The Kiss That Shouldn't Have Happened
The whole area erupted into sudden chaos, but Yu Yeong-a’s mind had gone completely blank. Not a single sound reached her ears.
‘Did I… just kiss him?’
With her mind still blank, she slowly lifted her gaze. She swallowed her scream and tightly closed her eyes.
‘Kyaa!’
The eyes glaring at her were sharp enough to kill.
‘What do I do? What do I do?’
Panicking, she tried to come up with a solution, but a voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
“Excuse me.”
It was Suho. There was no mistaking who it was aimed at.
Yu Yeong-a suddenly snapped back to reality. There was no time to think. She wrapped her arms around the man’s neck and buried her face in his nape, whispering urgently.
“I’m so sorry. Please, just a moment like this….”
She knew she should have been the one to apologize since he had started it.
“Haa…”
The man let out an irritated sigh.
“Are you not letting go?”
The man’s voice, barely between clenched teeth, was more than just cold—it was terrifying. Yet all Yu Yeong-a could think about was how to avoid looking back.
‘I’ll just quit this part-time job!’
Deciding quickly, she let her arms and neck go limp, burying her head deeper into the man’s shoulder. It was better to lose the time and money than to cross the river of no return with Suho.
“I’m losing my mind. What kind of silly stunt is this….”
The man’s muttering was already extremely nervous. But the soft touch of the white shirt he wore and the warm linen scent oddly comforted her heart.
Even in her confusion, Yu Yeong-a realized he was a stranger. It was strange that she felt so at ease.
“Hey, representative! What is this… part-time job! Part-time job! Are you okay? Why are you acting like this?”
The team leader arrived late and shouted.
“Part-time job?”
“Yes. He collapsed after pushing himself to the limit running around the logistics center all night. I think so.”
The team leader clicked his tongue and shook Yu Yeong-a’s shoulder.
“Part-timer, snap out of it!”
Yu Yeong-a pressed her forehead firmly against the man’s shoulder and tensed her body. The title “representative” was serious, but it meant nothing to her right now.
“Representative, please let me take care of this.”
“No need. You’ve already fallen on me. Where’s the infirmary?”
The man pushed the team leader aside and lifted Yu Yeong-a into his arms.
“Sigh, you’re such a precious person to help with something like this.”
“What a lucky guy. Especially on a day like today.”
The team leader asked, but the man didn’t answer. Yu Yeong-a wondered what he meant too, but she didn’t press.
The makeshift infirmary inside the large bus was quite far from the venue, yet the man’s long legs got them there in no time.
“The part-timer apparently collapsed from too much sunlight in this heat.”
The man lay her on the bed and explained the situation to the on-duty nurse.
“Oh my, you even covered your head properly. How did this happen? Student, student! Can you hear me?”
The nurse tried to remove Yu Yeong-a’s sunglasses when the team leader rushed into the infirmary.
“How is the part-timer?”
The nurse’s hand paused. Yu Yeong-a quickly raised her hand to pretend to hold her head, gripping the sunglasses. Her instincts screamed to protect her face.
The nurse and the team leader asked at the same time.
“Huh? Are you okay?”
“Part-timer, are you fine?”
Yu Yeong-a trembled like someone with a chill and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
“Yes. I have anemia and sometimes get like this. I’ll feel better after a little rest.”
“All right. Rest a bit longer and then get up. I have to write some paperwork over there. Call if you need anything.”
The nurse nodded and left. The team leader whispered to Yu Yeong-a.
“Part-timer, I’ll head out first. Rest enough and come out. If you collapse again, I’ll be the one to take the blame. Got it?”
After the team leader left the infirmary, the man would naturally leave too. But he walked heavily toward Yu Yeong-a’s bed instead of the door.
The man’s presence alone felt oppressive. Even a quick glance showed he was tall enough to reach the bus ceiling and had a sturdy build.
She didn’t have the courage to look at his face. Even with the sunglasses blocking her view, Yu Yeong-a kept her eyes squeezed shut. At that moment, his scent became thick and overwhelming.
When she timidly peeked through the sunglasses, Yu Yeong-a’s shoulders twitched. The man had lowered his head right next to her face.
“Who sent you?”
“N-ne? What do you mean…?”
Sent? Did that mean even someone who accepted such a request? Confused, the man demanded harshly.
“You don’t know? Hurrying and crying is the only way to save your skin.”
Yu Yeong-a grew more anxious. But from her many experiences, the more nervous the situation, the more she had to stay alert.
“No, I felt dizzy because of my anemia and stopped… But the participant pulled me first, so that’s why.”
She thought she had handled it well, but the man didn’t even look sympathetic.
“After that. You weren’t unconscious. I know exactly how tightly you held my neck when you were leaning on my shoulder.”
“T-that’s… I’ve been working so hard my neck and shoulders are stiff! That’s why it felt hard! I really, I really fainted!”
She barely continued the lie, but her voice trembled like a sapling in a storm.
“It was stiff?”
The man let out a playful laugh and slowly drew a circle around her face. His long fingers made a graceful movement, but it only felt threatening to her.
“Your forehead has soft downy fuzz and that baby scent is radiating all over. It looks soft.”
She couldn’t smell her own scent, but downy fuzz was a topic everyone talked about.
“How did this… get up to my forehead?”
Yu Yeong-a had secretly raised one hand to pull the cloth down when the man asked a random question.
“But where have I seen you before?”
The man asked without warning. Yu Yeong-a felt even more wronged. A single part-timer like her—how could she possibly have met a company representative!
“That’s impossible….”
Her voice came out pathetically. An event that might never happen in a lifetime had actually occurred, and the person on the other side was anything but ordinary.
She really had no luck! Whatever she said, it wouldn’t work on him.
“But why do I feel like I’ve heard of you before….”
“I’m sorry! It really wasn’t anyone who sent me. It was an accident, but I did fall first, so I apologize.”
Yu Yeong-a pressed both palms together and stuck them up toward her head. She had no awareness of interrupting him.
She rubbed her palms together with a loud clack. There was nowhere to retreat, and no other way to get away.
The gesture was desperate, but the man smirked.
“An adult, crying with sunglasses properly on a crappy cloth, and you want me to accept your apology?”
Every time his low voice cut off, Yu Yeong-a’s shoulders twitched.
“Take it off right now? That mouth….”
The man’s voice grew dangerous as he gripped the edge of the cloth. Someone called him from outside the infirmary.
“Representative, the performance is about to start. You need to move to the sponsor seats immediately.”
“Kid, don’t think anything. Just stay right here and wait.”
The man’s words carried strong insistence. He also pouted his lips. Was he seriously about to blame her over one kiss?
But the one who had been kissed was actually her. Besides, Yu Yeong-a had a thousand years of love to fulfill!
Even so, the man’s terrifying persistence made her feel she would be dragged away. Now Yu Yeong-a wasn’t scared of a monster—she was genuinely pale with fear.
After the man left, Yu Yeong-a quickly got up and approached the nurse.
“I’m feeling better now. I’ll be going. Thank you.”
Outside, Yu Yeong-a quickly looked around. The venue was far from the infirmary.
“Thank goodness.”
Walking quickly toward the event bus, she met the team leader first.
“Huh? You came out fast. Are you okay now?”
Yu Yeong-a quickly handed him the sunglasses and bowed her head.
“To be honest, I think I should go home. My body isn’t feeling well.”
“Can’t be helped. Just in case, can I contact you later about the wages?”
The team leader’s face had turned a bit red. These types of people would stubbornly contact her over and over until she finally gave in. It was one of the many things Yu Yeong-a had experienced from various job sites.
That was why she didn’t do private tutoring either. After experiencing such things several times and causing misunderstandings with parents, she feared doing it at all. It was a relief her phone number wasn’t on the part-time list.
“It’s fine. I didn’t even finish the time. But that person earlier—was he a company representative?”
Just in case, she wanted to remember who he was.
“I’m not sure. He’s not under me, but why? Do you want to know?”
No way. Yu Yeong-a quickly shook her head.
“No! I thought I should at least give thanks.”
“I’ll pass the message. Don’t worry about it.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Yu Yeong-a returned the event staff vest and quickly exited the venue. The tall man looked like he was about to follow her any second.
Yu Yeong-a bit her lip and kept glancing back. It was just an accident, but why did her lips keep tingling?
“Anyway, what’s this baby scent thing?”
Yu Yeong-a stretched her T-shirt and pressed it to her nose, but she didn’t notice any special scent.
Suddenly, she remembered the man’s scent. Even in panic, it had given her a strangely comforting warmth.
Now that she thought about it, Suho had called her “baby” when he saw her earlier too.
It had been an extremely strange day.
When she got home, Yu Yeong-a took a short nap. The moment she fell asleep, she heard the doorbell and immediately started delivering food. She had to keep moving; as Grandma said, if she died, she would just turn to dust.
She walked and walked until it was nearly 10 p.m. At that moment, her grandmother who had raised her called.
“Our Rose, why are you not sleeping at this hour?”
“Hey, didn’t I tell you a month-long temple guest is suddenly coming to Seoul tomorrow? Because of Mr. Park, I’m swamped. What about you? Aren’t you asleep outside?”
Grandma Jangmi was the supply priest at Mukwol Hermitage, a meditation hermitage built deep in the mountains of Yanggu, a large temple in Seoul. Her job was to prepare meals for the monks staying in the off-season and visitors who came to offer prayers.
“I’m at the library and heading home now.”
Working part-time day and night was a secret from Grandma.
Grandma was the notorious miser of the neighborhood. She walked harsh mountain paths and lived extremely frugally, yet she never missed sending Yu Yeong-a’s living expenses every month. Yu Yeong-a couldn’t bear to spend that money.
With the money she saved, she planned to buy a house for herself and Grandma. Mr. Park was there too, but she couldn’t keep Grandma in the mountains forever.
“Come cheap. During the day a sudden loud noise made you collapse, and you’re not even waking up? That’s too much for me.”
If she lived in the temple long, maybe she could see a thousand li away. Sometimes Grandma spoke as if she knew everything. Of course it was coincidence, but Yu Yeong-a laughed.
“Yes, I’ll come in quickly.”
After hanging up, Yu Yeong-a received one last call. It was a large new luxury apartment complex. With various snacks and alcohol, her shoulders felt heavy, but finding the house was easy. Since deliveries with alcohol required ID verification, she climbed the stairs and pressed the bell.
Ding dong.
The shiny silver door lock caught her eye. It looked far more modern than the bright, rustic one from her one-room apartment.
The front door opened quickly. The voice outside was noisy and lively.
“Delivery. Please show your ID and sign here.”
Standing in the dark hallway, she handed over the delivery package and took out the terminal from her pocket when the voice from the opposite side called her name.
“Yu Yeong-a?”
It was Chaemi.