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Chapter 14
Seo-hee stared blankly at Woo-hyuk’s outstretched hand.
She hadn’t expected to get Jin Woo-hyuk’s contact information this easily.
Maybe she could get close to him faster than she thought.
“If you feel uneasy because I seem like a strange guy…”
Maybe it was because she hadn’t taken the slip of paper he held out—
Woo-hyuk, unusually, added an awkward clarification.
“No.”
At Seo-hee’s brief answer, a flicker of confusion crossed Woo-hyuk’s face.
She hadn’t meant it as a rejection, but he seemed to have misunderstood.
The one who needed this relationship to progress was Seo-hee.
There was no reason to refuse.
Quickly, she reached out and took what he offered.
“I’ll contact you.”
Even though it wasn’t some exchange born of mutual attraction,
a faintly awkward current passed between them.
Jin Woo-hyuk was famous for being the man who could make the hearts of all the women in the business department—no, the entire Korea University—flutter.
If it were the old Seo-hee, she might have been swayed by him.
But not now.
Now her heart was too consumed by thoughts of revenge.
She gave him a small nod in farewell and turned away,
holding tightly to the book that would serve as her excuse to stay in contact with him.
“…Your name.”
Woo-hyuk’s voice stopped her steps.
“I don’t think I caught your name.”
“It’s Seo-hee. Han Seo-hee.”
She replied calmly, glancing back just slightly.
After she disappeared without hesitation, Woo-hyuk remained there for a moment.
“Han Seo-hee.”
He rolled the name over on his tongue.
They weren’t complete strangers.
Was it in a marketing class?
He remembered Hyun-woo once making a fuss during a group project—
saying one of their younger teammates was surprisingly impressive.
He thought he’d seen her yesterday, too, in the reading room.
Even as a senior close to graduation, he had never really been interested in women.
And even now, that hadn’t changed.
She wasn’t dazzling, but she was a beauty—someone you couldn’t help but notice.
He didn’t feel romantic curiosity, and yet…
why did his eyes keep drifting toward her?
Telling himself so what if they do,
Woo-hyuk let out a hollow laugh and turned his gaze away—
a laugh that seemed to mock his own foolishness.
Just thinking about getting through life without his father’s help was already enough to make his head spin.
Though he majored in business, Woo-hyuk also had a knack for computer programming.
He was busy taking minor courses and doing freelance work for professors.
He had no room to waste attention elsewhere.
“Let’s just study.”
He muttered to himself as he moved between the shelves,
searching for the next book on his list.
Meanwhile, Seo-hee stepped out of the reference room,
glancing down at the paper in her hand—
the words Jin Woo-hyuk neatly written above eleven digits.
The clean handwriting reminded her of him.
It had been easier than she’d expected to reach him.
Now it was time for the next step.
The first part had been lucky,
but building a real connection and talking business with him would not be easy.
She’d heard that plenty of female students had already confessed to him.
Lee Soo, especially, had made a fuss about it—
saying someone like her could easily make Jin Woo-hyuk fall.
And yet, the man she’d ended up choosing was Park Jae-min.
Thinking about how that turned out, Seo-hee couldn’t help but think
Lee Soo’s taste in men was pathetic—
or maybe her inferiority complex had blinded her so much
that she couldn’t tell mud from gold,
just desperate to beat Seo-hee at something.
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter anymore.
Now, Seo-hee only wanted to make Lee Soo feel that same inferiority—
properly this time.
Holding her book tightly, Seo-hee headed back toward the reading room.
Sitting at her reserved seat, she began flipping through her book.
The content wasn’t difficult; she had studied it before.
Before she died, she had even—if only in name—served as an executive,
directly involved in management.
The more she read, the more impressed she was.
He really is amazing.
She realized once again how capable Woo-hyuk was.
If only Lee Soo hadn’t dismissed him so curtly,
his project could have helped Shinseong Telecom soar to new heights.
There would’ve been no reason for it to be handed away so meaninglessly.
Not this time, she told herself,
rolling her stiff neck to ease the tension.
Just then, her gaze accidentally met Woo-hyuk’s.
She hadn’t even noticed he’d come in.
Caught off guard, Seo-hee simply lowered her head slightly in greeting.
He nodded back in return.
But as soon as she looked back at her book,
something caught her eye—a suspicious movement
at a nearby desk.
Huh?
Had the person sitting there changed?
She was sure it had been a girl earlier—
not that man in black.
And he didn’t seem to be with anyone.
The longer she watched, the stranger it seemed.
The man calmly opened a bag on the desk, pretending nothing was wrong.
And what came out wasn’t a surprise—
a small wallet that clearly belonged to a woman.
I really don’t want to get involved…
That’s what she thought—
but her body was already moving.
Seo-hee walked over, posture straight.
Sensing her presence, the man quickly closed the bag.
Though startled, his face remained unnervingly calm.
Tap, tap—she knocked lightly on the desk.
The man looked up.
“Yes? What is it?”
Her voice was quiet, but firm.
“Are you the one sitting here?”
“Yes.”
His answer came smoothly, even confidently.
And then, exaggeratedly, he nodded toward her—
as if trying to draw attention elsewhere.
“You do know this is a library, right?
You’re being disruptive. I can’t concentrate.”
Even as she asked him to move, Seo-hee didn’t back away.
She had expected him to leave to avoid a scene,
but he stayed still, silent.
Finally, he darted an anxious glance over her shoulder.
Worried the real owner will come back, huh?
“I said move. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
The man raised his voice, trying to make her look like the problem.
Maybe it was because she remembered what had happened with Lee Soo and Jae-min—
maybe she just couldn’t stand seeing someone else being taken advantage of.
Seo-hee’s lips parted.
“What’s your relationship with the person who sits here?”
“What’s it to you?”
“I saw a girl sitting here alone earlier.”
“…”
“You opened her bag and took her wallet. You expect me not to be suspicious?”
“She—she’s my girlfriend, okay? Who said the seat was empty?”
“We can just check with her then, can’t we?”
The man, realizing he was cornered, bolted to his feet—then ran.
Crash!
But he didn’t get far.
He stumbled and fell flat on the floor.
Seo-hee’s eyes followed him—
and then she saw the long leg that had extended from beyond the desk.
Jin Woo-hyuk.
So he’s the one who tripped him.
Before she could process what was happening,
a voice called out to her.
“Excuse me…?”
Between the murmuring crowd and curious onlookers,
Seo-hee turned to see a familiar face—
the bag’s real owner, the woman whose wallet had been stolen.
“Do you know that man?”
Seo-hee pointed at the guy still sprawled on the floor.
“He said you were his girlfriend.”
“What? Girlfriend?”
Judging from her bewildered frown,
that was clearly not the case.
“Let’s call the police.”
“The police? Could you explain what’s going on first?”
The woman wanted to understand the situation,
but Seo-hee could see the crowd growing around them.
The reading room was already filled with murmurs—
it wouldn’t get resolved like this.
“Let’s step outside and talk.”
As she reached for her phone to report it,
Woo-hyuk beat her to it.
“Hello, thank you for your hard work.
This is the Korea University Library, second floor reading room.
We’ve caught a pickpocket—please send someone right away.”
The police arrived quickly,
and the situation was soon under control.
Seo-hee, Woo-hyuk, and the woman all went together to the nearby station.
It turned out the man wasn’t a first-time offender.
He’d been sneaking into the library using stolen student IDs
and stealing wallets from unattended bags in the same way for some time.
No one had suspected it—
after all, who would expect theft in a university library?
After giving their statements,
the three of them stepped out of the station together.
“Thank you so much.
I almost lost my wallet.”
The woman smiled gratefully at Woo-hyuk,
her face still flushed with adrenaline.
Seo-hee thought little of it—
it wasn’t like he’d done it for the attention,
and girls reacting that way to him was nothing new.
Woo-hyuk, however, didn’t seem pleased.
“You should thank her, not me.”
“…Sorry?”
“If it weren’t for Han Seo-hee,
you wouldn’t have gotten your wallet back.”
“…?”
“All I did was stick out my leg when the guy tried to run.
She’s the one who noticed him in the first place.”
His clear, decisive words drew a sharp line—
and then his gaze naturally shifted toward Seo-hee.
