Chapter 20
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: 7/23 (2)
Returning home in a half-daze.
Only after kicking off my shoes at the entrance and stumbling into my room did my wits finally come back to me.
But that was exactly the problem.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Now that my mind had cleared, those humiliating memories hit me even sharper.
I buried my face in the bed and screamed my lungs out.
He was the one who crossed the line first, but I couldn't even call him out on it—I just bolted.
Why had I done that?
Why had that hand I'd grabbed felt so...
"Ugh..."
I rubbed my left hand—the one he'd grabbed—frantically against the bed.
Don't think about anything else. The important thing is that he casually took my hand.
He'd acted like he was getting revenge because I called him a pervert, but I could tell.
That was just an excuse. He definitely planned this.
"You perverted creep... You really are a pervert...!!!"
He even had dirty thoughts about me in disguise.
Just like I'd sworn last time, right now...
Ding!
The alert snapped me out of my thoughts.
I turned my buried head to the side and checked the message.
Two-faced Kang Seo-ah. I'll let it slide today, but next time don't run off before the two hours are up, okay?
"What the...! Whose fault is this...!!"
He conveniently skips over the fact that he touched me first and has the nerve to say he's letting me off?
His attitude—like I'd run away for no good reason—was utterly infuriating.
I wanted to fire back and tell him to quit spouting nonsense,
but I barely managed to stop my fingers mid-type and took a deep breath.
"Hoo... Ignore him. Don't give him the satisfaction."
It was obvious from earlier, and even just this text confirmed it.
Cha Ji-hyuk was getting a kick out of my reactions.
Otherwise, he couldn't possibly be this brazen.
As that thought crossed my mind, a sudden doubt flickered through.
'Did he really grab my hand with ulterior motives?'
Normally, if a guy liked a girl, wouldn't he yield a little to win her favor?
But Cha Ji-hyuk didn't show any of that.
He was just toying with me for his own amusement.
Yeah, it felt exactly like how you'd mess with a friend.
"In the original story, he was all sweet and gentle when reeling in the heroines..."
I swallowed the rest—after he conquered them, he treated them like set dressing. Well, if he'd really had a crush on me, he would've gone nuts trying to get my saliva or whatever.
I hesitated, my thumb hovering over the block button for his number.
"...Hmph!"
Fine. Still no reply from me.
I tossed my phone aside and headed for a shower.
It hadn't even been that hot, so why was I drenched in sweat?
After showering and blow-drying my hair, I flopped back onto the bed and checked my phone again.
No new messages from Cha Ji-hyuk.
I'd half-expected something like Don't ignore me or Reply already.
Somehow, it bugged me that there was nothing.
Not that I'd reply anyway...
"Whatever. Better for me—no dealing with that annoying creep."
I propped myself up on the bed and fired up the drama I'd been watching last time.
Cha Ji-hyuk's constant pestering texts had kept me from it, but today I'd binge.
"Hold it properly."
"I'm holding it just fine, so hurry up already?"
In their shared house, the living room light was out. The male lead was up on a ladder replacing it, with the female lead steadying the base.
Even in a situation like that, her prickly pride had me clicking my tongue.
"Still sniping at each other. Later she'll be sucking and licking every inch—how's she gonna face him? Tsk tsk."
"Ah... There. All done... Huh? Wh-what?"
"Wh-what? Kyaaah!!!"
-Crash!
"......."
"........"
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine... Just let go of my hand..."
"Oh! Sorry. I didn't mean..."
-Scamper... Slam!
The male lead tripped on his way down after fixing the light, and somehow the female lead ended up pinned beneath him.
I burst out laughing.
Why couldn't this drama escape these tired clichés?
How do you fall and land so primly face-down? And why fold your hands so neatly in that position? It was ridiculous.
Even funnier was the female lead's reaction.
Her snarky attitude from seconds ago? Vanished. One accidental bit of skinship, and she short-circuited, face flushing bright red.
She even bolted first in that situation.
For someone who'd sworn she had zero interest in guys or dating, it was a pathetically weak response.
"Huff... huff..."
(The female lead staring at the hand that brushed the male lead's, her face burning red.)
(She glances at her own hand, lost in the memory again.)
'His hand's so big... and his body...'
"No...!! No way that's it...! I was just startled... yeah, startled..."
"Tsk tsk. Denying it so hard... I don't get why she can't face her own feelings."
After that, the female lead kept acting weird.
She'd try to avoid him, then read way too much into some offhand comment or gesture, her mood swinging wildly.
Hmm... The more I watched, the stranger I felt.
For some reason, my left palm started to itch.
Yeah, just like back then...
"Gah!!"
I reflexively clenched my left hand.
The memory resurfaced, making the odd sensation even sharper.
My heart raced, and my face heated up for no good reason.
"Yeah, friends. Just friends. Living together made us close, that's all."
I didn't want to watch the drama anymore and switched off the TV.
"As if! What a crap drama, throwing logic out for cheap thrills...!!"
This show was total trash, ignoring all plausibility for shallow fanservice.
Why had I even been into it...?
But even with the TV off, the itch in my left palm wouldn't fade.
"Why... why is this happening... seriously...!!"
Ignore it. Ignore it.
I chanted to myself, fired up my Switch, and grabbed the Joy-Cons.
Forget it with a game.
I hadn't played in ages thanks to Cha Ji-hyuk's harassment, but today I'd clear it for good.
A high-difficulty souls-like genre I'd loved in my past life.
I wandered the dark, mystical map and stepped into a flower garden.
There stood a towering female knight.
The boss I'd beaten three times already—but the fights were so fun, I dove back in.
First clash on encounter.
Roll to the da-da-da rhythm, and you'd snag an easy damage window. Simple gimmick.
But.
Stab! Stab-stab! Stab-stab-staaab!!
The itchy tingle in my palm threw off my rhythm, and I died pathetically.
"Focus..."
Retry on the boss fight.
Same result.
And the next. And the one after. Even after ten attempts.
"Aaaah!!"
I yelled and hurled the Joy-Cons onto the bed.
"Why... why won't it stop...!!"
The sensation just wouldn't quit.
The harder I tried to forget, the more vivid it got.
And every time it sharpened, that moment replayed in my head.
I was lost in the baffling feeling when...
Ding!
A message came in.
No reply? Then today's meet doesn't count.
An empty threat that wouldn't land.
But oddly, it sparked more amusement than irritation.
"Ha! No reply and he's pulling this to save face."
I could see right through his head.
He figured a pushy threat would fluster me into a frantic response.
I smirked at him through the screen and closed the phone.
Ignore is the way with guys like this.
He didn't even know where I lived—what could he do if I straight-up ghosted him?
"Count, my ass... He touched first... Huh?"
Sometime while thinking, the itch in my left palm had vanished.
I held up my left hand, spreading it out and inspecting it from every angle.
"...Yeah, it was just a weird fluke earlier."
I sprawled out on the bed like a starfish and shut my eyes.
The drama, the game—my mood for both was shot.
I'd thought vacation meant fun all day at home, but now it just felt hollow.
"Not like I wanna go out again, though..."
It wasn't hot, but the sweat had left me sticky and gross.
Going out without a disguise would draw stares, and I might run into Cha Ji-hyuk...
I picked up my phone again.
I scrolled SNS and YouTube, but my focus kept drifting to his message.
No reply? Then today's meet doesn't count.
Tsk. It wasn't that I was scared of the threat, but technically, I'd broken the promise by waking up first.
Of course, like I said, it wasn't my fault—but if he wanted a reply this bad, I could humor him this once.
I opened our chat.
Do whatever.
A message loaded with I'm not buckling to your lame threat.
I sent it, powered off my phone, and stared at the ceiling to kill time.
Not waiting for his reply or anything.
Just had nothing else to do, and staring at screens all day is bad for your eyes.
Like that.
1 minute,
5 minutes,
10 minutes...
I grabbed my phone and opened our chat.
The little "1" still sat unread next to my message.
"Why hasn't he read it..."
He'd sent that fake threat just to get a reply—why ignore it now?
"What a weirdo... seriously!!"
Irritated, I chucked the phone aside.
Then I grabbed the remote and switched from the drama to a different series.
"He'll reply eventually if I watch."
I tried to focus on the show.
Definitely not waiting for his text!
Do whatever.
"Pfft...!"
Back home after wrapping up their "deal."
Fresh from a shower, Ji-hyuk let out a short chuckle at the message from her.
The intent behind it was crystal clear.
Confirming it, he quietly set his phone down.
Truth be told, Ji-hyuk would've loved to keep texting her.
But after what happened, now was the time to give her space.
If she caught a whiff of his real feelings and bolted, things would get messy.
"Not that I can just do nothing, of course."
Muttering to himself, Ji-hyuk opened the window and cranked up the sensation in her left hand once more.
Next time, maybe tinker with her lust... he mused.