BYB 17

Chapter 17

Before leaving the house, Eunho sorted the trash. This time too, like last time, he bundled everything together—cans, plastic, food waste, general trash—without separating any of it, and tied it up tightly.

But at the trash disposal area, there was a warning notice that hadn’t been there before.

<To the bastard who throws out trash like a mess: I’m watching you. Dispose of it properly. —The Landlord>

“Who is it…? Who’s throwing it out like a mess?”

Looking down proudly at his own tightly tied trash bag, Eunho sneered at someone.

“What an idiot.”

In communal living, there are clear rules, aren’t there? Trash must be disposed of in the green, weight-based bags!

Eunho recalled the elderly man with his stern eyes. If he got caught, it didn’t seem like he’d let it slide.

“He’ll come to his senses once he’s embarrassed in public.”

Hmph.

Eunho tossed the trash bag and turned around triumphantly. The CCTV watched this scene, its red light blinking.

Jiwoo felt uncomfortable around the man.

Not only was he full of bravado, but his emotional swings were also severe. He’d approach kindly and smile, then suddenly turn cold as if nothing had happened.

She had no idea what tune to dance to.

The hand-holding from a few days ago was also strange. She’d searched for it, but there was no research anywhere saying that holding someone’s hand calmed them down when startled. Where had he misheard something to end up with such incorrect information?

She appreciated his effort to comfort her, but she wanted to tell him it was wrong information—yet since that day, there’d been no opportunity at all.

The shop was packed again today.

“Noona! One bottle of soju!”

As Jiwoo served the regular college students and turned around, the man’s gaze as he glared at her was icy cold. Well, more precisely, the man was glaring at the students who’d just been joking with Jiwoo.

She’d told him so many times not to look at customers like that, so why wouldn’t he change? With such terrible customer service, why on earth did he take this job? What employee in the world glares at customers!

What was even funnier was that he didn’t act that way toward everyone. And that was exactly what made Jiwoo angry.

Song Chunsam only acted that way toward male customers. Never toward the women who flirted with him!

More and more young female customers were coming to the shop. From college students to office workers, their occupations varied. A considerable number of them showed interest in Eunho. Asking for his number or if he had a girlfriend had become a daily occurrence.

She couldn’t quite hear what the man said in response, but loud laughter—hehe, hoho—always filled the hall. Every time Jiwoo heard that while cooking in the kitchen, she had to shiver with inexplicable irritation.

Why is he only prickly toward men? Try treating women the same way! I guess he likes getting attention from them, huh?

Stopping mid-table-cleaning, Jiwoo took petty revenge by secretly glaring at his back. But his broadly built back looked especially sexy, only making her heart feel faint for no reason.

I don’t like this.

It was late into the night. The hectic business day was over.

“Good work today, everyone.”

After tidying up and even turning off the signboard lights, Jiwoo spoke to the man first. But he only nodded slightly and turned away.

“Since Chunsam came, the number of customers has increased a lot.”

“……”

“Your serving skills are getting better and better. I was worried at first.”

Even though she held back her complaints and deliberately offered only praise, he remained expressionless. Was he ignoring her? She felt a little offended. Here she was holding back so much, and what did he have to be so dissatisfied about by himself?

“I’m always grateful.”

As expected, no reply.

Jiwoo fell silent for a moment. Then she thought perhaps the man was upset about the tteokbokki seasoning paste.

On the day they were supposed to make the paste a few days ago, an accident had occurred. A motorcycle had crashed into the convenience store entrance, damaging property. Cha Woncheol had been too busy dealing with the aftermath to come to the shop, and in the end, Jiwoo had made the paste alone on her day off.

Come to think of it, the man had been in a low mood ever since that day. He was someone who sang about tteokbokki, so he might have been disappointed to miss the chance to learn, but did the aftermath really have to drag on this long?

It’s not like we won’t make more paste when it runs out.

After organizing her thoughts and getting even more annoyed, Jiwoo called out decisively.

“Song Chunsam.”

Eunho turned around with an indifferent look.

“Why have you been ignoring me all day today?”

“…When did I.”

“All day. You’ve just been glaring.”

“……”

“Is it because of the tteokbokki? Because Dad didn’t teach you?”

Jiwoo pressed on, step by step, moving closer.

“There was an accident that day, there was nothing we could do. You have to understand that situation. It wasn’t intentional. Are you going to keep being so narrow-minded about it?”

Before she knew it, Jiwoo had come close and was standing right in front of Eunho. He looked at her with a stunned expression and sighed.

“Don’t provoke me.”

“You’re the one provoking, Chunsam?”

“Don’t come closer.”

Eunho even frowned and blocked in front of himself with his arm. Then he dropped his gaze, scanning every corner of Jiwoo’s face with a cold look. His expression was icy, but his eyes seemed to hold some inexplicable heat, and Jiwoo unconsciously tensed up a little.

Then he sighed and stepped back.

“You drive me crazy all day long, and now this, to the very end.”

“What did you say?”

“Forget it.”

As Eunho looked away coldly, Jiwoo was at a loss for words and grabbed his arm, letting out a hollow laugh.

“Hey. Why do you keep ignoring me?”

Slowly turning his gaze, the man looked down at Jiwoo’s hand.

“It’s not ignoring.”

“……”

“It’s patience.”

What is he talking about…

“What patience? Waiting for the tteokbokki? That was an accident, I told you—!”

“Accident?”

Suddenly, the man grabbed Jiwoo with his other arm and lightly spun her around. After a dizzying turn, Jiwoo found herself trapped between the wall and the man in an instant.

“What is this…!”

Jiwoo’s startled lips trembled.

Looking at those red lips with an incredulous gaze, Eunho muttered a curse under his breath. Then he dropped his head and let out a short, self-deprecating laugh. His eyes looked at Jiwoo again. A predator’s heat surged in his gaze.

“Cha Jiwoo, an accident is—”

His voice seemed to bind her—Jiwoo couldn’t move a muscle.

“—this is an accident.”

Jiwoo’s eyes trembled as if they might shatter at any moment.

In that instant, before she could respond, his lips covered hers. Something hot and strange touched her lips. Then something soft pushed deep between her parted lips.

Flustered, Jiwoo grabbed his arm. He placed his other hand on her nape, gently gripping it.

“Mmph.”

His tongue, entering without hesitation, licked inside her mouth. Swallowing whatever argument Jiwoo had been about to make, the man continued the sweet, dizzying kiss.

Roughly intertwined. Hot heat pooled, and goosebumps prickled along her nape.

With inexplicable excitement, Jiwoo trembled. The man, who so naturally dominated her senses, was almost frightening. He parted her lips and pushed in, gently melting her. The impossibly sweet sensation made her feel like her tongue was dissolving.

The breath lingering at the tip of her nose was overwhelmingly vivid.

…I need to push him away!

Her head knew it, but her body wouldn’t budge.

“Mmph, wa, wait a—”

The man explored her mouth rather roughly. As if unwilling to allow even a moment’s breath, he briefly pulled his lips away only to press them back immediately, pushing his breath into her.

Breath and saliva mingled indistinguishably. Murky heat enveloped them both.

On the verge of losing consciousness, Jiwoo’s eyelids fluttered. The man pulled his lips back briefly and whispered.

“You knew.”

“……”

“That I’ve been in this state all along.”

Heat surged instantly.

Could she shamelessly claim she hadn’t known? No, she couldn’t. Hadn’t there always been an inexplicable tension between them? Depending on the situation, it had tightened or loosened, but it had never completely disappeared—that prickling current now ran dizzyingly down her spine.

Unable to deny it, Jiwoo simply squeezed her eyes shut.

Soon, their lips met again. She was out of breath. Jiwoo let out a soft moan, gasping. She didn’t want to admit it, but her body was gradually heating up.

She couldn’t say anything. Her rational judgment had melted away.

Ah, I don’t know anymore.

In the end, Jiwoo placed her hand on the man’s shoulder. He let out a low laugh between their lips and delved deeper into Jiwoo. Their breaths mingled.

The humid sensation filled the space. Trembling and moaning, Jiwoo gathered her courage and opened her eyes—meeting the man’s gaze. His eyes, too, were filled with heat. The dizzying time flowed by hotly. After a long while, the man reluctantly pulled his lips away and raised his head.

As he wiped her swollen, messy lips with his thumb, he said lowly:

“I held back like crazy to avoid doing this.”

He muttered, disheartened. Then he gently pressed his lips to her flushed cheek.

“Why did I bother.”

“!”

“When it feels this good.”