bit.”

“You crazy bastard.”

I knew he had a preference for older girls, but can’t he take it easy? They’ve only met a few times, right? Of course, both seemed a bit interested in each other, but isn’t it too fast? No, if I think about it, this guy had even brought up dating with me, someone he had just met.

And he even did that without knowing I was older than him, while he was already dating Kang Chae-eun.

“With love, the amount of time you’ve known someone doesn’t matter.”

“Love, this nonsense. You were dating a girl named Kang Chae-eun last year, right? You even asked me to date you then.”

“So what?”

“So what, this nonsense? Is swapping every year love? Is having a double life love?”

“Why are you talking like a teenage girl? In the end, you didn’t have a double life, did you? I knew you would refuse, so I just tried it.”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Love is supposed to change. You just have to be faithful to the moment.”

…Is that really true? No way, it couldn’t be. The seriousness in his words almost made me mistake it for a moment.

There couldn’t be such superficiality in romantic love. The sample next to me is Hwa-won and this guy, which could lead to a misunderstanding, but Hwa-won doesn’t love women. So, Hwa-won could not be an example when it comes to love. This guy, I really don’t know.

However, thinking of Muk Ha-neul, love could never be like that. It was the worst way to show it, but Muk Ha-neul was pure and sincere. She gave everything to love, for me and for herself. But love changes? What changes is not love. That’s how I understood it. That’s how I learned.

Once you fall in love, you can’t change.

“Hey, do you have your first love?”

“…I guess I do?”

The only person I’ve felt romantic feelings for until now has been Muk Ha-neul. But can I even call that first love? It faded too quickly for me to know if it was love or if it changed before it became love. If I had to categorize it, it doesn’t seem like it was first love after all.

It felt like too immature a love to be called love.

“I don’t think I have one.”

“Really, man.”

“Do you want to die?”

Anyway, this guy’s word isn’t reliable.

“So what did Eun-a say? Did she say she would help you?”

“She looked at me like I was a crazy person. She rejected me.”

“No wonder she really hated the dating rumors.”

Now I understand why Eun-a had such an outburst about the dating rumors, why she disliked Ji Kang-hyeon so much, and why she didn’t tell us what they talked about. If I heard such comments, it’s totally understandable. This sex drive monster.

…Sex drive?

“Wait, did you…?”

“What do you mean?”

“…Did you sleep with her?”

I didn’t specify who. He has met more than one girl, so I didn’t point to anyone in particular. After all, half of those talks were from when he was young, so it was impossible then. That means the other half must have been possible.

“…Wow, pervert.”

“No, damn it.”

“Do you really want to ask that to a kid over ten years younger than you?”

“Damn it, I’m worried. Stop talking nonsense and just answer.”

“Um… Can I not tell anyone?”

“I won’t, just tell me.”

“I didn’t sleep with Chae-eun noona. Because she’s an idol.”

“Your words are a bit strange, you know.”

“And with the noona I met two years ago, um…”

“…Was it your first time?”

“Well, yeah.”

This guy has really lost it. Two years ago, when he was a middle schooler.

“I’m so shocked I kind of want to report this right now.”

“No, I said it was a secret.”

“That’s just how it is. No matter what, that’s too much.”

“Don’t misunderstand. That was initiated by the other side. Someone as young as me couldn’t resist.”

“Was it… Forced? Then you should report it….”

“I felt good, though.”

…What the hell.

A slight wave of absurd defeat washed over me. I, who couldn’t even break away from sympathy, had changed like this, while he, over ten years younger than me, was already a non-sympathetic guy.

Of course, I could have detached myself from sympathy if I really wanted to, and I wasn’t that interested, but for some reason, I couldn’t help but feel bad about it. Even if I returned to that time now, I wouldn’t detach myself from it.

Whatever it was, if I was to give my first time, I wanted to give it completely.

I hid my feeling of discomfort and continued the conversation. Although the topic drifted slightly, what was important now was Mira’s story.

“…So, are you going to date Mira?”

“Only if I succeed in charming her can I think about dating.”

“Yeah… Well, I got it. Since it’s your business, I can’t say anything.”

This was something I couldn’t interfere with and shouldn’t interfere with either.

“But you’re going to tell me if you’re trying to be with someone else, right?”

“Ah, really, that’s too much.”

This was something I couldn’t hide for moral reasons.

Regardless of the outcome, I was hoping both of them would end well without any problems. But hiding something like this was definitely unacceptable, right?

“However, if you succeed, don’t take too much of Mira’s time. She’s a senior preparing for the college entrance exam.”

“I’m not that thoughtless. We can study date, you know.”

“How are you going to study for the entrance exam? It seems you’d only get in the way of Mira.”

“I finished all my high school studies. My mom told me that if I don’t study, then forget learning anything.”

“…Really?”

It’s the first time Ji Kang-hyeon has seemed pitiful. Mrs. Seomun, couldn’t you go easier on him? That’s why he’s like this.

“Got it. Oh, and don’t come around for a while. If another paparazzi attaches and it gets reported, it’ll be dangerous this time.”

“I’ll be careful.”

With a sigh, I ended the call. It had really been a foolish turn of events, but fortunately, it didn’t seem like it would turn into a big problem. With this, it wouldn’t cause any issues with Eun-a either. I couldn’t inform her in advance, but the misunderstanding would be cleared up soon.

This world isn’t a drama, right?

~

Playing board games with the kids, Hwa-won came to my house on Sunday, and on Monday, the news about Eun-a and Ji Kang-hyeon broke out. After meeting Mira and Eun-a on Tuesday, I had a phone call with Ji Kang-hyeon.

And then Wednesday arrived. Today was the day Hwa-won was leaving for the U.S. After spending Wednesday to Sunday in America, she would get on a plane and arrive back in Korea on Monday.

I told Hwa-won to have a good trip as she boarded the flight early in the morning, and I started my day earlier than usual.

Today, I had no plans with anyone. I was just going to stay cooped up at home. In fact, this was my usual day-to-day life.

That was how it was until Mira came over.

You are always crying.