**Prologue**
"Huh?"
Mimo stared at him with wide, startled eyes. Jaesu kept his gaze fixed on her, scanning her from head to toe.
"She's a bit lacking to be called a girlfriend, but it can't be helped right now. You, try not to speak if you can help it. Just by looking at you standing there awkwardly, I can already tell. If you open your mouth, you're guaranteed to mess up 100%."
Mimo didn't even hear Jaesu's belittling words. Her eyes were fixed on Unsu, who was seated next to Jaesu.
"Can you repeat what you just said?"
"This is Kang Jaesu. The guy I told you about yesterday. You agreed to play the role of his girlfriend today, remember?"
"I did? When did I…"
Mimo's body stiffened like stone, but her mind raced, trying to recall anything. Then, in a flash—
"Ahhhh!"
She screamed, covering her mouth with both hands.
---
**Episode 1**
"Ahhhh!"
With a short scream, Mimo toppled to the ground. Instinctively, she threw her arms out to protect her face as she fell. As soon as her hands hit the pavement, she jumped to her feet, scanning her surroundings in embarrassment. Thankfully, it was early morning, and no one was around.
"Thank goodness, no one saw that."
She instinctively rubbed her hands together to shake off the dirt.
"Ouch."
She looked down at her hand, feeling a sting. Her right palm had three scratches with beads of blood forming. Seeing the injury, frustration surged through her.
"Seriously, what is this?"
She looked around the area as if searching for something to blame. Her eyes landed on an uneven sidewalk tile sticking up.
"Ah, so that's it."
She ran a hand through her bangs, slightly covering her forehead, and kicked at the offending tile with the tip of her shoe.
"Just wait. I'll report you. I'll make sure you're flattened out."
She pulled out her phone and tried making a call, but the line didn't connect. Sighing in defeat, she checked the time. It was 7 a.m.
"7 o'clock. Still before work."
Pointing accusingly at the uneven tile, she glared at it as if issuing a warning.
"You think you're safe now? No way. As soon as work starts, I'll call and have you flattened for good."
With that, she turned to leave but—
"Ahhh!"
She screamed again as she spun in a circle and fell forward, this time landing on her knees.
"Ow!"
Sitting up, she clutched her knees, looking around once again. Still, no one was there.
"Ugh, I tripped over my own feet."
She stood up and dusted off the dirt from her knees.
"Idiot. Fool."
She knocked herself lightly on the head with her fist twice, then her eyes fell on the sidewalk tile again.
"Yeah, it's all your fault. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't have fallen."
She kicked the tile a few more times out of frustration before continuing on her way.
*Swoosh!*
"Ahhhh!"
Mimo stopped dead in her tracks, soaked from head to toe, right in front of the [Lucky Plaza] shopping complex. Her office was in the basement of this building. She had just gotten drenched right in front of the entrance to her office.
A cleaning lady, who had been hosing down the steps, rushed over to her.
"Oh no! You came out of nowhere! What are we going to do?"
"I didn't come out of nowhere. This is the building entrance. I was just going in, and you splashed me!"
Water dripped from Mimo's hair, and her bright red tracksuit was completely soaked.
"Oh my, but who would have thought someone would come here at this hour? I didn't expect anyone, so I just sprayed the water."
"Seriously, ma'am…"
With a tearful expression, Mimo stamped her feet in frustration and shook her body, sending water droplets flying everywhere. The cleaning lady, shielding herself from the spray with her hands, spoke up again.
"Oh dear, I'm really sorry. But standing there isn't going to help. You said you were going inside, so hurry up. Your clothes are torn and all—better not to be seen like this."
"This is all your fault!"
Grumbling, Mimo brushed past the cleaning lady and entered the building. She descended to the basement and stood in front of her office door.
"It's fine. It's fine, Han Mimo. The cleaning lady made a mistake, she apologized, and you've got spare clothes in the office. Everything's fine."
Trying to reassure herself, she punched in the code for the office door.
"Huh? What's going on?"
The keypad didn't respond. She tried pulling the door with her wet hands, but it didn't budge. She punched in the code again—nothing.
"Why, keypad? I'm your owner. Open up!"
The door remained stubbornly locked. Mimo sank to the ground, still gripping the doorknob.
"Why? Why won't it open? Did you all conspire to mess with me today?"
She pleaded with the doorknob, but, of course, there was no response.
"Do you know how hard it was for me to get here? It's only a 10-minute walk from home to the office. But I fell, I fell again, then I got soaked. And now, even you are turning against me? You were fine yesterday! Yesterday, you locked up with no problem, with just a click—"
Suddenly, a memory from the night before flashed through her mind.
---
**The Day Before**
*Beep-beep-beep*
Mimo, who ran a small business selling goods, was at her desk, working on some product photos she'd taken.
"What was that sound? Did it come from outside?"
She ignored the sound and focused on her work.
As evening fell, she cleaned up the office and left. She pulled the door shut behind her, but it didn't make the usual locking sound. She opened the door again and closed it properly this time, hearing the reassuring *click*.
---
Back in the present, Mimo gazed at the keypad affectionately.
"Was that sound from yesterday you? Were you trying to tell me your battery was dying? If that's the case, you should have told me more clearly! Like, 'I need batteries!' I'm so sorry. I didn't realize. But now, can you just muster the last bit of strength to open one more time, like you did yesterday? Please?"
She stood up, took a deep breath, and rubbed her hands together. Carefully, she entered the code once more.
"Ta-da!"
But the keypad remained silent.
"You're really dead? Is that it?"
Her head dropped in defeat. Through her lowered gaze, she noticed the large tear in the right knee of her red tracksuit pants. The exposed skin underneath bore a big, scratched mark.
"What is this…"
She slumped against the door. The cold, wet fabric clung to her back, but the chill was the least of her concerns. Her mind was a chaotic mess.
"What a total disaster. What do you call a day like this? A lucky day? No, wait… Murphy's Law!"
She let out a long sigh, then, with a determined expression, pushed herself off the door and looked up at the stairs.
"Okay. It's still early, so nobody's around yet. The cleaning lady said she didn't expect anyone either. That means no one will see me like this. It's just a 10-minute walk back home! No, if I walk fast, I can make it in 5. Just 5 minutes! All I have to do is avoid being seen. If anyone sees me like this? Weird lady from the basement office… If the building owner finds out and kicks me out, even though my lease isn't up yet…"
She dropped her head again.
"If I keep my head down, no one will know it's me, right? Yeah, Han Mimo! You can do this. Let's go."
Mimo took two steps at a time up the stairs. As soon as she stepped outside, she dropped her head and started walking fast.
But she hadn't gone far when—
Thud.
Her bowed head collided with something solid yet soft. Startled, she stepped back.
Just then, a familiar voice came from in front of her. Her body froze on the spot, as if turned to stone.
"Are you okay?"