After graduating high school, Lee Soo had changed her number and hadn’t contacted Min Jae since, leaving her memory hazy.
‘Is it just a coincidence?’
Rubbing her forehead, Lee Soo frowned, contemplating the unexpected call.
As Lee Soo was about to check her missed messages, her phone vibrated.
She stared at the screen, seeing the number that had called her earlier.
‘Should I answer it? Ignore it?’
After hesitating, she decided to answer the ongoing call.
“Hello?”
[…]“Hello?”
[It’s me, Min Jae.]“Oh…”
Although she had suspected it might be Min Jae, hearing his voice still took her by surprise, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Min Jae’s cautious voice came from the other end.
“…”
Lee Soo remained silent, simply listening.
[Seems like I startled you with my sudden call.]“…What do you want?”
Her voice was rigid.
This was the first time she had spoken to Min Jae since high school graduation.
She wondered if this sudden call had anything to do with her recent encounter with Do Yeon.
[I just thought of you. Wanted to know how you’ve been.]“I’m fine.”
[Okay. Um…]The conversation was awkward for Min Jae as well. Having mustered the courage to call after a few days of saving the number given by Lee Soo’s brother, he found himself at a loss for words in the face of her cold response.
“…”
Lee Soo sighed without saying anything.
She had no feelings for Min Jae now, but thoughts of him inevitably brought back unwanted memories.
“If you have nothing else to say…”
[Alright, I’ll hang up for today.]With that, the call abruptly ended.
“Ha… What was that call about?”
It was a call with no particular purpose or content.
After hanging up, Lee Soo puzzled over how Min Jae could have gotten her new number. Only a handful of her high school friends knew it.
Monday night, outside Lee Soo’s house.
“Lee Soo… I have something to tell you.”
Jiho cautiously began as Lee Soo was about to get out of the car.
“I thought you might get upset if you found out later. There could be misunderstandings…”
Holding Lee Soo’s hand, Jiho met her gaze.
“What is it?”
Lee Soo turned towards him.
“My mom asked me to do something, so I have to go to your house tomorrow, I mean, to Aunt Sumin’s.”
Lee Soo blinked several times, surprised.
“My mom wants me to deliver something to Aunt Sumin.”
“Okay. Go and come back. Just deliver the thing.”
“But… I might have to eat dinner there too. I’ve been putting off Aunt Sumin’s dinner invitations for a while now. When I said I’d go tomorrow, she insisted on preparing dinner. My mom made the plan without asking me. It’s hard to refuse since she doesn’t know about us. I couldn’t just outright say no.”
Jiho explained the situation.
Essentially, it was a request from his mom that he couldn’t refuse.
Listening and nodding, Lee Soo slightly furrowed her brow.
‘It seems selfish to ask him to cancel an already made appointment.’
Jiho was close enough to Sumin to call her aunt, so it wouldn’t be odd for him to have dinner there if Lee Soo wasn’t in the picture.
The thought of Jiho having dinner at her house, after already being together at Yumi’s birthday, felt unsettling to Lee Soo.
‘If it’s already planned for tomorrow, Yumi probably knows by now.’
Thinking of Yumi’s likely happy face made Lee Soo uncomfortable.
Jiho, observing Lee Soo’s changing expression, swallowed nervously.
“Lee Soo…”
“Then… let’s go together tomorrow.”
Lee Soo spoke slowly, as if she had made up her mind.
“Let’s go to my house together. That should work.”
Thinking of Sumin, who had earmarked Jiho as a potential husband for Yumi, Lee Soo couldn’t bear to let Jiho go alone.
If Won Jin joined Jiho for dinner in her absence, things might get even more complicated.
It seemed better to reveal the truth before Sumin and Yumi fell into greater misconceptions.
It could be a bombshell announcement for both Sumin and Yumi.
Lee Soo wanted to avoid such a situation, but now that it had come to this, she couldn’t pretend not to know anymore.
“…Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Jiho asked with concern.
Though Lee Soo hadn’t elaborated, Jiho had guessed that the relationship between Sumin, Yumi, and Lee Soo wasn’t the best.
“Of course, it’s fine. It’s my house.”
Lee Soo was uncertain about what might happen tomorrow but had anticipated such a day would come.
Having not visited home under the pretext of studying last week, she now thought she should inform Won Jin in advance.
“What time are we supposed to go?”
“6 PM.”
“Right at dinner time. Since we have to eat anyway, let’s go, eat, and come back.”
Lee Soo smiled faintly at Jiho, who looked worriedly at her.
“I’m more concerned about how you’ll handle it.”
Lee Soo looked at Jiho with worry.
“…Why?”
“Because of my dad. I’m planning to see him since it’s been a while.”
“Ah…”
“Dad might ask a lot of questions and make you uncomfortable. He’s a bit sensitive about my affairs.”
Jiho’s face tensed up at the sudden thought of meeting Lee Soo’s father.
The situation seemed to have shifted from a simple errand for his mom to meeting his girlfriend’s father, making him feel uneasy.
Lee Soo stroked Jiho’s shoulder while smiling.
“Don’t worry too much. Dad can’t say much against me. If it gets too much, I’ll step in.”
“That’s good. At least we get to spend a lot of time together tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the ride. Drive safely.”
After lightly kissing Jiho on the cheek, Lee Soo got out of the car.
The thought of going to her house tomorrow evening brought a long sigh from Lee Soo.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
