# Chapter 103
I couldn’t stop smiling because I managed to achieve satisfactory results in the four-day final exams. Kwon Dojin watched me and smirked.
“What do you want to eat for lunch?”
“I want tteokbokki. With lots of cheese on top.”
“Okay, where should we order from?”
“The place we ordered from last time was good. Are they open now?”
I pressed close to Dojin’s side to look at his small phone screen together. It was a bit uncomfortable to look at the screen while walking, but we couldn’t just stop in the middle of the street, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Yeah, they’re open. Should we add cheese balls too?”
“Is that okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
I applauded as he added cheese balls without hesitation. I thought we might be ordering too much for just the two of us, but I justified it to myself, thinking that exams were over so this much was fine.
As we finished ordering, I no longer had a reason to look at the small screen and was about to move away from him when the black screen lit up, showing an uncomfortable name.
“…Ji Haecheon?”
“Why is he—”
Dojin seemed surprised by the unexpected name and clicked his tongue. Since I could only see the name and not the content, I poked his side out of curiosity, and Dojin unlocked his phone with a reluctant look.
[We need to talk.]
It was a brief message with only the essential content, but it still made me feel unpleasant.
“Since when were you and Ji Haecheon close enough to exchange messages?”
“I know, right? I don’t really want to talk to him.”
“Let’s ignore it then.”
“Should we?”
“While we’re at it, let’s block him too. That should be fine, right?”
“That’s— well…”
I raised my eyebrows at Dojin’s hesitation. Why was he hesitating about Ji Haecheon, who was just bullying innocent people because of his own insecurities? I wanted to grab his phone and block Ji Haecheon myself, but that would be rude, so I kept it as just a thought.
“Is it because of the rankings?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Dojin readily agreed, deleted the message, and put his phone away. He had ignored the message but still didn’t block him, which made me sigh softly.
“Ji Haecheon is the worst.”
“I agree.”
Maybe it was because he had a strong sense of responsibility, but if it were me, I would have blocked him regardless of rankings. Honestly, when it’s obvious that you dislike each other, wouldn’t it be fine to block him?
Anyway, it was Dojin’s decision, so I decided not to say anything more. He probably had his own reasons.
“But I’m curious why he sent a message and what he wanted to talk about.”
“Should I reply now, then?”
“No way!”
I quickly stopped Dojin as he picked up his phone as if he was about to reply right away. I was worried that talking to him might bring bad luck. Ji Haecheon was bad luck personified to me.
“The exams are over, so let’s ignore all that and have fun. We should also decide what to do when we go to the beach.”
“Is there something you want to do?”
“Hmm, rather than what I want to do, I don’t want to do a barbecue.”
The thought of playing hard and then preparing a barbecue made my head hurt. It might be fun in its own way, but since it’s just the two of us, when would we prepare everything and clean up?
“Okay. Then let’s not do that.”
“Is the beach far from the villa?”
“It takes about 10 minutes on foot. If you think that’s too far, there’s a swimming pool, so we could hang out there.”
I wondered how big this villa was, with the beach right in front and even a swimming pool. I decided to put my curiosity aside for now, since I would see it soon enough.
We excitedly talked about what to bring, how many days to stay, and other things we hadn’t decided yet. When we reached near Dojin’s house after walking briskly, Dojin suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.
“What, what’s going on?”
“Should we take a longer walk before going in?”
“Huh? Why? I’m hungry—”
I didn’t want to walk more because we had already walked a lot, and I was hungry since it was later than our usual lunch time. I tilted my head in confusion, not understanding why he would make such a suggestion when he must be feeling the same way.
“I just don’t want to go in yet. We’ve been stuck inside studying lately.”
“Then let’s at least drop off our bags first. They’re getting in the way and it’s uncomfortable.”
Since exams were over, I didn’t bring my study books, planning not to study today. But I wanted to put down my bag because my back was sweaty and uncomfortable.
“I’ll carry it for you.”
“Your house is right there— No, never mind. Okay, let’s do it your way.”
It was very strange, but I decided to go along with what Dojin wanted, figuring he must have a reason for insisting like this. When I stopped resisting, he whispered his thanks.
“In exchange, buy me ice cream.”
“Sure. I’ll buy you some.”
Dojin nodded without hesitation and gestured towards another direction. Just as I was about to walk in the direction he pointed, I heard the sound of running footsteps getting closer, and then Dojin pulled me into his arms and turned around.
“What—”
“Why don’t you fix that habit of carelessly sticking your arm out?”
My vision was blocked as he pressed the back of my head against his chest. In this unexpected situation, I couldn’t be sure of anything, but I vaguely guessed that Dojin’s sudden suggestion to take a walk was because of the person behind me.
“To think you’d cherish him this much. It seems you’re more serious than I thought.”
It’s Ji Haecheon. I wanted to sigh at the unmistakable voice, but I held back, afraid it would draw attention. As if in my place, Dojin sighed instead.
“What business is it of yours to come all the way here and act like this?”
“Weren’t you the one who ignored my message first?”
“Since when were we on texting terms?”
Both Ji Haecheon and Dojin spoke in lowered voices, showing their displeasure. They didn’t stop sniping at each other, so the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile.
As I quietly listened to their conversation occasionally accompanied by sneers, I almost let out a hollow laugh, wondering what they were doing. If they dislike each other this much, why meet at all? In this day and age, couldn’t they just not see each other?
“That’s why I came all the way here.”
Regardless of my doubts, Dojin and Ji Haecheon continued their serious conversation. In this situation, although it was somewhat embarrassing, I patted Dojin’s lower back because I felt suffocated.
“…What’s wrong?”
Dojin, reacting a beat late, lowered his head. Since I had just lifted my face with my chin resting on his chest, our eyes met.
“It’s stifling. Could you loosen your arms a bit?”
Before I even finished speaking, Dojin relaxed his arms and moved them down to wrap around my waist. At his very natural transition, I glanced at his hand on my side.
Should I remove it, or leave it? But if I remove it, I’d have to leave Dojin’s arms, right? And then I’d have to face Ji Haecheon.
I made a quick calculation and decided. I’ll just stay like this. There’s nothing good about seeing Ji Haecheon’s face, so why leave Dojin’s arms? I might fall backwards in anger if I have to face him directly.
“Really— Nothing has changed.”
“Whether I change or not, it’s none of your business, is it?”
Seeing signs that the conversation was about to drag on again, I patted Dojin’s waist once more to cut it short. Dojin stopped his sarcastic remarks and clicked his tongue.
“More importantly, why did you come all the way here? If you have something to say, say it quickly and go.”
I nodded quickly, delighted because that was exactly what I wanted to say. Then Dojin burst out laughing, which seemed out of place for the situation, making me raise my eyebrows.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Hmm, it’s nothing.”
I was quite displeased with his lukewarm smile, but there wasn’t much I could do, so I pushed his chest firmly with the top of my head. Despite this show of dissatisfaction, he didn’t stop smiling.
“What is the point of all this—”
Ji Haecheon sighed as if defeated. When I turned my head to look behind, I saw him pushing his hair back. I couldn’t look for long because my neck started to hurt, but I could see annoyance and skepticism in Ji Haecheon’s face.
“That’s what I should be asking. What are you doing showing up out of nowhere?”
Dojin matched Ji Haecheon’s irritation without backing down. It hadn’t even been 10 seconds since he’d shown me a smile, but his attitude changed quickly.
“I was trying to bring you good news, but with this attitude…”
“As if anything from you could be good news. Besides, how could I trust anything that comes out of your mouth?”
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you. Anyway, no one will be bothering Lee Habin for a while.”
With those cryptic words, Ji Haecheon turned sharply and disappeared. I was dumbfounded that we had wasted so much time on pointless arguments when the matter could have been resolved so quickly.
“What is this—”
Dojin frowned and touched his forehead as if he had a headache. Since Ji Haecheon had left, I figured it was fine to leave Dojin’s embrace now, so I did and patted his shoulder.
By the way, what did he mean no one would be bothering me?
“It’s been at least a week since anyone bothered me, so why the late notice?”
“…I don’t think that’s what he meant.”
“Then what?”
“He probably means he’s gotten rid of even those who were testing the waters. Whether we can trust him is another matter.”
Dojin sighed again and smiled faintly at me. Complex emotions were visible in that smile, but I decided to pretend not to notice. It seemed like he hadn’t sorted things out yet, and there was no need to pry.
“Then how long exactly is ‘for a while’?”
“That’s probably up to him too— I don’t like how we seem to be at Ji Haecheon’s mercy.”
It’s always harder to protect something than to destroy it. There are that many more constraints. Being the one under protection, instead of adding my thoughts, I tugged at the hand of Dojin, whose expression was not good.
“Let’s go eat tteokbokki.”
“…Shall we?”
“Yeah. It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
Only when I pulled his hand again did he start to move. I deliberately showed a bright smile to Dojin, who was looking at me with lingering discomfort.
Since exams were over and it was a good day, I wanted to enjoy today to the fullest.
Making Ji Haecheon eat dog food? Keep up the good work!