Reversal (11)
“…You’re actually sleeping? Here?”
Kang Juhyuk let out a steady, heavy breath that sounded like he might start snoring any second, then drifted off completely. With nothing but passing cars for company, I was suddenly trapped alone with him.
This wasn’t what I’d wanted. I’d assumed he’d at least grope my thighs or chest. Not that I wanted him to. I just wanted to watch him run back and forth for an hour and a half because some woman who supposedly liked him had sent a single message. Once I got home and he returned to the pension, Hinami would realize exactly how filthy and faithless the man she liked really was.
“Mm…”
But Kang Juhyuk showed zero interest in me. He didn’t leer at me the way he used to. Even after I’d humiliated myself by saying those things, he just passed out like he hadn’t heard a word.
…Was he really that exhausted? No. If he were truly too tired to function, he wouldn’t have driven me in the first place. Remembering his vicious hobbies, I figured his real goal was to trap me here and make things difficult. So I had to wake him up and give him whatever he wanted…
“…If you don’t want to get dragged to the police station after an accident and end up on the news, leave me the hell alone.”
“…”
The moment I touched his shoulder to wake him, he swatted my hand away and shot me the most annoyed look I’d ever seen on anyone.
…Fine. If that’s how he wanted to play it. The longer we stayed here, the worse it would be for him. As long as I wasn’t caught, time didn’t matter to me. The longer he was away from Hinami, the more trouble he’d be in.
I moved as far from him as the car allowed and leaned against the door, closing my eyes. If he wasn’t going to touch me and was still willing to drive me home for free, that was fine by me. I could sleep, wake up, and call him out later if he tried anything. At most we’d only nap for an hour or two anyway, so if he was tired he could just go home and—
**
…Hah.
Birdsong kept circling my ears until I jolted awake. My whole body felt stiff, muscles locked in place. I tried to stretch my limbs, but my legs were too long for the cramped space. After rubbing my heavy eyelids a few times, I realized the sun was already rising outside the window.
Turning away from the painfully bright light, I saw the man beside me still slumped in an uncomfortable position, fast asleep.
“Hey, Kang Juhyuk.”
I called his name in a hoarse voice and shook his shoulder. He looked so lifeless I almost wondered if he was dead, but at my touch his head lolled and he swallowed before slowly opening his eyes. He stared at the sunlight streaming through the windshield just like I had, rested his forehead on the steering wheel for a moment, then snatched up his phone and checked the screen.
After a long sigh and a string of curses, he muttered, “Shit… we’re fucked.”
It was already ten past six. I hadn’t expected either of us to sleep that deeply. From his reaction, neither had he.
“…At least if we hadn’t slept we probably would’ve crashed and died.”
“That’s not really the important part right now—”
“I know.”
Even an idiot could tell why he was sighing. Hinami must have flooded his phone with missed calls. Waking up to find her boyfriend and her friend both missing would make anyone furious. I felt a strange satisfaction at seeing his troubled expression for the first time, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Ah, she’s calling. Damn it…”
The phone vibrated silently. I didn’t need to look to know it was Hinami. Kang Juhyuk stared at the screen, swallowed, then answered and held it to his ear.
“Hey…”
—Oppa!
Her voice was so loud it sounded like it might tear my eardrums. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or crying.
“…Sorry. I’m outside right now.”
—Where are you? What the hell happened? Where did you go with Jia?
“She asked me to take her home, so I was driving her back. I got too sleepy and pulled over for a bit.”
—You didn’t get into an accident, right? You’re okay?
Even without speakerphone, her desperate voice reached me clearly. I couldn’t look away from him as he bowed his head, looking oddly apologetic.
…He almost looked like a normal guy when he did that. Nothing like the Kang Juhyuk I’d come to know.
“I’m fine. I only stopped because I was worried about crashing. Everything’s okay.”
—So where are you now?
“Not far from the pension.”
—Then you’re coming back soon?
“…That’s going to be difficult.”
—Why?
“You can’t make a U-turn on the highway. …I have to drop your friend off first.”
—…You’re still with Jia right now?
“…Yeah. She passed out too.”
I was genuinely surprised he admitted so honestly that we were together. I’d expected him to lie and say he’d dropped me off before falling asleep. Confessing we’d slept in the same car was basically the same as admitting we’d spent the night together. Did he really think Hinami would believe that?
—Put her on. Jia.
“Wait a second.”
The moment Hinami asked to speak to me, he glanced sideways and signaled with his eyes. I tried to refuse, but the silence on the other end made it impossible. With no idea what to say, I reluctantly took the phone and pressed it to my ear.
“…It’s me.”
—Hey.
Her voice was ice-cold. There wasn’t a trace of friendliness left.
“Um, so…”
—Why the hell did you ask Oppa to drive you home in the middle of the night?
“…”
She wasn’t even jealous or yelling. She sounded like she was lecturing me.
—You knew he was sleeping with me. Why wake him up and make him drive?
“…Sorry.”
—Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to him. I’m just curious. Why did you do it?
Every word was correct. I couldn’t argue or refute anything.
“I… we fought. I didn’t want to stay there anymore…”
—Then you could’ve just gone together in the morning. He said he was stopping by the house anyway. Why wake someone up at dawn?
“…”
—…What were you planning to do to Oppa?
“I wasn’t—!”
…Now she was even accusing me.
—Then why did you do it? Answer me. It wasn’t because you were scared to sleep alone, was it?
“…”
—Why aren’t you answering? Were you really going to do something to Juhyuk Oppa?
Why did I have to explain myself to Hinami? I hadn’t been planning anything grand. I just didn’t think he’d let me go home without getting something in return. I only wanted him to do one perverted thing so Hinami would finally see what kind of man he really was. But because we’d both slept until morning, I was the one getting scolded instead of Kang Juhyuk. It wasn’t exactly unfair, but it was so frustrating I couldn’t even form proper sentences. This wasn’t why I’d agreed to let him touch me…
“…”
…And while I sat there looking pitiful, Kang Juhyuk gestured for the phone back. I didn’t want his help either. Everything about this situation pissed me off. Nothing ever went the way I wanted when I got involved with this man.
“…Hinami.”
—Yeah.
“The guy you like so much is touching my thigh right now.”
—…What?
I grabbed his wrist as he reached for the phone and pressed his hand against my sweatpants. I refused to meet his startled gaze.
“What? Should I let you hear it? Here. …This is the kind of person Kang Juhyuk is. You already know that. You stole him from your sister the same way.”
—…Hey, Seo Jia.
I placed my hand over his large, rough one and let the sound of him stroking my soft pants carry through the receiver.
“I hate this guy, but your precious oppa keeps blackmailing me. He must be in heat because he wants to do dirty things with me. But I don’t need him, so why don’t you come take him back…”
I poured out every bitter word I’d been holding in, trying to vent the resentment that had been eating at me for months because of Hinami—
“Ah…”
He knocked my hand away, snatched the phone back, and spoke in a calm voice.
“…Your friend seems a little out of it after waking up. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”
—…Okay.
“It’ll take a while. I have to get off the highway and come back.”
—That’s fine. Just come quickly.
…Hinami answered as if nothing had happened, her voice full of certainty that she would believe whatever he said. She’d already decided I was crazy.
“…”
Click.
The call ended in less than twenty seconds, clearing up any misunderstanding. He glared at me with open contempt, then started the car and spoke without looking at me.
“…What, are you in heat or something?”
“Ha…”
…Of all the things I never wanted to hear from Kang Juhyuk, he’d just slapped me with the most humiliating accusation imaginable.
“Let’s talk about this when we get back. Crashing the car won’t do either of us any good.”
He kept his eyes on the road and his mouth shut for the rest of the drive. I bit my lip hard and stared out the window, afraid that if I opened my mouth I’d end up strangling him out of sheer frustration. The early morning sunlight was the only thing that still felt warm.