APCA 15🦚

Chapter 15

Minju found herself replaying a certain memory from her family home.

REPLAY ◀◀

“Minju.”

“…Oppa? What are you doing here?”

I’m going insane.

Garum’s bright smile was the last thing she wanted to see. She hadn’t been running around all this time, trying so hard to avoid him, just to bump into him like this.

Why here, of all places? Why now?

“I just dropped by the house today. Thought I’d visit your parents while I was here.”

Her parents, my foot.

For Minju, who had liked him since their snot-nosed childhood days, those words were nothing but bitter.

At first, she used to like how he always looked after her. But once she realized they’d never be more than just siblings, that kind of kindness only stung.

“Where are you headed? Let’s go in together.”

“I’d like to, but I’ve got work. I need to head back to Seoul.”

“Really?”

One of Garum’s brows arched, then his face fell into a sulky frown.

What’s with him? Seriously…

She had to look away. She must not look at him.

“Have you been busy? You don’t even pick up my calls these days.”

When he stepped closer, Minju instinctively stepped back.

“Yeah, just… busy. Anyway, I’ll call you later. You should stay and relax.”

“Minju. You’ll answer when I call, right? I just wrapped up my project. I’m on break now.”

She ignored him and hurried past, not looking back.

Behind her, his voice rang out:

“I’ve got something I need to talk over with you! Make sure you pick up!”

Oppa, don’t wait for me. Just talk it over with someone else.

That phrase kept circling in her mind.

These days, she felt like her heart was about to burst out of the cage she’d locked it in.

Keeping it a secret used to be fine.

Even when that fake dating scandal broke out with some actress, she’d been able to act like she didn’t care.

But lately, it wasn’t working.

Even just a call makes me feel queasy. Even just now… it was too much.

That change was why she’d been avoiding Garum so desperately.

She hadn’t even told him she’d opened her café, Serenade, worried he might show up there.

I even told Mom and Dad not to mention it. So it should be fine.

Once, she’d been happy to just be the “close younger sister,” ready to listen to any of his worries.

But not anymore.

“Better to cut him off completely than rot away inside.”

And that so-called counseling he’d mentioned…

For some reason, it gave her a bad feeling. A really bad feeling.

That was why, when Garum didn’t contact her for several days, Minju had felt relieved.

Guess it wasn’t anything important after all.

At least, that’s what she thought—until this morning.

[Message from Garum]

• Minju, what are you up to?

• Got time today?

• Remember that thing I wanted to talk about? I’d like to do it today ㅜㅜ

• Can I come by your place?

“Why is he coming to my place again…?”

And yet, worded like that, she couldn’t refuse.

Why does he always sound so pitiful? He makes it impossible for me to say no.

So Minju gave in, waiting for him outside her apartment.

As always, his sky-blue sports car was impossible to miss.

“Did you sleep well? Sorry for calling so early.”

“No, it’s fine. I had to get up anyway.”

…Even though he was two hours earlier than her usual wake-up time.

But instead of coming inside, Garum headed to his trunk.

“…What’s he doing?”

Minju’s eyes widened as he started hauling out shopping bags—one after another.

“What on earth is all this?”

“Mm. Let’s talk inside first.”

Shopping bags? He looked like he’d just looted an entire department store.

By the time she could process it, Garum had piled them up in the corner of her living room.

“There. It’s fine to leave them here, right? You don’t keep anything in this spot, do you?”

“…I don’t, but… Are these for me?”

“Of course. They’re all for you. Minju…”

He hesitated for a long moment before speaking.

“Try all of these on. Then tell me which one you like best. I want to give it to the person I like.”

NOW ▶▶

“…He really said that?”

“Yeah. I was so dumbfounded, I just said okay and sent him off.”

“Hey… isn’t he basically a psycho?”

“My thoughts exactly. Isn’t it ridiculous?”

Guardian angel, my ass. From his behavior, he was more like a devil.

Does he really not know how Minju feels?

Maybe not. But even so, it was strange.

“He could’ve just shown you pictures. Why go that far?”

“Forget it. He’s crazy. I’m not even opening those bags.”

Her voice came out nasal, her head pounding from crying too much.

“Haaah… I’m exhausted. What about the café? I got so mad I just shut it down and came home.”

“On a day like this, it’s understandable. Rest today, work again tomorrow.”

“I can’t. I need to make sales.”

“There are so many cafés around here. Does it really matter?”

“If I don’t hit ten million won in monthly sales by the end of this year, I have to close down.”

“…Wait. By the end of this year? What?”

Hyerin, staring at one of the shopping bags, whipped her gaze back to Minju.

“What did you just say?”

“Ten million won. If I don’t make that in a month, they’ll shut me down. That’s what I heard at home.”

Ah… Hyerin finally understood. That’s why she’d been so late that day.

“That’s insane. Your café isn’t brand new anymore, but still—how are you supposed to suddenly jump to that level?”

She gently laid Minju on the bed, rubbing her temples.

“We’ll figure something out. Even if it’s not ten million exactly, if you come close, they might let it slide. Start by making an Instagram account. These days, that’s how people find cafés.”

“I don’t even know how to make one. It sounds annoying. …Hey, what happened to your hand?”

“Huh? Oh, this?”

Minju shot upright, grabbing her hand.

“You hurt yourself?”

“Just fell while filming earlier. It’s nothing.”

“Be careful. How do you even fall and hurt that part of your hand?”

“It just… happened.”

Hyerin’s mind flickered back to that unpleasant voice in the parking lot. Be careful, he’d said.

“How was filming, anyway? Oh, right. Is Nam Ju-ho as handsome in person?”

“He is. Looks exactly like he does on TV.”

“Ugh, I’m jealous. Get me his autograph sometime. I asked someone before and got ignored.”

“Sure, once I get to know him better.”

As she went over her day, Hyerin recalled everything—even running into Heeseo at the salon.

That part… no reason to bring it up. It wasn’t anything good.

“What about Shin Ihyeon? Did you talk to him there?”

“He bought me chamomile tea.”

“…What? He bought that for you? Why?”

“No idea. Just told me to drink it. He even gave me bandages for my hand.”

“….”

Minju’s expression shifted, strangely.

“What?”

“Hey. Don’t you think Shin Ihyeon might be interested in you?”

Hyerin froze.

“What the hell are you talking about? Why would he be? And even if he was—who treats someone they like the way he does?”

“Maybe he is interested, but he’s still a jerk. If he really hated you, why bother being nice?”

Hyerin couldn’t answer right away. Because, honestly… it was strange.

“That’s not it. Don’t say nonsense. You need sleep. You look dead tired.”

She finally managed to put Minju to bed, then left for home.

“…This is driving me crazy.”

Because of that ridiculous suggestion, Ihyeon stayed on her mind all the way back.

Unless the world’s gone completely wrong, there’s no way Shin Ihyeon’s interested in me.

But he had given her things. Out of some kind of reason.

So then… what was that reason?

In the end, the only way to find out was to figure out exactly who Shin Ihyeon really was.

“But how the hell am I supposed to do that…?”

She didn’t have the faintest clue.

✦ ✦ ✦

“Hey! It’s sunbae! Sunbae!”

At the sound of Ihyeon’s name, he turned his head.

Three junior announcers were sitting together in the café.

It was the largest café near the newsroom—lunchtime almost always guaranteed a familiar face or two.

Balancing his Americano, Ihyeon walked closer.

“Sunbae, you’re drinking Americano again? Doesn’t it taste too bitter?”

“It’s drinkable.”

“Everyone has different tastes, huh? I can’t drink it unless it’s super sweet.”

Another announcer jumped in.

“Exactly. You’ve got such a kid’s palate. But the anchor’s got a grown-up one.”

“Hey! I’m not that bad!”

They were a tight-knit bunch within the announcer circle, lively and hardworking, with good reputations.

They also talked way too much, which was exactly why Ihyeon usually avoided them.

“Sunbae, you in a rush? Sit for a minute. We were just talking about Cooking King over lunch.”

“…”

He sat down. Just for a moment.

“When I first saw you, sunbae, you scared the hell out of me.”

“Same here. Jingyeom’s still scared of you.”

“It’s because you never smile! Even your nickname is scary—‘Guaranteed Accident-Free.’”

“Right? But you’re not actually as scary as your first impression. You’re just… consistent.”

“Yeah. Like… not malicious, but like a robot who doesn’t understand human emotions?”

“…”

The conversation about Cooking King only began after a long stretch of utterly pointless chatter.