Visible Love (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8

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When she said it was already 4 p.m. and that she had to leave, I felt a strange sense of regret. I only thought to myself how regretful it was, yet the absurd words “Are you leaving already?” slipped out of my mouth.

She must have thought I was acting weird… So I made up an excuse about coffee. When did I ever start drinking coffee? I don’t even drink it because of my insomnia…

I was curious if she even had coffee at home, but luckily, it seemed Seol Ji Hyun had bought some for himself. She even added ice cubes and served the coffee right in front of him.

If Seol Ji Hyun saw me sitting face to face with her like this over coffee, he’d probably tease me about it for the rest of my life.

She said she wanted to become a writer. That surprised me. Did she even write anything? But after hearing the rest, it seemed writing was just an excuse—she was probably just shy. She claimed to be a cram school instructor, though that didn’t seem very convincing either…

She looked so flustered herself—how could she possibly teach anyone?

And yet, she told me to practice poses in front of the mirror in my room. Never mind the mirror—why poses at all?

There was a brief sound of her sipping, then she quickly cleared her throat and continued.

“So, is it just about ‘just feel’—sensing your own movements?”

I couldn’t understand what she was talking about at all. What movements?

“What movements are you even doing in your room?”

At Woo Jin’s cold tone, Su Young slightly turned her head and raised the corners of her eyes.

“Cool movements—you know, ones that look cool even if nobody’s watching.”

“Why?”

“So the photos turn out well.”

“Photos?”

Woo Jin vaguely recalled when he’d last taken any photos, and with a soft sigh, he tried to cut off this conversation that felt like a hamster running in circles.

“I don’t get what you’re saying.”

“Aren’t you a model? Just looking at you—you’re tall, thin, and don’t eat much. You totally look like a model…”

At this unexpected remark, Woo Jin fixed his gaze on her. What on earth was this woman talking about to a man who couldn’t even see ahead of him?

“…Are you mocking me?”

Seeing his eyes turn icy, Su Young quickly changed her expression. She wasn’t teasing him at all!

“Aren’t you a model?”

“How could I possibly be a model? I don’t even know where the camera is.”

“You really don’t know anything, do you? Models never look at the camera. They just stare into empty space or at the product and strike cool poses however they like, and the director just shoots it. Standing stiffly and staring directly into the camera is what amateurs do.”

“…You’re noisy. Just go already.”

As Woo Jin stood up from his seat, Su Young grumbled.

“Tch, look at you—jumping up the second you finish your drink. I haven’t even had half of mine yet…”

He paused mid-stand, hesitating.

“What have you been doing this whole time that you haven’t finished yet—while I was already done?”

“Tea time is supposed to be about savoring your drink, not chugging it down like you’re drinking leftover rice water, Mr. Seol Woo Jin. It’s not really about the tea—it’s about chatting.”

Woo Jin, caught between standing fully and sitting back down, remained awkwardly half-bent, unable to fully move either way as she kept chattering away.

Finding something oddly cute about his posture, Su Young let out a soft chuckle and deliberately scraped her chair back before standing up.

“It’s late, so I’ll leave now. Go back inside and get to work.”

Hearing that insolent woman’s voice one last time, Woo Jin’s expression turned utterly exasperated.

[This is the timeline separator]

Meeting up with college friends was always fun. Out of the four, two were teachers, one was a housewife, and one was unemployed—naturally, the unemployed one was Su Young.

So Ra, the housewife who had married her high school sweetheart early, always insisted she too was an unemployed “freeloader” like Su Young, though to anyone’s eyes, she was clearly the most relaxed and happiest among them.

Even friends who used to passionately argue that women needed self-actualization would fall into delusions whenever they saw her cheerful face—wondering if marrying a rich man and becoming a housewife really was the easiest path in life.

“How’s your job hunt going?”

Mi Jin, one of the teacher friends, asked Su Young.

Since her hometown was Seoul but she had opted to take the teaching certification exam in Incheon to avoid Seoul’s fierce competition, her long commute had left her looking noticeably more haggard than before.

“I’m trying, but it’s not going well. It’s so hard to get into a company. Honestly, I don’t even know which company would suit me.”

Su Young said this while sipping her strawberry-banana juice through a straw.

“If you can’t get a job, don’t just kill time—go to grad school instead. Didn’t Professor Shin Hyun Suk invite you to join her program back then?”

“Was that because she liked me, or just because she needed someone to slave over her thesis?”

Her friends silently nodded in agreement.

“Oh, right—didn’t you say you got a part-time job?”

Recalling a phone conversation with Su Young, So Ra asked with curious eyes, and Su Young nodded.

“Yeah.”

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“What kind of part-time job?”

After a brief pause, Su Young answered Mi Jin’s question.

“A helper.”

“A helper? Like a housekeeper?”

Feeling uneasy about doing housekeeping work at such a young age, Su Young quickly improvised.

“It’s more like tutoring—taking care of a kid who won’t listen…”

Her friends all nodded knowingly.

“So you’re giving private lessons? Do they call tutors ‘helpers’ these days? Is it for elementary or middle schoolers?”

At her teacher friend’s comment, Su Young replied with a resigned expression.

“A repeat student.”

“Whoa, so you must be getting paid really well! Are you teaching the college entrance exam? The verbal section?”

“Just… general stuff…”

She bit back the urge to say “character education.”

“That’s great! Honestly, that’s better than forcing yourself into some random company job. Just one kid isn’t so bad. Middle schoolers can be such monsters—manageable alone, but in groups, they all go crazy together. Impossible to handle.”

Mi Jin sighed, and Ye Won, who taught at a Seoul high school, laughed and added,

“At least middle schoolers are still cute. High schoolers act like they’ve already lived full lives. They always tell me, ‘Teacher, you don’t understand life.’ Isn’t that ridiculous? Does the repeat student you’re teaching listen well? At least he’s graduated high school—must’ve matured a bit, right?”

Seizing the opening, Su Young shot back instantly, as if she’d been waiting.

“He hasn’t matured at all. Getting him to eat just one meal is seriously…”

“What? Do you have to feed him too? Is he physically disabled?”

Caught off guard by such a direct question, Su Young stammered briefly before quickly fabricating an explanation.

“Oh—no, it’s not like that. His dad sometimes asks me to eat with them, and the kid just refuses to eat properly.”

“He must be on a diet. Kids these days are obsessed with dieting. I mean, when they’ve got the college entrance exam just around the corner, is this really the time to worry about their figure? They should be focusing on studying—struggling to raise their score by even one grade level—but instead they’re killing themselves to lose just one more kilo!”

For some reason, all her friends assumed the student she taught was a girl. She decided not to clarify it was actually a boy, since that would require extra explanation.

At Ye Won’s pitying remark, So Ra shook her head as if to disagree.

“But isn’t it really not their fault? It’s because mass media keeps spreading wrong ideas. Look at the idols on TV—they’re all unnaturally thin. When regular kids constantly see that, they start thinking they have to look like that too. Is the repeat student you’re teaching thin too?”

Su Young quickly nodded along with So Ra’s comment.

“Extremely slim.”

But those collarbones and his chest… Recalling the glimpse she’d caught through his V-neck sweater, Su Young’s face flushed. Suddenly, she wanted to reach out and feel for herself whether his chest was as firm as it looked.

Gasp! Am I crazy? What’s wrong with me…? I must really be starving!

“Oh, right!”

So Ra suddenly slapped her palms together and placed three shopping bags neatly on the table.

“These are gifts.”

“What are they?”

Mi Jin opened one of the bags to peek inside, and Su Young pulled one toward herself and took out its contents—a delicate light-green plant.

“I bought one for each of you because you popped into my mind. Isn’t it amazing? It releases fragrance when you stroke it with your hand.”

So Ra grinned cheerfully. Thinking that So Ra would naturally choose something like this as a gift, each friend gently stroked the plant in front of them—and sure enough, a sweet fragrance bloomed instantly.

“Wow, it’s real! That’s incredible.”

“Right? Doesn’t it feel like it’s thanking you for being kind to it?”

It releases fragrance when touched… when touched…

Su Young suddenly thought it’d be perfect to give one to that landlord—someone who clearly hated both being touched and touching others himself. Perfect for character education.

[This is the timeline separator]

Quietly removing her shoes and slipping into slippers, she carefully entered the kitchen first to avoid making any noise with the shopping bags.

As expected—the kitchen was spotless. He definitely skipped breakfast too. Does he sleep in late like me? Still, if he hasn’t eaten anything until now, he must be really hungry…

Well, to maintain that figure… But didn’t he say he wasn’t a model? What did he say his job was again? She couldn’t remember—maybe he never mentioned it.

Could he possibly be unemployed like me? But living in such a nice house? It made her quietly envious—same unemployment status, yet their situations were worlds apart.

Then there was only one conclusion: he was born to wealthy parents.

Now that she considered he might be a silver-spoon kid, his rude and arrogant attitude suddenly made perfect sense.

Of course he’d never had to earn money himself, and with his disability, everyone around him probably coddled him endlessly—no wonder he grew up completely unrestrained.

Just look at that so-called representative—he tolerated all that terrible behavior! In fact, if that guy acted politely, it’d be even more surprising. If he were my son, I’d just—!

Lost in all sorts of inward complaints, she stepped into the living room—only to stop dead in her tracks. For some reason, he was sprawled out asleep on the living room sofa.

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She’d thought the sofa was large enough to match the spacious living room, but somehow, with him lying on it, it didn’t look that big anymore.

“What am I supposed to do about cleaning if he’s sleeping here like this? Should I start with the kitchen? Ugh, the landlord isn’t helping at all—zero help!”—yet her feet kept stepping closer to him, one step at a time.

Don’t go! Stay away!

Experiencing this bizarre disconnect between her mind and her feet, she approached the sofa—and his handsome face came clearly into view, even the V-neck sweater he’d worn yesterday…

Whoa… those collarbones… his chest… Did God hear my wish from yesterday about wanting to touch him? Is this some kind of blessing?

But even the slightest brush of her fingertip would probably make him bolt upright and yell, “What are you doing!”—so she decided to settle for just looking.

Her eyes sparkled as they slowly scanned him from head to toe.

Was his brown hair dyed? But his brown eyebrows seemed a bit odd—was it some kind of pigment deficiency or something?

Ah! Could he be mixed-race?

She’d assumed his exercise equipment was just for show, but maybe he actually worked out. That would explain his chest. Were his arms muscular too? His hands looked smooth…

His hands were big, and his feet were enormous—probably twice the size of hers. Did he ever even go outside? It felt like his feet were stuck with the wrong owner and never got to shine.

It was a little disappointing not to see his amber eyes since they were closed. His lips looked so glossy and pretty when closed, yet the moment he opened them, they dried out everything around him.

Yeah… him sleeping like this might actually be for world peace…

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“Aaah!”

The glossy lips she’d been admiring so intently suddenly spoke, startling Su Young so badly she stumbled backward and clapped both hands over her mouth.

His thin eyelids slowly lifted, revealing large amber eyes that first gazed at the ceiling, then shifted directly to her.

“Oh! Why were you pretending to sleep!”

Caught red-handed like a thief, Su Young snapped—but Woo Jin, fixing his eyes steadily on her, replied calmly,

“Because you were staring.”

“What?”

“I figured I’d stay still for employee welfare—since you were panting while staring.”

“N-no… I… I wasn’t… panting… at all… really…”

Though she stammered, she wasn’t even sure herself. Had she really been panting? If she had, this would be the most humiliating moment ever. So she quickly blamed him instead.

“Aren’t you way too confident about your looks?”

“Do you know what I hear most often when I meet relatives? ‘If only those eyes worked with that face…’ ‘If only those eyes worked with that height…’ ‘If only those eyes worked with that head…’”

Lying perfectly still on the sofa, he kept rambling on about how unfairly blessed he was—and his face didn’t look sad or pitiful at all.

Yet Su Young could’ve sworn his amber eyes looked like they were about to cry.

Maybe it was just an optical illusion from the sunlight.

“But why sleep here instead of in your room?”

“It’s my house—I’ll sleep wherever I want.”

Honestly, it wasn’t even a conscious decision. He’d just come out to the sofa because it seemed about time she’d arrive—so he wouldn’t have to deal with her calling him from his room again, which would’ve been annoying.

But maybe because he hadn’t slept well the night before, he’d dozed off without realizing it. He’d briefly woken at the sound of the door lock, curious to see what she’d do first when entering the house.

He’d expected her to either wake him or head straight to the kitchen—but her steady breathing never moved away from beside him.

He didn’t even need to look—he knew she was staring down at him. He’d assumed she’d glance and leave, but this woman wouldn’t budge. If anything, her breathing seemed to be getting heavier…

What ridiculous thoughts was she having while staring at me like that!

Her panicked reaction to his “Aren’t you working?” comment confirmed his suspicion. Didn’t this woman know shame at all?

It was clear she didn’t have a boyfriend. If she did and still acted like this, that’d say a lot about her character. But… did she really not have one? Curiosity warred with the thought that it was none of his business.

Lost in these tangential thoughts, Woo Jin’s brows furrowed unconsciously.

On her end, Su Young glared at him with narrowed eyes at his careless remark about sleeping wherever he pleased in his own house.

How could someone speak so rudely? That wasn’t because of his disability—it was just his nature. Pouting slightly, she forced her voice to sound bright as she said,

“Get up. I have something to show you.”

“I don’t want to see it.”

“Just come for a sec. Stop acting like you can’t see anything—it’s annoying.”

Hearing her scamper toward the kitchen, Woo Jin slowly sat up from the sofa.

When did I ever act like I couldn’t see? That woman…!

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little curious about what she wanted to show him.

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