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Chapter 16: Ugly Ju-bal
Su-ah: Did everyone get home safe?
Ju-kyoung: Yes! What about Kangsu?
Su-ah: Kangsu doesn't keep up with the messages.
Ju-kyoung: "O"! By the way, I made a new Instagram.
Ju-kyoung: My handle is imzooOO_.
Su-ah: Awesome. Following you right now.
(^.^)
Kangsu came online.
Kangsu: I'm with my tutor right now.
"O." Ju-kyoung whispered under her breath.
Su-ah: These are the photos from today. Just keep the ones you like.
Ju-kyoung glanced at the pictures—they were all so cute. She finally had a wonderful memory to keep. She looked at the photo with a smile, but her eyebrows furrowed as she felt a light flash on her face.
She turned to see where it came from.
It was her brother, wearing his usual mischievous smile as he snapped and recorded her.
She sighed. "What are you doing?" She gave him the ugliest glare ever.
She had already cleaned off her makeup and put on her glasses. Her flawless face wasn't flawless anymore—her red spots were still there, her huge eyebrows were gone. She looked like the same old Ju-kyoung. The difference was just too much.
Her brother glanced at her and shook his head, comparing the Ju-kyoung from this morning to the one in front of him.
"You're my sister, so I have to say this… you're really ugly."
Ju-kyoung froze. "What did you say?"
"Everyone is calling you a goddess," he continued, ignoring her shock.
"Maybe I should share this picture." He held out his phone to show her.
"Lim Ju-young! Delete that photo at once!" she yelled, rushing toward him. But her little brother was surprisingly fast.
"Come here! Seriously, delete it!" she shouted at the top of her voice.
He laughed. "Come and delete it yourself!" he teased as he ran.
"Damn it," she cursed under her breath. He was just too fast.
"I'll get you!"
He smirked. "What's the matter? It's the real you."
Ju-kyoung inhaled sharply, already exhausted. He pointed the phone at her again, but when she tried to grab it, he pulled it back.
Ju-kyoung lunged, trying to drag him to the ground, but he just sat down calmly.
She froze, dumbstruck.
"Hold on, young lady," he said.
Ju-kyoung frowned. "Young lady?" she murmured.
"Where are your manners?" he added, holding the phone like it was precious gold.
Ju-kyoung inhaled deeply and sat in front of him. The table between them felt like a barrier, and the tension in the room was thick. The house was so quiet.
He placed the phone on the table. Ju-kyoung's gaze could've burned a hole through it. Then she turned her glare toward him.
"This is chilling, like a dagger poised to pierce my heart. But there's no need to worry," she thought as she adjusted her glasses.
The moment she reached for the phone—swoop!—her brother snatched it away.
Ju-kyoung had had enough. She pounced on him, grabbing him by the neck.
"Come here!" she yelled.
"Cough—It hurts! Let go!" Lim Ju-young winced.
Ju-kyoung quickly grabbed the phone and swiped it open, but to her surprise—
Password.
Her eyebrows furrowed angrily as she turned to her brother, who laughed more smugly than before.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" he said, snatching the phone back before sitting down again.
Ju-kyoung exhaled and forced herself to calm down. She sat properly in the chair, her gaze softening slightly—like a puppy that had been fighting for a bone but suddenly realized it needed another plan.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"The latest volume of You Are The Devil," he replied.
Ju-kyoung raised an eyebrow. "Will you delete it?"
"We'll see," Lim Ju-young said.
Ju-kyoung sighed. "I could break your wrists off."
"Which one should I upload to the anonymous forums?" he teased.
Ju-kyoung froze, her reflexes kicking in.
"Don't!" she yelled.
She inhaled deeply before sitting back down.
"I'll double your deal," she said.
Lim Ju-young leaned closer.
"How about the new volume and a cup of noodles?" Ju-kyoung bargained.
"Deal," he smirked.
---
Meanwhile, Soo-hoo was walking down the road with his headphones on. His appearance was majestic, but his mind drifted back to that day—the girl on the rooftop.
He could still remember the relief he felt when he managed to save her. He sighed, continuing his walk.
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Ju-kyoung walked down the road, staring at her phone.
Su-ah: Gosh, you already have so many likes even though you just started!
Ju-kyoung: Really?
She opened her Instagram and saw countless compliments.
Over one hundred likes.
Comments: You're so pretty! You look like a goddess!
Ju-kyoung stopped at the last comment. Goddess?
"There's no way," she whispered. Then it hit her—
"I could run into people from school."
She immediately rushed ahead. Less than thirty seconds later, she arrived at her destination.
The building looked a bit old but still beautiful, with decorative designs.
Her eyes scanned up and down the familiar place.
"Wow… this place hasn't changed at all. I wonder if the owner is the same," she thought as she walked in.
The shop was filled with decorations of different comic characters.
"It still has the same vibe," she whispered.
Her eyes met the man behind the counter.
"Hello, sir. You're still here?" she said, smiling.
The man looked at her, surprised, as if he didn't recognize her.
Immediately, Ju-kyoung started dancing weirdly. "Don't you remember me?"
"Lim Ju-bal?" he finally said, shocked.
"Yes, sir!" Ju-kyoung beamed.
"You're back! I heard Mrs. Hong was back," he said, smiling in disbelief.
"How long has it been?"
"About eight years," Ju-kyoung replied with a grin.
"Gosh, has it been that long? That little kid has grown up, and you're still…"
"Ugly Ju-bal," Ju-kyoung finished his sentence for him.
"No—you're cute as ever," he said warmly.
Ju-kyoung smiled.
The man looked like he was in his late fifties, his long hair coiled and a little messy. Ju-kyoung stepped deeper inside. The library wasn't huge, but it carried that nostalgic '90s vibe everywhere she looked.
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