DPLO Chapter 6

My staring gaze met Kang Euihyun’s eyes in mid air. After pausing for a moment, the man slid his hand over to gently cup my cheek. His thumb traced a circle around my cheekbone, lingering as if he intended to leave his fingerprint behind.

“Why did you throw up?”

Kang Euihyun asked. The medical cause was that I had eaten sundae gukbap too quickly, but the fundamental reason was that my stomach had turned at the sight of him with another woman.

“Because I was upset.”

I didn’t beat around the bush and laid my feelings bare.

“My stomach flips every time you’re with Jeong Sujin.”

Kang Euihyun immediately dropped the hand that had been stroking my cheek. Just as I was about to sharpen my gaze, forgetting that I had been relaxing my facial muscles to draw sympathy, the man’s hand moved toward the bag of medicine.

Kang Euihyun first took out the digestive medicine in a bottle. The aluminum lid opened with a crisp sound in his hand. Supported by him, I stood up and gulped down the liquid, which had a subtle, carbonated taste.

“It tastes bad.”

At my childish complaining, a light, scoffing laugh escaped Kang Euihyun.

“Medicine is supposed to taste bad.”

He took out the medications that heavily filled the plastic bag and lined them up on my bedside as if displaying them. Instead of looking at me, he turned his back indifferently, checking only the names of the medicines.

“Take one of these after eating. Along with this medicine. Next time you have acute indigestion, don’t force yourself to throw up; take this first.”

I let Kang Euihyun’s explanations go in one ear and out the other, resting my chin on his shoulder. Even without touching, I could feel his neck stiffen. His stubborn posture, staring rigidly at the medicine boxes, revealed a firm resolve, as if he wouldn’t give me a single inch of leeway.

Does he hate me that much? I pouted as I looked down at the dosage instructions written in tiny letters alongside Kang Euihyun. He used to carry me on his back so often when we were kids. Even up until last year, he would stay by my side until I fell asleep.

“Are you mad at me for something?”

In this position, where it felt like I was hugging him from behind, I could clearly see the straight bridge of Kang Euihyun’s nose, and his deep colored lips, which didn’t seem to need lip balm.

“Why would I be mad at you?”

See. I knew he would say that.

“Right now, anyone can see you’re making it painfully obvious that you hate me.”

Kang Euihyun shifted his posture to look at me directly. Because of that, my chin naturally slid off his shoulder.

“There’s no reason for me to hate you. I spoke with Dokyeom on the way here, and he said he’ll be stopping by the house soon, so…”

“I get it. Stop it already.”

Kang Euihyun must have found the question I asked uncomfortable. So, he sneakily brought up Yoo Dokyeom as a topic of conversation to inflict the same discomfort on me. When I thought about my older brother, who ignores all of his sibling’s texts but answers a single call from his best friend immediately, my mood didn’t just hit rock bottom, it plummeted even further.

“I’m going to sleep now. Thanks for the medicine.”

After making Kang Euihyun come and go, I irresponsibly flopped onto the bed. In my heart, I wanted to pull the covers over my head and turn away, but the desire to keep the guest in my sight until the end was stronger.

As I looked up with wide awake eyes, Kang Euihyun placed his hand over my forehead as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His warm palm slid down, covering my eyes like a blindfold. It was his way of telling me to close my eyes and sleep.

Though my vision was blocked, I could clearly feel his gaze looking down at my face. I wondered how I looked right now, but since I wanted to keep Kang Euihyun here as long as possible, I lay still without stirring. I tried my best not to let even a single eyelash flutter.

Kang Euihyun waited until I let out the steady sound of breathing. Being in a shallow sleep, I noticed the moment he lifted himself off the bed. I perceived every detail: the slight movement of the mattress and the sensation of his presence drifting away.

Only after I caught the faint sound of the elevator arriving beyond the firmly closed front door did I lift my eyelids. In the spot where Kang Euihyun had been sitting, my mother had now taken his place, with her back turned to me.

It wasn’t surprising. But there was something I was curious about. So, even as I pulled up the blanket against the chilly temperature emanating from right beside me, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

“Where were you?”

It had been a very long time since I had spoken to my mother. Since she was someone I could never truly communicate with in the first place, asking this question now was a futile act.

“Where did you go that you’re only coming back now?”

While Kang Euihyun was visiting, there had been no trace of my mother. Even if I were in my room and she were in the living room, her presence should have constantly flowed into the room. Yet, while I was whining and clinging to Kang Euihyun, my mother had vanished as if she weren’t even in the house.

That was a first. Even when Kang Euihyun stayed overnight for my sake because I was scared, my mother always lingered outside my bedroom door. For some reason, today she had hidden herself perfectly and only approached me after the guest had left.

“Did you step aside for a bit? Worried I’d see something unsightly?”

I intentionally acted bold. However, my mother didn’t answer and simply remained sitting beside me. I stared at the woman’s bobbed hair, which hadn’t grown for three years, before turning my back to lie down.

I hadn’t taken any sedative, but my head felt heavy. So heavy that I just wanted to sleep, regardless of whether my mother was beside me or not. I raised my hand to cover my eyes, just as Kang Euihyun had done.

***

Han Jio came all the way to the Management Building. In front of my close classmates, he handed me a handful of trendy cookies and energy drinks and left without saying much, as if that were his only purpose.

“Math major? Wow, I thought he was a PE student.”

“He looks cute. How old is he?”

“Where did you meet? A blind date?”

Since it looked to anyone like a boyfriend taking care of his girlfriend, whispers began to swarm.

“Then what about Euihyun hyung?”

That was when a name that grated on my nerves popped up. Baek Jungyung was grinning.

“Did you give up?”

“Who’s giving up?”

I asked indifferently while distributing cookies and chocolates to my classmates. Who would I be doing a favor for by giving up? Jeong Sujin would probably like it. Perhaps Kang Euihyun himself would feel relieved to shake off a leech, but in any case, I had absolutely no intention of doing something kind that would only benefit people other than myself.

“I mean, if things are going well with that guy, shouldn’t one side naturally give up?”

Baek Jungyung raised his voice as if asking something obvious.

“If you’re going to keep obsessing over Euihyun hyung, why accept these cookies? You should have rejected them from the start.”

But Han Jio couldn’t be a replacement for Kang Euihyun. He could be bait, though. I could hang Han Jio at the end of a fishing line and dangle him before the eyes of Kang Euihyun, who was swimming leisurely underwater, to draw his attention. Han Jio’s utility ended exactly there.

“I’m casting my vote for the math major. They say a woman’s life is easier when she meets someone who likes her.”

“True. That guy’s face is pretty decent too.”

“Doesn’t it seem like he’d date you immediately if you asked? Chaewon, you should change your mind a bit.”

A handsome face, tall stature, ample wealth, and a personality that was kind to everyone. Kang Euihyun possessed all the conditions to be a celebrity anywhere, anytime. Thus, it was only a natural progression that my feelings, following him around since freshman year, became widely known.

Seeing me persistently push forward without being intimidated by Kang Euihyun’s indifferent reactions, people easily gossiped. They believed that because I didn’t seem hurt by Kang Euihyun, I wouldn’t be shaken by their mediocre advice. They gave me one or two pieces of unsolicited guidance, viewing me as pathetic to boost their own self esteem.

And just as they thought, I wasn’t shaken by that level of chatter. My heart had long since been weighed down by a heavy anchor. If I were to lose my balance to such trivialities, I wouldn’t have nurtured this devotion for a lifetime. Of course, there were times when I felt so annoyed my stomach turned.

“I guess you guys just don’t understand.”

I smiled brightly, looking around at my classmates who were munching on cookies.

“Kang Euihyun is a risky asset, and that math major is a safe asset.”

A beat later, as my classmates grasped the meaning of my words, their expressions gradually soured. I must seem obnoxious for talking about assets when it comes to human hearts. However, the only person I needed to worry about was Kang Euihyun, and he wouldn’t even scoff at a comment like this.

“Instead of coaching me on dating, you guys should go study.”

Fed up with my bluntness, the students shook their heads and returned to their respective seats. But one person still burned with the will to engage in a final showdown with me.

“I heard Euihyun hyung got a girlfriend, too.”