Chapter 121 - Chapter 121: The Identity of the Exchange Student (Part 2)

I sat across the table from Nayoung. She spoke first.

“How are you, Sian?”

“I’m good. How about you?” I asked. I took a quick glance at her outfit – regular skinny jeans and a sweatshirt. She looked like any regular old college student. She even had a backpack next to her.

“I’ve been good. But you know, I think about you every night.”

“And why do I need to know that…”

Seriously. Why?

“I just can’t forget about the night you saved me.”

“I see,” I replied.

Nayoung continued.

“No matter how many times I think about it, it’s unbelievable. The stuff you did…walking on air, breaking walls…don’t you think it’s weird as well?”

“Um…well…”

Am I supposed to? I mean to me, it’s just everyday stuff.

She kept going.

“Seriously, what are you?”

“I’m a member of Lovely Girlz.”

“No. I mean…are you human?”

“Do I look like a monster to you?”

“You’re not an alien?”

“....”

So she thinks I’m an alien as well, huh.

“Sorry, but no.”

“Then how were you able to do all that stuff?”

“Um…”

Should I tell her? No. There’s no way she’d believe me. But more importantly, the food just arrived.

“Enjoy,” the employee said with a bright smile. Not that Nayoung or I even noticed. Nayoung was busy looking at my lips whereas I was busy looking at the food. It was a plate of the best hanwoo steak the country had to offer. Just look at that plating. My mouth started to water by just looking at it.

“Thanks. You can go now.”

The employee’s smile went down a notch, but he left.

Nayoung said, “I guess you don’t want to talk about it. In that case, I won’t ask you then.”

“Okay.”

Nayoung’s face fell at my answer.

“So am I not allowed to tell anyone about you?”

“That would be great,” I said with a smile. My left hand was already wielding my fork. Where’s the knife? Aw. Well, since I couldn’t find it, my fork will have to do.

“Alright then, I won’t. It’ll be our secret, but you have to promise to tell me someday. I might be able to help you.”

“Help me?” I repeated. How could this girl possibly help me?

“Yes. I might be able to help you,” Nayoung said, nodding firmly.

“Alright. Keep telling yourself that,” I told her.

But would she really be able to help me? I was the best of the best of the best during my time. I looked at Nayoung again. She really did just look like any other student…but this steak looked rather expensive…can I really just eat it…I couldn’t help but feel bad. Jinwoo’s rich so I have no problem using his money, but Nayoung is a student. I’m not as cruel as to take money from a broke student.

“Can I really eat this?”

“Of course.”

“You’re not going to regret it, right?”

“I won’t. Go ahead.”

“Okay…”

She’s not clinically insane, is she? Well, she told me to go ahead and I didn’t want to just ignore her. So, I speared the meat with my fork and stuffed it into my mouth.

Aaah~

“Whoa.”

That was Nayoung. See. I knew this would happen. I chewed the steak and swallowed the whole thing. It was literally gone in one bite.

“You really do eat a lot. Those articles weren’t lying…” Nayoung said, looking at me with round eyes.

“Oh, did you look me up?”

“Yeah. They say you’re a top-ranked eater.”

“Yeah, well, as you can see.”

So here, I’m the best of the best too.

“Here. Have some of mine.”

Nayoung pushed her plate towards me. I knew it. She’s already feeling the strain in her wallet. She’s giving me her plate, so I’m not tempted to order another one.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t want anymore. You’re a student. I feel like the bet was a bit of an overkill. Let’s just end it here and say I won.”

“Huh? Who says you’ve won? I haven’t even started.”

“What?”

What is this girl saying? Just then, Nayoung rang and the bell and the male waiter showed up again.

“Yes, would you like to order more food?”

He gave us a big smile once more, but neither of us cared much.

“We’d like the fries, one lobster special, the king shrimp spaghetti, and the grilled mackerel.”

“Um…” The employee stared at Nayoung.

“Do you need a pen?” Nayoung asked.

“Oh no, it’s just that…is there another person coming? Should I add another table?” the waiter asked, gesturing towards the table next to us.

Nayoung shook her head.

“Nope. It’s for the two of us.”

“Huh?” the waiter looked at Nayoung as if she had just spoken in ancient Greek.

Nayoung repeated, “It’s for the two of us, so step on it please.”

“Oh…o-okay…” the waiter left, leaving me to stare at Nayoung again.

Who was this girl?

***

It took a while for all the food to finally come out. We did end up putting another table with ours. Not because there were more people coming, but because we needed the extra space for all the food.

“Wow…”

I looked at all the food in front of me in awe while Nayoung beamed.

“Um…”

I suddenly felt rather bashful in front of Nayoung. I don’t know – something told me that I shouldn’t be so brash in front of her. My instincts were telling me that much.

“How old are you?” Nayoung asked all of a sudden, but I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I felt like it was a rather important question at the moment.

“I’m twenty-one,” I answered.

“Really? You’re pretty young.”

“Yes.”

Though mentally, I’m thirty…

“I’m twenty-four, so that makes me older than you.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Here. Eat.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I turned my attention to the food. By now, I’ve realized…Nayoung was rich. So I had no problem enjoying the food that was laid out in front of me.

***

After an hour, we were still eating. I continued to inhale the food while Nayoung just ordered more. She showed no signs of stopping. Every time a plate was cleared, another plate showed up and soon, the food was showing up faster than I could finish it.

‘Wow…’

I was actually getting food…guess I’m human after all. I was absolutely stuffed. I felt like if I ate anymore, the food would come up to my throat and choke me.

“Aw, we only spent about 6 million. Sian, we need to go past 10, so eat a lot, okay?”

“What?”

I almost spat food out of my mouth. Nayoung readily wiped it for me. She smiled, gesturing at me to eat more. Then again, there was something very mischievous about that smile. Like she was waiting for me to explode…

Anyways, I began to eat again and soon enough, another hour passed…I hate to say it, but I was slowing down. My digestion was screeching to a halt. I am human after all. Well, now I know.

“Mmmff..”

I could feel food coming up my throat as I quickly blocked my mouth with my hands. I tried to swallow it back, but I couldn’t…more was coming up.

‘I can’t believe this…’

I really can’t. I never thought this could happen to me.

“Sian, are you full??” Nayoung asked with a sweet smile.

“Errr…”

I shook my head, telling her no. I returned her smile with one of mine, hiding the swirling pain in my stomach.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Excuse me. Could we have the special sushi platter and…mmmmf!”

I blocked her mouth with my hands. Finally, with a shake of my head, I conceded defeat. From behind my hand, Nayoung grinned. So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of such evil laughter.

***

“Give up?”

“Yes. I give up. Ooomf.”

Once again, I had to force the food back into my stomach. I’ve never eaten this much before, and there was something about knowing my limit that was making me rather sad.

“Hmmm…we only spent 9.5 million…you couldn’t hold out for another 50?”

“....”

Nayoung barely glanced at the receipt as I kept my mouth shut. And that’s when I knew – she was definitely wealthy. Extremely wealthy. Tell me I’m right…

“But can you really pay for all this?”

I couldn’t help but worry. All the signs were saying that she was rich, but what if I’m wrong…?

“No, I can’t.”

“What?”

“I’m actually really poor.”

“....”

I didn’t know what to say. My mind had gone completely blank, but something told me that she was lying. Nayoung Kim. The way she carried herself…yeah…there was no way she was poor. I just knew it!

“I can see the wheels turning in your head.”

“....”

I really didn’t know what to say. Was she playing me or was she really broke? I looked at the check again and my hand began to shake. I remembered Jinwoo’s card, but…9.5 million…Jinwoo would definitely slap…well…someone.

“Haha. I’m just kidding.”

“What?”

This bitch.

“I already paid in advance. 10 million.”

“What the…”

It was all so hard to believe, so I asked her again.

“Really?”

“Of course. Just ask Mr. Hong. Unfortunately, there’s still 500,000 won left. I’m rather disappointed in you, Sian.”

“....”

I couldn’t believe it, so I really did ask Ji-chun. When he confirmed, my jaw almost fell to the ground. So I asked him who the hell was this girl and he told me that Nayoung was the daughter of Man-hyun Kim, CEO of Saman Group. The youngest one, at that. She wasn’t just wealthy. She was in the top 1%. A diamond spoon.

“You can treat me like your younger sister if you want.”

I willingly bowed my head to her.

“Can I really?”

“You were already doing that since earlier anyway,” I said with a smile. The thought of all the free meals I could get from this girl was certainly enough to make me happy.

“But are you really not going to tell me who you are?”

“No, I won’t,” I said firmly. No matter how much money this girl has, that was the one thing I would not give her.

“Fine. But next time, you have to tell me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And let me know if you need anything. I’m pretty resourceful, you know. Every hero needs a sidekick.”

“You watch too many movies.”

“Hehe. I guess I do.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to let you know if I need anything.”

I doubt this girl could actually help me with anything, but she seemed pretty trustworthy. I rather liked her. And she’s one of the few people who has seen my true self.

“Do you want to eat more?”

“Nope.”

For the first time ever, I turned down the offer of food.