New Normal - Chapter 3

“Ah, no! I can’t go any further from here!”

“Why not? That car over there just went through.”

“Miss, I get it, but… this car’s older than you are, you know.”

“……”

“So it’s a bit weak, you know? If I push it too far, it might break down, and that’d be bad.”

Despite his sympathetic smile, the taxi driver heartlessly dropped her off and drove away, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him.

The inside of the taxi, where at least lukewarm air-conditioning was working, had felt like heaven. From the moment she stepped out of Gangcheon Station, the air had been so humid that her arms were getting sticky, and the heat was stifling. The suffocating midsummer weather said it all.

Maybe it was the scorching sun heating up her head, or maybe it was the frustration of a life that never seemed to go her way — but Jisoo’s mind was in a whirl, haunted by the shaman’s voice predicting her future.

“Your helper is a ‘big thing,’ you know? An enormous one. Only a big thing can block a big misfortune.”

She wanted to brush it off, but the more she thought about it, the more it felt like everything really was going wrong. Feeling more and more uneasy, Jisoo flapped her skirt to let in some air.

“…Forget park view. This is practically a graveyard view.”

She wasn’t dead, but looking at this remote mountainside workshop — more like an ancestral grave than an art studio — made her wonder if the artist wasn’t a total eccentric.

Her neat summer suit, meant to look professional, was now drenched in sweat. Her makeup must have melted into messy patches by now — she didn’t even need a mirror to know. Her scalp felt greasy and gross. Truly pitiful.

“Ah, damn it… seriously…”

But there was no one around to hear her muttering, and chewing over her complaints only made her feel more miserable.

Just then—

Honk!

A blaring horn rang out, so close it made Jisoo jump and spin around. A massive Range Rover was right behind her, looming like a wall.

Honk! Honk!

Oh my god.

Realizing she’d been blocking the path, Jisoo hurriedly stepped aside to the edge of the road. The spotless SUV revved confidently as it rumbled past her, not a speck of dust daring to cling to it.

“Scared me half to death…”

How rude.

She grumbled under her breath, pressing a hand to her thumping chest. Who knew how long they’d been creeping up behind her — and yet they still felt the need to blast the horn twice right in her ear?

Watching the car speed up the hill in an instant, Jisoo couldn’t help but feel her bl00d boil — it was just too much like her own miserable situation. The goal was up there, she needed to get there fast too, but someone got to glide up in a fancy imported car while she was left hobbling along on foot.

“What, you think you’re the only one going up? I’m coming too, you jerk.”

She clicked her tongue and forced herself to keep moving. But despite her burst of determination, her steps soon faltered and came to a stop.

“Seriously… isn’t this heat just inhuman…?”

Trudging along a country road with not a scrap of shade, taking the full brunt of the summer sun — it felt like torture. Her shoulder was about to give out under the weight of the camera, and her low-heeled sandals scratched at her feet where grit had slipped in.

In the end, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She slipped off her light jacket and heaved out a groan as she balanced on one foot to shake the dirt from her shoe.

“It’s not even a temple— what kind of lunatic sets up a studio in a place like this?”

Muttering miserably under her breath, Jisoo froze when the car that had sped past her earlier suddenly began backing down the hill toward her. Frowning, she stepped off to the right side of the road.

What now? Up and down — what’s with all the fuss?

She let her shoe drop with a soft thud onto the dirt. The car that had passed her moments ago rolled slowly back up the hill this time, creeping closer.

“…Is that thing heat-crazed too, or what?”

Just as she bent down to put her shoe back on, a deep voice cut straight into her ear.

“Where are you headed?”

Startled, she lost her balance and stepped right into a patch of damp earth. Grimacing at the cold squish underfoot, she turned her head — only to find the car now idling beside her, the passenger window halfway down.

“Are you here to see Artist Kang Susan?”

An unfamiliar man’s voice, out here on an empty country road — it made her instinctively shrink back a step. Under the blazing sun, the car’s interior was shadowed, forcing her to narrow her eyes just to make out who was inside.

Sensing her caution, the man behind the wheel leaned over toward the passenger seat. Only then did his face come into clear view, and Jisoo instinctively swallowed.

“Once you get up this hill, there’s only one building. You’re here to see the studio, right?”

He was strikingly handsome. His sharp features were defined by a strong jawline, and his sun-kissed skin and tousled hair suited the deep set of his eyes, giving him an oddly captivating air. He left a vivid impression on her just by looking back at her in silence.

Completely thrown off by running into a man like this in such a place, Jisoo found herself frozen for a moment. He raised his eyebrow, as if waiting for an answer.

Feeling her guard slowly slip along with a hint of doubt, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Did you have an appointment? There shouldn’t be anyone there right now.”

“…No one there?”

Her voice came out in an embarrassingly high pitch, making the man’s dark eyebrows twitch slightly. Exhausted from the heat, Jisoo couldn’t hide her confusion. She fumbled to open her bag and hastily pulled out her phone.

As she desperately tried to make a call, the man watching her narrowed his eyes.

“…What’s this now.”

“I’m sorry, but… the artist, he’s…”

Clutching her phone with a worried look, Jisoo swallowed hard—because suddenly, a large shadow loomed over her.

“Are you… from the museum?”

Shielding his eyes from the sun, the man stood in front of her, frowning. He was so tall and broad that even Jisoo, who wasn’t short herself, had to crane her neck to meet his eyes. The faint scent of cologne drifting from his linen shirt was clean and fresh, and his crisp shorts and casual leather sandals matched his sun-browned skin perfectly—like he belonged to an entirely different world from her, drenched in sweat as she was.

“You’re from Hansong, right?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Still holding the phone to her ear, Jisoo nodded blankly. The call wasn’t going through, so she ended it and looked up—only to flinch.

“Wow… so it was real.”

The man let out a low murmur of admiration as he swept a hand through his hair. In the sunlight, his eyes were a striking dark brown. But what caught her off guard even more than those clear eyes was the way they unabashedly traveled over her from head to toe.

“You’re… better than I expected.”

His eyes lingered, tracing her face, then her bare arms under her sleeveless blouse, drifting lower to her chest and finally stopping somewhere near her hips.

“You look even better in person.”

He pulled his gaze away as easily as he’d pinned her with it, flashing a bright smile. A deep dimple dented one of his cheeks.

…What on earth was happening right now?

Despite the man’s bright, easy smile, his blunt words left Jisoo too stunned to speak. The camera slipping off her shoulder made her stumble for a moment—only to feel a firm hand catch her.

“Nice to meet you. You got the old man’s message, right?”

With a smooth motion, the man lifted the camera from her hands as if it weighed nothing, then pointed a thumb at himself.

“It’s me. Chae Juwon.”

He even tugged up one corner of his mouth into a cocky half-smile. On that well-shaped face, the grin looked not just confident but downright shameless.

Jisoo, who’d been so tense at the thought of facing a giant like Kang Susan alone, felt her mind go completely blank at this unexpected twist. Her lips parted and closed uselessly before she managed to stammer out a word.

“…M-message?”

The man just nodded, calm as ever.

“Han Song curator, 10:30 AM, Kang Susan’s studio in Gangcheon. You’re the only museum staff I see crazy enough to be here at this hour.”

As the man jerked his chin toward Jisoo, the corner of his lips curved into that same crooked grin—and once again, a deep dimple appeared on his right cheek.

His easy familiarity left Jisoo frozen for a moment. 

What is going on? Did I miss something?

There hadn’t been any mention of a schedule change. She racked her brain but came up empty—there’d been no heads-up at all about this man. His face, his name—she was certain she’d never seen him before.

‘The old man’… could he be an assistant?

That thought popped into her head. It made sense—he’d known right away she was from the museum and had come all the way to this remote village to see a reclusive artist. And then there was his polished, striking appearance—it practically screamed that he’d been well looked after.

Kang Susan’s assistant was something of a legend himself—famous for being just as striking as the artist’s celebrated works.

Like a sultan gathering beautiful men for his harem, Kang Susan’s habit of surrounding himself with striking assistants had long drawn criticism. Some even compared it to the pederasty of ancient Greece, while others defended him as simply an unwavering aesthete in all things, including people.

You couldn’t say all great artists were like that—but everyone in the art world knew Kang Susan’s tastes. Smooth. Handsome. Unapologetically bold.

True to his reputation as a champion of anti-authoritarianism, the assistants at his side were famously aloof—some would say downright arrogant. Most split their time between his Paris studio and this secluded one in Gangcheon, the artist’s hometown. So if this man was here, out in the sticks, chances were he was one of the few the old master favored most.

So this man really was…? Jisoo eyed him warily, taking in that refined face, the faintly roguish smile playing at his lips.

…It had to be true.

“Ah… I see…”

Something about him still made her uneasy, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Wiping away the sweat that had long since turned cold, Jisoo clasped her hands politely.

“Yes, that’s right. Haha… I’m the curator. Hello…” She forced a quick smile. 

“So, um, do you know when the artist will be back…?”

“He’ll be back soon. Just stepped out to run an errand in town.”

“I see… Ah! That camera must be heavy—please, let me carry it for you.”

She awkwardly reached out her hand. The man simply stared at her, saying nothing. Under that unblinking gaze, Jisoo’s shoulders stiffened. Hesitantly, she asked,

“Did I… do something wrong?”

Instead of replying, the man pressed the tip of his tongue to the inside of his cheek, studying her with narrowed eyes. Then he slowly folded his arms and tilted his head, as if puzzling something out.

“…Is this your thing?”

“…Sorry?”

Though it was just a muttered aside, she heard it clearly. Jisoo’s eyes widened in disbelief, but the man only clamped his mouth shut, his face going blank as if nothing had happened.

Bzzz—bzzz—

The cicadas screeched overhead as an odd silence settled between them. He looked her up and down once more, then gave a casual shrug and jerked his chin toward the car.

“It’s too hot to be standing around. Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

His tone was indifferent, but his eyes were far from it. Jisoo hesitated, glancing between the sleek car and the steep hill ahead. She quickly raised her hands and shook her head. Getting into a stranger’s car—no matter how polite he seemed—was pushing it.

“That’s all right. I’ll just walk.”

“Your ankle looks bad. You’ve still got at least five more minutes uphill.”

“Thank you, but… I’ll be fine.”

Her polite refusal didn’t budge him at first. He studied her, a strange look in his eyes, then simply shrugged again.

“Suit yourself, then.”

Without another glance, he turned away and headed back to his car, his steps light and unbothered. He was just about to get in when Jisoo looked from the sleek car to the steep hill and back again—then called out at the last second.

“Wait! Hold on!”

Hand on the door, he paused, his eyes fixed on her in silence. Wiping sweat from her brow, Jisoo forced an awkward smile.

“Then… um, if it’s not too much trouble— Excuse me.”