Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Clearing Up the Misunderstanding
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Two days later, on Tuesday.
I still hadn't gone to see Yoon Hye-yoon.
Situations like this needed to be cleared up quickly before feelings could deepen and things got awkward between us.
But that day, I was exhausted, and my head wasn't clear enough to confront her right away.
So why hadn't I met her yesterday?
I'd barely studied over the weekend, so assignments were piling up like mountains.
Thanks to that, I'd spent the entire day from morning till night buried in books.
So today, I resolved to definitely go see her as I headed to school for class.
"Haa... barely made it in time."
I caught my breath as I dropped the report into the submission box.
I'd finished the assignment that morning, but I had to come to school anyway for the afternoon lab.
To avoid unnecessary back-and-forth, I'd timed it right up to the deadline.
With one load off my shoulders, my mind felt much lighter.
I checked the time and headed straight up the stairs.
Inside the lab, there were already a fair number of people.
Shin Ayoung was among them, and as expected from someone so popular, her area was packed.
I hated spots like that, so I headed to a corner.
As I settled in and checked my phone, someone sat down in front of me.
I glanced up and saw Shin Ayoung waving at me with a smile.
She'd definitely been sitting in the middle over there.
Holding her bag, it looked like she'd come over to switch seats.
I opened my mouth to greet her, but she tapped on her phone instead.
Not getting it at first, I stared blankly until my KakaoTalk buzzed.
It wasn't exactly something to discuss out loud anyway.
And if Shin Ayoung talked to me, everyone here would perk up and listen in.
In a way, it was a smart move.
We killed time typing away like that until the TA came in and the lab started.
We exchanged glances now and then, asked each other about stuff we didn't know, until break time.
As I stood to head to the bathroom, she followed a short distance behind.
She spoke up when we found a spot with no one around.
"Hey, wanna grab dinner after class?"
"Huh? You don't mean..."
"What's with that look? It's not like that—I'm just purely asking to eat."
"That might be tough. I've got plans today."
"Hmph... It was the first time I've ever asked a guy out for a meal first. You're crushing my first experience like this?"
"Sorry about that. But today's really important."
"Fine. If you put it that way... Next time then."
With that, she headed into the women's restroom.
She seemed a tiny bit sulky, but there was nothing I could do.
If I didn't meet Yoon Hye-yoon today, it'd be over three days.
Any longer, and fixing our relationship would be tough.
Time passed, and right after the lab ended, I headed straight home.
After a quick shower and dropping my stuff, I rang the doorbell next door.
Ding-dong.
No answer, even after waiting.
I figured she'd be home around dinnertime.
Had we missed each other?
I'd come all tensed up, and now the energy drained out of me.
I considered texting, but then remembered something Yoon Hye-yoon had said before.
"She said she works out in the evenings during exam period..."
Nothing to lose, so I decided to check the gym.
If she was there, perfect. If not, she'd probably be home late evening anyway.
Plus, I hadn't worked out much lately with how busy I'd been, so it wasn't a bad idea.
I grabbed my workout clothes and hurried to the gym.
As I walked in, the usual counter sister greeted me.
"Hi! Woojin. First time seeing you at this hour."
"Hey. Been busy prepping for finals. Came when I had a spare moment."
"Oh, right—finals season... That's why Hye-yoon's been away so long too."
"Is she here now?"
"Huh? Oh, Hye-yoon? Yeah, about 20 minutes ago."
She was here after all.
She wasn't the type to wander around outside much anyway.
Lucky guess, and it was spot on.
"Got it. I'll head in then."
"Sure~ Work hard!"
I went inside and slowly looked around.
But it was peak evening hours, so it was crowded, and I couldn't spot even a glimpse of her.
Well, I hadn't expected to find her right away, so no big deal.
She'd just arrived 20 minutes ago, so she wouldn't leave soon.
I decided to start with a warmup and headed to the treadmills.
"Huff... huff..."
Even while running, I kept rolling my eyes toward the mirror in front.
With her standout looks, a quick scan should catch her.
Why couldn't I see her?
After the initial 10 minutes, my body warmed up, so I got off.
As I wandered along the wall thinking about the next exercise,
I noticed heads turning toward one spot up ahead.
Of course I couldn't ignore that.
I headed over out of curiosity.
"Um... could we maybe grab a meal together later?"
"Sorry. I'm full."
"Then... could I get your number? Maybe later..."
"I have zero interest in that right now. Sorry."
There was Yoon Hye-yoon, sitting stone-faced on a break, and a guy shrinking in front of her, head bowed.
From the conversation, the situation was clear.
Looked like what the counter sister said last time was true.
Seeing Yoon Hye-yoon reject a guy so naturally made it finally believable.
"Uh... could you leave now? It's uncomfortable while I'm resting."
"Ah... yeah. Sorry."
The guy scurried off elsewhere, and people resumed their workouts.
But I kept watching her without looking away.
She'd clearly worked out hard; sweat poured down like rain as she wiped it with a towel.
True to form, she wore tight leggings and a sports bra today too.
Even after seeing her naked, the outfit was provocative enough to get a reaction.
About three minutes later.
She still hadn't noticed me, gazing out the window on her break.
She sipped water with a thoughtful expression, spacing out for a bit.
Then, our eyes met in the glass reflection.
Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open.
She really couldn't hide her expressions—it was both a flaw and a charm.
I gave a small wave and walked over.
She grabbed her water bottle and towel, jumping up quickly.
Without ever looking my way, she bolted somewhere else.
Was it really so bad she had to avoid me like this? But it also meant her worries ran deep.
It only made me more determined to talk properly today.
I followed after her.
And in a less crowded spot, I called out.
"Hey, Hye-yoon. Why do you keep running away?"
"Y-Yeah? Oh!? Woojin? What brings you here this time of day?"
Yoon Hye-yoon put on a shocked face like she'd never seen me before.
It was obviously fake, but I played along.
"Just had class this afternoon. Came right after, so now."
"Ahaha... really? Well, I'm done with my workout, so have fun. See ya."
"Counter sister said you got here 30 minutes ago."
"......Busy with assignments today."
She kept avoiding my eyes and fidgeting, so I brought up the earlier incident.
"Saw you get hit on earlier. You're popular."
"You saw that...? It's just annoying from someone I'm not interested in."
"Means you're pretty, though. Isn't that good? I've never gotten hit on in my life."
"...You just go around saying stuff like that?"
"Like what?"
"Th-That... saying a girl's pretty... Isn't that off-limits now?"
"Why?"
She fell silent at my repeated questions.
As if voicing it would make it real—like she was scared of that.
"You have a... girlfriend. So say that stuff to her from now on."
So she definitely heard the moans Sunday night.
Otherwise, she wouldn't say something like this.
"I don't have a girlfriend. No idea what you're talking about."
"See?! ...Huh? You don't?"
"Still a 24-year virgin. And the kid... you took care of that."
"Ah... th-then..."
Her brain seemed to freeze; she couldn't string words together.
And from my last line, her face flushed red.
It looked like it'd last a while,
so I waited patiently for her to sort her thoughts.
"No girlfriend... for real?"
A moment later, she came to and asked cautiously.
Her lips curved up slightly—she seemed relieved.
"For real. Why lie about something like this?"
"Then... what was that with Shin Ayoung in the elevator? And the noises the night before?"
At the sensitive topic, I glanced around.
As expected, people were staring since we'd been hanging around so long.
"Not something to talk about here."
"Yeah... guess not."
She caught on too and lowered her voice.
The biggest misunderstanding was cleared, and she wouldn't avoid me anymore, so I pointed to the exit.
"Wanna grab dinner and talk?"
"Sure. Was gonna eat after the gym anyway."
"Didn't you say you were full earlier?"
"...Got hungry."
And with that, we left the gym together.