The Smile You Bring Me

Episode 13 pt.4: Realization

Ji Pyeong escorted Min Ah to his car. He opened the door for her. 

"Where do you want to go?" Ji Pyeong asked while he put on his seatbelt.

"Anywhere but here!" Min Ah answered, and she put on her seatbelt too.

"Are you okay? You're not answering my calls. You said: You were going to meet our college friends. How did it go?" Ji Pyeong asked again.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" she answered with the same sarcastic tone as Dal Mi the other night. "...And I didn't go!" she added.

Ji Pyeong frowned; he sensed something must be troubling her, and as her friend, he wouldn't like to see Min-Ah that way. He wanted to make her feel better. He drove to Itaewon to bring her to Jangga; nothing a few drinks couldn't do.

After a few minutes, they arrived at Jangga.

"What are we doing here?" Min Ah asked.

"You need to release whatever is on your chest! " Ji Pyeong said as he parked.

At the pub, they sat at a table near the center of the room. They ordered two bottles of soju and bulgogi. They began drinking when their order came— or at least Min Ah did.

"Do you want to tell me what's the problem?" Ji Pyeong asked.

"Nothing! I am fine!" Min Ah answered. 

He knew she was lying because he already hears that tone before; it was his tone when he lied.

"Are you sure you're fine? You don't sound like one!" he asked again.

"Why do I always lose to someone named Dal Mi?" she mumbled. Luckily —or not, he didn't hear her.

"What are you saying?" he asked, but she didn't answer. Ji Pyeong didn't push it anymore.

 "Who's that Dal Mi? Maybe I'm wrong, but from what I've seen, I can tell that: you weren't comfortable being with her!" he asked instead.

"O, her?" Min-Ah said and emptied her glass again.

Ji Pyeong looked at her with sympathy.

"She is Miss Perfect!" she said, and she drank again. "She is pretty.... and smart. She also has a nice body," she relayed with disgust at every word coming out of her mouth.

Ji Pyeong could hear her bitterness.

"But you don't like her!" 

Min-Ah looked at Ji Pyeong, and she couldn't hide her pain anymore.

"I am with him all this time! But then she comes back. And suddenly, I just become irrelevant to his happiness,"

Ji Pyeong —just— stared at Min-Ah. He could see himself to her but tried to deny it in his mind, 'Dal Mi would not do that to me! She's different!'  or 'Even though Nam Do San was back, she was doing fine without him— for the past three years.' However, no matter how much he convinced himself, he couldn't find confidence.

And Min-Ah saw how Ji Pyeong was zoned out.

"Are you listening to me? Hey! Ji Pyeong! Why aren't you talking? Earth, calling Ji Pyeong!"