Oppa, That Must Be A Mistake - Chapter 10

 Throbbing, throbbing, throbbing.

His heartbeat pounding in his ears. A subtle tremor from the arms that wrapped around him. And the soft, puppy-like scent of his body.

‘What is it? Why…… me?’

Hye-joo’s eyes caught sight of Seung-won’s glasses on the floor. Hye-joo was stunned that Seung-won had thought of her first, in such a desperate situation that he’d tossed something that was like a second pair of eyes on the floor.

‘It’s because I was right next to him. Da-hee was a bit far away…….’

No matter how hard she tried to reassure herself that she had reflexively hugged the person next to her when she saw the flames, she couldn’t calm her racing heart.

Thump, thump, thump.

It was the same for Seung-won, and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. Crouched beneath the dazzle, wrapped in each other’s arms, they were as still as stone statues.

When the flames had subsided to a bubble, The boss quickly defused the situation.

“Oh, I’m sorry, gentlemen,” he said, “the butabara is such a greasy spot, it happens sometimes. You’re all a bit frightened, aren’t you, hehe!”

When I calmed down, it was nothing. The oil had dripped while grilling the pork belly skewers, causing them to suddenly burst into flames. The boss, who took charge of the situation, apologized to Hye-joo and Seung-won, who were still hugging each other tightly.

“I apologize for scaring you so much. You’re regulars at our skewer restaurant. I’ll get you some chicken wings and a skewer of salt pork as a service.”

Hye-joo, who had finally come to her senses, quickly pulled Seung-won away. Seung-won was also embarrassed, so he put on his glasses and made a funny face.

“Boss, We really thought there was a fire. Shouldn’t you have called a fire truck?”

“Geez, I’ll take the pork belly off the menu or something, if it’s not too much trouble to forget. By the way, how long have you two been dating?”

“What?”

“It’s nice to see, not many people think of their girlfriends at a moment like this. You’ve been hanging out for a while, I knew it would happen one day, haha!”

There was a moment of silence.

Hye-Joo thought someone had dumped an ice cube on her head. She looked up to see Da-hee standing there, tears streaming down her face.

“Dahee, are you okay?”

Seung-Won tried to reassure her, but Da-hee face was already crying.

“I’m not okay at all.”

“Da-hee.”

“This is too much…… you both are too much!”

Da-hee quickly ran out of the store. Seung-won, who wanted to help, ran after her before she could grab her bag.

The boss, realizing he had made a mistake, broke out in a cold sweat and started muttering, ‘What can I do about this?’ but the water had already been spilled.

Hye-Joo’s head spun at what had happened in a matter of seconds.

“I’m going crazy, really…….”

It was unintentional: the four of them confronting each other at the skewer restaurant, the grill catching fire, Seung-won who’s taking care of her first, none of it was what Hye-joo wanted.

But in the end, it hurts Da-hee. Who wouldn’t be heartbroken to see their lover look out for someone else in a time of need?

I was worried that this would be too much for Da-hee, who is very fragile and timid. If she had known this would happen, she should have changed her seat and sat next to Seung-won instead.

‘That’s why he makes a fuss over something insignificant.’

I cursed at Seungwon for some reason, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

“Are you okay?”

Joo-Won suddenly spoke up. Hye-Joo touched her shoulder, which still felt warm, and said bluntly.

“Are you still there? I thought you were gone.”

“I never heard of you going away and not being there.”

“You were a good student from a young age, weren’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Were you been flying at work at a young age?”

“Uh.”

“That’s why everyone flatters you, presence be damned.”

I’m not being blunt on purpose, but strangely, I don’t talk to Joo-won very well. It’s like her heart instinctively rejected him because their relationship was twisted from the beginning.

I regretted my unintentionally chilly tone, but Joo-won didn’t seem to mind. He cut to the chase, pretending not to hear Hye-joo’s chatter.

“That’s a little surprising. I didn’t think Seung-won would take care of you first in that situation.”

Joo-won clearly saw Seung-won hug Hye-joo.

At the same time, he saw himself launching himself at her.

Seung-won had jumped in first, and as he wrapped his arms around Hye-joo, a new film seemed to form around them.

They didn’t look like friends at all. No wonder Da-hee was so angry and stormed out.

“I were next to him, so I instinctively reached for my hand. Seung-won is a gentleman, and he take care of everyone around him.”

Joo-won glared at Hye-joo, who sounded apologetic.

In truth, Joo-won didn’t care about Seung-won’s reaction. He has a big-hearted, nice guy, so he thought he could handle it. What bothered him was Hye-joo’s blushing cheeks.

Was it because of the embarrassment? Or surprise? Or something else…….

“Stop getting up.”

“Wait.”

Joo-won grabbed Hye-joo’s wrist as she stood up.

It was uncharacteristically impulsive, but he wanted to check.

The answer to the question that had confused him so many times.

Where if you think it’s yes, it’s not, and if you think it’s no, it’s yes.

“Are you sure you like me?”

Joo-won’s voice was low, demanding and serious.

“……I told you, no.”

“I’ll ask you again. Is it true that I’m the one you liked?”

She could feel the heat radiating from her captor’s wrists, and the intensity in Joo-Won’s eyes beneath his dark brows was tangible.

For a moment, she didn’t know why her heart fluttered. Was it the handsome man’s warm grip on her wrist, or the glimpse of Seung-won in his eyes?

“Whether I like you or not, doesn’t change anything, and you’re not interested in me anyway, and you’re not going to accept me just because I like you. You’re not an axeman, so what do you want to check so badly? I don’t want to answer questions that aren’t worth answering.”

Hye-Joo struggled to pull her wrist from his grasp, but his grip was firmer than she’d expected and his gaze was as intense as ever. She thought she’d organized things so well that she wouldn’t be misunderstood, but it felt like her neatly packed things were spilling over.

“Let me go.”

Hye-joo twisted her wrist and pulled away from Joo-won.

Joo-won’s eyebrows twitched at the sudden emptiness of her grasp.

‘You keep coming back to me like this.’

It’s such a hard question to answer, when all it takes is one word to tell me who you have in mind.

I was never curious, never important, and now I’m curious. Joo-Won looked at Hye-Joo with calm eyes, then chewed and spat out the words.

“Who said I’ll reject you?”

Immediately, Hye-Joo’s pupils twitched. Joo-Won took advantage and drove a wedge.

“Did I ever tell you I wasn’t interested in you?”

His voice was low.

“Not even once.”

A thud.

My heart vibrated.

?

*

“Da-hee, wait! I need to talk to you for a minute.”

Da-hee walked out of the skewer shop, frantically looking ahead. Her tears blurred her vision and she couldn’t see where she was going.

“Huh…… black…….”

The image of Seung-Won wrapping his arms around Hye-Joo as the grill is lit is stuck in my head.

In my head, of course, I understand. Because they were close. They’re old friends, so it’s a reflex. But…….

‘Did Seung-won save Hye-joo first simply because he was right next to her?’

Da-hee wasn’t sure about that.

Ever since she’d been dating Seung-won, she’d always felt insecure. Unlike herself, who only met Seung-won after joining the company, Hye-joo and Seung-won had been friends since high school. Naturally, after all these years, they knew each other well and were closer than anyone else. There was no way to get between them.

The way Seung-won looked at Hye-joo. The way he always touched her. The sincerity in their jokes.

Fools who don’t know what’s in their hearts.

Knowing how Seung-won felt, I couldn’t wait to confess. I wanted to cut it off before he realized his feelings for Hye-joo, before it got any deeper.

“I knew it. I knew that Seung-won liked Hye-joo…….’

I knew that Seung-won was the one she was going to confess to because I saw the Gundam she was building at her house when she was excited to tell her crush. Gundam was Seung-won’s favorite plastic model.

There were countless situations where she couldn’t help but notice, but she pretended not to. When she asked Hye-joo who her crush was, she wanted to draw a line in the sand.

Seung-won is my man. You said you don’t like him, so take responsibility for your words.

“Da-hee, wait!”

Seung-won ran after her and grabbed her. When he saw her face covered in tears, he was very surprised.

“Are you crying?”

Although he felt bad about his unconscious behavior at the skewer shop, he didn’t realize that Dahee had been hurt to this extent.

“Why are you crying…… Did I do something wrong, Da-hee.”

“What did you do wrong?”

“Putting Hye-Joo first in that situation. I didn’t do it on purpose. I did it unconsciously…….”

“Then why are you only looking out for Hye-joo? Isn’t that unconsciousness actually coming from your heart? Isn’t Hye-joo what you were most worried about in that situation?”

Da-hee glared at Seung-won. All the insecurities she’d felt throughout their relationship spilled out like a floodgate.

“You’ve always been like that. If you have something good, you give it to Hye-joo, and if you have something difficult, you confide in Hye-joo first! If you’re going to do that, why are you dating me?”

A cold sweat ran down Seung-won’s back as Da-hee became furious. It was the first time he’d ever seen the sweet and cheerful Da-hee so furious. Seung-won explained himself in a hushed voice.

“You know, Hye-Joo and I are just friends. I’ve known her since high school, and she’s like family to me. I was just looking out for her because she was beside me, and I had no other intentions.”

“It didn’t look that way to me.”

“Da-hee, why are yo…….”

“I’m so miserable……….”

Da-hee covered her face with her hands.

Seung-won was at a loss for words as tears poured down her face. He didn’t know what to make of Da-hee’s deep-seated inferiority complex toward Hye-joo. As he fumbled with his cracked glasses, he pulled up Da-hee to his shoulders.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again.”

“sob sob…….”

The sobs that hadn’t subsided for a while eased as she fell into Seung-won’s arms. Da-hee was relieved to feel a gentle hand patting her shoulder.

“Seung-won, you’re mine, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m the one you like, and even though you’ve known Hye-joo longer, I’m the only one you feel like a girl with, right?”

“Yes.”

“From now on, look out for me. Take care of me and save me. Okay?”

“I’ll try…….”

Da-Hee hugged Seung-won’s back tightly, checking and re-checking each soothing touch.

Trying hard not to be anxious by Seung-won’s fading words.