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Chapter 4
‘Excuse me, if you’re going to fight, could you at least take three steps back? I’m freezing, and I really just want to go home…’
Her silent plea went unanswered. Neither of them moved. The girl’s voice broke again, thick with tears.
“Did you ever even love me?”
The man gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“Love? After a few months of dating?”
“I regret it so much. I should never have confessed.”
“I never asked you to date me.”
“What?”
“You knew what I was from the start. What, did you expect to be different somehow?”
He looked like another person entirely now—cold, unflinching, merciless. The chill in his voice made Ha-joo hunch even smaller into herself, as if the winter wind had pierced her bones.
“Far as I know, everyone—including you—already knows I’m trash.”
“You… bastard.”
She wiped her tears with a furious swipe.
And then—his gaze shifted.
He was staring straight into the alley. Straight at her.
From the start, he’d known she was there, half-hidden in the shadows under the dim streetlight. He looked at her steadily, without saying a word.
Ha-joo dropped her eyes, wishing herself invisible. At last, he turned back to the girl.
“Go inside. You’ll freeze to death.”
“Don’t pretend you care.”
“I don’t. I’m saying I’m freezing to death.”
The offhanded reply earned him a glare sharp enough to cut.
“…Trash.”
“Mm.”
“Narcissist.”
“Sure.”
“Emotionless sociopath.”
“That too.”
“Bastard.”
“Right.”
His calm, almost bored answers only fueled her rage. Her teeth ground audibly before she spat out one final word:
“Impotent.”
He blinked.
“What?”
“You heard me. Useless. Can’t even perform.”
“…Kim Soo-hee, maybe not the best time. There’s someone listening.”
“Oh, please. Everyone already says it. Guess the rumors were true after all.”
For the first time, his composure cracked—he actually looked offended. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a sharp sigh.
“…Fine. Whatever. You’re right about everything. Happy now?”
“Pretending otherwise won’t change reality.”
“Yeah, sure. So if that’s everything, I’m done here.”
He lifted his hand in a mocking little wave, smiling as if nothing had touched him.
Slap!
The sound echoed down the alley. Soo-hee’s palm had struck his cheek hard.
“You bastard, Jeong Tae-heon!”
He didn’t flinch. He simply stared down at her with eyes like frozen steel.
“Do you enjoy deceiving people like this? If you were going to act this way, you never should’ve accepted me in the first place!”
She raised her hand again, ready to strike—
But thwack—his hand shot up, catching her wrist midair. The grip was unyielding, his strength locking her arm in place.
“Classes start tomorrow.”
Her breath hitched.
“One slap, fine. But a bruise right before the semester begins? That I can’t afford.”
Her hand went limp. Only then did he release her.
“That temper—you’ll need to fix it, no matter who you date.”
He turned on his heel, walking away without looking back.
“Hh… hic…”
Left behind, Soo-hee crumpled at the alley’s mouth, sobbing into the cold night.
Ha-joo slipped past quietly, giving her space, and hurried back into the café.
“God, I almost froze to death.”
Inside, she noticed the empty cup sitting neatly on the counter. He must’ve left it before stepping out. His Americano was drained to the last drop, but the vanilla latte in front of Soo-hee had barely been touched—cold, untouched, almost new.
After cleaning the table where they’d sat, Ha-joo finished the last of her chores and switched off the lights. She locked the door and stepped outside, tilting her head upward just as the first white flakes fell. Snow, fine as grains of sand, drifted down through the dark.
And still, the scene replayed in her mind: the girl raging, the man unmoved. Especially the way he’d looked down at Soo-hee after being slapped—eyes detached, distant, as though standing in another world entirely.
The snow looked as though it might turn to rain soon, so she pulled her coat tighter and quickened her steps toward home.
March. Spring, at least on the calendar, though the air was still bitterly cold.
At last, Ha-joo knew his name.
Jeong Tae-heon.
