KMH – Chapter 13

He wasn’t a man accustomed to being insulted. No one had ever dared to belittle Seju like this. If they had, they wouldn’t have escaped a miserable end.

But…

Jugyeong was still so small. Even now, it was hard to believe she could walk, supporting herself on those thin calves and feet barely larger than his fingernails.

Seju stared off at a distant mountain that wasn’t there, swallowing the resentment rising in his throat. Only after a long while did he lower his gaze.

“…Did I just hear something wrong?”

Those hazel eyes that had slid past him now latched squarely onto his face again.

She wasn’t some princess living alone in a fairy tale, so why were her eyes that clear, that deep…?

Seju nearly got sucked into her gaze and stiffened his shoulders.

“Fix it. Now.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you a chance to clean up your slip of the tongue, so—fuck—take it back. Quickly.”

He’d even pointed out her mistake for her, but Jugyeong just looked genuinely confused. Letting out a hollow laugh like it was absurd, Seju dipped his head.

“Ha Jugyeong, did you get shot in the head? Promiscuous? Me?”

“Oh, that….”

“Yeah. That. Jokes have limits—you don’t just—”

“You kissed her.”

The hand that had been fiddling irritably with his overheated ear froze. A beat later, Seju slowly pulled his head back. Jugyeong tilted her face, eyes indifferent.

“With Friedman. You don’t remember?”

“…Friedman?”

“It’s fine. I remember everything.”

For the first time in a while, Seju forgot he’d been on the verge of blowing up and faltered.

“…What do you remember?”

Jugyeong let out a soft scoff like she’d expected that answer and took a step closer. When Seju flailed his hand out to keep distance, she smacked it aside without mercy.

Now standing far too close, Jugyeong’s breathing quickened. Her breath—soft like the down of a newly hatched sparrow—brushed along his sharp jaw. His thick brows twitched.

“Lauren Friedman. The one you went to school with in New York.”

“…….”

“The summer you were sixteen. First day of pony camp.”

Even though her tone was flat, why did it feel so damn embarrassing? Seju scowled hard, rubbing his goosebump-ridden ear against his shoulder, then lifted a brow.

How could he forget that summer—the worst one of all?

Jugyeong drove the nail in.

“You were practically naked, rolling around with her in the stables.”

Seju’s expression turned subtle—not because of mockery, but because this was clearly a misunderstanding.

First, he didn’t get naked easily. Not unless he was lifting at home or showering.

Second, the one rolling around was Friedman alone. She’d charged him out of nowhere. Touching his hands—or being touched by them—had been reserved for Jugyeong only. He’d decided that somewhere along the line, which was why he’d been able to twist away calmly and avoid her. All he’d done afterward was help Friedman up from the hay pile.

Third, and this was something he very much wanted to emphasize to Jugyeong at least twice—he wasn’t the kind of guy romantic enough to kiss someone in a stable that reeked of horse shit.

And lastly—no, wait.

Just as he was about to launch into a long-winded explanation, Seju pulled his jaw in.

…What was the point of clearing this up?

Only Jugyeong would feel relieved.

Sixteen-year-old Seju had gone to that riding camp alone with Jugyeong, full of grand dreams—determined to make memories they could laugh about together even when they were forty. Somehow, Jugyeong hadn’t spared him a glance all week, and the plan had gone straight down the drain.

So Seju didn’t want to make twenty-nine-year-old Jugyeong comfortable.

Why should he?

Sure, it was kind of endearing that she’d confessed—said the first man she wanted to press her body against was him. There was room to be generous about that.

But this, at least, he wasn’t willing to concede.

That aside—

For someone who couldn’t even remember the names of her classmates and suffered for it every year…

She remembered something from over ten years ago. Although the details were off, it was still impressive.

A version of Seju that he hadn’t even bothered to revisit was locked away behind the flow of time.

“Hm….”

Suddenly, Seju thought maybe this wasn’t something worth getting heated over. Rubbing at his jaw like he was covering his lower face, he tilted his head.

“Fine. Since we’re at it, list them all. Friedman—and who else?”

Jugyeong eyed his sudden gentleness with suspicion, then hugged one arm and spoke.

“Senior year fall. In the darkened study room—with Cha Sia. You remember that?”

The relaxed expression Seju had been wearing stiffened slightly.

Nineteen.

Without question, the worst year of his life.

He’d shot up eight centimeters in just three months during a growth spurt, yet in front of Jugyeong, he had never once been a 192-centimeter man.

That was another one of Jugyeong’s strange talents.

Making people feel pathetically small, like dots—like dust or air.

She didn’t even try to do it.

She just didn’t show him her eyes, didn’t let him hear her voice, passed by him at school like he was a stranger.

All nineteen-year-old Cheon Seju had wanted to know was what time nineteen-year-old Ha Jugyeong went to bed, what she ate that morning, and what kind of mood she was in that day.

But Jugyeong—who carried that tiny bag and never once lost her rank as first in the school—let her sharp mind shine in the cruelest way possible.

She ignored people without restraint.

“Of course I remember. That was when you didn’t even treat me like a person.”

“…….”

“It even shows up in my dreams sometimes, Jugyeong.”

After a brief silence, Jugyeong twisted her lips into a faint smile, like she was frowning.

“So that’s how you remember it?”

“…….”

“I remember thinking you were about to eat Cha Sia alive.”

Seju stared down at her blankly, then squeezed one eye shut and let out a rough sigh. He shoved both hands into his pants pockets and let his head droop to the side.

“Why do you talk like that….”

“…….”

“There’s even a crazy one standing in front of me who wants to sleep with a guy like that.”

A short twitch ran beneath Jugyeong’s eye. That was the only sign of disturbance.

It wasn’t enough. Jugyeong had always betrayed his expectations as if it were nothing.

Shrugging, Seju said,

“My bad. Guess I’m not so desperate I’ll drop my pants just to see what you’re about.”

“Yeah. That’s fair. I get what you mean.”

The smile she’d been wearing cracked, just slightly. Seju felt like magma was boiling in his gut, but Jugyeong backed off too easily, her face already composed again.

“I’ll apologize again. I’m sorry, Seju. I didn’t think it through. I didn’t consider that you might be uncomfortable.”

Seju knew she meant every word. And that, precisely, was when his mood plunged straight into the gutter.

“Jugyeong, I’m just curious.”

He pressed down hard on his eyelids. The pressure behind his eyes was so intense that they felt ready to burst. Whenever Jugyeong made him feel like he was losing it, he’d always just say whatever came to mind.

So what.

It wasn’t like his feelings mattered to her anyway.

“How many guys have you seduced like this?”

“…….”

“If that’s too crude, I can rephrase.”

“…….”

“How many have fallen for this act of yours?”

Jugyeong’s face changed instantly, like she’d swallowed a breath.

That small face hardened with defiance, eyes sharp enough to drip poison.

Seeing it, Seju felt the knot inside him finally loosen.

Dragging that pretty mouth up into a sneer. Forcing her to turn away.

There were no other options. Anything else just wouldn’t satisfy him. It had always been that way.

“…….”

“…….”

After a long silence, Jugyeong clenched her hand, took a deep breath in and out, and answered,

“Well. If you’d accepted my offer, you would’ve been the first… so I guess I don’t really know.”

“…….”

“If this is because I called you promiscuous earlier… I truly didn’t mean it sarcastically.”

“…….”

“I meant you seemed sexually open. Like you didn’t have prejudices.”

Seju blinked slowly—then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hah.”

The bright, carefree sound of his laugh only made Jugyeong’s expression stiffen. As he wiped the corner of his mouth, something crooked glinted in his eyes.

“Why keep apologizing over something like that? I was just surprised. You’re more than I thought you were…”

“…….”

“…Too easy.”

Only after dragging his gaze from her face did Jugyeong’s expression tilt.

“Seju. Are you trying to humiliate me?”

She stared at him like she was stabbing him.

“Then why don’t you criticize my selfishness instead—for making a thoughtless proposal without considering your feelings?”

She crossed her arms and tilted her head.

“I don’t want to apologize to you just because I’m ‘too easy’ by your standards.”

Seju’s face twisted as he ground out,

“Hey, Ha Jugyeong, you fucking—”

That was when a gentle voice floated over from afar.

“Son!”

They both turned at the same time to look at Professor Lim. She had one hand cupped around her mouth, calling out, then approached with a warm smile.

“What are you two doing out here?”