MHLM 11

Chapter 11

“M-my soul mate, Hyung-joo oppa!”

So-yul hurriedly blurted out.

Not So-yul—soul!

Soul mate?

If anything, that made a crack appear in Tae-heon’s calm expression.

“O-oppa! Your parents must be waiting! You should go. I’ll call you later!”

So-yul pushed Hyung-joo toward his parents.

Since he had wanted to disappear from this situation anyway, Hyung-joo nodded.

“Then… I’ll go.”

He walked away with his shoulders drooping like a zombie.

Phew. That was close…!

So-yul, who had just taken ten years off her life, rubbed her chest in relief.

But then—

“Oh, right. Why don’t we just see each other at school after I go back to school….”

Hyung-joo suddenly turned around and left one last comment.

He was basically saying there was no need for them to meet separately.

So-yul’s heart sank.

Ji Min-chae doesn’t go to college…!

With her heart pounding, So-yul looked at Tae-heon.

His face was strangely stiff as he stared after Hyung-joo.

He must think something’s strange, right?

Tae-heon soon sat down, and So-yul cautiously took her seat as well.

“Um, there’s actually something I haven’t told you.”

So-yul carefully began to speak.

It would be troublesome if Tae-heon started becoming suspicious.

She had to somehow make him accept what Hyung-joo had said about returning to school.

“T-the truth is, I used to attend college! Just for one semester! I got into a department based more or less on my grades, but no matter how much I thought about it, I really wanted to act, you know? So I eventually dropped out. I guess Oppa didn’t know that yet. Anyway, it felt strange to say I went to a school I only attended for one semester….”

As So-yul rambled on with her explanation, she was a little surprised at herself.

I’m coming up with lies so smoothly. Maybe I really do have a talent for being a scammer. My conscience is screaming, but my mouth just won’t stop….

She felt pathetic for lying so easily, yet her heart also clenched at the thought of getting caught.

So-yul swallowed nervously and watched Tae-heon’s reaction.

“I see.”

Tae-heon nodded without protest.

That was all he showed on the outside.

One semester. A department chosen based on her grades. Dropped out because she wanted to act. Her lips are trembling, but the details of her excuse are pretty solid.

Lies usually had some kind of opening, but there was nothing he could use to argue against her.

What a waste of a clever mind. She’s using it to lie.

That was why he desperately needed Ji Min-chae to wake up soon.

Until then, his job was apparently to accept anything So-yul said—even if she claimed that red beans could be used to make fermented soybean bricks.

“Fine. Let’s finish what’s left.”

Tae-heon lifted his cup and took a sip of coffee, while So-yul cautiously picked up her fork again.

He believed me, right? I did my part as Supporting Character No. 1, didn’t I?

Phew.

So-yul quietly sighed and finished the last of her brownie.

After narrowly escaping the crisis, the soft ice cream and sweet brownie tasted even better, and her mood brightened again.

“By the way, you said he was your soul mate.”

“Oh, yes! We just get along really well.”

“I see.”

So-yul cheerfully answered while eating her brownie, and Tae-heon took another sip of coffee.

“What was that classmate’s name again?”

“Hmm? Oh, Hyung-joo. Kim Hyung-joo.”

“……”

“Why?”

“No reason.”

Exactly. What use is knowing his name anyway?

When Tae-heon had returned from his phone call earlier, he had seen that man named Hyung-joo ruffle So-yul’s hair.

They had seemed awfully close for nothing more than friends.

Young-ho’s little sister had apparently grown up enough to have friends like that.

Why did I think So-yul, of all people, would stay exactly as she was when she was little?

Maybe because she still looks so young to me.

Everything changed, even when he didn’t want it to.

The coffee in Tae-heon’s mouth suddenly tasted bitter.

He set the cup down with a soft click.

What kind of person was this Hyung-joo?

Was he a man worthy of staying by So-yul’s side?

For some reason, Tae-heon couldn’t stop thinking about him.

After lunch, Tae-heon took So-yul to a department store.

“T-this is too much…. I-I only need these two outfits….”

“You’ll need them. There will be family events in the future.”

Tae-heon dismissed her protests and bought her a large number of luxury clothes, bags, shoes, and other things.

Everything they bought was delivered to the house, where the staff neatly arranged it all in her dressing room.

So-yul stared around the dressing room with her mouth hanging open at the dazzling collection of luxury goods.

Then she picked up one of the bags.

“This was the smallest one, right? Then it should be the cheapest….”

She secretly checked the price tag, which had not yet been removed.

Her words stopped.

So-yul carefully placed the bag back where it had been with both hands, as though returning a sacred object to its rightful place.

After that, the two of them occasionally went out together.

Their usual routine was to visit a restaurant with a beautiful view, enjoy a delicious meal, and then go shopping.

So-yul felt sorry that Tae-heon, who was always so busy, deliberately made time for her.

Still, she enjoyed going out with him.

Other than that, So-yul spent most of her time alone on the second floor of the house, though she sometimes went out by herself.

Those outings were part of the story she had told about Ji Min-chae’s dream, which she had used as an excuse to postpone registering the marriage.

She needed to at least pretend to be going to auditions so that everything would seem natural.

Whenever she went out, So-yul usually read books at a library or café.

And that was exactly what she was doing now.

On a pleasant autumn afternoon, So-yul sat in a café, drinking hot chocolate while reading a romance novel she had borrowed from Kang Jeong-gyun.

It was a luxury she could never have enjoyed back at her family home, where she had been worked to the bone as an unpaid laborer.

“Haah, what a beautiful story….”

With her eyes slightly moist, So-yul closed the book and let out a small sigh.

How does this author write about people’s hearts so beautifully…?

Could I ever write sentences like these someday?

She was still lost in the lingering emotions of the story when her phone suddenly rang.

It was Cha Do-yoon, a senior from the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication whom she had grown close to through a general education class before taking a leave of absence.

So-yul happily answered the call.

After exchanging loud and cheerful greetings, the two finally got to the point.

[I’m actually preparing for a contest right now. A copywriting contest. I’m working on the concept, but I just can’t get it right. Could you take a look at it for me?]

“Wow, you’re doing something like that, too, Senior? But why me…?”

[You have a good sense for this stuff, So-yul. I still remember. You changed one line of copy, and the professor singled it out and praised you for it.]

So-yul hesitated for a moment.

Can I really help him? What if I get involved for no reason and only make things worse?

“I don’t know if I’ll be much help… but send it to me. I’ll take a look.”

[Thanks! I’ll send it right now.]

As soon as Do-yoon hung up, he sent the draft to her by email.

So-yul opened it on her phone.

She casually skimmed through it.

…Huh? This is strange.

Something about the main copy felt subtly out of sync with the emotional tone of the concept.

The moment she noticed it, So-yul unconsciously called Do-yoon right away.

“Senior, about the main copy here. I think the tone is a little off from the concept….”

Then she realized what she had done.

He’s probably been struggling with this for days. Did I criticize it too quickly? I’m being presumptuous….

So-yul hurriedly tried to stop herself.

But—

[Oh, you’re right! Something had been bothering me, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong!]

Do-yoon exclaimed from the other end of the phone.

[It really is you, So-yul. I’m glad I called you! Can you tell me more about what you think?]

So-yul relaxed.

“Well… this copy feels like it wants to embrace someone, but the sentence itself feels like it’s standing there with its arms crossed.”

Her voice was cautious at first, but as she continued talking, it gradually became clearer and more confident.

After a long conversation, So-yul finally hung up.

Her heart was beating pleasantly.

It was the same feeling she used to get after finishing an assignment at school.

Can something really be this much fun?

More than an hour had passed without her noticing, yet strangely, she wasn’t tired at all.

If only I could go back to school.

If everything returned to normal, would I be able to go back, too?

It probably wouldn’t be possible.

Mi-young and Sang-yoon would never allow it.

So-yul stared blankly for a moment before shaking her head.

Still, that one hour today belonged to me.

That was enough.

So-yul finished the now-cold hot chocolate.

In a small studio apartment filled with cigarette smoke—

“AAAGH, fuck! Why does it keep dropping?!”

Jo Han-gyu shouted in frustration as he stared at his phone screen.

“Did your coin drop again? At this point, aren’t you the one making it drop just by buying it?”

“Ugh, idiot. Crypto went downhill ages ago.”

His acquaintances, who were playing computer games nearby, snickered and mocked Han-gyu.

“Ha, fuck. My capital isn’t even down by half. It’s down to half of half of half…. Ah, this damn thing!”

“Damn, what are you gonna do? Didn’t you put in all the money you had just to survive?”

“Then I guess you’ll have to starve. Hey, don’t even think about mooching off me. I don’t have any money.”

“Me neither.”

Han-gyu glared at his friends as they firmly drew the line, then spoke.

“You think I’d lower myself by mooching off broke losers like you? Mind your own business! I’ve got money coming in!”

“Huh? From where?”

“From Ji Min-chae. I lent her some money before. We agreed she’d pay me ten percent interest.”