By Zephyria 
“What is this?”
“Guess.”
“Correct. An empty box.”
“Do you wish it were empty?”
“Yes.”
“Well, carrying my heart alone must be heavy enough.”
Does his tongue remain intact after saying such things?
It wasn’t the first time Do Yun-hyeok had acted like this, so I naturally ignored him.
“Correct. A bomb.”
“That’s you detonating it in my heart.”
Crazy bastard!
“Then what is it?”
“Open it and see.”
Do Yun-hyeok grinned. The fact that this handsome lunatic was smiling happily made me even more wary of what might be inside the box. I had no idea what it could be.
‘Surely, it’s not a ring…?’
I thought it subconsciously and then flinched in regret. I shouldn’t have thought ‘Surely…!’ ‘Surely’ can be the death of a person!
I wanted to ask Do Yun-hyeok to confirm, but I didn’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath if I asked if it was a ring when it wasn’t. I tried to hand the box back.
“No. I won’t take it. I won’t open it.”
“Why? Will you be disappointed if it’s not what you expected?”
“It’s not like that.”
“What did you expect? I want to fulfill that expectation.”
It’s the opposite, you jerk!
I wanted to shout, but I held it in. I felt like I would lose to the lunatic Do Yun-hyeok if I insisted on not taking it. I sighed and, with a slightly deflated hand, carefully untied the ribbon binding the box and finally opened the lid.
I saw a sparkling ring. I quickly closed the lid again.
“Why are you closing it? Don’t you like it?”
“Wait, just a moment.”
It wasn’t the time to listen to Do Yun-hyeok. It didn’t seem like a ring, though? I narrowed my eyes and slowly opened the lid again. What was inside the box revealed itself.
It was a round ornament hanging from a black strap.
At the end of the lasso-shaped loop was a small bead decoration strung together in a circle. It looked like it was made with fishing line.
As if picking up a bug, I picked up the loop-shaped string part. The beads at the end dangled and sparkled downwards.
“…What is this?”
“A gift.”
Do Yun-hyeok smiled broadly, as if expecting my reaction. However, I looked down at the item with my fur bristling.
Putting aside why he would give me such a gift, what was it?
“So, what is it used for?”
“You don’t know what this is?”
Do Yun-hyeok’s eyes widened. I felt a surge of anger.
I hated being treated like an idiot by a real idiot more than anything. I should sue him for defamation!
I quickly racked my brain, recalling as many similar-looking items as possible.
“A keychain…”
“A keychain has a key ring, not a strap.”
“I was going to say it doesn’t seem like it. You should listen to the end of what I say in Korean.”
“Aha.”
I stubbornly insisted, not wanting to be told I was wrong by Do Yun-hyeok. Do Yun-hyeok looked at me slyly, as if he knew everything. Pretending not to feel the rising sense of defeat, I suggested other words.
“Is it a bookmark…?”
“Does a princess use something like this as a bookmark?”
“Ah, it’s a bracelet.”
“Can this fit on a princess’s wrist? Well.”
Seeing him playfully respond to my wrong guesses instead of just saying no made my blood pressure soar. Veins popped on my forehead.
I finally gave up on guessing.
“It’s an accessory, right? So, what is it?”
“A phone charm.”
“A phone charm? A mobile phone? This?”
I shook the mobile phone in my hand.
“Yes. I saw you didn’t have one, so I got it as a gift.”
“You attach it to this?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a place to attach something this small?”
“Give me your phone. I’ll show you.”
My small, precious mobile phone that Seong Hae-min bought me? To that untrustworthy guy? I immediately shook my head.
“No.”
I clearly said no, but I didn’t understand why he was extending his hand so confidently, as if he was sure I would give it to him. I couldn’t bring myself to push his arm away, so I timidly turned my head away to express my refusal.
“I said no.”
“You’re not going to accept the gift?”
Do Yun-hyeok folded his arm and asked. I asked warily,
“Why are you giving me a gift?”
“Is it wrong to give a gift because I want to look good to someone I like?”
For a moment, I was speechless.
Because he was so shameless!
‘A gift? What gift?’
If he wanted to look good, he should have bought something I wanted (like an Apple phone!), but does giving what he wants count? I looked down at the charm with a sullen expression.
“I’m not asking you to return the favor. I just wanted to give you this.”
“…….”
“If you don’t want it, I’ll throw it away. Give it here.”
Do Yun-hyeok reached out as if he was about to throw the strap into the trash can. Thinking he was trying to snatch it, I instinctively twisted my body to avoid him.
However, Do Yun-hyeok was just looking at me with his arm extended, palm open. His clear eyes were fixed on me.
“Aren’t you going to throw it away?”
It wasn’t a sarcastic jab, but a genuine, pure question from Do Yun-hyeok that left me speechless. He really wasn’t an ordinary person.
“…Why would I throw away a perfectly good new item? I’d get a refund.”
Feeling foolish for turning away, I blurted out whatever came to mind. But Do Yun-hyeok tilted his head as if he had never heard the word ‘refund’ before.
“Refund?”
“You don’t know what a refund is?”
“I do. But where do you get a refund?”
“Where else? From the place you bought it.”
He didn’t even know this. I clicked my tongue like an adult kindly educating an ignorant person. But Do Yun-hyeok’s response was outrageous.
“Really? Then what should I get as a refund?”
Do Yun-hyeok’s hand suddenly came close, brushing past my ear, and he rubbed a few strands of my hair. What was this? Why was he doing this all of a sudden? I froze, unable to dodge. Startled, I trembled like I was in an earthquake, and a few seconds later, I calmly stepped back.
“…Why are you touching my hair?”
“You said to get a refund.”
“Yes! From where I bought it…”
I shouted, then trailed off as I saw Do Yun-hyeok blinking. Come to think of it, something was strange. He asked for a refund, but he was demanding compensation from me…
“I didn’t buy it.”
“Huh?”
“I made it.”
“Oh…?”
“I didn’t buy it, I made it.”
As I watched Do Yun-hyeok pronounce each word clearly, my flustered brain froze. My face slowly turned red. I was embarrassed.
This dark-skinned, well, he was fair-skinned like flour… anyway, this burly guy made something so small and sparkly? I knew it was a prejudice, but my stunned brain could only find such a fundamental incongruity.
The image of Do Yun-hyeok carefully stringing beads one by one onto fishing line with those large hands flashed before my eyes. I shook my head to clear it.
‘Humanly speaking, it doesn’t suit him at all!’
I had forgotten, but Do Yun-hyeok was originally a mad dog, a delinquent who fought and kidnapped people.
“You… you used to make things like this? Is this a hobby?”
“Why? Does it suit me?”
“Um…”
“If it suits me, make it a hobby from now on.”
“Ah…”
“You can tell me honestly.”
I quickly shook my head. I felt sorry for the beads that must have suffered in those hands. Do Yun-hyeok let out a loud laugh.
“This was my first attempt because I wanted to give you a gift. It was harder than I thought. I have about four more failed ones at home.”
I was truly speechless. I glanced down at the poor strap that must have been tormented in Do Yun-hyeok’s hands. It suddenly looked sloppily finished, and the color combination seemed clumsy…
“But a refund, that hurts a little.”
As I stood there, holding the strap, unable to do anything, like someone who failed to pass the bomb in a game of hot potato, Do Yun-hyeok teased me with a slight squint. I awkwardly turned my head away. Did I go too far, I wondered belatedly. I put the strap I was holding awkwardly back into the box and closed the lid.
“Aren’t you going to throw it away?”
The hand holding the box paused. Honestly, I hadn’t really intended to throw it away.
‘But is it okay to accept something like this?’
He made it himself…
I looked down at the box. Normally, I would just use any gift I received, whether from someone who liked me or not, but today, the delicately wrapped cream-colored box looked quite burdensome.
But I felt too bad to tell him to throw it away right in front of him. I felt a pang of sympathy for this strap that had met its tragic fate in Do Yun-hyeok’s hands. The creator himself was looking at me brightly, as if it were nothing.
“Well, it’s a shame to throw it away… Of course, I won’t use it.”
Even with my mumbled excuse, Do Yun-hyeok pulled his lips into a wide, refreshing smile.
For some reason, I felt defeated.
“Are you going to attach it now?”
“I said I won’t use it.”
“But you said it’s a shame.”
“And I said I won’t use it.”
“You said you don’t know where to attach it. I’ll show you.”
Do Yun-hyeok squinted his eyes as if trying to look up at me, but because he was so tall, no matter how hard he tried, it only looked like he was looking down.
I was dumbfounded, but seeing him like this, I became a little curious. I also felt a bit sorry… and he, who usually did whatever he pleased, was trying to coax me.
“…Then go ahead and attach it. Let’s see where it goes.”
I wondered what he was doing, but I also felt a sudden curiosity. Succumbing to my curiosity, I reluctantly offered my mobile phone.
Do Yun-hyeok smiled faintly, took my mobile phone and the strap, and started fiddling with them.
Watching him manipulate the small device, which was less than a quarter of the size of his palm, I could see him making it in that same clumsy manner. The sight of his large body concentrating intensely on a tiny object was amusing.
“Here.”
“Ah, so this is where it goes.”
A moment later, Do Yun-hyeok returned my mobile phone with a round bead dangling below the antenna.
Seeing it attached, I remembered seeing similar things hanging from other people’s phones. I had seen it clearly but hadn’t known.
“When did you see my phone without this?”