My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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13.

“You brat! Why aren’t you answering?”
Cheon Eun-jeong called out in exasperation, but no reply came back.
The dutiful younger brother who used to flinch at her anger and return with cutesy apologies was gone now.
My blood pressure. Cheon Eun-jeong closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. I’m worth taking care of. Relax. Relax again……. She soon regained her composure and typed out her message with militant precision.

―Your mother called me. I told her we’d meet this weekend. Isn’t this something you should’ve handled on your end?

A message from Mun Gang-hyeon arrived almost immediately.

―That’s exactly why I needed you. I need someone to run interference with her.

So this wasn’t her job—it was his?
“You ✕✕✕ bastard.”
Mun Gang-hyeon, true to form, never disappointed her expectations. Like some cruel refresh of old memories, he sent her blood pressure soaring far more dramatically than he ever had in school.
Cheon Eun-jeong exhaled sharply, blowing her bangs up with the force of it, then clenched her teeth and typed out another message.

―I can’t believe you. But fine, I get it. So are we meeting this weekend or not?

She couldn’t stop here—not when she hadn’t gotten what she came for. She understood now that he wanted her to be the smoke screen, the distraction from his mother’s gaze. That was the bargain, and she’d make sure it held.

―Can’t do Sunday evening. Family gathering. Let’s meet Sunday lunch instead.

After that, a message arrived with the location and time. A unilateral declaration.
“How do you manage to sound so insufferable even in text?”
Cheon Eun-jeong muttered this to herself, shrugging her shoulders once.
Now that she thought about it, his mother Jin Ae-ran was somehow easier to deal with than Mun Gang-hyeon himself. Whether that said something strange about her, she couldn’t say.

***

Saturday morning, Lee Jin met Mun Gang-hyeon as planned.
Unlike a typical meeting, this one was labeled a “date.” Something about that label made it feel awkward and self-conscious.
“You look beautiful today too.”
Lee Jin flinched at the unguarded compliment.
“Stop saying I’m pretty.”
“Why?”
“It embarrasses me.”
Lee Jin hadn’t known she was someone who blushed so easily.
But she found herself immune to the way Mun Gang-hyeon looked directly at her face and told her she was beautiful. The kiss that had followed those words last time kept surfacing in her mind, mortifying her.
“You’re even prettier when you’re embarrassed.”
Mun Gang-hyeon teased her with a mischievous grin. Lee Jin shot him a look before walking ahead.
Not that it mattered—when he took a few long strides, they fell into step beside each other anyway.
As they passed through the Parking Lot and into the Gallery entrance, a distinctive hushed atmosphere washed over them. The two of them set aside their playfulness and stepped inside.
It wasn’t a massive exhibition, but given that it was a solo show by a particularly celebrated artist these days, there were more people than expected. Journalists who’d come for coverage, ceramics professionals, and people like Lee Jin who cherished this artist’s work—they all seemed to have gathered here.
Lee Jin picked up a Pamphlet at the entrance first, then pressed one into Mun Gang-hyeon’s hand as well.
Reading the Pamphlet thoroughly before appreciating the works looked almost like something a model student would do. Seeing her that way, Mun Gang-hyeon smiled quietly.
He’d never once actually read a Pamphlet, whether in a Gallery, museum, or even an architecture exhibition.
Rather than absorbing information from text someone else had already organized, he tended to understand things as his own eyes perceived them.
He was doing that now too.
Instead of the displayed ceramics catching his eye first, he found himself noting the window placement, the building materials, the efficient spatial layout. He’d never come to an exhibition like this alone, not in a million years.
Yet it was still enjoyable.
Watching the delicate movement of Lee Jin’s eyelashes as she stood in the light pouring through the tall window, or the way her irises looked a warm brown when caught by that same light,
or how her lips parted slightly whenever she gasped in appreciation, or the way she knitted her brow intently as she studied the ceramics to deduce their making process, eyes bright with focus……. Watching all of that was quite a lot of fun.
“Actually, I’ve already finished sketches for several pieces that would work well in Cheongdeok Studio.”
“Already?”
“Yeah, I’ve got drafts done. I’ll show you when we get back.”
“Lee Jin, you’re incredibly capable.”
“What talent are you talking about in a sketch?”
Lee Jin tapped Mun Gang-hyeon’s arm, worried someone might overhear. Since he rather enjoyed her casual touch, he slipped his arm out a bit further, offering it more openly.
Truth be told, for Mun Gang-hyeon, the technical finish or artistic merit of ceramics wasn’t really the issue. He needed Lee Jin herself far more than the ceramics she made.
If anything, ceramics was a medium that connected them—or, more cynically, merely a means to an end.
That said, it wasn’t as though he dismissed the affection and care she poured into her work.
Mun Gang-hyeon, who had been studying her face quietly, spoke up.
“How about spending every weekend at Cheongdeok Studio?”
“Huh?”
Lee Jin stopped dead in her tracks, doubting her own ears.
“I’ve already set up a workspace at Cheongdeok Studio. If you’re going to make ceramics related to Cheongdeok Studio, it’d probably be better to work there, don’t you think?”
It’ll be good for inspiration too, he added, and Lee Jin’s mind tangled into knots as she listened.
Was it strange that the suggestion to spend time at Cheongdeok Studio sounded odd only to her ears? His face bore the clinical efficiency of someone making the best proposal to secure the best ceramics.
So Lee Jin couldn’t refuse outright; she hesitated. She wondered if she’d misunderstood—after all, he was asking her to stay at Cheongdeok Studio alone.
“What about you, then?”
At her question, Mun Gang-hyeon’s eyes curved into a subtle smile.
“I’ll be there to look after you while you work.”
So she wouldn’t be alone after all. What should she do about this? Lee Jin was still deliberating when a familiar face appeared from the opposite direction.
“Oh? It’s Senior Ji-hoon?”
Cha Ji-hoon, who had once offered Lee Jin a part-time teaching position at her alma mater, was walking over with three or four others in his group.
Ah, that senior. All expression drained from Mun Gang-hyeon’s face as if he’d never smiled at all. In the meantime, the group led by Cha Ji-hoon drew closer.
“Lee Jin! Fancy meeting you here. Good to see you.”
Cha Ji-hoon’s evident delight suggested he genuinely hadn’t expected this encounter.
“Same here. I didn’t think we’d run into each other like this.”
As Lee Jin laughed awkwardly, the eyes of those standing beside Cha Ji-hoon fixed on her.
“Is this, by chance, the person you mentioned before…?”
“Yes, that’s right. She’s an alumna of my university with quite an impressive award record. She currently runs her own studio and has excellent teaching ability.”
“Oh, I see.”
Clear interest appeared on the face of the man who looked older than Cha Ji-hoon.
“Senior, we already settled that matter.”
Lee Jin’s discomfort was evident, and Cha Ji-hoon answered with a laugh.
“I know, I was just stating the facts.”
But his tone just now had definitely felt like he was promoting Lee Jin—as if he were presenting her to university officials.
“Professor Cha praised you so highly that we wanted to meet you. It would have been a good opportunity, but why…?”
Just as a man was about to launch into something like persuasion, Mun Gang-hyeon cut in.
“She has a better opportunity.”
Arrogance was etched across his face—as if to say, why would you present part-time teaching as a good opportunity? Only then, as if noticing him for the first time, did a forced smile cross Cha Ji-hoon’s lips.
“Pleasure meeting you again, Mun Gang-hyeon.”
“Right, well…”
No matter how hard he tried, Mun Gang-hyeon couldn’t recall Cha Ji-hoon’s name, so he let his words trail off.
He’d only ever called him “that senior” or something dismissive like that, so the name had never stuck.
When he couldn’t remember, what could he do? Mun Gang-hyeon covered his awkwardly prolonged words with a laugh, then wrapped up neatly. Cha Ji-hoon’s expression noticeably hardened, but that wasn’t his concern.
Noticing the subtle tension between the two men, Lee Jin quickly excused herself to Cha Ji-hoon.
“Senior, you look busy. We should get going.”
“Oh, um, sure.”
He had come to the Gallery with high-ranking university officials.
In his heart, he wanted to detain Lee Jin and set up another meeting or exchange thoughts about this exhibition, but circumstances being what they were, he couldn’t. Besides, Mun Gang-hyeon standing firmly at her side made him uncomfortable.
And so they parted ways, each heading their own direction.
‘Something feels different about the atmosphere than last time?’
Cha Ji-hoon was mulling over the subtle shift he’d noticed between Lee Jin and Mun Gang-hyeon just now, when someone in his group spoke up.
“Professor Cha, are you close with that man from earlier?”
“Not particularly close. But why do you ask?”
The man who’d asked tilted his head and replied.
“Well, his face seems familiar, that’s all.”
Cha Ji-hoon answered in an offhand tone.
“He’s an architect. You’ve probably seen him in newspapers or magazines fairly often.”
“Is that so? But why does it still feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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