WW | Chapter 32

“Wh-What?”

“If you keep messing with me, I’ll do the same to you. And if you try any tricks, it’s only going to get difficult for you, too. And if you lay a hand on me again…”

Yul took a step closer, looking down at Seohee. Seohee’s eyes wavered, filled with anger and wariness as she met Yul’s intense gaze.

“You won’t be able to keep going to this school in one piece either, Choi Seohee.”

Now that things had come to this, Yul felt indignant. Why had she ever avoided eye contact with this girl and lowered her head?

“This little—”

“Even if you bring your parents, it won’t change anything. Let me make this clear.”

“……”

“I’m not going down alone, Seohee. So, seriously, don’t mess with me.”

With her cool warning, Yul lifted her head. Seohee’s eyes were burning with barely contained rage, her clenched fists so tight that the bones were starting to protrude through her pale skin. For Seohee’s personality, this was the kind of fury that would usually end in a punch, yet she held back. Instinctively, she knew Yul wasn’t bluffing.

Sure, a group could overpower and corner a beast, but they’d also know that, once freed, that beast could claw back.

Seeing that the confrontation had come to an end, Yul turned to leave without sparing Jieun a glance. Her words to Seohee had also been a warning to Jieun. More than that, Seohee would be all over Jieun the moment Yul walked away, and it wouldn’t end anytime soon.

Yul walked down the aisle between the bookshelves. She had taken about four or five steps when someone appeared in front of her. Startled, she stopped and pointed a finger at him in surprise.

“You!”

There was Yoonjo, who had vanished right after class ended. How did he know she was here, and what was he even doing here?

“Guess you’re not a pushover.”

With a calm expression, Yoonjo muttered and handed her a small bag. Yul took it with a bewildered look, and he added a few more words.

“Handle things like this from now on. Don’t let people push you around.”

He turned and walked ahead after saying his piece. Yul, still in a daze, looked at the bag in her hand. She opened it up, revealing several kinds of medicine inside. The boxes varied in size and color, but they were all painkillers.

It looked like he’d bought them from a pharmacy, not the school infirmary. He probably wasn’t sure what to get, so he got a little of everything. But why would he go to all this trouble?

Could he actually remember that she’d said her stomach hurt from menstrual cramps?

As her suspicion turned into certainty, a warm feeling spread inside her. Yul stood there, stunned, then quickly closed the bag and ran after him.

“Yoonjo.”

She caught up with him and grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Are we really dating?”

She just wanted to confirm it. Her circumstances had shifted thanks to him holding her hand, but it still didn’t feel real. Despite everything still feeling shaky, his quiet gesture of kindness left her feeling choked up. He’d told her not to be a pushover, to live freely and do as she wanted. But there was an underlying condition to his words. That was that Kang Yoonjo — he needed to be by her side. She needed him there, both in reality and in her heart.

“Grabbing guys’ hands all the time — that’s a bad habit.”

Yoonjo, who’d been looking at her, pulled her hand away. But unlike before, he didn’t let go immediately and continued speaking.

“I’ll let it slide since you’re my girlfriend.”

With her hand still in his, he turned and started walking, guiding her along. As she followed him out of the library, she realized — he had just given her an answer, more concrete than any verbal confirmation could’ve been.

“Thanks for the medicine.”

Now feeling more at ease, Yul finally expressed her gratitude. Yoonjo merely nodded toward the path ahead, as if telling her to stop worrying about pointless things and move on.

“Don’t mind me, just eat,” Yoonjo mumbled, eyes closed as he lay face-down on his desk. It was lunchtime, and the classroom was empty. Usually, he would either go to the cafeteria to eat or vacate his seat, even if he wasn’t hungry, but today he stayed put. He said she should pretend he wasn’t there, but how could she do that?

Yul considered not eating, but she’d skipped breakfast that morning, and her stomach was growling. She sneaked a glance, and Yoonjo seemed to be completely asleep, not moving an inch. Her hesitation was finally overridden by the rumbling in her stomach.

Carefully, she took out her lunchbox and opened it. The side dishes were simple: cheap pink sausage, rolled eggs, and stir-fried kimchi.

Oh, the smell will be noticeable. She quickly covered the side dish container’s lid, opened the rice container, and picked up some rice with her chopsticks. Then she opened the lid again, took out a piece of sausage, and closed it back immediately, eating as quietly as she could. It was a bit awkward, but it tasted good. She repeated this careful routine a couple more times.

“Is it good?”

“……”

At his sudden question, Yul swallowed her mouthful of food in one go and looked at him. She’d thought he was asleep, but he was wide awake, watching her. Embarrassed, she just blinked at him, unable to respond, and he asked again.

“Does it smell?”

“Uh… yeah. Smells good.”

“Oh…”

So what was he getting at? Yul hesitated with her chopsticks, wondering if she should pack it all up.

Yoonjo, who’d slowly risen from his desk, looked at her with half-open eyes and opened his mouth.

“Ah.”

“What are you doing?”

“Let me have a bite. Ah.”

He held his mouth open again, and although she shot him a side-eye, she knew he wasn’t joking. He genuinely wanted a taste. Unsure whether to feed him or not, she hesitated, wondering if he’d like it or if he’d find it strange. And the fact that he didn’t mind her chopsticks was odd, too.

After a moment, she lifted a scoop of rice and dropped it into his open mouth. She added a piece of sausage topped with kimchi. The chopsticks touched his lips, but there wasn’t even time to worry about that.

Yul watched him with a bewildered expression as he closed his mouth and began chewing slowly. Somehow, his quiet chewing didn’t feel crude but rather refined.

Without asking her permission, he took the chopsticks from her hand.

“It’s good.”

Although she hadn’t offered him her meal, he continued to eat without hesitation. Unlike her, who had been eating with the lid on to prevent the smell, he opened the container fully and began eating directly. When he’d finished over half the lunchbox, he handed her a clean spoon and said,

“Your turn.”

“Huh? Oh.”

At this point, it was hard to say who the lunch belonged to. Confused, Yul accepted the spoon he handed her. She was almost forced into taking a bite, and as she did, he picked up the last sausage and placed it on top of her rice. She chewed slowly, reflecting on the odd situation they were in. Oddly, though he’d used her chopsticks to pick out the food, it didn’t feel gross. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, it even tasted better sharing it with him.

“Why don’t you bring two lunches from now on?”

Yoonjo said, covering the now-empty lunchbox.

“Why?”

“Because it’s good.”

“Oh, stop it. Just eat mine like this.”

“I’ll chip in for lunch money.”

He added. For someone usually so quiet, he sure was talking a lot; it must’ve really been delicious. Well, her grandmother was the best cook, after all. While she appreciated his enthusiasm, it was also a bit awkward.

“I don’t think that’ll work. My grandma’s already worn out.”

Although Yul occasionally packed her own lunch, her grandmother usually handled it. When Yul stayed up late studying and couldn’t wake up early, her grandmother insisted on doing it for her. It was no small task to add an extra rice portion and side dish. Honestly, even the extra grocery costs would be hard on them. As much as she appreciated what Yoonjo did for her, the idea that even this small thing would be a burden left her feeling down.

“Your grandma makes your lunch?”

“Yeah. I don’t have my parents. Mom left when I was little, and my dad passed away when I was in middle school.”

“…I didn’t know.”

His answer was delayed, but his face wasn’t filled with pity. It returned to his usual indifferent expression as he replied nonchalantly.

“My mom passed away too. It’s just my dad.”

“Oh…”

Unlike her, Yoonjo’s response was so casual that she didn’t know how to react. She’d assumed his life wasn’t ordinary, given his actions and the rumors, but she hadn’t expected he’d lost his mother, too. Maybe, like her, he didn’t hold any particular place in his heart for his mother. Understanding Yoonjo’s feelings was never easy.

“We’re dating, yet we hardly know anything about each other.”

Yul chuckled softly. She’d thought they’d gotten closer, but they were still walking along paths far from each other, clueless about even the basic details of each other’s lives. Who knew how much else lay hidden within them?

Yoonjo watched her, seemingly fascinated by her pure, joyful laughter, and curled his lips into a smile. Seeing him smile like that, her heart trembled.

“I didn’t want to ask, thinking it’d trouble your grandma, but still… could you ask if she could make an extra lunch for me?”

“Hey!”

“If not, I’ll deal with it.”

At her glare, Yoonjo chuckled, clearly indicating how much he enjoyed the lunch.

“Kang Yoonjo!”

Suddenly, a cool female voice shattered their peaceful moment.