As the murmurings grew louder and more turbulent, the student curled his eyes into a smile.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice just because my bag was behind me?”
As shadows cast over his deep-set eyelids, the thief flinched and grabbed the metal bar, preparing to flee. Just then, the announcement for the next stop came on.
“Where do you think you’re going without apologizing?”
“You little brat…! Hey, let go! Fuck, look here! I’m getting off, so stop the bus!”
“Then are you going to the police station with me?”
The calm yet powerful warning made the man’s face turn pale. Simultaneously, the bus stopped.
The driver, aware of the commotion behind him, quickly opened the door, and the thief bolted out.
The student, as if it were only natural, grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck and got off with him.
Then, he glanced back at Jingi. With a quiet movement of his lips, he mouthed, “Coming?” and Jingi stood up. He had wondered if the pickpocket had moved from him to that student, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
In other words, the student had helped him. Jingi got off the bus with his bag, and the back door quickly rattled shut. People pressed against the windows, their faces full of curiosity as they watched.
“Let’s go to the station. The station. Don’t get mad at me; go there and deal with it according to the law.”
Holding the man’s arm, the student immediately pulled out his phone and dialed 112.
“Hello? Is this the police?”
“Ah, shit! Wait, just a second!”
“I caught a pickpocket on the bus, but we’re a bit far from here. Could you come over? I’ll give you the name of the stop and the bus number we just got off.”
“Hey, hey! You brat, f- no… I mean, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!”
After giving the name of the stop without fail, the student turned his head toward Jingi, who was standing there blankly.
“Are you okay? You’re a sophomore, right?”
“Ah, yes… yes.”
“I called the police, so you can relax. I really have a video. Do you want to go together? Or do you want to give me your number and head home?”
Jingi held the phone he had been handed and couldn’t do a thing.
‘He took a video? From that angle?’
Moreover, even though he said his wallet was stolen, Jingi hadn’t actually lost anything. While he hesitated, the student tossed the office bag that was hanging on the man’s right arm.
“Search it. You’ll find the wallet.”
Catching the bag instinctively, Jingi nodded and pulled it open. And truly, he found the wallet. His mind went blank for a moment. It seemed the guy, realizing there was nothing in Jingi’s pockets, had gone as far as rummaging through the bag.
“Did you find it?”
“Yes, yes…”
“I have the video, so you can take that. And give me your number.”
After staring at the outstretched phone again, he quickly entered his number at the urging of the low voice. The student took the phone and called the number on the spot to confirm it was entered correctly. Meanwhile, the man—held by only one arm—was spewing all sorts of curses and making a fuss, claiming he never stole anything.
‘A new character… who is it?’
There was no way a mere extra could be this handsome. Even if he wasn’t in Jingi’s immediate memory, he should have been in the head of the person who read the novel. But no matter how much he thought about it, no character with such exotic features and faded blonde hair came to mind.
The third sub-male lead, who was to appear last, briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. In the original work, he appeared the latest, and there were no detailed descriptions of him other than his name. Furthermore, he wasn’t the type of personality to help a passerby.
And in his past life, that guy was the very villain he had told the author, Kim Hyeyeon, to ‘write even more wickedly.’
“Your name?”
“Jin, Jingi.”
Not expecting to be asked for his name, Jingi stammered out his answer. Various colors began to prick at his mind, which had been turned white.
‘My name, my name… right, Choi Jingi.’
“Jingi what?”
“Choi Jingi… sir.”
The student kicked the shin of the man, who was still making a scene, and then tapped his phone screen with his other hand. His face was kind and gentle, but his grip strength apparently wasn’t, as the thief’s complexion looked quite poor.
“Fuck, okay, I get it, so just…!”
“Jingi, I’ll call you when everything is finished. I’ll handle it so you don’t have to come, so don’t worry. It’s been tough, but just think of today as stepping in some shit and forget about it.”
“Ah, well… yes. Thank you.”
“Straighten your shoulders. Is your house far?”
“No, it’s nearby.”
“That’s good. Hurry home. The police car is coming over there.”
A police car was indeed arriving. It was an event like something out of a novel, detached from reality. Then again, they say reality is stranger than fiction…
He watched the two walk toward the police before turning his steps away. He was still in a daze. Jingi looked at the unknown number on his phone and then lowered his hand. Just then, his phone rang. It was Joo Unyoung.
When he arrived at the playground Joo Unyoung had called him to, the sun had almost set, and the sky was stained a violet hue. He was leaning against the pull-up bars and waved when he spotted Jingi. The guy walked over to an empty swing and gestured.
“You’re here, Jingi?”
“Yeah…”
“Sit down.”
The swing he tapped swayed slightly from side to side. As Jingi sat down, Joo Unyoung swung his own seat and let out a deep sigh.
“Jingi, are you uncomfortable around me?”
The words he had been waiting for were blurted out so suddenly that Jingi flinched involuntarily. Even though he knew he had to answer in the affirmative, seeing the hurt look on the other’s face made it difficult to open his mouth.
‘Was he not speaking to me all day today because of that? Even going alone at lunchtime…’
Unyoung, who had been sitting still, blinked his long eyelashes a few times and reached out his hand.
“Give me your hand.”
Jingi hesitated before offering his left hand. Joo Unyoung held that wrist tightly and began to fiddle with the palm. After pressing each joint of the hand, which was similar in size to his own, he let out a sigh that sounded as if all his energy had been drained.
“Why are you uncomfortable? Because I asked you that? Then are we not even friends anymore?”
“…….”
Jingi couldn’t answer. Like his firmly made-up mind, his lips felt as if they were sewn shut.
“Yeah, it’s understandable that you’re uncomfortable. You had no interest in me at all, so I was just deluding myself.”
His chest felt a sharp prick of pain. Normally—if it had followed the original work—Joo Unyoung would have ended up with Choi Jingi.
The ‘creak, creak’ of the swinging seats sounded eerie, like the sound of a great wind brushing against a slightly open window.
He tapped the firm yet soft rubber ground and gripped the handles of the swing. Jingi was not in his right mind due to the recent incident, and Joo Unyoung seemed at a loss in this situation. His hand was still held in the other’s grasp.
There are many reasons why people hate others, but most begin with something trivial. ‘Because you ignored me, because you don’t like me, because you made me misunderstand.’
And Jingi didn’t hate Joo Unyoung that much. He had no intention of doing so, and he didn’t want to have that kind of relationship with him. If he were forced to date him, the end would surely be even worse.
So, he didn’t want to toy with him with a false heart.
“Can’t we just go back to how we were before?”
When he raised his downward gaze, Joo Unyoung lowered his eyelids weakly and met his eyes. It was clear that his eyes, which always sparkled brightly, were shaking with anxiety.
