My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

34 – Explanation (6)

“……Who were you talking to? That bratty girl?”

If she means a girl with short hair, is she talking about Jia?

Come to think of it, Ha-yeon has seen Jia several times, so she must know.

But there’s something else.

“Could you hear my conversation all the way here?”

“Ah… Yeah, I could. I guess the soundproofing isn’t great.”

Ha-yeon answered with a faint smile that seemed uncertain.

I didn’t think I spoke loudly enough for it to be heard.

It seemed that where I lived had poor sound insulation after all.

Considering that the voice from my room could be heard outside.

“…So, who was it?”

She asked me quietly, and I had no choice but to give an obvious answer.

“It’s none of your business.”

There was no need to tell her who I talked to.

I couldn’t figure out why she was so curious about whom I had spoken to in the first place.

What significance did it hold for her?

Upon hearing that, Ha-yeon looked disappointed, but soon wore a contemplative smile.

“…Right… I shouldn’t have asked for no reason. Sorry.”

I sat back down and took a scoop of the porridge, bringing it to my mouth.

Unlike before, there was no lingering warmth from the call.

After putting a spoonful of porridge into my mouth, I brought up the earlier conversation again.

“You mentioned something earlier, about a favor you wanted from me.”

“…Yeah.”

“I don’t think I can answer immediately. I need some more time to think.”

Hayeon couldn’t take out the spoon deeply embedded in death.

Was it because he expected a positive response?

Well, I had broken his self-esteem to that extent, so it was understandable.

And with hunched shoulders, he stared blankly at the soup for a while before answering me.

“…Fine. I got it, Yul.”

Ha-yeon lifted the spoon with a darker expression than before.

His expression resembled that of a child forcing himself to eat food he didn’t like.

It probably wasn’t because of the food, though.

“Eat quickly and let’s go home.”

That was all I had to say to her.

*

“It’s a shame. I wanted to visit your house, Oppa.”

Jia ended her call with Gun-yul and headed home with dissatisfied steps.

Gun-yul’s earnest refusal prevented her from showing disappointment, but she felt a little saddened.

…Isn’t it common to tell me first if you’re not feeling well?

Perhaps it was Jia’s own greed.

If it were Jia, she would probably contact Gun-yul first when she was in pain.

And although it was a bit late, Jia also had a strong desire to visit his house.

The better Gun-yul became, the more curious she became about him.

She wanted to know more.

His preferences, his taste in food, how he lived, what he usually thought about.

Jia asked Gun-yul countless times, but he always gave vague answers.

Maybe Gun-yul still remembered his time in the restaurant.

To Jia, it felt suffocating, as if he was adjusting the speed, rather than freely expressing himself.

Maintaining an appropriate distance is important in a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.

Theoretically, she knew that, but Jia was always impatient.

She had a strong desire to make him hers quickly and receive more love.

“…Is that why Oppa purposely keeps his distance?”

It was their first time being in a relationship.

And with her impulsive and anxious personality, Jia pushed herself onto him like a locomotive.

From Geon-yul’s perspective, it might have been burdensome.

“…I wanted to see Oppa’s face.”

Jia had been working part-time at a cafe for quite a while.

She usually worked during the mid-time, but today, she had to cover for someone who was sick and stayed until closing time.

It was already late at night.

After finishing cleaning the equipment and sweeping the floor, her whole body felt sore.

“It would be nice if all the stress from work disappeared just by looking at his face.”

Coincidentally, on Jia’s way back home from the café where she worked, there was a building that Geon-yul had told her was his house.

So, every time Jia left work, she would steal a glance at that building.

Maybe Oppa lives there.

“Are you just going to look at his house again today?”

As usual, she looked at Geon-yul’s house from a distance and felt like she would go home.

Jia hurriedly walked, fidgety and restless.

Before she knew it, she spotted the building where Geon-yul lived.

Jia absentmindedly gazed in that direction as usual.

Then, someone popped out of the entrance of the building.

“…Huh?”

At first, even Jia didn’t pay much attention to that person.

But the figure of the woman illuminated under the streetlight was quite familiar.

And it wasn’t that difficult to distinguish.

Anyway, her appearance was striking enough to recognize even from afar.

Both her figure and her face.

It wasn’t an impression easily forgotten with just one look.

“Why is that woman coming out from there?”

Jia’s mind was filled with questions.

That woman was Geon-yul’s ex-girlfriend.

The woman whom he had stared at for a long time with his phone.

“Do they both live in the same building?”

Naturally, that thought came to her mind first.

The sound of sirens began to ring in her head.

If that’s the case, isn’t it even more dangerous?

Moreover, it seems like that woman already has feelings for Gunyul.

“If we live in the same building, we’re bound to run into each other often with my brother…”

Ha-yeon was walking briskly towards this direction.

And maybe because her legs were long, she had reached near Gia in no time.

Gia couldn’t easily take her eyes off Ha-yeon.

As Gia continued to stare at her, perhaps oddly, Ha-yeon also stared back.

“…Huh?”

While looking at Gia, she let out a strange sound.

Seemingly, she recognized her from her gaze, as they had met once before.

She hadn’t known if she would remember since it was only a brief encounter.

But that gaze was eerie in some way.

Like the gaze of a predator or a cautious animal when it looks at its prey or enemy.

For some reason, Gia felt that the gaze directed at her was of that nature.

“…Should I ask her once?”

It might be a rude question to ask someone.

Gia couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

From the photo she saw on her phone, the incident at the crosswalk, and now living in the same house.

Somehow, she had an ominous feeling and wanted to know for sure what their relationship was.

If it was already over, then there would be no problem. But if it wasn’t…

Maybe she should warn Gunyul not to linger around her, even if she had to turn things around.

In the end, Gia gathered her courage without fear.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry to bother you.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yes. There’s only one person here.”

Surprised by Gia calling her, Ha-yeon looked at her in astonishment.

With widened eyes and a perplexed face, Ha-yeon gazed at Gia.

Gia steadfastly continued with what she had to say.

“It might seem really out of the blue, but do you happen to live here?”

“No? But why all of a sudden…?”

You don’t live here?

His suspicion deepened even more.

But why was Geonyul in the building where Haryeon lived.

Did he come to play at a friend’s house?

“Do I call you unni? I know who you are.”

Hayeon nodded in response to Jia’s question. It seemed that she was indeed older than herself. Having spent a long time in college and working part-time, she could easily tell the age difference.

“It seems like you remember. Well, I must have made quite an impression at first sight.”

Haryeon lowered her head with embarrassment.

It was quite a memorable first meeting for both of them.

“Yes. It was.”

“So, what’s the matter with me?”

“I might be asking an impolite question, but can I ask?”

“What is it?”

Seeing Haryeon’s fairly positive reaction, Jia finally asked what she was curious about.

“What’s the relationship between Geonyul and you?

“…Ah.”

Her face darkened at Jia’s question. A troubled expression that didn’t know how to answer. After a moment of thought, Haryeon replied.

“Um…Geonyul and I have known each other for a long time.”

She felt annoyed by the way she referred to him as “Geonyul.” It seemed to emphasize their intimacy.

Jia wanted to know more about their relationship, and vague answers weren’t helpful.

“Are you just friends?”

It was a simple question, but it carried a lot of meaning. If Haryeon and Geonyul had no relationship, it could have been easily overlooked.

“……But why are you curious about that?”

However, Hayeon’s response was unusual.

Gia revealed her own feelings first to prompt her response.

“Actually, I’m kind of in a complicated relationship with him.”

“…”

“…So I wondered if I was misunderstanding something. I’m sorry. I tend to be suspicious.”

“…”

“Why did he seem to dislike me last time? It felt like he was avoiding me.”

Hayeon’s eyes had gradually taken on the same look as when she had first met Gia.

The more Gia spoke, the more her confidence grew as she looked at Hayeon’s increasingly hostile face.

And while looking at Hayeon’s contorted face, she felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

…At least it made me feel closer to him than to this woman.

Hayeon erased her friendly expression and replied in a cold tone.

“Whatever relationship we have is none of your concern.”

“…Yes. I know.”

“…You mentioned a misunderstanding earlier. I’m not sure what that misunderstanding would be.”

Hayeon looked at Gia with a sly smile, lifting the corners of her mouth.

“……I think Yul and I are probably closer than you think.”

With a smug smile that made her feel almost sick.