Semantic Error

“Jihye, you have a boyfriend, right?” Jaeyoung asked her a strange question without even touching his noodles.

“No, I don’t!” Jihye replied with a bright smile.

“Really? I thought that you must have one.”

Sangwoo turned his gaze towards Jaeyoung’s face. He was staring at Jihye with an unusual look in his eyes.

“That’s what I’m saying. I don’t think men know my true value.”

“I have a lot of single acquaintances, so just let me know.”

Jaeyoung flashed a grin and sat down with his arms folded after pulling up his chair.

“Since we’re talking about it, should I really introduce you to one? While we’re at it, I can think of a couple of nice guys. What kind of style do you like?”

He even grabbed his cellphone and started browsing through his contacts list.

Jihye smiled and then whispered.

“My goodness, no. I’m just planning on studying this semester. But thanks for your help, anyway.”

“Ah… really?”

Jaeyoung carefully looked at her face while putting the phone back in his pocket.

“What about Sangwoo, then? I think you’d look good together.”

Sangwoo spat out the seaweed soup he had in his mouth. They all looked surprised, but Sangwoo was the most surprised one of all. Jihye grabbed some wet wipes out of her bag and stuck them out.

“Sangchu oppa! Aren’t you being too much? Did it make you feel that bad?”

“There’s no way one can feel good when they’re just sitting still minding their own business while someone is trying to hook them up with someone.”

“Those were just words, though.”

“I still don’t like it.”

Sangwoo grabbed a piece of wet tissue and wiped the soup off and then the table with another one. What kind of situation was this? Sangwoo couldn’t understand at all, but he felt uncomfortable anyway. He wanted to leave quickly. Jaeyoung giggled and looked at Sangwoo.

“Sang…chu?”

“Sangwoo oppa’s nickname when he was younger was Sangchu. It’s really cute, isn’t it?”

“Is that so? You have to be very close to our Sangwoo, since you’re even calling him by a nickname.”

‘Our Sangwoo?’4

It was something that he hadn’t even heard his own mother say. Sangwoo felt as if the food he ate gave him indigestion on the spot. Nobody spoke for a while. However, Jaeyoung broke the silence before the quiet atmosphere had passed.

“By the way…are you going somewhere today?”

“What?”

“Your makeup is heavier than the last time I saw you.”

“Hahaha… Do you remember stuff like that? I just put on light makeup to be comfortable that time, since I had to move boxes around. I normally make more of an effort. Haha.”

“I’m talking about last Wednesday, though.”

“Oh…I had a situation that day as well, so… I woke up late, so I was almost late to class.”

“I see. I thought that you were meeting someone important today since it’s obvious that you put in extra effort in today.”

It was a completely meaningless conversation. Sangwoo thought that a conversation like that wouldn’t be able to help with his digestion at all. Perhaps it was because Jaeyoung was talking so much, but Jihye didn’t look too well. Sangwoo sympathized with her grievances as if they were his own. Anyone would get annoyed if they were made to talk so much they weren’t able to eat.

When they were on their way out, Jihye asked something strange in front of the restaurant.

“How did you two get close? You both have completely different styles, so it’s amazing.”

There was an error in what she said. Sangwoo immediately refuted it.

“We’re not close at…”

“We had a misunderstanding at first.”

Just then, Jaeyoung wrapped his arm around Sangwoo’s shoulder. That small action made Sangwoo stiffen, and he forgot the timing to exhale, even after swallowing his breath. Jaeyoung’s arm that was leaning on his shoulder, felt as heavy as a lump of iron.

“We didn’t have any good feelings towards each other, but we’ve worked it all out now. Right?”

“No.”

Sangwoo pushed him off his shoulder. Jang Jaeyoung was unreservedly liberal in touching other people’s bodies. He had always been like that. He was a person who would put his arm around anyone (even people he wasn’t close to at all), call someone’s name at random, touch someone’s face, joke around, and flirt.

Sangwoo loathed things like that. In foreign countries, there were cultures where they often hugged kids, but Sangwoo didn’t grow up in such an environment at home.

In Sangwoo’s world, the only person who it would make sense to touch him was his romantic partner. Even then, it had to be done on a limited basis. No matter how innocent the act was, he didn’t have a choice but to feel bad about it.

“Don’t be mistaken. Cause nothing has been solved, and it’s still the worst. Do you think things will change just because you’re pretending to be nice? I still don’t have any good feelings towards you, and I have no intentions of resolving them.”

“It’s been fine for a while, and now it’s starting again,” Jaeyoung murmured with an impassive face.

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Jihye widened her eyes like a rabbit.

“You have a skit tomorrow. That’s so brave! Can you handle it?”

Since Jaeyoung was being sarcastic, Sangwoo missed the timing to warn him not to touch his body, because it made him feel uncomfortable.

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Footnotes:

4. Using our while referring to someone is a type of possessive pronoun that indicates closeness. If you’ve ever watched a Korean drama, this is usually said when a person who is interested in someone refers to them in front of others, to show possessiveness/closeness.