DPLO Chapter 9

Despite the sharp edge to his words, Kang Euihyun wore a faint smile. Looking only at his expression, he seemed like a truly kind person.

“If you’re going to eat pizza, you should go out and eat it. Why are you doing this here and making things uncomfortable?”

Kang Euihyun’s conversation shifted toward me once again.

“Giving your home address to just anyone. Don’t you watch the news these days?”

His last remark was clearly directed at Han Jio. Instantly demoted to ‘just anyone’ and a criminal suspect, Han Jio gulped down his cola.

“I’m not some weirdo. It makes me feel quite bad that you’re misunderstanding me like that.”

Han Jio didn’t touch the pizza anymore. I was the only one left chewing. Not knowing what might come out of my mouth if I didn’t keep it blocked with pizza, I simply focused on eating diligently.

It was only natural for Kang Euihyun to sharpen his edge and scrutinize any man who showed interest in me. What Han Jio was experiencing now didn’t even qualify as a pressure interview. Back in high school, there was a college student working a grading part time job at the academy I attended who had been excessively kind to me; Kang Euihyun had thrown far harsher words at that man.

I knew well that Kang Euihyun did this to protect me. However, today, for some reason, a desire to rebel stirred within me, to the point where I wanted to openly take Han Jio’s side in front of Kang Euihyun.

The cause was likely Kang Euihyun’s recent love life. Since he went around meeting every woman he wanted to meet, it was only natural that I felt annoyed when he tried to control me eating a meal with a man.

The only reason I was holding back and not being sarcastic while eating my pizza was that, having already had a huge fight with Yoo Dokyeom, I couldn’t let things go sour between me and Kang Euihyun as well.

“Isn’t it the same for you, dangerously drifting in and out of a woman’s house?”

Han Jio didn’t shrink under the psychological pressure Kang Euihyun was exerting and fired back.

“I’m different.”

Kang Euihyun smiled thinly and tore open a packet of wet wipes.

“I’ve known her since before she was even potty trained.”

He pressed a wet wipe into my hand. It was a signal to stop eating. Knowing well that I would get indigestion if he let me keep eating like this, he stepped in at the appropriate moment.

I wiped my hands clean as Kang Euihyun told me to and rinsed my mouth with cola. When I glanced back at Han Jio, the man’s gaze was dropped toward the half remaining pizza. He looked so drained that I wanted to say something to him.

But what was there to say? To tell him not to mind what Kang Euihyun said? That this person was just like a real older brother? It was all a lie anyway.

“It’s already midnight.”

Kang Euihyun checked his wristwatch and stood up.

“You should head out now. I’ll see her inside.”

Then, he neatly folded the blanket covering my lap and personally handed it back to Han Jio. Having lost his characteristic smile, Han Jio looked up at Kang Euihyun with a stiff, uncomfortable expression.

Being perceptive, Han Jio knew that we wouldn’t move until he left first. He roughly stuffed the pizza box into a bag and stood up. He glanced at me, but no greeting escaped his lips. He simply turned his back and crossed the apartment complex.

Watching Han Jio’s receding figure, I thought that from tomorrow onward, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t contact me. If a close older brother crushed his pride like this and he still pushed his way toward me, he would be an idiot, not a human being.

I didn’t feel sorry for Han Jio. How pure was my intention in calling him just because I didn’t want to be alone? If I were going to feel sorry over something this small, I wouldn’t have used him as bait for Kang Euihyun in the first place.

However, I was annoyed at Kang Euihyun for ending the meeting as he pleased. I had long forgotten the thrill I felt upon discovering a man running around searching for me. I simply enjoyed making him anxious; I didn’t want to be treated like a reckless child.

In the past, I believed that Kang Euihyun’s meticulous attention to every detail was his way of taking care of me. But after seeing Jeong Sujin by his side, I realized I had been gravely mistaken. What I truly desired was to be treated as an adult woman, like Jeong Sujin, who remained an adult with a sensitive palate even when ordering a kids’ pork cutlet at a soup restaurant.

“Were you always this thoughtless?”

As we walked toward Building 207, Kang Euihyun’s reprimands began.

“How long has it been since you knew him, and you invite him to your house this late? It’s practically a house where you live alone; what if something happens?”

“Then why didn’t you contact me before Han Jio did, Oppa?”

I replied indifferently without looking back at Kang Euihyun.

“You knew Yoo Dokyeom stopped by the house today. Isn’t it obvious what would happen? You knew everything, so you could have called me earlier to comfort me. Why are you lecturing me?”

Perhaps he was speechless, as no rebuttal came from beside me. I walked quickly past him and reached the common entrance. Whenever we parted here, I always hoped he would follow me inside, but not today. In my heart, I wanted to scream at him to stop caring about me and go see Jeong Sujin. Of course, if that actually happened, I would probably soak my pillow with tears.

As I was about to enter after punching in the passcode, Kang Euihyun grabbed my wrist. My stomach churned at the warmth of his touch. How cool would I look if I shook off this hand and just walked in? But for me, that was impossible.

“If you’re going to meet just any man like this, you should have gone to Baekyoung Women’s University.”

I had fought bitterly with Kang Euihyun before applying to college. I only applied to Sangheon University, where Kang Euihyun attended. I had no intention of applying anywhere else. Because if he wasn’t there, it meant nothing. I had been reckless enough to say I’d rather retake the entrance exam if I failed to get into Sangheon.

But Kang Euihyun spent days holding onto me and persuading me to apply to Baekyoung Women’s University. It wasn’t a mere recommendation; it was a strong demand. He even added a threat that if I continued to be stubborn, I shouldn’t think about seeing his face again. I wasn’t the only one acting as if there was only one university in the world.

In the end, I applied to both Sangheon and Baekyoung, got accepted to both, and naturally chose the former.

“Do you like that university that much?”

I shook my arm to break free from Kang Euihyun’s grip.

“Is that why you’re seeing Jeong Sujin?”

Kang Euihyun’s expression became blank. He seemed completely unable to understand why that name suddenly popped up. After blinking for a long while, he seemed to recall that Jeong Sujin was a student at Baekyoung Women’s University.

“I don’t date based on the prestige of a university.”

“Then why are you suddenly talking about Baekyoung Women’s University in front of me, while I’m attending my own university?”

“If you had gone there, guys like Han Jio would…”

Kang Euihyun stopped mid sentence and shut his mouth. A resident coming out from inside glanced at us as we blocked the path and argued, then passed by. He snapped back to his senses a beat later.

“You did well not to call him right in front of the house.”

Kang Euihyun also seemed to intend to end the fight at this point, as his voice calmed down.

“Still, be careful when you go home for the time being. Keep an eye on your surroundings, and if anything feels off, call me immediately.”

Han Jio would feel so wronged if he heard this. I was the one who asked him to eat pizza, and I was the one who set the location in front of the house, yet he was already a prime suspect.

“What did Dokyeom say?”

Only now did the purpose of Kang Euihyun’s visit tonight come out.

“He told me not to pester him through you.”

As I recited Yoo Dokyeom’s blunt words, the sorrow I had been suppressing tried to peek its head out. I steadied my expression by staring at someone else’s mailbox.

“He also said we’re all grown up, so let’s just live our own lives.”

“Ha, this brat, seriously.”

Kang Euihyun looked down at his phone as if he were about to call right then and there. The sharpness in his eyes, which had briefly intensified, softened immediately as he looked back at me.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

A sense of helplessness weighed down my shoulders once again. The problem was Yoo Dokyeom, yet I had to get through this depressing night by receiving an apology from someone else instead, all while knowing that the tenderness Kang Euihyun was showing me now wasn’t entirely for me.

“You know it’s not something you need to apologize for, Oppa.”

It was fine to be as gloomy as I wanted as long as I was alone, as long as I had enough discernment not to direct the arrows of blame at the wrong place.

“Forget about Yoo Dokyeom. Whether he comes home or not. We only need to meet on the anniversary.”

I entered the passcode again and passed through the common entrance. The thick glass door lingered for a moment between me and Kang Euihyun before sliding shut. The man standing beyond the door merely gazed at me intently, showing no sign of following me in.

I knew very well that this was the line Kang Euihyun had drawn since I became an adult.