"Your Realtor Is My Hired Girlfriend"
"Why did you leave that way? What's up?" Mi Cha asked immediately after Tan parked the car across the road.
"Will you at least allow me to get down from the car before attacking me with your questions?" He asked as he got down from the car.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just very curious, that's all," She said as they entered the building.
The air was slightly damp.
"What happened to the former occupants of the house?" Tan asked as he walked around the space.
"They had money problems and had to give it up," She said with a shrug.
"Are you deliberately avoiding my question, or you're just really interested in the house?" Mi Cha asked, raising her brow like their mother always did.
"Ok. So, your realtor is my hired girlfriend," He said, running his fingers through his hair.
"That's awesome! So why did you take off like a thief? Shouldn't you have just approached her and be done with it?" Mi Cha asked with a frown.
"You don't get it, do you? She is also Ji-Tae's girlfriend, remember?" Tan said, giving her a weird look.
"What has that got to do with anything? Besides, he's breaking up with her, isn't he?" Mi Cha asked, raising her perfectly arched brows. She felt kind of disappointed in him... She hadn't expected her brother to act so cowardly.
"What is wrong with you? I didn't know she had a boyfriend, but now I know. What if she was in love with him and was just attracted to me? You don't expect me to just come out and make a fool of myself," He said, leaving her to check out the other rooms as different thoughts ran through his mind.
"But you won't know if you don't ask, right? All you had to do was confront her and ask," Mi Cha said stubbornly, following behind him.
"And if she says she is in love with my best friend, who I know plans on dumping her, what will you suggest I do, wise sister of mine?" He asked sarcastically.
"You're just overthinking things. I don't think any sensible lady who is truly in love with her man would allow another man to come as close to her as Nana allowed you to... and trust me, Nana is more than sensible," Mi Cha said, going around him to stand in his front.
"I don't doubt that she is sensible. I won't be going through all this stress if she isn't. I need to first make sense of this whole situation," Tan said, trying to get her to reason with him.
"But I'm curious though, why will her best friend ask her to cover for her only to travel with her boyfriend?" Mi Cha asked, thinking deeply.
"Hold on a second, whose best friend? What are you talking about?" Tan asked, looking at her in confusion.
"I mean Min-jung, while we were talking earlier, her father talked about her best friend. Unless it's all one big coincidence which I'm beginning to doubt... her best friend is Ji-tae's Min-jung," Mi Cha said as her brow furrowed in concentration.
"It's possible. With the way everything is turning out, any damn thing is possible. Min-Jung had said the lady she paid was a stranger, but I began to doubt it when I realized Lee Nana was my hired girlfriend. I intend to get to the root of this whole messed up situation," Tan said with a look of determination plastered on his face.
"So what do you want to do for now? How long do you intend to run or hide from her?" Mi Cha asked, raising her eyebrow again in a way that told him she didn't like the idea of him acting so cowardly.
"I'm not running or hiding; I'm just trying to analyze the situation before making my move. Remember when you asked how you could help? So how about you become really good friends with her. I mean sleepover close, kind of friend. That way, I get to know how she's doing from you, and you can help me find out exactly how she feels about me and Ji-tae."
"You're asking me to spy on a friend? No way! I like her and have already asked her to be my friend. She won't forgive me if she finds out I was spying on her," Mi Cha said with a worried frown.
"Don't call it spying. That's too intense a word for something so simple. Do you know how girls tend to tell girls stuff about their feelings? I'm just saying make her confide in you. Bring up random kinds of stuff about me, and act like you have a crush on me if you have to. Just fucking make her talk about me," Tan said exasperatedly.
"Jeez! Please don't get all riled up on me. I'm not responsible for the situation," Mi Cha said, not liking the way Tan was sounding.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you. I think this house is good enough. I'll step out to check out the neighborhood and ask a few questions," He said, changing the topic.
"I'll do all I can to help you. Don't worry too much about it. At least we now know her identity. Plus, I think Ji-Tae doesn't deserve her anyway. You both suit each other better," Mi Cha said, trying to cheer him up.
"Make sure not to mention this in the house. Until we have it all figured out, we can't let Ji-Tae nor anyone else know about any of this. If and when you meet Min-Jung, be careful around her... I don't think she's a good person," Tan said, giving her a severe look.
"I know that much already from the little I know about her, and I don't need to see her before I know I won't like her," Mi Cha said as her nose twitched with disgust.
"You said she's coming back, right? I'll leave now before she returns. Just tell her I like the house," He said as he got into his car.
"You'll have to catch a cab back to the house. You know I can't come back for you. And I'm going to hang out with Ji-Tae, so I will be late," Tan said.
"Sure, that won't be a problem. I will hang out with her for a while. I need to start bonding with her... This is sure going to be fun," She said with a wink that made him smile as he drove off.
Mi Cha stood as she watched Tan drive away. She wouldn't let him hide from her for too long.
She would put everything in place to make sure things went smoothly for them. Tan could keep trying to be a loyal friend if he wanted to.
She loved Ji-tae as a brother but wouldn't hesitate to do the right thing for everybody. Thank goodness Ji-Tae was planning on marrying someone else. She would look for a way to alert Nana to it all.