episode_0040

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Ice.

Milk.

Coffee.

Cold milk foam prepared in advance.

A dusting of cinnamon powder.

As Lee Jiyoon prepared the iced cappuccino Seo Woojin had ordered, she found herself lost in thought.

Why is that guy here?

Of course, she already knew the answer.

After all, she was the one who had casually brought it up during dinner with her sister.

Not that she had been blunt about it—she hadn’t said anything like, I want Unnie’s boyfriend to heal me again. Instead, she had tiptoed around it, murmuring something like, I guess chronic headaches are just something I have to live with…

Anyway.

Setting aside all the complicated thoughts, the bottom line was simple: she was glad she could get treated again.

Ever since the pain pressing down on her skull like a heavy crown had disappeared, she felt like she had become smoother at handling customers. Like she was playing games better, too.

And the refreshing feeling she had after waking up from a deep sleep? That went without saying.

To exaggerate a bit, it was like a malfunctioning part of her body had been temporarily fixed before reverting to its broken state.

“……”

Yeah.

All of that was great.

But if she had to talk about the “complicated” part she had just set aside—

“Ugh…”

Unnie’s little sister,

Alone with Unnie’s boyfriend.

…Isn’t that kind of… weird?

40

The cappuccino at this café has way more milk foam than I expected.

I only ordered it because the instant coffee I had recently was labeled “cappuccino,” but…

If I’d known it’d be like this, I should’ve just gone for an Americano or a mocha.

In the corner of the café, I idly fiddled with the now-empty plastic cup, my gaze drifting toward the counter.

There, I caught sight of Jiyoon’s profile as she chatted with a girl I didn’t know—probably a part-timer.

Her snow-white hair, so different from her sister Hayun’s, was lightly tied back this time, unlike before.

Maybe she wanted to keep a neat appearance while working. I couldn’t say for sure.

I couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but the atmosphere wasn’t exactly warm.

Jiyoon, expressionless and without even a faint smile, said something to the other girl,

Who nodded in response before saying something back,

Only for Jiyoon to reply with the same blank face.

When I stopped by her place briefly with Hayun last time, she had been surprisingly expressive. It’s a bit disappointing.

The dumbfounded look she gave me earlier was cuter than I expected, too.

But I guess she doesn’t like that.

Given how hard she’s working to keep that poker face.

…Well…

Personally, I wouldn’t mind if she kept up that attitude.

Figuring it wouldn’t be much longer, I fiddled with my phone until, soon enough, Jiyoon—now with her hair down and wearing a loose khaki jacket—approached.

Maybe it’s because her head is small,

Or maybe just because she’s naturally pretty,

But even that pitch-black snapback pulled low over her eyes suits her incredibly well.

Ahem, ahem. “Mr. Seo Woojin.”

“Yes?”

We’re the same age, so she could drop the formalities, but Jiyoon insists on using honorifics.

When I smiled gently at her, her expression darkened slightly beneath the snapback.

…Was smiling a bad move? I’ll just make a mental note of that.

“You heard about me from Unnie, right?”

“That’s right. She said you were in pain again.”

“Ugh… I knew it…”

Scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, Jiyoon glanced around before plopping down into the chair across from me.

At the same time, the part-timer girl who had been sneaking glances at us when Jiyoon wasn’t looking became a little more blatant.

Seems like she’s very interested in Jiyoon’s personal life.

Especially when a guy is involved.

“…It’s not that I doubt the treatment you gave me. I really am grateful.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

Adjusting her snapback slightly, Jiyoon lowered her voice as if sharing a secret.

Her calm tone, so different from her sister’s, was surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

“Since yesterday, it started throbbing again. Not as bad as before, but enough to be annoying…?”

“Ah… Sorry. I’m not a doctor, so…”

“N-No… You don’t have to apologize to me…”

Unlike doctors, who identify the cause, follow a process, and produce results, I’m more of a healer who just fixes things with a touch. So maybe I messed up.

That’s what I meant.

Not like Jiyoon or any other normal person would understand how the healing even works anyway.

“Headaches are tricky since the cause isn’t always clear. Maybe the treatment didn’t fully take.”

“…Cause?”

“For example, it might not be an illness but something like lifestyle habits or environment.”

“Habits… Environment…”

Tossing out a plausible-sounding explanation, I watched as Jiyoon, who had been fiddling with the ends of her hair, nodded faintly.

“…Honestly, Unnie is kind of loud. Not that she’s disruptive, but it’s a little grating.”

“Hayun-noona does have that side to her. Like… an overly affectionate puppy?”

“I hate that.”

“Because of the headaches?”

“More than that, it’s just… How do I put this? Unnie means well, but I don’t need it. It’s annoying. I just wish she’d leave me alone…”

“I see.”

“If I say it outright, I’ll just sound like the bad guy…”

“I get the gist.”

“It’s gotten better lately, but it was really bad in high school.”

With the topic slightly steered toward Hayun, Jiyoon—as if a PTSD switch had been flipped—immediately launched into an old story.

How Unnie had so many friends and was so popular at school that attention naturally spilled over to Jiyoon, who just wanted to be left alone in her first year.

How she ignored everyone because she couldn’t be bothered, only to end up being ignored by the other girls in turn.

How she was fine with that, until one day Unnie noticed her little sister was being ostracized and decided to give her a “how to make friends” crash course, pestering her for days.

…Amid Jiyoon’s grievances,

The key details worth noting were:

One.

Jiyoon finds her sister’s needlessly affectionate nature secretly annoying.

Meaning, contrary to expectations, they aren’t that close.

Not the “I’d die without you” type of relationship.

Two.

Jiyoon finds complicated relationships exhausting.

Girls, guys—gender doesn’t matter.

The very idea of having to care about others is just tiring.

Three.

“What’s the point of having a lot of friends?”

“……”

“Especially when guys act all nice to girls—their motives are obvious.”

Most likely,

Jiyoon has had some bad experience with a guy.

If it had been something severe, she wouldn’t even be able to talk to me like this, so it’s probably not that bad.

If I had to guess, it was just something annoying enough that she doesn’t want to bring it up.

Maybe some guys bothered her at work.

Or, since she likes games, maybe some creep in-game latched onto her for being a girl.

Hmm. Should I thank those guys?

Thanks to them, Jiyoon’s stayed untouched.

“Some people are just naturally kind, you know?”

“I believe in the evil nature of man. There’s no such thing as kindness without ulterior motives.”

“Last time I healed you, I don’t remember getting anything in return.”

“…W-Well, that’s…”

After a brief detour into old grievances,

The conversation circled back to treatment, and Jiyoon, chin resting on her hand, grumbled before clearing her throat.

Still, it seemed like venting had made her a little more comfortable around me.

“…Anyway. Since we’re on the topic, if there’s something you want from me, just say it. That’d be easier for me, too.”

“Something I want?”

“W-Weird stuff aside. Within reason.”

“…Hmm.”

A threesome with both sisters.

Obviously, I couldn’t say that, so I paused.

Back when I first started “working” to save up for my own place after leaving where I used to live, I think the average rate for one treatment was around 200 million won.

The money left in my account now is all from back then.

At the time, I thought it was a huge sum, but compared to the actual cost of the medicine I needed, it was practically nothing.

Of course, there were also incurable diseases that money couldn’t fix…

Well, I didn’t know my own worth back then.

In any case, Jiyoon wouldn’t be able to cough up that kind of money even if I asked…

……

……Ah.

“Then, how about this?”

“What?”

“I don’t think a full cure is possible, so we’ll probably have to meet like this from time to time.”

“…And?”

“Be my practice partner when we do.”

“……?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Jiyoon’s jade-green eyes fixed on me, silently questioning what I meant by “practice partner.”

“Practice… partner?”

“You’re her little sister, so you’d know best what Hayun-noona likes, right?”

“…Ah, yeah. More or less…”

“So I was thinking you could tag along and give me some pointers. Like her favorite foods, places she’d like, things she’d enjoy doing, that kind of stuff.”

“…Hmm… So you’re asking me to stand in for Unnie?”

“Something like that.”

“…How long would it take?”

“Maybe 30 minutes? You’d just have to give me a rough idea of whether she’d like something or not.”

“If it’s just that, then… Sure. I’ll help. Compared to what you’re doing for me, it’s not a hard request.”

Maybe she thought it was a cheap price for treatment.

Fortunately, Jiyoon nodded without much resistance.

With a faint smile, I picked up my empty cup and stood.

“Should we continue outside? Treating you here might be a bit…”

“Then… Ah, there’s an alley up ahead that’s usually empty. We could stop by there for a bit…”

…What if we stop by there?

That’s what I said, but…

This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine, so just hurry up and finish…”

True to Jiyoon’s memory, the alley was mostly empty.

At most, a few people dragging their slippers outside for a smoke,

And a couple of passersby.

The problem?

It wasn’t completely empty.

“……”

“……”

Thud, thud. From beyond Woojin’s body, the sound of a man’s footsteps reached her ears.

Hack, ptui. As if disgusted by the sight, someone nearby spat loudly, irritation in their voice.

At that, Jiyoon’s fists clenched and trembled before…

She finally relented and went limp.

Honestly, she didn’t have many options.

1. Go somewhere truly deserted with Woojin.

2. Go somewhere relatively deserted with Woojin.

3. Go somewhere crowded with Woojin… which wasn’t an option to begin with.

Meaning the choices were 1 or 2.

The first option had the advantage of not having to worry about prying eyes, but…

…Think about it.

That would mean going to some shady place alone with Unnie’s boyfriend, wouldn’t it?

Extreme example: his place… or something.

Anyway.

Unless she was drunk out of her mind, she had no intention of going somewhere like that alone with Unnie’s boyfriend.

So the next best thing was 2.

Somewhere relatively deserted.

Thankfully, she wasn’t alone with Woojin, but…

Because she wasn’t alone…

There were some eyes on them.

“It should be over in about 10 seconds.”

“……”

Hunched awkwardly in Woojin’s arms, Jiyoon gave a small nod.

Of course, she wasn’t actually pulled close.

It was all an act.

Meaning, instead of letting him caress her like a lover in the alley,

She chose to hide her face in Woojin’s chest.

Either way, it looked weird, but at least her face wasn’t visible.

As proof, there was a good hand’s width of space between Woojin and her.

To onlookers, it would look like a couple’s antics.

To the two of them…

It was…

Nothing at all.

“How is it? Does your head feel better now?”

“Y-Yeah… Just a sec, my hat…”

Once the treatment was over, Woojin spoke softly.

Jiyoon quickly pulled away from his arms and yanked her snapback down low.

There were only about three people nearby at most,

But it felt like all of them were staring.

“L-Let’s go. Ahem, ahem. You wanted to know what Unnie likes, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What Unnie likes… What Unnie likes…”

Speeding out of the alley, she tried to recall things about her sister.

…But.

What did Unnie like again?

Maybe because of what just happened, her mind was… blank.

Ah.

Right.

“Unnie likes coin karaoke…”

But.

That would mean going alone with him.

“…Unnie likes tteokbokki.”

“Tteokbokki…”

“She hasn’t had it in a while, so she’d probably like it if you took her… Ah, it has to be spicy. And she likes odeng more than the rice cakes. It’s only five minutes from here, so I’ll lead the way first—”

Jiyoon rapid-fired her words, as if trying to overwrite her earlier mumbling, before striding out of the alley.

Calm down. There’s no need to be nervous. Why am I even nervous?

He healed me, so I’m just paying him back by acting as Unnie and giving advice. Then we say goodbye. That’s it.

Overthinking it just makes it weirder.

Business relationship… Business relationship…

After taking a deep breath, she spun around and locked eyes with him.

“…Let’s go. Woojin-ah.”

“Huh?”

“I-It’s an act. Pretending to be Unnie. I owe you for the treatment, so…”

“Ahh…”

“Then again… Let’s go, Woojin-ah.”

“…Ahem. Yes, noona.”

“Don’t laugh!!”

Yanking her snapback down, she marched ahead, her snow-white hair swaying behind her.