Impure Among Friends (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3

On the dining table bathed in dazzling golden sunlight, Ok Hee placed a flower basket she had made in her flower arrangement class. Her daughter Yeon Seo, catching the floral scent, asked,

“These are so pretty, Mom. What kind of flowers are these?”

“Deutzia, Eustoma roses, freesias, and tulips. Why don’t you join one of my classes sometime?”

“I guess I didn’t inherit your talent—my hands aren’t made for crafts. I’ll just enjoy looking at them.”

“Who said you’re not good with your hands? You haven’t even tried yet.”

Despite her gently chiding tone, Ok Hee’s eyes, fixed on her only daughter, were as warm as spring sunshine.

Like a delicate blossom nurtured in a greenhouse, Yeon Seo possessed a slender, almost ethereal frame and a clear, fresh beauty that bloomed fully with the arrival of spring.

So what if she lacked manual skill? She was this lovely and graceful anyway.

“Mom, isn’t today the day Tae Hee unnie’s coming?”

At Yeon Seo’s words, Ok Hee’s expression turned icy.

“Why can’t she just skip once, using work as an excuse? She shows up so punctually every time—it’s clearly to drag your father over and twist our insides. How can she be so cunning at such a young age!”

Just thinking of that detestable woman and her daughter made her voice tremble with rage.

Though normally too timid to even speak properly when they met, she had a surprisingly ruthless streak. It was high time that woman disappeared from this neighborhood, yet she still clung on stubbornly.

Every time Ok Hee saw Hye Suk, she felt frantic with anxiety—her chest tight with dread, her heart pounding wildly over when the truth might finally come out.

So she constantly nagged and pleaded with Seon Tae: couldn’t he just exile that woman far overseas?

Each time, Seon Tae brushed her off calmly, insisting the woman wouldn’t recklessly open her mouth, and told her to relax.

In the end, it was Ok Hee herself who, burning with anxiety and overwhelmed by fear, had resorted to taking pills and scheming.

She’d deftly spread rumors about that woman and successfully turned the neighborhood against her. Terrified, the woman had stopped stepping outside her house altogether.

Just as life started feeling manageable again, her daughter became the new problem. Unlike her naive mother, this girl—who did she take after—was unnervingly shrewd.

She’d managed to build a close friendship with Sa Jun, surpassing even Ok Hee’s own daughter, and ultimately convinced Seon Tae to visit their house regularly, even extracting living expenses month after month. Even after moving to Seoul independently as an adult, she still came back to Ilsan once a month to stir up trouble and unsettle Ok Hee.

“Dad isn’t going because he wants to—so don’t stress too much, Mom. You know it’s just because of us that he forces himself to keep up with work and visits that insincere auntie’s house.”

Of course, Ok Hee knew that too.

She understood Min Seon Tae—utterly lacking any business acumen—only held the Vice President Song Hyeon position over his older brother by constantly highlighting Sa Jun’s and Tae Hee’s relationship to Chairman Min.

Still unable to calm her simmering resentment, Ok Hee huffed in frustration—until Yeon Seo spoke again in a gentle tone.

“Still, I’m grateful to Tae Hee unnie. Because she comes, I get to see Oppa Sa Jun. So let’s send Dad off cheerfully, okay?”

“Sigh… who on earth did you inherit such kindness from?”

As Ok Hee softly scolded her daughter, her eyes drifted downward.

“Yeon Seo, could you hand me back those flowers and the wrapping paper?”

“Why? You just threw them out to throw away.”

“She loves flowers, doesn’t she? At least let your dad take these over when he goes to their house.”

Picking up the discarded paper and wilted flowers from the floor, Yeon Seo smiled sweetly as she handed them over.

“Mom, maybe I’m kind because I take after you.”

“Well, it’s only right that people with means live generously and kindly—what else can we do?”

As Ok Hee reassembled a bouquet from the discarded wrapping and flowers, she began humming a little tune.

[This is the timeline separator]

Even after two solid hours of intense weight training, his overflowing energy remained undiminished. To suppress the vigorous vitality surging restlessly through his body, Sa Jun headed toward the treadmill. Jin Won happened to be walking slowly on it at that moment.

“Hyung, what does it even mean when people say you’re annoyingly handsome?”

“What do you think it means? It means they admit you’re handsome, but dislike you so much that even your good looks don’t help.”

That word—”dislike”—hit Sa Jun like a hammer to the ear. His mood darkened, and he just glared grimly at his phone. Noticing this, Jin Won cautiously spoke up again.

“Instead of waiting desperately, why don’t you just call Tae Hee?”

“Why would I? She’ll call me when it’s time.”

At Sa Jun’s sullen reply, Jin Won clicked his tongue.

“Just treat Tae Hee a bit better. Only then will she understand your feelings.”

Sa Jun finally looked at Jin Won.

“What feelings?”

“You clearly like Tae Hee, don’t you?”

“…Do I really seem like I like her—even to you, hyung?”

“Wouldn’t it be stranger if you didn’t know?”

Sa Jun fell silent, lost in thought, prompting Jin Won to continue.

“Even if we assume you don’t like her—still, isn’t it unfair? Tae Hee’s always the one initiating contact, visiting you, and taking care of everything, while you just sit there and accept it all.”

As if anyone actually wanted things that way. In truth, Sa Jun harbored a secret he couldn’t share with anyone.

“Just pretend to be my friend. In return, I’ll play the fool who’ll even fake dying just to please you.”

Thirteen years ago, on a rainy day, Min Tae Hee had climbed over the terrace to make this absurd proposal. Back then, Sa Jun had felt only a faint curiosity toward her—everyone his age and even adults went out of their way to win his favor, yet Min Tae Hee alone seemed to dislike him.

That very fact made her stand out in Sa Jun’s eyes. Watching someone who clearly disliked him seemed like an entertaining diversion—a small spark in his otherwise dull routine.

“Except the moment we start liking each other, our friendship ends. That’s my condition.”

Even that final condition from Min Tae Hee had appealed to him.

As a new transfer student, having the student council president Min Tae Hee as an ally would offer significant advantages—this deal seemed to carry no downside. He accepted, thinking he could always walk away if it didn’t work out.

But not only did he never walk away—he became utterly addicted to Min Tae Hee himself.

She wasn’t even a superhero, yet what couldn’t this girl do? Sharp-minded, dependable, and perceptive beyond her years—she anticipated Sa Jun’s needs before he even voiced them.

What pleased him most was how she instantly appeared and shut down anyone who tried to bother him, intercepting them before they could approach within fifty meters.

Min Tae Hee had seeped into every corner of Sa Jun’s life to the point where a single day felt impossible without her.

Whenever he couldn’t sleep, felt down, or lay feverish with flu on the brink of death—whenever he opened his eyes, Min Tae Hee was always there beside him.

Through those years together, thirteen had passed, and Sa Jun came to know Min Tae Hee well.

She was meticulously calculating yet not truly selfish—she refused to accept anything unless she could give something in return. Stubborn and absurdly proud.

He cherished how Min Tae Hee looked after him. Even her rapid-fire nagging felt good, and her occasional harmless little acts of “violence” felt comforting.

For Sa Jun, who had always been alone, these were the moments he stopped feeling lonely—the moments he truly felt part of the human world.

Only because it was Min Tae Hee could these things happen.

The method he himself had devised to keep Min Tae Hee—the person he absolutely couldn’t lose—by his side felt pitiful even to him.

Acting like a good-for-nothing who couldn’t function without constant care.

That was his own secret strategy to hold onto Min Tae Hee all this time.

“Kang Sa Jun, you’re not a helpless newborn. Even if you’re close friends, isn’t that going too far?”

“…A newborn?”

Sa Jun shot Jin Won a terrifying glare, making him flinch.

“No, I just meant it as an example! Where would you find a big, muscular newborn like you anyway? Hahaha! Can’t I even crack a joke?”

Sa Jun was already furious over Min Tae Hee lately—this felt like fanning flames on a burning house.

Calmly, he shifted the conversation to work.

“I heard there’s a buyer for that renovated little building in Apgujeong?”

The Geo Club and Geo Bar were just fronts—for his father’s family and Min Tae Hee. Sa Jun’s real profession was as CEO of Project Geo, a real estate leasing and consulting firm.

“Yeah, but they’re offering 200 million won below market price, saying it seems overpriced. Still, we’d net at least 2.5 billion won…?”

“How can a decades-old single-story building equal a brand-new nine-story one? Nothing under 7.5 billion.”

Jin Won’s lips twitched in disbelief at the blunt instruction to close the deal at 7.5 billion no matter what.

“Director Kim Jin Won, can’t you handle it?”

“Of course I can! When the CEO says peel, the secretary must peel—hahaha!”

After Jin Won left with slumped shoulders, Sa Jun increased the treadmill speed slightly.

Min Tae Hee, Min Tae Hee, Min Tae Hee.

His mind was completely filled with her.

Lately, Min Tae Hee had been acting strange.

She seemed to keep avoiding him, creating distance, her attention drifting elsewhere.

Was he no longer needed? Or had she found someone she liked?

If she was pushing him away again because of another man, what should he do this time?

Sa Jun’s head already ached just thinking about it.

Looking back, Min Tae Hee had always defied expectations.

She acted like she belonged to him, yet never truly did—like sand slipping through his fingers the tighter he tried to grasp it.

What on earth am I supposed to do with you?

Just as he was glaring fiercely at his innocent phone, it rang.

It was the call he’d been waiting for desperately—Min Tae Hee.

After deliberately letting it ring a few seconds, Sa Jun answered coolly.

“What.”

[I just got to Ilsan safely. Are you working out again?]

“Yeah.”

[Good. When you come to Ilsan, stop by Zeus Hotel’s bakery and bring me some macarons.]

“What will you give me in return if I deliver macarons?”

[Seriously? That’s so stingy!]

That one word—”stingy”—left Sa Jun with a torrent of words he couldn’t say.

You’re the one being unfair. For thirteen years, I kept only you by my side. I gave you everything you wanted. I let only you into my personal space, into my bed, even showed you my naked body.

Then why, all of a sudden, are you trying to push me away?

What am I supposed to do after spending thirteen years with only you by my side?

All those unsayable words tumbled out in a single bitter line.

“Nothing in this world comes for free.”

After all, Min Tae Hee hated freebies more than anything.

[True—free things always cause trouble. What do you want me to do for you?]

Seeing Tae Hee ask what she could offer made the corners of Sa Jun’s mouth twitch slightly.

But he kept his tone perfectly calm and casual.

“Grandpa says weird rumors are going around about me. Since I never date women, people are guessing either my tastes are unusual or I have issues downstairs.”

[…]

“I’d just ignore it, but Grandpa’s raising a huge fuss, saying I should either start dating or go on blind dates and get married.”

[Why all of a sudden, when he’s never said anything before?]

Min Tae Hee, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke—her voice slightly reluctant.

“Adults always have this fixed idea that you must marry before thirty. You even told me your mom in Ilsan keeps pressuring you to get married.”

[…]

“Min Tae Hee, you know I can never say no to Grandpa.”

[So what are you going to do?]

He wanted to say: Won’t you just pretend to date me?

But he swallowed the words, already picturing her predictable reaction. These days, she was already drifting away—he feared one wrong word might lose her forever.

“I only have you as a friend, so help me figure this out. You’re smart, after all.”

[When someone with IQ 160 calls me smart, it feels like mockery.]

“I’m genuinely asking for help. Your mind works better than mine.”

[Woah, you’re calling me smart while backhandedly insulting me again.]

When Tae Hee flared up, Sa Jun chuckled quietly—and only then did she laugh along too. Hearing her bright laughter through the phone made her feel like her usual self again, as if his earlier unease had been nothing but baseless worry.

Still chuckling, Tae Hee asked again,

[So will you bring the macarons or not?]

“We’ll see.”

He would bring them.

But he wanted to play hard to get just once—her voice sounded so good after weeks without talking.

[My sugar levels are dropping in Ilsan—should I go cause a scene?]

“Don’t say creepy stuff like that.”

[The more you tell me not to, the more I want to.]

“You never listen, do you.”

Despite his words, a faint smile spread across Sa Jun’s lips.

“I’ll buy you a ridiculous amount until your stomach bursts. Just don’t cause trouble—wait nicely for me.”

Min Tae Hee should’ve cheered “Yes!” in excitement—but instead, silence came from the other end of the line.

“Min Tae Hee, did you hang up?”

[No.]

“Then why aren’t you saying anything?”

…Making people anxious on purpose.

[Why are you so impatient? I was just about to speak.]

As if her impatience was anything new! Sa Jun, exasperated, was about to snap back—

[Just wait nicely—I’ll be quick.]

His mind went blank for a moment.

Did I hear that wrong? Did I misinterpret it?

While replaying her words in his head, the call had already ended.

Beep… beep…

Staring at the disconnected phone with uneasy eyes, Sa Jun thought:

Min Tae Hee really has changed.