Lie Again! Chapter 39

<Episode 39. Window, Phone, and Movie (1)>

 

Bam.

 

The front door slammed shut loudly behind Jin. She slid down against the door, ending up sitting on the floor.

 

As the tension suddenly melted away, Jin buried her face in her knees and took deep breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart.

 

‘Ah…Really.’

 

She had acted like it was nothing around Evan, but not even for a single moment had that kiss left Jin’s mind.

 

She kept telling herself it was nothing, that it had just happened during a game and wasn’t worth thinking about—but every casual word Evan threw out and every nonchalant gesture he made left Jin feeling like a bird caught in a trap.

 

She really didn’t want it to, but whenever she was next to Evan, the events in the closet played on an endless loop in her mind. No—if she was being honest, it kept playing even when he wasn’t around.

 

What happened that day made Jin kick her blankets in frustration whenever she lay still in bed with her eyes closed. Even while studying, she’d suddenly bury her head into the desk. While eating, while showering—no matter what she was doing, she kept bumping her forehead into something.

 

“Jin, you’re home? You’re going to have dinner, right?”

 

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Riley made her presence known as she walked out from the kitchen.

 

At that sound, Jin, who was crouching in front of the door, jumped up and pretended to be fine.

 

“Oh my, Jin… your face…”

 

Riley, who had come to the front door, stopped in surprise when she saw Jin’s face. Jin, on the verge of tears, cupped her cheeks with both hands. Her face felt so hot, even she could tell.

 

“Riley, I don’t want to eat today.”

 

With an awkward smile, Jin ran up to the attic stairs. At Riley’s concerned shout asking if she had a fever, Jin mumbled that she was just tired and closed the door. She buried her face in the bed.

 

“Maybe I’m sick…”

 

She mumbled against the pillow and closed her eyes. Every time the butterflies in her stomach flapped their wings, a wave of unease swirled inside her.

 

She felt like she was going to throw up over and over again.

 

After a while, when Jin finally returned to her normal condition, she lay down on the bed and turned on her phone.

 

Her hand instinctively moved toward the search bar, and as soon as she pressed it, a list of previous searches appeared below.

 

Kissing an American

 

Does kissing abroad mean dating?

 

Kissing friends in the US

 

When foreigners date

 

If you’re confused about what kind of relationship it is

 

The history displayed the past few days’ thoughts of Jin, showing where her mind had been wandering.

 

Feeling embarrassed by the blatant traces, Jin quickly deleted her search history in case anyone saw it. But as if deleting it had meant nothing, her fingers once again typed “asking someone out in America.”

 

As she skimmed through the search results and scrolled down the page, Jin found herself clicking on one particular question post, almost as if she were under a spell.

 

Title: Don’t people say ‘let’s date’ when dating in foreign countries?

 

Title means contents. I’m currently studying in the U.S. I somehow ended up kissing a guy friend during a drinking session, and now I’m confused whether this means we’re dating or notㅠ If it were just a kiss, I wouldn’t be overthinking it like this, but it happened as part of a drinking game, so it feels really ambiguous.

 

It’s hard to say we’re just nothing, since we keep meeting up one-on-one like we’re on dates. But he seems totally chill about it, so I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one overthinking everythingㅠㅠㅠㅠ

 

Comments (15)

 

-Yes. Foreigners just don’t say that and think they’ll date naturally. Congratulations on getting a boyfriend.

 

-They don’t usually send mixed signals. If you’re feeling confused, it probably means the relationship isn’t serious.

 

-Congratulations. You’ve come down with yellow fever.

 

-If he knew you were reading this much into something casual, he’d probably run away lol. They just date Asian girls for fun and show off white girls in front of others, yup.

 

-22222. Just don’t give it any meaning and enjoy yourself.

 

-The comments are harsh, but honestly, this is the reality. I’ve lived in the U.S. for 15 years, and usually they date among themselves—they don’t really date Asians, regardless of gender. If someone shows interest in an Asian? It’s either because they think we’re easy to mess with, or because something’s off with them…

 

After seeing a stream of blunt comments, Jin turned off the screen. At the same time, the face she had deliberately pushed to the back of her mind resurfaced.

 

With flowing blonde hair and striking blue eyes, Emily Gwen, whose beauty resembled a doll, had a magnetic presence. Not only her appearance but her always-confident attitude also drew people in.

 

Compared to Gwen, Jin’s confidence deflated like a balloon losing air.

 

A popular figure loved by both men and women, and naturally considered a strong candidate for cheer captain. Despite her cold personality, which led to rumors and whispers, her confident demeanor in the face of those rumors was what made her even more attractive.

 

And…

 

‘Don’t get too close to Evan.’

 

The warning she had once whispered rang in her ears.

 

If Gwen and Evan are getting along well, then staying in this ambiguous relationship with Evan would be deceiving Gwen. Before that happens, she might need to draw a clear line.

 

It was when Jin was thinking about what to do next.

 

Knock knock.

 

At the sudden sound, Jin looked at the door, and Ivy peeked her head around.

 

“Jin.”

 

“Ivy, why?”

 

“Can you tell Evan that that’s my window?”

 

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

 

Ivy, who had rushed over, grabbed Jin’s hand and led her toward the attic window. As she was being willingly pulled along, Jin looked down at Ivy with a bewildered expression.

 

Ivy, having brought Jin over, pointed confidently at something outside the window.

 

And Jin’s eyes met Evan’s, who was smiling awkwardly in the backyard.

 

He gave Jin a small wave and subtly hid one hand behind his back. When something he had been holding slipped from his hand and dropped to the ground behind him, Evan quickly kicked it away with his leg.

 

‘What was that?…A rock?’

 

As Jin narrowed her eyes and carefully examined whatever was hidden in the bushes, the phone resting on the bed rang with a long vibration.

 

The caller was someone whose number wasn’t saved. But the moment Jin saw the unfamiliar number, she immediately knew who it was.

 

The same number that had once asked, “Are you free this Friday evening?”

 

Jin picked up the phone, and when she looked back out the window, Evan was pointing at the phone he held to his ear.

 

“…What’s going on?”

 

-Are you free on Saturday?

 

A playful voice came through the receiver. It was the same line as that text from some time ago. When Jin let out a small laugh without saying anything, Evan shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Are you here to tell me to meet you on Saturday?”

 

-I was going to, but it turns out that the movie Johnny recommended as fun is playing today.

 

“Today?”

 

-Mhm. Today. In 30 minutes.

 

Do you want to go see it?

 

At Evan’s words, the heart that she had barely managed to calm began to thump again.

 

It fluttered and churned. It felt like she was floating, yet also like she wanted to throw up—this strange sensation.

 

However, Jin bit her lower lip tightly, released it, and then said the words she needed to.

 

“…Aren’t you supposed to go see that with Gwen?”

 

-Why is she mentioned here?

 

Evans, who was making eye contact with Jin through the window, tilted his head slightly. His eyebrows furrowed faintly.

 

“I heard you’re seeing each other.”

 

-We’re not like that. Gwen and I are just together because we need each other.

 

What kind of need? Although Evan immediately denied the relationship between him and Gwen, Jin couldn’t help but be curious about what exactly Evan meant by their “need.”

 

However, instead of pushing further, Jin swallowed the question. It didn’t seem like it was within her place to ask. What kind of relationship do we even have? She realized that, for now, she didn’t have the right to ask such things.

 

-Anyway, I’m not interested in Gwen. I’m interested in you, Jin.

 

Jin stared at him silently, taken aback by Evan’s blunt words. After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously asked. 

 

“…Are you asking me out on a date right now?”

 

-Then what do you think this is?

 

Evan sighed at Jin’s question and said.

 

“….”

 

-So are you going or not?

 

Jin nodded slightly after thinking for a moment. Evan, who recognized her from afar, smiled.

 

-Come out.

 

After hanging up the phone, Jin glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands of the clock were already pointing to 10 o’clock. It was definitely too late to go out to watch a movie.

 

‘If I tell Riley, she’ll be worried.’

 

Jin, who was still contemplating whether to go, listened for any sounds from downstairs. Faint voices of Ivy and Riley watching TV in the living room reached her ears.

 

It seemed like she could sneak past behind the sofa without being noticed. Jin quietly took off her shoes and started to slowly descend the wooden stairs. 

 

Jin successfully descended the old stairs, which creaked under her weight, and quietly observed the sofa. On the TV, Riley was engrossed in a crime series drama she had been hooked on recently.

 

Just as Jin was about to turn her body, she locked eyes with the gaze directed at her, and she froze in place.