Chapter 19
“⋯Thanks for the meal.”
⋯I never thought I'd end up eating bread soaked in tears.
When I bombed the CSAT.
When I failed an audition.
I hadn't cried except when I bombed the CSAT, failed an audition, or my younger sister entered the charts as soon as she debuted.
It was so humiliating to have shed tears out of fear of a man like this.
“Are you full? I'm still a little hungry.”
“⋯I am.”
“Then that's good.”
He had finished eating long ago, but he kept sipping his coffee and stayed beside me until the very end.
Even the way he kept sneaking glances at me while fiddling with his phone annoyed me.
I wanted him to disappear somewhere I couldn't see him, but then I wouldn't know what he might do out of my sight.
“Ha-eun, I'm going to the convenience store. Want to get dressed? If you're too lazy, you can go as you are.”
“⋯Why should I?”
“If I go out alone, I can't get back in. The security here is pretty strict.”
“I'll let you in, so go alone.”
“I saw earlier that you need a key card to use the elevator too. Are you going to lend me that as well?”
I had hoped that hearing him say he was going out might mean I could lock the door and kick him out, but Kang Joo-hyuk was meticulous even about pointless details.
⋯Right.
So he really had no intention of leaving.
The fear that had been threatening to overwhelm me had all turned into anger after I'd cried earlier.
I couldn't spend the rest of my life sitting around being victimized by a man like this.
“Just come with me. I feel really grimy because I haven't been able to change my clothes. It's not like I can borrow yours.”
“⋯What are you going to buy at the convenience store?”
“Underwear and a T-shirt. If they sell shorts, I'll get those too. I need a toothbrush, and I should buy something to eat. I'm still a little hungry.”
I was sick of Kang Joo-hyuk listing household necessities one after another as if he were moving into someone else's home, but it didn't change anything.
I couldn't cut ties with him until I deleted the recording on his phone.
As long as he had that, this man wouldn't let me go.
I had to let Kang Joo-hyuk sleep here tonight.
⋯What a pain.
So annoying.
“Are you just tying your hair up and heading out?”
“What does it matter to you whether I tie my hair up or leave it down?”
“I like it better when you leave it down.”
“⋯.”
I deliberately changed my hair into a style he hated, pulled a cap low over my head, and put on a cardigan.
After seeing me, he got dressed as well, then headed for the front door ahead of me.
“If you don't like going with me, do you want to go alone and come back? I really only need underwear anyway.”
“Am I crazy? I'm not leaving you alone in this house.”
“That sounded pretty cool, Ha-eun.”
“Ah, seriously⋯.”
“Just kidding, just kidding. Let's go.”
I cursed Kang Joo-hyuk for needling me to the very end and tried to cool the anger that had risen to the top of my head.
⋯I absolutely wasn't going to fall asleep before him.
All I had to do was drink an energy drink and stay awake just a little longer than Kang Joo-hyuk.
His phone was from the year before last, so I could press his finger to the scanner and unlock it with his fingerprint while he was asleep.
Phew⋯.
Get a grip.
Don't let this man manipulate me again.
***
I thought he'd harass me outside too, but unexpectedly, he kept his distance and walked ahead of me at a steady pace.
Maybe he knew the way, because he didn't even look at a map and entered the convenience store first. I followed him in a little less cautiously, and a plump male clerk greeted us.
Seeing that, Kang Joo-hyuk grinned,
and abruptly pulled me toward him by the shoulder.
“Hey⋯!”
“What? So what? Can't I?”
⋯I thought he'd finally started acting normal, but of course not.
This man had nothing on his mind but playing with me.
A man and a woman pressed closely together in a convenience store late at night.
On top of that, I was wearing shabby loungewear with only one presentable cardigan over it.
Kang Joo-hyuk had been dressed casually to begin with.
It was obvious what everyone else would think.
⋯Right, I'd expected something like this.
I only had to endure it for today.
“⋯If you touch me any more, I'll really report you.”
“Got it. I won't touch you anymore.”
I glared fiercely at Kang Joo-hyuk with my slightly swollen eyes, and only then did he let go of my shoulder with a sly grin.
It hardly mattered since the clerk had already seen everything, but I hated being touched by him at all.
The smell of my body wash on him annoyed me too.
⋯Everything about him was annoying.
“Are you buying anything too?”
“Drinks.”
“Ah, get some hangover medicine too. You drank a lot today, so even if you feel fine now, your head will hurt tomorrow.”
“⋯Hand it over.”
I tossed an energy drink and hangover medicine into the basket he was carrying, then searched the shelves to see if there were any more drinks related to sleep.
The first thing I came to was the liquor section.
I would never drink in front of Kang Joo-hyuk again even if I died and came back to life, but maybe he would drink in front of me?
But a man who had been so good at pretending to be drunk didn't seem likely to get drunk from a few cans of beer.
If I bought it, he'd use some other trick to make me drink it anyway.
“What? Are you going to drink again?”
“Am I crazy?”
“No, you were staring at the beer pretty intently. Do you like it?”
“I don't, so take this instead.”
See? Exactly what he does.
Since that piece of trash thought of nothing but getting women drunk, I found coffee milk instead of beer and put it in the basket.
I'd drunk that a lot in high school, so I knew it had a strong effect.
On top of that, I picked up another can from beside the energy drinks.
⋯I'd seen this online before.
Was it a relaxation drink?
They said that, unlike caffeine, it made your body go limp after you drank it.
This one would be perfect for Kang Joo-hyuk.
“Ha-eun, aren't you buying too many drinks just because I'm paying?”
“⋯You can drink them too. I'm letting you stay the night, so can't you buy me this much?”
“It's not that. I was wondering whether I'd be able to sleep after all that caffeine.”
“I'm drinking it because it tastes good, so don't worry about it.”
Kang Joo-hyuk caught on quickly and immediately tossed out a remark, but I still had no intention of backing down.
No matter how physically strong he was, there was no way he could stay awake longer than someone who gritted their teeth and held out.
I didn't need to fight him. I only had to pretend to be asleep and wait for him to fall asleep first.
It was just past seven, so at most I only had to stay awake another eight hours before I could get my hands on Kang Joo-hyuk's phone.
Then I could wipe everything from it.
The recording,
and any videos he might have taken.
“True, caffeine does give you a good pump when you work out.”
Fortunately, Kang Joo-hyuk accepted the drinks I'd picked out without suspicion. He nodded, picked up a few things for himself, and soon went to the counter to pay.
Underwear and a white T-shirt.
Chicken-breast sausages.
The coffee milk I'd bought and an energy drink.
Hangover medicine.
Zero cola.
A toothbrush.
Dental floss.
An eye mask.
Con⋯.
“⋯Hey! You crazy⋯.”
“Why?”
The moment I saw the box marked 0.01, the fuse in my calmed-down mind reignited, and my whole body began to tremble.
Earlier, it had been because I was afraid;
now it was because I was annoyed, and the pleasure I'd forgotten came rushing back.
“Take that out. Right now.”
“We used them all, so why wouldn't I buy more?”
“I said take it out!”
I forgot that the clerk was ringing things up right in front of me and yelled at Kang Joo-hyuk.
⋯The clerk jumped in surprise, opened his eyes wide, and began looking between Kang Joo-hyuk and me meaningfully.
“⋯Take it out, seriously. Don't joke around.”
“I'm not joking. If it were a joke, I wouldn't have bought it.”
“Ah, seriously. My head hurts⋯.”
I felt disgust for Kang Joo-hyuk as he shamelessly carried on to the very end, and covered my face with my hands, consumed by shame.
Ah, seriously⋯.
You fucking perverted rapist blackmailing bastard⋯.
“⋯Um, ring these up as is⋯.”
“Yes. Please ring them up as is.”
“⋯.”
Even the clerk who had been shooting glances at us began looking at me more and more lecherously, snickering under his breath.
I wasn't stupid enough not to know what that mocking laughter meant.
⋯What a fucking piece of garbage.
Was it really that fun, making me a laughingstock even to strangers who didn't know me?
I really want to kill him⋯.
“Excuse me. Sorry, but look at me, not over there. I'm the one paying.”
“Ah⋯ yes, yes. S-sorry.”
At that moment, I was so aggrieved that I couldn't even speak,
Kang Joo-hyuk smiled broadly, stepped in front of me, and spoke to the clerk.
In an incredibly gentle voice.
In a tone he would never use with another man even if he died and came back to life.
The same tone and voice he'd used with me so many times.
“D-do you have a points card?”
“No. Just charge it to my card.”
“Y-yes, yes.”
Perhaps it was because his back was unnecessarily broad and thick, but I could barely make out the clerk's stammering voice.
I caught sight of the back of the man I'd wanted to smack in the back of the head, but he was so tall that I probably couldn't reach his head.
⋯If only I were ten centimeters taller, I could hang onto his back and at least try to strangle him.
Taking cover behind this man who was irritating beyond mere teasing, I quietly left the convenience store and protested.
“⋯If you bought that intending to use it, get that idea out of your head. I have absolutely no intention of doing that.”
“Who said I was going to use it with you? I spent everything in my wallet, so I had to buy it, didn't I?”
“You, you⋯.”
But where had the man who'd smiled so cheerfully with that frightening face gone? Kang Joo-hyuk had quickly turned back into the annoying man he was.
I hated him to death for teasing me by scraping at the very bottom of my heart.
⋯I'd come out vowing never to fall for him again.
I hadn't fallen for him this time, but I'd still ended up playing right into his hands.
I'd expected him to do something strange to me, but I'd never imagined he would humiliate me in such an underhanded way.
“Ah, if you were thinking of using it, I certainly wouldn't refuse. But you aren't, right?”
“⋯I don't, you fucking bastard!”
⋯What a bastard.
Even just once would be enough.
I wished I could see that annoying bastard groveling at my feet and sobbing.
I'd even spit on him.
Ptooey.