A Shared Moment at the Burger Joint

Shin Jaye stumbled, her legs crossing, and Jeong Seonwu swiftly caught her by the arm. “Be careful.” “Ah, yes.” She straightened up, her gaze flicking briefly to Minjeong’s face. “Jaye, are you all right?” Thankfully, Minjeong had already forgotten her question about how the two had met. “You’re wearing sneakers and you still trip? What’s wrong with you?” “Yeah, I don’t know why I’m like this… haha…” Jaye gave an awkward laugh, her senses on high alert at the words coming from Minjeong.

The three arrived at a popular franchise burger joint in the university district. Unable to travel far because of afternoon classes, Minjeong and Jaye had settled on burgers as their shared meal. Unfamiliar with the hearty, in-house burger atmosphere, Seonwu reached for the fork and knife placed beside his plate as the burger arrived. Watching him slice into his burger, Jaye tried to stop him, wrapping it in paper and handing it over instead. “You’ll get it spoiled that way. Just bite into it whole…” The two of them were a sight that made Minjeong watch with sparkling eyes. “Hyubuje.” “Hm?” “Don’t you date Jaye?” Minjeong’s words startled Jaye as if she had been pricked by a thorn. “You’re asking why the two of us met and whether we date?” If she had given a clumsy answer or shown awkwardness at this moment, Minjeong might have started questioning the strange married life of the couple. She didn’t want her only friend to learn that she had been raised by a shaman, sold for money, and was now in a contract marriage. Sweat beaded on Jaye’s palms. “Jaye said she first tried a burger when she entered university. We had it together here. But when I look at Hyubuje, he doesn’t take her to fancy places like that.” “Come on, Jeong Minjeong. Do you really think everyone goes to fancy places like you?” No matter how much Jaye tried to stop her, Minjeong didn’t hold back. She spilled out everything she had been thinking. “Honestly, it seemed so strange. Jaye always had plenty of pocket money, dressed neatly, and didn’t look like someone from a poor family. But she never ate pasta for the first time, never burger for the first time, and even said she had never tried bone soup before.” If she had known this, she would have pretended to know the foods they were eating. Regret slowly bloomed inside Jaye’s chest, yet Minjeong’s barrage of questions continued. “Where do you find girls like Jaye these days? So I thought maybe she had come from a place like Cheonghak-dong, but actually, her parents must be really terrible to lock her away and raise her.” Her words perfectly hit the mark, making Jaye clench the hem of her coat tightly under the table. “And the other thing is, I’ve been thinking Jaye’s husband must be a strange person. A man not like a normal husband.” While Jaye froze and only rolled her eyes, Seonwu placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her close. “That could have been the case.” Watching his natural skinship, Jaye felt relieved that he was quick-witted. “Jaye, I guess I’ve been too distant lately.” The skinship was nothing but an act, like the fake married life they had been performing, yet her heart responded helplessly to him. Jaye’s face burned bright red. “Let’s make time to spend more time outside together.” With that, Seonwu changed the subject. “Oh, by the way, Minjeong.” The sudden end of the husband act left Jaye aching with regret, though the thought was fleeting. “How has your university life been?” The sudden question about her college life made Jaye’s eyes widen as she looked at Seonwu’s side. Minjeong set her half-eaten burger down. “Jaye is a donor student. At first, everyone treated her with prejudice because she entered outside the general track.” Minjeong’s straightforwardness worried Jaye that her college life might be painted as poor. Unable to even bite into the burger, she just fiddled with the fork, and Minjeong noticed. “Well, now that I think about it, if it’s a Samjeong scholarship, our school might be the one begging her to accept it. Oh, and the Samjeong Electronics scholarship run by the engineering department might be related to Jaye’s admission.” Seonwu was the one who had helped Jaye enter this university. When they first met, Jaye had obtained her high school diploma through the GED and had secretly taken the college entrance exam. She had studied by watching educational broadcasts for twelve hours a day in a forest hermitage with nothing, earning perfect scores on both the GED and the exam, but she had been unable to take the university entrance exam because of Yonghwa Shaman’s threats. At twenty-one, she had met Seonwu and entered university through their contract marriage. Seonwu had promoted a joint R&D agreement between Samjeong Electronics and a university research institute just because she had said she wanted to major in engineering, and he had admitted her. Thanks to that, Jaye could finally live the life she wanted in Seoul. It was far more thoughtful than what one would expect from a wife forced into marriage. “Even the students receiving the Samjeong scholarship didn’t see Jaye favorably at first.” “I see. So in the early days of university, Jaye must have had a hard time.” “That’s why I became friends with her. I was also a repeat student, so it was hard to fit in with the new students.” Minjeong spilled out how they became friends while talking about Jaye’s university life. “Honestly, there aren’t many people who study as hard as Jaye. In our school, only about thirty percent of engineering students are allowed to major in what they like and get jobs; the rest all prepare for general hiring through company recruitment.” “Really?” “Yes. Jaye is the only one who studies hard on her own. Of course, I’m a bit of a loner too, but still… Now, no one looks at Jaye badly. Honestly, even if she didn’t participate in study groups or drinking parties, the tough tasks in the department always fall to her.” “I’m really lucky to have a friend like you, Minjeong, who understands Jaye.” “No, it’s nothing. Jaye is pretty and kind. The more you look at her, the more you think she’s pure and has a cute face.” Seonwu slid a salad that came with the burger toward Minjeong. “Minjeong, you should eat some food too—” “But the strange part is that it wasn’t that. You’re trying to gloss over my questions… Could it be that Jaye’s marriage is some kind of Samjeong secret? That’s why you won’t talk about it?” Minjeong was sharp-tongued. In debate class she always harped on her opponent, and even in lectures she argued with professors over logical fallacies whether anyone was listening or not. “A secret? That’s ridiculous. What do you want to know?” No matter how Seonwu tried to change the subject, she didn’t let it go. “About Jaye. She doesn’t know Seoul geography at all and hasn’t even tried most Korean foods.” “You’re sounding like you want to eat again.” Despite Jaye’s comment, Minjeong didn’t stop. “I have to ask today or never. Anyway, I asked if I should live with my boyfriend from today or tomorrow. Even by five in the afternoon he rushes home, and it seems he’s always only at home. He hasn’t even done a proper date. So it’s natural that something’s strange.” “……” “Every time that happens, Jaye says she does all the married couple things.” Seonwu’s eyes narrowed at the words “all the married couple things.” He turned toward Jaye, pinched her cheek, and asked, “That’s what you said?” “Ah, ouch.” Stung, Jaye hurriedly pushed him away and waved her hands in the air above the table. “Hey, stop that. It looks like a deathbed confession.” “Yeah, a deathbed confession.” Watching the scene, Seonwu burst out laughing. “I’m relieved to see that Minjeong cares about Jaye so much. You weren’t abandoned, right?” To Seonwu, Minjeong’s question seemed less about Jaye’s personal matters and more like she was turning to him for the reason why he neglected her. “You noticed?” “I committed a crime worthy of death.” “Honestly, though Jeong Seonwu is amazing, Jaye is young and pretty and kind. Please treat her well.” “Of course. I know. I’ve received blessings. I’ll listen to Minjeong’s advice and treat Jaye well.” When the conversation ended, Jaye felt her chest lighten. Watching Seonwu speak freely even in front of her university friends, she stared at his face in wonder. He was a man who had always seemed impossibly difficult, yet to see him smiling like this was unfamiliar, and she even felt a fleeting sense of illusion that he had a normal girlfriend. “I’ll stop making excuses about being busy and take Jaye out on dates more often. I think Minjeong’s eyes might spark with jealousy.” At Seonwu’s words, Minjeong burst into laughter. As predicted, Minjeong’s question was not meant to blame Seonwu but a wish that Jaye be happier. Understanding the hidden meaning, Seonwu smiled comfortably and slid his phone toward her. “In memory of my decision to date more often, would you take a photo of us for me, Minjeong?” “A photo? Ah, yes. Of course.” Minjeong took Seonwu’s phone and held it up toward their faces. Seonwu kept his hand on Jaye’s shoulder and pulled her close, their shoulders touching. “Wait a second. Shin Jaye, smile—smile!” Minjeong looked away from the phone and pointed at Jaye’s mouth, urging her to smile, and Jaye forced the corners of her lips upward. “Okay, I’ll take it. One, two, three.” For the first time, Jaye took a photo with Seonwu at the university’s hearty burger joint. After receiving the phone, Seonwu looked at the first photo they had ever taken and smiled. Jaye lightly poked his shoulder with her fingertip. “Hey, honey…” “Hm?” She had used the word “honey” to avoid revealing the contract marriage to Minjeong, but fearing it might look strange, her face flushed red. “Can you send me the photo too? I want to see if it came out well.” “Yes. Okay. I’ll send it through Messenger.” At Seonwu’s answer, Jaye felt her chest relax. She had never met Seonwu outside and had never had a meal with him like this. It was a day she wanted to remember by writing in her diary, but now she had even a photo of the two of them. Though the photo showed a plain Jaye standing in front of handsome Seonwu, it would remain even if they divorced and never saw each other again. Jaye intended to treasure this photo for a long time.

The afternoon classes began, and Minjeong immediately started scribbling in Jaye’s major textbooks. Originally, Jaye never responded to Minjeong’s doodles, but today she did. Her mind was floating because of Seonwu. [But Hyubuje is really handsome.] [Minjeong, you idiot. You were worried about living with an old boyfriend, but now—] [I don’t know. If it’s a husband with a face like that, even the old man would welcome him.] [Stop doodling. I have class.] [I guess that’s why you said the guy chasing the engineering goddess Shin Jaye is a whole truckload and yet he doesn’t even blink.] [I told you to stop doodling!] Only after the professor’s comment did Minjeong stop scribbling in Jaye’s major book. She needed to study even one more thing to graduate and get a job, but her friend only chatted whenever they met.