Chapter 16.7

“Everyone he’s dated has been an adult and sexy in style. You’re… if I were honest, what is this? Modest… is this a style? Soft and manly and someone who does things not all people do, isn’t that special?”

‘Because I’m not hyung’s lover,’ Sang Woo muttered to himself.

But because of that, Sang Woo was confident of turning his mind around. They were physically connected. Sang Woo was well aware that Jae Young would get an erection just by kissing him. He’d seen and learned on the internet, but there were some skills that he hadn’t used yet. But even if he tried to turn him around…

“It doesn’t mean anything. It will end anyway.”

The end was decided from the beginning. He just fell into lust and stupidly didn’t prepare at all.

The tip of Yu Na’s eyebrows drooped down. With a look reminiscent of a sullen dog, she said, “I know that feeling…”

“…”

“But you still have some time. In the meantime, go date him and don’t let go. That way, you won’t regret it. I ended up in a really bad place in similar situations for hanging on and fighting.”

Yu Na sighed as if she were upset. Sang Woo thought she was a funny person. It wasn’t her business in the first place.

“Has Jang Jae Young been doing well these days? How is he?”

“It’s the worst.”

“You can’t reach him, huh? He doesn’t answer the phone because he’s drinking, gets caught in the wind, he dives underwater when he’s tired over the weekend, and he only comes to you when he needs a quick answer, right?”

Not necessarily, but diving was worse than that. Yu Na frowned and crossed her arms when she saw Sang Woo’s expression.

“I get all pissed off. You’re ignoring me because everything I said was right. Seriously, I just can’t deal with you…” she grumbled, but then unexpectedly came up with something, “I have a good idea. Hold on a second…”

She took off Sang Woo’s hat and threw it on the desk.

“What are you doing?”

“Stay still. Noona will take care of it.”

She searched Jae Young’s drawer with an air of excitement and pulled out a round tin the size of her palm. She opened it, sniffed it, and brought it to Sang Woo.

“Will you put it on my hair?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I don’t like it. Go away.”

“You said you wanted to look good. Then you have to try.”

“Wait a minute.”

Sang Woo tried to defend himself, but Yu Na was so strong. He gave up as soon as she rushed in and waxed his hair. She hummed and smoothed his hair as he sat still in desperation.

“Your eyebrows are handsome”

“Eyebrows are eyebrows, how can they be handsome?”

“What are they doing being covered with a hat for hundreds of days…?” she mumbled to herself and brought a square tin to his seat.

With a rattling sound, she pulled out something that looked like a tiny toothbrush from inside and tried to poke his eyes. When Sang Woo inadvertently avoided her, she placed her hand at the back of his head and pulled his face back.

“Are you a child? Hold still for a minute.”

“Isn’t that a knife?”

“Shh. Shut up.”

The metal touched the tips of his eyebrows. It moved little by little with a rustling sound, and then it touched the opposite eyebrow. Yu Na had a serious expression as if she was doing something extremely important. Sang Woo didn’t breathe fearing an accident.

“Oh… I think I chose the wrong major.”

Yu Na took a hand mirror from her square bag and put it in Sang Woo’s hand, turned around and began to search the box in the corner of the room. Watching her take out her clutter, Sang Woo lifted the mirror and looked in it.

‘I don’t know what’s changed.’

He looked closely, but couldn’t realize the difference except that his forehead was slightly exposed. While doing so, Yu Na threw a pair of shoes in his direction. They were brown with no laces.

“How many shoes do you wear? See if this would fit you.”

“It’s not mine.”

“Just wear it.”

Sang Woo had no choice but to take off his black sneakers, put them neatly under his desk, and insert his foot in the shoe. It was a little off the top, but the size was just right. Yu Na took out a lip balm from Jae Young’s drawer and applied it to his lips, nagging him why his lips chapped when it was almost summer. Then, she ordered him to stand up.

As he stood up feeling like a fool, Yu Na crossed her arms and looked at him from head to toe. She squatted down and folded the hem of his trousers to expose his ankles a bit.

“Okay. You’d be perfect with just one accessory…”

Then she ran back to her seat, opened the drawer, and came back with various necklaces and rings among countless odds and ends.

“I don’t do that.”

“Look at this. Isn’t it cool?”

Sang Woo frowned at the skull-shaped pendant. Yu Na saw his expression and threw the rest on the desk, leaving only a silver bracelet without decorations. She took his electronic watch off Sang Woo’s wrist, threw it into his backpack, and hung the bracelet on the spot. Then she nodded.

“Jang Jae Young, his blood will boil and rise upside down.”

Yu Na took her cell phone out of her pocket, with her screen seemingly broken and having no plans to repair it, and took some pictures. Click, click. Sang Woo stood with his arms crossed and looked at her.

“I did everything you told me to do. Now explain what you’ve done to me.”

“It’s a strategy… What did you say earlier? Anyway, it’s a great strategic policy, Sangchu.”

“What?”

“Is there a law that people like us should only suffer? You can fight back. From now on, where are you going to kill time? After dinner, go to Yeonseok-dong around 8:00 PM. If you go to any bar and drink, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Why should I drink in Yeonseok-dong?”

“Because there are many great bars there? Do as I say. When Jang Jae Young calls you, drop twice and then pick up and tell him, ‘I’m here to refresh myself because you weren’t sure about me’. Then, I’m going to go find you, make a fuss about where you are. It’s a 99% proven strategy.”

“What’s the margin of error?”

“Don’t ask me anything weird.”

Sang Woo blinked with a puzzled look. If he drank in a certain area, he could see Jae Young. Yu Na only talked about the methods and results of her strategy, but didn’t explain how it worked.

“If I do that, will hyung come?”

“It’s 95%.”

“You said 99% earlier. Why did it suddenly go down?”

Yu Na looked annoyed. But it was an important issue for Sang Woo.

“What if… what if he doesn’t come because he’s sick of me?”

Yu Na’s expression varied over a span of seconds. And this time again, her dramatically changing expression gave him a strange feeling. She had a terrible look of tears, but quickly straightened her face and laughed.

“Then find a pretty noona or handsome hyung there and ask them to buy you a drink. Jang Jae Young, throw him away.”

Sang Woo nodded and sat down. Amidst a black screen in power saving mode, he made awkward eye contact with a boy wearing a V-neck t-shirt.

Yu Na had to go and then slapped Sang Woo on the back.

“Cheer up, Sangchu. Dating is a dirty thing.”

“It’s not dating.”

“And remember to drop the phone only twice. He’s scary when he’s angry. Then, I’ll get going.”

“Thank you for your help. Good luck with your interview.”

Yu Na smiled and silently left the practice room with a lot of luggage. After the door closed, Sang Woo took a deep breath and turned on the bus app.

“Great strategic policy.”

He drew up a route and checked the plan in his head.

Work until 18:00. Eat in a restaurant. Drop by the house, leave his bag, brush his teeth. Get on the bus at 19:20, and arrive at Yeonseok-dong at 19:56. Ignore his calls only twice – answer at the third call. Jang Jae Young didn’t give him any certainty, so here he was to refresh himself. And wait.

It wasn’t a very reliable guide, but it couldn’t be helped. When you fall into the water, you have no choice but to grab even just a straw.

return 0;

The app clearly said it would take 36 minutes, but the arrival was delayed due to traffic with an accident on the street. Additionally, he looked at his phone too often today and kept the GPS function and map app on, so the battery consumption was more than twice as usual.

Yu Na called him when his anxiety was growing. Sang Woo picked up right away.

“Hello.”

– Where are you? Are you ready?

“I’m still on a bus. I don’t think I can arrive by 8:00 PM. What should I do?”

– It doesn’t matter because I haven’t contacted him yet. Shall we postpone it to 9:00 PM?

“Yes. I’ll be there by then.”

– Got it! I’m hanging up.

“Wait a minute.”

– Why?

“What’s the probability of success now?”

– It’s 100%. Just remember what I said.

“All right. I’ll hang up.”

Sang Woo hung up and breathed heavily. There were too many people in the bus and the air was hot. He was standing as he gripped the handle, he stared at the red dot of the slow-moving map app, but this time he got a call from Jae Young.

“…”

The operation hasn’t even started yet, so what is this? Did Yu Na betray him? Sang Woo held his cell phone tightly and did nothing. The phone call from Jae Young continued for a long time, and after it was cut off, it immediately rang again. Sang Woo remained motionless in case he accidentally answered the phone by mistake.