Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Na-young Han
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Even though it would have been perfectly natural to ask what on earth had happened, I didn't say a word—not even a question.
There was no need for me to poke at Na-young's wounds first.
I simply kept quiet, pretending not to know, and waited endlessly until she felt like opening up to me.
In the first place, I already knew all about Na-young's family situation, so it didn't matter if I heard it or not.
Even if I forgot, searching for "Na-young Han" on the Future Smartphone would bring up every detail right away.
The moment you searched, related searches would flood in with her parents—the ones most closely tied to her—until eventually, her family situation became so infamous that everyone knew about it.
"Come in."
"Yeah..."
She used to be such a cute kid who would sneak wary glances before even stepping inside, but now Na-young gave a weak reply because of what happened earlier and slipped off her shoes like she owned the place before coming in.
Her pretty face was still twisted up, her mind clearly a mess.
Her head must have been swirling with thoughts bouncing every which way.
"Wanna go out?"
"Go...? Where...?"
"To exercise."
This was exactly the time for a workout.
Exercising tires out the body so much that no thoughts can creep in, giving your mind a proper break.
Then, just like that, Na-young would flash me a bright smile again.
"Ex, exercise...? Can't we skip just today...?"
She'd lost almost all the weight and was feeling seriously down, so she wanted to take a day off.
But that's precisely why she needed to exercise.
Now that she'd shed most of the fat, if she got complacent, put off workouts, and binged on all the foods she'd craved, the yo-yo effect would hit and bring back her old plump figure.
And when you're depressed, you need exercise even more.
Since she'd stay down otherwise, she had to sweat it out to push the gloom away.
"Na-young. This is the most crucial time. If you slack off right after losing weight, you'll balloon up again in the blink of an eye."
I didn't push her by saying she had to because she looked depressed.
"I hate exercising too. I wanna stay home and hang out. But if we skip today, we'll definitely skip tomorrow too."
This was wisdom born from my own experience—after raking in a fortune from FX Margin Trading, I'd put off all the workouts I'd planned for the entire break.
If I hadn't seen Na-young, who'd slimmed down massively through her solo efforts midway, I might not be exercising even now.
No, I probably would've given up on the idea entirely and just sat in front of the computer fiddling with money.
"Still, can't we skip just today? I wanna play at Ji-hoon's house..."
Mom was out, perfect timing for some sweet alone time—that was Na-young's thinking.
"No way. We skipped last time too."
I stood firm against her sparkling eyes and heart-melting aegyo.
"That was because you wanted to skip."
Come to think of it, it was a day we could've eaten big, so we took off.
"Right? Then we definitely have to go today."
"Hng..."
Na-young pouted at the harsh reality of having to exercise. Then her eyes lit up.
"W-Wish Voucher...!"
I'd given her one for free, so she had two now.
"Using it for this?"
"B-But I have two..."
"You really gonna use it?"
"Ugh... No, I won't..."
No way she'd waste a precious Wish Voucher just to skip a workout. Totally deflated, Na-young sighed and slipped her shoes back on.
"Let's just do a little and come back."
"Yeah..."
I stroked her hair as she sat tying her shoes.
Thankfully, she seemed a bit better.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
We left the house and started jogging down the street together.
Her long straight hair fluttered in the wind, beads of sweat forming on her sharp features.
As I ran, admiring her pretty face, I fell into thought.
About where she planned to use that Wish Voucher.
I couldn't help but wonder why Na-young was saving it so carefully—what was her wish gonna be?
It wouldn't be anything harmful to me, and at her age, maybe something cute like a kiss?
Imagining her blushing bright red and shyly asking for a kiss made me chuckle without thinking.
"Ji-hoon. That laugh sounds naughty."
"Where'd you pick that up?"
"From TV."
"TV?"
Damn. Looked like that idiot box was corrupting Na-young's innocent mouth.
"Whoa... That girl's seriously pretty."
"She's cute now, but imagine when she's all grown up."
"Duh, idiot. I'm a guy."
Before she'd shed her ugly duckling shell, people had trashed her left and right until she burst into tears.
Now, she drew just as many stares, but the words were night and day.
Almost everyone—scratch that, absolutely everyone—was gushing over her stunning new looks.
And sometimes...
"That kid's got some chest on her."
"Dude, you pedo or what?"
"W-What...?!"
Maybe she'd heard "naughty" not just from TV, but from creeps while exercising.
"Ugh..."
At first, the awed compliments had her grinning ear to ear, but as more people gathered and every eye locked on her, her newfound confidence vanished, leaving only shyness.
Her face flushed red as she plastered herself to my back, hiding her pretty features.
"Na-young. Hard to run like this."
"Sorry... Just wanna run like this a bit longer..."
The sudden attention felt overwhelming.
"Fine... Do what you want."
"Yeah..."
It wasn't a bad feeling at all, so I kept running like that.
We made it back home and headed straight to the kitchen.
I yanked open the fridge, grabbed the orange juice, and chugged it straight from the bottle.
"Ahh... Refreshing. Na-young, want some?"
I naturally offered it to her.
She nodded and pressed her lips right where mine had been, gulping it down.
"All done?"
"No... A bit more."
Thirsty, huh? She shook her head and took another sip.
"Finish it and stick it back in the fridge."
Nod, nod.
Her silent reply confirmed, I headed to my room.
"Tsk... Wonder if there's anything Na-young could wear."
She was sleeping over, so she needed a change of clothes.
The issue was our heights were almost the same.
Lately, my growing muscles had made my old clothes snug, but not enough to buy new ones, so I kept wearing them.
That said, with Na-young's big chest for her age, I wondered if they'd fit.
Well, if nothing worked, Mom's stuff would do—no big deal.
Still, we'd sweated buckets, and these clothes were soaked, but she had to wear something, so I grabbed my largest pajamas and headed out.
"Na-young. Try these on for now. If they fit, you can wear 'em."
Na-young, who'd polished off the orange juice, was lounging on the living room sofa.
"......"
"Don't like 'em?"
She stared blankly at me from the sofa, so the pajamas must not have appealed.
"They'd look cute on you."
Cat pajamas—who even knew why I had them.
They didn't suit me at all, but they'd be perfect for Na-young. Kinda wasteful.
"I'll find something else. Hang on."
Just as I turned to look...
"Ji-hoon."
"Yeah?"
"You... not curious?"
She said it with an anxious look.
"About what?"
Pure ignorance mode. I tilted my head.
"About my mom and dad."
Even that much told me exactly what she meant.
"I am."
I already knew everything.
"But you seemed like you didn't wanna talk about it."
So there was no real need to ask.
Unaware of that, Na-young's eyes welled up at what she saw as thoughtful consideration just for her sake.
"Ji-hoon..."
She stood, face full of emotion, and approached me.
Then she leaned into me, burying her face in my chest.
"Actually, you see..."
In that position, Na-young slowly poured out her home life—far more painful days than anything at school.
She choked up midway, got angry too.
Each time, I soothed her with a gentle smile and strokes on her head.
"They acted like I didn't exist... wouldn't even treat me like a daughter... and now that I'm pretty, they suddenly say they love me? It's disgusting...!"
"I see..."
"They said if they debuted me as a child actress, we'd make bank... They still don't see me as their daughter. Just a money-maker... And I actually felt good for a sec when they said they loved me... It's too much..."
"That's too much."
Na-young kept venting until she burst into tears.
I patiently stroked her head again until she calmed.
"Na-young."
"Sniff... Sniff...?"
Her teary, questioning eyes looked up at me.
"What do you want to do?"
"......"
She couldn't say a word.
"You can vent to me, get mad, whatever. But one more thing—I'd like to know what you want to do. That way I can help."
I could be her emotional punching bag and pave the way forward.
That way, she'd come to rely only on me, becoming a girl who couldn't do anything without me—never able to leave my side.
"Na-young. You've got two choices right now. Go home? Or stay here?"
"Ji-hoon... Can I stay?"
"Even if not, I'll make it happen."
"For real...?"
"Na-young. Have I ever lied to you?"
Without a second thought, she shook her head.
Of course.
Honestly, I'd lied countless times, but none ever got caught.
So I became the guy who'd never lied once.
"Pick whatever. I'd prefer you stay here."
From what she'd said, her parents were trash beyond imagination.
No way could I leave her under them anymore.
"I... I w-want..."
Her lips trembled as she forced it out.
"I wanna stay here... By Ji-hoon's side forever... I'll use a Wish Voucher. To stay by Ji-hoon's side."
"One Wish Voucher deducted. And Na-young—I wanna be with you too."
I returned the sentiment by grabbing her chin and pulling her in for a kiss.
Caught off guard, Na-young offered no resistance as I claimed her lips.
Her pupils dilated, trembling.
"Stay by my side forever. No—I'll make sure you do. Got it?"
Her gaze was stolen by my lips, still warm from hers.
She nodded dazedly.
"Oh my, oh my... Kids these days move fast, huh?"
Mom had returned without a sound, hand over her mouth in shock.
"Eek...!"
Na-young bolted from my arms.
"Did I interrupt? Sorry~"
Mom grinned, pulling out her wallet from her bag.
"Saw you digging out pajamas, so you're sleeping over?"
"Yes."
"Okay, stay then. Oh, Ji-hoon. Something came up suddenly—gotta head out. Our smart Ji-hoon can handle being alone with his gir... friend, right? Hehe."
"Of course."
She'd just gotten home—sudden plans? Yeah, right.
She was probably making herself scarce.
No clue why, though.
"Here. Order something yummy. Bye~!"
Mom slapped a hundred thousand won into my hand.
"Ha... Hope she doesn't blab to Dad."
Mom was making a fuss already—Dad probably wouldn't be much different.
"Gir... Girlfriend... Hehe...!"
Unlike me, Na-young trembled with joy.
As night deepened, Dad—who rarely made it home buried in work—rushed in and eyed Na-young and me suspiciously.
Perfect timing.
I spilled Na-young's entire family situation to Dad as he grilled me on how we met and how long we'd been dating.
Furious, he told me to leave it all to him and stormed out.
At 10 PM, no less.