The sound of the alarm clock shattered the silence of the room, waking Yuna from a deep sleep.
Still heavy-eyed, the girl lifted her head slightly and rubbed her face several times. She sat on the edge of the bed with a wide yawn, then stretched both arms over her head.
For several seconds, she simply sat there, trying to gather her awareness.
At last, Yuna got up and shuffled toward the window.
She swept aside the curtains before opening the window wide. The cool morning air of Seoul slipped inside at once, carrying with it the sound of vehicles beginning to fill the roads and the voices of people slowly bringing the city to life.
Outside, the branches of blooming cherry blossom trees swayed gently in the breeze. A few pink petals drifted across Yuna's line of sight before falling onto the sidewalk.
Yuna paused for a moment.
She closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath, letting the fresh morning air fill her lungs.
“Wow… It's so fresh,” she murmured.
But the calm lasted only a few seconds.
One by one. Her memories replayed yesterday's footage. Noah's face.
Noah's voice.
And…
Yuna's eyes flew open.
She froze in front of the window before slowly turning around, as though hoping everything that had just crossed her mind had only been a dream.
“No way…”
Yuna quickly grabbed the phone lying on her bedside table. Without wasting any time, she searched for Yerim's name and pressed the call button.
The first ring.
The second.
On the third ring, the call was finally answered.
“Um… hello…” Yerim's hoarse voice came from the other end.
Yuna let out a sigh of relief. Her shoulders, which had been tense, dropped slightly.
“Yerim… Was I drunk last night?”
“Helloooo…” Yerim sounded lazy, but there was unmistakable sarcasm in her voice. “After making a scene, now you're asking me in that innocent tone, hmm?”
Yuna immediately bit her lower lip. This wasn't a good sign.
“I didn't cause any trouble, right?”
“No…” Yerim replied.
Yuna's shoulders relaxed completely.
But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, Yerim continued.
“I mean… the trouble you caused last night wasn't enough to get you killed. It only sent your dignity into a free fall.”
Yuna frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Yerim began recounting everything that had happened the night before, one thing at a time. The longer Yuna listened, the paler her face became. Every now and then, she covered her mouth, her eyes widening each time Yerim reminded her of what she had done to Noah.
“Oh my God…”
As soon as Yerim finished telling the story, Yuna ended the call.
She tossed the phone onto the bed before covering her face with both hands.
“Ugh…!”
She pulled her hands away and looked up at the ceiling.
“Why? Yuna, why did you do that?”
Frustrated with herself, Yuna jumped in place several times before walking toward the oval mirror in the corner of the room.
She stood in front of the mirror, glaring sharply at her own reflection. She raised her index finger and pointed it straight at her image.
“You already owe him money…”
She paused, pressing her lips together.
“And then you cursed him out and insulted him to his face.”
Her expression turned sour. Her eyebrows drew tightly together.
“What is wrong with you?”
She pouted like a schoolgirl who had just been scolded by her homeroom teacher, then let her hand fall to her side.
Brrt…
The phone she had tossed onto the bed began vibrating again.
Yuna turned around quickly.
The name Min Ji-eun was displayed on the screen, the supervisor of the flower shop where she worked.
Yuna immediately grabbed the phone and answered the call.
“Hello…”
“Yuna, come to the shop right away. Someone wants to see you.”
Yuna furrowed her brow.
As far as she knew, she didn't have any appointments with customers today regarding flower-bouquet orders.
“Who?” she asked quickly.
“Young Master Kim,” Ji-eun replied. “He said he couldn't get through to you, so he came all the way to the shop looking for you.”
Thump!
Yuna's entire body went rigid.
Her fingers tightened around the phone. Her eyes widened slightly as her face slowly turned pale.
Just hearing that name was enough to make her heart race.
‘Noah?’
‘Why did he come looking for me?’
“Yuna…? Hello… Are you okay?”
Ji-eun's voice from the other end startled Yuna back to herself.
“Er… huh?”
She cleared her throat softly before trying to steady her voice.
“Um… okay. I'll get ready now. I'll come to the shop after this.”
Without waiting any longer, Yuna ended the call.
She stood frozen for several seconds, staring blankly at the phone in her hand.
Then her gaze shifted to the bedroom door.
She let out a long breath.
“Hopefully he won't add what I did last night to my debt…”
Yuna slowly shook her head before reaching for the towel hanging beside the bed.
“…because even if every one of my teeth were pulled out, I still wouldn't be able to pay it back.”
With dragging steps, she headed straight for the bathroom.