MICHAENG : THE STORY UNFOLDS WITH YOU

CHAPTER 21 - TRAPPED

-TIME SKIPPED-

Chaeyoung wraps up his day a bit earlier today and is now walking around the grocery store while pushing a trolley, keenly scanning for some items in the store.

"Chaengi!! Come here," Sana's voice echoes in his ears, calling him from a distance as she wants to put the stuff she picked up into the trolley.

Chaeyoung walks up to her. "This is quite a lot already for someone who's living alone, Sana-yaa," he says while walking side by side with her.

Earlier in the morning, when Chaeyoung picked up Sana for work, she asked him for help with grocery shopping after work. Chaeyoung willingly agreed to accompany her since Mina wouldn't be home tonight.

It's been a month already since Mina rarely came back home due to urgent work discussions and tasks with Jihyo. Tonight, she also decided to stay over at Jihyo's place for their work. She promised Chaeyoung that she would ask Jihyo to send her home earlier tomorrow morning since it's the weekend, and no work is allowed during their weekends.

Sana intentionally leaves Chaeyoung behind as she heads to the alcohol beverage section. Her eyes subtly search for the whisky with the highest alcohol percentage, and when she finds it, a pang of hesitation slaps her. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment to collect herself before grabbing the whisky and returning to Chaeyoung.

"Wow, your alcohol tolerance is unbelievable, Sana-yaa," Chaeyoung remarks as he takes a bottle of whisky from her and checks the alcohol percentage.

"Nah, it's normal for me, Chaeng. Why? You also have a high alcohol tolerance, right?" Sana's eyes sparkle with innocence.

Chaeyoung chuckles, looking at the cute Sana. "Umm... but it's been a while since I drank," Chaeyoung admits.

"Son Chaeyoung?" Suddenly, someone interrupts their conversation, calling Chaeyoung's name from a distance.

Chaeyoung turns around. "Uh? Uncle Park?" Chaeyoung approaches the middle-aged man, and Sana follows behind him.

"It's been a while, Chaeyoung-aa. I didn't expect to meet you here," he says, exchanging a brief hug with Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung grins. "Right? I think the last time we met was during Jeongyeon's engagement day," he recalls.

The man's gaze then falls onto Sana, his face displaying confusion upon seeing the unfamiliar woman. He knows all of Jihyo's friends, but Sana is someone he hasn't seen before.

Chaeyoung notices wrinkles creasing on the man's face as he looks at Sana. Sensing that he might be silently questioning who this girl is beside him.

"Sana-yaa, this is Uncle Park, Jihyo's father" he introduces the man to Sana who also clueless about the man beforehand.

"Jihyo's father?" Her eyes sparkle before beaming a welcoming smile and slightly bowing to him. "Nice to meet you, Uncle Park," she says, exuding bubbly vibes.

"Nice to meet you too, Sana," he replies with a fatherly smile. "Your girlfriend is so well-mannered, just like you, Chaeyoung-aa. No wonder you two look good together," he praises Sana.

Chaeyoung is taken aback. "Uh... she's not..."

"That's very kind of you. Thank you, Uncle Park," Sana blurts out, giggling sheepishly.

Jihyo's father chuckles, still amused by how lovely Sana looks beside Chaeyoung. "I wish we could catch up a bit more, but I'm sorry, Chaeyoung-aa, I have to go now. Have a nice day," he says, looking a bit rushed.

Chaeyoung and Sana bow and bid him goodbye before continuing with the grocery shopping.

After a while, Sana is finally done with her shopping, and Chaeyoung drives her back to her apartment. It's already 9 p.m. when they arrive at her place. Chaeyoung helps Sana carry the items she bought into her apartment since it's too much for her to carry alone.