Inside the café's staff room, Lee Seo-yeon sat alone on a chair, elbows resting on her knees as she angrily bit at her nails.
Her thoughts were in complete disarray.
Why the hell was he here…?
Her brows furrowed deeper.
And who was that girl?
The image of Park Jison sitting comfortably across from another girl replayed repeatedly inside her mind like a cursed scene refusing to disappear.
Is she his girlfriend…?
The thought alone irritated her even more.
Then suddenly—
Seo-yeon froze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"…No."
She straightened unconsciously.
Why am I even angry?
That realization struck her harder than expected.
"It's not like we're that close," she muttered under her breath. "Why would he tell me about his personal life…"
The more she thought about it—
The more ridiculous her emotions felt.
Then abruptly—
She stood up from the chair with dramatic determination.
Her fist clenched tightly in front of her chest.
"Yes," she declared confidently to herself. "Why should I care whether he's with a girl or not?"
A second later—
The staff room door opened.
A cheerful voice echoed inside.
"Little meow~ what happened?"
The cute employee from earlier walked into the room with her usual bright smile.
This was Choi Soo-bin.
She tilted her head curiously while looking at Seo-yeon's irritated face.
"You look annoyed. Did some customer bully you out there?"
Seo-yeon instantly panicked slightly.
"N-no, senior…"
Then suddenly—
For absolutely no reason—
She flexed one arm dramatically, showing her nonexistent biceps.
"If they did," she proclaimed proudly, "I would've beaten them to death."
And just like that—
She burst into bizarre villain-like laughter while staring at the ceiling with both hands planted against her waist.
"Hahahaha—!"
Soo-bin stared at her silently.
Then puffed her cheeks angrily.
"Hey! Didn't I tell you not to call me senior?"
She crossed her arms.
"Just call me Soo-bin."
Seo-yeon immediately stopped laughing and smiled innocently.
There she is…
Choi Soo-bin.
"Okay," Seo-yeon replied obediently. "Sister Soo-bin."
Then she turned and walked toward the door, preparing to head back to the counter.
Behind her, Soo-bin slowly sat down on the chair Seo-yeon had occupied moments earlier.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
She definitely knows them…
She remembered the scene earlier.
The moment Seo-yeon approached that table—
That guy had immediately called her by name.
And Seo-yeon herself had reacted too strongly.
So they know each other.
Then why—
Why had Seo-yeon returned looking angry enough to murder someone?
Soo-bin rested her chin against her palm thoughtfully.
Is it because that guy was sitting with another girl?
A slow grin appeared on her face.
"…Interesting."
---
Meanwhile—
Back at the table.
Jison silently ate another slice of pizza, though his attention was nowhere near the food.
His thoughts remained trapped on Seo-yeon.
Fuck…
She definitely misunderstood.
The more he replayed her expression earlier—
That forced smile.
That cold tone.
The more convinced he became.
She thinks Min-ji is my girlfriend.
He rubbed his forehead lightly in frustration.
Damn it… I need to explain properly somehow.
Just then—
Min-ji casually took another bite of pizza and spoke without even looking at him.
"Bro, don't overthink it right now."
Jison looked up.
She chewed calmly before continuing.
"I'll explain it to her later."
Then suddenly—
She winked one eye dramatically.
"And there's no way I'm letting this misunderstanding ruin your love life."
A mischievous grin spread across her face.
"Hehehe."
Jison nearly choked on air.
"W-what love life?!"
His face instantly turned red.
Meanwhile, Min-ji looked at him with the expression of someone observing an utterly hopeless creature.
"Brother…"
She sighed deeply.
"You're painfully obvious."
After a while, the table was left in complete devastation.
Empty pizza trays.
Half-crushed tissues.
Chocolate milk bottles lying sideways.
And two utterly satisfied siblings.
Min-ji grabbed the water bottle casually and drank several mouthfuls before wiping her lips elegantly with a tissue.
Then she leaned back slightly and sighed in satisfaction.
"Let's go," she declared proudly. "I'm full."
Across from her, Park Jison nodded lightly.
"Yeah."
Both of them stood up from their seats and walked toward the counter together.
As they approached—
Jison immediately spotted Lee Seo-yeon standing behind the counter.
Almost instantly, a smile appeared on his face.
A genuine one.
He subconsciously expected her to smile back.
Or at least acknowledge him normally.
Instead—
The atmosphere around her felt horrifyingly cold.
Seo-yeon's face remained expressionless.
No—
Not expressionless.
Angry.
An imaginary dark aura practically radiated from her body, terrifying enough that Jison genuinely felt chills crawling down his spine.
…Fuck.
Meanwhile, before the awkwardness could worsen further—
Min-ji made her move.
She stepped confidently in front of the counter and bowed her head slightly with exaggerated politeness.
"Hello, beautiful sister."
Seo-yeon looked at her.
Then blinked slowly.
Internally, however—
Her thoughts were nowhere near polite.
She looks like a middle schooler…
Her eyes unconsciously drifted toward Jison standing behind Min-ji.
And yet he made her his girlfriend?
A horrified realization surfaced.
Does this bastard have some kind of weird fantasy?!
Despite the chaos in her thoughts, Seo-yeon maintained professional composure and replied politely like she did with other customers.
"Hello, beautiful ma'am. How may I help you?"
Behind Min-ji, Jison nearly died internally.
Please don't start something weird…
But Min-ji merely smiled sweetly.
Then she glanced backward toward her brother before looking back at Seo-yeon.
"Well," she said calmly, "I think you misunderstood something."
Seo-yeon's brows twitched slightly.
"My name is Park Min-ji."
She pointed casually behind herself.
"And the idiot standing there is my older brother, Park Jison."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Seo-yeon's eyes widened dramatically.
"…Ah?"
Her hands immediately flew to her mouth.
"What?! Your brother?!"
She turned sharply toward Jison.
There he stood—
Looking unbelievably nervous while awkwardly scratching the back of his head with one hand.
And in that instant—
Everything connected.
Every misunderstanding.
Every jealous thought.
Every irrational assumption.
What the fuck…
Seo-yeon's soul nearly abandoned her body from embarrassment.
I misunderstood the entire situation…
I'm such a fucking idiot…
Her face turned crimson instantly.
She hurriedly covered part of her face with both hands.
"I-I see…" she stammered. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood."
Min-ji immediately waved her hand casually.
"Oh, it's fine."
Then—
Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
"And by the way…"
She leaned slightly closer toward the counter.
"Who exactly are you to my brother?"
The world froze.
Both Jison and Seo-yeon turned red at nearly the exact same time.
"Huh?!"
"W-what?!"
Seo-yeon's brain short-circuited instantly.
Meanwhile, Jison finally realized his little sister had no intention whatsoever of ending this peacefully.
"You little demon—"
Without hesitation, he grabbed Min-ji by the back of her collar like an angry predator capturing prey.
"EH?!"
Then immediately turned toward the exit.
As he hurriedly dragged Min-ji away, he glanced back awkwardly toward Seo-yeon.
"Sorry! I suddenly remembered something urgent!"
Before anyone could respond—
He shoved open the glass café door and escaped at full speed while forcibly pulling the protesting Min-ji behind him.
"BROTHER! LET ME GO—!"
The door shut behind them.
Leaving silence.
Inside the café—
Seo-yeon remained frozen behind the counter.
Still blushing intensely.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the glass door through which Jison had vanished moments ago.
Her heartbeat refused to calm down.
And embarrassingly enough—
A small smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of her lips.
Then—
From behind her—
A voice suddenly appeared.
"Seo-yeon."
She jumped violently.
"AHH—!"
Turning around in panic, she finally noticed Choi Soo-bin standing there with crossed arms and a suspicious smile.
"S-sister Soo-bin…"
Soo-bin narrowed her eyes.
"You know them?"
Seo-yeon immediately looked away.
Far too quickly.
"Well… yeah," she answered awkwardly. "He's my classmate."
Soo-bin stared at her silently for several seconds.
Then slowly smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"Just classmates?"
Seo-yeon's face instantly exploded red again.
"Y-YES!"