Chapter 40: Is It Lin Shouxia?

"I'm cold."

Yoo Jimin pouted, snatched the coat right out of the man's hands, and cast a sideways glance at the utterly clueless fool, fuming with all the anger she could muster.

Blockhead, idiot, nuisance.

Im Sang-hyuk, who had been completely silent earlier due to the girl's annoyed expression, finally seemed to realize something.

Carefully, he reached his hand across the center console that separated them, then gently pressed the pads of his fingers against the back of the girl's hand to probe her feelings.

"Your hands are so cold." The man's brows knitted together. Seeing Yoo Jimin turn her head away as if indifferent to his actions, he silently pulled her hand over, rubbing it with his palm in an attempt to warm her up.

To him, perhaps the most important thing wasn't whether the girl beside him might be annoyed with him, but rather seeing her looking healthy and full of life.

"What are you doing?" Yoo Jimin put on a fierce front, making a show of trying to yank her palm back from Im Sang-hyuk's embrace.

But Im Sang-hyuk held her hand tight, unwilling to let go for even a second. The girl tried several times in a row, but failed completely.

"Your hands are freezing. Aren't you uncomfortable?"

"Now you know how to care."

The girl muttered a couple of words and reached out to pinch the man's cheek, the angry little expression on her face finally dissipating quite a bit.

Who was the one lacking any sense of tact just a moment ago, anyway?

"Shouldn't we be heading back?"

A glance at the time on her phone made her feel a pang of reluctance, but the moment to say goodbye had indeed arrived.

"Are you rushing me away?"

"I didn't mean that." Im Sang-hyuk delicately hooked his fingers through the girl's, his movements as tender as if he were handling a precious treasure.

He didn't want to part ways with Yoo Jimin so early, yet because she was someone he cherished deeply, after weighing many factors, he had to accept the reality of a temporary farewell.

"Never mind..."

Yoo Jimin was still a bit miffed, and right now she really didn't want to spend too much time with this man who kept ruining the romantic mood.

She gave a soft huff and instructed the man to drive her back to the entrance of her dormitory.

"I'm doomed..."

As the car pulled into the neighborhood and she caught sight of the lit-up windows of the dormitory and the figures huddled together against the glass, Yoo Jimin slowly developed a very ominous premonition.

She should have come up with an excuse beforehand to fool her members. Now... could she start preparing for her execution?

"Just... just drop me off right here."

Fully aware of what awaited her, yet compelled to walk straight into the tiger's den despite knowing the danger, Yoo Jimin grabbed a handful of her own hair with a look of pure agony.

Today... had actually started out quite pleasant.

Yet she had happened to run into a man who loved to ruin the mood, and happened to let her members notice her mysterious disappearance. After a reasonably happy first half of the night, what awaited her next might well be a second half straight out of hell.

"What's wrong?"

Sensing the girl's slight panic, Im Sang-hyuk instinctively gripped her hand, hoping to offer her some strength.

"N-nothing."

"Um, you can let me go now."

"Shouldn't I drive you all the way to the entrance?"

"Absolutely not." Yoo Jimin could already picture her fate moments from now. If she got out of the car right here, she could still claim she caught a ride with a friend.

If she waited any longer and those figures at the window spotted Im Sang-hyuk, an endless wave of crazy gossip would undoubtedly follow.

"Hurry back now, and drive slowly on the way."

"I know, don't worry."

Im Sang-hyuk bid Yoo Jimin farewell, but he didn't drive off immediately. He watched as the girl, looking back every three steps, slipped through the courtyard gates. Only then did he feel at ease, starting the car and driving away.

At the exact same time Im Sang-hyuk departed, Yoo Jimin opened the door and stepped back into the dormitory.

It felt completely deserted, without a single speck of light, yet... she distinctly remembered seeing the lights and silhouettes behind the curtains just moments ago.

Could it be...

Yoo Jimin bit her lip and froze for a moment. While she was deep in thought, the front door behind her slammed shut, and she was suddenly yanked onto the sofa.

Then the lights blazed on, and Yuzi, looking thoroughly startled, sat clutching a stuffed toy and shivering against the cushions.

"Unni, confess honestly, where did you sneak off to again so late at night?"

Ning Ning waved an inflatable hammer she had snuck out from the Gayo Daejeon site a couple of days ago, flashing the expression of a delinquent youth.

She had been dying to ask why Yoo Jimin hadn't followed them back to the dorm after practice, but hindered by the fact that the other two older unnis hadn't raised any objections, she hadn't felt it was her place to speak up.

"N-nothing, I just went out to grab something to eat."

"You went to eat?"

Kim Chaewon reacted as if she had heard the most incredible news in the world, immediately reaching out to pat Yoo Jimin down to see if she had brought any snacks back for them.

"Winter-ah..."

Fortunately, Giselle remained unaffected by Yoo Jimin's panic. Calling out to the approaching younger member, she grabbed the back of Winter's collar and hauled her backward.

"It wasn't just getting food, was it?"

"And..."

"There's nothing else!"

"I haven't even asked you anything yet." Giselle frowned, taking in every trace of the girl's guilty conscience.

Something was off, deeply off...

Looking at Yoo Jimin's guilty expression, coupled with her sudden disappearance right after practice, Giselle was now certain her good friend had been up to something major behind their backs.

"Rina-yah."

"Hmm?"

"Sit properly." Giselle patted the sofa, urging Yoo Jimin to sit up straight.

She even snatched the inflatable hammer right out of Ning Ning's hand, fully prepared for a rigorous interrogation.

"Spit it out. Who dropped you off?"

"A friend. Just a friend."

"Which friend?"

"Naturally... a good friend." Yoo Jimin tugged nervously at the ears of her stuffed toy, shivering and plotting her escape at a moment's notice.

Ignoring her friend's little evasive movements, Giselle kept her stern face and pressed on, "Confess honestly. If you don't start telling the truth right now, we're going to turn up the heat."

At these words, the two youngest members of the group had already slipped the shoes off the girl's feet and begun eyeing her tiny socks with intense scrutiny.

Should she endure being tickled on the soles of her feet, or honestly surrender Im Sang-hyuk...

In Yoo Jimin's mind, this was a question worthy of deep philosophical contemplation.

"Are you going to talk or not!" the three of them shouted in unison, startling Yoo Jimin so badly she gave a violent shudder.

"It was... Yeong-ro's younger brother."

Yoo Jimin squirmed awkwardly for a long while before finally resorting to a half-truth, desperately trying to salvage her pitiful dignity.

The members had indeed heard the rumors about the Han River sister-in-law, but the problem was, they weren't buying it.

Normally, whenever Yoo Jimin went out on dates with the Han River sister-in-law, she was completely open and confident. Today's overly cautious demeanor—terrified of being discovered—meant there was definitely something fishy going on without even needing to think about it.

"Was it Im Sang-hyuk?"

Kim Chaewon scratched her head and tossed out the name at random, instantly causing the remaining two to lock their gazes back onto the girl.