Chapter 33

Seok-Woo stood still as the students looked at him, feeling sorry for him.

As soon as only Gyeong-Eun and him were left, Gyeong-Eun approached him and said, "Let me give you something as payment for helping me earlier before the class started."

Seok-Woo was initially confused, but before he could say anything, she cut off his words. "There's a shop nearby at the university. Let's go there as soon as I finish sorting things out in my office."

Gyeong-Eun then started to walk outside of the room, prompting Seok-Woo to think to himself, "That's all? I thought you were going to give me a private lesson or something." He smirked at the thought and quickly followed her.

The two walked toward her office, with Seok-Woo behind her, matching her pace. They didn't exchange any words as they walked.

Once they arrived at her office room, Gyeong-Eun turned back to Seok-Woo and said, "Wait here, I won't take too long." After which, she unlocked the door and entered the room.

Seok-Woo leaned on the wall as soon as she closed the door, waiting patiently at first. However, as minutes passed by, he frowned as she was taking longer than expected.

"That..." Seok-Woo was about to swear at her but stopped immediately as soon as the door suddenly opened.

Gyeong-Eun emerged from the room, holding the door handle to close, and asked him, "Sorry for taking longer," without giving a reason why.

Seok-Woo turned his head and replied, "What took you so long?" prompting Gyeong-Eun to respond, "There's a lot of things needed to be sorted out than expected," but Seok-Woo didn't pursue it further.

"Let's go now, I'm thirsty," Seok-Woo said, turning back at her and walking away intending to go outside. As he walked, Gyeong-Eun raised one of her brows.

"He's still composed after that, makes me want to slowly break him down," she thought, evilly smirking slightly, before following him not long after.

The two walked side by side as they headed outside the campus, attracting some attention from her previous students who whispered among themselves. They noticed the small actions of the two but didn't care about it.

Seok-Woo was still a head taller than her even wearing heels. With glasses on, Seok-Woo appeared intelligent, beside Gyeong-Eun, who was labeled as a cold person, it was a sight to behold.

Once outside, the two walked towards the cafe where Gyeong-Eun had mentioned. Inside, there were students already present. As they entered, Gyeong-Eun handed Seok-Woo her card.

"Order what you want, then please get me a latte. I'll find a seat for the two of us," Gyeong-Eun instructed him, before Seok-Woo could reply, but she had already moved to find a seat.

Seok-Woo looked at her as he held her card, then shrugged his shoulders and said to himself, "What do I want? Sure, I'll fill my stomach in the meantime." He then proceeded to the counter and looked at the menu.

First, he ordered Gyeong-Eun's latte, then he let loose on spending. He picked what he found attractive, pointing out one by one. The person taking the orders listed a long list of items to be served. Seok-Woo swiftly ordered almost all of the menu items.

Once he finished, he swiped to confirm the payment for the items he had ordered. Back at Gyeong-Eun, she was already sitting, cross-legged and waiting for Seok-Woo. She then received a notification on her phone.

Knowing it would be the payment for what he ordered, she looked at the total cost and frowned. "That little..." She saw that the total cost of Seok-Woo's orders was a hefty amount. She then crossed her arms, irritated by his actions.

"I'll discipline that boy when he comes back," she muttered to herself, her eyes colder than usual. No one dared to approach her, and the customers inside the store felt the atmosphere grow colder.

Meanwhile, Seok-Woo was holding up a tray of what he had ordered. There were a lot of items there. He started to look for Gyeong-Eun, and it wasn't hard as her eyes locked on him. He smiled, fully aware of why she was like this.

As he approached the table, Seok-Woo carefully set down the tray and handed Gyeong-Eun her latte. However, her response was a piercing glare, which he disregarded as he arranged his own items on the table. Retrieving her card, he offered it to her.

"Here's your card," Seok-Woo stated, but Gyeong-Eun didn't reach for it. Instead, she questioned, "Why did you spend so much?" Her gaze was fixed on him, prompting Seok-Woo to respond innocently.

"Well, you said to order what I want, so I followed your instructions," Seok-Woo explained. Gyeong-Eun's voice grew louder as she retorted, "Then why spend so much? Couldn't you control yourself?" Her raised eyebrow emphasized her frustration.

"I was going to ask if there was a limit, but you turned away before I could," Seok-Woo reasoned, already indulging in his chosen items. Gyeong-Eun sighed, acknowledging that Seok-Woo had a point, but she sensed a subtle payback for the wait she had caused.

"Do you want some? You can have some if you'd like," Seok-Woo offered, extending his hand toward her. Gyeong-Eun glanced at him before accepting an item and taking a bite.

Both Seok-Woo and Gyeong-Eun remained absorbed in their own activities, exchanging no words. Seok-Woo relished his food while Gyeong-Eun occasionally glanced in his direction, silently observing him.

While they minded their own business, a customer in the store noticed them, but their attention was solely on Gyeong-Eun. Slowly, the person approached them, unbeknownst to the two.

Moments later, they felt someone's presence nearing them and turned to see who it was. Gyeong-Eun was slightly surprised to recognize the approaching figure and took the initiative to speak. "Hae-Jung, it's been a while," she greeted, maintaining her characteristic cold tone.

Hae-Jung, unfazed by the tone, returned the greeting with a smile. "Gyeong-Eun, it's been too long. How have you been?" she asked warmly.

Meanwhile, Seok-Woo observed the exchange between the two women before returning to his meal, opting to mind his own business. As they conversed, he learned that they were colleagues.

"So, she's also a professor here," he mused to himself, stealing a glance at Hae-Jung, who caught his eye momentarily before returning her attention to Gyeong-Eun.

"Is this your..." Hae-Jung began, leaving the word unfinished for Gyeong-Eun to complete. Without hesitation, Gyeong-Eun confirmed, "He's one of my students."

Seok-Woo waved at Hae-Jung, but she couldn't help but inquire, "Then why are you two together?" She couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to their connection, but Gyeong-Eun's response dispelled any lingering suspicions.

"I'm just repaying a debt, nothing more," Gyeong-Eun stated firmly, shutting down any potential misconceptions. As the two continued their conversation, Seok-Woo finished his meal.

Seeing that they were deeply engrossed in their chat, he decided to leave them be, standing up abruptly. Both Gyeong-Eun and Hae-Jung paused their conversation as they watched him.

"I'll be going now; you can take my seat, Professor," he declared, then directed a smile at Hae-Jung before meeting Gyeong-Eun's gaze. "Thank you for the treat, Professor," he added politely, prompting her to respond with a dismissive wave.

With that, Seok-Woo left the store, allowing Hae-Jung to take his vacated seat. The two resumed their conversation, while Seok-Woo strolled back to campus.

With time to spare before class, he decided to explore areas of the campus he hadn't visited before. As he wandered, he eventually found himself entering a building, curious to see what lay inside.

To the library, he went, as he hadn't visited there yet. Inside, students were scattered about, some engrossed in their books while others dozed off. Venturing deeper, he was met with an unexpected sound—a muffled moan.

With a curious brow raised, he felt compelled to investigate. "Well, this is an adventurous place for such activities," he mused quietly as he cautiously approached the source of the noise.

Drawing nearer, he caught a glimpse: a girl wearing a masquerade mask, accompanied by a man in a face mask. Originally intending just to satisfy his curiosity before quietly leaving. He wasn't one to pry into others' private affairs.

Yet, as his eyes lingered on the girl's distinct features, he found himself involuntarily blurting out, "Sunhwi?" Instantly realizing his mistake, he regretted his intrusion.

Their moment abruptly halted at the sound of his voice. Hastily, they scrambled to cover themselves, the girl casting a brief glance at him before hurrying away, her mask now removed to reveal her face.

The resemblance to Sunhwi was uncanny, save for a beauty mark near the eye. Seok-Woo watched silently as they hastily departed, his palm meeting his face in chagrin.

"That was quite the blunder," he muttered to himself, resolving to avoid such situations in the future as he made his exit from the library.

This time, he headed straight to his classroom, where he waited for the class to begin. Upon arrival, he quickly found an empty seat and began occupying himself with his phone.

As the class commenced, he pondered to himself, "Should I go home after class or grab dinner first?" His thoughts were interrupted by a vibration from his phone. Glancing discreetly beneath his table, he saw it was a text message.

Reading the text, he was pleasantly surprised to find it was from Sunhwi. The message read, "Seok-Woo, do you have time for dinner later?" He replied, "I have some time," and soon received another message from her.

"Let's meet later. I'll let you know where," Sunhwi texted, indicating they would be dining out tonight.

As the class progressed, ending earlier than expected, he decided to text Sunhwi, asking, "Where are you?" Sitting on a bench near the fountain, he quickly received a response.

"I'm still on campus, near the entrance," Sunhwi messaged him. Prompted by her response, Seok-Woo stood up and made his way towards the entrance.

As he approached, Seok-Woo spotted Sunhwi waiting for him. He walked towards her, noticing her scanning the area until her gaze settled on him.

She waved at him, and as Seok-Woo stood in front of her, he asked, "Only you? Thought that Ja-In and Eun-Ah would also be joining."

Sunhwi replied, "Eun-Ah has her shift today, and Ja-In... usually doesn't go out at night." She searched for an explanation for Ja-In's absence, though her words to Eun-Ah had been genuine. As for Ja-In, she preferred to keep her excluded for now.

In reality, Ja-In had asked Sunhwi to have dinner together, but she declined, citing a prior engagement. Ja-In went home after learning that Sunhwi was going out, unaware that she was with Seok-Woo.

The two walked side by side, and Sunhwi moved her arm to hold his, locking it against her chest. Seok-Woo glanced at her briefly before continuing to walk, allowing her to hold onto his arm.

Sunhwi couldn't help but smirk as Seok-Woo allowed her to take the lead, sensing that she was making progress. Determined to assert herself more, she walked alongside him confidently, aware of the attention they drew from other students. However, among the male observers, rather than interest, there was a hint of spite directed at Seok-Woo for being with Sunhwi.

Unbeknownst to Seok-Woo, someone else was keeping an eye on them. From a window above, Gyeong-Eun held a glass of wine, casually sipping as she observed Seok-Woo and Sunhwi from afar.

Meanwhile, inside the office, Gyeong-Eun wasn't alone. Hae-Jung sat on the couch, watching her with a hint of disapproval. "You do know alcohol is prohibited here, right?" she remarked, declining the offer of a drink.

Gyeong-Eun met her gaze squarely. "So is sex, yet people still indulge," she retorted, a sly smile playing on her lips. "But you're hardly the one to lecture me on rule-breaking, are you? You're not as innocent as you pretend to be." Her teasing tone made Hae-Jung blush and look away, clearly flustered.

Returning to Seok-Woo and Sunhwi, they were en route to a restaurant for dinner. As they chatted in the car, Sunhwi's confidence grew, subtly but noticeably. With each passing moment, their connection deepened, marking a significant step forward in their relationship.