TBE 18

chapter 18

Yeongwon silently held out the keyring to Yoon-ah.
Up close, it looked even more like her—with its brown hair.
Only then did he feel a little of his irritation ease.

Yoon-ah blinked.

“…You’re giving this to me?”

“…What would I even use it for?”

“But still…”

“As long as you had fun, that’s enough.”

Did she actually enjoy it?
She couldn’t tell, but Yoon-ah accepted the keyring for now.
Wrapped in shiny plastic, the rabbit looked up at her with its small black eyes.
Even the white heart on its belly was so cute that a smile spread across Yoon-ah’s lips.

“…Thank you, Yeongwon. I’ll treasure it forever.”

“…Yeah.”

Yeongwon, faced with the gentle curve of her smiling eyes, simply turned away.
The back of his neck felt hot.

A few days later, after class ended, Yeongwon was packing his bag when Yoon-ah came over.
She slipped through the crowd of noisy sophomores, and he hurriedly shoved his things into his backpack.
By the time she reached his side, Yeongwon had already slung the bag over one shoulder.

“There are too many people here. Why’d you come in?”

“I wanted to give you this quickly. You said you had back-to-back classes after this.”

With a bright smile, Yoon-ah handed him a small paper shopping bag.
He took it, puzzled.

“…What’s this?”

“It’s citron syrup I couldn’t give you at the housewarming, and a towel to replace the one you lost because of me. I bought good ones. It’s also a thank-you for the keyring you won for me. I wasn’t sure what else you’d like.”

Mentioning that day suddenly made her feel like she could see the inside of Yeongwon’s sweatshirt again.
She quickly averted her gaze and fidgeted with the rabbit keyring on her tote bag instead.
The fluffy fur gave her a strange sense of calm whenever she touched it.

“…”

Yeongwon was just as embarrassed.
He dropped his gaze sharply, away from Yoon-ah’s upper body, and pulled out the towel box inside the bag.

The logo on the outside looked familiar.
After some thought, he remembered seeing it at his older sister’s place.

She was the type to flaunt her natural wealth without shame.
If she used it, it had to be quite high-end.

“…Isn’t this too much?”

“…What?”

Yoon-ah, flustered that a college student would recognize the brand, quickly pushed his hand back with both of hers.

“No, it’s fine! You even let me use your house. It must’ve smelled like food all day afterward… Just take it. Besides, you spent… eighty thousand won on that keyring…”

“…”

Looking at how the rabbit’s fur had fluffed up again after being stroked so much over the past few days, Yeongwon thought maybe that eighty thousand won wasn’t wasted.
More than anything, he liked that it would keep hanging from her bag.

In the end, he decided to accept her gift.

“…Thanks. I’ll use it well.”

“Yes! Then, good luck with the rest of your classes, Yeongwon.”

With a bright smile, Yoon-ah bowed lightly and hurried off.
Watching the brown rabbit dangle from her cream-colored tote bag, Yeongwon couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Just then, someone approached him.

“What did you get as a gift, Yeongwon sunbae? Can I see?”

It was a girl who’d been hovering around since the first day of classes.
He couldn’t even remember her name.
Yeongwon’s expression instantly hardened as he moved away.

“Busy.”

But the girl followed.
Practically running to match his pace, she kept asking questions.

“I overheard—you had a housewarming with Yoon-ah? Did you move?”

“…”

“What was that about the keyring? It was really cute. Next time you meet Yoon-ah, take me along. I want to get close to her too—”

Hearing her repeat “Yoon-ah this, Yoon-ah that” with obvious ulterior motives made irritation boil up inside him.
He stopped walking and spoke.

“Stop.”

“…What?”

At that curt word, the girl froze.
Yeongwon looked down at her with a flat gaze.

“You’re annoying.”

“…”

She flinched, but Yeongwon simply walked off without another glance.

Left behind, her fists clenched tightly.
She was still staring at his retreating back when someone called out.

“Min-hee, aren’t you coming?”

Wiping the dark look from her face, Min-hee turned around.
A group of female classmates was waiting.

“The organizer of the group blind date said you have to come. They’ve already seen your Instagram and are going crazy, asking if you’re an idol.”

“Oh, come on, that’s embarrassing. You guys are all pretty too.”

Twisting her body slightly, Min-hee smiled demurely and tapped her friend’s shoulder.
Then she asked:

“By the way, do any of you know that freshman Yoon-ah?”

“She’s famous. Of course we know who she is. Why?”

“I want to get close to her, but I don’t know how.”

“Don’t you feel anything? I don’t know how much of the rumors are true, but… she feels kind of distant.”

“Really? I thought she seemed nice.”

“You really are the spoiled youngest child who grew up showered with love.”

When one girl said that, the others laughed and agreed.
Smiling sweetly, Min-hee glanced toward the spot where Yeongwon had disappeared.

“See you tomorrow, boss!”

The new part-timer, a girl the same age as Yoon-ah, bowed politely before leaving.
She was diligent and competent, so Yoon-ah could probably trust her to handle closing, but as the owner, she couldn’t completely skip out on work.
She always stayed later than the staff to finish small tasks.

After flipping the sign to “Closed,” the first thing she did was head to the storeroom for her bag.
Because of the keyring Yeongwon had given her.

Collapsing into a chair, she stroked the brown rabbit.

“A rest for the heart…”

Closing her eyes, she let the soft fur soothe her.
Balancing school and running a café was no easy task.

Her stamina had never been good, and lately it felt like her life was being shaved away day by day.
Lifting her heavy eyelids again, she propped her chin on the table and stared at the rabbit, tickling the white heart on its belly.

“Should I give you a name?”

Maybe then it would feel more like they were living together.

The truth was, Yoon-ah had always been lonely.
Her foster brother was rarely home, and her foster mother—having worked hard jobs since youth—was in poor health and couldn’t play with little Yoon-ah.

At the age when she most needed a mother’s love, she wanted someone to play with her every day, but most days that wish was denied.

There were no kids her age nearby.
She sometimes visited other women in the village or the chief’s house, but she always had to come home by evening.
And then, the crushing loneliness returned.

That, she thought, was why she’d so easily fallen for her ex-husband’s passionate attention.
She had always been starved for love.

Running her fingers along the edge of the rabbit’s heart, she mused aloud:

“Hmm. How do you feel? You’ve got a heart right there.”

Of course, the stuffed animal didn’t answer.
But somehow, its small round plastic eyes looked as if they liked her.
Giggling, Yoon-ah got up.

After locking the door, she was pulling down the blinds when she sensed movement.
She looked up just as someone knocked on the glass.

“….”

Her face instantly went cold.
It was her ex-husband, Lee Seong-hee.
He glanced around, then looked straight at her.

“What are you doing? Open up, before someone sees.”

He frowned, and the moment Yoon-ah unlocked the bolt and latch, he pushed the door open and barged inside.

“Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“…Did you call me?”

“I’ve called and texted you several times.”

Scowling at her as she straightened up, Seong-hee reeked of his usual strong, expensive cologne.

That was when Yoon-ah remembered—she had blocked his number.
She always did that until the agreed meeting date.
Which meant today wasn’t one of those “appointed days.”

So why was he here?