To You Who Found Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7

“Alright, friend. Listen carefully.”

“Yeah.”

It had been a week since Ji Ho and Hye Yoon started their fake relationship. The storm of attention from Koreans—and honestly, from people all over the world—had calmed down somewhat. All that remained now was tidying up the mess left behind by the storm.

“You met Ahn Ji Ho because of the drama, then Jang Hye Yoon got drunk and passed out? So Ahn Ji Ho had no choice but to let Jang Hye Yoon stay overnight at his place?”

“That’s right.”

Hye Yoon nodded and sipped cool yuzu tea, filling her mouth with its refreshing taste. Min Joo watched her quietly. Even though she’d already heard the full story over the phone, facing Hye Yoon in person stirred up a whole new wave of questions.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense right off the bat.”

“What doesn’t?”

“That Jang Hye Yoon, who can easily handle a whole bottle of soju, passed out from drinking.”

“Haa… I know, right? I turned into a total liar. I bragged about my high tolerance, then passed out—what a ridiculous impression I must’ve made!”

Hye Yoon buried her soft face deep into both palms. No matter how much she rubbed her cheeks, the embarrassment from that day wouldn’t fade. It was ridiculous even to herself—she wasn’t even particularly bad with alcohol, yet she’d lost consciousness from sweet bokbunja wine.

At this point, she wondered if maybe she hadn’t gotten drunk on the wine at all—but on Ji Ho instead. Of course, she could never tell Min Joo that. Never.

“And that ‘no choice’ part… was it really true?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Min Joo’s brow furrowed slightly as she tried to recall the faint memory.

‘Were you really that drunk? It’s hard to leave right now—what should I do…?’

‘I’ll let you stay at my place tonight.’

‘Huh?!’

That day, she’d heard a strange man’s voice through Hye Yoon’s phone. Though startled at first by his offer to let her stay at his place—

‘Don’t worry. I have plenty of rooms.’

‘Oh…’

—she’d immediately felt relieved. Yet, oddly enough, it didn’t feel like she was the only one who felt that way. She could sense the same emotion in his voice, too.

She remembered his words at the end of the call—how he’d said he’d make her breakfast before sending her off. Maybe that relief came from knowing it would actually happen. If that was truly the reason, then Min Joo felt “no choice” wasn’t quite the right phrase.

“Maybe ‘fortunately’ would be better.”

“You don’t know? I called you around 1 a.m. that day. Now that I think about it, that voice was Ahn Ji Ho’s. No wonder… it sounded so smooth. Honestly, his words felt like divine revelation.”

Min Joo, who’d been interrogating like a detective, now had a wistful glint in her eyes.

“Anyway—even if letting you stay over was understandable, he also said he wanted to feed you breakfast before sending you off? Did he really say that?”

“Yeah…”

“What? That sounds even more romantic. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Eh… I guess I thought it wasn’t a big deal.”

Hye Yoon poked at the innocent ice cubes with her straw. Hearing about that day again now, after the fact, made her feel both slightly embarrassed and strangely warm.

“Anyway, anyway. So he let you stay for one night, and paparazzi managed to photograph everything. Ahn Ji Ho was obviously in trouble, but Jang Hye Yoon got into hot water too—even photos from a children’s book got leaked. So they decided to just admit they’re dating on the condition the photos wouldn’t be released?”

“That’s right.”

“But why are you appearing in the drama yourself? You’re the kind of person who shivers at the thought of your pen name getting exposed.”

“Ji Ho asked for it.”

“…Why?”

Min Joo’s sharp gaze pierced straight into Hye Yoon like an arrow.

“…Yeah, why?”

Hye Yoon couldn’t come up with an answer right away. She hadn’t even considered the core question Min Joo had grasped in just twenty minutes—not even once during the entire week since.

It really seemed like she’d definitely been drunk on Ji Ho that day. Everything had been so strange, yet she hadn’t noticed a thing.

“Then why is Ahn Ji Ho doing this drama? There’s practically no pay, it’s not a major production, and he’s literally the busiest person in Korea right now.”

“He did say he liked the script…”

“Sure—but he must’ve gotten offers from all those famous writers. And among all those scripts, a debut author’s rookie work was the best? According to news reports, Ahn Ji Ho’s getting flooded with international offers. So out of every script from around the world, a brand-new writer’s first piece was the most appealing?”

“…Yeah, why?”

Apparently poking the ice wasn’t enough anymore, so Hye Yoon popped an ice cube into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged and shifted as she chewed, but no matter how hard she tried, the numb, stunned feeling—like she’d just taken a hit—refused to fade.

“Well, this is something you could easily clarify with a phone call, so it’s not a big deal. You do know his number, right? After all, this is a strategically arranged relationship.”

“…Yeah, why?”

Crunch, crunch. The sound of ice breaking almost felt like her own heart shattering.

“Did you decide today you’d just keep saying ‘yeah, why?’ all day?”

“…Yeah, why.”

“You idiot. So you two haven’t contacted each other even once since that day?”

Min Joo clicked her tongue, pulled out the straw from her cup, and took a deep gulp.

[Writer, this is Ma Bong Gi, Ji Ho’s manager. Please contact me from now on for any future matters. Thank you for your help. (8:43 PM)]

Hye Yoon recalled the day she’d left Ji Ho’s house.

Ignoring even Bong Gi’s thoughtful offer, she’d taken a taxi home alone that day, mentally preparing for what lay ahead. She’d known full well that the world outside her door would change completely the next day—so much so that nothing she tried to do would stick. That message had arrived in the late afternoon.

That brief message held more than just gratitude. It was also a subtle request for cooperation—and even a quiet pressure, urging her not to create any extra trouble and to go through him for all future contact.

‘By the way, Ji Ho’s manager asked for your number? I gave it to him. Are the manager and actor not close? I found it kind of amusing that he asked me.’

And just a few days ago, during a call with Min Woo, she’d finally learned how Bong Gi had gotten her number. But she couldn’t tell Min Woo, who was waiting eagerly to see her reaction, “Ji Ho doesn’t even know my number either.”

Because now that the whole world believed Ahn Ji Ho and Jang Hye Yoon were dating, it would be ridiculous for a boyfriend not to know his girlfriend’s phone number.

“Are you going to the script reading alone?”

“With Woo Jun. I’m not a kid—I’d be fine going alone, but…”

“Ohh, so Kim Woo Jun is actually useful for something!”

Min Joo picked up her empty caffeine cup and headed toward the sink. From somewhere deep inside, Hye Yoon felt the urge to pour out this vague, suffocating frustration—just like the loud sound of water crashing down from afar.

Hye Yoon, Min Joo, and Woo Jun had been close friends since kindergarten. They’d been together for so long that none of them could even remember how or when they first became friends. Apart from family, they were the only two people who knew Hye Yoon’s pen name, Jang Yoon.

“By the way, are you really going ahead with unchanged?”

Min Joo wiped the water from her thighs with her hands. Hye Yoon knew exactly why she was asking. Min Joo had never liked the ending of from the start. Hye Yoon nodded calmly, though regretfully.

The ending was simple: Jong Soo had liked her but never expressed it, and Hee Soo noticed but still left for Seoul. Thus, to Jong Soo, Hee Soo would forever remain his cousin sister.

Even if they never saw each other again.

Min Joo shook her head, still clearly unsatisfied.

“It’s a shame. When you think about it, they’re basically strangers.”

“Come on—they’re family. Calling them strangers… just makes it sadder.”

Just as Min Joo said, Jong Soo and Hee Soo in were cousins, yet not a drop of blood connected them. And with both adoptive parents now gone, Hee Soo no longer even had a proper reason to call Jong Soo family.

But to Hee Soo, family wasn’t about that. To her, family was someone precious—someone you shouldn’t abandon, and who shouldn’t abandon you, no matter what.

“Yeah… Anyway, even if Jong Soo and Hee Soo’s story is bittersweet, I’m glad they seem to have plenty to enjoy in real life.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Seeing Hye Yoon tilt her head slightly, Min Joo smirked. She looked thrilled, like a child who’d just spotted a fun new game.

“Jong Soo secretly holds Hee Soo’s hand, and even kisses her in his dream, right?”

“Oh…”

That whirlwind week had been intense enough to make Hye Yoon forget the details of her own story. Only now did she remember, her mouth falling open slightly in realization—prompting Min Joo to laugh and continue.

“Anyway, don’t you forget—I’ll be joining you on set as your stylist during filming. No backing out later.”

“Yeah. I’m really grateful. I can’t pay much, but I’ll give you unforgettable memories instead.”

“Normally I’d ask for money instead of memories, but since it’s a filming location… I’m totally satisfied. If I’m lucky, I might even see some other male actors? Hehe.”

Min Joo broke a slightly oversized cookie neatly in half with her fingers and grinned playfully. Munching on the cookie, she looked like a mischievous kid. “I really made the right choice quitting my job,” she mumbled.

Ding-dong! –

[Hye Yoon, don’t forget the script reading tomorrow at 2 p.m. If you can’t find the place when you arrive, just call me. (10:10 PM)]

Accompanied by a crisp notification, Min Woo’s reminder arrived. That’s right—tomorrow marked the official start of drama production.

With Ji Ho’s confirmed casting, everything had accelerated at lightning speed. Advertisers and sponsors were now competing to join, making the budget plentiful, and the broadcaster even planned to move the original Monday midnight Drama Special slot to Friday nights at 10 p.m. as a special arrangement.

Lately, she could feel his standing in this industry every single day.

“Hye Yoon, can I ask you just one really, really burning question?”

Hye Yoon swallowed hard at Min Joo’s twitching eyebrows and sparkling eyes, silently praying the question wouldn’t force her to lie.

“Swearing on our twenty-year friendship—did absolutely nothing happen between you two that day? Really… really nothing?”

“Yeah!”

Hye Yoon answered confidently, relieved it wasn’t a trickier question—though the moment she heard the words “nothing happened,” the memory of that morning, standing in just her underwear, flashed through her mind, making her shake her head vigorously.

“Huh? Wait, what? Why are you shaking your head now? That sounds like a lie!”

“No! I was just thinking about something else. Honestly!”

“…Alright. Jang Hye Yoon doesn’t seem like the type to lie. But I’m still suspicious…”

Hye Yoon found Min Joo’s slightly more exaggerated head-shaking oddly cute. A small laugh escaped through her lips. She comforted herself with the thought that she hadn’t lied—she’d just left something out.

Beyond the café window, past business hours, lay nothing but pitch-black night. After this night passed, she’d see Ji Ho again—after a whole week. Hye Yoon lightly ran her tongue over her plump lips. Maybe it was the lingering taste of yuzu tea, but for some reason, the night felt sweet.