Taehee pressed her palm against the chest area where her heart was. Why was her heart racing and startling her over just a single message?

No, it was quite surprising. It was the first message Kang Sajun had ever sent her in 13 years.

Last week, she had received his first-ever phone call.

That was a different situation, so she let it pass, but this message was a bit much.

It was a meaningless message, and that was the problem.

Why contact her out of the blue for no particular reason? Why, what wind had blown this way?

Questions floated in her mind, but Taehee calmly sent a reply.

[Just doing some overdue housework.]

Drrrk, the phone buzzed again.

[The weather is nice.]

Talking about the weather was the go-to topic when there was nothing else to say. If you have nothing to say, why send a message at all?

Taehee grumbled as she looked out the small window at the sky.

The sky, unusually high, was indeed a clear blue. Sure, the sky was blue and the day was nice, but…

“Kang Sajun, what exactly are you trying to do with me?”

Taehee sighed lightly and sent an equally bland reply.

[Right.]

Holding her phone, Taehee sat down beside the bed.

A phone call could end with just the necessary conversation, but messages were a bit more complicated.

Will there be a reply, or not? What will it say, and what should I respond?

Even though they had only exchanged trivial, pointless words, her heart strangely fluttered.

Before she became aware of her feelings, she would have called him directly and asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’

But now it was different.

Exchanging messages with Kang Sajun for the first time felt like, what should she say, like flirting?

Of course, it was probably just her feeling that way.

But waiting openly like this, the phone remained silent.

No matter how long she waited, seconds, minutes passed.

“You jerk, reply, reply! It’s not polite to be the one to end it! If this was supposed to be flirting, you’re out, totally out!”

Just as she was shaking the innocent phone as if it were Kang Sajun, a message arrived.

[Want me to buy you something tasty?]

Her heart skipped a beat again. Just a simple reply, but she could picture Kang Sajun’s eyes, hear his voice.

If this was a skill, it was certainly one.

Without seeing his face or hearing his voice, he managed to make her heart rise and fall.

Resting her chin on her arms propped up on the bed, Taehee chuckled softly.

“He’s tempting me with food again.”

Another message without much meaning, but her mind was in a whirl.

She wasn’t sure how to interpret it, what to reply.

Should she refuse, respond casually, or just ignore it?

As she wavered, her phone buzzed again.

It was Kang Sajun again, even though she hadn’t replied.

[Let’s watch a movie too.]

She read the message several times slowly.

Had they ever watched a movie together?

They had, maybe once or twice a year.

Sajun would invite her whenever he got VIP premiere tickets. Due to his easily bored nature, they never actually stayed until the end.

But this felt different.

Asking to go because he had tickets versus making time to watch a movie without tickets.

While she was just staring at her phone, another message came.

[After the movie, let’s have your favorite chimaek (chicken and beer).]

That sly fox, she was slightly swayed by the mention of chimaek.

But if they ate something tasty, watched a movie, and had chimaek, wouldn’t that be like really dating?

[What, is this a date proposal?] [What date? It’s just a request for a manners lesson.]

Taehee wanted to ask. If this was a manners lesson, were the tasty food, chimaek, and movie some sort of tuition?
Taehee sighed softly and hugged her knees.

“But Mintaehee, what about you? Why are you disappointed?”

She remembered Hyesook’s words about how one can’t control their heart.

That was exactly her situation now. If she had decided to sort out her feelings herself and had already rejected the lover’s proposal, what was she expecting?

She couldn’t help feeling upset, even though she knew it well.

For 13 years, she had never had such a moment with her longtime female friend, but Kang Sajun was ready to eat delicious food, watch movies, and even have chimaek with a blind date.

“Isn’t that too much?”

They say when you’re too astonished, you end up laughing. That was exactly how Taehee felt now.

It was not jealousy, just a friend feeling a bit upset. She believed she had that much right.

[Sorry, I have housework to do.]

She declined neatly and was about to resume her housework when another message arrived.

[Can’t you do it in the evening?]

She snorted and then another message came in quick succession.

[I’m outside your house right now.]

Taehee sprang up and leaned out the window.

There it was, a strikingly sleek red sports car parked right in front of her house.

All those times he said it was difficult, that only she was difficult, must have been lies.

Is this how you treat a ‘difficult’ friend?

Taehee glared at Sajun’s car and immediately pressed the call button.