TSESHR 10

Chapter : 10

“So what, you’re dumping me and switching over to him now?”

To Seo Jae-gyeom’s snide question, I said only one thing.

“Not your biz.”

Because, honestly.

Whether I’m dating Jung Eun-sung or Jang Woo-san—
how is that any of your business, Seo Jae-gyeom?

“Aigoo.”

Today felt endless.

Got dumped in the morning, unearthed old cringe memories,
then fought bullies in the cafeteria at lunch.

5th period I wasted energy thanks to Seo Jae-gyeom talking to me.

He didn’t say anything after I answered “Not your biz” to his “Switching over?” question,
but whenever Jung Eun-sung and I were in the same frame,
his expression got weird.

Like he thought I got dumped by him,
and now I’m parading around with another guy right in front of his face.

Like I’m using Jung Eun-sung to make him jealous or something.

Honestly, Seo Jae-gyeom is low-key full of himself.

Maybe that’s what happens when you live your whole 18-year life as a popular dude.

“If I had enough charm to drag Jung Eun-sung into some stupid jealousy ploy,
don’t you think I would’ve succeeded in seducing you in the first place?”

Muttering to myself, I turned into the alley toward home.

After lunch: 5th, 6th, 7th periods and homeroom.

I spent the whole afternoon tense, thinking Song Yeoreum might drag me to the bathroom
or yank my hair out between classes.
Thankfully nothing happened.

She wasn’t waiting at the gate to kidnap me after school either.

Still, I’m on guard walking home.
Ready to ditch my bag and sprint if things go south.

While waiting for the light to turn green,
I typed out a study plan in my phone’s notepad.

“First, check how much math I’ve forgotten and grind it level by level.
Korean and English, just drill problems…”

“Hey! Da-hye! Kang Da-hye!”

“Huh? Oh—hi.”

“School’s over already?”

“Yes.”

It was a cluster of neighborhood aunties lounging on plastic chairs in front of the hair salon.

Dark gray towels wrapped around their hair,
heavy smell of perm chemicals,
lipstick-stained paper cups, old snacks, dried squid on the table.

“School ends early these days, huh?”

Only after she spoke again did I place who she was.

My apartment landlord.

Man, I didn’t recognize her for a sec.

She looked way younger too.

“New hair?”

“Yeah, covering grays. Also grabbing a drink~”

“You were having coffee?”

“Not coffee—soju! Wanna sip, Da-hye?”

“Geez, how can you say that to a kid!”

The salon owner smacked her friend’s back, laughing.

“Da-hye, don’t drink this stuff when you’re grown. Tastes bad! Makes you fat!”

I’ve already had plenty, ma’am…

I swallowed the comeback and took a squid leg they handed me.

In five years, she’ll move south to babysit her future grandkid,
so we won’t see her much.
Until then, she’s the local Dispatch™.

She knows everyone, every rumor,
and she’s loud—get on her bad side and your life gets annoying real fast.

FYI, when she learned I ranked 1st in school my freshman year, she said:

“Being smart? That’s useless. Heaven awaits only for those who believe in Jesus.”

Then when I crashed my college entrance exam after getting assaulted by some random old man:

“You’ll overcome this with prayer. The Lord just has a different plan for you…”

“You heading home?”

“Yes. Gonna eat and go study at the library.”

“Kids these days don’t stay for night study? My daughter used to eat dinner at school and came home at eleven!”

“Oh gosh, Jieun’s mom! Kids don’t do that anymore.
These days they go to cafés and order strawberry yogurt blended! SYB!”

“What? SYB? What’s that?”

“I know! Strawberry Yogurt Blended!”

“Oh my goodness!”

“Wow, shocked!”

“Hahaha… I’m logging out…”

I slowly backed away from the escalating voices.

“Hey, Da-hye! That cardboard by the utility pole—that wasn’t your family, right?!
If you leave it there nobody takes it!”

“No, not us~”

“If you see who did it, tell me! Promise!!”

“Okay~~”

I hurried off and entered our familiar apartment building.

“Ugh. I’m starving.”

Skipping lunch was a mistake.

I dumped my bag on the floor and opened the fridge.

But…

“There’s nothing to eat.”

All that was inside was kimchi juice and almost-empty gochujang.
I could’ve eaten that with rice—but we’re out of rice too.

“Should’ve bought instant noodles.”

But I spent my last coins on chocolate milk with Jisoo after 5th period…

After staring hopelessly at the buzzing, rattling fridge,
I shut it and grabbed my bag again.

“Guess I’ll go eat at Mom’s shop.”

Mom used to work as a housemaid at Seo Jae-gyeom’s place,
and now runs a tiny three-table snack shop at the market.

“Madam is a little fickle, but she’s kind.
When my back hurt and I quit, she even gave me severance.
That’s how I opened this store.”

That’s how Mom still calls Jae-gyeom’s mom “Madam.”

Side note: Neither Seo Jae-gyeom nor I have dads.

Mine left when I was little…
His? No clue. Probably back at the family house somewhere.

“I’ll ask Mom for ten bucks. Need to buy a workbook.”

Thinking about how nice it was earning my own money in college,
I walked toward the market.

One more block and it’s my old middle school.
Everyone knows I’m the tteokbokki-shop girl.

Sometimes classmates even came by.

In my first life, I was mortified—
I’d rather starve than eat there.

But now?

Why not? The food’s good.

Chewy spicy rice cakes, glass noodles sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Order soondae too and dip it in the broth—best thing in the world. Try it.

“Mom!”

I pushed open a shabby metal door that looked more like a rice-mill entrance than a diner.

“Mom, I’m he—re…?”

My cheerful greeting faltered.

The tiny shop was a wreck.

Tables overturned, tteokbokki and soondae spilled across the floor,
cola cans rolling, eggs broken, gimbap fillings everywhere.

Plates and foam bowls toppled under the tables.
Red sauce splattered up the walls.

In the middle of it, Mom was on her knees, scooping rice cakes and gimbap with her bare hands.

“Oh, sweetie, you’re here?”

She stood up, wiping her hands on her apron, embarrassed.

“Mom, are you okay? You’re not hurt?”

I grabbed a tissue box and rushed to her.

“What happened? You dropped it?”

“No, a customer had her legs sticking out and I didn’t see… Leave it, I’ll clean. Sit.”

“Why are you using your hands? I’ll get a rag.”

“It’s fine, hands are faster. My head was all over the place—”

“Mom, you’ll burn yourself!”

Just as I grabbed her wrist away from the steaming sauce—

“Uh, excuse me? Are we gonna wait forever for our food?”

A sharp voice sliced down at us.

A pristine white sneaker stepped right on a rice cake Mom had been picking up.

A black footprint smeared across the red-soaked tteok.

“Ugh, my shoes are dirty now. Clean this first.”

“And bring wet wipes.”

Click.

A faint shutter sound.

They heard it too—stifled giggles.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

Three girls at the table right in front of us.

Same school uniform I knew too well.
Hair freshly curled in the bathroom during break,
a roller perched on someone’s bangs.
Faces I hadn’t fully clocked earlier.

“Shit, I think she noticed.”

“How could she not, idiot? The shutter was loud.”

“Oh my god, it’s hilarious. Kang Da-hye’s mom literally kneeling.”

“Check her nails—ew, so gross, there’s soondae stuck under them.”

It was Song Yeoreum and her friends.

The same girl who warned me I’d end up on Teen Parents if I kept living like this
showed her phone screen to Yeoreum.

“Look at this. She looks so stupid in the picture.”

“Whatever~ WHAT ABOUT MY SHOES! Sauce splashed everywhere!!!
You could sell this dump and it still wouldn’t cover a new pair!”

Song Yeoreum stomped in the puddle of spilled sauce.

It splattered up toward my face.

Yeoreum looked right at me—and burst out laughing.