My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 41

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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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41.

That evening, Lee Jin went to Cheongdukje with Kang Hyun. Ostensibly, it was a visit to decide where to place the pottery she’d sent over that afternoon.
“Ah, I really can’t decide.”
Kang Hyun let out a soft laugh when he saw Lee Jin standing in the hallway beside the living room, lost in thought.
“Stop worrying about it. The owner can always move it later anyway.”
“Oh…….”
So that’s how it was. A delayed understanding dawned on Lee Jin, and she let out a quiet sigh. Then another question occurred to her.
All this time, she’d been under the impression that Cheongdukje belonged to Kang Hyun—but what if that wasn’t true?
“Can I ask whose house this is?”
Kang Hyun answered her careful question without hesitation.
“It’s my grandfather’s.”
“Your grandfather?”
“Yeah, Moon Hee-chan—the honorary chairman of the Munseong Group.”
Lee Jin had no trouble recalling the man who stood at the center of the Munseong Group owner’s photograph.
The moment she pictured that head of silvered hair and the tiger-like intensity of his gaze, her shoulders instinctively drew inward.
The mere thought of that tiger-like grandfather joining Jin Ae-ran’s gaze—the way she’d looked at Lee Jin as though she were some kind of impurity—sent a chill crawling down her spine.
Kang Hyun noticed her expression harden subtly and spoke in a gentle tone.
“He’s warmer than he looks.”
“Oh, I see.”
It didn’t feel right to press further, so Lee Jin simply nodded and let the matter rest.
Had the pottery order come from his grandfather, then? Various thoughts flickered through her mind, but since it felt awkward to ask Kang Hyun about his family, she steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Should we go out for a walk?”
“Sure.”
The two of them walked together along a path that led toward the Bamboo Forest. Each time the wind stirred, there came that soft whooshing sound—shhhh—as the bamboo swayed.
A summer night filled with the chirping of insects and the distant, unidentifiable calls of birds. Lee Jin took in the scenery with deliberate care, committing it all to memory—a landscape she knew she would never see again.
She had spent spring and summer here at Cheongdukje.
It was a shame that she couldn’t remember the way it looked in autumn and winter, but precisely because of that regret, she burned the present moment deeper into her memory.
“Now that I see bamboo, I suddenly remember—there’s an old Korean folktale called ‘The King’s Ears Are a Donkey’s Ears.’ When I was little, I thought that if you said something in a bamboo forest, it would come back to you as an echo.”
Kang Hyun chuckled at her words. He could easily picture young Lee Jin.
He could see that innocent, startled face—those wide eyes filled with childish fear—whispering urgently, “Shh, be quiet. If we talk here, our words might come back as an echo.” That sweet, earnest little girl was easy to conjure.
“You must have been incredibly cute.”
Lee Jin scrunched her nose slightly, as if she disagreed.
“Cute, maybe. Naive and foolish is more like it.”
As a child, Lee Jin had believed almost everything Lee Hwan told her.
The reason she’d thought that words spoken in a bamboo forest would return as echoes was simply because she’d taken his teasing at face value.
“Should we test whether it’s true or not?”
Kang Hyun stopped walking and posed the question. His playful expression had vanished entirely, leaving only the face of a man who was entirely serious.
“What—what do you mean, test?”
“Whether an echo actually comes back or not.”
“But that’s pure nonsense.”
“Have you actually tried it?”
There was no way she had done such a thing. Since she’d never even attempted it, Lee Jin found herself unable to answer.
Kang Hyun, as if he’d known as much all along, smiled knowingly and shrugged.
“There’s no one here but us, so even if an echo comes back, you won’t be embarrassed.”
Lee Jin stared at him in disbelief, but Kang Hyun appeared perfectly serious. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called out toward the bamboo forest with a clear, ringing voice.
“Lee Jin, I love you!”
“……!”
Lee Jin’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
Instead of an echo, the bamboo forest answered only with the sound of leaves rustling against one another—shhhhhh.
“It would have been nice if an echo had come back.”
Kang Hyun spoke those words with a smile, but Lee Jin’s expression slipped beyond her control. Without knowing what her face looked like, she stumbled over her words.
“I—I…….”
Because she appeared so distressed, Kang Hyun swallowed his exhale and drew her into his embrace.
“I wasn’t expecting an answer from you. I just need you to stay by my side like this. That’s enough for me.”
Lee Jin could not lean into Kang Hyun’s arms the way she once had. She’d heard the confession—I love you—but it brought her no joy.
Instead, her mind churned with confusion, and her chest felt heavy and tight. She squeezed her eyes shut as if fleeing from reality itself.
In her stead, the wind-swept leaves wept on and on, their sorrowful rustling filling the night.

***

Cheon Eun-jung had been in a state of constant unease lately. It wasn’t because her scheme with Kang Hyun had been discovered by Jin Ae-ran. That much she could brazenly talk her way around.
What unsettled her was the growing burden it would place on Lee Jin to bear.
‘That’s right—Kang Hyun is dead weight. A walking liability.’
Cheon Eun-jung muttered a caustic insult about Kang Hyun as she scrolled through full articles on her phone’s browser.
She was searching to make sure there was nothing happening that she didn’t already know about, nothing creeping into the gossip columns.
“I can’t believe it. What’s the world coming to? How can someone wear a human face and do such things?”
But as she searched for articles, blood pressure-spiking incidents began to pile up—one after another.
After following tangential searches and reading several pieces, Cheon Eun-jung had lost sight of her original purpose entirely and was practically bouncing in agitation.
“I should’ve known the moment she started hunting for articles she hadn’t seen before.”
Cheon Woo-jae, sitting on the living room sofa, scowled and made his observation.
He’d been resting at home for several days since his last recital. He wanted peace and quiet, but Cheon Eun-jung showed every sign of having no interest in that whatsoever.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
He was essentially suggesting she find an appointment somewhere—anywhere—just to get out.
“Somewhere to be? An appointment?”
The word “appointment” seemed to trigger Cheon Eun-jung like some kind of landmine.
Kang Hyun had told her to refrain from going out and to stay quiet, and he’d said nothing else on the matter since—so Cheon Eun-jung had remained cautious. As a result, she’d been stuck inside and spent almost all her time at home these days.
Cheon Woo-jae, unaware of this, had carelessly tried to shoo her outside and found himself in hot water for it.
‘It feels like she’s about to break up with me.’
If he’d said that out loud, there would’ve been hell to pay.
So Cheon Woo-jae kept the thought to himself and stood up. Leaving seemed faster than trying to get her out.
Then suddenly Cheon Eun-jung let out a sharp yelp and stared at her phone screen, trembling.
“Please, let’s just stay quiet and live.”
Whatever Cheon Woo-jae said, Cheon Eun-jung cleared her throat with a quick “Mm, mm” and answered the call.
“Hello, Mother.”
Cheon Woo-jae was genuinely floored by her saccharine tone and let out a weary sigh. Even as he did, Cheon Eun-jung’s two-faced performance continued unabated.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Understood. I’ll see you shortly then.”
As soon as she hung up, Cheon Woo-jae narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Finally getting an appointment?”
“Ugh, no. I’m going to be interrogated.”
Cheon Eun-jung had sensed it the moment she’d answered Jin Ae-ran’s call—something was coming. When she met with her, she’d have to explain everything from start to finish.
But precisely because she’d used the word “interrogated,” Cheon Woo-jae was set up perfectly to misunderstand.
“You’re going to the police station? What trouble did you get into now?”
Cheon Eun-jung, watching her younger brother stare at her with wide eyes and accusation, answered with vicious intent.
“Why? Want me to actually go ahead and do something worth a police report? Should I make today’s news headline?”
Her eyes flickered with something terrifying. Cheon Woo-jae’s face twisted in horror and he stepped back.
“Why can’t I ever just rest at home? If I can’t rest here, why does this place even exist?”
He grumbled and quickly escaped the room. Then he made a quiet vow to himself.
Once his sister got dumped, things would only get worse inside the house, so he’d better stay out of the way for a while.
Cheon Eun-jung, having vented her frustration on Cheon Woo-jae entirely by accident, let out a sigh.
Either way, what was she going to say? She texted Kang Hyun that she was meeting with Jin Ae-ran, then hurried to get ready to leave.

A few hours later, at a café in a five-star hotel in Gangnam, Cheon Eun-jung met with Jin Ae-ran.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Am I still your mother?”
Jin Ae-ran’s face was cold as she let out a scoffing laugh.
“A mother once is a mother forever.”
Cheon Eun-jung answered with brazen composure and a smile, but cold sweat beaded down her spine.
Jin Ae-ran was not someone to take lightly. Cheon Eun-jung was being extremely careful not to misspeak.
Not until the tea she’d ordered arrived did Jin Ae-ran say anything; then she asked,
“Tell me the truth. Did you do this knowing everything, or did it happen to you without your knowledge?”

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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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