Chapter 33: Truth and the Silver Necklace

Kang Taeyang’s face stiffened in bewilderment. He had played along with me, but it seemed he truly hadn’t known Minju had the necklace. Minju must have thought he was angry at her, because tears welled up in her eyes.

“Sniff, I was going to put it back after a little while…”

Minju tried to explain her reasons while sniffling. Then her throat seemed to close up, and she stopped mid-sentence. She bit her lower lip hard to keep from bursting into tears.

“Minju used to be Taeyang oppa’s best friend at the hospital. Taeyang oppa liked me the most…”

“…”

“But Taeyang oppa keeps smiling so pretty whenever he sees Teacher Wooju, and I can’t even leave the hospital, but the two of you meet without me…”

As expected, Minju, who had introduced me to Kang Taeyang, seemed to have felt strangely jealous when the two of us became closer than she had imagined. Unable to hold back her hurt, a thick tear rolled down Minju’s cheek.

Maybe Minju hadn’t really wanted to introduce me to Kang Taeyang. Maybe she wanted to grow up quickly and become Taeyang oppa’s girlfriend.

“Here… this.”

With a sullen face, Minju rummaged through the pocket of her hospital gown. Soon the little lady, who had expressed her possessiveness toward Kang Taeyang in a crooked way, pulled the necklace from deep in her pocket. Her fidgeting hand quietly held it out to Kang Taeyang.

“Ah!”

Kang Taeyang took it and lifted the silver plate into the air, turning it this way and that. Luckily, the necklace seemed fine, and he let out a long sigh of relief. The whole time, Minju was watching his expression nervously.

“Still, Minju, this is something really precious to oppa. You shouldn’t take it without saying anything.”

Kang Taeyang took a short breath and spoke to Minju in the same gentle voice as usual. That only made it harder for Minju to keep holding back her tears. She wiped the silent stream from her face with the back of her hand and let out small hiccups.

“I didn’t know it was that important. And I wasn’t trying to take it without saying anything…”

Minju gathered both hands politely and shuffled her feet. She looked tense, as if she was afraid Kang Taeyang might hate her because of this.

“Minju.”

Unable to watch anymore, I stepped between them. I lowered myself to her eye level and poked Minju’s stiff side. Her eyes were red and swollen like a rabbit’s as she turned to look at me. ‘Hurry and apologize,’ I whispered softly, so Kang Taeyang couldn’t hear.

“Oppa, I’m sorry… Minju was wrong.”

Minju mumbled her apology with her head bowed low. Her face was red like a ripe tomato, and she looked sincerely sorry. Right. Minju probably couldn’t have imagined the necklace was that precious to Kang Taeyang.

“It’s okay. I’ll forgive you.”

“Really, oppa?”

“But only this once. You must never do it again.”

“Yes…”

“Not just oppa’s things. The same goes for other friends’ things too.”

Kang Taeyang’s hand landed lightly on Minju’s small head. She lifted her head again, eyes sparkling. The dark clouds on Minju’s face cleared at once. Before long, the two of them had their pinkies firmly linked, making a promise.

“Phew, thank goodness.”

If that was the case… had this sudden quest been cleared safely too? I let out a sigh of relief along with them. If Minju hadn’t taken the necklace, Kang Taeyang would have been furious, throwing a fit. At the very least, wouldn’t his affection have dropped by about 5? Just imagining it made my stomach go cold, and I shook my head.

But why wasn’t the quest completion window popping up this time? I glanced over, and there was no change in the affection displayed above Kang Taeyang’s head either. I tilted my head in confusion.

“Oppa, but then…”

“Yeah, tell me, Minju.”

“You know, when I grow up, will you marry Minju?”

I thought the two of them were chatting away beside me, but Minju didn’t miss her chance and boldly proposed to Kang Taeyang. At first his eyes went wide, then he reflexively held back a laugh. If he treated it as a joke, it would clearly hurt Minju, who looked not just serious but solemn.

“Hmm. It’s difficult for me to answer right now…”

“Hing, whyyy… Do you not like Minju, oppa?”

“Um, if Minju grows this tall later, should I think about it again?”

Pretending to be deep in thought, Kang Taeyang placed the back of his hand squarely near his chest. Wow, even as an adult, to be that tall she’d have to be almost model-level, wouldn’t she?

“Umm… How long until Minju can grow that tall?”

“Well, I think you’d have to sleep at least a thousand nights?”

“Ah…”

“In the meantime, you have to eat lots of bell peppers and not be picky if you want to grow tall quickly.”

Even so, Minju must have hated bell peppers quite a bit, because she hiccuped. Then she spread both hands wide and mumbled quietly, ‘How many is a thousand nights?’ She carefully counted on her fingers one by one, then gave up before long.

Still, she didn’t seem to give up on her resolve to marry Kang Taeyang someday. Minju’s eyes burned fiercely at Kang Taeyang, who was looking down at her with a grin. It seemed the neighborhood-famous playboy had even set a little kid’s heart on fire.

If it ended well, that was enough. Anyway, everything had ended well, so I let out a breath. I finished saying goodbye to a disappointed Minju and left the pediatric cancer ward side by side with Kang Taeyang. On the way back, my steps felt much lighter.

“Anyway, I’m glad we found the necklace safely.”

“Yeon Wooju.”

“Huh, yeah?”

“How did you know Minju took the necklace?”

“You said there’s no one you can’t seduce if you set your mind to it. How can you be so clueless about a woman’s heart?”

I turned at the sudden presence beside me, and Kang Taeyang’s face was right there, close. He stared at me with eyes full of amusement and interest. When I answered casually, he reached out and roughly ruffled my hair.

“Want a ride? I’ll take you.”

It wasn’t as carefully styled as Kang Taeyang’s, but it was my neatly arranged bangs! As I smoothed down my messy hair, Kang Taeyang watched quietly and asked suddenly.

“Ah… should I?”

Actually, the dorm wasn’t that far. It was close enough to walk from the university hospital, but after thinking for a moment, I decided to follow him. Even on the way, we bickered back and forth all the way down to the underground parking lot.

Kang Taeyang walked through the damp air unique to the underground parking lot and stopped in front of a teal Range Rover. With a beep, the car unlocked. He got into the driver’s seat first, and I climbed in after him.

Instead of starting the engine, Kang Taeyang just stared silently through the windshield. The underground parking lot was sunk in darkness on all sides. Whenever a passing car’s headlights flashed, faint light refracted in fluorescent colors and seeped across his sharp side profile.

“…”

“…”

A cool trace of musk cologne lingered faintly in the car. Inside the neatly kept interior, nothing moved except for a soccer ball figure with a spring at its base that occasionally bounced on its own.

The silence was hard to break, filling the space between us, and the air seemed to grow thicker. My tongue tingled with tension, so I clenched the hands resting quietly on my knees, then let them go. Without realizing it, a thin layer of sweat had gathered on my palms.

“Ah, should I put this necklace on you?”

“You’d put it on me?”

Come to think of it, Kang Taeyang’s neck was still bare. When I noticed and asked, he turned his head toward me and raised an eyebrow. In the darkness, his eyes shone unusually bright.

“Why… don’t you want me to?”

I understood he had to be sensitive after nearly losing a precious necklace, but still, he was being too harsh with me today. When I asked timidly, he didn’t seem to dislike that either. Suddenly, the necklace Minju had returned glittered on Kang Taeyang’s palm as he reached over the console box.

“…”

“…”

I took the necklace and leaned far toward Kang Taeyang. Holding the thin silver chain in both hands, I tried to put it on him, and he cooperatively offered his firm neck. While I struggled to fasten the clasp, his sharply styled hair brushed lightly against my chin.

[System – Sudden Quest: “Find the Lost Necklace” HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED!]

• Success reward: Target character Kang Taeyang’s affection increases by 10%.

[Affection ❤️17]

The heart floating in the air trembled and vibrated for a long moment. Beneath it, Kang Taeyang was staring at me with pupils darkened to deep black.

“I guess it really was important. I thought it was from your first love.”

After confirming the necklace was properly fastened, I returned to my seat. The inexplicable tension from moments ago felt meaningless now that the quest was safely over, and my mood floated upward. I swallowed a laugh threatening to burst out and pretended not to know, teasing Kang Taeyang.

“My mom gave it to me.”

Oops, I had meant it as a joke because I remembered an article I’d read back then… A dark shadow fell over Kang Taeyang’s manly face in an instant. His voice sounded hurt, and my heart pricked with the thought that I might have misspoken.

“Ah… did your mother pass away when you were young?”

“I’m an orphan. I grew up in a facility when I was little.”

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