CH 293

Piiik, pik!

I went to the living room while stroking the whining Fox’s hair.

I took the cell phone that Kim Woo-jin had dropped into the living room and asked Cheon Sa-yeon, who was following me.

“Kim Woo-jin’s room, is it the same as the one you specified?”

“It’s the same.”

“What happened?”

Min Ah-rin, who heard Fox’s cry, approached with a puzzled expression. Next to him was Elohim.

Piik, Fox fled over Elohim’s shoulder, avoiding Cheon Sa-yeon next to me.

“Did you see where Kim Woo-jin went?”

“Woo-jin-ssi? I don’t know? It looks like he was around before, but he disappeared.”

“That red-haired kid is in the room.”

Elohim, who could read the thoughts of those nearby, answered instead. After a brief pause, Elohim asked.

“Do you want me to tell what he is thinking?”

“…no.”

Because the situation was so complicated, I was very tempted by the offer. But it wasn’t polite to Kim Woo-jin, so I politely refused.

“Do you really need to visit him?”

“Do you ask that knowing you made that trouble?”

“Master, did you make a trouble?”

Despite my criticism, Cheon Sa-yeon still showed an attitude that it wasn’t a big deal.

“It would be like pouring oil into the fire if you go there now.”

“I agree with that, Se-hyun-ah.”

“No way. There must be a strange misunderstanding and we need to resolve it with talking it out.”

“A strange misunderstanding?”

Min Ah-rin, who stood in the middle and listened to our conversation, tilted her head.

Oh man. I said too much unncessarily. I clicked my tongue inward and turned as much as I could to explain.

“It’s nothing. I just had a brief conversation with Master Cheon Sa-yeon in the garden…”

“It was a good date.”

“Be quiet. We talked for a while, um, Kim Woo-jin saw that and misunderstood.”

“What kind of misunderstanding did he have?”

“……”

“Yi-gyeol-ssi?”

Having no way of answering, I instinctively avoided Min Ah-rin’s gaze. Cheon Sa-yeon, who was watching me and Min Ah-rin with his smiling face, intervened.

“Kim Woo-jin saw me and Talented Han Yi-gyeol having a skinship.”

“Whaaat?”

“This crazy guy, why are you saying that?”

“Shouldn’t you be honest about bringing up this story?”

Min Ah-rin, astonished at the same time as me, quickly regained her consciousness and covered her mouth with her hands.

“That, then, Master and Yi-gyeol-ssi are… da, dat…”

“We’re not dating.”

“While you’re dating…”

“We’re not on a date.”

I knew it would be like this. As I shook my head resolutely with a sigh, Min Ah-rin fell into even more confusion.

“Why do you have skinship when you’re not in a relationship…?”

That’s what I’m also curious about.

“I’m trying hard to seduce him, but he’s not falling for it. It seems I have become more feisty.”

“That’s also Se-hyunie’s charm.”

“Stop making fun of me, you two.”

Cheon Sa-yeon and Elohim were the same at times like this. Ignoring the two standing side by side, I added an explanation to Min Ah-rin.

“I didn’t do anything good… Anyway, Kim Woo-jin misunderstood and I need to clear it up. I’m sure he had been surprised.”

It must have been very embarrasing to have seen the scene where men kissed each other in front of your nose. In particular, Kim Woo-jin would be more shocked because he was pure in this way.

The thought of holding on to Kim Woo-jin and giving an explanation made me already stuffy.

“Aha.”

Min Ah-rin, who had a rough understanding of the situation, blinked her eyes as if contemplating and said.

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to give Woo-jin-ssi a little time?”

“Pardon?”

“As expected, Healer Min Ah-rin has the same opinion as me.”

“No, why?”

Min Ah-rin, who looked at me and Cheon Sa-yeon alternately with a perplexed look, answered cautiously.

“Of course, we need to clear up any misunderstandings. But I think Woo-jin-ssi needs time to calm down. Why don’t you visit him after two hours?”

“Ah…”

Time to calm down.

Looking back, I was only thinking of resolving the misunderstanding with Kim Woo-jin, but I didn’t give any consideration to Kim Woo-jin’s situation, who was shocked.

Thanks to Min Ah-rin, I realized my mistake and nodded my head awkwardly.

“Min Ah-rin-ssi is right. I was impatient. I will come to him in about two hours, return his cell phone, and talk.”

“Yes. I think that would be better.”

When Min Ah-rin and I became in a friendly atmosphere, Cheon Sa-yeon made a sad expression on his face.

“I said the same thing first. You’re so cold-hearted.”

“How is it the same?”

“Even if it’s the same thing, didn’t it sound so different?”

Elohim spoke for me. Fox sitting on Elohim’s shoulder and watching us fluttered his tail and gave a pitiful look.

* * *

Two hours later, holding Kim Woo-jin’s cell phone and standing in front of the door, I swallowed dry saliva.

It was good to give Kim Woo-jin time, but the tension increased because I had all sorts of miscellaneous thoughts while I waited that long.

When I knocked on the tightly closed door, it opened very slightly. Kim Woo-jin looked at me through the gap in the door that was about the span of a hand.

“Hello, Kim Woojin.”

“……”

Kim Woo-jin hesitated when I greeted him with a smile to make it look as harmless as possible. Because the lights in the room were turned off, Kim Woo-jin’s face which could be seen through the crack in the door was also very dark.

‘It’s like a stray cat hiding in the alley.’

I held out Kim Woo-jin’s cell phone as he only looked at me and didn’t open the door easily.

“Here. You dropped this before.”

“……”

“Let’s talk.”

Then the door opened a little more. All the lights in the room were turned off except for the small lamp on the nightstand.

It was dark so I couldn’t see his face, but Kim Woo-jin looked comfortable, so he didn’t have to turn it on.

“Why did you turn off the light? Wanna go to bed early?”

“Just…”

When I asked while returning his cell phone, Kim Woo-jin answered with a mumble while avoiding eye contact.

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence followed in the end.

I have to say that the appearance of Cheon Sa-yeon and myself he saw in the garden earlier was a misunderstanding… but I couldn’t figure out how to get the word out. As I stood without a word, Kim Woo-jin also kept his mouth shut.

‘It’s difficult.’

Looking at the unusual atmosphere felt by Kim Woo-jin, he must have misunderstood very firmly.

I can’t. Let’s explain whether it was already porridge or rice. It was a time when I was just trying to explain with a feeling of desperation.

“…are you dating?”

“What?”

Kim Woo-jin, who opened his mouth before me, asked again with a trembling voice.

“Are you dating Master?”

“I’m not.”

“B, but…”

Kim Woo-jin couldn’t finish his words and bowed his head.

I could tell without listening to the backstory. Like Min Ah-rin, we’re not dating, but he must be wondering why we were kissing.

“It’s nothing. What you saw… that… Cheon Sa-yeon did it in his own way.”

“Did it in his own way?”

“Ung.”

Taking a step closer to Kim Woo-jin, I slowly reached out and grabbed his arm.  Fortunately, he didn’t shake off or dodge.

“It’s a misunderstanding. But really, we’re not.”

“What about Roheon Deputy Master?”

“Oh?”

“Roheon Deputy Master, are you dating that person?”

I was greatly puzzled by the unexpected question.

Why was Ha Tae-heon suddenly coming out here? Did he even notice Ha Tae-heon’s feelings?

“We’re not dating. I’m not dating anyone.”

Even if I gave a firm answer, Kim Woo-jin avoided my gaze until the end.

“You felt bad… watching the scene like that between men, right? Sorry. It will never happen again.”

Kim Woo-jin, who heard my apology, finally lifted his head. Kim Woo-jin, who faced me closely, distorted the corner of his eyes.

“I never felt bad about it. How can I… feel bad?”

“Kim Woo-jin.”

“I… It’s not like that…”

Kim Woo-jin, who continued to stutter with an upset look, covered his face with his hand. Tightening the whole body, I bit my lip with a pale complexion.

“…I’m sorry to make you feel uncomfortable.”

After hesitating for a long time, Kim Woo-jin finally gave up on something and shrugged his shoulders. Then he pulled the corners of his mouth up and smiled.

“I was a little surprised that I left then. I’ve never felt bad about you.”

“……”

Kim Woo-jin gently pulled out the arm that was caught by me. It was the first time he smiled like this.

‘You’re lying…’

I wanted to know why was he lying and why he was so sad, but I couldn’t open my mouth easily. A smile filled with sad emotions was engraved in my chest painfully.

“When you’re done talking, I want to take a break, is that okay?”

“…yeah. I got it.”

Kim Woo-jin announced the end of the conversation to me, who was worried because I didn’t know how to react.

Although the misunderstanding was resolved as desired, the situation was much more bleak than before. I couldn’t figure out why Kim Woo-jin was having a hard time and Kim Woo-jin didn’t seem to want to explain it to me.

“Good night, Han Yi-gyeol.”

Kim Woo-jin greeted me, who hesitated in front of the door, unable to leave the room. I struggled with what more to say to Kim Woo-jin, but I was blown away by that greeting.

Eventually, I was kicked out of the room after trying nothing and exhaled exhaustedly. Min Ah-rin, who was waiting in the living room, came straight up and whispered.

“What’s wrong? It didn’t go well?”

“No, the misunderstanding has been cleared up…”

I brushed the nape of my neck and told Min Ah-rin honestly, who had a worried expression on her face.

“It seems that there are other problems. But I don’t know what it is right now.”

“Um…”

Min Ah-rin with a sad smile patted my back.

“Woo-jin-ssi must have many thoughts. If you wait a few days, he will calm down and talk to you.”

“I hope so.”

It doesn’t matter how long I have to wait. It was Kim Woo-jin’s heart and thoughts, it would be most important for the concerned person to organize it.

However, the strange feeling didn’t go away and it still remained in the corner of my heart. It was said that human relationships were complex and unconditional consideration didn’t lead to good results. Is it really okay to leave it like this?

However, after finishing the conversation, I came out of the room, but I didn’t have the courage to go back and ask Kim Woo-jin more. I turned around and looked at Kim Woo-jin’s tightly closed door as I was worried.

‘Okay, let’s not be hasty.’

As Min Ah-rin said, there’s time, so let’s wait first. Having made that decision, I moved away from Kim Woo-jin’s room.