By Zephyria 
It was after Jae-gyeom had finished his fruitless relationship counseling and parted ways with Im Hyo-mun to return home.
“Where have you been?”
Jae-gyeom flinched. He had rushed back specifically to arrive before Yoon Tae-hee returned, but it seemed Tae-hee, who had been out for a while, had already come home. Yoon Tae-hee was sitting on the living room sofa, reading a book.
Jae-gyeom fell into a brief dilemma.
It hadn’t been long since the incident that occurred when he met Im Hyo-mun. He wondered whether he should be honest about it or not. However, since Yoon Tae-hee had previously answered that it was fine even if he met Im Hyo-mun, he decided to just be honest. Jae-gyeom plopped down beside Yoon Tae-hee and spoke.
“I just met Hyo-mun.”
At that, Yoon Tae-hee, whose gaze had been fixed on the book, lifted his head and looked at Jae-gyeom.
“…….”
For a split second, a flicker of displeasure crossed Yoon Tae-hee’s eyes, but since he immediately returned his gaze to the book with a composed expression, Jae-gyeom didn’t notice the change. Turning a page, Yoon Tae-hee asked.
“Why did you meet him?”
Since he couldn’t honestly say he was getting relationship advice, he had to make up a vague excuse.
“Hyo-mun said he ran out of tofu at home. I gave him some tofu as a gift.”
“……Tofu? As a gift?”
Yoon Tae-hee seemed to find it somewhat bizarre, but it was a fact nonetheless. Fortunately, Yoon Tae-hee didn’t pry any further. Thinking that he had gotten away with it without any trouble today, Jae-gyeom leaned his cheek against the shoulder of the book-reading Yoon Tae-hee. It was an unconscious action. It was just as Yoon Tae-hee paused and looked at Jae-gyeom.
“By the way.”
“Yeah.”
“How has Shin Ji-hye been lately?”
Perhaps surprised that Jae-gyeom brought up Shin Ji-hye, Yoon Tae-hee blinked a couple of times.
“Why suddenly ask about Shin Ji-hye?”
“I just suddenly wondered what she’s up to.”
“I’m not sure. It’s been a while since we’ve been in touch. But she seems to be doing well.”
It’s a relief she’s doing well. Jae-gyeom nodded.
“Give me Shin Ji-hye’s contact info.”
“Why?”
“Just because. So we can stay in touch.”
In times like these, one must make demands confidently. Yoon Tae-hee seemed subtly reluctant about Jae-gyeom’s social circle expanding, but since he had no valid reason to refuse, he reluctantly handed over Shin Ji-hye’s contact information. With this, the number of people Jae-gyeom could call friends in Seoul had increased to two: Im Hyo-mun and Shin Ji-hye.
After entering his room, Jae-gyeom immediately called Shin Ji-hye.
Though she must have been surprised by the sudden call, fortunately, Shin Ji-hye welcomed Jae-gyeom warmly. After exchanging brief greetings, just as he was about to ask if she had time to meet, Shin Ji-hye spoke first.
— What are you doing tomorrow? If you have time, want to go for a drive? I got a new car recently.
And the following day.
Shin Ji-hye personally drove to the front of his house to pick up Jae-gyeom. Arriving in a yellow sports car and wearing sunglasses, he didn’t recognize her for a moment. Moreover, her long straight hair had been changed to a sharp bob that hit right at the jawline. It was a hairstyle that further highlighted her haughty and sharp impression.
Shin Ji-hye slid her sunglasses down and gestured toward Jae-gyeom.
“Darling! Over here.”
Jae-gyeom approached the sports car.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“I’ve been great. You?”
“I’ve been good too. Hurry up and get in.”
Jae-gyeom hesitated for a moment. Feeling a bit awkward about sitting in the passenger seat, he reached for the back door, only for Shin Ji-hye to look at him in disbelief. “Hey, why are you getting in the back? Am I providing a chauffeur service right now? Get in the front,” she said, gesturing with her chin. Only after receiving a lecture on how sitting in the back was not proper etiquette did the car set off.
“When it’s just the two of us, it’s polite to sit in the front.”
“I didn’t know. Sorry.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? Just take this opportunity to learn. I’m not scolding you, I’m teaching you.”
“Uh-huh….”
Meeting Shin Ji-hye after a long time, she was still strong-willed and still cheerful. The two shared various conversations as they drove along the Gangbyeonbuk-ro. However, as they talked, he discovered something. Shin Ji-hye knew everything—from the fact that Jae-gyeom had been asleep for six months before waking up, to the fact that Yoon Tae-hee had worked as a librarian.
When he asked how she knew all that, Shin Ji-hye said.
“Tae-hee told me. I’ve been in constant contact with Tae-hee.”
“He said it’s been a while since you’ve been in touch. Did you meet recently?”
“Me and Tae-hee? We met last month.”
“What?”
Jae-gyeom was too stunned to speak.
It was absurd. When it came to him meeting Im Hyo-mun, Tae-hee had made such a fuss, yet he himself had met Shin Ji-hye several times without saying a single word. He thought to himself that the man was truly devious.
“Why did you meet?”
Yoon Tae-hee had previously promised Shin Ji-hye that he would introduce her to a doctor who could provide a gallbladder. It seemed they had met and discussed that matter a few times. Even so, the fact that he had been playing innocent until now made Jae-gyeom feel somewhat resentful. He decided he would have to put him in his place once he got home.
After driving and talking for a while, they decided to move locations because the wind was too strong. Shin Ji-hye led Jae-gyeom to a cafe located in Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong, claiming it was a great spot.
“So, how have you been lately?”
The two engaged in a proper conversation with their ordered drinks in front of them.
“Well, I do some modeling work occasionally.”
“Are you still eating gallbladders?”
“No. I don’t eat them lately. I don’t need to anymore.”
“Why?”
Shin Ji-hye abruptly took out her phone and thrust the screen toward Jae-gyeom. On Shin Ji-hye’s wallpaper, she and another woman were smiling brightly, cheeks pressed affectionately against each other.
……Is this person Eun-kyung? But why is she showing me a photo all of a sudden?
As Jae-gyeom looked at the photo with a puzzled expression, Shin Ji-hye said with a shy smile.
“I’m dating Eun-kyung.”
Jae-gyeom’s eyes widened at the unexpected news.
“Really?”
“Yeah. That’s why I wanted to meet you and tell you.”
Shin Ji-hye told Jae-gyeom the process of how they started dating. After spending a long time pining for her and vowing to stay by her side as a lifelong friend, Shin Ji-hye one day, while drunk, revealed to Eun-kyung that she was a mermaid and confessed her feelings. Surprisingly, it turned out that Eun-kyung had also had feelings for Shin Ji-hye for a long time.
“Eun-kyung said she naturally assumed I was hetero.”
“What’s a ‘hettaro’?”
“Sigh….”
Having confirmed their mutual feelings, the two became lovers and had now been dating for six months.
“Then what about your legs?”
“On our hundredth day of dating, Eun-kyung gave me her gallbladder as a gift.”
Shin Ji-hye said with a beaming smile. Receiving a gallbladder as a gift would be a horrifying story to anyone else, but for Jae-gyeom, who knew the circumstances, it was something he could only describe as a happy ending.
“Eun-kyung gave you her gallbladder? Really? So you ate it?”
“I did, of course.”
Shin Ji-hye spoke with an expression of happiness, as if wandering through a dream.
“Our Eun-kyung’s gallbladder was sweet, too. Isn’t that amazing? Is this the power of love?”
Having obtained complete legs through Eun-kyung’s sacrifice, Shin Ji-hye resumed her modeling activities. It felt like only yesterday that Shin Ji-hye had been shedding tears on the boat heading toward Geoyeo Island, but in any case, it was a relief that things worked out. Perhaps that was why her expression was brighter and she looked much better than before. Since she had returned to the work she wanted, it was a good thing.
“So now I don’t have to eat gallbladders anymore.”
“Congratulations. You’ve been through a lot.”
Jae-gyeom sincerely congratulated Shin Ji-hye. Both the fact that she obtained complete legs by eating the gallbladder of the one she loved and the end of her long one-sided love were things worth celebrating.
“Congratulations to you too. I heard from Tae-hee. You two are dating.”
“That’s how it turned out.”
Then, Shin Ji-hye smirked and narrowed her eyes.
“Did you sleep together?”
At those words, Jae-gyeom, who was drinking his beverage, involuntarily coughed. He felt he could now understand how Im Hyo-mun felt when he choked yesterday. He had been worried about whether it was okay to seek relationship counseling(?) from a woman, but if there was a silver lining, it was that Shin Ji-hye’s direct question made it easier to bring up the topic.
“No, we haven’t slept together yet, but the thing is….”
Seizing the opportunity, Jae-gyeom explained the whole story.
Shin Ji-hye, who had been listening quietly, suddenly crossed her arms and summarized Jae-gyeom’s words.
“So this is it. You peck, you kiss, you do everything else, but you just don’t cross that final line?”
When Jae-gyeom nodded, Shin Ji-hye pressed her lower lip with her index finger and muttered.
“Hmm, that is definitely a bit strange….”
The point was that Yoon Tae-hee’s psychology was unpredictable. Shin Ji-hye considered several possibilities in her head. Was he perhaps treasuring him? However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Yoon Tae-hee was somehow avoiding moving to the next step, making it hard to believe that was the only reason.
She had thought he would devour him the moment he got the chance, so this was quite unexpected.
If it were up to her, she wanted to call him right now and ask. Above all, since it was a couple of men, there was a limit to the advice she, as a woman, could give. Just as that thought occurred to her, Shin Ji-hye lightly tapped the table and said, “Ah! Then I can just ask Sang-jun!” and took out her phone.
“Who’s Sang-jun?”
“Don’t you remember? That guy we met at the party room back then. You know, the one who got the penalty with you.”
“Ah!”
“He likes men too. He’s open, so it’s not like I’m outing him. Anyway, it’ll be better to ask him. And he got a partner recently, so there’s no reason for it to be awkward.”
Before Jae-gyeom could say anything, Shin Ji-hye already had the phone to her ear.
“Hey, Sang-jun! Where are you?”
The call seemed to connect quickly, as a faint voice could be heard speaking on the other end.
“I’m here at Garosu-gil, can you meet for a bit? Yeah. Yeah. Got it. Yeah. I’ll send you the address. Okay.”
Hanging up the phone, Shin Ji-hye crossed her legs and spoke to Jae-gyeom.
“He happens to be nearby. He said he’s in Apgujeong. He’ll be here soon.”