The Elevator Confession
At that moment, in the narrow confines of the elevator, Hunter felt an instinctive urge to drag Jiyu straight to his private treehouse.
He was determined to corner her, chase her down, and hunt her there—right in that confined space where escape or hiding was impossible.
The real issue was that even after pulling her into the central courtyard, he had no idea where to start or how to begin the conversation.
Hunter stood frozen, gazing down at her with a tilted head.
His instinct screamed that he could not afford to miss this chance.
‘Damn it. It’s been six whole months since then.’
He had so many questions.
Especially, why had she slapped his cheek the moment she pulled away from a kiss?
After all, he had been the one who said to slap him if she didn’t want to kiss.
But if she truly didn’t want the kiss, she should have done it before the first one.
‘Or maybe he just wasn’t good enough. Did Alexander de Lafayette perform better than him?’
That thought ignited his already short fuse like gasoline on fire.
His body burned with fever even in the chilly weather, sweat trickling down his back.
[Fuck…]
Hunter swallowed the curse lodged in his throat, his thirst for something undefined flaring hot inside him.
[Jiyu Parker, let’s date.]
He spat the words out with gravity, then blinked in surprise.
She had been the one to flinch.
So what was he supposed to do now?
His eyes darted around as he slowly nodded.
‘Why the hell didn’t I think of that sooner.’
It had been the obvious solution all along.
By making her his girlfriend, he wouldn’t have to beg for a single kiss every time he entered the tournament.
He could call her anytime, or demand that she appear the moment she vanished without reason.
It would prevent that loser Steve Barnsley from snatching his number and, most importantly, give him the perfect excuse to knock Alexander de Lafayette down right on the spot and crush that arrogant nose if he tried to kiss her again.
Plus… there were other things he wanted to do with Jiyu besides kissing.
‘No need to overthink it.’
Marrying a high-school girlfriend and becoming her husband was a one-in-a-million probability, even if he followed Jared’s words.
Most of the guys he hung out with in school already had girlfriends.
He was actually on the late side.
At his age, casually dating and casually breaking up was normal.
Jiyu probably wouldn’t mind being bothered by a guy who was too busy with tennis practice.
Turning her into his girlfriend was simply convenient in every way.
Hunter let out a soft chuckle and looked down at her.
She blinked, staring at him blankly.
She must be in shock—becoming the first girlfriend of Hunter Hamilton.
That was when she slightly furrowed her eyebrows.
[Are you crazy?]
[What?]
Hunter hesitated.
Am I crazy? That wasn’t the answer, was it?
She asked with a bewildered face.
[That’s so strange. Suddenly suggesting we date like this.]
Ah, maybe it had come too abruptly.
[What’s strange about it? Is there any reason why I can’t date you?]
[……]
Jiyu looked as if she had something to say, her lips twitching.
[Is this because of Lafayette?]
[Lafayette? Why are you bringing up Rex here? That’s not it—]
[Otherwise, what? Why can’t you?]
Hunter stepped closer, pinning her down.
She bit her lip, hesitating for a long moment before looking up at him.
[Hunter? Just to be sure, let me ask one last time…]
[What? Say it quickly.]
He pressed her.
She couldn’t possibly be rejecting him, right?
That was impossible unless she had lost her mind.
[Do… do you like me?]
Hunter’s eyes widened in silent response.
Then Jiyu urged him.
[Answer me. That’s why you want to date, right?]
He swallowed hard.
[Do I like Jiyu Parker? Fuck. Is that true? Is that why I said let’s date?]
His heart dropped like a stone.
The tightness in his chest felt deeply unpleasant.
[This is what liking feels like?]
His emotions were far from happiness or joy.
It was anxiety, impatience, and self-loathing from the constant, surging desire.
[This can’t be what liking is supposed to feel like. But if I have to hear that word before dating, then fine—say it.]
Hunter lifted his chin slightly and looked down at her beyond her nose.
[If it matters that much to you, then yes. Is that enough now?]
Jiyu slowly raised her eyes.
She pressed her lips tightly shut.
Hunter flinched at her cold expression.
[So that’s it. Hunter Hamilton, I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’m becoming your girlfriend.]
He thought he had misheard and tilted his head.
[What did you just say?]
[I don’t like you. No, honestly, I hate you. So I have no intention of dating you—not even a little bit.]
Jiyu shot to her feet.
Her face, which had been flushed just moments ago, was now deathly pale.
Hunter stood frozen like an ice sculpture in winter, his eyes following her only.
[Is that your answer? Since you’ve said everything you wanted to, I’ll be going now.]
She turned away coldly and fled the central courtyard at once.
Hunter remained statue-still among the courtyard’s sculptures for a long time.
His gaze landed on the blazer lying on the bench.
Jiyu had tossed it there like trash and left.
He slowly walked over, picked up the blazer, and then hurled it hard to the floor.
Jiyu hid behind the curtain of her bedroom window, watching Hunter leave the courtyard with a murderous expression.
Her heart thundered like drums in her chest.
The blazer scattered on the floor was left all alone, tossed around by the late-autumn breeze.
***
The worst Christmas ever.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, Jiyu covered her mouth and let out a long yawn.
She was waiting for a flight from Southwest International Airport in Florida to LaGuardia Airport in New York.
The airport was bustling with travelers.
Since she wanted a same-day ticket, there were no direct flights available, so she had managed to get three connecting tickets via Atlanta after a long wait.
In winter break, the usual tradition was to spend the vacation in Naples, Allen’s hometown in Florida.
Her grandfather had passed away when Allen was in college, and her grandmother had died shortly after Jiyu was born.
Allen was an only child, but his cousin Jeremy Parker, who had raised him like a brother, still lived in Naples.
This year, instead of a hotel, they had rented a luxurious single-family house in a gated community surrounded by perfectly maintained walking paths and a small lake.
The garden lined with palm trees featured a bubbling hot tub with a jet and an outdoor swimming pool with adjustable water temperature.
But the planned vacation until January 2nd ended after only three days because Allen received an urgent call from the company and had to return to New York.
The Christmas dinner with Jeremy’s family was also canceled.
Overhearing that the warm Florida weather and lazy swims and tanning sessions were suddenly being cut short for New York, Jiyu and Allen’s voices rose in complaint.
Allen had been tight-lipped about what was happening, but seeing his usually gentle personality so sharp and on edge, the two of them could only stay silent.
Jiyu was seeing the pale, almost gray face of her mother for the first time.
While waiting for the plane, she whispered to Allen.
[Mom, Dad’s company—do you not like it? It’s not going to go bankrupt, right?]
[Don’t say such unlucky things! Dad’s company is huge and very successful. The chairman is a very famous person on Wall Street. Last year, they brought in a ton of investments and got a huge bonus. If it weren’t for this company, we wouldn’t have been able to buy that big house. A company like this doesn’t go bankrupt overnight, no matter how much it shakes. So don’t worry.]
But even so, Allen looked equally anxious, unable to hide his worry.
After six hours, they arrived in New York at night.
When Jiyu reached home, she heard Allen’s urgent voice on the phone in the study and only fell asleep past midnight.
Even though it was the weekend, Allen went to the company the next day.
They learned what had happened on January 2nd when they watched the news on TV.