OTC Chapter 14

With a tired face, Eunkyo sat down at a window table with her laptop. She didn’t feel like going home today, so she stayed in the closed cafe to continue working.

Sometimes, negative emotions fueled her writing, and today was one of those days.

The rain was falling steadily, and her mood was strangely subdued.

So, she poured some warm barley tea into a tumbler, grabbed a few leftover cookies, and sat at the most popular spot in Cafe Haeda.

‘He’s still here.’

Lee Jaeheon’s SUV was still parked outside, exactly where she’d seen it earlier.

Eunkyo had readily agreed to Haeda’s offer to set her up on a blind date. Perhaps the reason she was so swayed by Lee Jaeheon was that she truly longed for someone’s warmth.

She had been living without realizing how lonely she was, and perhaps the dopamine rush that was Lee Jaeheon had awakened her to it.

That’s why she decided to meet someone new. If she felt her heart flutter at another person’s kindness or affection, it would prove that her feelings for Lee Jaeheon were nothing more than a fleeting infatuation born from shallow loneliness.

“Ugh.”

Eunkyo stretched languidly.

She felt a strange sense of unease at how smoothly everything seemed to be going. Professor Seo was delighted with her decision to accept the lecture offer and suggested they meet. On top of that, the new synopsis she’d sent to the publisher had been approved, and the new part-timer was incredibly competent.

Now all she had to do was move forward without worries or anxieties…

Knock, knock.

A tapping sound came from the window to her right as she was typing on her keyboard. She turned her head and saw Lee Jaeheon, with a stern expression on his face, pointing at the door.

Eunkyo crossed her arms, forming an X.

“We’re closed.”

Lee Jaeheon frowned, understanding her words. He raised an eyebrow and knocked on the glass again, exactly three times.

Knock, knock, knock.

Glaring at him at the sound, which somehow felt more distinct now, Eunkyo stood up. Lee Jaeheon matched her pace as she walked to the door.

With the glass door between them, she stood on tiptoe and unlocked the latch.

With a click, the door opened.

“We’re closed, Mr. Lee Jaeheon.”

Ignoring her sharp remark, he stepped inside with an indifferent expression, reaching over to lock the door again.

Without even needing to stand on tiptoe or fully extend his arm, he locked it easily.

“I’m not here for coffee, so don’t worry.”

“Then why are you here? What about your… girlfriends?”

Frowning, he replied, “They’re somewhere,” and walked over to where she had been sitting. As if he no longer intended to hide his true feelings, Lee Jaeheon had completely shed the mask of kindness he showed to others.

Glaring at him as he pulled out a chair, crossed his long legs, and sat down, Eunkyo went behind the counter, poured some pre-made cold brew coffee over ice, and brought it to him.

“Here. It’s what I made for myself, so it’s not poisoned.”

“Thank you, sunbae.”

Returning to her seat, Eunkyo tried to focus on the words on her screen, ignoring Lee Jaeheon’s persistent stare.

He took a slow sip of coffee, then looked at her sideways, and asked,

“How was your day?”

Why is he suddenly asking how my day was?

Dozens of Ks instantly appeared on her screen as she accidentally held down the key. She lifted her hands off the keyboard, hit backspace, and replied,

“I worked. Desserts sell well on rainy days. I mopped the floor, and there were a lot of customers.”

In short, she was trying to say she had been incredibly busy.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. Wondering if you were… lonely today.”

So he’s finally getting to the point. 

She bit the inside of her lip at his sharp question, then looked up.

“Your flirting is too clumsy. I guess younger girls fall for that sort of thing.”

Lee Jaeheon rubbed his lips at her unconvincing taunt, a smile playing on them.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never done it before.”

Ha, liar.

“Anyway, I’m not going to fall for you. I’ll admit you’re quite attractive and charming, Mr. Lee Jaeheon, but… you’re too young. You’re just a kid to me. So go find someone your own age.”

As she looked back at her laptop screen, she could feel his gaze on her. It felt like a spreading ink stain, burning and distracting.

Was he angry? At being called a kid? It was clear she wouldn’t be able to write a single word as long as Lee Jaeheon was there, so she slammed her laptop shut.

“That’s my answer. Anything to say?”

“So you’re saying there’s no problem other than my age?”

“…I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion, but yes. Unfortunately, someone younger is a bit… burdensome.”

There was nothing in the world that couldn’t be achieved with effort, but age was an exception. She continued to pack her things, having delivered an irrefutable rejection, and he stood up, leaning over her, his hand pressing down on her closed laptop.

His gaze now was cold, but it didn’t frighten her.

“It’s not like I’m asking you to date me. What’s so burdensome? Ah… is it because I said I liked you?”

He chuckled.

“Sunbae, why are you so cute? You said you liked casual relationships, but it seems like you were lying. Now that I’m actually playing along casually, you’re scared.”

No, it was the opposite. She was the one with the racing heart, but it was Lee Jaeheon putting on this ridiculous act of bravado.

He was probably scared. That’s how it seemed to Eunkyo.

The question ‘why’ filled her mind. 

Why are you putting so much effort into this?

Was it because she was a unique character he didn’t often encounter? Or because he liked her looks or her body? Or was it just pointless, inexplicable curiosity?

Feeling strangely calm, Eunkyo reached out and gently stroked her thumb toward his twisted lips.

In an instant, Lee Jaeheon’s body stiffened. She met his gaze, now fixated on her. The sound of the rain falling on the awning mingled with the rhythmic sound of his breathing.

“CCTV.”

The single word stopped Lee Jaeheon in his tracks, just as he seemed about to pounce on her.

He tightened his grip on the table, his expression returning to its usual expression, and he smiled. Then, with a look of defeat, he ran a hand through his hair, picked up the pen she had been using, and scribbled his phone number on the napkin next to her coffee cup.

“Save it. We’ve even kissed, it’s a bit much to not even know each other’s numbers.”

He placed the napkin in front of her and turned to leave.

“And it’s dangerous, so you should go home soon. There are a lot of… crazies around here.”

Eunkyo remained seated until he opened the door and left. After a while, she looked down and saw the word “basement” written below the scribbled phone number.

Chuckling, Eunkyo dipped the napkin into the coffee Lee Jaeheon had left behind.

It wasn’t a big deal; if she wanted to, she could easily find his number.

However, the reason she hadn’t saved it was, as he’d said, because she was scared.

If they exchanged numbers, they would talk. And words exchanged through text, without the nuances of voice, could be misinterpreted, leading to unnecessary complications.

Would it be easier if she thought of it as just a one-time fling?

But she knew. This was definitely not a relationship that would end with just a single encounter.

Her head ached, and as she pressed her hands against her forehead, her overturned phone buzzed with a message.

It was from Jo Sunggeun. Along with the news that a video screening was being held, he’d sent the address of the venue.

Instead of leaving the cafe, Eunkyo locked the cafe door again and went into the storage room.

She sank onto the makeshift bed that Kim Haeda sometimes used and ran a hand over her face.

She wouldn’t go down to the basement. Not yet, anyway. She had a feeling that Lee Jaeheon still had one more mask to shed.

She stared out the storage room window at the pouring rain and the faint glow of the streetlights.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

She won’t come.

Jung Eunkyo would never open that door. Knowing this, he had boldly left a note telling her to come to the basement.

He stared at the firmly closed door, then finally gave up and lay down on the sofa.

Then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a message from Sunggeun. Jung Eunkyo probably received the same message.

He casually glanced at the message, which contained the time and location of the video preview screening, and lay there thinking.

He’d first seen Jung Eunkyo over ten years ago, in front of his house after school. 

She was one of his father’s university students, and the only female student among them.

Standing in front of his house, rubbing her red eyes, she seemed to steel herself before ringing the doorbell. He’d watched her with interest.

She must have been on the receiving end of his overbearing, even tyrannical, father’s harsh words, because she couldn’t stop crying. 

What was she so upset about?

But the biggest problem was that her tear-stained face, red down to the tip of her nose, was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Hello.”

She seemed like someone from a completely different world than the girls her age who were obsessed with their appearance. Though she couldn’t stop crying, she expertly hid her emotions and smiled readily.

Yes, it had been love at first sight. His twisted adolescence had come to a screeching halt, his mind completely consumed by Jung Eunkyo.

He suffered a silent, agonizing infatuation he couldn’t reveal. He diligently stayed home, more than ever before, just to catch a glimpse of her as she visited his father day after day, enduring his harsh criticisms.

She was strange, pathetic, and beautiful.

Months passed, and the seasons changed.

Then, for some reason, Jung Eunkyo stopped visiting his father. Later, as his parents’ relationship deteriorated rapidly and they began divorce proceedings, he assumed he’d lost contact with her for good.

As with most first loves, she briefly faded from his memory.

Until he met her again, as the girlfriend of Lee Dohyun, the older son of the man his mother remarried.

He had simply thought he had to reclaim his stolen first love.

That was all.

“Ha.”

But why… does he feel so fucking shitty?