Chapter 11
My eyes met with the man gritting his teeth as he lifted the barbell. Ryu Eun-seok, who had paused awkwardly, quickly racked the bar and strode across the gym.
What does he want to say this time?
I hastily turned on my heel and opened the study room door. My head was already swirling with thoughts of Ryu Eun-seok all day, and I was utterly exhausted—further interrogation was out of the question.
“Hey.”
A cool, low voice trailed me, but I didn’t look back as I stepped over the study room threshold.
“Hey, Hong Sang-hee.”
But then my backpack caught on something. And my body, along with the bag, was pulled backward.
Ryu Eun-seok had hooked his finger through a loop on my backpack and easily yanked it back.
“Let go of this.”
This isn’t some fish hooked on a line. I didn’t even want to imagine how pathetic I must look, flailing like this.
“Why didn’t you accept my follow request?”
The question that sprang from Ryu Eun-seok’s lips was a far cry from his earlier threat to sue.
“Let go and talk properly.”
“Answer me first.”
“I didn’t get a notification, so I didn’t know.”
I countered with a lie.
“Now that you know, accept it.”
The man’s stubbornness was extraordinary.
“Why force it? I don’t want to.”
Of course, my stubbornness wasn’t anything to scoff at either.
“I told you, it’s just for searching. I don’t have a single photo or anything—what’s there to see?”
“If you accept the follow, then I can send you a DM.”
I don’t get why he wants to create a way to contact me. My explanation was more than sufficient, and Ryu Eun-seok should just find the culprit himself. He has no reason to pester my empty account.
“If you have something to say, say it now.”
Ryu Eun-seok’s lips pressed tightly shut. Given the chance, he seemed at a loss for words, and the grip on my bag loosened. I left him behind and walked to my usual seat by the window.
But Ryu Eun-seok didn’t return to the gym. Instead, he pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. He couldn’t have come empty-handed to study after stopping mid-workout. Judging by the way he turned his body toward me, it seemed this tedious conversation wasn’t over yet.
“Hey, this is a study room.”
“No one comes here—I know.”
Ryu Eun-seok snorted. I’d only ever seen his gentle, smiling face before—apparently, it was all a facade. Maybe because I’d caught him in a moment of weakness, or maybe because he felt he didn’t need to put on a good front for me, he readily showed his displeasure.
“Someone keeps eavesdropping like a rat, so I checked out deserted places in advance. This place and the gym are the safest.”
The word “rat” pricked my conscience. As I pulled my laptop out of my bag, I glanced sideways at the uninvited guest.
“To be precise, I was here first. You’re the one who came over and started talking.”
“Who called you a rat?”
Ryu Eun-seok retorted sulkily, watching my belongings take over the desk. As I settled into my seat, I turned to him with a faint flicker of hope.
“So now you believe I didn’t spread any rumors?”
“I don’t believe it 100%.”
Of course. Deep down, Ryu Eun-seok already knew I was off the suspect list. He just couldn’t admit his own guess was wrong.
I left Ryu Eun-seok alone and turned on my laptop. The Korean text window for “Corporate Ethics Case Study” appeared, still bearing only the title. The report deadline was over two weeks away, but getting a head start on assignments was always better for my well-being.
“Are the kids talking about me?”
As I placed my hands on the laptop keyboard, a gloomy voice came from beside me. Even though I knew better than anyone that no one would come here at this hour, my gaze slipped over the desk partition.
“What are they saying?”
That you borrowed from loan sharks. That girls won’t like you anymore. Complaining that you don’t buy them coffee anymore.
I had an answer ready, but I didn’t voice it. I didn’t want to push someone who was already down further into a pit by relaying gossip.
“I don’t really know about that stuff.”
“Why, because you have no friends?”
My gaze sharpened before I could stop myself. But since it was the very reason I’d brought up to prove my innocence, I couldn’t exactly argue back.
“Yeah.”
As I readily admitted it, Ryu Eun-seok flopped face-down onto the desk. His broad back rose and fell heavily as he sighed deeply.
“How am I supposed to come to school now…”
His weak voice leaked out in a murmur. I couldn’t understand why he was pouring out his lamentations like this, especially to someone like me.
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