Yumi continued to glare at the back of Yi Soo’s head as she entered the bathroom, then stomped over to the bathroom door.

“Really? Don’t you dare change your story later! You clearly said you’re not in any kind of relationship!”

Yumi shouted at the closed door before finally leaving Yi Soo’s room.

Even after entering her own room, she couldn’t calm down and paced around restlessly.

The scene she had just witnessed kept replaying in her mind.

Yi Soo getting out of elder brother Ji Ho’s car, and elder brother Ji Ho watching until Yi Soo disappeared.

“Argh! No way!”

Yumi grabbed fistfuls of her hair and shook her head violently.

She had seen it clearly with her own eyes, but it was a scene she didn’t want to believe even after seeing it.

Yumi first met Ji Ho when she was young, through her mother.

Before Choi Soo Min remarried Jung Won Jin, she met Ji Ho’s mother for the first time while working as a cooking instructor.

The two women were the same age and had children of similar ages, so they hit it off from the start.

With her agreeable personality that got along well with others, Choi Soo Min quickly gained Kim Yeon Soo’s favor and they became close friends. Through their mothers’ friendship, Yumi and Ji Ho naturally grew closer as well.

From then on, Ji Ho had always been Yumi’s ideal type.

Perhaps because she met such a perfect man from the beginning, she couldn’t even imagine other men.

No one could replace Ji Ho, and that would remain true in the future.

She had worked desperately hard to get into Korea University, all because of Ji Ho.

Just imagining becoming a campus couple with Ji Ho made her happy.

One week after starting university.

“I was so close…”

Yumi chewed on her lip and exhaled roughly, her chest heaving.

“We’re not in any kind of relationship.”

Yi Soo’s voice, speaking with an indifferent and dry expression, kept ringing in her ears like tinnitus.

Though she had glared at her as if to see through to her soul, Yumi couldn’t detect any lies in Yi Soo’s eyes.

It seemed sincere.

Then why.

There’s no way elder brother Ji Ho would drive just anyone, someone he’s not close to, all the way home.

The Ji Ho that Yumi knew wasn’t someone who was kind and friendly to just anyone.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was almost certain that at least Yi Soo wasn’t “just anyone” to Ji Ho.

Ji Ho was often indifferent even to Yumi, whom he had known for a long time, to the point of being hurtful.

Knowing that he didn’t show unnecessary kindness or favor to people, Yumi felt even more anxious.

Last summer, she had met Ji Ho along with Yeon Soo, who had come from London.

Though it was a busy time preparing for college entrance exams, Yumi had dropped everything to go.

After having dinner together, when their mothers said they would stay longer, Ji Ho and Yumi left the restaurant first.

Ji Ho had come in that car she saw today, so she naturally expected him to drive her home.

“Yumi, I called a taxi for you. Take that home.”

“Aw, but I want to ride in your car. Can’t you take me?”

“Next time. I’m a bit busy.”

When the taxi arrived, Ji Ho just kindly said goodbye while opening the back door for her.

It was only a 10-minute drive home, but he said he was too busy to take her.

He did that to me, and yet.

He drove Yi Soo all the way home even in this rain.

Her heart felt like it would burst from the jealousy bubbling up inside her.

She felt like she needed to do something right away to calm down, but there was nothing she could do.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

Yumi took several deep breaths as she opened her phone.

−Elder brother, you haven’t forgotten your promise to treat me to a meal when I start university, right?

−Yeah.

−When are you going to treat me? Let me know when you’re free and I’ll make time.

−Okay.

−Elder brother, how about this Saturday? Sunday is fine for me too.

−I’m busy that day.

−Alright. Then when are you free?

These were messages exchanged sporadically with Ji Ho over the past week.

When she sent a message, she would get a reply by the next day at the latest, but it had been two days since she sent the last message and still no reply.

Today was the Saturday that Ji Ho said he was too busy for.

“The fact that he drove Yi Soo home means they met…”

As that thought occurred to her, jealousy surged up again.

“So he was busy meeting Yi Soo today? How do they even know each other?”

They had different majors, and there was no overlap in their paths through elementary, middle, or high school.

There’s no way the two of them could have met through a blind date or group date.

The Ji Ho that Yumi knew detested such things, and Yi Soo was the same.

“This morning she acted like she was reluctantly going out because her mother’s family was coming over. What’s this, she was just pretending when she was going to go out anyway? This is really ridiculous.”

Yumi flopped face-down on the bed and stared intently at her phone.

‘What could they have been doing together.’

All kinds of imaginings popped into her head, making it hard to breathe.

Elder brother should be home by now.

−Elder brother, can I call you?

Yumi typed the message into her phone, then deleted it again.

Ji Ho hadn’t even replied to the last message she sent.

If he doesn’t reply this time either, I’ll really be hurt.

I have so many questions, but I don’t think Yi Soo would answer kindly even if I asked her.

Yumi just kept letting out frustrated sighs.

Of all people, to be acquainted with Jung Yi Soo.

She didn’t like that they even knew each other.

Something felt strangely very unsettling.

**

The elevator doors smoothly opened as it arrived at the 55th floor.

Ji Ho opened the front door and entered the empty apartment.

Originally it had been home to a family of three, but when Seo Tae Jin left 3 years ago after being appointed as a professor at a university in England, Kim Yeon Soo moved to England to join her husband after Ji Ho finished his college entrance exams.

Since then, Ji Ho had been living alone.

As soon as he entered, Ji Ho took a can of beer from the refrigerator and sat down on the single-person sofa in the living room.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Han River could be seen undulating far below at a dizzying height.

It was already evening, though it would have only taken 20 minutes if he had come straight home after dropping off Jun Woo, but he had taken the time to drive Yi Soo home.

Ji Ho opened the beer can with a pop and brought it to his lips.

Perhaps due to his thirst, the cold beer went down in big gulps without stopping.

“Now I feel a bit better.”

Ji Ho sank deep into the sofa and reflected on the events of the day.

He had seen Jung Yi Soo by chance, and meddlesomely tried to lend her an umbrella and struck up a conversation.

He gave her the perfume after she said she remembered the scent, and on the excuse of heavy rain, he insisted on driving home someone who had only asked to borrow an umbrella.

And then.

He asked for her phone number.

He even asked her to have a meal together and got rejected.

Thinking up to that point, laughter burst from Ji Ho’s lips.

“What on earth was I doing.”

When he met Jung Yi Soo, strangely impulsive words and actions popped out without going through his head.

It was something the usual Ji Ho would never have done.

Why did he offer to take back the umbrella?

He should have just told her to keep it.

There were plenty of unopened new umbrellas in his shoe closet.

Was he trying to make an excuse to meet again?

Why? Ji Ho asked himself.

The answer was “I don’t know.”

As Ji Ho stared blankly at the open view, Yi Soo’s brightly smiling face suddenly popped into his mind.

Every detail of her excessively delighted expression was clear.

Ji Ho slowly closed and opened his eyes, rubbing his face with his large hand.

Just then, the vibration sound of his phone on the table scattered Yi Soo’s face like the wind.

He was too lazy to reach out, so he waited for the vibration to stop, but it kept ringing persistently.

Ji Ho put down the empty beer can on the table and picked up the phone with that hand.

Lee Ha Joon.

Confirming the name on the screen, he pressed the call button.

“Yeah, Ha Joon.”

[Why did you take so long to answer? Where are you?]

“Home. Did you get discharged from the hospital?”

Ji Ho leaned back on the sofa again as he spoke.

[Yeah. I was discharged this morning and came home. Hey, I heard you joined a club?]

Ji Ho just chuckled lowly in response to Ha Joon’s surprised voice.

[What’s this, you didn’t budge an inch when I begged you to join together last year. I was so shocked when I got the call just now. What’s going on, joining without even telling me?]

You must have been surprised. I’m surprised at myself too.

“Hmm… Should I just quit right away?”

Ji Ho said as he stroked his chin with his fingertips.

[What do you mean quit? Enjoy your college life a bit this year. Don’t just attend classes and disappear like last year. It’s fun, you just don’t know because you haven’t tried it.]

“Okay. We’ll see just how fun it is.”

[By the way, did you resolve that issue of looking for Yi Soo?]

“Yeah.”

Ji Ho nodded absent-mindedly, then suddenly seemed to remember something about Yi Soo and continued speaking.

“Ha Joon, I have a favor to ask.”

[What?]

“If Jung Yi Soo asks you for anything, please refuse everything.”

[What are you suddenly talking about?]

“I have something to get from her, but I want to receive it directly.”

[Are you worried she might ask me to pass it on to you? What is it?]

“It’s nothing much…”

[Alright. I’ll do that. In return, you have to keep going to the club.]

Though he didn’t know why he had done it himself, if he needed an excuse to meet again, he thought he should grab it properly.

If it was Jung Yi Soo who had made that troubled expression when he asked to have a meal together, she might ask Ha Joon instead.

**

Yi Soo neatly folded the well-dried umbrella along its ribs and put it in her bag.

On Mondays, she had classes from 9 AM to 5 PM, with only a one-hour lunch break.

She arrived at school carrying a heavy bag matching her packed schedule.

Sitting in the lecture hall and taking out her books, Yi Soo looked at the umbrella and thought.

‘I wonder when he’ll contact me. It’s heavy to keep carrying around, should I contact him first and ask to meet?’

Yi Soo found Seo Ji Ho in her phone contacts.

An unfamiliar number appeared.

If he was going to receive it today, he would have contacted her yesterday. But there had been no contact from Ji Ho over the weekend.

As Yi Soo was staring intently at the message button under Seo Ji Ho’s name, Ae Ra plopped down in the seat next to her.

Ae Ra was Yi Soo’s closest friend in medical school.

They became close right after entering school as same-aged freshmen who got in without having to repeat a year, among the many students who had taken 2 or 3 tries to get into medical school.

“Yi Soo, why are you staring at your phone like that?”

“I borrowed an umbrella, and I’m debating whether to contact first to return it.”

Yi Soo said as she turned off her phone screen and put it in her pocket.

“An umbrella? Who did you borrow it from?”

“…Seo Ji Ho.”

Yi Soo deliberately paused a bit before answering.

She could already imagine what Ae Ra’s reaction would be.

“Gack! What did you say?”

“Hehe. As expected.”

Ae Ra’s expression changed dramatically at the mention of Seo Ji Ho, from asking indifferently.

She covered her surprised mouth with both hands and opened her already large eyes even wider.

Ae Ra always praised Seo Ji Ho, saying he was more handsome than a celebrity whenever she saw him from afar.

She said how great it was to be able to see such a face in real life, and that thanks to Seo Ji Ho, she enjoyed coming to school.

“What happened? Why do you have Seo Ji Ho’s umbrella?”

Ae Ra turned completely towards Yi Soo with an expression of dying curiosity.

“It’s a long story.”

Yi Soo summarized the recent events involving Ji Ho for Ae Ra.

“What! You met on the plane? And in the seat right next to you?”

Ae Ra asked with her eyes wide open in surprise.

As it was the expected reaction, Yi Soo nodded lightly.

“Wow, goosebumps. It’s like a movie. How can there be such a coincidence?”

Ae Ra rubbed her arms with her palms as if she really had goosebumps.

“It’s no ordinary connection. You must have been so happy!”

“Just a pile-up of coincidences, that’s all. Anyway. Isn’t it a bit much for me to contact first about returning the umbrella?”

“No! Call him right now and ask to meet.”

Ae Ra’s expression said ‘what is there to hesitate about?’

“Should I do it for you? I want to hear his voice on the phone just once. Hehe.”

“Hey, no thanks!”

“Why? What are you hesitating for?”

At that moment, Yi Soo’s phone in her pocket vibrated briefly.