# Chapter 5
Hae-Li was still standing in front of the bus stop near her campus, waiting for public transportation. The distance from campus to her house was pretty far. If Eun Woo hadn't driven her this morning, she definitely would have been late today.
Yes, in the end, she had accepted the offer from that strange man because he kept insisting. He had even handed her his business card and briefly given her his ID as collateral, just in case Hae-Li got hurt.
"Hey!"
Hae-Li moved aside when she felt someone touch her shoulder from behind. She quickly turned around. Her face immediately registered shock, and she reflexively slapped the person, afraid he might try something with her.
"Mianhe, I didn't mean to." Hae-Li quickly looked away when she realized that the person who had just greeted her was someone she knew.
"Long time no see. How have you been?" he asked casually, extending his hand.
"Why do you care how I am?" Hae-Li ignored him.
"We need to talk," he said.
"Someone's coming to pick me up soon, so you should leave. I don't have time!" Hae-Li sat down, searching for an excuse to get away from him.
"Fine. I'll wait until that person comes to get you." He folded his arms and sat down beside Hae-Li.
"Huh?" Hae-Li was startled by his attitude. He was still being so stubborn.
Hae-Li began to panic over her own words. If the man really waited for her, that would be bad. She didn't have plans with anyone to pick her up today.
Not only that, she had already turned down several taxis that had driven past, all to cover up her lie. Yet the man continued sitting calmly beside her.
Yes, the man currently with Hae-Li was Rocky. He had been Hae-Li's best friend in high school, before she moved to Korea. Everyone thought they were nothing more than close friends.
That was true, but in reality, they had once been in a special relationship that few people knew about. Unfortunately, it had fallen apart before they decided to announce their engagement. Those feelings seemed to still linger. On top of that, Rocky was one of the biggest reasons Hae-Li had to be in Korea.
"Where is this person? Looks like the person you mentioned isn't coming. Were you trying to lie to me? Let me take you home. It'll be dark soon." Rocky stood up and took Hae-Li's hand after waiting for nearly two hours.
"He'll definitely be here soon." Hae-Li was still trying to cover up her lie.
"Hae-Li, how long are you going to keep avoiding me? We need to talk." Rocky stared deeply into her eyes.
Hae-Li pulled her hand free. "There's nothing to talk about. It's all over. The ring on your ring finger already gives me my answer, Mr. Park Minhyuk!" she said firmly.
Suddenly, a car stopped in front of them. The driver rolled down the window and greeted Hae-Li. Hae-Li was grateful to run into Eun Woo again. This gave her an excuse to leave Rocky's side immediately.
But why did it have to be him? Why did that man named Eun Woo keep appearing out of nowhere? Was this really just a coincidence? Ah, whatever. Hae-Li didn't want to think about it for too long. She quickly walked over to Eun Woo and asked for his help. Eun Woo immediately got out of the car and opened the door for her.
"Hae-Li, who is he?" Rocky asked, staring sharply at Hae-Li.
"I'm leaving now. Hopefully, we won't see each other again." Hae-Li gave him a bitter smile.
Hae-Li quickly got into the car. She felt awkward about casually getting into a car belonging to someone she had only just met, but she had no choice.
They slowly drove away from Rocky. He remained standing there, glaring at Eun Woo. Hae-Li knew what she had just said would never happen. In fact, after Rocky and Hera's engagement, they would probably see each other even more often.
"Sis, I can get out here if you have somewhere else to be. Sorry for bothering you," Hae-Li said once she felt safe.
"It's fine. I was the one who offered to drive you home."
Hae-Li didn't say anything else, but once again, something strange happened right before her eyes. Eun Woo's car suddenly stopped right in front of her house, even though she had never given him her address, and Eun Woo had never asked where she lived. Hae-Li stared at him in confusion and quickly got out of the car.
"How do you know where I live?"
"Uh... Yeah, I, I knew from here." Eun Woo pulled a wallet out of the glove compartment.
"Huh?" Hae-Li checked her bag and realized it really was her wallet. She hadn't even noticed that it had fallen out while she was busy thinking about everything happening to her.
Eun Woo handed Hae-Li's wallet back to her and said goodbye before heading home.
"Sorry for opening it without permission."
At the same time, across the street, the man who had helped Hae-Li appeared again, coming out of his house as he stared at Eun Woo. The two men exchanged sharp looks, as if something was going on, but Hae-Li didn't understand what those looks meant.
Then the man went back inside his house. Yes, it turned out that Hae-Li's new neighbor was that mysterious man. Hae-Li felt awkward because she hadn't had a chance to thank him yet.
"Who is he?" Eun Woo suddenly asked.
"I don't know either. My sister said he just moved in. Do you know him?" Hae-Li asked.
"No, but you should be careful!" Eun Woo patted Hae-Li on the shoulder and got back into the car.
"Careful of what?" Hae-Li looked anxious again.
Eun Woo drove away without answering her question. Everything was becoming more and more unclear. Hae-Li felt increasingly toyed with and decided this was the worst day of her life.
She quickly opened the gate, occasionally glancing toward the house across the street. That man had really caught her attention, but she had to remain careful, just as Eun Woo had warned her. She couldn't simply trust a stranger.
But could she guarantee that Eun Woo wasn't a bad person? Could that man be trusted, either?