The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 52

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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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52.
“The one who likes more always tends to lose.”
He’d tried a bit of push and pull, but it seemed to be getting him nowhere.
“Director!”
With one relentless stalker clinging to him, Seong Do-ah couldn’t get a proper look at him, and all she felt was exhausted.
Cha Kyung gave Na Hui a half-hearted reply as she chattered away, then stepped into the Hall.
Most of the people had already arrived and were seated in the Hall.
Cha Kyung turned his head this way and that, searching for that characteristically stubborn, round back of the head.
“Alright, everyone’s here now? Those of you still standing, please take your seats. Yes, you in the back there—the tall director, please sit down as well.”
“Director, over here. Here.”
Na Hui grabbed Cha Kyung by the arm just as he was searching for Seong Do-ah, and dragged him to the seat beside her.
“Everyone seated? Today we’re starting with a game called the Synchronization Game.”
Cha Kyung tried to shake her hand off, but the instant announcement and the cheers that erupted forced him to sit down whether he liked it or not.
* * *
“Who does she think she is, sitting next to Director Yun like that?”
Seong Do-ah’s heart skipped at that comment.
She’d searched for Cha Kyung the moment she arrived at the Hall, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find him.
She’d wondered if he hadn’t arrived yet, but when she checked, he was already sitting in the very back corner of the Hall, glued to Na Hui’s side.
“I’m fine alone, so go sit next to the director. Hurry!”
But just then, the MC’s call came. Seong Do-ah had no choice but to take her seat.
“Now, the Synchronization Game—you all know this, right? I’ll ask a question and you both answer at the same time with identical responses. What’s your favorite Chinese food?”
“Black bean noodles!”
“Sweet and sour pork!”
“Ants climbing a tree!”
“Yes, just call them out like that. You succeed only if both answers match exactly.”
The meeting organizer Seong Chul’s voice rang out loud and clear.
“We have ten questions total, and the team with the most correct answers wins a prize donated by our Director Yun!”
“Wooooooo!”
“Gold! Gold! Gold!”
“Notebook!”
The atmosphere was lively, but Seong Do-ah couldn’t bring herself to join in the laughter.
Her attention kept drifting to Cha Kyung and Na Hui sitting diagonally behind her.
Cha Kyung held a beer can in his hand, his expression indifferent as he watched the stage, while Na Hui beside him chattered on without pause.
‘Stop looking back, Seong Do-ah. Look forward, please!’
She tried to force her gaze back to the front.
On stage, two volunteers were giving different answers in quick succession, drawing laughter from the crowd.
“Alright, the fifth question: if you could only bring one item to a deserted island, what would it be? One, two, three!”
“Instant noodles!”
“A pot!”
“Well, I can’t tell if these two have great compatibility or no compatibility at all.”
Laughter erupted throughout the Hall.
“Hey, smile a little.”
“I am smiling.”
At Su-jin’s urging, Seong Do-ah forced the corners of her mouth upward.
“Ugh, forget it. I’d rather watch you suffer. Better than watching you force a smile like that.”
“Is my smile that strange?”
“Yeah. Scary enough to haunt my dreams!”
While Seong Do-ah was talking with Su-jin, the MC regained control of the energy.
“Everyone, you know who sponsored this pension, right?”
“Director Yun!”
“Seong Do-ah’s boyfriend!”
“Then shouldn’t we give him a fair chance to take a prize as well? Even if it’s technically his own money.”
With a chorus of cheers, all eyes turned toward Cha Kyung.
“And his girlfriend, our fellow alumna, Seong Do-ah, should join him!”
Out of nowhere?
Called up like this?
“Seong Do-ah! Seong Do-ah!”
“Cha Kyung!!!!!!!”
“Make it a tough one!”
The roar calling for Seong Do-ah and Cha Kyung was deafening.
Seong Do-ah was swept up by the momentum and reluctantly rose from her seat, while Cha Kyung walked toward the stage with a grudging expression.
The two stood side by side in the empty space in front of the Hall.
Their hands were so close they might have brushed, the distance almost unbearable.
Seong Do-ah heard a heartbeat near her ear—she couldn’t tell if it was hers or his.
She lifted her head without thinking and met his persistently glinting gaze before quickly looking down again.
It was only a moment, but his eyes felt like ten thousand needles pricking sharply at her cheeks.
“Think you can guess what I’m thinking with your head down like that?”
“I can’t guess even when I’m paying attention.”
Cha Kyung chuckled at her answer.
“Still, lift your head. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, even though we’ve been in the same place all along.”
Her ears grew hot at his words. Just then, after finishing the microphone test, the MC’s voice echoed through the Hall again.
“Since you two are a couple, let’s play something different! The Couple Synchronization Game!”
A bad feeling crept over her.
Why change the game? We were doing fine.
Looking ahead, she could see Cha Kyung was uncomfortable too.
“Here’s the first question: exactly how many days have you two been dating?”
Her bad feeling proved to be exactly right.
How many days we’ve been dating? How was she supposed to count? From the day they first met at the department store? Or from the day they signed the contract?
“One, two, three!”
“141 days!”
“83 days!”
It was a disaster.
She’d blurted out numbers without thinking, and the difference was huge.
“So you two are in a relationship but don’t even know how long you’ve been dating? That’s quite a discrepancy.”
Of course there’s a discrepancy. We’re not actually dating.
If all the remaining questions were like this, the probability of their answers matching was practically zero.
But if she suddenly said they couldn’t do this, she’d only raise more suspicion.
While Seong Do-ah was worrying, the next question came.
“Second question! Where was the most recent place you two kissed?”
Her mind went blank.
How was she supposed to answer this?
“What, why do you look flustered? Surely you’re not going for Platonic Love or something, are you? Let’s count down. One, two…….”
A brilliant idea suddenly struck Seong Do-ah. She quickly pressed her palms together against her cheek and mimicked sleeping.
The easiest answer.
Home. Just say home.
She sent telepathic signals desperately toward Cha Kyung.
“Three!”
“Home!”
“Doesn’t exist.”
As soon as the answers were given, Seong Chul spoke up with a shocked expression.
“Wait a minute. How can your last kiss location be different? Director Yun, when you say it doesn’t exist, do you mean you two haven’t kissed yet?”
Cha Kyung answered that brazenly.
“Yes. I’m still taking care of Seong Do-ah.”
Seong Chul glanced at Seong Do-ah and asked again.
“But Seong Do-ah said home?”
“Well, who knows? Maybe she’s cheating on me?”
Seong Do-ah wanted to sink into the floor right then. Cheating? How did that even make sense? I gave you the hint! Home!
“So, the result of your Couple Synchronization Game is zero points!”
With the host’s announcement, the Hall began buzzing with murmurs.
“How can they give different answers about their last kiss?”
“He’s still ‘taking care of her’? How old is he…….”
“Wait, they can’t get a single question right even though they’re dating? Are they really together?”
Seong Do-ah let out a sigh.
Suspicion was warranted. I’d suspect them too.
For Seong Do-ah, the real problem wasn’t that this wasn’t a genuine relationship.
But for Cha Kyung, who’d proposed this Contract Dating arrangement, getting exposed like this could be…….
At least it happened here at the Alumni Mountain Climbing Club meeting. That was something to be grateful for.
After the hellish ordeal ended, as Seong Do-ah emerged from the Hall and stood Behind the Building with her head in her hands, wrestling with her thoughts, she heard footsteps.
“Seong Do-ah.”
Kyung-jun approached with a grave expression on his face.
That shameless bastard. How can he show up so confidently when everything’s been exposed?
“What?”
Seong Do-ah furrowed her brows with all the force she could muster.
“You’re being blackmailed by Cha Kyung, aren’t you?”
“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I know you and Cha Kyung are pretending to be a couple. I know everything.”
“Wh…… what are you saying? Is this because of the game just now? That was just us joking around.”
“No. I heard you and Director Yun talking about Contract Dating!”
“……What?”

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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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