Chapter 11: Change (2)

At the time when Han Do-hyun had just started teaching Chun Seo-hee—

Meanwhile, at the same hour, Choi Yeon-jung was—

“How’s the teaching job treating you?”

Twisting her fork around a bite of pasta, Yeon-jung nodded at the question from her agency’s CEO, Kang Inhwa.

“It’s… well. Watching the kids work hard, it’s not too bad.”

When Inhwa had first witnessed Yeon-jung’s skills upon her return, she had gone all out trying to recruit her. That was twelve years ago now.

Through all those years, Inhwa had remained one of the few close older sisters in Yeon-jung’s life, despite her preference for keeping wide but shallow connections.

“Is that so?”

Nodding, Inhwa suddenly leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“And what about him?”

“…….”

A sideways glance. Yeon-jung flicked her eyes toward her.

Her friend was grinning with the same eager anticipation as a girl listening to a romantic confession.

“The same as always.”

With that indifferent response, Yeon-jung dropped the neatly twirled pasta into her mouth.

Deep down, she felt that her relationship with Do-hyun was just right the way it was.

Closer than friends, yet not quite lovers.

A relationship closer than family, knowing every little thing about each other.

Seventeen years of unrequited love—but if she were to calculate the odds of marriage, she was certain no one had a higher chance than she did.

If she really wanted to, she could snatch him up as soon as tomorrow.

But she hadn’t, because she believed the time wasn’t right just yet.

Why rush? Wouldn’t it taste even better when it was perfectly ripe?

More than anything…

She had no intention of consuming something tainted by parasites.

So for now, she was simply biding her time, lying in wait.

And when it became too hard to resist—she’d steal a little taste behind his back.

“Tsk tsk. You’re something else.”

But Inhwa thought differently.

“Keep this up, and you’ll end up like me—never getting married, you brat.”

As a successful, unmarried woman approaching her forties, she believed in grabbing opportunities the moment they came.

From her perspective, Yeon-jung’s endless patience seemed outright frustrating.

“You do know your eggs are aging with you, right? I keep telling you to freeze them while you’re still young.”

But Yeon-jung let the words slide in one ear and out the other.

“Wait… does he have some kind of problem?”

“Unnie.”

A sharp glare. Yeon-jung shot Inhwa a look before casually lifting her wine glass.

At that, Inhwa’s expression turned resolute.

“This won’t do.”

She spoke with determination, her tone dead serious.

“This unnie is going to help you out.”

“…Help me with what?”

Thinking she was spouting nonsense again, Yeon-jung took a sip of her wine.

“If you’re not going to marry him right away, at least mark your territory properly!”

“I already have.”

“And who knows that?”

“…What?”

“Who even realizes that you’ve claimed him as yours?”

“…That’s…”

“See? Even you know something’s off.”

Despite coming from a privileged family, Inhwa had only inherited a small entertainment company that barely maintained its name, constantly overshadowed by her older brothers.

But now, she had risen to become the CEO of one of the industry’s leading companies.

And it was entirely her doing that Choi Yeon-jung, who was once just a skilled and beautiful explorer, had become an undisputed top-tier celebrity.

“Yeon-jung.”

As both a close older sister and the head of her agency, Inhwa spoke to Yeon-jung.

“Let’s take on a project together.”

Day 1 of Training Chun Seo-hee

The first lesson ended quickly.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to dedicate to it today.

After all, someone was waiting at home.

“You worked hard.”

“…….”

For almost two hours, Chun Seo-hee had twisted and contorted her body, and now, she silently shot me a resentful glare.

She didn’t say anything, but her expression clearly complained, “What kind of lesson was that?”

Surprisingly, I found that even her glare was cute.

“From tomorrow on, do a full set of stretches first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up.

That way, you’ll get used to it quickly.”

“…Haah….”

“Answer properly.”

“…Got it.”

Satisfied with her obedient response, I told her to wash up while I packed my things.

“It’s late, so I’ll give you a ride home.”

“I can just take the subway.”

“At this hour… you’d probably have to stand the entire way. Are you sure?”

“…….”

For a moment, Seo-hee’s face subtly twisted in hesitation.

She was probably imagining herself packed among a crowd of commuters.

Taking a car is obviously better than the subway.

People paid extra for taxis for a reason—because it was simply more comfortable.

Understanding that well, I asked her again.

“So, what will it be?”

“…I’ll wash up and come out.”

Not that there was ever any doubt.

I hummed to myself while waiting in the parking lot.

“…I’m here.”

Before I knew it, Chun Seo-hee had returned, now dressed in casual clothes.

“Hm? You came out pretty fast—”

Turning my head without much thought, I suddenly froze.

Her still-damp, naturally wavy short hair hinted that she hadn’t completely dried it.

Her bare face, free of makeup, radiated a pure and effortless beauty.

That much was fine.

The problem lay below.

A tight, short-sleeved T-shirt clung to her figure, accentuating an infuriatingly well-shaped chest and a waist so slender it looked like it could be grasped with one hand.

Black shorts—so thin they looked like they came from a clearance bin at the local market—clung precariously to her hips.

Long, toned legs stretched down to her feet, where she wore a simple pair of flip-flops.

Even though summer was ending…

This was far too revealing.

“…What?”

At that moment, realizing where my gaze had landed, Chun Seo-hee took a small step back and instinctively crossed her arms, as if to shield herself.

Ah.

Caught staring, I hurriedly masked my embarrassment and quickly looked away.

“…You could’ve dried your hair completely before coming out.”

“I’ll do that from tomorrow.”

But the crisis didn’t end there.

Seo-hee was well aware that sitting in the front passenger seat was the proper etiquette when getting a ride.

“My seatbelt…”

However, she seemed oblivious to the fact that she was making it difficult for me to drive.

“…It’s behind you.”

“I don’t see it.”

Having trouble finding the belt in an unfamiliar car, Seo-hee fumbled around, her brows furrowing as she looked at me for help.

Do I… have to buckle it for her?

At first, I instinctively leaned over to help her find it myself, but the looming danger of unintended contact with certain protruding obstacles made me rethink my actions. Instead, I opted to give her precise directions.

“…Ah.”

Thankfully, she found the belt this time, pulling it across her body and successfully fastening it.

Wow.

The black seatbelt cut right through the middle of a pristine white landscape, creating a breathtaking, mind-numbing spectacle.

Stay calm, Han Do-hyun! Don’t react!

It felt like I was under a psychic attack from a demon.

“Hm-hm-hmm~”

Seated in the passenger seat, gazing out the window, Seo-hee sneaked a glance toward the driver’s seat.

Han Do-hyun, seemingly in a great mood, was humming cheerfully as he drove.

“…….”

Seo-hee suddenly recalled the weekend when she had met Do-hyun.

That day, he had come to her neighborhood out of nowhere, practically begging to meet her just once.

Back then, Seo-hee had absolutely no intention of meeting him.

From the moment she had decided to drop out, reversing that decision had never been an option.

She knew that if she met him, he would try to persuade her with the same predictable arguments, so she had considered blocking him on her messenger app.

…At first, at least.

For some reason, she never actually blocked his number.

She kept thinking, It’s a hassle, I’ll do it later, and just kept postponing it.

And yet, every time his messages arrived, she read each one without fail.

Maybe, deep down, she wanted him to convince her just a little more.

Or perhaps, it was simply because his texts were the only messages popping up on her phone, and even the minimum charge for her mobile plan felt wasteful.

Days passed in this cycle of reading and ignoring—until one evening when she was on her way to the neighborhood market.

That guy…

From outside the café where Do-hyun had always waited, she spotted him through the window by pure coincidence.

He was just sitting there, blankly staring outside, his expression filled with quiet patience.

Looking up at him, Seo-hee thought to herself,

Just how desperate must he be to come all the way here on the weekend, just to meet me?

And so, she changed her direction and walked into the café.

“Oh!?”

The first time she met him outside of class, she thought he felt completely different.

During lessons, he was always calm, exuding a strangely rigid aura.

“U-uh, want to sit down first?”

But now, facing him like this, he seemed unexpectedly different.

“Girls seem to like these. What do you think?”

Surprisingly, he had a thoughtful side.

“I came here to stop you. After seeing your talent. You have real potential. I mean it.”

And he was also oddly bold—so much so that it almost felt rude.

“But listen… if you drop out now, that’s it for you. No doubt about it.”

Somehow, it didn’t offend her.

If anything, it just irritated her that his words were starting to get to her.

In every way, Do-hyun was the complete opposite of her—someone naturally wary of others.

“?”

Lost in thought about their first encounter, Seo-hee suddenly felt his gaze on her.

Do-hyun had briefly glanced toward the passenger seat.

“Got something to say?”

The moment their eyes met, Seo-hee instinctively flinched and looked away.

She wasn’t the type to avoid eye contact with people normally, but for some reason, looking into Do-hyun’s eyes was different.

“…It’s nothing.”

“…?”

As they drove through the dark city streets, the car finally arrived at Seo-hee’s neighborhood.

Stepping out of the car, she noticed the weight of the bag in her hands.

A familiar, savory smell wafted from the bag, which had the name Pia Chicken printed on it.

Don’t you dare skip meals.

Do-hyun had noticed she wasn’t planning on eating dinner, so he had taken it upon himself to order food and shove it into her hands.

The problem was, she didn’t even like chicken.

“Oh, right.”

Completely unaware of this, Do-hyun leaned toward the passenger seat and casually asked,

“Are you coming to class tomorrow?”

For the past week, Seo-hee had been skipping academy lessons, with no intention of returning.

Since she planned to drop out anyway, there was no point.

“You should come if you can.”

Still, Do-hyun encouraged her to attend.

“At the very least, the meals there aren’t bad.”

The academy provided dinner as part of their program.

So basically, he was just telling her to show up and at least eat properly.

“…I’ll think about it.”

After Do-hyun finally left,

Seo-hee trudged up the sloped alley toward her home.

She had walked this alley her whole life, yet today, it felt unusually short.

“…I’m home.”

Her empty greeting echoed through the vacant house.

Tossing her bag carelessly into the messy entryway, she placed the chicken Do-hyun had bought on the sink and began stripping off her clothes without a second thought.

I should just sleep right away.

Maybe it was because she had done things out of the ordinary today—she felt more exhausted than usual and planned to sleep early.

“…….”

But the rich, greasy scent escaping from the bag lingered in the air, tickling her nose.

Grrrgle.

Her stomach, empty from an entire day of fasting, let out a loud cry in protest.

…Maybe just a taste.

Dragging the small wooden table she had shoved to the side, Seo-hee began preparing to eat.

Had it been almost two years?

Back when her father, a compulsive gambler, would bring home cold takeout chicken whenever he won money, she had often eaten it as a substitute for meals.

That was the last time she had eaten it.

She remembered it clearly—because, on that same day, she had been slapped across the face by her drunk father.

“…….”

Reaching for the warmest piece on top, she picked up a chicken drumstick.

Gulp.

The savory aroma made her unconsciously swallow, and she hesitantly opened her mouth to take a bite.

Her eyes widened as she chewed, slowly working the food in her mouth.

…This is actually pretty good?

Maybe because it was still warm.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all.