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“Are you saying you helped the defendant in her studies only because she was in the same study group as you?”
“Yes, there is someone that I want to look out for in my study group but it is not Ye Seul.”
“If it’s someone in the study group…then that means the person is here right now in the courtroom?”
“Yes.”
“Who is it?”
…
“Ya! Han Joon Hwi! Stop right there!”
“Ah wae?” Joon Hwi had his bag loosely hanging from one of his shoulders, he tugged at the strap to prevent it from sliding off as he turned to meet Sol A. “Mwoya, wae geurae? Why are you panting so much? Is something wrong?”
Sol A was a mess. Her hair was all over her face and her shirt was now slightly untucked from her jeans. She had her hands on her waist and her head leaned back as she grunted in pain. “Urgh! Did you…ah himdeureo, jamkkanman…oof…Did you make Sol B confess about her plagiarized dissertation?” She got straight to the point without beating around.
Joon Hwi had a few scenarios played out in his head about what she was going to say but he had not expected this question. He stared at her blankly.
“Ya, why are you not saying anything? It’s not true, right? It’s all just a misunderstanding, right?” Sol A was now looking at him with those big desperate-looking eyes. “Say something. Why are you keeping quiet?”
“It is true.” Joon Hwi kept his answer short. He was slightly annoyed by Sol A’s concern for Sol B but he could not pinpoint to the reason as to why he was feeling that way. After all, Sol B was both of their friend and it was normal for friends to be worried about each other.
“What do you mean?” Sol A took a step towards him. They were now standing pretty close to each other.
“I pushed her to confess. What she did was wrong and she needed to be held accountable for it.” He did not mean it, but his words came out harsher than he intended.
He watched Sol A’s gaze falter; she seemed quite taken aback by his answer. She retreated a step back to her original position. Her arms were now crossed and what was that look on her face…disappointment?
She stayed silent for a few seconds. Joon Hwi had never seen his best friend like this. Usually, Sol A was the type to loudly express her feelings, whatever that maybe. She would grunt, scream, vent, whine, grab her hair- that was the way she expressed herself but now he did not recognize the woman in front of him.
After a few more seconds of terrifying silence, she opened her mouth. “Joon Hwi-ya, I know you did it because you care but did you really have to go so hard on her?”
Joon Hwi was now angry and confused. “What are you talking about? All I did was advise her to make the right decision for her life. I did not force her into doing anything.”
“I know but you could have let someone else do that. It must have hurt her so much that the man whom she is in love with saw this side of her and even went as far to ask her to confess to her wrongdoing and be punished for it.”
“And how am I responsible for her feeling that way?”
Sol A looked like she could not believe what she was hearing. “How are you responsible? You love her too, don’t you? Joon Hwi-ya, no matter how morally upright you are, you cannot be that with your family. That’s why it’s called family. Friends and lovers are family too. My people could make mistakes, go down the wrong path but that does not mean I give up on them or be harsh on them. The world could do that but I couldn’t.”
“Are you talking about my uncle?” Joon Hwi looked cold now. His gaze was piercing as he stepped forward to close the distance between them. “You think my moral compass was what led to his death?”
Sol A realized she had hit a nerve; she shifted her eyes to the ground. She wanted to apologize immediately but could not find her voice. So, she stood there with head bent low, like a student being reprimanded by her teacher.
“Mianhae, I did not mean it like that. It came out wro—” She finally found the words but when she looked up, she realized that Joon Hwi had left her standing all by herself in the middle of the school foyer. She had just made things worse. She grabbed her hair and let out a frustrated grunt.
“I am such an idiot. Urgh! Why did I have to say that? I must be stupid. I must be really dumb—”
“—So you finally realized? When are you going to quit? I am going to squeeze all the work out of you before you leave,” Sung Dong-il walked inside carrying a bunch of papers that needed to photocopied.
Sol A gave him her signature grumpy look. She was not in the mood to banter with the old man like she usually did so instead she sighed loudly and slouched against the back of the chair.
“What happened? You still upset about the Lee Man-ho thing. How many times must I tell you, Professor Yang definitely has his reasons for making you do this. Also, you know you cannot just learn to defend the people you want to defend. Real life does not work like that, imma. Geurigo, what you know is not always the whole truth. A killer may be a killer but there is always a slight possibility that he isn’t. So, stop whining and get to work already. Stop polluting the good energy surrounding my sacred copy station with your sulking early in the morning.”
Sol A gave him an annoyed look once again.
“Why are you still here? Go! Get out! I have work to do. I cannot finish them with you here.”
“I might as well quit if this is how I’m going to be treated.” Sol A mumbled to herself as she trudged lazily towards the door.
“Mwo?! What did you just say?”
“Nothing, I was just meditating; preparing myself for the day. I have to meet that michin saekki again in an hour.”
“Psst—” Dong-il hissed at her for cussing.
“Lee Man-ho ssi. I have to meet our client Lee Man- ho ssi in an hour. You happy?” She slammed the door behind her as she stormed out without waiting for his response.
“You have to be here at 9 a.m. sharp. If you are late, I am going to tell Professor Yang that I cannot work with you anymore, arasseo?!” It was another empty threat from Park Geun-tae. Sol A had gone head-to-head with Professor Yang, Lee Man-ho and Assemblyman Ko Hyeong-su; this guy seemed like a complete joke next to them. She did not bother to reply; she hung up and slid her phone into her coat pocket.
She was about to head back to her room to rest but recalled yesterday’s incident with Joon Hwi once again. I should apologize, she thought to herself. She turned around and made her way towards the library.
The library was not crowded like it was always. Most of the students were busy with their internships. Sol A was probably the relatively free one among her friends since Park Geun-tae could not control her the way he wanted because she had Professor Yang’s recommendation. She did not know if it was a blessing or a curse.
She looked around, hoping to spot Joon Hwi but to no avail. Prosecutor Jin Hyeong-u must be overworking him; the sudden realization made her worry. Poor guy was already going through a rough time because of what that bastard made him do to Seungjae oppa. And on top of that there was his uncle’s murder case and Sol B’s plagiarized dissertation. Instead of being there as his support system while he was struggling with all of these problems, Sol A had called him out on the way he had handled Sol B’s situation. While she had tried hard to understand Sol B’s strained and mentally abusive relationship with her mother, she had forgotten about Joon Hwi. She knew Joon Hwi had struggles of his own but he was never the type to share. He was always there for all his friends but never let anyone do the same for him. Was it pride or fear, Sol A did not know the answer to that but whatever it was, she did not care. She was going to be there for him. But before that, she needed to clear the air between them. She picked up her phone and called Jiho.
“Where are you? Arasseo, wait for me. I am coming.”
“Why did you want to meet me?” Jiho was not the type to entertain casual talk. His eyes that had been fixed to his laptop screen were now intensely staring at Sol A.
“Psh, stop looking at me that way. Your glasses might fall off. I just wanted to hang…” She tried to sidetrack the conversation but Jiho’s gaze held her in place. She was clearly stuck. She dropped her shoulders in defeat. “Arasseo, I can’t reach Joon Hwi. Do you know what his schedule is like today?”
Realizing that the conversation was not going to be of any benefit to him, Jiho turned his attention back to the screen and started typing. “Not really. He did not say anything. He did seem like he was in a bad mood this morning though.” He tried to sound as unconcerned as possible.
Sol A could only sigh. She pushed her fingers through her bangs and messed them up in frustration. “Geurae, gomapta. Go ahead with your work. I won’t disturb you again.” She got up from the chair.
“Did you guys fight?”
Sol A turned to face Jiho again. “Mwo?”
“Aniyo, nothing. Go ahead, see you in class.” He gave her a pursed smile and got back to his typing.
Jiho definitely knew something. She walked back to her seat and sat down. “Wae, did he say something?” It was now her turn to give him the stern gaze.
“So, it was a fight. I was wondering why he was acting so strange this morning,” Jiho smirked at her and shifted his gaze back to the screen.
“Ya! Did you just trick me into—”
“—I did nothing of that sort. You were the one who willingly came back, sat down and revealed everything. I was just throwing out a guess in the air.”
Sol A clenched her fist. She was this close to losing it completely and screaming. Instead, she decided to inhale a deep breath and calm down. “Geurae, I am the one who’s at fault once again. Mianhada. Noona is tired, so she is going to rest now. If you see Joon Hwi, just let him know I was looking for him.”
“Noona.”
“Ah wae? What is it now?” She turned around for the second time.
“Hyung does not like Sol B,” he stated calmly while still typing something on his laptop.
“Mwo?” She was so dazed by what Jiho had just said; she stood frozen in her spot.
“Hyung does not like Sol B, at least not in the way you think,” he decided to help her out one last time. The fact that he was even willing to go this far for Joon Hwi made Jiho cringe on the inside but he had no regrets. After all, his roommate had stayed by his side throughout this whole battle with Jin Hyeong-u. He had promised to help him get revenge against the people who were responsible for his father’s death and he had kept his word and was still keeping it. This was the least Jiho could do in return.
The truth was, Jiho was there at the foyer yesterday. He had witnessed the entire incident. He also knew why Sol A’s concern for Sol B made his hyung mad. So, he decided let his personality take the back seat for a moment and looked up to meet Sol A’s eyes.
“Do you know hyung calls you the most often out of everybody in our group?”
“What does that have to do—”
“—And he has called Sol B like two times over the phone in the last couple of months. Both times, I am assuming was just to inform her about the study group or probably about her dissertation.”
“You knew about the dissertation?”
“I have known her since middle school and yes, we also talked about it.” He tried to gloss over the really intense confrontation they had had when he found out. Sol B had really tried everything in her power to keep his mouth shut then. She succeeded though. It was eventually Joon Hwi who managed to steer her into coming clean. Jiho was actually quite grateful for him for that. Sol B was too talented to get caught for something that was not even entirely her fault and get expelled from the school. Having come clean, the punishment would definitely be lessened and Sol B could continue her journey to becoming a judge, just like she wanted.
“So, what I am trying to say is that you have completely misunderstood everything.”
Sol A was still in a state of shock. She continued to stare at Jiho like a lost child.
“But—”
“But, what?”
“But, at Ye Seul’s trial…he said—”
“—That he had a friend he wanted to look out for and that it was Sol B?” Jiho finished for her.
Sol A nodded innocently. Jiho let out an exasperated sigh.
“Noona, are you really ignorant or are you just pretending because you don’t want to accept the fact that hyung likes you? Because if it is the latter, I want to save up my energy for something better. I can’t believe I am playing matchmaker when I should be reading up on this case.”
“Hyung lost his composure that day. Prosecutor Bae got him good when she asked him questions about his relationship with Ye Seul noona. He was not two timing her but he could not answer her questions properly. He was frustrated. Then Prosecutor Jin did the same, continued to grill him about his relationship with Ye Seul noona. So, he lost it. He wanted to make it clear it seemed like, not to everyone in the courtroom but to the person he liked that that was not the case. So, he ended up blurting out that unnecessary line stating that there was someone he was concerned about but that it was not Ye Seul noona. He thought it would end there but Prosecutor Jin, that sly bastard would not let him go so easily. He continued to press on. That was when hyung realized he should not have said what he said but it was already too late. Nevertheless, being quick on his feet, he interpreted his own statement in a different way and answered Sol B. Because, it was anyways true that he was concerned about Sol B. He was concerned about her getting kicked out because of her plagiarized dissertation. By saying her name, he had managed to not only speak the truth and evade the psycho’s questioning but he also managed to stop himself from confessing to the girl he actually liked in the middle of his friend’s trial. Finally, to make sure Sol B did not get the wrong idea he even confided in her after the trial about her dissertation.”
It was too much to take in at once for Sol A. She did not know how to digest all this newfound information. She slowly got up from her chair and picked up her backpack to leave. Jiho had not intended to bring out this kind of reaction from her; he felt like maybe he should have just kept quiet about the whole thing.
He watched as she staggered towards the exit. He called out for her one last time. He waited until her tired eyes met his. “I am not a hundred percent sure if he likes you but I am a thousand percent sure it’s not Sol B. You should really talk to him. I’ll let him know.” He almost gave her a comforting smile but quickly caught himself. He may be grateful for Joon Hwi's help but he was not going to go all soft because of him. He cleared his throat and nonchalantly went back to focusing on his work for the day.
Sol A was exhausted. She had gone to meet Jiho only to find out about Joon Hwi’s schedule for the day but she had ended up coming out with a lot more information than she could handle. Was she really the girl Joon Hwi was concerned about? She could feel her head starting to hurt. She needed rest. She gathered all the remaining energy she had left and dragged herself to her room.
“Unnie, are you sleeping?” Sol A felt someone tapping her leg lightly. She pulled down the blanket from covering her face. “I was about to.” She must have sounded like she was coming down with a fever, Ye Seul was now anxiously staring at her as she helped Sol A sit up.
“Unnie, wae geurae? You are not feeling well?” She immediately brought her hand to Sol A’s forehead to check her temperature. “Phew, it’s not a fever. You almost scared me. Waeyo unnie? Is it Lee Man-ho? Is he giving you a hard time?” She scooted closer to her and held her by her shoulders.
Sol A pushed herself back to lean against the bedrest. Ye Seul crawled over to sit right next to her. “It’s Lee Man-ho, Park Geun-tae, Professor Yang and so many other people. Everyone is hellbent on torturing me. I am already underweight. At this rate, I might as well just dissipate into thin air. Ye Seul-a make sure to hold onto me if that happens.” She flashed her a defeated smile.
Ye Seul felt bad for her, she responded right away by locking her arm with Sol A. “Don’t worry unnie, I got you. I am not letting anyone take you away. What would I do without you here, anyways?” She cuddled closer and rested her head on her unnie’s shoulder. “Unnie, should we get maekju and chicken to make you feel better, hmm?”
“Yes, get it, I could use some food. I was actually craving for chicken. Woah, Jeon Ye Seul, you know me so well.”
“I will just order it. Wait, where’s my phone? I left it right here.”
“Ye Seul-a."
"Mhm?"
"How do you know if somebody likes you?”
Ye Seul had a chicken leg stuffed in her mouth; she pulled the bone out and dropped it into the box. “You’re talking about Joon Hwi oppa?” she barely managed to get the words out with all the chicken in her mouth.
Sol A placed her chicken leg down and sat up straight. “Why do you think it’s Joon Hwi?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ye Seul took a sip of maekju from her mug.
“Ani, not to me. Wae? Why did you assume I was talking about Joon Hwi?”
“Unnie, how can you be so oblivious? Anyone who has seen Joon Hwi oppa with you would be able to tell right away he only has eyes for you. I thought he confessed and that's why you were asking that question.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember that day when you got a nosebleed and fainted towards the end of our exam? Joon Hwi oppa basically scribbled the remainder of the paper and rushed out before anyone else to see you. He was so worried.”
“He did?” Sol A did not know that. When Joon Hwi arrived at the hospital that day, there were no signs of him having rushed to see her. He was calm and collected as usual with that playful smile on his face. He even tried to get her back to work until Seungjae oppa told him that she needed to rest for a little while longer.
“It’s pretty obvious in his body language as well. He always put himself in between Yeong-chang oppa and you whenever oppa tried to threaten you.” Ye Seul picked up a piece of pickled radish and placed it in her mouth.
“Ya, he did that for you as well. If your theory is correct, then it would mean that he liked you as well.” Sol A did not know why she was trying to fight everyone who believed that Joon Hwi was in love with her. Maybe it was because Joon Hwi was one of her dearest friends, someone she wanted in her life for years to come. She was afraid this new relationship between them might ruin that.
“Like I said, it’s in the eyes, unnie. It’s true he did the same for me but that was just to diffuse the tension. But with you, his eyes seemed like he was challenging Young-chang oppa; it was as if he was silently warning him, Mess with her and I will end you, type of gaze? He looked super protective.”
Sol A suddenly lost her appetite. She got up from the floor and sat at the edge of her bed. “I think I want to go to bed.”
Ye Seul felt flustered by Sol A’s change of mind but she got up as well and started cleaning up. “I’ll join you. Sol B unnie is away, right?”
“She is but she will be back early in the morning.” Sol A looked spaced out as she answered Ye Seul.
“Geurae? Arasseo, then I’ll just clean up and leave.” She picked up the empty boxes and dropped them into a plastic bag.
“Aniya, I don’t want to be by myself. Stay. We can share the bed.” Sol A grabbed Ye Seul’s hand. She was pouting now. She looked so adorable with that expression, Ye Seul almost cooed.
“Fine, I’ll stay," she agreed but Sol A still did not let go. Ye Seul could not help but chuckle with affection. “I promise I will stay. Let me just clean all this up, unnie," she comforted softly before gently releasing her hand from her hold.
“Ani, if he has something to say, why can’t he do it during work hours? Why does he have call me at this time everyday? Aish…” Sol A stared at Park Geun-tae’s nickname popping up on her phone.
“Waeyo?” She did not even try to hide her annoyance anymore. “Mwo?! What do you mean Lee Man-ho escaped?!”
Sol A could only think of one thing at the moment- Byeol. She needed to get to Byeol as quickly as possible. She turned on her heel and dashed out of the school.
“Byeol-a! KANG BYEOL! Where are you?!” The front door was open. Sol A felt like her heart was going to drop to the ground any second. She felt like her whole world was about to come crashing down. She was starting to feel slightly dizzy from all the running and panicking, she let the door support her for a second before continuing to call out for her baby sister.
Just then she heard the creaking sound of the cupboard door opening in the bedroom. “Byeol-a!” Sol A’s legs were this close to giving out but she somehow managed to get inside. Byeol was there, hiding inside the cupboard, her legs pulled up to her chest and her hands tightly gripping her knees. She was clearly scared. Tears were streaming down her face and her small body was shaking like a leaf when Sol A reached for her.
“Mianhae, mianhae, unnie-ga mianhae! Gwaenchana, don’t worry, I’m here. He cannot get to you now.” Sol A pulled her sister out of the closet and wrapped her arms around her protectively. She rubbed her Byeol’s back soothingly to calm her nerves. She cradled her in that position for a few minutes.
“Uri Byeol-ie, you are so smart. You hid yourself in a cupboard. Unnie is so proud of you. You did well. Gomawo for being safe,” she continued to talk to her to distract her from recalling the break-in.
“I am not the smart one...Oppa is,” Byeol finally spoke up.
“Oppa?”
“Hmm, Joon Hwi oppa. He told me to hide in the cupboard. He was the one who saved me.”
“Joon Hwi came?” Sol A felt a sudden rush of emotions pass through her when she heard Byeol say Joon Hwi’s name. She could not put a finger on what they were. It was a mixture of relief, gratitude and…affection?
“Yes, he did. He stopped Lee Man-ho from hurting me. They were fighting and when he ran away, oppa told me to hide inside the cupboard and not to come out until he came back to get me,” Byeol explained. “But it’s been quite some time since he left. Unnie, nothing would have happened to oppa, right? I am so scared.” She started to cry once again.
“Aniya, Joon Hwi is pretty strong. Lee Man-ho cannot hurt him. He will be back. Don’t worry.” Sol A did not know if she was comforting Byeol or herself at the moment. She could not help but imagine Joon Hwi seriously hurt and bleeding somewhere on a pavement; her heart was now pounding in her chest. Please be okay, she prayed as she tightened the hold on her sister.
“Byeol-a, sit here for a while, okay? There are broken glass pieces on the floor. You might get hurt if you step on them. Unnie will clean them up quickly.”
Sol A put her hair into a bun and got to work. She grabbed a broom and dustpan from the kitchen and started sweeping up all the pieces on the floor. She noticed blood on one of the pieces, she stopped and bent down to pick it up. She let her fingers gloss over the dried blood on the glass. She did not realize but her eyes were now wet with tears. She sniffled at the thought that it might be Joon Hwi’s blood. From the corner, she could feel Byeol’s intense gaze on her. She quickly wiped her face and cleared her nose block and got back to cleaning.
“Byeol-a!” Sol A could recognize that voice anywhere. She dropped the broom and ran outside.
And there he was, standing in front of her, his hair drenched in sweat and plastered to his face. He was bleeding from his forehead and left arm and his ankle seemed to be slightly sprained as he struggled to walk without softly hissing in pain.
“Joon Hwi-ya!” Sol A could not control the way she sounded when she called out his name. Anyone would have been able to guess what she was feeling in that moment. She was being quite obvious and she knew it but she could care less. They were now both staring at each other without saying a word. Byeol walked in just then to save them from the awkward silence. “Oppa!”
“Oh Byeol-a!” Joon Hwi quickly shifted his attention to Sol A’s little sister who was now running towards him in full speed. He bent forward and easily lifted her up into his arms despite his injuries. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Byeol-a, gwaenchana? You must have been so scared.” Sol A had never heard Joon Hwi talk this sweetly to anyone before. He sounded so gentle as he snuggled her sister close to his chest. “Oppaga mianhae. I should have been there sooner,” he apologized softly, just enough for her to hear.
“Aniyo, oppa saved me and you even got injured because of that. You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault. It’s Lee Man-ho’s.” Byeol seemed firm about that. She was not going to let anyone tell her otherwise. She tightened her hug to let him know that she was grateful.
“Geurae? Arasseo, I won’t apologize," he chucked softly. "Gomawo for being brave today.” Joon Hwi returned her gesture. He held her tightly in his arms and walked back and forth for about a minute before finally putting her down. He knelt to meet her height. “Byeol-a, oppa has to talk to your sister about something, you mind waiting inside? We’ll be real quick.” He asked for her permission while gently tucking the loosened strands of her hair behind her ear.
Byeol quietly nodded and ran inside. It was now just the two of them. Sol A had gone in to get the first-aid kit in the meantime; she walked over and sat down on the concrete slab opposite their house. She patted the space next to her.
She watched as Joon Hwi gave her his usual playful smile and made his way towards her. They were now sitting side by side, their shoulders almost touching. Sol A did not say a word. She quietly got to treating his wounds.
“Did you catch him?” Sol A knew it was not right to ask that as the first question but she could not help herself. She was worried about Lee Man-ho trying to attack Byeol again.
“Aniya, he managed to escape. It was not Lee Man-ho.”
Sol A turned to look at Joon Hwi properly. “It was not Lee Man-ho? But Byeol said-”
Joon Hwi shook his head. “-It was dark and she was scared. She just assumed it must have been him."
"Then who was it?"
"I think it is one of Assemblyman Ko Hyeong-su’s men.”
“Assemblyman Ko Hyeong-su? Why would he—”
“—I don’t know. Both Lee Man ho and him are connected to your sister Kang Dan. Maybe, he was trying to lure her out using Byeol or something. I am not really sure.”
Sol A did not mean to but she was busy staring down Joon Hwi while he was speaking. She noticed that he was still in his suit. He had come right from Prosecutor Jin’s office. His white shirt was now completely soiled and his shoes were a mess.
“How did you know something was going to happen to Byeol?” She met his eyes.
“I heard Lee Man-ho escaped. I had a bad feeling so I came down to check on her,” he explained while wiping the sweat off his forehead.
“Joon Hwi-ya,” She paused for a second. “Gomawo…if you had not come in time…” she bit her lips as tears started welling in her eyes.
“Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t think about what might have happened if I hadn’t come. I did and Byeol is safe. Just think about that.” That was Joon Hwi. He never let her fall into despair, ever. Even when she had hurt him, that did not change anything.
She let herself look at him properly for the first time. She recalled the first day of class when he rescued her from Professor Yang, she recalled the tiny post-it note he had sent her when she felt like she was the only one bothered by Professor Seo Byung-ju’s death. She recalled all the times, he had helped her out with her studies and Legal Clinic cases. He was there for her when she was threatened by Lee Man-ho and Assemblyman Ko Hyeong-su and he had even gone to the extent of installing a CCTV camera for her safety and Byeol’s. He had also kept watch outside her house because he was worried about Lee Man-ho staying right opposite them. He had been there every time Ko Yeong-chang threatened or tried to hurt her. Whether it was hearing out her problems or letting her vent, he was always, always there by her side.
“Joon Hwi-ya,” she called out when she finally found the answer to the question that was bothering her for the last two days.
“Hmm?” He turned to face her.
“Mianhae. Whatever I said the other day, I was completely wrong. I had misunderstood the situation and I shouldn’t have done that. Being a student of law, I should not have come to an assumption so quickly, mianhae. And about your uncle, it's not your fault and I never once thought that.”
He smirked playfully. “What assumption?”
Sol A knew he was messing with her but he let him have it this time. After all she had hurt his feelings, she was going to let it slide this time. She decided to play along. “That you liked Sol B,” she confessed softly.
“What made you realize I don’t like Sol B? I actually do like her, you are wrong.” He probably expected Sol A to fall for it but he was not aware Ye Seul and Jiho had already provided her with all the evidence needed to prove that Joon Hwi liked her.
“Yeah sure, I’m not that oblivious anymore. I know for a fact it’s not Sol B that you like.”
Joon Hwi seemed slightly surprised by her response. He sat up straight and looked at her in the eyes. “Then who is it?” He asked nervously.
Sol A raised her head to meet him. She gave him a slightly annoyed look. “I didn’t feel this way all this time but since the last two days, I have been thinking. And right in this moment, I realized something,” she teased.
“What is it?” Sol A found it adorable the way his eyes were now wide open, anticipating her answer.
“That you are not so bad,” she continued to play hard.
“Mwoya, I shed blood, sweat and tears to save your sister and that’s all you have to say to me? That I’m not so bad?” He pretended to be disappointed by her answer.
“Ya, Han Joon Hwi,” she intervened his whining.
“What?”
“Ask me.”
“Ask you what?”
“What you have wanted to ask me all this time but didn’t; what you wanted to say in the courtroom but couldn’t.” She challenged him with her gaze.
Joon Hwi seemed slightly confused at first but quickly understood what she meant. He was now completely facing her.
“Kang Sol A,” he started.
“Hmm?”
“I…like you. Go out with me.” He was clearly nervous, his eyes barely met hers as he confessed.
“Geurae,” she answered coolly.
Joon Hwi looked up, shocked. “What did you just say?”
“I said, geurae, I will go out with you.”
Sol A felt a great sense of happiness watching Joon Hwi look like how she did yesterday when she found out he liked her. This was payback for causing her to get no sleep for the past two nights.
“You will?” He was still in shock.
Sol A decided to help him out of his misery. “I like you too, imma,” she made herself loud and clear.
It was right in that moment; she saw something she had never seen before- Joon Hwi blushing. His cheeks were dusted pink and his ears were bright red.
“Wah, what is this face I have never seen? Are you blushing?” She decided to joke around to prevent the mood from turning too melodramatic.
“Aniya, I don’t blush. It’s because of all that running I did earlier.” He covered his ears with his hands. Sol A thought he was cute. She laughed at him in adoration and got up to go into her house.
But Joon Hwi was quicker, he grabbed her hand to stop her. “Where are you going?”
“What do you mean, where am I going? Byeol’s all by herself in the house. I need to make dinner for her. It’s already too late. She should have been asleep by now,” Sol A tried to cover up for her nervousness of being around him after the confession.
“So, you are just going to leave me hanging after confessing that you like me as well?” He got up and closed the distance between them.
“What else do you want me to say?” Sol A avoided his eyes.
“Not say, ugh, you are so clueless sometimes,” he sounded exasperated.
Sol A knew what he was talking about but she just pretended like she did not understand.
“Can I kiss you?” Sol A thought he would just initiate the kiss without asking but ever the gentleman, he was now patiently waiting for her to give him permission to make a move.
Joon Hwi was beautiful inside and out. Sol A felt bad, she did not realize it sooner. But well, she could always make up for it. She grabbed him by his face and kissed him. He seemed slightly taken aback by her sudden advance but quickly recovered. He snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him. His other hand held her face in place as he captured her lips in his, a little more forcefully than she did. They stayed like that for a few seconds, kissing until they heard a loud thud from inside the house.
“What was that?”
“Byeol must have dropped something, it’s nothing, c’mere.” Joon Hwi tried to close the distance between them again but the mood was ruined. Sol A was now seriously staring at the door.
“We need to check on her.” She untangled herself from his embrace and rushed into the house. Joon Hwi huffed in frustration and followed her inside.
“Byeol-a, gwaenchana? What happened?” Sol A bent down to check on her sister.
“Nothing, I just tripped against the table and fell. It’s nothing,” she giggled nervously.
“What do you mean nothing? Show me, where did you get hurt?” She was now forcibly checking her sister for injuries.
“Wah, look at this, how hard did you hit yourself to hurt your knee like this?” Sol A looked horrified.
“I was just running from the door—” Byeol hissed when she realized she had said too much.
Sol A turned to look at Joon Hwi. She saw us kissing, they silently acknowledged what had happened.
“Byeol-a,” Joon Hwi was about to fix the situation when she interrupted him.
“Oppa, are you my sister’s boyfriend?” Byeol was now looking up at him with those big eyes; Joon Hwi almost burst out laughing thinking about how similar the Kang siblings looked when there stared at people like that, like they were going to beat them up if they did not tell the truth.
“I am,” he answered with the biggest smile on his face but it only lasted a few seconds before Sol A elbowed him in his gut.
“Aniya, Byeol-a, it’s not like—”
“—Byeol-a, do you not like oppa being your unnie’s boyfriend?” Joon Hwi cut in.
“Aniyo,” Joon Hwi felt slightly sad when he heard that but Byeol was not done yet. “I love it!” she squealed.
“See, your sister loves me.” He hi-fived her. Sol A closed her eyes in defeat. She spun him around and pushed him towards the door. “Okay, that’s enough both of you. Let’s get you out of the house. Byeol stay inside.”
“But I want to see oppa off—”
“Pssst…I said stay inside,” she ordered firmly.
“Hmph, I hate you unnie.” Byeol stormed into her room.
“Gwaenchana Byeol-a, oppa will come to see you tomorrow!” Joon Hwi yelled as he was being dragged out.
When they reached outside, Sol A let him go. “Ga, I will see you tomorrow.”
“Are you jealous that I get along so well with your sister?” He tried to tease her.
“Yeah right, I am so jealous, I'm actually turning green. You are so full of yourself, you know that?” She pushed him away from her face.
“But you like me anyways,” he continued to tease.
“I do,” she suddenly became serious. Joon Hwi stopped playing around and held her gaze. “Now, get your ass back home.” She was the queen of push-and-pull. Joon Hwi looked slightly pissed.
“Fine, I am leaving,” he grumbled and turned away from her. He must have taken like ten steps, he ran back to her.
“What are you do—”
He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see in class tomorrow, goodnight...sunbae,” he whispered in her ear before jogging away.
Sol A was now standing outside her house in shock, with her hand on her cheek and ears turned bright red.
“Unnie, are we even going to have dinner tonight?” Byeol interrupted her thoughts.
“Ah, what? Ah, yes, dinner, I’m coming.” She stared at the road Joon Hwi took. Damn that bastard, he's got me feeling some type of way. She smiled to herself as she closed the door and made her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner.