As she retracted her gaze from the mirror, Mi-Suk didn't forget to reply to both the young man, as well as her best friend's words.
"Alright you two, don't ally yourself against me. I merely meant that I don't feel like a full-fledged artist just yet. Seeing the work of other creators makes me feel like I still have a long way to go until I reach that level." Mi-Suk said ruefully.
"Still, I think you are pretty good." Su-Jin grinned at her. "And let's not forget Director Kang who praised your drawings the first moment he saw them. If you weren't good enough, do you think a man like him would have asked you to be the designer for our upcoming project?"
Hearing that last sentence, Ji-Su instantly pricked up his ears. Nevertheless, he decided to hide his interest behind a nonchalant expression.
"Does that mean you will come to work at Kangji Tourism in the future?" he asked.
"Only for one week." Mi-Suk replied calmly.
"Is that for the new concept proposal everyone is talking about?" he continued to prob.
Mi-Suk's eyes peeked at Ji-Su's reflection in the rearview mirror. For some reason, she felt something was off about his question, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.
This time, it was Su-Jin who replied instead.
"Yes. The designer who was supposed to help us with the promotional pictures had taken a few days off, so we were in need of a replacement. Director Kang asked us to look for someone talented and trustworthy, and who fits these better if not Choi Mi-Suk?!"
"Wow, that's some lip service she's giving you." Ji-Su chuckled.
"Hey, it's not called lip service if it's the truth." Su-Jin huffed. Leaning sideways, she narrowed her eyes at his profile, but the man merely continued to laugh.
The entire drive home continued in this manner. Their banter and jokes made the heavy traffic seem much more bearable.
In the end, it took them over an hour to reach Su-Jin and Mi-Suk's house.
By the time they arrived, the sun was already low, sending vivid tones of yellow and orange across the bright blue canopy.
"We're here." Ji-Su announced as he pulled the car in front of the house.
Without waiting to be asked, he got out of the car and opened the door for his passengers.
The two young women smiled, feeling genuinely flattered by the attention.
"Such a gentleman is rare these days." Mi-Suk remarked, arching an eyebrow. Then, seeing his baffled expression, she added in a teasing tone. "Pray tell me, how come you are still around?"
"Upon my word, I have no idea either." Ji-Su shook his head. A second later, he added in the same joking manner as Mi-Suk. "Perhaps I am waiting for someone to just whisk me away."
Su-Jin rolled her eyes at their antics and started walking towards the house.
She didn't even get a chance to touch the doorknob when the front door was suddenly wrenched open from the inside.
"You're late." a male voice declared even before Min-Jun's body could be visible in the doorway.
"I didn't know I had a curfew." Su-Jin said with a deadpan expression.
"No, but the subway trip doesn't take this long." he insisted.
"We didn't take the subway." Mi-Suk's voice came from behind Su-Jin.
The young woman waltzed towards the house, looking positively radiant. She even directed a small wink in Min-Jun's direction, causing the young man to momentarily stutter.
"Not the subway?" he blinked. "Then how did you get here?"
"Oh, we rode a fancy car of course." Mi-Suk replied in the same manner as before, directing a second wink at Min-Jun.
This time, the mischievous gesture didn't have the same effect as the first one. Instead of blanking out, Min-Jun moved to the side. Upon seeing a third person approaching the front door, his eyes narrowed into two dangerous slits.
"And who might this be?" he inquired in a deep voice.
To Su-Jin, her brother's tone of voice sounded way too ominous. Her memory of what he did back at the hospital, the way he treated both Ji-Won and herself were still very fresh in her memory.
'My brother's tail definitely shouldn't be stepped on, that's for sure!'
Therefore, before Mi-Suk could say anything else that might provoke her brother's temper, Su-Jin hastened to reply.
"Min-Jun, this is my colleague, Ji-Su. He is the one who found my ring."
She added that last part in hopes that Min-Jun would be more prone to courtesy towards Ji-Su.
After that, she turned towards Ji-Su, introducing her brother to him.
"Uhm, this is Min-Jun, my br…"
"Ah, he must be your brother, right?" Ji-Su cut Su-Jin's words off with a grin.
In a few strides he was already standing in front of the door, casually stretching a hand towards Min-Jun.
Everyone stared at him in bafflement. Even Min-Jun's deadpan expression cracked for an instance.
'This man is definitely smart. He was actually able to figure that out so quickly.'
Min-Jun mentally praised Ji-Su. Then suddenly remembering Ji-Won and his previous misunderstanding, Min-Jun couldn't help but sigh.
'Well, I guess that level of dull-wittedness isn't something you see everyday. That Kang Ji-Won is really special.'
But Min-Jun wasn't the type to be phased for long. Not even a second after Ji-Su's words fell, he reached out and shook the other man's hand.
"You seem very observant. Not many people can tell I am Su-Jin's brother." Min-Jun commented, gripping Ji-Su's hand slightly tighter.
"Is that so? I wonder why that happens." Ji-Su said calmly, returning Min-Jun's pressure with his fingers.
A strange smile spread on Min-Jun's lips as he continued to speak.
"I wonder about that myself. Sometimes, it gets really funny. For example, Su-Jin's boss, Director Kang Ji-Won, actually mistook me for her boyfriend."
Ji-Su was so taken aback by those words that he almost burst out laughing. He tried to smother the chuckles in his throat, but ended up having a violent coughing fit instead.
Meanwhile, inside his head, Ji-Su didn't know whether to praise his brother for his imagination, or laugh at the man's stupidity.
'That brother of mine is truly an idiot.. A cute kind of idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.'