Chapter 3.1

One day, and another, and another… Lee Seop’s cold demeanor still remained, but a week passed without any real incident. Min-kyung’s situation, in the eyes of colleagues and others, appeared to be on thin ice. Because of that, they watched her cautiously and gave her awkward support while they ate lunch together. However, with a week having passed, and then after, as each day passes, it means that payday is closer. With that in mind, Min-kyung greeted Sunday morning.

Sweat ran down her face, into her eyes, and dripped to the ground. Min-kyung didn’t stop running, she just rubbed her brow and eyes with the back of her hand. During her run that morning she could see her breath slightly. Now that she thought about it, the wind touching her wet face was still cold but the sky looked like springtime. The season was changing.

Sprinting along the circular trail, she looked at the new shoots coming from the ground and buds breaking open on the tree branches. Four laps. She turned up the volume on her earphones, listening to audio that was in Chinese and sounded as if it was a rap with cheerful music. When she completed the last lap, she repeated some phrases as she cooled down and left a review on the video clip [Thank you ♡].

4 laps on the running circular track in her apartment complex equaled precisely 8.2km. Min-kyung’s morning routine started with this run every day. Then, after her run, she would complete three sets of strength training in the health center, which took an hour. She would then wash and dry her hair in 20 min. On weekdays, she would make coffee, change into work clothes, pack her bag, and head out within 10 minutes. Every task was timed and refined… But today, it was Sunday. Since she worked on Saturday, it felt like a holiday today.

Min-kyung watched the news while sitting at the table and drinking her coffee leisurely, enjoying its taste and smell. She soon heard the drag of slippers along the floor.

“Haaaahhhh!” Se-ah yawned, wearing a one-piece pajama, stretching as she walked towards Min-kyung. “Meee too.”

“Vanilla?”

Se-ah shook her head.

While Min-kyung put a vanilla-flavored capsule in the machine, Se-ah pulled her long, wavy hair back and opened the refrigerator door. As she took out the bottled water, she asked, “Min-kyung, did you call home?”

“Huh?”

“I told you in the chat yesterday. Some side dishes came from your mom.”

“Ah.” Min-kyung went to work yesterday before Se-ah woke up, and after leaving for an interview in the afternoon, Se-ah then left to meet Seung-muk to go on a date. So it had been almost 36 hours since they had seen each other.

“I put them in the refrigerator, didn’t you see it?”

“Ah.”

“Min-kyung, you are so meticulous, but you are also so indifferent. I wonder how these contradictions coexist.” Se-ah took the coffee in her hand and puffed her cheeks out to cool it. She took a sip and started making a call on her phone. When she stretched out her arm, Min-kyung saw it was a video call.

“Mother!”

Min-kyung shuddered at Se-ah’s high tone. She was acting cute, which meant she wasn’t talking to her own mother. Min-kyung shook her head.

“Yes. Yes, yes, It’s me, Se-ah. I just woke up, can’t you see my puffy face?”

— Oh no, Se-ah is pretty every time I see her.

Min-kyung’s mother’s husky voice rang out.

“Your mother is too kind. It’s a holiday, so is the restaurant bustling?”

— No, no. Preparations are all done, now all I have to do is direct it. Is Min-kyung okay?

“Yes, Min-kyung is well.” Se-ah rushed over and suddenly aimed her phone at Min-kyung’s face. Her mother’s voice suddenly sounded gruff.

— Min-kyung, how are you?

“Uh, hi mom. I’m fine.”

— It’s hard to get you to answer. I called three times, and I sent five text messages, which I even had to wear my reading glasses to do that.

“Well, yeah, I read them. Uh, I’m busy.”

— Tell me.

“Well, I’m not personally busy…”

— Are you busy with yourself, or do you have something to worry about with work? Why does your face look thinner? Have you been making yourself meals? What they say about working to eat is true. Why aren’t you eating like that? Look at your chin, it’s so sharp it would hurt.

Min-kyung shot back, “It’s because you don’t know what the trends are these days. Knife jawline.” she rubbed the back of her hand along her jawline where her mom said she could stab someone. “People pay money to get this.”

— Yeah, and these days, Adele says her strange face is pretty.

Se-ah interrupted the conversation between them and stuck her face into the screen. “Mom, I feed Min-kyung a lot. She didn’t eat last night because I was home late. Today, I will feed her well, 3 meals today with all the side dishes. I jumped for joy while I unpacked the package yesterday, it made me dance without thinking. Gat kimchi, salted fish, and pickled red peppers, yes, absolutely the best. It sticks around in your mouth and is slightly spicier than last time. Yes, the grilled pollack was perfect, and the dried herbs were good. Yup, yup, the ice pack helped. Mom, Min-kyung’s department has changed, so she’s been a bit more busy. Trust me, I’ll boil you soybean paste, add your seasoning, add dried vegetables, yes, yes, bibimbap. I’ll send you a picture of her eating it and one of the empty bowls, so you know she ate it all.

Se-ah was showing off her crazy friendliness to the fullest, it was an advantage she had. Min-kyung placed her palm on her forehead. Her mother praised Se-ah dozens of times, but she was never done. How in the world is the daughter of a wealthy family so kind, polite, and cheerful?

Throughout her life, Se-ah has always had a friendliness that Kang Min-kyung could never dream of, she thought while she drank her coffee. As she finished listening to Se-ah’s long chat, she saw how Se-ah is pretty, cool, and fierce and also has a raccoon-like side to her. She always had a plan... 

After hanging up the phone, Se-ah looked at Min-kyung and laughed. “So, did I cover you for your mom? You said you were really busy, so now you won’t have to talk on the phone for three weeks, she won’t say anything about it.”

“So?”

“So you will cover for me next.”

“Did you fight with your mom again? Tell me the situation, and write down what I need to say, so if she calls I will answer correc…”

Se-ah interrupted. “It’s not like that…” she paused and sipped from her coffee.

The two of them had been friends since freshman year in college, now over ten years. They had become more and more familiar with each other through those years; seeing Se-ah pause, she knew that this request wasn’t an easy one. “C’mon, tell me, and don’t procrastinate.”

“Aren’t you going to work today?”

“No, not today; the Director plays golf in the morning and has family dinner in the evening. So the probability of having to work is less than 5%.”

“Oh, that one sexy Director?” Se-ah raised her hands and made a broad shape, signifying shoulders. She was thinking about Tae Jun-seop, who she had seen a work photo of.

Min-kyung responded quickly, without thinking, “No, I changed departments.” She also tried to say it sweetly and indifferently. 

“Oh right, the Prince.” This time, Se-ah outlined a slim outline of a slender waist with her hands.

“He’s my boss, watch what you say,” Min-yung said, feeling slightly annoyed. She had thought about him like this, but hearing someone else say it rather than internally felt different.

“Sorry. Call me a connoisseur and pursuer of beauty, it’s an occupational hazard. Anyway, in my opinion, Tae Yi-seop looks better in his clothes. He has the body of a Western fashion model.” She went on, under the mode of her job as a fashion editor, to go into great detail about her insights on Tae Yi-seop’s body, face size, head shape, facial features… 

Min-kyung rubbed her ears, which were heating up, and interrupted the serious analysis. “Do I have to hear about my boss on my days off? Okay, now your mother, whatever…”

“Oh, so…” Se-ah was about to get to her point when her phone rang; she apologized for the interruption and answered. “Hyunseong, oppa? Huh. Yeah, we’re home. I’m going to have lunch with Min-kyung. We got a lot of side dishes sent from Gongju. Lots of pickled red peppers, too. Don’t you like those? I’ll save some for you next time. Yeah, well, that’s okay. U-huh, uhuh.” 

Se-ah’s “older brother” was actually her cousin. Se-ah’s parent’s mainly lived in Indonesia, after their business expanded there, so her aunt had been taking care of her since college. The reason Se-ah’s parents bought her this apartment in this complex was so she could be near her aunt.

On the other hand, Min-kyung had always worked part-time and lived in rented rooms since she was a freshman. When she got this place Se-ah said she couldn’t sleep well alone, so she asked Min-kyung to ‘Sleep here just once… just one more time… one more time.’ Until eventually Min-kyung had just started living with Se-ah, only paying a small amount for the monthly rent.

“Okay, so it’s simple. Really simple.” After she hung up the phone, Se-ah pulled her chair closer and sat down. She folded her hands together in front of her mouth and blinked her eyes wide like a cute cat. “My beloved Min-kyung, you have to save me, okay?”