Cheese In The Trap (COMPLETE)

Chapter 6

Seol finds herself in a dream-like scene, dressed up and sitting at an elegant dinner table opposite Jung. She points out that their relationship isn't exactly in "fancy dinner date" mode right now, but Jung asks if she means to get stuck on every last issue, arguing everything without letting anything slide.

He reminds her how she misjudged him multiple times from the start, and as he lists each incident and asks why she's especially argumentative with him, the table between them grows longer and shoves them farther apart.

He gets more worked up, saying that he's trying very hard right now, and did everything to help her: "What are you so unhappy with?"

Seol exclaims, "I didn't want those things!" He asks, "So, did you dislike them? Honestly, you liked it, didn't you? You received all those things and now I'm the bad guy? How perfect do you expect me to be?"

The chandelier crashes down onto the tabletop. Jung asks, "What will you do now? Are you going to keep staying away from me?"

Seol wakes up and wonders how even in her dream, Jung just says his piece without listening.

She talks it out with Bora, who says if it were her she'd be happy to have landed such a guy (though I might note a girl who reacted like that would never grab Jung's interest). Seol hasn't talked to Jung in several days and explains that she doesn't want him helping her that way, and is afraid that she might get too used to such favors. Bora asks what Seol feels, aside from what her brain thinks—does she mean to break up?

Seol haltingly writes a text telling Jung she wants to talk and asks for time tomorrow.

In-ho gets another text from his noona, flippantly demanding more money. It riles him up and he mutters angrily to himself as he passes by Seol, who asks what that's about.

He replies that he's in deep deliberation over when she'll buy him dinner again, making her roll her eyes at his obsession with free dinners. He acts the long-suffering victim, saying how this must be how it feels to have debtors skip out on you, reminding her that she'd offered to buy when he'd helped her last time. So Seol offers to buy tonight, and they make plans to meet later.

Jung flips through his phone log and starts deleting messages from Seol. He hesitates for a moment before deleting the full conversation, but goes through and hits delete just as Seol's newest text comes in. He jerks in surprise, but the message cheers him up and he's suddenly energized to get ready and head out.

As In-ho waits for Seol, a TV program playing in the store window catches his eye. A piano professor talks glowingly about a pupil who just won a piano competition, calling him a shining pearl found in the mud. In-ho's eyes grow teary as the teacher says that it's an honor to have met such a student.

A flashback reveals that In-ho had studied with that teacher, who'd often chided him for not taking the piano seriously—In-ho was talented, but liked looking cool and showing off. The teacher warned that praise could be poison to a musician, adding, "You know you're a special student to me, don't you?

That teacher had sat at his hospital bedside some time later, in the aftermath of the fight that ruined his hand. He'd urged In-ho to go through rehab, but In-ho had lain there, staring at his ruined hand.

Now In-ho takes another look at his hand, getting drenched in the rain as he watches this new student performing brilliantly onscreen.

Running late, Seol rushes up to the store in time to see In-ho transfixed in front of that screen, wiping at his tears. He turns to see her standing there, and she hurries over to cover him with her umbrella. She doesn't say anything, and he suggests drinks instead of dinner, leading the way.