"She's… someone else. Uh… you are definitely more beautiful, smarter, more charming, and… less pixelated!"
Sooah frowned. "Less what?"
"Less… stressed! Less… overworked, I mean! You glow, you know?"
Jungwoo tried not to laugh, glancing at his sister. "See? I told you she's funny."
"You're working today? After last night?" Naima asked.
Beep!
Naima immediately slapped both hands over her mouth like a kid caught saying a bad word. Her eyes darted everywhere.
Oh God, Naima! You did it again… You almost said 'after last night when Jaeho's mom drenched you!' You trying to die early, huh?!
"Last night?" Sooah tilted her head, curious.
Naima's smile froze. "You worked last night, right?"
"No, my shift's in the morning…" Sooah replied, confused but still kind.
"Oh! Yeah, that's what I meant! Time flies, right? Morning feels like… last night! Ha… ha… ha…"
Her laugh sounded exactly like a broken dial-up modem.
Next to her, Jungwoo pretended to cough to hide his laughter. "You okay, Naima?"
"Yes! Yes! Just… caffeine deficiency. Green tea trauma. Totally fine."
She gulped down the rest of her drink like it could wash away her sins.
Sooah was still staring at her, eyes slightly narrowed as if trying to recall something. "You said something about last night?"
Naima whispered to herself, "Okay, note to self: next time you talk to drama characters, install a mouth filter first."
"Once again, thank you," Sooah said sweetly. Her smile was so dazzling the whole café suddenly felt like a slow-motion scene.
Naima stammered, "Ne… nevermind… it's fine… saving people is… my cardio…"
What the hell are you even saying, Naima?!
"You're so kind," Sooah replied gracefully.
"Ahaha… kindness is… my middle name."
And stupidity is definitely your last name, Nai. Please stop talking.
Then, from behind Sooah, a tall man in a neatly pressed shirt and half-loosened tie appeared, his hair slightly messy, stomach growling dramatically.
"I'm hungry, Schatz," he said.
Sooah blinked. "Excuse me?"
Naima froze. Her gaze jumped from Sooah, to Johann, then back to Sooah.
"Oh no…" she whispered.
This is NOT the crossover I signed up for.
With a stiff smile, Naima forced out, "He's my husband."
Silence.
Sooah blinked between them, while Jungwoo held his breath, pretending to look elsewhere.
Johann, completely unfazed, pulled out a chair and sat beside Naima. "Ah, found you. You made me wait, now I'm starving."
Sooah blinked rapidly, shocked. "Your… husband?"
Naima nodded too fast. "Yes! My husband. Imported version. Limited edition, not for sale."
Johann added cheerfully, "I'm very affordable, actually."
Naima almost fell off her chair. "JOHANN!"
Sooah smiled politely, that professional doctor face barely hiding confusion. "Oh… I see… very… international marriage."
Naima grinned awkwardly. "Yeah… global warming—uh, I mean, global romance!"
Jungwoo coughed loudly to stifle his laugh, while Sooah nodded with a polite smile.
"Right… enjoy your lunch, Mrs. Global Romance."
Naima stared down at her drink and muttered under her breath,
"Dear earth, please open up. I want to crawl in."
Sooah and Jungwoo walked away gracefully, the sunlight catching them like a perfect drama ending.
Naima waved weakly. "Bye… pretty doctor… I mean, Sooah-ssi…"
The moment they turned away, Naima exhaled in relief.
"Finally… that absurd scene is over."
But before she could sip her latte again, her phone chimed—ting!—a notification from her translation app, which had apparently been running this whole time.
The screen showed an auto-translation of Sooah and Jungwoo's murmured words as they walked away:
"I thought she was a high schooler, but she's married? Poor girl. And her husband looks… like that?"
Naima froze. Her eyes slowly lifted from the screen to the café exit where Sooah had disappeared.
"SIALAN," she hissed under her breath.
Half the café turned to look, including Johann who was mid-bite.
"What? What happened?" he asked, alarmed.
Naima quickly hid her phone under the table. "Nothing. Just… app problem."
Johann frowned. "App problem makes you shout sialan?"
Naima gave a tight smile. "Yeah. Very bad connection… between my dignity and reality."
Johann still looked confused but shrugged and went back to eating.
"Let's go home," Naima muttered, pouting as she handed him the grocery bags. Johann took them effortlessly, like carrying 5kg of vegetables was no big deal.
They stepped outside, but instead of heading to the bus stop, Johann turned into a narrow alley beside the hospital. Naima stopped, eyebrows raised.
"Where are we going?" she asked suspiciously.
Johann pointed casually toward a building behind the hospital, slightly hidden from view. "Home."
Naima blinked. "Oh… so if we take the bus, we'd just go in circles, huh?"
"Yup. This is a shortcut," he said proudly, patting his own shoulder like he'd just discovered teleportation.
Naima sighed, clutching her grocery bags. "Shortcut… sure. Probably a shortcut to another drama set."
Johann just smiled calmly, as if he'd long accepted her chaos.
"Relax. I've been here many times. Just… trust me."
Naima muttered under her breath, half-laughing, half-dying inside, "Trust you… until I end up in another translation scandal again."
As they walked into the narrow alley, the spring onions in her grocery bag swayed dramatically—ready for another adventure.
---
They emerged behind their apartment building. Naima let out a long sigh of relief.
"Wow, you were right," she said tiredly.
"I told you," Johann replied. Then, with sudden curiosity: "Oh ja, but why did you end up in the hospital? Tell me everything."
Naima started explaining animatedly, hands flailing:
"I was grocery shopping, crossing the street, and suddenly this old man fainted! I caught his head so he didn't hit the ground, but the ambulance people thought I was his family. Turns out the doctor in charge was his nephew—and the gorgeous doctor we met? His niece!"
Johann frowned. "Don't tell me… they're K-drama characters again?"
Naima shot him a look. "How did you know? They are!"
Johann facepalmed hard, realizing his life had turned into a random, chaotic K-drama episode.
The elevator doors opened. They stepped in.
"Sooah is the female lead. Jaeho's girlfriend," Naima said, laughing.