Defective Banana - Chapter 45
Ara blinked in confusion.
“Grandma, how did you even meet that guy? Where?”
“Where else? At that Kebka place.”
“Oh! He went there? When?”
Grandma started counting on her fingers, thinking back.
“Let’s see… I saw him three times after I first met you, dear. Hmm… April, July, and… ah, October! Each time, he’d go upstairs alone, stay there for a while, then come back down and chat with me for about ten minutes before leaving.”
Ara clutched her chest, replaying Grandma’s words in her head. Then she asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“Grandma… what did you two talk about?”
“Well, I asked him why he didn’t come with you, and he said you loved puffed rice snacks so much that you basically kicked him away. Then he asked me to get your number if I ever saw you again. Told me to make sure I gave it to him next time.”
“Oh… really?”
So he’d been doing that all this time… Ara’s chest ached. She could feel how desperately Seohyuk had been trying to reach her.
She kept her head down, staring at the coffee cup on the floor. It’ll be fine. He’ll understand. That’s what she’d kept telling herself—stupid, naïve, careless. She was all he had, yet she never even considered that he might still be waiting for her.
She bit her lip, shut her eyes, and a tear fell straight to the floor.
“What’s wrong? Did you two fight?”
“Not exactly… It’s just, I moved out of the place I was living before, so we’re not neighbors anymore.”
Grandma’s tone suddenly turned scolding.
“Aish! You don’t cut ties with people so easily! Especially when you didn’t even fight. That young man seemed like a good one. I told you—you should just hurry up and marry him. Tsk tsk… things have their time, you know.”
“Marriage? Out of nowhere? I’m not even thinking about that.”
“Eh? Foolish girl. You can say that after watching me live alone like this?”
Ara’s eyes widened.
“Wait… you never got married, Grandma?”
“Of course I did! I married at eighteen. But my damn husband died early in the war, so I’ve been on my own since.”
“Oh… I see.”
“So take care of what you’ve got before it’s gone. Don’t regret it later.”
With that, Grandma pulled out a pen and paper from a drawer, shoved it toward Ara, and looked away with a fake cough.
“Here. Write your phone number.”
Ara narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“…You’re not planning to give it to him, are you? You didn’t… take anything from him, right?”
“Aish, no. I just want to have it myself. Now hurry up and write.”
Instead of writing, Ara shook her head.
“Just… if you see him again, tell him I’m doing fine. And I hope he’s doing fine too.”
“Pfft. Forget ‘fine.’ You should get married while you’re still young enough to have kids!”
Ara laughed in disbelief.
“Why are you suddenly talking about babies? I’m not even thinking about marriage.”
“Well, you’d better have one soon so I can buy the little one some snacks before I leave this world.”
Ara’s lips trembled for a moment as she thought of her late grandmother, then she forced a smile.
“You’ll say anything, won’t you? Just buy me snacks instead. I love snacks.”
“Quiet! Just hurry up and contact him and bring me a baby. I can’t wait forever.”
The two bickered for a while longer, then ended up eating lunch together before Ara went home.
***
A year had passed, yet Kang Seohyuk was still asking about Baek Ara from time to time. Shim Miok bit her lip in disgust.
So… he can’t even get it up, and he’s still chasing the only woman who could please him?
This time, she decided, she was going to prove something. She’d make him realize he could still want her—she’d make him react.
That evening, Miok headed to his apartment. She parked in the basement, walked up to the entrance, and rang the intercom.
Seohyuk’s voice came through, cold and flat.
— “Yes. What’s the matter?”
“I… Actor Kang, I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
— “Come up.”
In the elevator, Miok let down her hair and applied another layer of red lip balm. Tonight, she would make him see—make him touch her—and prove to herself that he could still respond.
Before stepping out, she unfastened one more blouse button, pushing her cleavage together.
When the door opened, she followed him into the living room. He sat on the sofa with his back to her, saying nothing. On the coffee table: an open bottle of whiskey, snacks, and several glasses. His messy hair told her he was already deep in his cups.
Perfect. A little alcohol might make him easier to sway.
“Drinking, I see,” she said, sitting next to him.
Just as she steadied her breath to speak, he cut in. “What is it you want to say?”
His voice was lower, heavier than usual. Her heart sped up. She remembered his groans from before and imagined that same voice whispering in her ear.
“Actually… I met you before I joined the company.”
“Oh? Is that so.”
His eyes looked dull, uninterested. She didn’t notice, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as her cheeks warmed.
“I fell for you the moment I saw you. That’s why I joined your agency—so I could be close to you…”
No reaction. She bit her lip and pushed on.
“But seeing you struggle lately… it hurts. I kept thinking about how I could help you, so… I came.”
She slid closer and took his hand, guiding it gently to her chest.
“Can you feel it? Your fans probably feel the same way I do right now.”
He turned his head, sighed, and pulled his hand away.
“Miok… I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I think you should go. I’m tired.”
When he stood, she grabbed him and pushed him back down—onto the sofa, onto herself—straddling his lap. Another button came undone. She pressed close.
“Touch me all you want until you feel better. I just want you to be happy. Take me.”
She rested her face against his neck, rocking her hips slightly. Still… nothing. Not a single sign of arousal.
She tilted her head to kiss him, but he leaned back against the sofa with a grimace.
“Get off me. I’m really not enjoying this.”
Her face flushed red. She raised a hand and slapped him.
“You don’t have to say it like that. I’m just doing this for you…”
Pressing harder against him, she moved again, chest against his torso, hips rolling. Still nothing.
She shifted like a rider on a horse, but his body refused to respond. Desperate, she slapped him again.
“…Ha.”
Seohyuk let out a bitter laugh, exhaling hard before locking eyes with her, gaze sharp and unwavering.