Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Seeing his cocky posture made me start getting annoyed again, like I’d never felt intimidated in the first place. He even wiggled the tip of his shoe like he was teasing me, and I seriously considered kicking him.

I thought about telling him to sit properly, but there was no way he’d hear my voice through all this noise. I tried thinking of another way, and that’s when I realized how stupid I was being.

I could’ve just moved to the seat beside him. Why was I sitting here like a fool? I hesitated, waiting for the right moment, and fiddled with my seatbelt.

But Shin Chi-woo must’ve figured out what I was thinking right away. As soon as I reached for the buckle, he shook his head firmly, telling me not to. At the same time, a voice came through the headset.

“Ms. Seo Wan-yi, that’s dangerous. Stay where you are.”

It was so loud, it must’ve pierced right through the headset. The bob-haired woman in the co-pilot seat turned and frowned at me, pointing downward in a clear gesture to sit still.

“You can’t move!”

Right. This wasn’t a bus—it was the sky. Sudden movements could be dangerous. No matter how uncomfortable or awkward I felt, I had to endure it for everyone’s safety.

I nodded to show I understood and awkwardly pulled my hands away from the seatbelt. I readjusted myself in my seat and wiggled my hand sideways, gesturing for him to move his leg.

But the more I moved, the more he deliberately tapped the tip of his shoe against my shin. It wasn’t an accidental bump from shifting position. He was clearly doing it to get under my skin. How could I not be mad?

Stop it.

Even if he couldn’t hear my voice, he could read my lips. I considered swearing at him, but I held back and just glared, mouthing for him to knock it off.

There’s no way he didn’t notice how annoyed I was. He touched his brow and smirked, then suddenly bumped my shin again.

Seriously? What is he, a grade schooler? What’s so fun about this kind of childish crap? I couldn’t understand it at all.

Still, I thought he’d stop after doing it once or twice. I tried to endure it. But the more I ignored him, the more I looked away, the more persistent he became. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Stop it!”

I snapped and kicked his long leg with my right foot. My sneaker left a nice, clear mark on his black suit pants, and I couldn’t deny the little thrill I felt.

“Cut it out!”

Even though I lashed out, he just kept laughing like it was all so amusing. As if to provoke me even more, he stopped the tapping and started slowly running the tip of his shoe along my leg—from ankle to knee—as if rubbing it.

I was wearing thick winter pants, practically like sweats, so there was no direct contact. But what Shin Chi-woo was doing didn’t feel like some silly prank anymore.

The way he brushed against my leg, touched my shin—it felt like something else entirely. It was… hard to explain. The feeling, the atmosphere—it was just weird.

“…Don’t.”

So this time, I didn’t kick. I let out a long sigh and asked in a pleading voice. He was still staring at me, so I knew he could understand what I was saying.

“I said stop.”

“…….”

“I mean it. Don’t touch me.”

Looking like I was about to cry, I said it firmly, and finally, Shin Chi-woo stopped. But he didn’t look even slightly sorry.

Instead, he casually brushed my footprint off his pants. Still with his legs crossed. What a bastard.

Fine… Do whatever you want.

Faced with his selfishness—doing whatever he pleased—I gave up. I didn’t even have the energy to fight. It was better to just curl up and try to stay away from him. But that didn’t mean I’d take it lying down.

I slowly unwrapped the scarf from around my neck. Then, looking straight at the face that had been staring so intently at me, I tossed it right at him. It was made of soft cashmere, so I knew it wouldn’t hurt—but emotionally, I felt like a shot-put athlete throwing every ounce of anger I had.

Ugh—damn it.

But my perfect counterattack ended with Shin Chi-woo tilting his head slightly to the side and dodging it. The scarf grazed his shoulder once and then dropped into the seat beside him after hitting the partition wall between the front and back of the cockpit.

Still, maybe he realized I was genuinely angry, because he uncrossed his legs. He placed them neatly, parallel like the number eleven, and sat up straight. Still staring at me with that soft, intent gaze.

Ugh… I don’t care anymore. I didn’t even want to look at him.

If he disappeared from sight, maybe the anger would fade too. I turned my head toward the window, trying hard not to look at him. Bathed in the light of the rising sun, I stared blankly at the sky, endlessly, trying to push away the bickering and tension.

I didn’t know what would happen once I returned to Seoul, but just for this moment, I wanted to let everything go. Since the night of my birthday, my head had been constantly clouded over.

I had been staring out the window for a while when I felt the helicopter slowly begin its descent for landing. We were finally back in Seoul.

“Be careful getting out.”

“I can do it. Don’t touch me.”

“You’re really sulking over a little teasing?”

“……”

“Do you really hate me that much?”

“Yes. I really do.”

As soon as the helicopter landed and came to a complete stop, everyone seemed to simultaneously take off their headsets. Then Shin Chi-woo unbuckled his seatbelt and moved toward me, but I slapped his hand away. It looked like he was trying to undo my seatbelt, but I was more than capable of doing that myself.

When I unbuckled and was about to get off, he stopped me again. In his hand was the black scarf I had thrown at him.

“Even if you hate me, it’s cold. Put this on.”

“I said I’m fine. Ugh, don’t.”

“Really don’t want me to?”

“Then give it here. I’ll do it myself.”

It wasn’t just the two of us here. There were other people around, so why was he trying to do it himself like that? I could tell this was his awkward way of trying to smooth things over, but really—if he hadn’t pushed me in the first place, there would’ve been nothing to fix.

Resigned, I reached out with my right hand and took the scarf from him. This time, I didn’t wrap it tightly around my neck like a coil but folded it in half and looped one end through the other before stepping off the helicopter.

There was an H marked on the ground, confirming it was a helipad, but judging by the surroundings during the descent, this clearly wasn’t Seoul.

Well, if I’d been dropped in the middle of Seoul, Chairman Pyeon Jae-ho would’ve found out right away. I had a hunch they’d land on the outskirts somewhere more secluded, and I was right.

“Get in.”

“Where are we going?”

“How long has it been since you last saw your father?”

“You don’t mean…”

“If you don’t want to come, don’t.”

Outside the helipad, there was a car. I wondered if my father might be inside, but unfortunately, it was empty. Judging by the look of it, this was the vehicle Shin Chi-woo and the bob-haired woman had taken here last night.

“Get in.”

Shin Chi-woo opened the backseat door on the driver’s side and nodded toward the car. I did as he said and got in.

The bob-haired woman was in the driver’s seat, hands on the wheel. Since it was a car and not a helicopter, Shin Chi-woo couldn’t sit facing me this time—he sat beside me instead.

Wearing a dazed expression, I quietly took in the bright morning outside the window. Seeing Shin Chi-woo in this kind of daylight felt strange. He was a man who always seemed to exist in darkness, and maybe that’s why it felt off.

Also, I wasn’t sure if getting in the car so readily after hearing I might see my father had been the right decision. But just for now, I wanted to trust Shin Chi-woo. To help me and my father, he had probably exposed himself to a lot of danger.

Whatever personal emotional battles we had, I owed it to him that I’d even escaped that island. Of all people, I knew best how much he’d worked over the past three months.

Yeah… and despite knowing that, I hadn’t even said thank you when I saw him. No wonder he was irritated. I should’ve sweet-talked him and tried to soothe things like a soft tongue behind my teeth.

“……”

Every time I said I wouldn’t act this way, it always ended in the same loop—getting mad, regretting it too late. I had no right to call him childish for bothering me. I was just as immature, caught up in petty pride battles of my own.

Lost in thought, I must’ve unconsciously been fidgeting with the ring on my left ring finger using my right hand. Maybe it looked like I was fiddling around to Shin Chi-woo, because he, who had been staring ahead, slowly turned his head to the left. His eyes met mine briefly, then I felt his gaze lower.