Chapter 37

Paranoid Love Affair

Episode 37

“Uh? In front of my house?”

[Huh! Why? Don’t you want to come out?]

“… … I’m coming, wait a minute… …”

[Okay! Come out quickly~]

When I hung up the phone and checked the time, it was 2:00 in the morning.

Yoon-woo made a resolution in his heart.

Under normal conditions, she would not come to his house at this time, or even if she did, she would not call and summon him like this.

In particular, it was even more strange that Ji-eun noona, who was usually very considerate, would act like this.

Besides, the tone that stretched out from usual voice when she spoke slowly and gently… … It was clear that she was drunk.

In fact, Yoon-woo had never dealt with someone so drunk except for his father.

The way he dealt with his drunken father was simple.

He just lay in a corner of the room, pretending to be dead, so as not to be seen as much as possible.

The drunken father was like a wild carnivore. Running and rushing to attack anything that moves and makes noise… … However, he did not bother to touch Yoon-woo, who was lying still, holding his breath.

But his father and Ji-eun are different. Ji-eun was a person who had enough control over herself and was able to drink happily.

So, even if she becomes drunk, she will not wield violence or rant, like his father had.

And even if she hit him, it didn’t seem to matter.

How painful would it be if Ji-eun noona hit him?

And, being cursed is a familiar thing…

If Ji-eun makes such a mistake, on the contrary, he can pay off the debt for causing trouble to Ji-eun last time because of drunkenness, and his heart may be more comfortable.

Thinking so, Yoon-woo put on his coat haphazardly and ran down the stairs.

He opened the front door of the building’s entrance and found Ji-eun squatting alone on the stairs in front of the entrance, sipping beer.

In her other hand was a convenience store bag.

She looked so weak and pitiful while squatting since she was a small person to begin with.

It was a funny thought.

I feel sorry for Ji-eun noona? … …

How could I dare to feel compassion for the person who is so popular?

It is like sympathy from basic grade people for the third generation of chaebols.

“Noona… … . What are you doing here?”

“Uh? Yoon-woo! Hi! hehe… … .”

Ji-eun is not sane by any means right now.

The movement of turning to see Yoon-woo and the gesture of waving her hand to say hi were exaggerated than usual.

The gesture was so strong that while she was waving to Yoon-woo after putting the convenience store bag down on the ground, beer spilled out of a beer can from her opposite hand and fell to the ground.

I’m glad that her clothes didn’t get wet.

The light in the front door lit up Ji-eun’s face.

Ji-eun was a person whose face did not change colors even after drinking.

Even though the smell of alcohol is heightened like this, Ji-eun’s face is still white.

So her bloodshot eyes and reddened nose were more noticeable.

She looked like someone who had been crying for a long time. Also, even now, she looked like she was about to cry.

“Noona… … . What happened to you?”

“What happened? Well… … .”

“By the way… … Noona, did you come all the way here dressed like that? It’s pretty cold right now… … Are you okay?”

Ji-eun was like someone who had woken up from her sleep, but her bare feet were in slippers, and she was wearing shorts.

Although Yoon-woo had just come out of the blanket, he was wearing quite warm clothes. But, the passing autumn night wind on his cheek was quite cool.

Although he was more prone to cold than others, considering with the wind like this right now, it seemed that it would be difficult to endure this cold even for Ji-eun with her attire.

“I’m okay! I drank a lot! Drinking heats up your blood, right? So now one feet.. … . no, wait, it’s cold. What? Why am I wearing slippers? Do you know, Yoon-woo? Why am I wearing slippers?”

‘How would I know… …’

I guess she didn’t know it was cold as she was walking all the way to my house in a drunk state.

Now, sitting still on the cold stone steps and even drinking cold beer, there is no reason not to be cold.

“… … Noona, just cover this. I’ll bring some warm clothes again.”

“Uh, huh? Wait a minute… … .”

Yoon-woo put the coat he was wearing on Ji-eun’s lap, turned around and ran up the stairs without listening to Ji-eun’s words.

Whatever the purpose of Ji-eun’s visit, it seemed that it would be impossible to concentrate on Ji-eun’s speech without putting on a coat because it was cold.

But when he entered the room and opened the closet to take out his coat, Yoon-woo’s mind suddenly came to notice Ji-eun’s white bare feet.

I covered her knees with a coat, but it did not cover her feet.

Even now, her feet will still shiver.

With that thought in mind, Yoon-woo put his socks into his coat.

It would be nice to have a scarf or gloves, but unfortunately there were no special cold protection tools in his wardrobe.

“Hey, what if I suddenly jump into your house! I thought you weren’t coming back!”

“Sorry, because you look too cold right now… … .”

“Ah, huh… … Thanks for covering this up.”

“But aren’t your feet cold? You’re still barefoot… … .”

“Uh? It’s just… uh… . It’s okay! But, what is this? ”

“Noona, would you mind wearing my socks if it’s okay with you? The size is big, but I thought it would be cold, so I bought it.”

“Would you like to wear my socks?”

“Huh”

“… … .”

For some reason, Ji-eun did not answer and was staring at Yoon-woo.

Yoon-woo thought for a moment what the meaning of that gaze was, and then added.

“Oh, I don’t have an athlete’s foot. The socks were also washed and dried in the sun. Don’t worry about the smell… … .”

“Yoon-woo.”

“Huh?”

“Are you a fool?”

“Uh? uh… … .”

Yoon-woo has been criticized for various things in his life, but surprisingly, he has never heard criticism that he’s a fool.

He thought that the reason he had never heard was that the constituent elements of the word ‘fool’ had more intentions to express intimacy than feelings of criticism and contempt.

However, in this situation, Yoon-woo could not figure out why Ji-eun now calls Yoon-woo a fool.

Maybe it’s only because of drunkenness that she throws out words that have meanings without any meaning carelessly.

But, she should speak in moderation.

“That… … . Anyway, I think your legs are going to be cold because you’re barefoot… … . Even if it was just for a short time, I thought it would be better than not doing it, so I brought it with me… …”

“Trust me.”

“Huh?”

“What am I holding in my hands? You can just trust me.”

Saying that, Ji-eun deliberately picked up the convenience store bag that had been left on the ground before.

She held a convenience store bag full of beer cans in one hand and a full beer can in the other hand… …

Do I really need to argue with her here? ‘Can you just put it down for a while and wear this!?’

If you argue with a drunk person for only just a mere thing, you only get into fights.

So, it’s good to listen to everything in moderation and move on.

Had the mother realized that earlier, the furniture in the house would have been much less scratched.

“Okay.”

Yoon-woo faced Ji-eun and knelt down on the floor, holding her ankle to put the socks on.

From the touch, he can feel that Ji-eun’s feet were as cold as ice, hit by the night wind.

Touching the cold feet with his hand, Yoon-woo realized that he didn’t think about this matter deeply.

This is because the socks Yoon-woo brought were thin cotton socks, not heat socks or thick sleeping socks.

There were no thick socks in his wardrobe either.

There were only socks that exposed the ankles and socks that did not.

Can this warm Ji-eun noona’s feet?

Wouldn’t he have to go up again and get another sock and put it on about two layers?

But it didn’t seem to make much sense.

It was because Ji-eun’s feet were too small compared to his feet.

Will two layers of baggy socks warm her cold feet?

With that thought in mind, Yoon-woo took off the socks that were about half on Ji-eun’s feet again.

“Huh? What are you doing? Why are you taking it off again?”

“Hold on a second… … .”

In my opinion, good intentions shouldn’t be done with an impulsive gesture.

He wants Ji-eun not to shiver from the cold, not to put on a baggy, thin sock and show his condolences.

Then the act of putting his coat on Ji-eun’s lap, or the act of running up his stairs and opening his closet and putting socks on her legs, didn’t have any meanings.

Actions for the sake of others are very different from actions intended to be liked by others.

The latter act is sometimes wrapped in good intentions, and there is nothing inside.

There are insects that behave that way.

In order to mate, the male presents the female with food such as dead insects, but sometimes there is a clever male who presents a bundle of threads with nothing inside.

Yoon-woo had no reason to act like that.

It was because he had given up on the idea of ​​trying to be liked by others.

An act of good intention must be filled with good intentions to the very end.

Even if the packaging is clumsy and the other party is accusing him.

Therefore, Yoon-woo tried to choose the most effective way to warm Ji-eun’s feet.

Yoon-woo, who took off his socks from Ji-eun’s feet again, blew a breath into his two hands, and quickly rubbed his hands to heat them up with friction.

Then he wrapped his two hands around Ji-eun’s feet.

It was done with the thought that if he put on socks while her feet were warm, it would keep her warm for quite some time.

Ji-eun’s feet were so small that Yoon-woo seemed to be able to hold both of Ji-eun’s feet with one hand.

The warmth of Yoon-woo’s hands was transmitted to Ji-eun’s feet, and the coldness of her feet was transferred to Yoon-woo’s hands.

“Hey! Hey, hey! what are you doing… … ?”

“I’m sorry, but if you stay with your feet like this for a long time, you’ll catch a cold. Wait a minute… … ”

“Hey… … This… … This is… …”

I was nervous that Ji-eun would kick my face, but Ji-eun did not resist my hand and stood still.

I rubbed my hands and wrapped around Ji-eun’s feet. I repeated this action a few more times.

And when I thought that the cold had gone from her feet and become lukewarm, I put my socks on Ji-eun’s feet.

“What’s this… … .”

Seeing the baggy socks, Ji-eun wiggled her feet.

“But, aren’t your feet less cold now?”

“… … Yes, it’s warm. Thanks… … ”

Saying that, Ji-eun bowed her head.

Even after waiting for a few minutes, Yoon-woo opened his mouth first because Ji-eun did not want to talk about the main point.

“So,… … . Noona, what’s going on here? This time… … . You’re so drunk… … .”

“That’s… … As for why I’m here… … That’s right, I’m here to have a beer with you! Come on. Pick it up! What beer do you like? My recommendation is Edelweiss! Hurry up!”

As if Ji-eun just remembered it, she opened the convenience store bag and showed it to Yoon-woo.

Inside the bag were 7 cans of beer.

If you buy 4 cans together, you get a 10,000 won discount, so she would have bought 8 cans of what she’s drinking now.

“… … It’s past two in the morning.”

“Eh? Already? … … So, how are you? Let’s sit here, have a drink and go in!”

“Noona, don’t you have class tomorrow morning?”

“There is! There is… … But, it’s okay!”

“Which class? Can you even get up?”

“First class! It’s still good enough to skip!”

It may be okay to skip and it seemed that it would be difficult to enter the class in this state in the first period.

“Uh… … Let’s go to noona’s house.”

“You want to drink at my house? Hey, why are you going there?”

“Don’t drink anymore… Noona had a lot to drink for today. You should go to sleep.”

“… … What? Yoon-woo, do you not want to drink with me?”

“Uh? It’s not like that, it’s late… … ”

“What does that matter! You don’t want to drink with me, do you?”

“No way… …I’ve never had a drink with anyone other than noona… …”

“Oh, did you? That’s right. uh… …”

While eating lamb skewers with Ji-eun, obviously, Yoon-woo said that it was the first time he was drinking with someone, but Ji-eun couldn’t even remember that.

“Okay. So, now, get up and go home.”

“Okay.”

“Then will you gonna get up soon? Can you walk?”

“But… … Let’s have a beer together before we go!”

“Uhh… …”

Unlike Yoon-woo’s parents, her drunken Ji-eun has a strong aggressive disposition, but… … .

She was very quiet.

She was like a crying little child.

“No, you look really bad now. Let’s go back. I’ll go with you to the front of your house… … .”

The more drunk you are, the more you want to keep drinking.

On the wrong day of drinking, some people try to drink until they really die.

Ji-eun was in such a state today.

If he had followed Ji-eun’s advice and listened to the story while drinking a can of beer together, Ji-eun might have followed his advice and gone home.

However, he had no intention of sitting next to Ji-eun and drinking beer together.

Because he also wanted to get out of this situation quickly, and he had a greater desire to help Ji-eun.

The fact that a person who drinks so well has reached this point probably means that there is something wrong with Ji-eun’s mental or physical health.

He couldn’t get her to drink one more drink.

And considering the state of Ji-eun, it didn’t look like it would end with one cup.

So, in front of Yoon-woo’s room, Ji-eun and Yoon-woo’s quarrel continued for several more minutes.

Ji-eun continues to offer alcohol, and Yoon-woo offers to take her home… … .

However, Ji-eun was heartbroken at Yoon-woo’s continued refusal.

“Hey! Why do you hate it so much? Do you hate drinking with me so much? You don’t like me because I’m a kid?”

“Huh? What do you mean suddenly… … .”

“In the middle of the night, a senior woman came to your house after drinking alcohol, didn’t you have to drink with her at least? Do you just want to send me home quickly?”

“You’re drunk, so I’m going to send you home. I’m worried about my noona… …”

“I bought a beer like this to drink together… …If it wasn’t me but someone else… … . If it was Hyerim… … .”

After all, it seems that Ji-eun’s eyes were bloodshot from the moment she first contacted him because she was crying.

Tears quickly welled up in her big eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

It was too painful for me to dismiss this as simply a drunken tantrum and pass it on.

Whether she’s drunk or not, how dare I make someone like Ji-eun cry… … .

“No, what do you mean… … If it was Hyerim or anyone who came here drunk like this, of course, I would also have taken her home.”

“… …It’s a lie.”

“It’s the truth.”

“No, that’s a lie. Are you really going to send Hye-rim back even if she comes? Even if Hye-rim wears clothes that show off her body, and she gets drunk and comes up to Yoon-woo and asks you to have a drink?”

“She probably wouldn’t… … But, of course, if she does come, I also have to send her home.”

Hye-rim won’t do that.

Even so, if that happens, she must have been drinking to the point of going crazy, and she will have to go home sooner rather than later.

“But then, will you walk me to the front of the house?”

“I will. I had already told you that I would send my noona home carefully”

“But then what if I ask you to come in the house and leave after a while? Are you going to decline?”

“Yeah, it’s time to say no.”

“If not this time? What if earlier?”

“Why should I get in? Why do I have to get into a house where a drunken woman is alone… … .”

“What if Hye-rim insists on being very persistent? Pull your arm to come in, and then what?”

“… … Noona? What the hell are you trying to say?”

It was hard answering Ji-eun, who was talking with her tears dripping down… … .

Gradually, the story took a strange turn and cut the direction off from our start conversation.

I didn’t know what the hell Ji-eun was trying to say.

“If the… …If it wasn’t me who was here now, but Hye-rim… … . Would it have been different?”

“Nothing would have been different.”

“No, it would have been different.”

“Why do you keep… …Why do you think so?”

“Because Hyerim and I are completely different… … Don’t you think so too?”

“Uh? When did I… …”

“You did that during the day! Those earrings… …You said it only suits Hye-rim… … I don’t like it… …”

“Uh?! But, that doesn’t mean… … No, I didn’t say that with that meaning… …”

“But, that was roughly what it was! and… … . That’s right… … . I don’t like that… … . Hye-rim has a mature and sophisticated image, and I have a childlike image… … .”

I didn’t mean it like that at all, but Ji-eun seems to have accepted it that way.

If she had listened to me properly during the day, or if I had shared a few more words about earrings, she wouldn’t have thought like this… … .

Why did Ji-eun turn his words around in a hurry during the day?

How did she continue to laugh and talk while she accepted it as a wound to keep in her heart?

“Noona, that’s not it.”

“But I thought you would be different… …I thought you wouldn’t see me and Hye-rim much differently… … So… … As long as I work hard… … you will be… …”

“I don’t see much of a difference. Really.”

“Then why? Why did you say it doesn’t suit me? Why?”

My heart ached. The fact that such a person cares about my words, that because of those words, she is crying in front of my house in such a drunken state.

Although Yoon-woo has only one Hye-eun, he thought that there would be hundreds of people like Ji-eun who would keep her heart wounds from others.

That’s why I thought that a word that had been spoken from someone like me without thinking would not make a small scratch on her heart.

Ji-eun’s heart was full of fan letters, just like the mailbox of a popular celebrity, so he thought that the words from normal people like him would go to the spam mailbox unless it was about important things.

So Yoon-woo did not think that his words could have any small effect on Ji-eun.

But now Ji-eun was clearly crying because of Yoon-woo.

This was a serious mistake.

What happened to Yoon-woo who made Hye-rim, a 4th grader in elementary school, cry?

Everyone in the world takes the side of the popular people.

If anyone sees this scene, they will trample on Yoon-woo, who had scratched Ji-eun’s heart just like that time, and try to bury him.

But, in fact, whether or not someone else buried him or not, it was not a big deal for Yoon-woo.

Because Yoon-woo was already isolated and living like a lonely island.

It hurts his heart to be hated by others, but Yoon-woo was already hated enough.

So, even when he goes to mandatory liberal arts classes, he hears gossip and whispers from his classmates.

In the end, nothing really changes.

Rather than that, I wanted to somehow make Ji-eun not cry.

I wanted to appease Ji-eun and make her laugh and talk as usual again.

Ji-eun’s words that she had leftover beer cans in one hand, a convenience store bag in the other, and 7 beer cans in it, and bought them to eat with Yoon-woo made Ji-eun look so lonely and sad.

It was a really presumptuous idea to think about himself that way, but Yoon-woo… … . It was as if he had seen himself in such a way.

“Noona, absolutely not. It wasn’t that it didn’t suit you. What’s wrong with you, noona?”

“… … Sorry for crying. But, I don’t need you to comfort me. I’m sick of it. I expected to be by myself alone, and then I was disappointed by myself alone… … .”

“You know, actually, there is an earring that I was looking at ‘UST’ carefully, and I thought it would suit noona more… …That’s what I remembered, so that’s what I said.”

“A lie.”

“No, it’s true. Hye-rim and noona are equally attractive people. I heard from my classmates that noona is also very popular.”

“I am not. How is a dwarf like me bed the same as Hye-rim? And you aren’t even close with them , are you?”

“Uh… … Even if I’m not close, I just passed by and heard it. And I also thought that even though you look a little small, I think you’re really mature. You drink well and take care of everyone, and you are very considerate… …”

“Really? Then do you think I am attractive as an adult woman?”

“Of course.”

“How do I believe that? Aren’t you just making up stories to appease me?”

“Well… … How can I make you believe it?”

“Excuse me… …Then, if there is… … that… …”

“Huh.”

“Me too… … Can’t you give me earrings as a gift?”

“Uh? Earring?”

“No?”

“It’s not… … Didn’t noona hate things like that? I thought you didn’t like to decorate… …”

“Yeah, I hate it… … . I don’t do it because it doesn’t suit me.”

“No, I didn’t mean that. It will definitely suit noona.”

“Really? If it suits me, then… … If something like that is real, I want to try it too.”

“Okay. I will definitely give you a present.”

“When? When are you going to give it to me?”

“Maybe tomorrow… …”

“Tomorrow? really?!”

“Okay. I will.”

“Heh heh thank you! Then would you like a beer?”

“Noona… …”

And Ji-eun smiled and drank all the beer left in her can and threw the empty can away.

Not all of those conversations remained in her mind.

But she soon recalled those scenes.

This is because, in the eyes of Ji-eun, who got up to go to her bathroom, the evidence of the ugliness she had caused last night came into her eyes.

A large overcoat draped over her own body… … . And the baggy socks on her feet… … .

She saw it and remembered it.

That this is Yoon-woo’s room, and that she remembers the words she had said to Yoon-woo last night… …

‘Am I going to die… …’

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