Chapter 7
Yeon-shi quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes and straightened her hair. She forced on an awkward smile as she unlocked the door.
“You’re here?”
“Why’d you take so long to open the door?”
Yi-sol marched in first, kicking off her shoes and stepping inside. She immediately started scanning the place as if searching for something.
“I’m still half-asleep. What are you even doing here so early in the morning?”
“Morning? It’s already three in the afternoon!”
“What? Three?”
Yeon-shi’s eyes widened as she turned to the clock on the wall. She hadn’t realized she’d wasted the whole day like this. Just as Yi-sol said, the clock’s hands were pointing straight at 3 p.m.
As she stood in shock, Hyun-soo walked right past her without a word.
“You’re not even going to say hi?”
“Hi.”
At her scolding, Hyun-soo turned back briefly to give a short greeting, then slipped naturally into the kitchen.
“Yeon-shi, sit down. I have way too many questions right now.”
Yi-sol plopped herself at the table and motioned for her to hurry.
“What could you possibly be so curious about?”
Sitting across from her, Yeon-shi felt her throat go dry. She poured herself a glass of water from the dispenser and gulped it down.
“Who was that guy yesterday?”
As expected, Yi-sol couldn’t hold back her curiosity. Yeon-shi tried to sound casual as she answered.
“Min Ho-je?”
“It really was Min Ho-je? No way!”
“What? You know him?”
The way Yi-sol spoke made it sound like she knew Ho-je personally, which rubbed Yeon-shi the wrong way.
Yi-sol’s incredulous expression made it clear she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Wait—you really don’t know who he is?”
“Of course I do. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Ugh, I don’t mean that. I mean the other thing.”
“The other thing? What other thing?”
“How you even met Min Ho-je.”
Hyun-soo returned from the kitchen with a serious face and sat beside Yi-sol.
What’s with this vibe? Why do they both look so grim?
Yeon-shi suddenly felt like she was being interrogated by a couple.
“He opened a flower shop not far from here. Seriously, what’s with you two? Why are you so invested in my love life?”
Crossing her arms, she frowned in annoyance.
“Because he’s not just some ordinary guy.”
Frustrated, Yi-sol pulled out her phone and started typing. Then she shoved the screen toward Yeon-shi.
“Your so-called boyfriend—this is who he is. He’s super famous. You really didn’t know?”
On the screen, Ho-je looked completely different from the man she knew. Underneath his picture was a bold caption: Model Min Ho-je.
So he was a model…
Memories began to click faintly. Yeon-shi didn’t watch much TV, and she only used the internet for checking flower orders, so she was always out of the loop.
No wonder, even in plain clothes, he gave off such a striking presence.
But the man on the screen wasn’t the same one she knew. His blank expression, cold as winter, was a world apart. Even though she knew it was him, it felt like someone else entirely.
As she stared, a news headline caught her eye:
[Yuhan Group’s Prince, Min Ho-je! Where Is He Now?]
Why had Ho-je come here? And why did no one know he was living in Heonin Village?
She’d sensed he was hiding something yesterday, but she hadn’t pressed him. Just as he’d said, she didn’t want to pry into what someone else wished to keep private. She had her own story, and he surely had his as well.
If he hadn’t revealed he was a model, then she owed it to him to protect that, too.
“Yi-sol, just act like you don’t know.”
“You…”
“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten a single thing all day. What should we have?”
She stood abruptly, shifting the subject. Her tone made it clear she didn’t want to continue the conversation.
“Yeon-shi—”
Yi-sol started, but Hyun-soo squeezed her hand and shook his head.
Yi-sol’s worried eyes lingered on Yeon-shi’s back, but then a smile spread across her face.
“Hey, Yeon-shi! Hyun-soo bought baek sundubu stew to cure your hangover. Let’s eat!”
Yi-sol got up, wrapping her arms around Yeon-shi’s waist with her usual playful tone.
“Hey, you’ve got a boyfriend now. Stop hugging me like that.”
“Why not? I love holding you like this.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“So now that you have a boyfriend, are we just chopped liver?”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Ahaha, Yeon-shi’s blushing! Look at her face!”
“I’m not blushing!”
Flustered, Yeon-shi snapped in denial.
Watching the two bicker, Hyun-soo stood and went into the kitchen, bringing out the bag Yeon-shi had dropped earlier.
“You two sit down. I’ll set the table.”
“Uh, thanks.”
“Please make it delicious!”
Yi-sol’s bright voice filled the room as she dragged Yeon-shi to sit at the table.
Yeon-shi turned her head, watching Hyun-soo cook for a moment, then quickly looked away.
If Yi-sol married him, he’d probably be this domestic all the time. With a sweet wife and several kids, living happily ever after…
A pang of envy and longing stabbed her chest, and her eyes grew misty.
Yi-sol, sitting across from her, started nagging with a sparkle in her eyes.
“Yeon-shi.”
“Y-yeah?”
She quickly wiped the dampness from her eyes and looked back.
“No matter how much you like a guy, you should always sleep at home. Men are all animals.”
“What kind of nonsense—”
She almost admitted she’d stayed over last night, but caught herself. The second she said that, Yi-sol would never stop lecturing.
“Does that include him too?”
Yeon-shi pointed toward Hyun-soo, busy at the stove.
“Of course. Hyun-soo’s a man too…”
Yi-sol’s cheeks flushed pink. She covered them with her hands and squirmed shyly.
The image of them kissing last time flashed in Yeon-shi’s head, so she changed the subject, defending Ho-je instead.
“Ho-je isn’t like that.”
Yi-sol narrowed her eyes, lowering her hands.
Suspicion filled her gaze. Yeon-shi coughed and quickly looked away.
“You didn’t already sleep with him, did you?”
“W-what are you saying?!”
Her face turned red as she crossed her arms protectively. She hadn’t even held his hand yet, let alone… that.
“You’ve gone too far!”
“Then fine. At least he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. But still, you must sleep at home. No overnight stays.”
“Hey, I’m an adult, you know.”
Caught off guard by her controlling tone, Yeon-shi almost lost her words.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m going to protect you.”
“What kind of garbage logic is that? Do you two never stay over together?”
“Nope. We agreed—no overnights until marriage.”
Yeon-shi’s eyes widened as she turned to look at Hyun-soo. He didn’t even glance back, calmly setting the food.
Wow. What a saint.
She shot him a narrow-eyed glare, then turned back with a scowl.
“Don’t meddle in my private life, okay? Worry about your own boyfriend.”
“Of course I do. But you still need to listen to me. Always go home at night, got it?”
“Alright, alright. Yes, ma’am. Sister Yi-sol.”
She nodded exaggeratedly, half-mocking.
“I’m not joking. I mean it. I’m only saying this because I care.”
The unusually serious expression on Yi-sol’s face threw her off.
Why’s she acting like this?
“Fine, let’s drop it. My head’s killing me from this hangover.”
Right then, Hyun-soo set down the steaming baek sundubu stew on the table. The conversation about Ho-je ended there.
The three of them ate their late lunch together. Yi-sol dropped her serious act and went back to her usual playful self.
Seeing that, Yeon-shi let out a quiet sigh of relief. She’d worried they would keep pressing about Ho-je, but luckily it stopped there.
Still, no matter how things had started, it didn’t look like her “fake relationship” with Ho-je would be easy to untangle.
And for some reason, she felt guilty about it.
Could she really keep going along with this lie?
Was this… really okay?
Dark, uneasy questions kept clouding her mind.
