Netkama Punch!!!

It really was Shin Heejae.
“H-How…”

Was I seeing things wrong right now?
No… it really was Shin Heejae?
And the real-life Shin Heejae was completely different from the one in [Arcadia]. His face was definitely the same as the guy in the photo, but if he hadn’t called me ‘noona,’ I wouldn’t have recognized him at all—the vibe was entirely different.

And that build…
‘This bastard… is he like 190 cm tall…?’
I instinctively stepped back in fear.

But the moment I stepped back, Shin Heejae closed the distance in a much larger stride. Without stopping, he came straight at me. I panicked and tried to push him away, but he easily overpowered me and slammed me against the cold wall.
“Ugh!”
The strength in Shin Heejae’s hand as he held my shoulder made me stagger. No matter how much of a size difference there was, the sheer force shocked me—and my face flushed red, whether from embarrassment or anger, I couldn’t tell.

I gritted my teeth and tried again with all my strength to wrench his wrist away—but it was pointless. He just stared at me, as if mocking my effort.
“What the hell are you—!”
I was about to snap at him for being so forceful, no longer even trying to hide my fury or confusion, when he abruptly cut me off with a question.

“Noona, are you gay?”
“Wha… What?”
I scowled, completely blindsided by the absurd question. And seeing my reaction, Shin Heejae gave a soft snort of laughter.

“Why are you so jumpy? You knew I was a guy and still dated me.”
“That was—!”
“That was?”

Infuriatingly, I couldn’t find anything to say back.
For a moment, memories of the [Yeongil] days flickered through my mind, but I figured even if I brought it up, a bastard like him wouldn’t remember, let alone apologize. I’d just end up humiliating myself.
Besides, the only reason this bastard came all the way here was because he was pissed about being catfished. So even if I started talking about [Yeongil] or whatever, would it even get through to him?
So I lashed out, driven by pure spite.

“Gay? Fuck off… I just ripped you off because you’re a dumbass, okay? What’s with the questions?”
“……”
“And I gave you the money back, didn’t I?!”

“What, two bucks worth of conscience still intact?”
Shin Heejae said that as he glanced down at the chicken box in my hands.
My face flared with heat. Fuck… Why couldn’t he have come yesterday or tomorrow? Why today? I should’ve just ordered delivery from home… Fucking hell…

His scornful gaze crushed my pride, and I wanted to throw the chicken on the ground right then and there, but I held back. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut and said,
“…I’ll transfer the money for the chicken to your account. That’s good enough, right?”
“……”

But even after I said that, he stayed silent for a long time.
Puzzled, I looked up at Shin Heejae—and flinched. His face had lost even the faint trace of a smile, and he was staring at me coldly.
“What…”

“You think this is a joke? You really think I came all the way from Gangnam just to get back chicken money?”
He then gave my dingy semi-basement door a deliberate once-over, filled with contempt. That look made something rise up in me. And at the same time… I scoffed at myself.
‘I knew it. I knew this bastard’s attitude would flip the second he found out I was a guy…’

Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. My throat felt tight, my mouth frozen.
What stung the most was the fact that I actually let someone like Shin Heejae hurt me. And he stared right at me, his tone dripping with scorn as he spoke again.
“Why’d you return the money if you live in a shithole like this?”

“…!”
“I couldn’t sleep. I was seriously dying to know why you sold everything off and suddenly changed your mind.”
Ha…

Yeah, it hurt that he turned on me like this. But what pissed me off even more was how much of an asshole he was being. Was I really forgetting what kind of bastard he was just because I got to know him through Sesam?
Only now did I realize why Shin Heejae came here. This asshole had completely lost it because he felt like he’d been made a total fool.
Part of me wanted to throw his words back at him. Wanted to sneer that I only returned the money because I felt sorry for a stray mutt like him, wagging his tail just because someone showed him a bit of kindness. I wanted to say that—and watch his eyes get all teary.

But instead…
“I gave it back because I didn’t want to get sued. Happy?”
“……”

“Now get the fuck out.”
Even as I said it, I knew I was just spitting in my own face.
And yet, realizing that the reason Shin Heejae barged into my home so furious was because he’d actually been sincere with me… I just wanted to run away.

I shoved him hard, harder than before. I didn’t care if he grabbed me again—I was going inside and not coming out. If he followed, I’d call the cops.
But weirdly, he didn’t budge. He stood firm in front of the door, eyes fixed on my hand pressing against his arm, as if it were some delicate glass.
I shoved him again and yelled,

“Move!”
“What’s going on over there?”
It was then that a familiar voice rang out from the front gate.

I winced and looked up in surprise. Standing at the top of the stairs, peering down at us with curiosity, was none other than the landlady from the 5th floor of this multi-unit building.
Startled by her sudden appearance, I yanked my hand off Heejae’s arm.
‘…Shit, how much did she hear?’

I desperately hoped she hadn’t caught the part where he asked me if I was gay. Flustered, I reflexively bowed and greeted her.
“Ah, hello…”
I bowed awkwardly, trying to gauge the situation—and finally noticed the plastic broom in her hand. She must’ve been doing one of her routine cleanups. Of all times, it had to be now—right in the middle of a fight with Shin Heejae.

I wanted to bite my tongue in frustration, but I forced a clumsy smile. Meanwhile, the landlady kept glancing over at Heejae.
‘…What the hell?’
Just as I glanced at Heejae beside me, feeling a chill, the landlady’s eyes sparkled with recognition and she asked him,

“You’re the young man who parked that white Audi out front, right?”
“…Huh?”
“……”

“You said you came to meet a friend… Turns out your friend’s a civil servant, huh~.”
At her words, that sleek white Audi I saw earlier popped into my head.
‘Wait—no fucking way. That was his car?’

I stared at Shin Heejae in disbelief.
But more than that, I couldn’t stand the way he seemed oddly familiar with the landlady. And sure enough, he glanced at my nervous face and gave a soft laugh. I had a very bad feeling about this.
“Yeah… We met sooner than I expected.”

From that point on, the bastard spoke sweetly and politely, breaking the silence with an obnoxiously fake tone.
“That’s good. Where’d you park?”
“There was a spot near the convenience store at the intersection, so I parked there.”

“Oh, smart. The alley’s too narrow to park here anyway.”
Apparently, he’d tried to park in front of the building, but the landlady told him not to, so he parked where I saw that Audi. Listening to how smoothly the conversation flowed, I felt a chill run down my spine.
‘This bastard… How long had he been staking out in front of my house…?’

But the landlady showed no sign of suspecting anything and just kept chatting, clearly ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) trying to get a word in with Heejae.
“So, how do you two know each other? You’re young, drive a fancy car… license plate says Gangnam…”
And then came the blunt truth behind all her interest.

I mean, of course she’d be curious—a young guy with a Gangnam plate driving an expensive car into a quiet residential neighborhood like this? Anyone would be.
The problem was—I wasn’t actually friends with this asshole…
Feeling the icy sense of dread creeping up my back, I looked at Heejae and quickly grabbed his arm again. He stared at my hand for a moment.

Then he smiled and said,
“Well, Seyoung used to be my girlfriend—”
You psycho bastard!

“W-We work together! We’re just coworkers! From work!”
“…Huh? Oh…?”
Thank god I was already on edge—I cut him off right on time. The landlady tilted her head slightly, but thankfully she seemed to latch onto the word “coworkers” first.

I grabbed Heejae and hurriedly punched the door code into my lock.
“W-We’ll be going in now, then—”
“Mm, alright.”

I all but shoved Heejae inside and slammed the door shut.
With a loud thunk, the door closed, and the lock clicked into place. Only then could I finally exhale.
“……”

“……”
I looked up—and made eye contact with Shin Heejae, standing silently in my entryway.