“Yoon Jae-ha!”
At the sound of Aunt Mi-sook’s sudden scream, Hye-won’s head shot up. She’d been so focused, she hadn’t even noticed the door opening.
“You… You little bastard… What the hell is this… You piece of human trash!”
Hearing the barrage of insults, Hye-won hurriedly looked down — and instantly realized how deeply her aunt had misunderstood the situation.
There was Yoon Jae-ha, in her body, lying face down on the living room floor.
And Yoon Jae-ha, in his real body — tall, sturdy — hovering over her, hand raised, looking like he was beating someone frail and defenseless.
Thud.
The grocery bag slipped from Aunt Mi-sook’s hand and hit the floor.
“You… You’re dead today! Get over here! Get over here, Yoon Jae-ha!”
Startled, Hye-won quickly pulled her hand off Jae-ha’s back. She raised both hands high, like a criminal caught red-handed, and desperately protested her innocence.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Mom— Aunt— Calm down, okay?”
“Calm down? You’re telling me to calm down?”
“I’m telling you it’s not what it looks like! You’ve got this all wrong!”
“Wrong? I’m looking straight at it with my own two eyes and you’re saying it’s a misunderstanding? Did I raise you to turn out like this? Yoon Jae-ha, I’m telling you nicely — get over here!”
Mi-sook’s fury clearly wasn’t going to settle that easily.
Hye-won quickly leaned in and whispered so only Jae-ha could hear.
“Hey, say something. Aunt looks seriously pissed.”
At her words, Yoon Jae-ha finally dragged himself up, tousling his messy hair as he turned to face Aunt Mi-sook.
“Aunt… Hye-won… No, I mean… Jae-ha is telling the truth… Cough.”
Cough?
Hye-won had been nodding eagerly along, but at the sound of his pathetic coughing, she could only stare at him in despair.
Biting her lip, she glared at Jae-ha. He gave her a crumpled, apologetic look and coughed again.
We’re screwed…
Realizing disaster was inevitable, Hye-won turned to face Aunt Mi-sook.
The massager stick gleamed ominously in her aunt’s hand.
In conclusion, this entire mess… was Yoon Jae-ha’s fault.
__________˚ ˚ ༘.𖥔 ݁ ｡𓆩⚝𓆪 ֶָ.________
Bam!
Aunt Mi-sook kicked the door like she was trying to break it down.
“Come out! Come out right now!”
“Aunt, I swear, it’s not what you think—”
Even Jae-ha, calling her Aunt while technically being her own body, tried to calm her down.
Hye-won braced her back against the door, flinching with each of Aunt Mi-sook’s furious kicks.
Good thing she’d managed to dash into the room before the massager stick struck — or she might’ve been breathing fire from the burns on her back by now.
Why the hell did you have to pull that stunt, Yoon Jae-ha…
__________˚ ˚ ༘.𖥔 ݁ ｡𓆩⚝𓆪 ֶָ.________
‘You’ve worked so hard all this time. You must’ve struggled alone… But you stayed strong, and you’ll do great from now on.’
It had all been fine until then.
Those words from Yoon Jae-ha had been such a huge comfort, they’d nearly made her cry.
She’d always lived in constant anxiety, feeling like she’d never done anything right.
Her so-called college life — a place to escape — had been a disaster. Thanks to the scar Jae-ha left behind, she’d unconsciously withdrawn from people.
At work, watching other talented writers, she couldn’t go a single day without feeling inferior.
I hated being me.
And in those moments, she always felt sorry to everyone who knew her.
Ever since she was little, Hye-won had an intense need for validation. The type who made a quiet fuss — that was Han Hye-won. She wasn’t good at anything, but craved attention like a child.
So naturally, she loved being around friends.
Among them, Yoon Jae-ha was always number one. Compared to him — who barely had any other friends — Hye-won at least lived surrounded by people.
But all of that ended the moment she became an adult.
Her friendships faded, and Jae-ha, in her wounded, isolated life, became the ointment soothing her scars.
Yeah, it was all good… up to that point.
But when he suddenly leaned in, face too close, she couldn’t breathe.
She felt his thumb brush over her lower lip, her vision darkening—
‘Hey, are you insane? Or did you finally lose it? What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
By the time she realized what was happening, she’d already shoved him away. Then she pounced on his back, smacking him relentlessly.
Whack, whack!
Loud slaps echoed through the room, while Jae-ha winced, groaning and trying to stop her.
‘Hye-won, listen to me — you can hit me, just don’t bruise yourself! That’s your body — what if you end up all bruised?’
‘Oh, so now you’re playing tricks? What if I bruise? What, I’ll die?’
It was mid-chaos when Aunt Mi-sook barged in.
To anyone seeing this out of context, it was very easy to misunderstand.
“You never used to be like this… When did you turn into such a troublemaker? I even had to drag you to get your first kiss, remember?”
Hye-won muttered bitterly to herself.
But then Aunt Mi-sook’s voice rang out again.
“You little bastard! What kind of man hits a woman, huh? You used to worship the ground Hye-won walked on, now you’re out of your damn mind?”
“You don’t even know what’s happening! This isn’t what it looks like — there’s a hidden truth!”
Hye-won shouted back, matching her aunt’s energy.
“Hidden truth, my ass! I knew something was weird this morning. What’s wrong with you? You eat something bad or what?”
“Nothing but the food you made, okay? Is that my fault now?”
“Hey! Yoon Jae-ha!”
Their shouting flew back and forth like a ping pong match, voices rising with each exchange.
Then came Yoon Jae-ha’s voice, trying to calm Aunt Mi-sook down, and the kicking at the door finally stopped.
But Hye-won stayed holed up in the room for a while longer, giving her aunt time to cool off.
How long had she been hiding? A knock came at the door, followed by Jae-ha’s voice.
“You can come out now.”
Cracking the door open, Hye-won stepped out cautiously.
She spotted Aunt Mi-sook sitting on the sofa. Feeling awkward, Hye-won quietly sat at the far edge. Just in case, Jae-ha plopped himself down in the middle, like a human shield.
“Why the hell are you playing stupid games at your age? What even is Indian Bop?”
At Aunt Mi-sook’s words, Hye-won glanced at Jae-ha. His eyes blinked rapidly, practically begging her to go along with it.
“Oh? It just reminded me of kindergarten, that’s all.”
“And your college entrance exams? You had good grades, didn’t you?”
Jae-ha’s eyes fluttered again.
“Well, the competition’s brutal…”
“Forget it. Why are you even stressing over that crap? It’s not like Korea University’s the only school. Go somewhere else.”
Hearing Aunt Mi-sook’s bold voice, Jae-ha smiled faintly, then turned to her with a pleading look.
“Aunt… Jae-ha’s been really stressed about senior year. Just… could you maybe… for the next 50 days or so… not hit him?”
What the hell… his survival instincts are insane.
“Our Hye-won’s got such a big heart.”
Aunt Mi-sook looked touched, but Hye-won scoffed internally.
Yeah, Aunt, your son’s gotten weird. Every time I turn around, he’s aiming for my lips.
Her expression twisted with dry annoyance as she eyed the overly warm atmosphere between the two.
Still, her outer shell was technically Yoon Jae-ha — she couldn’t not join in.
“Mom. Since we’re at it, there’s something I want to say. Listen carefully, okay?”
“What now, you little punk?”
“Hey, can you not call your own son ‘punk’ all the time?”
“I can call my own kid whatever I want!”
“Haah, fine, whatever. But listen up.”
“…”
“Mom, I love you.”
Hye-won made a heart with both hands, aiming it playfully at Aunt Mi-sook.
Instantly, a heavy, awkward silence blanketed the living room. Two cold, piercing gazes zeroed in on her, but Hye-won pressed on, unfazed.
“Sure, it’s just a pathetic little heart right now. But seven years from now, I’ll hit the jackpot with an AI-based medical device business and repay you for everything. I love you, Mom.”
Yoon Jae-ha’s jaw dropped open.
Aunt Mi-sook, squinting as if trying to figure her out, turned to Jae-ha and spoke quietly.
“Hye-won, Aunt needs to talk privately with Jae-ha. Could you head upstairs for a bit?”
“Aunt, I told you, Jae-ha’s not in his right mind. Be gentle, okay?”
It was then Hye-won finally realized something was off.
Wait… That didn’t work? My mom usually loves cheesy confessions…
“No, Hye-won. He definitely screwed up. He wouldn’t be acting like this otherwise. Hye-won, let go of Aunt’s arm for a sec.”
Yoon Jae-ha clutched Aunt Mi-sook’s trembling hand and shot Hye-won a pleading look.
His chin pointed toward the room — a clear signal to escape now.
Sighing, Hye-won stretched as she stood up.
“Yaaawn… Getting up early’s exhausting. I’ll just take a nap. See you later, Hye-won.”
“Yeah. Don’t think about anything, just sleep.”
Aunt Mi-sook’s shoulders twitched as she tried to restrain herself from jumping up.
As Hye-won entered the room and reached for the door, a sudden thought made her turn around.
__________˚ ˚ ༘.𖥔 ݁ ｡𓆩⚝𓆪 ֶָ.________
T/N: Hahahahaha why is this so funny 🤣
