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chapter 37
“What the… seriously, so annoying!”
Left alone, Kayla huffed and glared at the rigid figure in front of her.
Then, she heard a voice.
“Kayla, why are you here?”
Turning her head, she saw Jayden standing there, holding a convenience store bag, looking puzzled.
“What, were you with the girl next door?”
“We had dinner together.”
Realizing that the girl had lied to her, Kayla let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“That girl’s really something else.”
“Why, what happened?”
“You were with my brother, but pretended you didn’t meet him?”
“It wasn’t on purpose.”
Jayden tried to defend her, and that only made Kayla angrier.
The brother who had always been on her side now seemed to take that girl’s side.
“What’s so good about her? Seeing her lie makes her suspicious. Really weird. Don’t see her again.”
“Kayla, I told you before. Whoever I meet isn’t your business.”
“There are plenty of women your age, so why her? She’s older, and her personality isn’t great. Go meet someone else.”
As Kayla poured out her words, her voice trembling with anger, Jayden looked at her quietly and spoke sincerely.
“My heart… only reacts to her.”
Kayla’s jaw dropped.
“No way… Bro, you’re seriously crazy.”
“So don’t be rude to her. I’m asking you.”
That made Kayla even more upset.
“I’d rather you just focused on work like before. Getting all distracted by a girl is terrible!”
“Kayla!”
Turning sharply in anger, Kayla wiped the tears rising in her eyes with the back of her hand.
After finishing the meeting and sketching with the newly arrived fabrics, the morning passed quickly. In the afternoon, she draped the samples on the mannequin for a fitting, adjusted the patterns, and sent them back to the sewing team. At that moment, she received a call from Dohyun, who was on a business trip in Hong Kong.
The trip was originally supposed to be handled by Assistant Manager Yoon Il-young. However, during the last meeting, Chairman Kwon Jin-man was impressed by Dohyun’s work and urgently changed the personnel.
Before departing, Dohyun had hesitated, feeling awkward about taking over the task from Yoon and worried about leaving his younger sister alone.
Recalling this, Yeon-ha quietly left the design office with her phone in hand and headed toward the emergency exit. After making sure no one was around, she pressed the call button.
“Hello?”
[Can you talk now?]
“Yes, it’s okay.”
[Sorry, but could I ask you for a favor?]
Her urgent tone made Yeon-ha tense.
[Kayla is at the police station. Can you go in her place?]
“What? Did something happen to my sister?”
[She apparently beat up a man who tried to pickpocket her wallet.]
“…What?”
Here’s what happened:
While taking the subway near the Dongdaemun market, Kayla noticed something suspicious, turned her head, and locked eyes with the pickpocket targeting her bag. She kicked him down. A bystander saw the scene and called the police, who arrived and took both of them to the station.
Yeon-ha told Manager Jin Myung-hee that there was an urgent matter at home and rushed to the police station.
When she parked and entered the station, Kayla was sitting with her arms crossed, and next to her was a young man with a bruised face crouched on the floor.
“Who are you here with?”
“Hello. I’m Kayla Rush’s guardian.”
Hearing her name, Kayla turned sharply, and upon seeing Yeon-ha, her pupils wavered slightly before she looked away.
“May I see your ID?”
Yeon-ha handed over her ID and explained that she was Kayla’s close younger sister.
The police verified her identity, explained the situation, and advised that confronting pickpockets directly is dangerous, so she should be careful next time.
On the drive back to the officetel, an awkward silence hung in the car.
Yeon-ha couldn’t even bring herself to ask if Kayla was okay, remembering their argument in front of the convenience store a few days ago. Kayla also didn’t seem welcoming.
As they drove quietly, Kayla suddenly spoke.
“Thank you.”
Surprised, Yeon-ha turned to her. Kayla continued, looking out the window.
“Honestly… I didn’t think you’d come.”
“Why not?”
“You don’t have good feelings toward me.”
Kayla shrugged.
“Why do you think that?”
“You told me to break up with my brother. And I behaved rudely too.”
“You understand?”
Yeon-ha said playfully, and Kayla pouted.
Suppressing a laugh, Yeon-ha continued calmly.
“I think what you said is something a younger sister can definitely say. Though I don’t necessarily approve of interfering.”
“Then… why do you meet my brother? Even if you don’t like him.”
“I do like him.”
Kayla narrowed her eyes at his firm answer.
“Are you serious?”
“I don’t lie about things like this.”
“So you like him, but not enough to date him?”
Yeon-ha quietly looked at the wheel before speaking.
“I can’t explain in detail… I’m just a bit scared.”
It was true that he had feelings for her beyond mere fondness. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even started the current relationship.
However, he was afraid of going further.
He didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes as with his ex-fiancée, and above all, he was afraid of getting hurt again. He couldn’t fully explain his feelings, but he wanted to be honest with Kayla.
Kayla stayed quiet for a while before speaking softly.
“My brother is the most precious person in the world to me. So… don’t hurt him.”
Her eyes shone with childlike sincerity.
A while later, the two got off the elevator and stood in front of their respective homes.
“Thanks again.”
“Want to have dinner together?”
“With me?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Uh… sure.”
Though surprised by the invitation, Kayla didn’t seem opposed to it.
“Wash up first.”
After parting with Kayla and returning home, Yeon-ha took a quick shower, then took a raw chicken out of the fridge.
After washing the chicken under running water, she boiled it in a pot, soaked glass noodles, and prepared carrots and potatoes.
Just as the braised chicken was almost done, the doorbell rang.
Setting the side dishes on the table, Yeon-ha went to the door. Kayla, looking freshly washed and radiant, stood there.
“Come in.”
Kayla entered awkwardly, sniffing the delicious aroma filling the house.
“Wow. What’s that smell?”
“I made braised chicken. Have you had it before?”
“No, but it smells amazing.”
Yeon-ha led the excited Kayla to the dining table.
“I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”
Seeing the dish, Kayla continuously admired it. Yeon-ha served her a plate with chicken and vegetables.
Kayla clumsily picked up some chicken with her chopsticks and took a bite, her eyes widening.
“Mmm. Wow! It’s really delicious!”
“That’s good. You must be hungry, so eat plenty.”
Having skipped lunch due to the pickpocket incident, Kayla devoured the braised chicken.
Yeon-ha began to understand the saying that just seeing kids eat is enough to satisfy someone.
Worried that it might be awkward to be alone together, Yeon-ha found that Kayla was relaxed and chatted freely about school and friends. Time flew by, and it was almost regretful to part.
Kayla seemed the same, lingering even after the meal ended.
Although unspoken, Yeon-ha was concerned about Kayla sleeping alone in a strange city without Dohyun. She cautiously spoke up.
“Kayla, if it’s okay, would you like to stay over tonight?”
