BO - 3

03. Overwhelmed

This time, I vowed not to run away. But still, it was uncomfortable.

Like someone wearing ill-fitting clothes, I fidgeted with the hem of my dress and glanced around.

The café was dotted with couples on this weekend. The very idea of dressing up to meet a stranger for a blind date—and sitting across from Choi Si-baek, who hovered like a shadow—made the atmosphere stifling.

Though I sat still, my mind buzzed.

This wasn’t a casual meetup to casually assess compatibility for marriage. It felt more like a tense negotiation.

Over the past month, I’d met men from the list Uncle had compiled—potential “future nephews-in-law.” They were all variations of the same archetype: men with flashy jobs, sons of executives, or societal “successes.”

Each time, Choi Si-baek sat across from me, his gaze a mix of protection and surveillance. If my hand or leg so much as brushed the man’s, his eyes darted toward us.

He’d refused my requests to leave us alone, insisting it was his responsibility if anything happened. Fair enough. I couldn’t argue, so we ended up in these awkward threesomes, sipping coffee.

Men paraded in, declaring war on the Yoon family lineage, yet I sipped my drink calmly. All the while, Choi Si-baek lingered nearby, absorbing my unease.

These blind dates rarely lasted beyond the café. After exchanging pleasantries, I’d excuse myself, claiming urgent hospital business—a tired routine. The whole charade of sizing up a stranger for marriage left me drained.

At first, I’d gone along with the scripted dates: coffee, fancy dinners, wine. But I turned down every follow-up invitation. Each escape ended with Choi Si-baek driving me home.

Today’s candidate was a dentist. What even do you talk about with a colleague? The thought of forced small talk made me queasy.

“Miss Seo Jae-yeon?”

I looked up. The voice was familiar. There stood Director Won, my boss, smiling as if this were a casual encounter.

“Director? What are you doing here?”

“Same as you, I suppose. Blind date.”

“But… how?”

“A senior I respect recommended this. Said it was a good opportunity. Fancy running into you.”

This was unexpected.

I gaped, speechless. How often did one’s boss turn up as a blind date? The odds were astronomical. Yet here we were.

“If I’d known it was you, I’d have hurried the process,” he joked, sipping his iced coffee.

The man I’d never considered in a romantic light suddenly loomed in my personal life.

“Shall we get lunch?” he asked. “We can talk over a meal.”

My plan to wrap this up quickly crumbled.

I glanced at Choi Si-baek, whose inscrutable gaze never left me. As always, his presence simmered beneath the surface—a quiet intensity that made my throat tighten.

“Sure,” I mumbled, rising like a puppet on strings.

“Relax,” Director Won said, his smile warm. “I’m not here to seduce my employee.”

“Huh?”

“Call me by my name. ‘Director’ feels too formal.”

“O-Okay.”

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped in.

“Not to your taste?” he asked, nodding at the steakhouse.

“No, the food’s fine.”

It was fine. The carrot purée was divine, and the wine paired well. But every bite felt forced. My eyes kept drifting to Choi Si-baek, ever-watchful in the corner.

“You considering marriage?” Director Won asked, swirling his wine.

“Ah… Sort of.”

“Pushed by family?”

“More or less.”

“Do you think marriage brings stability?”

“I’ve heard people say so. But adding someone to your life… doesn’t it complicate things?”

“True. Though society expects women to juggle home, work, and kids. Men often cling to outdated ideals—like it’s a woman’s duty to manage the household.”

He leaned back, deep in thought.

“Why’d you agree to this?” I asked.

“Curiosity, maybe. Wondering what ‘stability’ even means.”

“I see…”

The conversation lingered, polite yet probing. But my mind kept circling back to Choi Si-baek’s unyielding stare—a silent force I couldn’t escape.

I stabbed the steak with my fork as I responded, but my reaction wasn’t entirely devoid of soul. 

If I were to meet someone and get married, as Uncle had been urging me to do, perhaps this unstable life of mine might find some stability. I understood better than anyone why he kept emphasizing a stable life for me. 

Even something as simple as drinking coffee required me to have a bodyguard by my side. He worried about how fragile I was—how vulnerable. 

Whether marriage could truly be the answer to all this uncertainty was still an open question. But maybe, just maybe, it could lead me somewhere unexpected. Life had a way of offering surprising solutions in the middle of wrong turns. Yet, when had my life ever found resolution? 

Every train of thought ended with a question mark. Ultimately, there was only one way to know—by trying, by colliding again and again until I realized, This isn’t it. Lost in these thoughts, I absentmindedly turned my head, only to notice that Choi Si-baek’s seat was empty. 

I instinctively scanned the area. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing…” 

His absence left me oddly flustered. For someone who had relentlessly hovered over me during every blind date for nearly a month, his sudden disappearance felt jarring. 

“Oh, excuse me. I need to take this call.” 

Jeong Seok-woo excused himself, tilting his head slightly as he brought the phone to his ear. 

“Yes?” 

His surprised tone caught my attention. I silently mouthed, Are you okay? Seok-woo blinked at me but couldn’t seem to close his gaping mouth. 

After the call, we headed to the parking lot. 

There stood his Mustang, its rear bumper completely crumpled into a mangled mess. The once-pristine car now resembled scrap metal. The taillights, intact just an hour ago, were shattered into pieces. 

As I stepped over shards of glass, a long leg emerged from the driver’s seat of the car that had collided with Seok-woo’s. Then came the other leg, perfectly shaped and confident. 

The man who strode toward us locked eyes with me before turning to Seok-woo. 

“Here, take my card. You’ll need it for repairs.” 

“This… Are you serious? Do you think repairs will fix this?” 

Seok-woo’s voice wavered between disbelief and exasperation. I stood frozen, equally dumbfounded. 

Choi Si-baek carelessly wedged his business card into Seok-woo’s hand. 

“If repairs aren’t your thing, buy a new one.” 

With his usual nonchalant attitude, Si-baek leaned against the open driver’s door, arms crossed, and stared at me. His furrowed brows conveyed mock sympathy, while the corners of his lips curled upward with unmistakable smugness. 

“…” 

How could I acknowledge him in front of this man? 

His gaze never left me, as if silently asking, Can you even pretend you don’t know me? 

‘Choi Si-baek.’ 

I mouthed his name, imbuing it with a desperation uncharacteristic of me. Why are you doing this? 

‘What.’ 

He tilted his chin up in response, his face still directed at me. Flawless features, sharp and impossible to ignore, framed by broad shoulders and an imposing physique. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seok-woo repeatedly running his hands through his hair as he stared at the damaged bumper. 

Cold sweat trickled down my spine. 

We waited in the parking lot for the insurance company to arrive. When Seok-woo briefly stepped away to take another call, I approached Choi Si-baek, who was casually smoking a cigarette. Despite not being the one at fault, I glanced around nervously several times. 

“Are you insane?” 

Si-baek looked at me as if questioning what I meant, tilting his head slightly. 

“What?” 

“Why did you crash into his perfectly fine car? Was this intentional? Why do you hate Director Jeong so much? Did he wrong you somehow? Do you have money to burn? Now you’ve destroyed a perfectly good car and are volunteering to pay for repairs?” 

The man who had silently followed me to blind dates for a month suddenly acting out like this—it had to mean he harbored some grudge against Jeong Seok-woo. The Choi Si-baek I knew wouldn’t let emotions dictate his actions unless there was a significant reason. What had the director done to provoke such a reaction? And why specifically target Jeong Seok-woo? 

“Did Director Jeong owe you money or something?” 

“From where I’m standing, I doubt he has more money than me.” 

Right, that made no sense, even to me. 

“Then… did he hit you or something?” 

This time, he didn’t even bother responding. That theory was even more absurd. 

“You’re the one overreacting. Is this really something for you to get upset about?” 

“But—” 

“He crashed into the car and is willingly paying for repairs. Why are you acting like someone caught cheating?” 

It was as if he was mocking me: When did you become so self-conscious? 

His piercing gaze seemed to ask, Do you really think sitting across from one man while on a blind date with another makes you look sane? Every time our eyes met, discomfort pricked at me like thorns. 

Sure, many people these days don’t attach much significance to casual encounters, but having lived in the U.S. for only two years, I wasn’t accustomed to such Hollywood-style open-mindedness. 

Yes, this shouldn’t concern me. Yet, an inexplicable anger bubbled within me, leading me to blurt out something childish. 

“Why shouldn’t I care? The car of someone who might become my partner was wrecked because of you!” 

At my age, I hadn’t learned to control such immature emotions. I’d often criticized my friend Yoo Kyung for her reckless relationships, yet here I was, behaving worse. Of course, Seok-woo wasn’t my romantic interest—but that wasn’t the point. I knew this emotional outburst served no purpose, yet I couldn’t stop myself. My goal was singular: to wound him. 

It was pathetic, even to me. 

Choi Si-baek, who had been effortlessly deflecting my words, suddenly froze, staring at me with an expression as if doused with cold water. 

“Miss Seo Jae-yeon, I’m sorry. Because of me, today’s date was ruined. Next time, let’s meet at an even better place. Truly.” 

Having finished his call, Seok-woo approached, his tired eyes promising a future meeting.