"Hello?"
As she spoke into the receiver, Su-Jin's voice sounded slightly nervous. She paused after the greeting, waiting for the other person to say something.
Not even a second later, Miss Jung's voice could be heard from the other side of the phone, sounding both calm and pleasant.
"Miss Park, there is someone downstairs waiting for you."
"For me?" Su-Jin blinked, her appearance changing from nervousness to astonishment.
"Yes. He says his name is Park Min-Jun. Do you know this person?"
"What did he come all the way here for?" Su-Jin mumbled in an undertone.
Then, realizing that Miss Jung had asked her a question, she hastily replied in a louder voice.
"Ah, yes, indeed I know him. Thank you very much for letting me know, Miss Jung. I'll be right there."
With that, Su-Jin put the receiver down and got up.
"Are you going somewhere?" Yeon-Ah asked, stretching her arms and neck.
For the past couple of hours she had also been working hard, so now she felt like taking a short break. Just as she was about to move around a bit, she noticed Su-Jin hastily getting ready to leave her desk.
Hearing her friend's question, Su-Jin turned her head and smiled.
"Just going downstairs for a bit. There is someone here to see me. In case anyone asks, I will be back quickly."
"Alright."
Once she got downstairs, entering the lobby, Su-Jin's eyes darted around the area. Not even a second later she saw her brother waiting for her outside. Her heart thumped, giving her a strange feeling of anxiousness. So, she quickly hurried to his side.
"Min-Jun, what happened? Why did you come here?" she asked breathlessly.
"I had to come because my sister is a scatterbrain. I guess you'd forget even your head if it wasn't attached to your body." Min-Jun retorted with a helpless sigh.
A moment later he lifted his hand and tapped her head with something.
Just as she was about to scold her brother for his words, Su-Jin felt the light bonk on her head. Looking up dazedly, she saw her mobile phone, hovering a few centimeters above her head.
Apparently, she had forgotten it at home and didn't even realize. Considering just how much she treasured that phone it was very unusual for her to leave it behind like that. This incident was clear proof of just how much her brain had been affected by last night's events.
"Thank you, Min-Jun. I owe you one."
Su-Jin cast Min-Jun a wary smile, then she seized the phone from her brother's hand, holding it to her chest as though it was a priceless treasure. But just as she was starting to feel content, Su-Jin suddenly became aware of the scorching heat. Her clothes immediately stuck to her body, as she began to sweat.
The summer sun that day was really too strong. Since Min-Jun had stayed out in the open for a while, Su-Jin was worried that he might feel uncomfortable.
"Why didn't you wait inside? It's too hot out here." she softly chidded.
"It was too stuffy inside. Besides, people were gawking at me weirdly, so I decided to wait out here."
Su-Jin blinked in confusion, then glanced around.
Sure enough, all the women who came out of the building, as well as the ones who passed them by in order to get inside, were all shooting furtive glances at Min-Jun.
With a chuckle, Su-Jin turned to look at her brother more carefully.
He was wearing his high school uniform, made of grey pants and jacket. Due to the insufferable heat he wasn't wearing his tie, and the first button of his white shirt was undone. Compared to his usual neat bearing, this appearance gave his persona a more rebellious aura. Even his hair was slightly more ruffled than usual, sticking up and revealing most of his forehead.
True enough, her brother looked handsome indeed. But had any of those women known what kind of mean character he could sometimes exhibit, they would definitely run away in fright.
After shaking her head internally, Su-Jin returned to the conversation.
"Thanks again for the phone. Are you going back to school now?" Su-Jin asked.
"No. We finished earlier today. Now I'm going home to continue studying. The exams are starting next week." Min-Jun replied.
While he spoke, he completely ignored all the women that were now openly goggling at him.
To an untrained eye it might have looked like he was playing hard to get, but Su-Jin knew better. Her brother was just that oblivious to women's stares. He never cared about his female colleagues, and every time a girl would confess her feelings, he would turn her down immediately. He would even do it in such a way that neither of those poor girls dared to approach him again.
At times, Su-Jin had wondered why her brother was acting that way towards every female, but she never managed to find out. When asked, Min-Jun would merely shrug and say he was not interested in dating. Or, on different occasions, he would simply give studying as a reason.
After all, he was the best in his class and had to maintain his grades at a high level in order to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor. Entering medical school wasn't easy and he had to study hard. Thus, he never went around on dates or spent time playing around like other boys his age did.
Looking at her brother now, Su-Jin felt a strange mixture of sadness and pride. She was sad that Min-Jun couldn't enjoy life more. At the same time, she felt proud because he was a cool younger brother, a very smart student, and a handsome young man.
Filled with such intense emotions, Su-Jin forgot for a moment that they were still outside. She raised herself on tiptoes, reaching out to ruffle Min-Jun's hair. A bout of giggles escaped from her lips as she patted his head tenderly.
"My little man is all grown up now." She cooed, shooting him a wide grin.
"Stop it." Min-Jun grumbled, swatting her hand away. "I'm going now. See you later."
"Be careful on your way home." She waved a hand exaggeratedly, as though he was about to leave for another country.
"And you be careful not to destroy anything at work. Company assets are expensive." Min-Jun shouted over his shoulder.
His reminder made Su-Jin scowl.
'I'm not that big of a public menace, you know.' She scoffed internally, secretly sticking her tongue out at her brother's receding back.