WebNovels

Chapter 39 - Did He Perhaps Help Me Because He Knows My Real Face? (2).

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Chapter 39: Did He Perhaps Help Me Because He Knows My Real Face? (2).

Ju-kyoung walked past the way of the Prince Comics Shop.

She sighed. "What a long day."

She didn't know that Soo-ho was on his way to the same shop. He spotted her, but she didn't see him.

When Ju-kyoung got home, she was so exhausted that she tossed her bag on the ground and flopped onto her bed.

Ding!

Her phone rang.

She sighed, pulling it from her school skirt pocket. When she glanced at the screen, she immediately sat up.

"Soo-ho?!" she yelled.

Her hands literally started shaking. She blinked twice, staring at the screen—unfortunately, the name didn't change.

She quickly answered the call. He called again, and suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

She adjusted her voice before picking up.

"The number you have called has been—"

Before she could finish, Soo-ho's voice cut through. "It's not funny, Lim Ju-bal."

Ju-kyoung froze, then gave an awkward laugh.

"Oh, not funny, I see."

"Meet me at the comic shop," he said.

Ju-kyoung sat up like it was an instinctive reflex. She inhaled deeply, trying to muster all her courage.

"Why?"

"I have something for you."

"No, you don't need to—" she sighed, frustrated.

"I'll wait," he said—and hung up.

"Hello? Soo-ho?" she said, staring at the phone. "He hung up?!"

She sat on her bed, ruffling her hair.

"Gosh, what do I do?"

Then she flopped back down, muttering, "Who cares? I didn't ask him to wait."

But a thought hit her, and she shot up again. "Wait—no."

"I'll make sure he never even dreams of me being Lim Ju-kyoung!"

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Meanwhile, at the comic store, Soo-ho had already started reading a novel.

Before long, the light started flickering. The place was already dim, but now it grew darker.

Even the man behind the counter sighed, glancing at the blinking bulb.

"It's about to go out," he muttered.

Ju-kyoung walked into the store. She had no makeup on, wore a baggy hoodie, and her glasses sat firmly on her face. The red spots on her skin were now painfully visible.

The man at the register looked up. "Oh, Ju-bal. Mind the shop for a bit?"

Ju-kyoung nodded. "Yes! Ju-bal is here!" she announced proudly.

The man got up. "Let me fix this light real quick," he said and left.

Ju-kyoung adjusted her glasses and stepped into the dark corner where the horror comics were. Her eyes met Soo-ho's immediately.

"It's been a while," Ju-kyoung said.

"I wouldn't say that," Soo-ho replied.

The light flickered again, and somehow, it made the tension between them worse.

Ju-kyoung chuckled faintly. "Hasn't it?"

Soo-ho stayed quiet.

"So, why did you want to see me?" she asked.

Soo-ho looked at the table, picking up a small food container wrapped in disposable paper.

"It's best served cold," he said.

Ju-kyoung looked from the food to him. "What? Revenge?"

Soo-ho looked at her. "Tiramisu."

"For your course mask."

Ju-kyoung blinked, speechless.

"Oh… for the course mask," she repeated with a small smile as she took it from him.

"You shouldn't have."

Her eyes drifted to his uniform.

"You must've come straight from school. I've never seen you in uniform before."

"Really?" he said.

Ju-kyoung laughed awkwardly. The aura he gave off was too much—her heart was beating so fast.

"Of course. Your uniform's nice," she said.

Soo-ho crossed his arms over his chest.

"In my school…" he began.

Suddenly, it felt like an interrogation room.

"There's someone who reminds me of you."

Ju-kyoung broke into a cold sweat but tried to stay composed.

"Really?"

"I actually have a very common face. I get that a lot," she said, walking past him to avoid his piercing gaze.

"You must go to a co-ed school then," Ju-kyoung said.

"Where do you go to?" She asked her voice calm and steady.

"Seabom High."

Ju-kyoung cleared her throat. "Never heard of it. Must not be around here."

"And where do you go?" Soo-ho asked, his tone unreadable.

Ju-kyoung nearly dropped the book in her hands. She quickly picked it up, resisting the urge to bolt out of the store—running now would only make him suspicious.

"Me? Uh…" Her head throbbed. "You know Ttangkkut Village? Haenam, in Gyeongnam Province?"

"I thought that was in Jeonam Province," Soo-ho said.

Ju-kyoung laughed awkwardly. "Right—yes, Jeonam! Ttangkkut Village in… Donnam—" she froze when their eyes met, his gaze sharp as ice.

"I mean… Haenam," she corrected quickly, turning toward the shelves, pretending to look for a book. "Haenam in Jeonam Province."

"So you transferred here?"

"Transferred?" she echoed nervously. "No, I dropped out."

She couldn't even count how many lies she had told already.

"Soon, I'll be leaving for Canada," she added quickly. "I'm staying with my grandma for now."

Soo-ho still wasn't done.

"Where in Canada?"

Ju-kyoung wanted to glue his mouth shut. "Where?" she repeated.

"The capital."

"Vancouver," she said.

"Ottawa," Soo-hoo said at the same time.

They stared at each other.

"Ottawa," Ju-kyoung corrected, copying him. "There."

She wanted the ground to swallow her whole. "Geography's not my forte."

Turning toward him, she forced a smile. "Anyway, it was nice meeting a fellow horror comic lover. It's sad to think I'll never see you again."

Soo-ho looked at her. "Why do I feel like we will see each other again?"

"You must be sad too," she said nervously.

"You can come visit me in Otta," She said.

"After you graduate from Ottawa "

Ju-kyoung adjusted her glasses. "Yes, Ottawa."

"I said Ottawa," she mumbled under her breath.

She glanced at her wrist—forgetting she wasn't wearing a watch.

"I'd better get going."

She grabbed the food he gave her. "Thank you for this. Take care—bye!"

As she hurried toward the door, Soo-ho's voice stopped her cold.

"This is ridiculous," he said.

Ju-kyoung froze.

"Lim Ju-kyoung," Soo-ho called out.

Her legs refused to move. The flickering light seemed to match the heavy tension in the air.

The food she held slipped from her hands, hitting the floor with a soft thud.

Her face went pale—like someone had drained every drop of blood from her body.

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