Chapter 6
Chapter 6
An Argument With My Ex-Girlfriend
On the way to the department room after today’s classes ended.
Thoughts about Yerin kept circling through my head.
“While I was dating Chaeyeon, I really neglected Yerin…”
No matter if it was my girlfriend’s request, abandoning a friend of fifteen years wasn’t the right choice.
Yerin had clearly been depressed too, probably because she was sad we’d drifted apart.
“Now that we’re close again, I should take better care of her from now on.”
I decided I’d wait for Yerin’s class to end so we could head back together.
Just as I reached for the department room door—
“Sihyeon!”
A familiar voice called from behind me.
When I turned around, I saw Sohee breathing heavily.
“What.”
Maybe because it wasn’t a welcome encounter, my voice came out colder than intended.
At that, Sohee’s body trembled slightly.
She hesitated while fidgeting with her hands before finally speaking.
“There’s something I want to talk about… do you have a moment?”
“No.”
It was obvious she was just going to repeat the same thing she said this morning, so I bluntly refused and tried to leave.
But—
“P-Please. Just once is enough, so please hear me out…”
Sohee grabbed my arm and begged desperately.
How many times had she done this already today?
At this rate, it felt like she’d cling to me until I agreed to talk, and I already had a headache thinking about it.
“…Just get to the point.”
In the end, worn down by Sohee’s persistence, I agreed to at least listen.
Besides, there were things I wanted to ask about the blind date anyway, so talking wouldn’t hurt.
“Really…? Thank you!”
The moment I gave permission, Sohee visibly brightened.
When she asked if we could move somewhere else, I nodded, and after walking about five minutes, we arrived near a fountain.
Slide.
The moment she sat down on a nearby bench, Sohee bowed her head toward me.
“First, let me apologize. Like I told you before, I was the one who brought Chaeyeon to the blind date. I’m really sorry!”
If I forgave her here, she’d definitely try to reconnect me and Chaeyeon again.
So instead of responding to the apology, I asked what I actually wanted to know.
“If she already had a boyfriend, why’d you drag her there in the first place?”
“The friend who was originally supposed to come suddenly canceled…”
“So you bring someone else’s girlfriend to a blind date because of that? If you were short on people, you should’ve postponed it.”
“You’re right. If it had been a normal blind date, I would’ve done that. But this one was different.”
“How.”
Sohee lifted her head and looked me directly in the eye.
“This blind date was arranged to help my friend get together with the guy she liked.”
Friend…
Among the women at the wine bar, I remembered the other girl besides Chaeyeon and Sohee.
“The short-haired girl sitting to your right?”
“Yeah. The other guys were already in on helping set her up with the blind date guy… Since we were the ones asking for the favor, we couldn’t casually postpone it.”
Sohee lowered her eyes again, looking ashamed.
“So in a hurry… I asked Chaeyeon to just fill the empty seat…”
If what she said was true, then Chaeyeon’s role had basically been filler.
But did that mean she’d done nothing wrong?
No.
Ignoring my calls so blatantly.
Lying to me without shame.
Calling me a stalker and demanding that I apologize even though I’d done nothing wrong.
If I really thought about it, there were more than enough things Chaeyeon owed me an apology for.
“Hm…”
While I fell into thought, Sohee carefully spoke again.
“Um… Sihyeon. I know it’s hard to believe me, but Chaeyeon seriously didn’t say a single thing there. Even when the guys tried talking to her, she kept rejecting them saying she had a boyfriend. I saw it all myself…”
I already believed that Chaeyeon hadn’t done anything with the guys.
Both of their stories matched, and Chaeyeon’s attitude toward the blind date men had definitely been cold.
“So why are you telling me all this?”
“Because… I feel like your relationship got ruined because of me. I hoped this explanation would clear up the misunderstanding and let you two get back together…”
If the blind date incident alone had been the reason we broke up, Sohee’s explanation might’ve worked.
But I broke up with Chaeyeon because I was exhausted from her selfishness and endless power plays.
The blind date was just the trigger.
Slide.
I had no reason to explain all that to Sohee, so I simply stood up.
“Stop meddling. I’ll handle my own problems.”
“W-Wait!”
“What now.”
“Couldn’t you at least try talking to Chaeyeon one more time?”
“We already talked.”
Sohee grabbed at her chest and shook her head.
“She was drunk back then, and both of you were emotional… Maybe neither of you managed to say what you really wanted to say…”
“Even if we talk sober, I doubt anything will change.”
As I continued shutting her down, I saw Sohee’s eyes trembling.
Suddenly, she stood up.
Then slowly bent her knees.
“Hic… p-please…”
And finally, with a desperate voice, she knelt on the ground.
“What are you doing?! Get up already.”
I didn’t want to forgive her, but I never wanted her lowering herself this far either.
Even when I tried pulling her up, Sohee stubbornly stayed kneeling.
Then she spoke tearfully.
“Please… I feel so guilty toward both of you that I haven’t even been able to sleep since yesterday…”
Maybe it was true.
Dark purple circles had formed under Sohee’s usually pale eyes.
“Looks like the guilt hit her harder than I thought…”
If this kept up, it might start affecting her daily life.
She used to be one of my close friends too, so naturally I couldn’t help worrying.
“I’m really sorry… Even if it meant breaking the promise entirely, I never should’ve brought Chaeyeon there…!”
She regretted her mistake so deeply that it looked like she might slam her forehead against the ground while begging forgiveness.
Her desperate voice kept shaking my resolve.
And eventually, unable to endure it anymore—
“…Fine. I’ll meet with her, so get up already.”
To ease Sohee’s guilt even a little, I gave her the last kindness I could offer.
“R-Really?”
Sohee looked up at me with tear-stained eyes.
“Yeah. So don’t ever do something like this again.”
“Okay…!”
After standing up, Sohee spoke with an emotional expression.
“Sihyeon, thank you so much… I’ll arrange the meeting, so come to the department room in fifteen minutes. I’ll tell Chaeyeon to come around then too.”
“Alright…”
After thanking me repeatedly, Sohee ran off toward the department room.
Even if she was the one who created this mess, seeing her genuinely try to fix it wasn’t unpleasant.
Clatter—
There wasn’t a single person in the department room besides me.
Maybe people had been playing board games earlier.
Paper money was scattered across the long table, and unused chargers were plugged into the power strip nearby.
“There were probably a lot of people here… Did Sohee bribe them all with food or something?”
Considering I’d heard cheering earlier, it seemed likely.
Thinking about how much lighter Sohee’s wallet probably became just to empty the room made this whole setup feel burdensome.
“Chaeyeon should be here soon.”
Whether this meeting would lead to reconciliation.
Or simply become an extension of yesterday’s argument.
That depended entirely on her attitude.
“Phew…”
Feeling conflicted, I cleaned up the clutter on the table so it wouldn’t distract us during the conversation.
Then, just as I sat down and pulled out my phone—
Clatter—
Chaeyeon opened the door and walked in.
The moment our eyes met, her brows furrowed like she’d seen something unpleasant.
“Like I wanted to be here either.”
Sohee practically begged me into this meeting, but the second I saw Chaeyeon’s expression, I wanted to leave immediately.
“Still… just endure it a little longer.”
If things ended awkwardly here, the same situation as before might repeat itself again.
Clatter—
Chaeyeon sat diagonally two seats away from me.
As if she had nothing to say to me, she quietly sipped franchise coffee while working on her laptop.
Even though Sohee clearly told her to come here and talk things out, Chaeyeon showed no sign of opening her mouth.
“Honestly, that’s fine with me. I’ll just sit here until Yerin arrives and then leave.”
Right on cue, I noticed a message from Yerin.
—
Han Yerin: About twenty minutes left until class ends. Where are you right now?
Me: Department room.
Han Yerin: Waiting for me?
Me: Something like that.
Han Yerin: Aww, good boy^^ As a reward, I’ll buy you mint chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins.
Me: Toothpaste flavor? Hard pass;;
Han Yerin: It’s okay. I’m getting a pint, so we can pick three flavors. I’ll get mint choco, you get Puss in Boots. We’ll pick the last one together.
Me: That part sounds good. Come to the department room when you’re done.
Han Yerin: Yes sir! (rabbit salute emoji)
—
After finishing the chat, I suddenly realized something.
“If Yerin comes here, the atmosphere’s gonna get ugly…”
Judging from how she’d acted so far, Yerin had a mountain of resentment toward Chaeyeon.
If they met face-to-face now, who knew what would happen.
“Best to leave before something explodes.”
Besides, even if I stayed longer, it didn’t seem like there’d be anything meaningful left to say anyway.
Deciding to kill time around the lecture halls instead, I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up.
After putting my phone into my pocket, I started walking—
Then froze.
“……”
Chaeyeon was staring directly at me.
“How long had she been watching?”
I’d been distracted texting and only just realized she’d been looking at me.
And this clearly wasn’t some accidental glance.
She didn’t look away.
Neither did I.
A silent battle unfolded between us.
The first person to break the silence was Chaeyeon, who sat there with crossed arms and legs.
“You changed your profile picture.”
She placed her phone on the table.
My now-empty profile picture filled the screen.
Tap. Tap.
While tapping her arm with her finger, Chaeyeon spoke mockingly.
“You’ve been sticking to Han Yerin like it’s intentional ever since we broke up… What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Changing the profile picture after breaking up is normal. And who I hang around with isn’t any of your business.”
Chaeyeon scoffed, looking down at me from her usual superior position.
“Looks like you’re really throwing a tantrum this time. The guy who used to tremble whenever I mentioned breaking up is suddenly rebelling this much.”
“That just means I finally got sick of you.”
Feeling like the conversation would drag on, I tossed my bag onto a chair.
“I’m honestly sick of even looking at your face now. I have zero lingering feelings for you, and I don’t want to get back together either.”
“…Really? Then are you trying to replace me with Yerin because you have no lingering feelings?”
Why did she keep bringing up Yerin?
Finding it strange, I shot back immediately.
“What does it matter to you? We broke up exactly like you wanted, so stop paying attention to me already.”
Tap…
The finger tapping her arm stopped.
Chaeyeon stared at me silently.
Then, after letting out a deep sigh, she spoke like she was generously giving me mercy.
“I’ll forgive you.”
“What…?”
“I said I’ll forgive you for cursing at me and acting recklessly. So stop this pointless behavior and come back.”
Who exactly was forgiving who here?
For a second, her confident attitude almost made me feel like I was the one in the wrong.
When she should’ve been the one kneeling and apologizing, she still acted selfish to the very end.
It disgusted me.
Completely unaware of how I felt, Chaeyeon looked at me like she truly didn’t understand.
“But you like me. You’re the guy who always lowered his head whenever I said let’s break up, so why are you acting up now?”
The longer we talked, the more disappointed I became.
More than anything, it hurt knowing that the breakup words I could barely bring myself to say had been nothing more than a tool for her to control me.
“You’re hanging around another girl right after breaking up, yet you think you have the right to criticize me for going to a blind date?”
Tap.
Chaeyeon stood up and poked my chest with her finger.
Then she slowly circled that finger against my chest as she warned me.
“Listen carefully. I don’t have much patience, and the more you act like this, the less I feel like forgiving you.”
The finger moving against my chest churned up all the emotions inside me.
This selfish bitch who never once reflected on her own mistakes.
Faced with her completely unchanged attitude, I felt something snap inside my head.
“Did I ever ask for your forgiveness? I didn’t even do anything that requires being forgiven, so why the hell are you acting crazy on your own?”
My honest feelings poured out without any filter.
“If you have a brain, then think for once. Looking at this situation, who’s obviously the one at fault? The reason I keep getting disappointed in you is because you act like this.”
Chaeyeon took a step back and asked with a trembling voice.
“I seriously don’t understand. We were doing fine all this time. So why are you suddenly acting like this now…?”
“Doing fine? Ha…”
I was so dumbfounded I almost laughed.
“Do you even know how carefully I had to watch your mood just to keep that relationship going?”
Because I was scared you’d get upset if I showed discomfort.
Because I was scared you’d threaten to break up again if I showed my true feelings.
Being with Chaeyeon made me happy, but at the same time, terrified.
“Every single day I spent dating you was stressful.”
The eyes glaring at me started trembling.
Unable to keep meeting my gaze anymore, Chaeyeon’s eyes wandered.
She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth before stammering,
“If… if you really loved me, then you should’ve endured at least that much…”
“It’s the opposite. I endured all this time because I genuinely loved you. If it had been anyone else instead of me, they wouldn’t have lasted even a month with you.”
“But…!”
Chaeyeon bit her lower lip before she could finish.
Then she lowered her head and stopped talking entirely.
“Yeah. This is better.”
If we kept talking any longer, I felt like I’d lose even the last bit of reason I had left.
So after turning away from Chaeyeon, I forced out my final words.
“I’ve done everything I could. So leave me alone now.”
I didn’t know what kind of expression she made after hearing that.
But not long after, I heard the sound of a bag zipper closing.
It sounded like she was packing up to leave.
Bang!
“W-What the hell?!”
The door burst open violently, accompanied by a familiar woman’s voice.
When I turned around, Yerin was standing in front of Chaeyeon with a startled expression.
The two stared at each other silently for a moment.
“Move.”
With an icy warning, Chaeyeon shoved past Yerin’s shoulder and walked out.
“That bitch seriously has no manners.”
Yerin clicked her tongue while watching Chaeyeon leave.
Then she noticed me inside and widened her eyes.
“What the hell? Why are you two alone in the department room?”
As if deeply dissatisfied by something, Yerin strode toward me with furrowed brows.
Then, in a strangely anxious voice, she asked,
“What did you two talk about? Don’t tell me you made up or something…?”