Jungkyu has been looking around since earlier. Looking for the existence of a girl who has been staying at his place since last night. It seemed like only fifteen minutes before he had left her in the kitchen, but now she was gone. Only a plate of pancake began to cool on the table. He lifted the dining table cloth. Who knows, the girl is hiding under the table.
But there was none.
"Where is she actually?" muttered Jungkyu, wondering.
"Hey! Jungkyu Yoon!"
"OUCH!"
Not only Jungkyu who had surprised. Hyunji, who heard his scream was just as surprised. She looked down a little and found Jungkyu sitting on the floor holding his head. Apparently his head hit the table and made a pretty loud sound.
Hyunji raised one eyebrow in surprise. "What are you doing there?"
Jungkyu glanced at her irritably. "None of your business!"
Hyunji was grimacing. Noticing Hyunji who was silent with pursed lips, Jungkyu immediately got up from his seat. "Where were you, by the way?"
"In the bathroom."
Jungkyu snorted. "Don't do it again!"
"Huh?" Hyunji blinked cluelessly. "You mean I can't go to the bathroom? Do I have to pay for that? Wow ... I never thought you were so-"
"That's not it, oh God!" Jungkyu got annoyed. "I mean, you shouldn't be hanging around like that. What if my guests see you, huh? I don't want them to find out that you are here."
"Why?"
Jungkyu sharpened his eyesight. His gaze was difficult to decipher. "No reason. If someone comes here, whoever it is, don't show yourself. Just hide until I come back, okay?"
In contrast to Jungkyu, Hyunji waved her hand, as if what Jungkyu said was not important. "All right, all right. Now, it's my turn." She pulled the chair closer to her, then sat on it. "That was your friend?"
Jungkyu sat himself in the chair opposite Hyunji, then nodded, confirming. But a second later, he squinted. "Do you know him?"
Hyunji rolled her eyes. "Isn't it strange if I don't know him? I mean, Namchul Im is one of the most influential people in Korea. He often appears on TV. So, how could I don't know him?"
Jungkyu listened to Hyunji's words while plucking a piece of pancake in front of him. In his mind, he confirmed Hyunji's words. "Ah, I thought you knew him personally."
Hyunji was silent, didn't intend to answer.
In the end, their conversation just ended. Each of them was silent and busy with their activities. Jungkyu with his chopsticks and spoon, while Hyunji with her phone. Gathered in one table, but seemed not aware of each other's presence. There they are.
The silence continued for ten minutes later. Jungkyu stood up first and ended his meal. He brought the dirty dishes to the sink.
Jungkyu washes the dishes without noticing Hyunji who is secretly helping to store the leftovers in the refrigerator. There was no other purpose, she just suddenly remembered Jungkyu who used to set aside his breakfast for lunch and dinner. Even though it was a little strange about Jungkyu's habit, she prefer not to give any comments.
"Jungkyu Yoon, have you finished?"
Jungkyu nodded. He took off the rubber gloves he was wearing. When he turned around, he was immediately confronted by Hyunji who suddenly appeared and smiled.
Jungkyu is no longer surprised. Seeing her gesture, he knew that this girl had some hidden intentions. "What?"
"Take me somewhere!"
***
"... After this, turn left, stop in front of the third house with brown fences on the right."
Jungkyu snorted even though his hand kept turning the wheel. He stepped on the brakes when the car arrived in front of the house that Hyunji meant. "Here?"
Hyunji nodded. She removed the seat belt which had been making her suffocated, then opened the car door.
The first thing she did after setting foot outside was to get as much oxygen as possible. She is very grateful that she is still alive until now.
She really doesn't like wearing seat belts. That annoying thing would press on her chest and make it difficult for her to breathe. Although for others it is normal, for her it is very disturbing.
But she had no other choice because Jungkyu threatened to throw her out the window if she didn't obey him.
"What if the police catch us later? Do you want to pay a fine? Listen, I really don't want to get involved with the police for any reason. Once I get involved in a case—even though it's just a simple thing, I'm over. And I'll be sure the same will apply to you if you dare to act up. If necessary, I'll throw you out the window later! Besides, paying a fine is just a waste of money. I better use the money to buy banana milk or save it to buy the latest phone. Incidentally, the day before yesterday, I just broke my phone screen while playing a game. Luckily, I still have one more spare phone. Ah, right ... one more thing, blah blah blah ...."
Well, that's all about Jungkyu's raving before they left. If possible, Hyunji just wanted to deaf her ears. Those are the longest words she has ever heard—and maybe also the longest sentence Jungkyu has ever said. She thinks Jungkyu is not the type of person who talks a lot, but it seems like she needs to rethink that.
"You nag!" Hyunji muttered as she glanced at the driver's seat, where Jungkyu still faithfully sat there without the slightest desire to get out.
Immediately, without saying a word, Hyunji walked towards the driver's door. She opened the door at Jungkyu's side and managed to make him gasp. "Please come out, Princess."
Still with his eyes wide open, Jungkyu said, "What the hell are you doing?! Man should open doors for woman, not the other way! Seriously, you ...!" His words seemed to express clearly how his pride as a man was screaming at that moment.
"Can't you just go out without saying much?"
"Can't you respect my pride as a man?"
"Fuck! Do you want to get off or not?!"
"No!"
Hyunji squinted. "Banana milk stock for a month?"
"Deal!" Jungkyu shifted Hyunji's position who was right in front of the door, came out with his chin raised arrogantly, then closed the door in a cool pretentious manner that made Hyunji almost vomit blood. "Let's go!"
Hyunji looks at him in disbelief. She never thought that Jungkyu's exorbitant self-price was conquered by banana milk. She regretted not doing the same thing in their debate about seat belts earlier. If she knew it was that easy to bribe Jungkyu, maybe she wouldn't end up spending the whole way acting like a fish that just came out of the water.
Jungkyu snapped his fingers in front of Hyunji's face. "Hey! Why are you looking at me like that? Is it your first time seeing a handsome man, huh?"
Hyunji blinked, then just looked away. With stomped feet, she led the way to her house. Meanwhile, Jungkyu trailed behind her with a satisfied smile. Let him leave his pride in the car for a while. Banana milk is more important right now. After all, when else can he get free stuff, right?
Jungkyu followed Hyunji's steps while looking around. The housing complex is full of luxurious houses with wide yards. Tall fences loomed everywhere. Some houses even have their own guard posts. Each house is equipped with an intercom doorbell, CCTV, and smart mortise lock, so guests or intruders can't enter easily.
About two blocks later, their steps stopped near a white house. From the outside, anyone could see how majestic and sturdy the house stood. They were not actually standing at the gate. They deliberately stand in a blind spot to avoid CCTV.
Jungkyu whistled. "So, this is your house?"
"No, it's my neighbor's house," Hyunji glanced irritably, "Silly question."
"I'm just making sure," Jungkyu replied with a shrug.
Hyunji ignored Jungkyu's existence. She took the phone from her pocket, fiddled for a moment, then suddenly the intercom on the wall flashed as the gate slid in front of them. Meanwhile, the red light on CCTV dimmed and finally went out. A sign that the CCTV has been disabled.
All of that did not escape Jungkyu's observation at all. He smiled asymmetrically. "Interesting."