Men Fallen in Love #2
The apartment prices in Gaeryong Metropolitan City were famously the highest in the country after Seoul. A unit in the city center was so expensive that ordinary people could barely even look at it. And if a high school student lived alone in a place like that?
That was exactly who Kwon Su-ho was.
“Whoa.”
My jaw dropped the moment I stepped into a premium apartment for the first time in my life. Just from a glance, the building looked incredibly tall and spacious. What surprised me even more was that there were no cars on the ground level. When I’d visited Yang Ju-hui’s place, the complex had been cluttered with all kinds of vehicles parked haphazardly, making the whole area feel chaotic. But here, there were no cars at all—just the apartments and the people.
The women pushing strollers had extremely pale faces, and even the dogs walking around on leashes looked ridiculously expensive. So this was what a rich neighborhood looked like.
“Let’s go.”
Park Eun-jeong noona entered the apartment passcode and held the elevator for me. Fifteenth floor. With a soft ding, the elevator rose without a single sound and stopped. On the fifteenth floor, there was only one door. That meant the entire floor was one single residence.
Eun-jeong noona skillfully punched in the door lock code, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Ding-ding-ding—
The moment the door opened, I saw an interior so vast you could have called it an indoor sports arena, a TV that took up an entire wall, and a group of students lounging on the sofa in front of it, chatting away.
“Eun-jeong’s here?”
“Why are you so late today?”
They looked about the same age as me. But the clothes they wore and the phones in their hands were all the latest, most expensive models. They also gave off a strong delinquent vibe. And since I, Ha Yeong-won, was particularly sensitive to that kind of aura—
“Who’s this guy?”
“Did Eun-jeong bring her boyfriend?”
The students gathered in the living room turned their attention toward me. The atmosphere felt like I was about to get shaken down for money.
Eun-jeong noona asked, “Where’s Su-ho oppa?”
“He’s in his room right now.”
A guy who looked like a sharp-faced dinosaur jerked his thumb toward one of the doors.
When Eun-jeong noona tried to knock, the dinosaur guy quickly stopped her.
“Hey. Don’t bother him right now. He’s with a girl.”
“Again? When did he go in?”
“About ten minutes ago, so just wait another five and it should be fine.”
Everyone else seemed used to this kind of situation. I was the only one standing there awkwardly. And I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was happening behind that door.
I sat down on a chair at the nearby dining table. Looking around, I was amazed at how spacious and comfortable the place was. Well, if I was being honest, Yu Da-hee’s house was even bigger and more impressive, but that place was so far beyond my imagination or common sense that it didn’t even register as something to feel jealous or envious about. It felt like stepping into a fantasy world. Like how a real human wouldn’t genuinely envy an elf from a storybook.
But this place felt real. So there really were high school students living alone in houses like this.
Soon, the dinosaur-looking hyung asked me, “So, you’re the new boyfriend Bong Ji-yeon is dating? That’s why you came, right?”
“Me? I’m not Bong Ji-yeon’s boyfriend.”
My mood instantly soured. Me, Bong Ji-yeon’s boyfriend? Where the hell did that ridiculous rumor come from?
The dinosaur hyung frowned. “You’re not?”
Beep, beep-beep—
Right then, the apartment door opened. An incredibly beautiful noona walked in—so pretty she could have been a celebrity. She had a short bob cut, and I was shocked at how perfectly it suited her.
“Where’s Kwon Su-ho?”
“Uh… Yu-jeong. Su-ho’s in his room right now.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, you can’t go in. He’s with a girl right now…”
Crunch.
The extremely beautiful noona named Kim Yu-jeong scowled hard. Beautiful people’s facial expressions were always so dramatic that it felt overwhelming.
Thud, thud, thud—!
She stomped over to the door where Kwon Su-ho was supposed to be and knocked. Then she opened it. The bed inside was writhing violently, and a man’s face suddenly popped out from under the covers. His hair was dyed bright red.
“Ah, fuck. What the hell, Kim Yu-jeong. You crazy bitch. Why the hell are you opening the door like that?”
“Hey! Kwon Su-ho! You’re the crazy one! You told me to date you! You asked me out and now you’re bringing a different girl home every single day! And how can you do this when everyone’s right outside… You’re seriously the worst! You insane bastard!”
“That’s because you keep acting so high and mighty. We’ve been dating for two days and you still won’t even let me kiss you? That doesn’t make any sense. And you’re not even a virgin, so why the hell are you acting so expensive?”
I’d compared Yu Da-hee’s house to a fantasy world earlier, but I needed to correct myself. This was the real fantasy world. How could something like this even exist? He had a girlfriend, yet right now he was with another woman…
I caught a glimpse of the woman’s face peeking out from under the blanket. She was also incredibly beautiful.
“You’re a real piece of shit.”
Whoosh!
With tears in her eyes, Kim Yu-jeong noona stormed out of the apartment. And just like that, my short-lived crush ended in less than five minutes.
Kwon Su-ho got up from the bed almost half-naked, pulled up his pants, and walked into the living room. Then he looked at me.
“Who the hell are you? You here to collect money?”
He looked like he was at least 190 centimeters tall. His physique was so muscular it was hard to believe he was a high school student like me, and his face was strikingly handsome. So this was Kwon Su-ho. The boss of all the delinquents in Gaeryong City.
“I’m…”
Suddenly I remembered what they’d said about how this guy could detect lies like it was nothing.
“I’m Yeong-won.”
“Yeong-won? Who’s that? Never heard of you. Park Eun-jeong, did you bring him? You trying to add him to our crew?”
“This is the guy! The one with Gu Hye-na!”
“Ah—”
Kwon Su-ho nodded. But my attention was more focused on the noona who had quietly crawled out of the bed and was now getting dressed. She had an absolutely stunning flower tattoo across her back. There were tattoos on her thighs too. She walked into the living room wearing nothing but her underwear, opened the ridiculously expensive-looking refrigerator, and chugged down some water. No one else seemed to care.
How could they not stare? Were they just that used to it?
Kwon Su-ho said, “Hey. Yeong-won. From now on, answer every question I ask you with the truth. You found Gu Hye-na, right? Did you happen to see my wallet in her pocket?”
“Huh? Your wallet?”
I hadn’t seen anything like that. I hadn’t even had time to look.
“I didn’t see it.”
“Tch. Then who the hell took it?”
Kwon Su-ho frowned as he stared at me. Now that I looked closely, his eyes were pitch black. Normally you’d see the iris and pupil, but his eyes were completely black with no distinction. I remembered seeing the ocean at night once—it had been so dark you couldn’t tell how deep it was, and it had scared me. That memory came rushing back.
“Looks like you really didn’t see it. And you’re Bong Ji-yeon’s new boyfriend, right? Did you sleep with her?”
“I’m not Bong Ji-yeon’s boyfriend. And I didn’t do anything with her.”
“Then what are you?”
“We’re not in any kind of relationship. Really.”
“Yeah? Well, to be honest, I’m not in any kind of relationship with a dog either. I couldn’t even touch her with a single finger. Fuck, wouldn’t you be pissed too? We were supposed to be dating.”
“……”
“Think about it from my perspective. Imagine you’re dating a girl and she won’t even let you touch her until after marriage. Then a few days ago she starts ignoring your calls and rumors start spreading that she’s meeting another guy—”
Kwon Su-ho sniffed loudly, twitched his face, and smacked his own head with his palm. It looked like some kind of mental disorder. The way he talked and acted didn’t seem normal at all.
“So don’t touch what belongs to someone else.”
What a bizarre guy. Was this what happened when you had too much money?
For a moment I imagined what I would be like if I were a third-generation chaebol heir or an insanely rich high school student. When I thought about it that way, Kwon Su-ho actually seemed pretty down-to-earth. If it were me… heh heh heh. If I just said “Water,” Hong Mi-ri seonsaengnim would bring me ice water on a silver platter. No. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.
“Hyung-nim. I heard you can tell when someone’s lying. Is that true?”
“……”
Kwon Su-ho frowned at my question. Then he looked at Park Eun-jeong noona.
“Hey— Eun-jeong. Didn’t I tell you not to tell just anyone? You need to reflect on this. Go into that closet over there and don’t come out for an hour. Eun-jeong’s been crossing the line lately.”
Eun-jeong noona obediently walked into the closet. It was a very strange sight.
Kwon Su-ho seemed to have already lost interest in me. He pulled out what looked like a blue pill from his pants pocket, sat down at the table, and started crushing it into powder with his phone. The dinosaur-looking hyung shoved my shoulder and pushed me out of the house, so I didn’t see what happened after that. But it was clearly the kind of thing a student shouldn’t be doing.
Kwon Su-ho. What a complete lunatic.
Chapter 1. The Nightmare Corridor is now beginning.
Please select a player from the list below.
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Kwon Su-ho
Still, I was able to reliably collect him into the player list.
###
“Son, what took you so long? Your friend got here early and has been waiting.”
When I got home, Mom was making pancakes. And Jeong Seok was sitting on the floor eating pancakes off a small tray.
“Hey. You’re back. I called but you didn’t pick up.”
I hadn’t had time to check my phone. I whispered quietly to Jeong Seok.
“I just met Kwon Su-ho.”
“For real?”
“And he said if anyone touches Bong Ji-yeon, he’ll kill them.”
I told Jeong Seok everything that had happened with Kwon Su-ho. He looked genuinely impressed and pleased.
“See? I told you. Bong Ji-yeon’s a good kid. Even if she looks like that, she’s an iron wall when it comes to guys. She’s not just cold to me—she’s like that with everyone.”
He was my friend, but he sounded like a total pervert. Still, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand how he felt…
“Son, have a snack.”
Mom handed me a freshly cooked pancake. I spread strawberry jam on it and took a bite. It was incredibly delicious. Mom looked like she was in a good mood.
“Look at this. Jeong Seok helped me clean the veranda. Thanks to him, I found the wedding ring I lost.”
Mom held out a cheap couple’s ring that looked like something high schoolers would wear. It was the matching ring she and Dad had bought back when they were both in high school. It had also served as their wedding rings.
Wedding ring.
Suddenly I remembered how Kang Ba-da had been wearing a strange plastic ring on his ring finger.
“Mom. Did you ever do the couple ring thing with Kang Ba-da uncle too?”
“No. Why would I do a couple ring with him?”
“Really? I saw him wearing a toy ring on his finger.”
“He’s still wearing that? That guy really is persistent. There are men like that. Once they fall for a woman, they go completely crazy without caring about anything. Auntie here can read faces, you know. Jeong Seok, you seem like that type too, don’t you?”
“Huh? I’m… well…”
Jeong Seok fidgeted awkwardly. But I felt a little upset.
“Mom. You’re not involved with Kang Ba-da uncle at all, right? That uncle told me I might be his son. He’s a total weirdo.”
“He said that? Puhaha— He was just messing with you. It’s true that Kang Ba-da used to follow me around saying he liked me, but he gave up after a week. I beat him up pretty badly back then. I really went all out and beat the shit out of him.”
“…You did?”
“After that, there was another girl that Kang Ba-da really liked. But to think he’s still wearing that toy ring… Guess he never got over her. What a pathetic bastard.”
Mom went into her room and came back holding something. It was a blue plastic ring.
“Back in the day, there used to be junk food that gave you a ring toy when you ate the candy. A jewel ring. This is it. I’ve been keeping it… If you see Kang Ba-da later, give it back to him.”
It was identical to the plastic jewel ring Kang Ba-da uncle had been wearing. Just to be sure, I asked,
“Mom. What was the name of the girl that uncle liked?”
“Her name? That unni’s name was… Yu In-na. You know the chairman of the school you go to? She was his daughter. She was incredibly rich. She used to come to school every day in a black car.”
Lightning struck inside my head.
Cheon’s daughter, Yu In-na. And Kang Ba-da, who had earned the hatred of the Cheon family!
The two of them had been close enough to wear matching toy rings as couple rings. And that same Kang Ba-da had been trying desperately—even through shady means—to get information about the female high school student Yu Da-hee!
Everything was connected!
By a thread of blood even thicker than water!
Yu Da-hee was the daughter of Yu In-na—daughter of Cheon Dae-gon—and the outsider Kang Ba-da!