Yes, It’s Me. The Obsessive Side Top

#011

In the lecture hall, even though I was late, I couldn’t stop watching the back of Sun Woo’s head. My mind churned with fragmented phrases, desperately searching for the right words to say. Despite mentally rehearsing, I couldn’t settle on anything. I had never made such a drunken spectacle before, and I silently cursed Ha Jin’s low alcohol tolerance.

After the lecture ended, I hurried to the department room. When I arrived, Sun Woo was already there, and I nervously swallowed.

“Oh, hey, Sun Woo.”

He didn’t react noticeably to my appearance. For a moment, I wondered if the events from the weekend had been nothing more than my imagination. Sun Woo’s completely normal expression made me hesitant about bringing it up. Apologies danced on the tip of my tongue: Sorry for being drunk? Sorry for kissing you? Sorry for falling asleep while kissing? Everything I remembered just led to more apologies.

While I stood there awkwardly, Sun Woo reached out, not to greet me but to grab the overly sweet chocolate milk I was holding, a drink I didn’t usually touch.

“Do I think of you now whenever I see this?” I confessed.

Now, whenever I see chocolate milk, Sun Woo comes to mind. Even though it’s too sweet for my taste, I always end up buying it, only to hand it to him when we meet. Sun Woo eyed the chocolate milk before placing the envelope he was holding onto the table.

Holding the drink, he casually mentioned, “Seems like you’re pretty weak with alcohol from what I saw.”

“Ah, yeah. Pretty weak, huh? Wasn’t it just one can of beer? I woke up in my room… Did you move me there? Must have been heavy.”

“Not really,” he replied.

The moment of apology was nearing. I was poised to say sorry if he even uttered the “K” in “kiss,” but he said nothing more about it. Instead, he looked at me with a hint of concern.

“You shouldn’t drink anywhere else,” he advised.

I was genuinely touched by his worry. Who would have thought I’d hear Sun Woo express concern for me? I nodded in agreement, and Sun Woo’s expression softened into a natural smile.

“I thought you’d be good at drinking,” he remarked.

Me too! I bet all the readers thought so too. Damn writer. Why make the character an alcohol lightweight? Sure, Ha Jin can pull off all kinds of trashy behavior, but he can’t handle alcohol? What a ridiculous setup.

Feeling somewhat relieved, I decided to push my luck. “Want to have lunch together?”

“Sure,” Sun Woo agreed.

Am I losing my mind? Things were going so well with Sun Woo that I half-jokingly considered buying a lottery ticket.

“I’ll treat today,” he offered.

I shook my head. “Why? Let me pay. You’ve helped me so much.”

“I’ve only been taking from you until now,” he replied, still fidgeting with the chocolate milk. Finally, I gave in, feeling that this opportunity was too precious to let slip.

Ha Jin, are you watching? See? I’ll do all the things you couldn’t do.

“Is there anything you want to eat?” Sun Woo asked.

I grinned. “You.”

He looked stunned, and I quickly added, “I like everything I eat with you.”

Even without alcohol, it felt like Ha Jin’s mischievous spirit was still controlling me. Sun Woo’s expression froze momentarily, but then he relaxed. Worried about making things awkward, I called out in an overly cute voice.

“Sun Woo, will you let me choose what I want to eat today?”

Sun Woo stared at me, looking a bit dazed. Embarrassed by how cutesy I was acting, I grabbed his arm.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Leaving our things scattered in the department room, we headed to the soft tofu restaurant near the school. On our way, Sun Woo suddenly stopped and pulled me back.

“You want to eat this?” he asked.

Of course, I did! It was one of my favorite spots, even if the restaurant had once been shut down for hygiene issues. What did that matter to students? The food was so delicious that we couldn’t resist coming back. Sure enough, when we entered, every eye turned toward me. Used to the attention, I ignored the stares and sat down to order.

The spicy soft tofu stew arrived quickly, filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma. As the rice, stew, and side dishes were arranged on a large metal tray, my mouth watered like one of Pavlov’s dogs.

“Can you eat this?” Sun Woo asked, his question catching me off guard.

Why does he think I can’t eat this?

When I didn’t answer his strange question, Sun Woo’s gaze shifted to the bubbling soft tofu stew in front of me.

“Won’t it be too spicy?” he asked.

Of course it’s spicy, protagonist. That’s why people love it.

“That’s the whole point of eating it,” I replied.

“But you can’t handle spicy food well.”

“Why?” I stared at him, puzzled by his words. Me, not able to eat spicy food? Sun Woo’s expression remained unchanged.

“Just… from what I’ve seen, you never eat anything spicy.”

It wasn’t because I didn’t want to; I just couldn’t get it. Even my aunt avoided making spicy food, probably thinking about my health.

But wow, has Sun Woo really been watching me closely? To notice something like that? Hmm, it would be troublesome if he falls for me.

I just smiled and picked up my spoon. “How can I be Korean if I can’t eat spicy food?” 

Boldly, I took a spoonful of the soft tofu stew and put it in my mouth. Almost immediately, I dropped the spoon.

Crazy, Ha Jin. Seriously. Even in this life, I can’t handle spicy food? Wow, that’s really something.

My tongue was burning, but I couldn’t show weakness. I stuffed my mouth with rice, trying to act normal. Sun Woo, however, noticed. Without a word, he got up and brought me a cup of water from the self-service station.

“Drink,” he said, handing it to me.

The cold and haughty Sun Woo from the webtoon turned out to be quite caring in reality. I drank the water he offered in one gulp. The spiciness subsided a bit after eating rice and drinking the water.

Why are there so many things forbidden to me? Looking back, it feels like being a trash person is the only thing I’m allowed to be. And that’s not something anyone should have to permit.

If I can’t eat spicy food, so many of the good restaurants near school are off-limits. Is this like one of those “give up spicy food forever for 1 billion won” deals? I never even agreed to that, so why was it forced upon me?

In the end, I couldn’t touch the stew again. I focused on the stir-fried fish cake and rice, steering clear of the shishito peppers, worried they might be spicy too. If I couldn’t handle the stew, the peppers were definitely off the table.

Seeing me nibble only on rice and fish cake, Sun Woo paused, looking concerned.

“Should I order a different stew for you?” he offered.

“It’s okay,” I insisted. “They put green chilies in the other stews too.”

“I can ask them to leave them out.”

“No, it’s fine. This is manageable.” My image was already bad enough; I couldn’t become the difficult customer making special requests.

When Sun Woo paid after we finished eating, it felt strange. Sun Woo, who wouldn’t have given Ha Jin the time of day before, let alone paid for anything, was now buying meals. His kindness was beginning to exceed all expectations. The more I got to know him, the nicer he seemed.

After he finished paying, I bowed politely to the owner, expressing our appreciation for the meal, and we left. I couldn’t bring myself to say that I’d come back. Knowing the taste and having to give up such delicious spicy stew almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Want to get coffee?” Sun Woo’s question startled me. What was he suggesting now?

“Coffee?” I echoed, surprised.

“You like having coffee after meals, right?” he said.

That’s right. I had mentioned that once, after eating blood sausage soup. I felt a surge of warmth at Sun Woo’s attentiveness, remembering something so offhand.

“Then let me buy the coffee,” I offered.

“No need. I’ll buy it,” he replied.

“Do you have a favorite coffee brand?” he asked.

“No, anywhere is fine. Let’s go there.” I pointed to a relatively inexpensive coffee shop nearby. Sun Woo, unfamiliar with coffee, followed without any objections to my suggestion.

“What coffee do you want?” he asked.

“White chocola… I mean, iced americano.” I caught myself before ordering something fancy.

Sun Woo ordered one iced americano for me and a hot vanilla latte for himself. It felt odd for him to choose a hot drink on such a warm day.

“Aren’t you hot?” I asked. “You should get it iced.”

“It’s a habit. I only drink hot coffee,” he explained.

Since Sun Woo remembered my preferences, I tucked this detail about him away in my memory: Sun Woo drinks hot coffee.

When he handed me the iced americano, I immediately took a big sip. The spiciness from the stew still lingered, and I hoped the coffee would help. The bland taste of the iced americano, however, wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped. Maybe Ha Jin really was destined to drink espresso, like in the webtoon.

Seeing my disappointed expression, Sun Woo smiled slightly. “You’re really picky with food,” he remarked.

“Huh?” I asked, taken aback, and looked at Sun Woo’s smiling face in disbelief.

“How did you even manage to eat the blood sausage soup?” he continued. “It shows all over your face. You didn’t like it, did you?”

“No, it was delicious,” I protested. “How could anything you buy for me not taste good?” Defiantly, I took another long sip from the cup.

Sun Woo smiled at my behavior, a genuine smile that made my heart race, and then walked ahead. Still processing everything, I stared at his back, replaying his smile in my mind. This is crazy. Sun Woo actually smiled at Ha Jin.