23 Unexpected Meeting

June 13, 2021

Soo Young's apartment

The sudden question from Soo Young made Ian, who was chopping kimchi, stop his activities for a moment. He notices Soo Young, who is busy cutting meat. "Behave differently how?" asked Ian. "Please explain in detail so I don't get curious."

Soo Young stops by for a while. She turned and looked at Ian. "You were like a mysterious person in college—cold, and you rarely even smiled. But when you're with me, you're acting in the opposite way," she explained as she looked at Ian. "Maybe you are ...." Soo Young smiled as she shook her head. "Forget it, assume I never asked you anything."

Ian just nodded his head. He was also a little relieved because he did not have to explain why his attitude could be different, because he did not have the answer to that question. His true nature is cold, and he rarely smiles, while this warm and friendly nature is just like his alter ego and is used to attract Emma's victims.

***

"Thanks for the food."

Ian and Soo Young have finished dinner. All the dishes served on the plate are gone. Ian enjoys Soo Young's cooking so much, it reminds him of Emma's cooking-Lee Myeong Hee, his mother. He miss those good times. If his father hadn't done anything wrong to his mother, he might still be living happily with his parents.

"What happened to your face?" Soo Young inquired abruptly. The woman noticed the sad look on Ian's face sitting in front of her.

Ian lifted his head, and he put a smile on his face. "I just miss my mom," he replied.

"That's how it is," Soo Young responds. She did not want to ask where the young man's mother had gone, for fear of making Ian even more sad.

There was no conversation between the two. Both were silent, as if they had nothing to say. It seems that the subject of their conversation was exhausted because it had been removed when cooking earlier. In the end, Soo Young starts to move, clearing the dining table, as well as Ian, who swiftly helps the woman.

***

June 14, 2021

The pain in the head struck Ian, who had just opened his eyes. He was still at home, laying his body on the mattress, while his two black eyes stared at the ceiling of the room. A fine frown appeared on his forehead when he noticed something strange on the ceiling of the room. He never put a star-shaped sticker on it, but why is there such a sticker now?

He then got up from his sleeping position, exposed the blanket that covered him, and exposed his body wearing only his shorts. This confused Ian. He tried to remember what happened last night, but unfortunately he did not remember at all.

"Ian."

A call from a familiar female voice immediately made Ian pull his blanket over himself. Just then the room door opens and reveals Soo Young's figure with an apron attached to the woman's body.

"Get up," said Soo Young with a smile on her face. "Let's go out and eat, I've also cooked hangover relief soup for you."

Ian stays quietly in his place after Soo Young comes out. The young Hwang ruffled his black mane because he couldn't remember what happened last night. He hope he didn't do anything weird last night. The young man immediately got off the bed, picked up his shirt scattered on the floor, and immediately put it on.

***

Soo Young notices Ian, who was just stirring the soup after the young man took a small sip of it. She thought that Ian didn't like this soup, or that it tasted strange. But that thought vanished when she realized the look on the young man's face. Ian looked like he was worried about something, and he knew what Ian was thinking.

"Nothing happened," Soo Young said.

The woman's speech finally made Ian raise his head and look at Soo Young.

"Last night you only got drunk after finishing half a can of beer, then my friend and I moved you to the room. After that, I slept with my friend in his room," Soo Young explained. "So, there is no need to worry about anything."

Ian finally sighed after hearing Soo Young's explanation. He is relieved that nothing happened between him and Soo Young. He thought he had done something strange to her when he found himself not fully dressed when he woke up earlier. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

"You're so cute when you're drunk."

"What? Adorable?"

Soo Young nodded her head. "You keep calling me mommy in a childlike voice and whining for chocolate ice cream," she said, chuckling as she remembered how excited Ian was to whine at her asking for chocolate ice cream. "My friend came home with ice cream. After finishing one ice cream, you go straight to bed."

Ian lowered his head in embarrassment. He could get drunk in someone's house and do something embarrassing. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at Soo Young.

"No need to apologize. It wasn't a mistake," Soo Young said with a smile on her face.

Seeing the smile that adorned the woman's face made Ian even more overwhelmed with guilt. He must find a way to save Soo Young.

***

Soo Young's eyes were fixed on the numbers on the elevator that kept moving backwards from the twenty-fifth floor. At this time she and Ian would go to campus because they happened to have classes at the same time, although different courses. There was no conversation between them while waiting for the elevator door to open. Soo Young secretly glances at Ian, who is focused on his phone screen. A smile flashed across her face as she looked at Ian. It was still like a dream for her because the man she admired spent the night at her house, even if it was unintentionally because the young man was drunk.

Soo Young is jolted awake by the elevator's clinking sound and immediately shifts her gaze forward. Her eyebrows were raised when he found Su Bin's figure in the elevator busy with his cell phone.

"Wang Su Bin."

The call from Soo Young to Su Bin not only made Su Bin raise his head but also awakened Ian, who had been focused on his phone. Su Bin and Ian's two eye beads met each other, both of them showing a surprised look on their faces.

"Hwang Ian, why are you with Soo Young?"