“Delicious.”
“Is it good?”
“Yes. You should try some too, hyung.”
Young-wan picked up his fork and took a bite of the cake.
“Mm, it’s moderately sweet.”
“I think Seok-ho hyung would eat this much sweetness too.”
“Should I buy another one?”
“Ah, no. It’s okay. I can just come here later with hyung.”
Even at the café, the two of them talked about many things. Most of it was about stories from Young-wan’s school days.
He said it was the first time he’d ever sat down and talked one-on-one like this with a high school student, so it reminded him a lot of his own school years. After spending about two hours with Kang-woo, Young-wan finally brushed off his seat and said he should head home now.
“Thank you for taking care of me today. I had delicious food and a lot of fun.”
“I had fun too. From now on, just think of me as a close older brother and contact me whenever. A meal like this is something I can buy anytime.”
After leaving the café, the two headed toward the underground parking lot of the officetel where Young-wan’s car was parked. When he called a designated driver through a phone app, the driver arrived about five minutes later.
“Please get home safely.”
“See you next time.”
Lowering the car window, Young-wan smiled gently before the car started moving.
Screech—
The car rolled out of the parking lot with the sound of its tires. Kang-woo watched its retreating rear for quite a while before finally heading home himself.
It had truly been a long time since he’d talked with someone for this long who wasn’t Seok-ho. After chatting about various things with Young-wan, Kang-woo felt like he could clearly picture how someone as blunt as Seok-ho could become friends with him. Young-wan’s easygoing personality had probably played a big role.
The elevator reached the 12th floor in an instant. When he opened the front door and stepped inside, a dark living room greeted him. He checked the time on the brightly glowing digital clock.
It was already approaching 10 p.m.
He had spent longer with Young-wan than he’d expected. Because of that, the afternoon had passed faster than any day recently.
For a little while, he had even forgotten about Seok-ho.
***
The phone resting on the nightstand vibrated for a long time. Seok-ho grabbed it quickly, as if he had been waiting for the call.
But as soon as he checked the caller ID, his movement abruptly stopped. The faint trace of expectation on his face disappeared, replaced by an indifferent expression as he stared at the phone screen.
He remained still for a moment, as if waiting for the call to end on its own, before finally pressing the answer button.
“Hello.”
— Hi, my brother. The time it takes for you to answer my calls keeps getting longer and longer.
“Why are you calling?”
— Do family members need a reason to call each other? I just wondered what you were doing.
The arrogant voice on the other end of the phone remained unfazed by his cold response. But then the tone suddenly turned irritated as it snapped at him.
— Now that I think about it, I’m getting annoyed. Why do you always answer my calls like that?
“If you know I’m going to answer like this, why do you keep calling?”
If she already knew he wouldn’t act friendly, why did she bother calling him in the first place? Seok-ho couldn’t understand the reason at all. Nor did he want to.
Meanwhile, Jung-yeon responded in a bold tone as if the answer were obvious.
— Because you pick up.
“Hang up.”
— Wait! I haven’t said the reason yet.
Seok-ho was about to press the end-call button when he paused at the urgent voice.
“You said you didn’t have one.”
— I just thought of it.
Without giving him a chance to hang up, Jung-yeon quickly got to the point.
— How about lunch together tomorrow? I’ll even generously include Kang-woo too.
“I’m in the U.S. right now. Didn’t you hear the roaming announcement?”
— I did. Wait, what? You’re actually overseas?
“What, did you think it was fake overseas?”
— Really? I thought you were just that annoyed with me, so you changed your ringtone to some weird roaming message to tell me not to call unless it’s urgent.
What kind of lunatic would set something that ridiculous as their ringtone?
Seok-ho felt oddly irritated and pressed a hand to his forehead. But the other person, completely self-centered, was only interested in satisfying her curiosity.
— Why the U.S.? Vacation?
“Business trip.”
— Ahh, a business trip. I thought maybe you went to meet someone you’ve been missing.
Jung-yeon deliberately dragged out her words, speaking in a meaningful tone. Despite her irritating voice, Seok-ho remained silent without the slightest reaction.
— Anyway, that means Kang-woo is probably home alone right now, bored, right?
“Don’t go over there and bother him.”
Seok-ho warned her in a stiff voice.
— Bother him? How could you say something so hurtful?
Jung-yeon raised her tone in exaggerated offense. Just hearing the obvious delight in her voice made it easy to picture the wide grin stretching across her bright red lips.
Why were there so many troublesome people around him?
Pressing his temples firmly, Seok-ho sighed inwardly.
— Anyway, I’ll graciously accept your refusal to dine with me. I’m hanging up. Bye.
The call ended abruptly.
Seok-ho stared at the screen indicating the call had ended for a moment before tossing the phone onto the nightstand with a dull thud.
Everyone in this damn family was impossibly self-willed.
***
The surprise visit didn’t end there.
The next day, around 2 p.m., the doorbell rang again out of nowhere. Kang-woo assumed it might be Young-wan returning and checked the intercom. But the person on the screen wasn’t him.
“Kang-woo, hello.”
When he opened the door, Jung-yeon greeted him cheerfully. Unsure how he should respond to her friendly tone, Kang-woo simply blinked his eyes.
Today, Jung-yeon was wearing a hot pink tweed dress paired with pure white flats. The black sunglasses she had on emphasized her cool, confident aura even more.
“What brings you here?”
Remembering how coldly Seok-ho had treated Jung-yeon before, Kang-woo couldn’t greet her with pure enthusiasm. When he asked cautiously, she responded with a question instead.
“Seok-ho isn’t home, right?”
“No.”
Was she here because Seok-ho asked her to come, like Young-wan?
“Did hyung ask you to come?”
“No. Even if he had asked me, why would I bother doing what he says? I was just talking to Kwon Seok-ho on the phone and happened to hear that Kang-woo was home alone. I figured you might be bored by yourself, so I decided to show a little generosity.”
Though Jung-yeon spoke in a prickly tone, the meaning behind her words somehow felt completely opposite from her attitude.
“Judging by your face, it seems like I came at just the right time. Am I right?”
Kang-woo hesitated for a moment. He had been watching TV with nothing to do, so he couldn’t deny it.
“I finished all the housework.”
“Just as I thought!”
Jung-yeon clapped her hands once.
“Come on out. Let’s go shopping.”
Her softly curved eyes and lively voice made the caution in Kang-woo’s heart disappear before he even realized it. In the end, the corners of his mouth lifted along with hers.
Today as well, Kang-woo pressed Seok-ho’s hat firmly onto his head—his essential item whenever he went out—and left the house.
Inside the elevator, he instinctively pressed the button for the first floor. Jung-yeon immediately canceled it and pressed B1 instead.
When their eyes met, she smiled brightly and shook her car keys.
“You think I came here by public transportation? Looking like this?”
Well, her outfit did stand out far too much for public transit. It was oddly reassuring that Jung-yeon seemed aware of that herself.
When the elevator doors opened, Jung-yeon walked toward the parking lot with light, swaying steps. Watching her excited-looking back, Kang-woo let out a small laugh.
Unlike her cold first impression, Jung-yeon was someone full of unexpected contrasts.
“Hurry up, Kang-woo.”
Following her urging, he quickened his pace. Their hurried footsteps echoed through the wide parking garage.
“Get in.”
Jung-yeon had brought a sparkling, flashy bright red sports car that seemed to resemble her. The sleek vehicle with its smooth curves made Kang-woo’s eyes widen in admiration.
He had never seen a car like this in real life before.
The two-seater interior and the low body felt very unfamiliar. Inside, the combination of black and red created a luxurious atmosphere. Especially noticeable was the emblem on the steering wheel—a black horse on a yellow background.
He’d seen that somewhere before.
Looking closely, it was the foreign car brand Baek Kyung-wook had boasted about receiving as a university entrance gift.
Kang-woo pulled his seatbelt across his chest while looking around the interior. Jung-yeon, seated in the driver’s seat, started the engine.
Vroom—
The car began vibrating softly, like the low rumble of a beast’s throat.
“Alright, let’s go.”
A moment later, the car shot forward with a powerful roar from the exhaust.
***
While they were driving, Kang-woo carefully told Jung-yeon that she could speak comfortably to him. Since he had asked Young-wan to drop honorific speech earlier, continuing to hear polite speech from her made him feel a bit uneasy.
However, Jung-yeon politely declined, saying she still felt more comfortable using honorifics for now. Kang-woo decided to respect her stance since he couldn’t insist any further.
Before long, the place they arrived at together was a department store located in the heart of Apgujeong’s prime district. After handing the car over to the valet, Jung-yeon led the way into the dazzling building.
Under the brilliant light of luxurious crystal chandeliers, the pure white marble floor gleamed. The first floor was filled mostly with shops selling cosmetics, perfumes, and jewelry, filling the air with a fragrant scent.
“I always get the most excited when shopping at department stores.”
Jung-yeon spoke in an excited tone as she walked lightly ahead.
Just then, a woman could be seen hurrying toward them from far away. She was practically running in quick steps, her gaze fixed precisely on one spot—as if the reason for her rush was right here.
“Director.”
The woman hurried over in her heels and quickly bowed to Jung-yeon in greeting.
“Hello, Director. You came without notice today.”
“I suddenly felt like shopping.”
After catching her breath, Jung-yeon smiled brightly. The woman nodded and asked politely,
“Would you like to go straight to the shopper room now?”
“No, it’s okay. Today I’m going to walk around and look myself. I even brought a friend to hang out with.”
