LOVE YOU RIGHT | ONEW - LEE JINKI

04: In Comfort of Strangers

Hwayoung's perspective.

Hwayoung walked to a distant café to get the coffee order, avoiding the possibility of bumping into Park Siwan too soon. She needed to clear her mind and process what had just happened. She was still in disbelief over seeing Park Siwan's true colors. On top of that, Jinki's image replayed in slow motion in her head—his deep voice when he spoke sharply to Siwan, his visible Adam's apple... She quickly shook her head.

"That was weird," Hwayoung muttered to herself. "You just broke up, how could you see a man in that way, Seo Hwayoung!"

Just then, her phone rang. She picked up without checking. "Hey, sorry to leave you like that. Are you okay? How did it go?" Hwayoung instantly recognized Jinhwan's voice.

"Well, I'm glad you weren't there." She let out a deep sigh.

Jinhwan paused. "What happened? Did he deserve a punch?"

Hwayoung hummed in agreement, recalling Siwan's hurtful words. It still stung. "But it was resolved peacefully. Without fists," she explained.

"Did someone step in for you?" Jinhwan guessed.

Hwayoung scoffed, partly annoyed at how well he knew her. "Do you think I couldn't stand up for myself?" she half-teased, half-wanted to know the truth.

"Oh well..." Jinhwan hesitated, thinking of how to answer carefully. "I'm sure you could," he said, unsure.

Fair enough, because he rarely saw her in that way. Jinhwan and Yonghwa would readily protect her when they were around.

"I can take care of myself, you know," she said, trying to convince Jinhwan.

"So, who was the guy that helped you?" Jinhwan asked.

"Did I tell you it was a guy?" Hwayoung was confused. She didn't recall mentioning that detail.

"Oh, so it was a guy? Was he handsome? Did you fall for him like in dramas?" Jinhwan started to tease her.

Hwayoung shook her head in disbelief. Just as she was about to respond, the queue screen showed her number. "I gotta go, talk to you later.."

—

Jinki told Minjun that he was expecting a friend who would bring them coffee. He instructed Minjun to take care of her when she arrived and described Hwayoung's characteristics so Minjun wouldn't mess up.

"You see, Minjun-ah, she's about this tall," he pointed around his shoulder, "with black straight hair to her shoulders. She's wearing a green blouse and cream pants. Her name is Seo Hwayoung. Make sure you get it right, okay?!" He emphasized this just as he was called for the photoshoot.

About 10 minutes into the shoot, Jinki saw Minjun bringing the coffee from the corner of his eye. Minjun held the cups in both hands and handed them out to the staff, but Jinki hadn't seen Hwayoung yet. "Did she leave already?" he wondered, but he quickly returned his focus to the photographer's directions. Just as he was listening attentively, he caught a glimpse of Seo Hwayoung with two boxes of pastries. He smirked, pretending to focus on the photographer again, but couldn't help but be captivated by her presence and thoughtfulness.

Minjun and Hwayoung appeared behind the monitoring screen. Jinki saw Hwayoung asking Minjun questions, and his manager happily explained things to her. They had a good interaction, and it gave Jinki a good vibe about Hwayoung. He could feel her friendliness and extroverted nature through the small interaction with the staff and Minjun. It was just great to have his positive impression of her confirmed.

Jinki was lucky that the photoshoot was capturing his playful and cheerful side, instead of the chic one. His mood fit the concept perfectly. Not long after, the photographer said, "Okay, scene!" signaling the wrap-up. Jinki went over to the monitoring screen where Hwayoung and Minjun were standing. He grabbed the drink from Minjun, his eyes fixed on Hwayoung.