My Stalking Diary

Chapter 17

Now that I was face to face with him, regret slowly crept in as I wondered why I had come here in the first place.

“Have you decided?”

When Joo Kwon-oh asked, Kim Jae-hyun, who had been chattering away until now, closed his mouth. Kim Jae-hyun had an allergy to tough guys, so he found it difficult to deal with personalities like Joo Kwon-oh, who acted cynical and blunt towards men.

Moreover, Joo Kwon-oh’s impression looked sharp when he closed his mouth and hardened his expression, making him even more incompatible with Kim Jae-hyun. Knowing that he was intimidated inside, I wanted to tease Kim Jae-hyun a bit.

Bae Yu-rim ordered the menu items she had decided on after a long discussion with Kim Jae-hyun. Then she closed the menu and handed it back to Joo Kwon-oh.

“How’s the Business Administration department these days? Don’t you have a lot of gatherings?”

“Even now, it’s a drinking party every day as they make excuses to get together.”

“You’re talking as if you don’t go, Kwon-oh. You were there every time I went to the drama club after-parties.”

“Is the Painting department less busy?”

Joo Kwon-oh asked with a smile, without denying it.

“Yeah. We’re like a monastery.”

“I thought so.”

“How would you know?”

“I know the art college pretty well.”

“……”

I almost choked on the water I was drinking. Only then did I look up at Joo Kwon-oh, and he nodded slightly as if greeting me.

Surprisingly, he was still smiling even though our eyes met. I wanted to grab Joo Kwon-oh right away and ask why he told Bae Yu-rim to come to the cafe with me.

“I’ll bring the coffee first then.”

After writing down the menu, Joo Kwon-oh disappeared, and I suddenly craved a cigarette as my mind became complicated.

Once the thought occurred, my fingertips kept twitching. I kept adjusting my posture as if anxious, and eventually couldn’t resist and stood up.

“I’m going for a smoke.”

Bae Yu-rim clicked her tongue.

“Don’t come back after getting hit by a cat again.”

“Ryu Jeong-ha got hit by a cat?”

“Yeah. The facial injury he had last time. It happened when he came here, right?”

“What, did you have a fight with a cat?”

“Sounds ridiculous even to you, right? But it’s fortunate that the wound healed without a trace.”

“Fortunate my ass. Fighting with a cute cat, how cowardly. What a trash personality.”

I flipped off Kim Jae-hyun as I went out the cafe’s main entrance. Since I ran into Joo Kwon-oh last time while smoking near the back door, this time I planned to go in a completely different direction.

Feeling awkward about smoking right in front of the cafe building, I went to a spot about a block away and stood next to a utility pole.

I wondered if I should have come all the way here.

I sighed while chewing on the tip of my e-cigarette. I felt conflicted, thinking I was acting without any pride. I had no pride, not even a little.

Moreover, Joo Kwon-oh, whom I had just encountered, looked completely unbothered, which irritated me even more.

“Ryu Jeong-ha, are you avoiding me?”

As I was cursing him in my mind, I heard Joo Kwon-oh’s voice calling me.

Is this an auditory hallucination? I took the e-cigarette out of my mouth and opened my eyes wide.

“Huh? …No.”

“You came quite far to smoke.”

Joo Kwon-oh, wearing the cafe apron, was approaching me.

Why did he come out? I deliberately came to a different place than last time to avoid running into him.

I was bewildered by his brazen attitude of casually speaking to me as if nothing had happened, despite completely ignoring my KakaoTalk message. All of this seemed easy for him.

“……”

Not knowing what else to say to him, I put the cigarette back in my mouth. Unlike me, he didn’t seem to have come out to smoke, as he wasn’t holding anything in his hands.

He looked at me standing stiffly next to the utility pole for a moment, then beckoned with his hand. As if telling me to come over.

Am I a dog? Coming when called and going when told.

Such a twisted thought crossed my mind along with a surge of anger, but contrary to my feelings, my body was already following Joo Kwon-oh.

“……”

It felt as if I wasn’t in control of my own body. I put the e-cigarette in my pocket and followed him meekly.

Joo Kwon-oh took me to the staff room like last time. I wondered why we came here when I wasn’t even injured this time.

While I was puzzled, I heard a faint “meow.”

“Look at this.”

Joo Kwon-oh bent down and lifted the blanket on a box in the corner of the staff room. Then I saw some cotton-like lumps squirming.

“These are the kittens born to the cat that hit you last time.”

“…Huh?”

“The cafe owner found them inside the wall of the next building and brought them here.”

I looked at Joo Kwon-oh and then back down to check on the cats.

Just as Joo Kwon-oh said, four kittens, their eyes not yet fully open, were rustling about and nursing from their mother.

The cat that had been busy grooming last time was now dozing off, blinking slowly. The sharpness it had shown while prowling on the garbage bags was hard to find now.

“Can, can I look closer?”

“Sure.”

Afraid of getting slapped again, I maintained a certain distance while tilting my head to observe the kittens in detail.

“She’s not acting aggressively now. I guess she was sensitive because of the pregnancy back then.”

If that’s the case, I understand. I unconsciously scratched my right cheek, which had now healed.

“Can I take a picture?”

“Go ahead.”

Joo Kwon-oh smiled and completely removed the blanket.

With permission granted, I immediately took out my phone and took pictures in silent mode. It was my first time seeing such young kittens, so I was fascinated. They were small and fluffy, like clumps of adult cat fur. Like potatoes, you might say.

I’d like to try drawing cats someday if I get the chance. It was a shame that photos don’t capture the texture, length, and color details of the fur very well.

“Hey. And this.”

While I was busy pressing the shutter and capturing the cats on camera, Joo Kwon-oh held out something to me. I slightly tilted my head to see what he was offering.

It was none other than a lip balm. When my eyes showed confusion, Joo Kwon-oh tapped his own lips.

“You want me to apply it?”

Seeing him nod, I reflexively accepted it. Was my lip condition that bad? I should stop biting them. It’s not easy to break the habit.

“…Thanks.”

I looked at the lip balm he gave me, opened the cap, and applied it to my lips.

Then, feeling a bit strange, I stood up.

“Thanks for showing me the cats.”

As I awkwardly started to walk towards the door as if escaping, Joo Kwon-oh grabbed my shoulder.

“Hey, Ryu Jeong-ha.”

He… didn’t look angry, but had a strangely sulky expression.

“Yes?”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“What else should I do?”

“No, not that.”

He kept holding my shoulder and tilted his chin as if searching his memory.

“Usually, girls would understand by now…”

“What, what?”

“Maybe it’s different with guys.”

Joo Kwon-oh glanced at the lip balm I was clutching tightly and grinned.

“Then I’ll just have to say it. Can I kiss you?”

“…Huh?”

Just as I was about to doubt my ears, Joo Kwon-oh leaned towards me.

“I’m going to.”

As soon as I heard his low voice whispering, my lips were devoured.

I let out a “hup” sound as the breath I was inhaling was stolen away.

Unlike me, whose whole body had frozen, Joo Kwon-oh moved without hesitation. He licked my injured lower lip with his tongue, gently bit it without causing pain, and then immediately pushed his tongue in.

“Mmph…”

My chest pounded wildly, intensifying the confusion. Whenever I’m in front of Joo Kwon-oh, everything seems to flow in a direction that’s hard to accept.

However, separate from the surprise, an unfamiliar euphoria that made my head throb wrapped around me like a snake. Instinctively, I slowly closed my eyes and responded to his kiss. It was impossible for me to push him away.

Before I knew it, I quickly forgot about him ignoring my KakaoTalk and easily exchanging smiles with other people.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, just as Joo Kwon-oh had taught me last time.

I felt his chest expand and deflate greatly at my active touch. I could also feel the corners of our connected mouths twitching.

Soon, his large hands blatantly caressed my waist and back. My senses were on edge, causing my body to shiver wherever his hands touched.

“Haa, ha.”

His breath and body heat hitting my entire body were sweet. So sweet that I forgot this was the cafe staff room and clung tightly to Joo Kwon-oh.

The more I did so, the more roughly Joo Kwon-oh enveloped my lips, licking and intertwining our tongues tightly. These actions, alternating between tenderness and fierceness, excited me. It was strange.

Meow.

As I was kissing him intensely with our bodies pressed together, a ticklish cat’s cry drifted into my ear.

My hazy mind suddenly became alert.

I flinched as if doused with cold water and pushed Joo Kwon-oh away. Then I remembered that Bae Yu-rim and Kim Jae-hyun were also in this cafe.

“Why?”

When I looked up at Joo Kwon-oh with a flushed face, he suddenly stepped towards me again as if asking why I stopped.

“I, I think I should go.”