—
"Congratulations, loser!"
Jiwoo had stopped Seokjin before he could ride away in the cab, throwing at him a small gift with his favorite cologne. He caught it and laughed at her behavior as she sped back into the salon in bashfulness.
She figured it'd be better to congratulate him in person than if he were already 6,000 miles away. She also hoped that it'd serve as an apology for not attending his "surprise party".
However, knowing Seokjin, she knew he wouldn't have minded anyways. Being the social butterfly he is, he probably had a group of people already waiting for him.
After sending him off, she finally closed up her salon. Silence and solitude were her only customers left.
Most of the time, Jiwoo spent her time alone, only going on outings with Seonmi and Bogum once in while, not wanting to be a bother. She was glad to have a salon to manage during the day. It was an opportunity to keep herself occupied.
When business hours ended and she didn't have a distraction from her lonesomeness, she would be reminded of how things used to be. Before someone had strolled into her life to wreak havoc and leave her constantly defensive.
—
Jiwoo convinced herself to go to the gym after a few hours following her healthy dinner selection: three cups of noodles with a hard-boiled egg for each round.
Walking out of the locker room in athletic wear, she hopped onto a treadmill to start, setting it on an incline and slowly building up to a fast pace.
She immersed herself in the workout, feeling the exhilarating burn in her calves until her ears perked up at the whisper of her name.
"Oh my god, is that Song Jiwoo?"
"Holy shit, it's really her,"
Jiwoo's eye twitched, almost faltering in her quick strides, struggling to keep her focus on running and not falling.
"I heard she hooked up with Joohyuk to get more publicity for her dump of a salon. Now she has Seokjin wrapped around her slimy, little finger,"
"Ugh, just because her Daddy owns Song Corporation, doesn't mean she gets to play around with Joohyuk and Seokjin-oppa,"
"Dumb, rich whore,"
The layer of sweat covering her felt like a second skin. Heat radiated intensely from her cheeks. Part of it was from the exercise, but the two girls commenting from behind her intensified the warmth of bubbling irritation.
Pressing a couple of buttons on the treadmill and slowing down her pace to a stop, Jiwoo turned around, fed up with their annoying gossip that continued incessantly. The snickers of ridicule gradually ceased, noticing that her attention was on them.
They looked at her as she walked towards them, crossing their arms and smirking. As she put on her best smile, she stopped in front of them and nonchalantly rummaged through her bag.
The two girls looked at one another, confused, before one of them spoke up.
"What do you want, bitch," she spat and stepped closer, "You got something to say?" Her chin tilted up slightly as she nudged Jiwoo with her arms still crossed over her chest.
Jiwoo scoffed, looking down at the her crossed arms before meeting her eyes with a hard glare.
"Just a word of advice," she replied, leaning in closer, inches away from the girl's face, "Next time, buy some better insults," she shoved a wad of cash into her chest, making her stumble back in surprise.
