The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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45.
[Su-jin: Did you apply for the Mountaineering Club? If you haven’t, do it quickly.]
Do-a thought for a moment before typing a reply.
[I don’t know. I was thinking of skipping it this time and going next year.]
[Su-jin: What are you talking about? You absolutely have to go. Do you know what rumors are spreading at the Alumni Meeting right now?]
Faced with Su-jin’s excited messages, Do-a leaned back against the headboard of her bed.
[Rumors? What kind of rumors?]
[Su-jin: I ran into one of the Alumni Meeting executives the other day. Somehow the conversation turned to Gyeong-jun and Na-hee, and they said it’s a relief those two are doing well. So I asked them why it was a relief that they were doing well when it was actually thanks to you, and then—]
[And?]
[Su-jin: That asshole Gyeong-jun spilled it. He said it only looked like he was dating you because you were stalking him like crazy. That you threatened to kill yourself if he wouldn’t see you.]
Blood rushed to her head.
[Su-jin: I thought no one would believe it, you know? But somehow a lot of people do. I mean, people saw you and Gyeong-jun actually dating—how could they believe that garbage!]
[Thanks for telling me. Without you, I wouldn’t have even known such rumors were spreading.]
So Gyeong-jun was spreading lies not just at the office but at the Alumni Meeting too?
She clenched her teeth and took a deep breath.
Let’s see him try to face all three of us then.
Having steeled her resolve, Do-a typed “Attending” into the group chat without hesitation.
* * *
The next day, Do-a’s fingers stopped abruptly as she was typing at her keyboard.
A sharp pain seized her stomach, bending her forward involuntarily.
“Do-a, aren’t you going to lunch? The In-house Cafeteria is serving samgyetang today.”
Hye-jeong popped her head over the partition. Do-a shook her head, pressing her upper abdomen gently.
“I’ll pass. I think my gastritis is flaring up again. I was planning to go to the hospital.”
“Oh no, again? You must have really worn yourself out finishing the project. Go on and get it checked out.”
The real cause was far deeper than the project, but Do-a swallowed her words silently and stood, gathering her bag.
She’d barely opened the door when her phone vibrated urgently in her jacket pocket. The caller was Gyu-seon.
Ever since their first call, Gyu-seon had taken to phoning her quite often.
“Yes, Grandmother. Have you eaten?”
— Do-a, have you had dinner? Your voice sounds so weak.
“Ah, it’s lunchtime right now. I think I’m getting gastritis, so I’m heading to the hospital first.”
A brief silence came through the phone, then a torrent of nagging poured out.
— Gastritis? Oh heavens, you’re always buying spicy and salty food outside—your stomach can’t possibly hold up!
Do-a swallowed her indignation silently.
I actually cook decently at home.
She was about to regret speaking up when Gyu-seon continued without letting her get a word in.
— Since tomorrow is the weekend anyway, come stay at the house! I’ll make you plenty of food that’s good for your stomach.
“Yes? No, Grandmother, I’ll be fine after I see the doctor. You don’t need to worry.”
— I’m so worried about you. Gastritis gets worse if you don’t treat it properly! Goodness, I don’t know if I can even eat properly while I’m worried about you like this.
“You can’t do that. You need to eat well.”
— All right, then. I’m counting on you coming, Do-a.
Click. The call ended with a one-sided declaration.
Do-a stood in front of the elevator button, staring down at her phone. An appointment had been set without her even realizing when she’d agreed.
“Well, now I have to go.”
Do-a decided it was better to give Cha-gyeong advance notice and sent a brief message.
She was visiting his home tomorrow due to Grandmother’s invitation, and asked him to let her know if it was inconvenient.
When she came out of the clinic, a reply from Cha-gyeong was waiting.
[Cha-gyeong: That works. I have an external meeting in the morning tomorrow, so I’ll be out.]
Good. No awkward encounters then.
But thinking about it, she found it absurd. Even though they had a contract, she felt more comfortable with Gyu-seon and Jeong-hye than with Cha-gyeong, who was supposedly her romantic partner.
Well, she’d just get a home-cooked meal out of it.
Do-a concluded as much and stuffed her phone into her pocket.
Deliberately ignoring the hollow feeling that something was missing.
* * *
The next afternoon, from the moment the taxi turned onto the slope in Seongbuk-dong, Do-a gazed blankly out the window.
As they wound upward through narrow alleys, trees grew thickly beyond the walls on either side.
The houses lining the street were entirely different in size and atmosphere from the neighborhood where Do-a usually spent her time.
The taxi driver glanced at the navigation and asked.
“Is this it?”
Do-a nodded and got out of the taxi.
‘This is a house? Or a palace?’
When she pressed the intercom button beside the gate—easily twice as tall as she was—a middle-aged woman’s voice came through the speaker.
“Yes, who is it?”
“It’s Do-a. I was invited today.”
“Just a moment.”
After a brief wait, the heavy gate opened with a low rumble. Do-a adjusted the Shopping Bag in her hands and stepped through.
Past a garden wider than most apartment complexes, a stately main house appeared—a commanding blend of traditional Korean architecture and modern design.
‘I’d never be able to relax properly living in a place like this.’
Standing at the entrance, Do-a rang the bell again, and the door slowly swung open.
The polite greeting she’d been preparing froze on her lips.
It wasn’t a middle-aged housekeeper or kind-faced Gyu-seon who stood in the open doorway looking down at her.
“I—”
His hair, normally combed back with Pomade without a single strand out of place, fell naturally across his forehead today.
Instead of the armor-tight sleeveless suit, a soft charcoal knit followed the contours of his broad shoulders and firm chest with dizzying grace.
“Come in.”
His low, measured voice fell against her ear.
Do-a’s pupils widened, her gaze scattered.
“Wh—why are you here? You said you had an external meeting—”
Cha-gyeong easily took the heavy Shopping Bag from Do-a’s hands as he spoke.
“It got canceled.”
“Can—canceled?”
The moment his low, heavy voice fell on her ears, Do-a’s mind went blank.
Right, it got canceled.
That made sense. External meetings and business schedules changing suddenly wasn’t unusual.
It happened often enough at her own company.
But that was one thing, and Do-a’s heart was quite another.
Thump-thump.
Seeing Cha-gyeong looking unusually languid and different from his normal self, her breath kept catching in her throat.
When he stepped closer to take the Shopping Bag, the cool woody scent that swept toward her made her fingertips tingle.
“If—if the meeting got canceled, you should have told me beforehand.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I thought you weren’t going to be here.”
“So you’re upset that I’m here when you thought I wouldn’t be? Or is it that you wouldn’t have come at all if you’d known I would be?”
“I never said anything like that!”
“Then what’s the problem with me being here or not?”
I need time to prepare myself mentally.
I have to get ready for this.
Sure, there was a chance he might not have come, but her intent was definitely not to reproach him for showing up.
As Do-a flustered, Cha-gyeong’s eyes curved with a mischievous expression.
“It’s written all over your face. You were hoping I wouldn’t be here.”
Do-a bristled.
“I said that’s not it. Why do you keep pushing me like that?”
As her voice rose indignantly, Gyu-seon’s ringing voice came flying from deeper within the living room.
“Why aren’t you two coming in? Cha-gyeong, what are you doing keeping our guest standing at the door?”
Finding her savior, Do-a took a deep breath and moved quickly toward the interior—then stopped.
If she went in like this, the misunderstanding would only harden.
“I really wasn’t asking with that intention. So please don’t misunderstand—”
“Enough.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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