My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 15

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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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15.

After parting ways with Cheon Eun-jeong, Kang Hyun made his way to the Cheongdam-dong Mansion—the very symbol of the Moon Seong Group’s ownership.
The family gathered once every two months.
It was just a meal shared among relatives, but everyone possessed such commanding presence that the exhaustion factor ran high. Kang Hyun had never been fond of these gatherings.
As twilight descended, the Mansion blazed with light.
With every lamp ablaze, the usually silent estate shone with such brilliance it was almost blinding.
The moment he stepped inside, Jin Ae-ran—draped in elegant attire—greeted him.
“Our youngest has arrived.”
Since the matchmaking, Kang Hyun hadn’t exchanged a single phone call with Jin Ae-ran. Yet her expression was bright, as if their quarrel had never happened at all.
Though she complained on the surface, she seemed genuinely delighted that her son moved according to her wishes. Watching Jin Ae-ran greet him with a smile, Kang Hyun presented what he held in his hand with an expressionless face.
“I brought some fruit.”
“Oh my, this one doesn’t look it, but he’s quite thoughtful.”
At that, Kang Sa-ra, his second brother’s wife, who had been setting the table with a household staff member, spoke with a laugh.
“They call that tsundere nowadays. That’s exactly what you are, sir.”
“Tsundere? I can’t make heads or tails of these modern words.”
Kang Sa-ra and Jin Ae-ran laughed together. Kang Hyun showed little reaction, striding deeper into the room.
Moon Jeong-hyun, his second brother, who had been reading the newspaper in one corner of the living room, raised an eyebrow and asked.
“You’re really going to meet the woman Mother picked for you?”
“I’ll handle it.”
Kang Hyun answered flatly, then dropped onto the sofa.
Moon Jeong-hyun’s expression made it clear he was certain Kang Hyun would never meet the woman his mother had chosen.
Moon Jeong-hyun had endured similar trials before marriage. Fortunately, the woman he wanted to marry came from a family and profession that Jin Ae-ran could approve of.
Thanks to that, he had managed to marry, but had her background or profession fallen short of Jin Ae-ran’s standards, marriage would have been difficult.
Kang Hyun was his younger brother by a significant age gap, yet Moon Jeong-hyun vaguely understood one thing. That Kang Hyun had harbored feelings for someone for quite some time.
And that the object of those feelings would not meet Jin Ae-ran’s approval.
“Right, Kang Hyun’s not a child anymore. He’ll figure it out.”
Moon Seong-hyun, the eldest, looked up from the documents on his tablet and added a comment.
He bore a strong resemblance to their grandfather Moon Hee-chan—a man of few words with a commanding presence.
He could be said to embody the ancestral predatory nature of the Moon family. Beside him sat Park Eun-ju, his wife, who spoke with sharp, gleaming eyes.
“Our youngest surely has some plan in mind.”
Park Eun-ju, remarkably, possessed the same predatory aura as the Moon family, losing nothing in comparison. Her commanding presence sometimes even surpassed that of the eldest, Moon Seong-hyun.
As if born into the Moon family, she now wielded considerable leadership within the Moon Seong Group.
When the entire family gathered like this, the foxes—Jin Ae-ran and Kang Sa-ra—meshed perfectly with the tigers, steering the atmosphere with practiced ease.
Kang Hyun thought of Lee Jin, gentle and docile as a rabbit, and swallowed a sigh.
It was obvious as day how pitiful a herbivore would be in a pack of predators. For that reason, he had absolutely no intention of revealing Lee Jin to his family.
“I’ll handle it myself, so I’d appreciate it if everyone could let the matter rest.”
At Kang Hyun’s blunt reply, everyone fell silent with an understanding expression. That awkward air broke when their grandfather, Moon Hee-chan, appeared.
“Everyone’s gathered.”
“Father, welcome.”
“Grandfather, I hope you’ve been well.”
At his entrance, everyone moved to the table as if on cue. Moon Hee-chan’s eyes met Kang Hyun’s once, but he said nothing more.
Throughout the meal, Jin Ae-ran prattled on about Kang Hyun’s affairs, but the tigers merely wore cryptic smiles—none of them showed much outward reaction.

***

Monday afternoon, Baek Jin-hee stopped by the Pottery Workshop and, after glancing around, abruptly spoke up.
“Come on, tell me straight. You and Kang Hyun have something going on, right?”
Baek Jin-hee had good reason to think so. She’d come to the Workshop only to find there was nothing for her to help with.
The reason she visited the Workshop regularly was to help Lee Jin move the Prepared Clay and Glaze Materials that were too heavy for her to carry alone.
But now, there was nothing for Baek Jin-hee to help with.
Someone had already finished all the work cleanly. It couldn’t have been Lee Jin alone, so who could it be? Baek Jin-hee’s mind whirred with reasonable deduction.
“Well, that is to say…….”
Lee Jin rarely trailed off like this.
The girl who had laughed dismissively when Baek Jin-hee suggested that Kang Hyun might have feelings for her was now hedging her words! Sensing something, Baek Jin-hee pressed her.
“Tell me the truth! If you make me wait, I’ll be so upset I won’t know what to do!”
Faced with this ultimatum, Lee Jin smiled awkwardly and spoke.
“Kang Hyun and I are dating.”
“What? Of course! I knew it!”
Baek Jin-hee bounced on her heels, excitement pouring out of her.
Her instincts hadn’t failed her. That look in Kang Hyun’s eyes—she hadn’t imagined it after all.
“Since when? How did it happen?”
Lee Jin found herself cornered by her friend’s interrogation and had no choice but to come clean about everything that had transpired.
Baek Jin-hee went through her questions methodically, and Lee Jin answered with reluctant honesty. Of course, since they’d only just started dating, there wasn’t much to tell.
“I knew it all along. Kang Hyun’s eyes looked different when he looked at you, I’m telling you.”
Lee Jin couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s dramatic certainty.
“I’m the one who agreed to date him, so why do you seem happier about it than I am?”
Baek Jin-hee’s voice climbed even higher as she replied.
“Of course I’m happy! With Kang Hyun’s physique, he’s literally top one percent! Having my best friend date someone that exceptional is my bragging right too!”
That was when a low, deliberate cough echoed through the room.
Too caught up in conversation, neither girl had noticed the visitor. They both jumped and spun toward the entrance.
The door had been left open because the weather was growing warm and humid, so they’d missed his arrival entirely.
Kang Hyun, meeting both their gazes at once, spoke in his characteristically languid tone.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Baek Jin-hee’s face flushed crimson—such a vivid, complete embarrassment that Lee Jin had never seen her like this before.
The girl scrambled to gather her things, then turned to Lee Jin in a rush.
“I—I just remembered I have something urgent to do. S-see you next time.”
“Uh, huh? Y-yes.”
Before Lee Jin could stop her, Baek Jin-hee was already bolting toward the exit. Only then did she realize Kang Hyun was standing right at the entrance, and she stumbled over her own feet, her movements jerking and awkward.
“H-have a good time.”
Her voice came out flat and toneless, like a machine’s, and Kang Hyun let out a soft laugh as he responded.
“You too.”
Baek Jin-hee fled without another word.
“You’ve got an amusing friend,” Kang Hyun said with a smile.
Lee Jin felt heat bloom across her cheeks at his comment.
Baek Jin-hee was undoubtedly a good friend, but the embarrassment she’d left behind was almost unbearable.
Lee Jin cleared her throat once, trying to clear the air, then asked, “I thought you’d come by in the evening. You’re here early?”

“I wanted to see if there was anything you needed help with. And if there’s time, I thought I might learn some pottery.”
As he spoke, Kang Hyun walked over and perched on the edge of the table, looking down at her sitting in the chair. Lee Jin gazed up at him without thinking.
Their eyes met.
Kang Hyun seemed to occupy the entire workshop simply by existing. Though he was only leaning against the table, he seemed to command the whole vast surface.
From that locked gaze came a palpable tension, a subtle heat rising between them. Lee Jin tried to ignore it and asked, “Want some coffee?”

“Sure.”
Kang Hyun nodded lightly, and Lee Jin rose from her chair.
“Just a moment, let me just……”
She moved to fetch the coffee without thinking, but the words caught in her throat. Kang Hyun had wrapped his arm firmly around her waist.
She turned to ask what he was doing, but the contact sent her lashes trembling involuntarily.
“Why, why……?”
Her voice came out strained and broken. This physical contact—something she’d never once imagined when he was just her brother’s friend—now felt so natural it almost unsettled her.
“Just a conditioned reflex.”
“Huh?”
Lee Jin tilted her head, not quite following. As she did, Kang Hyun drew her waist closer still, a somewhat brazen look crossing his face.
“When you’re near me, my hands just move on their own.”
“What does that even……”
Unsure how to interpret his words, Lee Jin’s expression faltered.
Then Kang Hyun leaned in and slowly bit his lower lip before speaking.
“See? Now my lips are moving on their own too.”

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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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