I became a celebrity. In one fell swoop.
Until yesterday, the only people who looked at me were a few who knew my face, but today was completely different. When I passed by, conversations stopped, and voices got lower behind my back. There was even someone who blatantly held up their phone.
A bitch who got slapped by the wife for hooking up with a married man.
Apparently that was the kind of rumor that spread.
After lunch had passed a little, a man I’d never seen before stepped in front of me. His features were a face that hadn’t even properly come together yet. I briefly wondered if I’d seen him somewhere, but no matter how I looked at it, it was the first time.
"Hey, you’re No Yeoju, right?"
"So?"
"I’ve thought you were pretty good-looking for a while. If you’re okay with it..."
A laugh-snort burst out of me. So what, this was the feeling that he was going to come at me with some half-assed flirtation and brush it off? It wasn’t even worth replying to, so I cut the man off and walked past him. I heard a baffled voice behind me.
"Wow, what a bitch."
"Still, she is pretty."
It was tear-jerking, seeing ugly people consoling each other like that.
I almost raised my middle finger at them, but held back. It was already the third time today. Guys who probably wouldn’t have had the guts to say a single word to me normally all came up with the look of people who thought they’d found their chance.
A pretty girl with a filthy rumor. They probably thought they could at least have a go. God, this is fucking unbearable.
As I was about to enter the building where my general-education class was, I heard a sharp female voice from the side.
"Why are you ignoring my texts?"
I was about to ignore it and keep walking when I spotted a familiar face.
It was that bartender bastard. According to what I’d heard from his friend yesterday, his name was — Lee Sangwon.
Whether he’d been grabbed mid-way too, he looked awkwardly poised, one shoulder strap of his bag in hand as if about to move forward. The woman holding onto one of Sangwon’s bag straps looked thoroughly pissed, but Sangwon himself had no expression. He was nothing like the person who’d been smiling at three women at the bar yesterday.
Does he live attached to women or what? Not a day goes by without noise. Ah, am I one of them too? Let’s just pretend I don’t know. As I brushed past the entrance, the conversation made its way into my ears whether I wanted it or not.
"I sold a million won’s worth of drinks that day."
"So what?"
"I gave you my number too. You said you’d contact me."
"I’m going to block you now."
Sangwon took his phone out of his pocket. After tapping the screen a few times, he put it back away without even showing it to the woman. And he had a pretty tired look on his face too.
Wow, this crazy bastard. Is it okay to treat a customer who boosts your sales like that?
Before I knew it, my head turned slightly. The woman moved her lips, then shoved Sangwon’s shoulder and walked off. As she brushed past me, a pungent perfume smell hit me hard.
Sangwon shook off the shoulder that had been shoved once. He didn’t even blink at the woman crying and carrying on.
He’s not normal either.
Still, he was annoying. Before our eyes met, I turned my head and went inside the building.
*
I was tired, so I bought an iced Americano at the first-floor café. Even while I was waiting for my order, another guy came up to me holding his phone. This time I raised my hand to stop him before he could even finish speaking.
"No."
"I haven’t even said anything yet."
"I figured you would."
I took the coffee and left right away. Ah, the fourth one already. So damn tiring.
Their faces were all contorted, so I couldn’t even remember what they looked like. I didn’t care either. Only the expressions of people blocking my way and grinning creepily were all the same.
I went into the lecture hall, sat in an open seat, and set the Americano on the desk.
When I checked my phone, there were tons of unread messages piled up. There was even one from that old geezer yesterday.
[ Sorry ]
[ I didn’t think things would turn out like this either... ]
[ I’ll contact you in a few days ]
Who said I’d accept that? Unbelievable, seriously. I took a sip of the iced Americano through the straw and tapped the screen a few times with my long-nailed hand. The words "Blocked." appeared.
There were still ten minutes left before class started. I felt a deep sigh coming on. I want to go home.
I crossed my arms and leaned back against the chair. When I closed my eyes, the throbbing in my cheek felt even sharper.
"So tired……."
"So tired……."
The exact same words came from right beside me at the same time. When I opened my eyes a sliver and shifted my gaze, Lee Sangwon—the one who’d peeled that woman off him downstairs—was resting his chin on his hand and looking ahead.
What now?
I glared at him openly, and Sangwon slowly turned his head too. Our eyes met, and my face twisted.
"Are you stalking me?"
One of Sangwon’s eyebrows lifted.
"Who’s stalking who?"
"You’re annoyingly persistent."
"Aren’t you the one following me?"
"What?"
Sangwon gave a short, incredulous laugh.
"Come on. You showed up at the bar where I work yesterday, then we ran into each other twice at school. And I sat here first too."
My face crumpled on its own. What the hell is this bastard talking about now?
Was he putting me on the same level as the woman who’d been crying and throwing a fit downstairs? He was the one at the bar when I went in, and the one at school when I came here. I only learned his name by chance.
He wasn’t worth dealing with.
With a rotten expression, I snapped my head away, and the sound of clothes brushing came from beside me. Sangwon’s shrugging shoulders appeared at the edge of my vision.
"If not, fine."
A temper rose up inside me, and I took a sip of Americano. I was rummaging through my bag to take out my notebook when I heard a tap-tap sound beside me. Sangwon was lightly tapping my desk with those long fingers of his.
"But."
My gaze followed that finger on its own. The index finger that had been tapping the desk moved toward the left side of his face. Lee Sangwon tapped his own left cheek.
"What happened to your face?"
"Mind your own business."
"What a personality."
With that answer, Sangwon straightened the body he’d been leaning toward me with.
Who’s saying whose personality is bad?
"You are."
He spat it out softly, and a short laugh leaked out from beside me.