Ji-tae's Girlfriend

Min-Jung simply stood there staring at Tan as she considered her options. Tan didn't know her, right? After all, Nana had gone in her place. She has always been a good actress and a better liar. She could tell him she was Ji-tae's girlfriend and she had been looking around his shelves for a novel to pass the time. But what if he asked for her name? It didn't matter anyway. After all, a lot of females went by the name Min-Jung.

Tan, on the other hand, looked at her. This was the lady whose picture was sent to him in place of his Min-Jung's picture. He had studied every angle on the face in that picture to be sure it wasn't his Min-jung, so he could tell this was the person. Could all this be a coincidence? Maybe he should try calling her Min-Jung. If she answered, he'd ask her if she worked there. Then perhaps he would understand they sent him the picture of the wrong staff because they shared identical names.

"Min-Jung?" He asked skeptically.

Did Ji-tae tell him anything about her? Or was it possible he had found out the truth already? She wondered.

"Yes, I'm Min- Jung. I'm Ji-Tae's girlfriend. Sorry for the late introduction. You startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone. I was..."

"Ji-Tae's girlfriend?" He interrupted her with a confused frown... that explained her presence in Ji-Tae's house. But what the hell was going on? Was this some sick joke? Why had they sent him a picture of Ji-Tae's girlfriend? Was she the same person Ji-Tae was planning on engaging? Did she work at such a place? But Ji-Tae had said his girlfriend's name was Lee Nana, and she was a realtor, right?

Min-Jung looked at him, wondering what was going on in his head. She couldn't be here by the time Ji-Tae returned, and she didn't want Ji-Tae to ever know she had entered his office.

"Yes, I'm Ji-Tae's girlfriend. I take it you're his friend?" She asked, pretending to not know him.

"Yea, we are good friends. I'm Kim Tan," He said, still giving her a puzzled look.

"Can I ask for a favor?" She asked, giving him her innocent disarming smile.

Tan didn't like the sound of that. He wasn't interested in handing favors to one of Ji-Tae's numerous girlfriends.

"Only if I can ask you a question and you'll answer honestly," He said, turning to leave, but his eyes caught something.

He returned to the office and noticed a paper hanging from one of the drawers. He knew Ji-Tae to be very meticulous, and that couldn't have been Ji-Tae's handwork.

"What were you doing in here again?" He asked, turning to look at her with questioning eyes.

"Emm, I was bored and wanted to check for books, interesting novels I could read to pass the time," She said as she swallowed nervously.

"Novels, yeah? What was the favor you wanted?" Novels in a drawer? Every alarm bell in his head was ringing. He could tell she was lying. All he needed was to hear her request; then, he would be sure. He would have to warn Ji-Tae about this one. She looked very suspicious.

"I'll appreciate it if you don't mention this to Ji-Tae, he doesn't like me coming in here, so I guess curiosity got the better part of me," She said with quivering lips and teary eyes. She could see he was suspicious of her, and she had to make him pity her.

That explained it then, and he could understand if curiosity made her do this.

"Remember the condition I gave? Do you work at the Hire A Girlfriend Agency?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

***********

Nana was already exhausted, they had been to the fifth house already, and Mi Cha seemed to like them all. She hoped the girl had money. She would hate to go through this whole stress for nothing.

"So?" She asked Mi Cha a bit impatiently.

"I like it, and I like them all. But I have to choose just one, right?" Mi Cha asked with a sad frown.

"You can take them all as long as you have the money," Nana said with a smile that made Mi Cha giggle.

"I would have loved to hang around all day with you, but I have to get back to the office before closing hours. You have my number. Call me when you make up your mind," Nana said, leading her out of the house.

"I like you," Mi Cha said as they approached the car.

"Awww, that's sweet of you. I like you too," Nana said.

"That's good, then. So I was thinking, since I'm just moving over here and I don't have friends, do you mind being my friend? I don't just want you to be my realtor. I feel a special connection with you," Mi Cha said as they got into the car.

"Don't tell me you're a.." Mr. Lee said, unable to complete the sentence.

"Oh no, I'm not a lesbian... far from it. Mr. Lee, I like you too. I'll love to be able to visit your home and have you visit mine. You'll have to be my second family," She quickly corrected when she saw the expression on Mr. Lee's and Nana's faces.

"That's ok then, I'll love that... and just maybe I can learn one or two fashion tips from you," Nana said, thinking of Tan.

"And don't forget to let me know when you intend to bring your elder brother around," She said as the car stopped in front of her office.

"Don't be late for dinner," Mr. Lee called out, making Nana roll her eyes.

"Where to, ma'am?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"No, no, I don't want that ma'am thing. Please call me Mi Cha," She said as she searched her bag for a complementary card. She handed it over to him.

"Please take me to that address," She said calmly.

**********

Maybe it was time to pop the question to Nana. He was sure he would find a way around everything. As long as Tan was around, everything would be ok.

His phone rang out, interrupting his thought. He checked the caller ID, and it was Jin-A. The She-Devil knew how to ruin his mood.

He wanted to ignore the call but remembered what had happened the last time he did so.

"Hello darling," She said the moment he answered. "I hope you haven't forgotten about dinner with your mother. Do not dare me. Make sure you come over the moment you leave the office," She said and dropped the call without allowing him to say anything.

She grinned. Everything was becoming a lot more fun.