The Day She Gave Him Hell
“The pieces you play are really lovely to listen to.”
Sheer lie.
“I work at a law firm just twenty minutes away. Actually, this was only my second time seeing a performance…”
The man glanced at Woo-hee’s chest for a split second, as if checking her name tag.
“T-The Shin Woo-yeon recital keeps echoing in my ears, you see.”
Obvious lie. As a staff member of this restaurant, Woo-hee answered with a perfectly professional smile. The man, however, launched into a full disclosure of his own resume.
Woo-hee mechanically answered back. Even as she radiated an indifferent aura, the man’s lips refused to stop moving. He even leaned his entire body on the piano. He was about to sit down right there while boasting about himself at all hours of the day and night.
The man’s words had grown tedious, but the place was closing down for good tomorrow anyway. There was no need to refuse his business card outright.
She simply took the card and tossed it away later. That was her usual routine.
“I’ll think it over and get back to you.”
Smiling kindly, he extended his hand. At that exact moment, a rude finger suddenly snatched the business card right out of his grasp.
“Han Ji-seok, Partner at Cheokgang Law Firm.”
Arrogantly taking the card and declaring his name, Woo Je-hyeok let out a mocking smile.
“What kind of law firm name is that? So tacky.”
Without warning, he hurled the card behind his shoulder. The man behind him scrambled to catch it.
“Hey! What is this sudden stunt…!”
In an instant, Je-hyeok’s hand shot out and seized the lawyer’s cheek. He yanked the man forward and bent down, pressing their lips together. He gave Woo-hee’s lips a quick, shameless suck before pulling away.
“A-Anyway! What on earth is this…!”
The lawyer, fuming from the sudden kiss, opened his mouth in bewilderment and stuttered.
“What? Just… a greeting.”
A scathing reply. The lawyer looked utterly dumbfounded and ground his teeth.
“Is this some kind of American country?”
Defiantly, the lawyer tried to retort, but Je-hyeok gave no response. He simply stared at the man for a moment before turning away.
“That was sexual harassment…!”
Je-hyeok’s gaze had been so fierce that Woo-hee could not see it. Yet the lawyer’s voice, which had been shouting earlier, had shrunk to a faint whimper.
The lawyer’s eyes darted to Woo-hee, pleading silently for her to say something. He was clearly hoping she would throw Je-hyeok out.
“Are you well?”
A voice came from right beside her, pulling her attention once more.
“Are you well, you say?”
The man possessed a captivating appearance and voice that did not match his wicked nature.
He had appeared out of nowhere. Woo-hee’s heart raced unnaturally fast. She could not tell whether it was due to Je-hyeok’s unexpected entrance or the abrupt kiss.
Nevertheless, everything would be fine soon. Woo-hee replied flatly.
“Yes, I am quite well.”
Je-hyeok tilted his head. His cynical face, mischievous expression, gentle lips, and intriguing eyes—all contradictory traits—blurred the surrounding world except for him.
“Your face doesn’t look angry.”
“…I’m not angry?”
“Yes. Not angry?”
“I’m not.”
“Then why not?”
Je-hyeok echoed her words, leaving Woo-hee momentarily speechless.
“Should I be angry?”
“You should.”
A blunt, short answer. Woo-hee was so dumbfounded she could think of no comeback. Yet he grew even bolder.
“You said you like me. Yet you made me wait.”
Je-hyeok lifted a paper bag, flipped it upside down, and music boxes cascaded onto the piano’s keys.
“I was planning to show up after a full month, but…”
They were all cold medicine.
“To make sure you wouldn’t catch a cold.”
Cold, sore throat, and general flu—various types.
“So you wouldn’t get sick.”
A tiny, astonished laugh escaped Woo-hee.
“Did you all get better?”
“They’ve been gone for a while already.”
She had been about to say she no longer needed them. But Je-hyeok beat her to it.
“That’s good. Actually, I caught a cold too.”
Je-hyeok had stolen her line.
“It was raining, and I was chasing someone in the middle of the highway, getting soaked. I didn’t want to pass it to Shin Woo-yeon, so I waited until I was fully recovered. I was quite disappointed.”
It sounded like a ridiculous lie. Only six days had passed since that day. How could he still look so perfectly healthy? His face radiated vitality and energy instead.
“I wasn’t disappointed.”
Yet why did his lively face irritate her so much?
I said I like you. Yet you made me wait.
If she had to be angry with Je-hyeok, it would not be for that reason. If truly furious, it would be because he had insulted her, not because he had kept her waiting.
However, that anger had long since vanished. Whether he apologized or not no longer mattered.
Je-hyeok raised his lips in a smile and asked casually.
“When does work end for you?”
“Not yet. Still within working hours.”
“Still not fired?”
Woo-hee stared in disbelief as Je-hyeok laughed, as if it were a joke.
“I came to invite you out. Why are you glaring like that?”
With such a light remark came a new business card placed in front of her.
“Call me when it’s over.”
This time it was Je-hyeok’s card, with his number listed.
Woo-hee did not take it. He slid the card among the scattered medicine boxes and turned to leave. The way he slipped his hands into the pockets of his trench coat while walking away felt oddly unlucky.
That was when he spoke.
“It was so disappointing.”
Je-hyeok stopped and looked back at her. His face showed genuine confusion.
It was disappointing. Both the performance and the kiss.
She wondered if he had really forgotten those words. Having been so rude and then appearing again, his intention was both amusing and disheartening.
Only until tomorrow. If he did not show up by then, Woo-hee had truly decided to forget him…
“I wasn’t disappointed. I kept thinking about it. Shin Woo-yeon appears in my dreams even when I sleep, and it haunts me when I’m awake. It’s strange. Maybe the skill is different?”
It sounded like a reference to sexual ability. The faint smile on his face looked innocent.
Yet he remained the same trash. He was using the exact words she had once spoken to seduce him.
“Sorry, but I’ve changed my mind.”
That was why Woo-hee did not believe him.
“Changed my mind about you, Woo Je-hyeok.”
Woo-hee threw back the insult she had received from him that day. However, the man did not treat it as an insult.
“Why changed? That’s what.”
Calmly tilting his head, he looked at her with a mischievous glint.
“You’re more trash than I thought.”
“What a shame. I was about to treat you properly.”
Staff members cleaning the area around Je-hyeok shot them suspicious glances. But none of it mattered. Nothing felt important at all. Now that she looked, the lawyer who had been angry earlier was gone.
She had no idea what was happening around her and was completely focused on Je-hyeok. That fact surprised her anew.
Meanwhile, the man who had been distant earlier approached once more.
“You really won’t sleep with me?”
Whispered in a low voice. When Woo-hee did not answer, he reached for the card again—but instead of taking it, he lightly tapped her finger with the corner of the card.
Madman… Had he read her inner thoughts?
Je-hyeok gave a short laugh, then obediently handed over the card. The moment Woo-hee took it, he said:
“You have to say it to me too.”
“What?”
“I’ll think it over and call you.”
“…”
“You said that to that bastard earlier.”
So was he jealous? A man whose thoughts could not be read.
Je-hyeok had toyed with her sexually more times than she could count. This time it might have been another trick to mock her. That was why she did not answer.
Now she understood that he would lose interest and leave the moment she played along. Woo-hee stared at him calmly.
In the man’s eyes, wicked malice and tender affection appeared at once.
The contradiction was strange. Yet she had no desire to hold his gaze for long. As she turned away, Je-hyeok suddenly lowered his head. Was he about to kiss her again?
Her eyelids trembled faintly.
His nose brushed her cheek. Just as their lips were about to meet, the man stopped. Right in front of him, Je-hyeok laughed loudly again. He calmly slipped the card into her chest pocket.
“Call me when it’s over.”
His tone was familiar, as if addressing a lover.
“Why…?”
“If you want to, call me.”
“…If I don’t want to?”
“Just throw it away.”
But you won’t, his expression clearly said.
He walked away once more. Woo-hee pulled the card from her pocket. Representative of Skylink, Woo Je-hyeok. She memorized the number and crumpled the card tightly.
Je-hyeok greeted the staff and headed toward the exit. Woo-hee stared at his back, but he never once looked back. Only when he completely vanished from her sight did she finally turn away.