My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 31

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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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31.

Jin Ae-ran detected something amiss with remarkable acuity. But she quickly schooled her expression, burying the tell beneath practiced composure.
After spending time with Cheon Eun-jeong as always—laughing, chatting, playing the devoted mother—she returned home and called her secretary.
“Secretary Kim.”
[Yes, Director.]
“Put someone on Kang-hyun. I need to know who he’s meeting these days, what he’s up to.”
[Ah… yes, I understand.]
“And investigate his relationship with Osong Group’s second daughter, Cheon Eun-jeong. Find out if there’s been any sort of transaction between them.”
[Yes, it may take some time since we’ll have to look into this discreetly.]
“That’s fine. Do what you need to do.”
After hanging up, Jin Ae-ran pressed her temples, feeling a headache settling behind her eyes.
He was her son, born of her own body, yet he’d never once bent to her will—and she’d failed to sense something was wrong. How could she have been so blind?
“I’ve grown old.”
Her instincts had dulled. She exhaled a long sigh of self-deprecation.
She’d been charmed by how readily Kang-hyun seemed to fall in line, delighted by his compliance—only to find herself struck from behind.
“I do all of this for you. For your sake, not mine.”
She repeated the words under her breath, clinging to the conviction that every move was made in her son’s interest.

***

After parting ways with Jin Ae-ran, Cheon Eun-jeong sent a message to Mun Kang-hyun, her mood buoyant.

―You ran into your mother at the Luxury Boutique a while back, didn’t you? She asked if you received the gift well, so I said you did. But here’s the thing—I promised to show her the gift next time.

The reply came back exactly as one would expect from Mun Kang-hyun.

―What’s your point? Just say it straight.

“Ugh, that man really has a gift for dampening spirits, doesn’t he?”
Yet her smile never wavered. This was her golden opportunity to corner the great Mun Kang-hyun.

―For me to show your mother that gift, don’t I need to have one just like it?

So hand over that luxury wallet as tribute, she meant to say—but before she could send it, Mun Kang-hyun called instead of texting.
“You startled me! Why the dramatic phone call? I was trying to avoid hearing your voice.”

Cheon Eun-jeong grumbled but reluctantly pressed answer.
“What? Are you too stingy to buy me a wallet?”
[Why a wallet?]
His voice came low and tense. But Cheon Eun-jeong couldn’t grasp what he meant. Why a wallet? What was he talking about?
“Didn’t you buy a wallet?”
Your mother said it was a wallet, Cheon Eun-jeong added—and when Mun Kang-hyun heard that, he muttered a low curse.
Just as Jin Ae-ran’s instincts were sharp, so were Kang-hyun’s. He read between the lines instantly.
His mother had mistaken what he’d bought that day for a wallet. He could have let it slide, but he didn’t.
He knew the Jin Ae-ran he understood wasn’t the type to confuse what her son had purchased, nor was she one to slip up in casual conversation.
When he’d run into her at the department store, something had felt off. But since he’d never had friction with his mother over matters involving other women, he hadn’t anticipated her asking Cheon Eun-jeong directly about the gift he’d received.
He regretted his complacency now. But spilled water couldn’t be gathered back up.
[It wasn’t a wallet. It was a bag.]
“What? Not a wallet—a bag?”
Cheon Eun-jeong had been thinking she’d simply buy him a bag to match—when the implications hit her belatedly, and she went rigid.
“Your mother said that on purpose? She was testing me?”
[Glad you’re not completely hopeless.]
His mockery barely registered. A chill raced down her spine, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
So she’d passed the test without showing a crack. That’s what it meant—Jin Ae-ran had been watching all along.
When Mun Kang-hyun had warned her about his mother, Cheon Eun-jeong had laughed it off. She’d said his mother would be easier to handle than he was.
But now that things had unfolded this way, she understood exactly why he’d issued that warning.
Jin Ae-ran was perched above her head like a cunning fox, studying her every move.

“So what do we do? Have I been caught?”
[That’s not your concern. Just lay low for a while—avoid going out and meeting people for now.]
Sensing Mun Kang-hyun was about to hang up, Cheon Eun-jeong called out urgently.
“Hey, Mun Kang-hyun!”
When he didn’t disconnect and fell silent, Cheon Eun-jeong suppressed her anxiety and spoke.
“That girl—Seo Lee-jin, Lee Hwan’s sister. Don’t let her get hurt.”
[…….]
Normally, a cutting reply would’ve come back—*What business is it of yours? I’ll handle it, so stay out of it*—but Kang-hyun said nothing. Then the line went dead.
Cheon Eun-jeong felt anxiety spike through her, and she bit her lip.
The image of that wounded girl crying rose unbidden, and somehow her nerves sharpened to a keen edge.

***

He’d never believed he could hide the truth about Lee Jin forever.
He’d anticipated that his mother would eventually learn about Seo Lee-jin—just not this soon.
He’d positioned Cheon Eun-jeong as a smokescreen to buy time, but even that was useless now.
“It’s inevitable. Mother will likely assign people to watch over her. I don’t ask for much, but I want to prevent her from moving directly.”
After making calls here and there to arrange precautions, Kang-hyun dragged his gaunt face upward and swore under his breath. His eyes darkened with bitter resignation.
‘How far will you follow me?’
His mother’s discovery was always going to happen—it was foreordained. That wasn’t what had worn him down.
What troubled him more was his own lack of certainty about Lee Jin’s heart.
‘If you were only willing to stay by my side…….’
Then nothing would matter. Kang-hyun cut through the lengthening thread of thought and rose to his feet.
Thinking alone would accomplish nothing. He had to act.

It was Friday evening, so traffic was heavy. When Kang-hyun arrived at Lee Jin’s studio, he found her just finishing her work—washing her hands and stepping out.
“I thought you weren’t coming today?”
Tomorrow they were going to the Cheong Juk Festival, so he’d pushed through rush-hour gridlock just to get here.
Kang-hyun, who rarely visited on Fridays to avoid burdening her, managed a bitter smile.
“Let’s go to the sea.”
“Huh? The sea?”
Lee Jin’s eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion. Of course she was startled—he’d shown up unannounced and suddenly wanted to go to the sea.
“You finished the vase, so you’re free this week, aren’t you?”
She’d completed the Maebyeong she’d labored over. He seemed to be saying it because he knew that—except Lee Jin had been about to start on a new piece this week.
“I was planning to knead clay tomorrow and begin a new work?”
Finishing one piece meant she needed new work to acquire the next.
“Put that off for a week. Let’s go to the sea.”
Could her employer really say things like that? Lee Jin’s eyes narrowed.
“Come on, just grab what you need. We can buy anything we’re missing.”
But Kang-hyun’s resolve was so unyielding that she was practically shoved into preparing and getting into the car.

By the time they arrived at Incheon Yeongjong Island, the sun was setting.
“Wow, the sea is red.”
Lee Jin exclaimed in wonder and pulled out her phone to photograph the sunset. Many people stood along the shore to witness it.
The heat that had built up all day was swept away by the sea breeze, leaving the temperature perfectly pleasant. The briny air filled her chest with an inexplicable thrill.
“Shall we sit here?”
The two sat on the sand and watched the sun sink below the horizon.
The enormous sun being slowly swallowed by the sea was magnificent. The afterglow spilled across the water’s surface, reflecting off the rippling waves in threads of gold.
As darkness settled over everything, streetlights flickered on one by one.
They didn’t exchange much conversation, but Kang-hyun could tell Lee Jin’s mood was quite good. Her lips curved faintly upward.
Watching that face, something tightened in his throat. *What do I want to say to you?*
He didn’t want to go to the Cheong Juk Festival tomorrow. Surveillance could be arranged.
So he’d impulsively brought her here to the beach instead.
“Am I really a man to you?”
He was aching to dig into her true feelings.
“Of course. Isn’t it obvious?”
Lee Jin, not grasping the intent behind his question, looked at him with a puzzled expression.
As if to say: after we’ve already crossed that line, how could you ask such a thing?
Despite it being the answer he wanted, something in him was burning away.
“Then what about as the man you want to spend your whole life with?”
“You seem off today.”
Lee Jin tilted her head, studying him.
Mun Kang-hyun knew it too. He was behaving strangely. And yet he couldn’t stop.
“Where do I rank with you?”

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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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