Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Realizing
Something precious and beautiful that Jiwoo had carefully treasured silently shattered.
Jiwoo’s face, left alone in the lecture hall, hardened coldly.
Very, very coldly.
It was nearly 10 PM, late at night, when Sunyul saw Harin off at her place.
Having spent most of their time together in the practice room after the general education class they shared, the two had grown quite close.
Sunyul had told Harin to go eat something delicious, but he showed some savvy by paying the bill while she briefly went to the restroom.
Harin blushed again when she was told at the register, “Your boyfriend already paid.”
Standing a little closer to him, Harin deliberately asked, as if trying to dig for an answer she already knew, “Wasn’t I supposed to pay?”
When Sunyul replied, “Then you can buy lunch tomorrow,” she made a blissful expression as if hearts were shooting out of her eyes.
“You didn’t have to walk me home…”
Harin only spoke those words after arriving at her place.
Harin’s studio apartment near the back gate of the school was in a small complex up a narrow uphill path.
Because land prices were cheap, the area was poorly maintained and very dark except for a few dim street lamps, making it a rather eerie neighborhood.
She always emphasized how scary the dark alley was when walking there with Sunyul, and this time too, she was fishing for the answer she wanted.
“It’s dangerous at night.”
Sunyul gave the correct answer again.
“Um, senior—”
Having tasted the situation well, Harin struggled to say something, her expression determined.
“What… are we?”
With this final ultimatum, Harin’s affection level shot up significantly.
[NEW Monday Girlfriend Candidate Kim Harin: ♥♥♥♥]
A message announcing the change flashed loudly before Jiwoo’s eyes.
[System] ‘NEW Monday Girlfriend Candidate Kim Harin’ has reached maximum affection level toward PLAYER.
[System] You can now become romantically involved with ‘NEW Monday Girlfriend Candidate Kim Harin.’
Sunyul smiled triumphantly and poked the cheek of his freezing junior with his finger.
“If you have lunch with me tomorrow, I’ll tell you.”
“…!”
Harin widened her eyes as if attacked unexpectedly.
She clutched her cheek but, struggling to calm her fast breathing, simply said, “Okay, see you tomorrow,” then hurried inside her home.
Sunyul stayed standing there until Harin was no longer visible.
Seeing her off with a kind smile, he lost his smile the moment the sensor light in the building’s entrance turned off, as if the power itself had been cut.
“…That was easy.”
He chuckled lowly, turning away with an expression completely free of regret.
The uphill path where they had talked for so long grew shorter quickly as Sunyul strode forward.
When he was halfway down, a car came from behind.
Who brings a car to such a narrow place?
Annoyed, Sunyul frowned and stepped aside to the edge of the road.
The car slowed, as if cautiously trying not to hit him when it saw him.
Sunyul continued walking without concern and just as he passed under a dim street lamp—
Clink.
Something rolled to his feet.
Reflexively, Sunyul stopped and looked down.
There, next to a pair of black sneakers, lay a clean ring that didn’t fit the eerie alley at all.
Even under the orange light that made everything look poor, the ring retained its noble shine.
Picking it up, Sunyul examined the item carefully.
No wonder it was so dazzling—set in the center of the ring was a fairly large gemstone.
Even in the dark, the jewel shimmered brightly. It was unmistakably a diamond.
How could such a precious thing end up in this shabby place?
Suspicious about the strange combination, Sunyul furrowed his brows—
Thunk!
“…Who would leave something like this here—”
A club hidden in the darkness struck the back of his head.
With a thud, Sunyul, caught by surprise, collapsed to the ground.
He fainted cleanly, showing no movement at all.
The baseball bat that had completed its mission disappeared into the shadow of the building just behind where Sunyul had been standing.
Someone lurking in the darkness approached the fallen man.
From the end of the bat dragged along the ground came a chilling, eerie sound—ssrrr, ssrrr.
Under the streetlamp’s light, Jiwoo appeared, looking down at her beloved boyfriend with glossy eyes.
Without blinking once, she stared fiercely at Sunyul, then moved her lips with a voice mixed with tears.
“I can’t forgive you…”
Screeeech—the car that had come down the alley stopped smoothly.
Its large body fully concealed both Jiwoo, holding the bat, and Sunyul, collapsed at her feet.
The black car with heavily tinted windows quietly slipped out of the alley.
Now, under the streetlamp, there was no one left.
It was a clean kidnapping, leaving behind no evidence.
