Convenience Store
“⋯Thanks for the meal.”
⋯I never thought I’d eat bread soaked in tears. Not when I bombed the college entrance exam. Not when I failed an audition. Not even when my little sister debuted and immediately charted. The fact that I’d cried because of some pathetic man like this was humiliating beyond words.
“You full? I’m still a little hungry.”
“⋯I’m full.”
“Good.”
He’d finished eating ages ago, yet he kept sipping his coffee beside me without leaving. Even the way he fiddled with his phone while sneaking glances at me irritated me. I wanted him to disappear somewhere out of sight, but I couldn’t risk what he might do the moment I wasn’t watching.
“Haeun, I’m heading to the convenience store. Want to change first? Or you can just go like that if it’s too much trouble.”
“⋯Why would I?”
“If I go alone, I won’t be able to get back in. Security’s pretty tight here.”
“I’ll open the door for you. Go by yourself.”
“From what I saw earlier, you need a key card for the elevator. Mind lending me that too?”
When he said he was going out, I briefly hoped I could lock the door and kick him out for good, but Kang Juhyuk was thorough even in the smallest details.
⋯Right. He has no intention of leaving.
The fear that had filled me to the brim had all turned into rage the moment I cried. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life being pushed around by a man like this.
“Fine, let’s just go together. I feel gross in these clothes and I can’t exactly borrow yours.”
“⋯What exactly are you planning to buy at the convenience store?”
“Underwear. A T-shirt. Shorts if they have them. Toothbrush too. And something to eat since I’m still hungry.”
I was sick of Kang Juhyuk rattling off an endless list of daily necessities like he was moving in, but nothing changed. Until I deleted the recording on his phone, I couldn’t cut ties with him. As long as it existed, this man would never let me go. I had to let him stay here tonight.
⋯This is so annoying. So irritating.
“Just tie your hair and let’s go?”
“What does it matter to you whether I tie it or not?”
“I like it better when it’s down.”
“⋯”
I deliberately changed into the hairstyle he hated, pulled a cap on, and threw on a cardigan. He watched me, then got changed himself and headed for the front door first.
“If you don’t want to go with me, want to just stay here? Honestly, I only really need underwear.”
“Am I crazy? Leave you alone in this house?”
“That was kind of cool, Haeun.”
“God, seriously⋯”
“Kidding, kidding. Let’s go.”
Cursing Kang Juhyuk for teasing me to the very end, I swallowed the rage rising to my head.
⋯I absolutely will not fall asleep before him. I just need to drink an energy drink and stay awake a little longer than him. His phone is from two years ago, so if he’s asleep I can use his finger to unlock it with the fingerprint. Hoo⋯ Focus. Don’t let this man control me again.
I thought he’d keep harassing me even outside, but he surprisingly kept his distance and walked ahead at a steady pace. He seemed familiar with the route and didn’t even check a map before entering the convenience store first. I followed him in a little more relaxed, and a chubby male clerk greeted us.
Kang Juhyuk grinned at that and suddenly yanked me close by the shoulder.
“Hey⋯!”
“What. Why. Not allowed?”
⋯I thought he’d finally calmed down, but of course not. This man only ever thinks about toying with me. A man and woman stopping by a convenience store late at night, practically glued together. I was in rumpled loungewear with only a cardigan thrown over it, while Kang Juhyuk looked effortlessly casual. What people would think was obvious.
⋯Well, this much was expected. I just have to endure for today.
“⋯If you touch me again, I’m really reporting you.”
“Got it. I won’t.”
When I glared at him with my slightly swollen eyes, he finally let go of my shoulder with a smirk. The clerk had already seen everything, so it didn’t really matter, but being touched by him was still unpleasant. Even the scent of my own body wash coming off him annoyed me.
⋯Everything about him was irritating.
“You buying anything?”
“A drink.”
“Ah, get a hangover remedy too. You drank a lot today. You might feel fine now but your head’ll hurt tomorrow.”
“⋯Give it here.”
I tossed an energy drink and a hangover remedy into the basket he was holding, then searched the shelves for anything else related to staying awake. The first thing I saw was alcohol. I had zero intention of ever drinking in front of Kang Juhyuk again, but maybe he’d drink in front of me? Still, I doubted a man who acted drunk so convincingly would actually get tipsy from a few cans of beer. If I bought it, he’d find some way to make me drink it anyway.
“What, planning to drink again?”
“Am I crazy?”
“No, you were staring at the beer pretty hard. You like it?”
“No, so take this instead.”
See? He immediately went there. Instead of beer, I grabbed a coffee milk for the basket. I used to drink it a lot in high school, so I knew it worked well. On top of that, I picked up another can next to the energy drinks.
⋯I’d seen this online before. A relaxation drink or something. It was supposed to make your body go limp, the opposite of caffeine. This one’s perfect for Kang Juhyuk.
“Haeun, aren’t you buying too many drinks if I’m the one paying?”
“⋯You can drink them too. You’re staying the night, can’t even buy this much?”
“Well, it’s not that. I was just wondering if you’d be able to sleep after all that caffeine.”
“I’m drinking them because they taste good, so don’t worry about it.”
Kang Juhyuk, quick on the uptake, immediately commented, but I had no intention of backing down. No matter how physically strong he was, he wouldn’t stay awake longer than someone who was gritting their teeth and enduring. I didn’t need to fight him. I just had to pretend to sleep and wait for him to fall asleep first. It was a little past seven now, so even if it took a while, I only needed to stay awake another eight hours or so to get my hands on his phone. Then I could delete everything. The recording, and any videos he might have taken.
“True, caffeine does help with the pump during workouts.”
Fortunately, Kang Juhyuk accepted my drinks without suspicion. He nodded and started adding his own items to the basket before heading to the counter. Underwear. A white T-shirt. Chicken breast sausages. The coffee milk and energy drinks I’d picked. Hangover remedy. Zero cola. Toothbrush. Dental floss. Eye mask. Condoms⋯
“⋯Hey! You crazy⋯”
“What?”
The moment I saw the box labeled 0.01, the wick that had gone out reignited in my chest and my whole body started trembling. I’d forgotten about the pleasure I’d felt earlier out of fear, and now out of irritation it came rushing back.
“Put that back. Right now.”
“We already used them, so why not buy more?”
“I said put it back!”
Forgetting that the clerk was right there calculating, I shouted at Kang Juhyuk. The startled clerk’s eyes widened and he started giving us meaningful looks.
“⋯Take it out. Seriously. Stop joking around.”
“I’m not joking. If it was a joke, I wouldn’t have bought it.”
“God, my head hurts⋯”
Feeling disgusted by how shameless Kang Juhyuk remained, I covered my face with my hands in shame. God⋯ You perverted rapist blackmailing bastard⋯
“⋯Um, just ring it up as is⋯”
“Yes, please do.”
“⋯”
Even the clerk who had been glaring at us started shooting me increasingly lecherous glances and snickering. I wasn’t stupid enough not to understand what that mocking look meant.
⋯You piece of trash. Is it that fun to make me a laughingstock even to strangers? I really want to kill you⋯
“Excuse me. Sorry, but could you look at me instead? I’m the one paying.”
“Ah⋯ Yes, yes. S-sorry.”
Just as I was too frustrated to speak, Kang Juhyuk stepped in front of me with a bright smile and spoke to the clerk. His voice was so gentle. The kind of tone he’d never use with another man even if he died and came back to life. The same tone and voice he’d used on me multiple times.
“D-do you have a rewards card?”
“No. Just charge it to the card.”
“Yes, yes.”
Maybe it was because his back was unnecessarily broad and wide, but I couldn’t even clearly hear the stuttering clerk’s voice. I saw the back of the man I wanted to slap, but he was so tall my hand wouldn’t reach his head.
⋯If I were just ten centimeters taller, I could hang off his back and strangle him. Hiding behind the man who was more than just mischievous and straight-up infuriating, I quietly left the convenience store and confronted him.
“⋯If you actually bought that thinking you’d use it, dream on. It’s never happening.”
“Who said I bought it to use with you? I used up everything in my wallet, so I had to buy more, didn’t I?”
“You, you⋯”
But the man who had been smiling brightly with that terrifying face earlier was gone. Kang Juhyuk had quickly returned to being the irritating man who scraped at the bottom of my heart just to toy with me. I hated him so much I wanted to die.
⋯I came out swearing I wouldn’t be fooled again. This time I wasn’t fooled, but I still ended up dancing in the palm of his hand. I’d expected him to do something weird to me, but I never imagined he’d humiliate me in such a sleazy way.
“Ah, if you actually wanted to use it I obviously wouldn’t refuse. But you don’t, right?”
“⋯I don’t, you bastard!”
⋯You piece of shit. Seriously, just once. I wish that irritating bastard would grovel at my feet, sobbing and crying. I’d even spit on him. Ptui.