TMFS Chapter 4 (Part 3)

After finishing their meal, Lucas and Yoon got in the car. She asked where they were headed, but Lucas simply said she’d find out when they got there and silently took the wheel.

Without pushing further, Yoon gazed out the window, humming a tune. It was perfect weather for a drive.

White clouds floated across the blue sky like a painting. The wind must’ve been strong, because the clouds were moving quickly.

Enjoying the rare clear day, Yoon rolled down the window and reached out her hand. The breeze pushed gently against her fingers, bending them slightly.

It had been a long time since she’d felt this peaceful. Resting her elbow on the window, Yoon leaned her face against her arm. Just then, a buzzing vibration came from her pocket along with a loud voice.

― Hey! How did I get home last night—ugh, my head. Anyway, how did I get in?

Yoon winced at the voice loud enough to burst her eardrums and nearly dropped her phone, frowning deeply.

“Try remembering before I lose my patience. You put me through hell last night.”

Grinding her teeth, Yoon recalled the chaos from the night before.

― No way. Was I really that bad? Hey, my neck hurts like hell. Did I hit something last night?

Turner rubbed the back of his neck—it ached like a bruise, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t remember bumping into anything.

“No idea. Must’ve hit something.”

Yoon replied shamelessly.

― Seriously though, how did I get home? You were drinking too—you couldn’t have driven, right?

His memory had cut off clean. He remembered meeting someone exactly his type, introducing himself… and then, nothing.

“Do you really have to know? Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

Her voice hinted at secrets, and Turner’s body tensed with unease.

― What… what is that supposed to mean? You’re making me nervous…

“Well, if you really want to know, I can tell you.”

― Ah, come on! Just spit it out already!

“Check your phone.”

With a sly smile tugging at her lips, Yoon sent a photo.

― AAAAAAAH! WHAT THE HELL!!

Turner screamed at the top of his lungs upon seeing the image—himself cradled like a princess in the arms of a massive thug. His panicked shrieks echoed through the phone, but Yoon replied in an indifferent tone.

“Told you, you’d regret knowing.”

― D-Did the goddess see this? Did she see me like this?! You’re telling me she saw this mess?!

Desperation filled Turner’s voice, praying for a ‘no.’ But life rarely granted such favors.

“Of course she did. You were throwing a fit about ‘muscle meatheads’ while causing a scene.”

With Yoon’s cold, final blow, a thud sounded on the other end—Turner had likely collapsed to the floor. Muscle meatheads, he thought in despair…

― I’m done for. It’s over. That’s the first impression I gave her… How am I supposed to face the goddess now?

Turner mumbled hopelessly, as if the world had ended.

“She was never interested in you to begin with.”

Yoon stabbed at his emotional wound without mercy. After a long sniffle, Turner shouted in frustration.

― If your goddess hadn’t confessed to YOU, I wouldn’t have lost it and gotten blackout drunk!! Do you even know the pain of heartbreak?!

He poured out his grievance without even pausing to breathe.

“You at least remember that much.”

― I only remembered because YOU reminded me! AAAAH! Why is that the only thing I remember?!

Turner’s anguished cries rang through the phone. After screaming incoherently for a while, he caught his breath and lashed out.

― What do people even like about a stone-faced robot like you?! I just wanted to experience my first love for once in my life—why is it YOU, a girl, ruining my first love, not even a guy?!

His voice, soaked in injustice, made Yoon reply in disbelief, stunned at his nonsense.

“I didn’t stop you. And also, you must’ve misheard because you were drunk—‘girlfriend’ doesn’t mean the kind you’re thinking of—”

Just as Yoon was about to clarify it wasn’t that kind of girlfriend, Turner let out an ear-piercing screech.

― Yeah! Good for you, getting yourself a pretty girlfriend!! Have a great life!!

Click—

The call ended abruptly, leaving Yoon staring at her phone in disbelief.

“This little bastard—”

He’d worked himself into a frenzy all on his own, banging the drum and playing the cymbals. Yoon snorted and tucked the phone away.

Lucas, who had heard the whole exchange, casually turned the steering wheel and asked,

“What was that conversation?”

Amid the chaos, two words had stood out clearly: goddess and confession.

“Oh, you heard that?”

“Hard not to, with that kind of volume.”

Lucas replied calmly. Yoon nodded in agreement—her ears were still ringing.

“The bar owner from last night was stunning. Turner fell head over heels.”

Ah. Lucas nodded, now understanding.

“But right in front of Turner, she asked if I had a girlfriend, then asked how she measured up.”

Yoon spoke casually, as if it were nothing.

“…What?”

Lucas’s thick eyebrows twitched upward.

“I was a bit flustered, but I told her I liked her. It just kind of happened.”

She smiled faintly, adding, “She has a pretty smile, buys great drinks, and smells nice.”

Yoon muttered to herself, listing off Rachel’s good points one by one.

“You—”

Lucas started to say something but frowned, focusing on the road as the traffic light turned green. After a moment, he asked in a low voice,

“…Just to be sure, you don’t mean girlfriend as in a romantic girlfriend, right?”

The phrasing was misleading—perfect for misunderstanding. Lucas, feeling an odd sense of unease, asked Yoon carefully.

“Yeah, I asked too. I made sure she meant friend when she said ‘girlfriend.’”

But Turner, that idiot, misunderstood everything and flipped out on his own.

Yoon muttered in disbelief.

“I see.”

Lucas let out a breath, a strange sense of relief washing over him.

“So… did you at least exchange contact info with the bar owner?”

“Oh, right. Contact. She wrote it down somewhere last night.”

Yoon rummaged through her coat and pulled out a slip of paper.

“Got it.”

Finding the note tucked in her inner jacket pocket, she saved the number.

[Name: Rachel]

It felt strange seeing a woman’s name in her contacts. Watching Yoon save the number, Lucas gave a dry chuckle. So she really had gotten her number.

“Having a female friend isn’t so bad. She was soft to hug, too.”

Yoon smiled faintly, as if reminiscing.

“…When you hugged her?”

His voice took on an edge. What kind of hugging happens with someone you just met?

“Yeah, when I hugged her. It felt kind of different, hugging a woman like that.”

It felt… warmer, somehow.

Yoon spoke casually, her words trailing off. Lucas couldn’t quite define the feeling that rose inside him at the mention of this new bond. But it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Why the hell did she hug you?”

“Because she was thankful? I helped her out on the street once. She begged me to stop by sometime, so I did—and it ended up like this.”

Yoon’s expression had a subtle glow of excitement, and for some reason, Lucas felt bitterness rise in his throat.

“So… do you like her?”

“Well… I wouldn’t say like. Honestly, she’s my first ‘normal’ friend, so I don’t really know what to say or how to act.”

Yoon scratched her forehead awkwardly. Unlike the other members of the organization who lived somewhat like ordinary people, Yoon had never formed relationships outside that world.

She never felt the need to, nor did she particularly want to. Besides, Yoon was never good at lying or hiding things.

Because of that, she had no idea what normal women even talked about. The word normal felt completely foreign to her.

“And honestly, there’s nothing good about getting involved with me. If it weren’t for Turner, I wouldn’t have even told her my name.”

She’d vaguely said she worked in security, but even that—she wasn’t sure if it had been the right move.

Lucas noticed a rare, unfamiliar expression on her face and fell silent, watching her for a moment. Then, after thinking it over, he spoke in a calm, reassuring voice.

“We all live like that. Pretending we’re not mafia, blending in with the crowd—that’s our life. You making one more connection isn’t going to change anything.”

At his gentle, matter-of-fact reassurance, Yoon let out a small chuckle.

“That so.”

“Yeah.”

Seeing her mood lighten, Lucas drove on with a faint, almost invisible smile on his lips.