Swallowed - Chapter 43

Seyong’s words seemed to catch her off guard, and she couldn’t respond immediately, taking several sharp breaths.

“You’re really shameless… Seducing my innocent son, and what?”

Everything, from changing her major from science to humanities to choosing the same university and department, was Baek Jaeha’s doing. Seyong had never once told him to do so. But she had given him openings and let a piece of her heart slip, so she couldn’t deny that she had seduced the innocent Baek Jaeha.

However, if Seyong had truly been resolute, she wouldn’t have even considered breaking up, nor would she have made Jaeha cry. If she had shamelessly forgotten the past and been selfish…

Seyong shook her head in self-mockery, stopping her thoughts there. Just thinking about it was frightening. As that woman’s daughter, she would surely ruin Jaeha.

“So you’re stubbornly insisting on this? You know why I’m against it…”

At that moment, Seyong bit her lip hard. It felt like her lip would be cut off, but she didn’t even feel the pain. After a long while, she released the tension in her tightly clenched mouth and jaw. She couldn’t speak properly if she was so stiff.

“I told him… to tell you.”

“Ha…!”

Hyunseon was speechless at the brazen response, her breathing heavy. Seyong gripped her phone tightly and looked towards the cafe. It was around the time the exam would be ending, and sure enough, she saw Jaeha standing in front of the table where Yoojung and Daram were.

Seeing him looking around as if searching for her, she quickly ended the call. Jaeha’s mother had raised her voice as if she had no intention of hanging up, but she flinched at the sound of Jaeha being nearby. It seemed she wanted to hide the fact that she had contacted Seyong without Jaeha’s knowledge.

After hanging up, Seyong leaned against a pillar and took a deep breath before moving.

“Seyong sunbae!”

As Seyong emerged from behind the pillar, Jaeha approached with a bright smile. The marble building echoed loudly even with a slightly raised voice. Seyong’s lips curved into a shy smile as her name reverberated.

“Did you do well on the exam?”

“Everything we learned in class was on it, so it wasn’t difficult.”

The words of someone who’s good at studying are always different. He didn’t seem to be studying much last night either. As she praised him for doing well, Jaeha naturally wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Give me a kiss as a reward.”

His pouting lips were adorably out of place on his large frame. Seyong slightly raised herself on her toes and gave him a quick peck, and Jaeha’s expression brightened as if he had the whole world.

“You said we were going to eat green onion pancakes.”

“Yeah. Is that okay?”

“Sounds great. Will you be okay for your exam tomorrow? I’m all done…”

“I won’t drink too much.”

As they returned to the table holding hands, Yoojung glared at them. Donghyun was there with her.

“I met her in front of the TA office, and I asked her to come with me,” Daram explained.

Seyong nodded. She sensed that they were trying to set Donghyun and Yoojung up, but it didn’t need to be said.

“Ah, Han Seyong sunbaenim!”

As they were heading out the back gate together, they ran into Minjoon’s group. Minjoon greeted her warmly, so she couldn’t just pass by.

“Who is it?”

“Hello! I’m Kang Minjoon from the Department of International Languages.”

Minjoon knew that Seyong and her friends were all third-year students and bowed deeply. In his group were the female students they had met at the basketball court that day. Hyunjin, who had been rude to Seyong, was also there, openly expressing her displeasure. But Seyong didn’t even glance in her direction. Her ignored expression became even sharper, but she didn’t say anything, as she was being held back by someone next to her.

“Hey, Baek Jaeha. I should have been on your team. Congrats on the win.”

“Thanks. Let’s play a game next time.”

“Sounds good.”

Minjoon, who had been eliminated early because he was in the same bracket as Jaeha in the semi-finals, looked disappointed. But he didn’t seem to dwell on it and quickly changed the subject, saying to Seyong, “Sunbaenim, thank you. I think I’ll get an A+ for the first time thanks to you.”

Jaeha’s eyes widened at Minjoon’s words. Minjoon had mentioned the study guide that day, but he had no idea when Seyong had met Minjoon and received it. They could have run into each other since they were in the same building, but Seyong had never mentioned meeting Minjoon.

As Seyong picked up her phone, Hyunjin clicked her tongue softly. It was as if she was saying, “Why is she using that when she can talk?” Of course, Seyong easily ignored her.

「I’m glad it helped. I guess the exam format didn’t change.」

“Yeah. It was almost the same questions. When are you free? I’ll treat you to a meal.”

「It’s okay.」

“If you don’t like meals, do you prefer drinks? Haha. Not just me, but everyone here was helped by your study guide. We’re all chipping in, so don’t feel burdened. This time, we’ll treat you to a proper place, not just the school cafeteria.”

Minjoon answered smoothly, making it difficult for Seyong to refuse, and Yoojung glanced at Jaeha with an intrigued expression. “Wow, he can’t hide his expression at all. He’s burning with jealousy.” According to Yoojung’s intuition, Minjoon’s expression didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives. And her sharp sense told her that the woman next to Minjoon was his girlfriend.

「Then after the final exams. You’ll need the final exam study guide anyway.」

“Wow, our sunbaenim is the best. Thank you! Then we’ll treat you properly then!”

Minjoon smiled brightly and bowed. Seyong said it thinking that it would fizzle out by the time the final exams were over anyway. She had no intention of having a meal with those uncomfortable people just for giving them a study guide.

But Jaeha seemed to have taken it differently.

“Sunbae… you’re very kind to Kang Minjoon sunbaenim.”

Jaeha muttered as they started walking again. He had let go of her hand, which he had been holding because she was using her phone. Seyong, who had been looking ahead, blinked, wondering what he meant. The moment she saw Jaeha’s slightly stiff face, she almost burst out laughing.

「Is it wrong to be kind?」

“It’s not that it’s wrong… it’s just that I think that sunbaenim likes you.”

How cute. Jealous Baek Jaeha is this cute. His expression was stiff, and his eyes were downcast, but he was much cuter than when he had pouted his lips asking for a kiss earlier. Seyong felt the urge to pat his butt but held back. No matter how cute he was, she couldn’t do that on the street.

「I just think he’s a good person. He has a good personality, right?」

Instead, she deliberately praised Minjoon, and Jaeha’s eyes narrowed. It was the face of someone who didn’t want her to be interested in anyone but him. She thought he might get angry if she provoked him any further, so she decided to let him off the hook.

「But I like you more. Your personality and your face.」

She praised him to make him feel better, but it didn’t seem to work, and Jaeha’s expression didn’t ease up easily. He seemed upset just by being compared. He was greedy. Seyong chuckled and finally patted Jaeha’s butt. Jaeha looked dazed, probably surprised.

「You’re jealous too. How cute.」

Seyong had the rare sight of Jaeha’s face turning as red as a strawberry. Jaeha, who had been moving his lips with a flushed face, soon relaxed his shoulders and let out a low laugh. He realized that Seyong was teasing him. Even though he was pouting and glaring, Seyong giggled, finding it amusing. He knew that Seyong wasn’t interested in Kang Minjoon as a romantic partner, so Jaeha stopped his unnecessary jealousy and took Seyong’s hand.

“I get jealous even when sunbae just glances at them.”

Those words sounded like he wanted her to only look at him, and Seyong’s lips tingled. Jaeha tightened his grip on her hand as she twitched her lips. Thanks to Jaeha, who was showing his possessiveness by being jealous over something so trivial, the mood that had been dampened by the phone call earlier floated back up.

She didn’t plan to tell him that she had received a call from his mother. She didn’t think that she would back down with just that one phone call, but since she knew that they couldn’t communicate, she would either use another method or tell Jaeha directly.

‘Do you know how shocked I was to hear that you’re dating him?’

A bitter smile appeared and disappeared on Seyong’s lips. She knew that the reason why it was so shocking that she was dating him wasn’t just because she had aphasia.

‘You know why I’m against it…’

It was nothing to hide. The accident had been widely covered in the news at the time, so everyone knew about it. The news that her mother was involved in a car accident heated up society every day. The conclusion was that she was found not guilty due to insufficient evidence, but no one was interested in that, and they whispered that Seyong’s mother had tried to kill her husband and daughter. The fundamental reason why Seyong was bullied when she returned to school after being discharged from the hospital was also there. The children relentlessly called Seyong the daughter of a murderer.

She was rather amazed that Jaeha had come to see her without any pretense even after hearing all those rumors. There was no curiosity or worry on his face. He was just armed with pureness, smiling happily as he listened to her sing.

“Sunbae?”

Jaeha looked surprised as Seyong raised their clasped hands and touched the back of his hand with her lips. Seyong, who usually hated public displays of affection, was patting his butt and kissing the back of his hand without hesitation, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Do you like that I’m jealous that much?”

“Yeah.”

Seyong nodded several times, and Jaeha laughed in disbelief. Han Seyong was enjoying it while he was burning up inside. That meant she had no interest in Minjoon at all, so he felt a little better.

“Hey, lovebirds. Where are you going? You’re completely lost in your own world, aren’t you?”

It seemed they had passed the green onion pancake restaurant. Yoojung snorted in disbelief as they sheepishly turned back.