TIC 11
by KANHe had thought her eyes were just black. He had never looked into anyone’s eyes long enough to assign meaning to their color.
Standing in front of the Cornus officinalis tree, which they claimed was over a thousand years old, her eyes were a sun-kissed brown. The color of damp, fertile soil, perfect for insects to lay their eggs.
“Pardon?”
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She asked as if she hadn’t heard him, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
“You heard me. I asked how many times you’ve been told you’re beautiful.”
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“Well, quite a few.”
Fighting back a smile, she nodded a few times. Her ponytail, tied high on her head, swayed with the rhythm.
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“You’re shameless.”
Her smile deepened. A cloud drifted overhead, casting a shadow across her forehead. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked up at Min-hyun.
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“What about you, Professor? How many times have you been told you’re handsome?”
Whether insect, animal or human, there were times when one mimicked the behavior of another to establish intimacy. On the other hand, some predators mimicked to create a sense of camaraderie before devouring their prey. He wondered if her imitation of his speech was the former or the latter.
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“I wonder.”
Min-hyun feigned ignorance, tilted his head and added, “I’ve heard people whispering behind my back that I look like a delinquent.”
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She burst out laughing.
“That wasn’t meant to be funny.”
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Her laughter was so infectious that it made his heart race.
“Professor, you don’t realize that sometimes you blur the lines between jokes and seriousness, do you?”
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He hadn’t noticed. So that was why people laughed even when he wasn’t trying to be funny.
“I didn’t.”
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“I think I understand what people mean by ‘delinquent.’“
She started to walk slowly down the path from the plantation. Min-hyun followed.
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“It’s a vibe. Some people have a warm vibe, others a cold vibe.”
“Like cool tones and warm tones?”
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“Wow, you know that too? I think you’re…”
Her warm, moist, earth-toned eyes studied him intently. As her gaze moved from his forehead, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, philtrum to his lips, Min-hyun unconsciously held his breath.
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“Definitely a cool tone, but that’s not what I meant. Some pretty faces look like they’re going to devour you, and others look like they’re being devoured. You’re definitely the former. Does it make sense when I say that you’re like an apex predator in the food chain? So those below you can’t approach you recklessly. They’re afraid of being eaten.”
“Are you saying I look like I go around devouring people?”
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He stopped walking and asked seriously. She stopped as well, looking slightly nervous, but then she smiled as if amused.
If Teaching Assistant Ma had said such absurd things, he wouldn’t have paid attention. But there was something captivating about this woman’s words. Her logic and wit kept the conversation going.
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“What is the strongest insect?”
“Like the Asian giant hornet?”
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“Yes, the Asian giant hornet! You are like the Asian giant hornet, Professor!”
He felt a strange sense of pride that was annoying.
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“Like if I get too close, something bad will happen, and if you hover around me, I’ll be scared and intimidated.”
Min-hyun took a step towards her.
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“Like this?”
She took a quick step back.
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“Yes, like that. So please keep your distance. My heart skips a beat when you suddenly get so close.”
He found her bluntness both absurd and endearing.
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“You said I blur the lines between jokes and seriousness. Don’t you think you do the same?”
She frowned.
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“I don’t. I’ve never seen a man as handsome as you, Professor. So absolutely not. But… it’s not like I’m trying to flirt with you or anything. It’s more like… going to an art museum. No, a natural history museum.”
He wasn’t sure where she was going with the natural history museum analogy.
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“You know, they have dinosaur bones and insect specimens? And they have glass walls or ropes to keep people from touching them? Because they’re precious. Many people need to see them, and they need to be passed onto future generations… It’s like that. Like you’re an existence I shouldn’t approach, a line I should never cross.”
He understood what she meant, but it was difficult to accept. She stretched out her right foot and drew a line between them with the toe of her sneaker.
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“Don’t cross that line. I won’t either. I’m here to work.”
“So, to sum up, Ji Cho-yeon-ssi, you’re saying I’m handsome, I look like I’m going to devour someone, and that’s intimidating, so please be careful so you can concentrate on your work?”
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“Well, ‘be careful’ is a little…”
Cho-yeon trailed off, gritting her teeth. A wave of embarrassment washed over her.
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‘How many times you’ve been told you’re beautiful.’
His sudden question had caused her to blurt out a series of embarrassing remarks.
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A man who admits to being told he looks like a delinquent.
He had said he was honest, so she should believe him, but… he was definitely a difficult person to deal with. That was why she had drawn the line. She really did the most.
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“What is this place?”
Not far from the plantation, there was a stone wall path and a park that looked interesting.
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“I don’t know. I don’t have any information about this place.”
Of course, they walked towards the area with the murals.
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“It says here that this is the starting point of Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s Baekuijonggun Trail.”
Cho-yeon slowly looked up at him. She doubted that there was another professor in the world who looked so good in a plain white t-shirt and light-colored jeans. The muscles in his forearms that were visible under his sleeves were toned, and the well-fitting t-shirt subtly revealed his broad chest.
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He carefully read the information on the wall about Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s Baekuijonggun Trail.
Then he turned his head and slowly looked at Cho-yeon who was staring at him.
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“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I thought you would have been a general if you were born in the past.”
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He burst out laughing. His hearty laughter echoed through the village with the Cornus officinalis plantation and Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s Baekuijonggun trail.
“Earlier, I was a hornet, and now I’m a general? Should I be grateful for being promoted from an insect to a general?”
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The man who had seemed so indifferent yesterday was laughing quite happily today. Cho-yeon also felt happy. Thanks to a good night’s sleep, her body and mind felt incredibly light. And she had eaten a hearty meal.
The effects of a good night’s sleep were truly amazing. Normally, she would be somewhere between irritable and on edge, but today she felt relaxed and at ease.
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“I have a question.”
Which was why she ended up asking this.
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“How did you comfort me last night?”
“What?”
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“You said you patted me because I was moaning.”
He reached behind her without saying a word. Then he patted her back with his large hand. The center of her back tingled, and the sensation reverberated through her chest. She felt a trembling, as if the pent-up emotions inside her were being released.
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“Like this.”
This man was showing her that a casual word and a gentle touch, free of excessive emotion, could be a comfort to a person.
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“Ah…”
Cho-yeon shrugged her shoulders as she felt tears welling up. He casually withdrew his hand and looked down at her with a detached expression. He seemed to see the complex emotions on her face, but she was grateful that he didn’t try to interpret them.
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“Where are we going now?”
“We should have lunch separately. Professor Park had an appointment with a friend who works at the Forestry Research Institute. What are you going to do? I have a meeting with the county’s tourism development team this afternoon.”
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They were on a business trip, and it was natural for them to go about their respective duties. But she felt strangely reluctant to part with him.
He checked the itinerary she had sent him on his phone and nodded.
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“Then I’ll take care of myself. Don’t worry about me.”
It was almost disappointing how bluntly he said it. Then again, there was a lot to be disappointed about.
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***
She knew there was no point in staying in bed. Cho-yeon, who had fallen asleep after one, woke up around four. Despite her good sleep yesterday, she slept less than three hours today.
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It was 5:30 a.m. Thinking that a walk would be better than lying alone in a quiet room, she went outside.
There was a small path around the hotel, very different from the manicured gardens of Seoul’s luxury hotels. It was more like a country road, naturally blending into the surrounding landscape.
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I wonder if Professor Kwon is already awake? Or is he still sleeping?
They had agreed to meet in the hotel lobby at 8 a.m. It was still more than two hours away. Thanks to the vacant room that had become available yesterday, Cho-yeon had changed rooms. They had spent the night separately. It was natural, but she still felt strangely empty. And she couldn’t understand why thoughts of him kept invading her mind.
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“Ji Cho-yeon-ssi?”
The man in a black tank top and shorts ran towards her, his breath ragged, and stopped beside her. The man who had invaded her thoughts had now invaded her walk. Her heart skipped a beat.
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