Chapter 6 — When the Goddess Appears

Who was that just now?

After a long silence, Kyu finally spoke up.

Just some unimportant classmate. Why do you ask?

Kyu expression relaxed slightly at that.

Oh, nothing.

Right, the bag I mentioned I would bring for you is in the back seat. Have a look.

I turned my head and, sure enough, spotted a gift box. Inside was a medium-sized classic flap handbag. It was breathtakingly gorgeous. Every glint of light reflecting off the supple leather seemed to declare its exorbitant price.

This is too expensive, I stammered, startled. I cannot accept it!

A boyfriend buying a bag for his girlfriend is only natural. He suddenly looked over at me.

Surely you are not planning to break up with me just because this reunion started off poorly?

Kyu panicked, his voice rising in distress:

I knew I should not have chosen that stylist. The haircut he gave me is genuinely terrible!

To be worthy of meeting you, I started hitting the gym and taking meticulous care of my skin a long time ago. Are you still unsatisfied?

If there is anything you dislike about me, just tell me. I can change!

No! What kind of absurd line of reasoning was this? I said helplessly, I have no intention of breaking up with you.

Then why will you not accept my gift? I agonized over choosing this for so long!

Before I could even reply, he pressed on:

Tell me your course selections as soon as you enroll, and I will take the exact same classes so we can study together.

What would you like for breakfast tomorrow morning? I will buy it and bring it straight to you.

Please take the bag. I bought it specifically for you. If you refuse it, I will simply have to throw it away.

I looked at him, unable to suppress a helpless chuckle.

Fine.

Today meal did not bring me the vindictive satisfaction I had imagined. Once upon a time, I had deeply resented Yen for toying with me the way he did. He could cast me aside so ruthlessly, yet concoct such an elaborate deception. Nor did I entirely appreciate how much Kyu kept hidden from me. And yet, as a person… he did not seem so bad after all. Perhaps it was worth giving this a genuine try. I certainly did not expect Yen to cling to me so tenaciously. On the days Kyu was not in class with me, Yen would invariably seek me out. When lectures began, he would pull out the chair right beside mine and sit down without hesitation.

Nam, is this seat taken?

I raised my eyelids, giving him a cold look:

I hardly think we are close enough for that. Please do not address me so familiarly, and I have no desire to sit next to you.

With that, I gathered my books and walked away. Yet Yen was undeterred, returning the very next day. Today he brought breakfast, tomorrow bubble tea, and the day after snacks for my entire dormitory floor. Conversely, his attitude toward Ann grew increasingly frigid. I once witnessed Ann bringing a meticulously hand-prepared breakfast to him, only for Yen to tell her with a frozen expression to take it away. When Ann stammered out a hasty explanation, Yen impatiently batted the lunch box right out of her hands. Having entirely lost interest in Ann, he launched a relentless pursuit of me. Day after day, messengers arrived bearing expensive bouquets and artisanal black swan pastries. Yen even gifted me a handbag. Ironically, it was also a Chanel.

Do you like it? If not, I will go buy a different one. He propped his chin in his hand, gazing at me sideways.

I had reached my absolute limit:

I do not want it. Please never buy me anything again.

But I bought it for you. If you refuse it, I will simply have to throw it away. He echoed Kyu exact words from before.

A cold smile touched my lips. I picked up the bag and the pastries and tossed them straight into the nearest trash can. After all, I was not the one wasting money. I had nothing to regret. Yen expression finally fractured.

Be fair, Gu Nam, have I not treated you well?

My boyfriend treats me wonderfully as well. Anything I desire, I will naturally ask him for. I have no need for your charity.

You mean Kyu, right? I know all about him. Yen raised an eyebrow. But I am hardly inferior to him. Whatever he can provide for you, I can provide as well.

If Yen initial remorse and pursuit had once offered a sweet sense of retribution, now they inspired only profound annoyance. I had once loved him. But the man who used to stay on the phone with me all night, whispering that everything would be okay because he was here; the man who used to rain down red envelopes in the global chat channel just to have strangers comfort me when I was sad—that man seemed utterly disconnected from the hollow shell sitting before me now. I understood it now. Yen was nothing more than an empty vessel. His affection went no deeper than the surface. He fundamentally did not know how to love another human being, nor did he possess the capacity for it. Impatiently, I pushed myself to my feet.

I simply do not like you. Please stop pestering me.

I refused to waste another second of my life on Yen. He was not worth it.

When I spotted Yen face once again inside the Taekwondo club, I was genuinely speechless. He acted as though my previous rejections had never happened, flashing that same bright, blindingly white smile.

What an incredible coincidence, classmate Gu Nam, you practice here too?

Yen had never known a single thing about Taekwondo! Throughout the year and a half we had spent together previously, I knew he spent every vacation surfing in Tahiti or skiing down the Alps. Yet he had never once mentioned martial arts.

Would classmate Gu be willing to instruct me a little? His gaze dropped to my bare feet, lingering for a fraction of a second.

If he was so determined to court disaster, I would gladly oblige! I gave him an icy look:

Very well.

True to form, Yen had no idea how to fight. The moment we squared off, a swift sweep of my leg sent him stumbling backward. He blinked in surprise, then recovered, flashing a cocky smirk as he dropped into a stance.

You pack quite a punch.

He seemed to view this as some playful flirtation, lazily reaching out to grab my wrist. Pivoting smoothly, I dodged his grasp, seized his arm, and leveraged my core strength to twist sharply. In a single fluid motion, I spun him halfway around, driving his knees hard into the padded mat.

Hah…

He sucked in a sharp breath of air, the smirk finally vanishing from his face. Giving him no time to recover, I lowered my center of gravity and pressed my advantage. He instinctively tried to push himself back up, but my right foot kicked out, sweeping his pivot leg right out from under him. As he lost his balance and crashed backward, I vaulted upward, crossing my legs to lock tightly around his neck and arm in a suffocating scissors choke.