My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 2

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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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2.

Two months had passed since Lee Hwan’s funeral.
The wound his death had left had not fully healed, yet there was no choice but to return to the rhythm of everyday life.
“I’m heading out. I’ve made fresh side dishes and put them in the fridge, so make sure you eat a proper lunch.”
Lee Jin left her mother with these fussy reminders and hurried out of the house.
Go Myung-soon waved at her, but there was no energy in the gesture.
Since Lee Hwan’s death, Go Myung-soon had barely eaten. Her face, grown noticeably gaunt over those two months, looked even more hollow today.
‘The more she struggles, the more I need to be strong for both of us.’
Lee Jin steadied herself. To be honest, she was afraid that if she didn’t, she would fall apart.
During her teenage years, she’d resented how her mother seemed to fuss over her brother more than her. But since he was good at everything and naturally easy-going, she’d come to accept it.
He wasn’t just a good son to their mother—he was a good brother to her too.
Lee Jin had graduated with a degree in pottery and now ran her own studio. Serenitas, her workshop bearing the imprint of her hands, was both her workplace and her only sanctuary.
Originally, she had taught one-day classes at various venues outside.
Just as word of mouth had begun to bring in quite a number of requests, Lee Hwan had died. So now she had suspended all outside teaching entirely.
Her reservation-based studio continued to draw a steady stream of visitors—those wanting to experience pottery or those hoping to own something special they’d crafted with their own hands. It kept her quite busy.
After finishing the final class that began at seven in the evening, it was nearly nine o’clock.
“Take care. Please come again next time.”
As she was about to step inside after seeing the customers off, she caught the sound of movement.
“Looks like you’ve been busy. Lots of customers today, it seems.”
“Oh, Kang Hyun.”
A tall man who had been standing in the darkness stepped into the light.
Lee Jin greeted him now with familiarity.
“Being busy is a good thing. Come in.”
Since Lee Hwan’s funeral, the two of them had taken to having dinner together frequently, or Kang Hyun would stop by once the studio closed.
What had begun as an offer of dinner to thank Kang Hyun for helping with the funeral arrangements had continued and deepened into an ongoing habit.
In the past, Lee Hwan had often come by around closing time, so Lee Jin felt no particular resistance to Kang Hyun’s visits.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I thought we could eat together.”
He set a bento box from a famous sushi restaurant on the table.
“Thank you. Next time I’ll get something even more delicious.”
That was how she always was. Kang Hyun, well aware of Lee Jin’s nature—that she had to reciprocate whenever she received something—let the corner of his mouth lift slightly.
What expression would she make if she learned that he’d been sustaining their meetings through this very tactic all along?
“I bought something for your mother too. I’ll give it to her when you get home.”
“Thank you, always. For looking after our mother too.”
“Grateful? Lee Hwan’s mother is my mother as well, isn’t she?”
At his cheeky words, Lee Jin let out a soft laugh. Kang Hyun etched the image of her smiling face into his memory.

“Hey, have you seen her? That guy’s little sister is seriously gorgeous.”
“I swear my heart stopped when I saw her smile last time.”
“Then just let it stop. Why bother coming back to life? Do yourself a favor and keep your eyes off my sister.”
“Man, Lee Hwan, the way you look, nobody would guess you’ve got such a sister complex.”
“Just figuring that out now?”

Lee Jin had been quite famous among her school friends.
With beauty that was hard to forget once seen, she’d become a celebrity the moment she enrolled.
Since the school foundation housed both middle and high school under one roof, there were always plenty of boys trying to catch a glimpse of her smile.
But because of Lee Hwan, who would bark like a rabid dog the moment anyone so much as glanced at his younger sister, no one found it easy to approach her.
Among them all, only Moon Kang Hyun had managed to break through Lee Hwan’s guard and draw near to Lee Jin.
He had known from his teenage years how to keep his true feelings hidden.
To be honest, Kang Hyun, who had helped his grandfather since childhood and dealt with adults, found teenage boys to be nothing more than infants.
Even if you had interest, you simply didn’t show it—and that wasn’t a difficult thing for Kang Hyun to do.
Watching her smile now, the voices seemed to replay in his mind: from the past, when uniformed schoolgirls would come flocking to the windows whenever Lee Jin passed by.
The only difference now was that Lee Jin’s smile belonged solely to him to see.
“What do you think? This place makes good sushi, doesn’t it?”
When their eyes met, Kang Hyun asked smoothly.
Unaware of what he was thinking, Lee Jin nodded.
“Yeah, it’s delicious. Kang Hyun, you seem to know a lot of good restaurants.”
“I eat a lot. Have you been taking care to eat properly these days?”
Kang Hyun’s gaze traced the delicate curve of Lee Jin’s wrist as she held her chopsticks, then drifted upward along the graceful line of her neck.
“I’m eating well. Thank you for worrying about me.”
She offered another lovely smile, but beneath it lingered a shadow that caught his attention—something the brightness couldn’t quite conceal.
The two of them shared small talk as they finished their meal.
Once the containers were cleared away, Kang Hyun rolled up his sleeves and asked, “Do you have a lot to move?”
The clay and glazes for her pottery classes were considerably heavy.
“No, it’s fine. I’ve already shifted most of it, and Jin Hee’s coming tomorrow to help.”
Lee Jin waved her hands in alarm. Though he’d carried heavy materials for her workshop countless times before, she wasn’t quite comfortable delegating that sort of work to him so readily.
‘Not yet, then,’ Kang Hyun thought briefly, narrowing his eyes before moving as though he hadn’t heard her protests. He already knew the workshop’s layout by heart.
He systematically carried the materials from the pottery wheel station to their proper locations, moving with practiced efficiency.
Watching him work, Lee Jin’s brow furrowed for a moment before she gave up the fight and hurried to organize the workshop herself.
With each movement she made, objects found their places with fluid grace.
By the time Kang Hyun returned to the studio after finishing with the materials, Lee Jin was in the process of placing plates on a shelf.
One wall of the studio displayed an array of plates and ceramics, each type sorted by shape and size, arranged in neat rows on shelving.
The plate she was attempting to set belonged on a rather high shelf.
Rising on her toes to reach it, she struck a precarious pose—the sort where a single misstep would send her tumbling.
And sure enough, she wobbled—just slightly, her body tilting off-balance.
It wasn’t enough to cause real harm; given a moment, she’d have found her center again. But Kang Hyun was not the type to let such a rare opportunity slip away.
“Be careful,” he said, steadying her waist with one hand while his other caught the plate she’d been reaching to set.
Lee Jin gasped, startled by the unexpected contact.
Kang Hyun stood nearly a hundred and ninety centimeters tall with a lean, muscular frame. Wrapped in his arms from behind, she felt the full measure of the difference in their builds.
“Ah… thank you.”
Unsure how to navigate the suddenly awkward moment, Lee Jin managed an awkward smile.
It wasn’t uncomfortable for Kang Hyun, but moments like these—when the air between them shifted—left him unsure how to respond.
Having steadied her against any real fall, he drew back from her almost immediately, as if his purpose were already accomplished.
The hand that had circled her waist withdrew, but oddly, he didn’t step away.
Lee Jin turned to face him, her expression questioning. Wedged between him and the shelf unit, she had limited room to move.
The expression in his eyes as he looked down at her felt strangely unfamiliar. Why did he look at her that way?
It was so different from the harmless smile her brother’s friend Kang Hyun usually wore.
“Jin, I’m about to say something very important to you…”
What could possibly warrant such a serious tone?
Caught up in the weighty atmosphere he was creating, Lee Jin nodded slowly.
“I want you to receive a certain proposal of mine positively.”
Without even knowing what the proposal was, her heart began to race oddly fast.
“What… what is it?”
Her forced words came out slightly strained. Seeing this, the corners of Kang Hyun’s mouth curved upward.
“Remember I told you I was going into construction? I’ve just finished building a hanok, and I need ceramics to decorate it. I was hoping you’d take on that project.”
“What? Ceramics?”
Lee Jin echoed his words with a dazed expression.
His proposal was so far from what she’d anticipated that her emotions had become strangely complicated.
“I’ll pay you quite generously for it. So ease up on the workshop and help me out, yeah?”
He wore the familiar face of her brother’s friend—the one she knew—as he smiled and spoke.
That strange expression from moments before seemed to evaporate like a dream, leaving only his usual face in its place.
“Um, I’ll think about it. I don’t have to answer right now, do I?”
Lee Jin felt the closeness between them suddenly suffocating. She glanced sideways, asking the question while turning her face away.
“No, take your time. I’ll get you a proposal to review, and we can talk once you’ve had a look at it.”
Having said what he needed to say, Kang Hyun stepped back. Lee Jin hurried to escape the tight space between them.
“Actually, Jin…”
The sound of her name stopped her in her tracks.
“Were you hoping for a different kind of proposal?”
His piercing gaze—one that seemed to see straight through her—made her breath catch this time.

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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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