LNMBU 07

Chapter : 07

“……!”

Startled, Nayeon tried to step backward, but Jaehyuk suddenly grabbed her other wrist.

It was him again.

Once again, Jaehyuk had come to her.

The force pulling them in opposite directions made the burly man turn around.

“Who the hell are you?”

Jaehyuk stared directly at the man and replied in a low, chilly voice.

“This woman is leaving with me tonight.”

Nayeon’s eyes widened.

Her heart fluttered in surprise.

‘He never said anything like that, but if he actually came down from the second floor again just to help me……’

A moment ago, there had seemed to be curiosity in Jaehyuk’s eyes. Perhaps he had actually developed an interest in her.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t care whether she was in trouble or not.

“What are you talking about? I was taking her out with me!”

“I was first.”

Jaehyuk remained completely expressionless, his face cynical and cold.

The burly man’s expression soon twisted.

Standing at 190 centimeters tall, Jaehyuk had strikingly handsome features, and the muscular body showing beneath his shirt suggested that he worked out regularly. His very presence was intimidating.

After looking Jaehyuk up and down, the burly man huffed angrily and asked Nayeon,

“You know that guy? Did you really have plans to leave with him first?”

There was only one possible answer.

A definite YES.

It was only natural for her to play along with Jaehyuk, who had come down from the second floor again to save her.

“Yes! I was supposed to leave with him first. So please let go of me!”

she shouted.

The burly man smacked his lips regretfully. Unable to bring himself to pick a fight with Jaehyuk, he instead shouted angrily,

“This woman told me she hasn’t even washed her hair or taken a shower! You made plans with her knowing that?!”

Jaehyuk tilted his head slightly to the side and replied indifferently,

“That happens to be my type, so I don’t care.”

“Gasp!”

Nayeon’s mouth fell open in surprise.

‘He seems like the kind of person who would care more about cleanliness than anyone else…… Could he just be saying that because he’s trying to save me, so it doesn’t matter?’

While Nayeon stood there confused, the burly man frowned.

When Jaehyuk pulled her toward him with even greater force, the man finally released her other wrist with a sharp snap.

“Ah!”

The momentum sent Nayeon stumbling forward, and her face collided with Jaehyuk’s chest.

It was like hitting a rock.

He was unbelievably solid.

Embarrassed, Nayeon’s face flushed as she hurriedly took a step away from Jaehyuk.

The burly man had apparently already decided that he would lose the battle of eyes and wills, so he disappeared with an irritated expression.

Jaehyuk had ended up saving her twice inside the club.

Nayeon lowered her eyebrows and gazed at him.

“Thank you for saving me again……”

“You really shouldn’t come to places like this.”

Just as she was about to thank him, Jaehyuk looked down at her with his usual cynical gaze.

He still hadn’t released her wrist.

“You’re obviously such an innocent girl. Why did you even come here?”

“Th-that’s because I wanted to rebel a little today……”

“Hey, Ki Jaehyuk! What are you doing?”

Just then, several men who looked about Jaehyuk’s age came rushing down from the second floor.

They seemed to be his companions.

“We’re having a reunion for the first time in ages. Why do you keep coming down to the first floor?”

Oh…… So he was here for a gathering.

If they were classmates, it must have been a reunion with his classmates from Seowoo University’s medical school.

One of his classmates glanced at Nayeon and asked,

“What, do you know her?”

“No.”

Jaehyuk answered after quietly looking at Nayeon.

As expected, he had no idea that she was Lim Nayeon, the girl who lived downstairs.

“Then what? You like her?”

“……”

There was no answer to that question.

“Got it. I won’t interrupt. Come back up after you have a little fun.”

Grinning, his classmates headed back upstairs.

Nayeon’s face was already turning red because of Jaehyuk’s silence.

Jaehyuk watched his departing classmates for a moment before lowering his gaze to Nayeon again.

Then he slowly released the wrist he had been holding.

As Nayeon rubbed her tingling wrist, Jaehyuk suddenly thrust his phone toward her.

“……Yes?”

Caught off guard, Nayeon took his phone, and he spoke.

“Give me a call from your phone.”

“A call?”

Nayeon’s eyes wavered for a moment before she lowered her gaze to the screen of his phone.

“Why…… are you asking me to do that?”

Jaehyuk answered in a firm voice.

“I want your contact information.”

Thump.

Her heart seemed to drop.

‘A man like Jaehyuk oppa is asking me for my number. Is this a dream or am I really awake?’

Tap, tap, tap.

With trembling fingers, Nayeon began entering her eleven-digit phone number on the screen.

She saved the contact, made the call, and then handed Jaehyuk’s phone back to him. His contact information was now saved on Nayeon’s phone as well.

Seeing Nayeon’s slightly flushed face and her obvious inability to figure out what to do, Jaehyuk casually lifted one corner of his mouth and said,

“I’ll contact you later.”

“……?”

“Answer when I call. Got it?”

With those words, he turned around and walked away.

In an instant, Jaehyuk had gotten her number.

Unable to believe what had just happened, Nayeon’s heart pounded furiously. She stood there for a long while before finally returning to her seat.

Once she returned to her table, Nayeon told Hyesun everything that had happened.

Some crazy guy had been hitting on her, and the oppa who lived upstairs, who happened to be there for a medical-school class reunion, had appeared and rescued her like a prince.

She also told Hyesun that her upstairs neighbor didn’t even know she was the girl who lived downstairs, and that he seemed to have taken an interest in her appearance now that she wasn’t hiding herself behind a wig, baggy clothes, and the like. He had even gotten her contact information.

Nayeon hadn’t put her name on her messenger profile, nor had she uploaded a photo.

Besides, once today’s little rebellion was over, she would go back to hiding her real appearance just as she had before.

So even though they had exchanged numbers, there was no way he could know that she was Lim Nayeon.

“Ahhh! That’s crazy! That actually happened?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe it either. I never imagined I’d get involved like this with someone I’ve admired and thought was so amazing for so long.”

“Wow. But I really shouldn’t leave you alone. It seems like something keeps happening whenever you’re by yourself.”

“Even just now, when I was coming back to the table alone, guys kept bothering me and I kept getting bumped into. But when I came while twirling my hair around my finger, everyone ran away. I figured out how to clear a path.”

“Puhahaha! Maybe they thought you were some crazy woman? Lim Nayeon, you’ve gotten a little tougher!”

Hyesun laughed heartily and mixed another delicious drink for her.

“How is it? Now that you’ve come to a club? It’s fun, right? Would you want to sneak out again when your mom isn’t home?”

“Of course. I want to come again. Actually, I’ve been really depressed lately. I suddenly wondered if I’d have to live my whole life unable to dress up and hiding what I really look like, and it made me feel so down. But coming here with you today, dancing as much as I wanted, drinking, and screaming my head off completely relieved my stress. Take me again next time.”

“Of course. As long as you’re okay with it, I’d always love to come with you. Next time we come to a club, let’s bring some self-defense items too, just in case.”

“Hahaha. That’s a good idea too. I should bring the stun gun I have at home.”

“Great! Let’s toast!”

The two of them chatted about this and that as they drank one glass after another.

Who knew how long they had been drinking, talking, and enjoying themselves like that?

They were sitting at the table, raising their arms and moving to the rhythm of the lively music, when—

Bzzzz—

Nayeon’s phone, which had been sitting on the table, vibrated and fell onto the floor with a soft thud.

She bent down to pick it up again, only to be surprised when she saw a notification on the screen.

Jaehyuk had sent her a message.

[Where are you?]

The moment Nayeon saw the message, her heart began pounding.

‘He said he’d contact me, and he really did……!’