New Normal - Chapter 46

Everything was pitch black. Jisoo’s memories came in bits and pieces, like a puzzle with missing parts.

Chae Juwon’s shaky voice calling 119, his trembling hands as he threw on clothes, his panicked expression as he carried her out, hastily covered her with her clothes, the warms arms holding her tightly. His shaky voice explaining her symptoms to the paramedics.

But more than anything, what gutted her was the shame—how badly she wanted to just disappear, to stop existing, to die right then and there.

5. Mr. Right

It was a rainy morning. Not just drizzling—pouring, like the sky had been crying all night. In a small office tucked away in the museum annex, Shin Jisoo was organizing old documents, her fingers collecting sticky dust. She brushed her hands clean and took a sip from her tumbler, glancing out the window.

Though rainy season was technically over, the rain hadn’t gotten the memo. She watched her colleagues hustling outside with umbrellas and let out a short sigh.

Around this time of year, she was usually swamped—juggling events and exhibitions. Summer was always chaos. But now? Now she was stuck with pointless errands, wasting time on things that had nothing to do with her actual job.

Lately, her tasks had nothing to do with art curation. She’d been shredding papers, hauling old catalogues from storage, and doing whatever else no one wanted to do. Getting transferred to the TF team for a new museum project in Jeju—before the contractors were even selected—was basically the museum’s polite way of saying, “You should probably quit.”

Jisoo tried to see it as a blessing in disguise. She poured her leftover energy into her thesis. But days like today, when she saw her old teammates hustling to prepare for KYCC, it hit her hard.

KYCC, short for Korean Young Collector’s Council, was an elite event, brainchild of Director Joo Wonkyung, now in its sixth year. Hosted by Hansong Cultural Foundation, it brought together galleries, museums, collectors, artists, and patrons for a private fundraiser. Art installations, performances, big-name attendees—it was a major event. For staff like Jisoo, it just meant long hours and overtime.

Still, she missed the chaos.

At first, being pushed out had made her furious. But that had slowly faded into numbness. The museum ran just fine without her. If anything, she wished she still had enough fire to be angry—but alone in that corner office, even anger felt pointless.

As she glanced up at the loud ticking of the wall clock, her phone buzzed on the desk.

She checked the screen. Her expression shifted, complicated. Before she could answer, the call ended. Then her phone blew up with texts.

[Chae Juwon: I’m at the airport.]
[Chae Juwon: You drank water, right?]
[Chae Juwon: Did you go to the hospital today?]
[Chae Juwon: What did the doctor say? Are you okay?]

Jisoo stared at the screen for a moment, then turned it off and stuffed the phone in her pocket.

That night, Juwon had rushed her to the ER. She’d stabilized, lying in the hospital bed with an IV drip in her arm, until an exhausted doctor came over, flipping through her chart with all the warmth of a vending machine.

“Shin Jisoo?”

He didn’t even look up.

“Looks like it was a kidney stone. The pressure made it shift, which is what caused the pain. And based on the symptoms, you had some vaginal spasms too. Probably from your pelvic muscles contracting. It happens. Rare, but not unheard of. We’ve given you a muscle relaxant, so it should ease up soon. The stone’s small enough to pass naturally, so you can go home today. But we’ll need to confirm it passed with imaging test, so please come back within a week for follow-up. Or earlier if symptoms persist.”

Kidney stone. Vaginal spasms.

Just thinking about it made Jisoo want to crawl into a hole and disappear forever. Her first time with Chae Juwon ended in a freaking ambulance ride. Was it good? Was it bad? She honestly couldn’t say. She didn’t even make it to the end.

Why is my life like this?

But the really surprising part was Chae Juwon. She expected him to brush it off, crack a joke, and move on. But no—he was dead serious the entire time. Asking questions, double-checking with the doctor, watching her like she was going to drop dead at any second.

“Are you sure she’s okay to be discharged? With that much pain, shouldn’t she be admitted?”

He acted like she had a terminal illness. Meanwhile, all Jisoo wanted was to get out of there and pretend none of it had happened.

Even after they left, and she tried to grab her stuff and go home, he stayed glued to her side, face stiff with concern.

“You sure you don’t want to stay here for a bit? Let me keep an eye on you?”

God, please no. It’s just a kidney stone.

Luckily, Juwon had a flight to New York and couldn’t stick around. But even then, the man wouldn’t leave her alone. Every night after work, he drove out to her mom’s house to check on her.

“I just need to see your face to feel better. Are you tired? I’m in the parking lot. Give me ten minutes.”

They’d had s3x once—kind of—and now he was treating her like some fragile porcelain doll. Which was weird, because technically he hadn’t even finished.

Still, he was… sweet. Weirdly sweet. Not like he was in love or anything, but maybe just… worried? Protective?

“Have you rested? Feeling okay? I’m near your place. Come out real quick—I brought something.”

The night before his flight, he showed up with herbal supplements and a whole box of lemons—supposedly good for kidney stones. He only stayed for five minutes, lecturing her the whole time like a worried dad.

Even in New York, he kept texting. Ignoring the time difference. And Checked in her constantly.

[Chae Juwon: How’s today?]
[Chae Juwon: Anything come out yet?]
[Chae Juwon: Still nothing?]
[Chae Juwon: You should try light exercise. It helps.]
[Chae Juwon: Did it hurt? Was there any bl00d?]
[Chae Juwon: If your urine stream weakens, go back to the hospital. Is it smelly?]

Every time she talked to him, Jisoo felt like she was losing her mind.

Was this what normal couples talked about? No. Definitely not. Romance? Out the window. At this point, he was practically a doctor.

[Chae Juwon: Drink more water.]
[Chae Juwon: Cut back on salt. You don’t want another one.]

Today was no different. Jisoo was using her lunch break to visit the hospital for a follow-up. Juwon couldn’t come this time—and he actually sounded disappointed.

Was he really just concerned? Or was he making fun of her? Or… did he feel responsible?

Watching him worry like that made her feel weird inside. People don’t just change overnight—but Juwon kind of had.

She hated to admit it, but… she was starting to like him. Just a bit.

His care, his attention—it felt strangely comforting. Maybe because she never had that before. Her parents split when she was four. She’d grown up with her mom. This kind of protection? It was new. Nice. Maybe a little… father complex?

So she tried not to read into it. Maybe Juwon was just a health freak. Judging by his body, that actually tracked. The man looked like he lived at the gym. And well… if nothing else, he was kind of huge. Physically. And he did discover a stone. So yeah, the guy had range.

She gave a bitter smile and glanced at the messy stack of documents. Then the office phone rang, sharp and loud.

“Yes, Shin Jisoo speaking.”

— “Jisoo, the Director’s back. She wants you in her office. Right now.”

The secretary’s tone was neutral, but Jisoo could sense the tension behind it.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. Here we go.

The Director, who’d practically disappeared on a “business trip,” was finally back. And that meant one thing. Things were about to change.

“Understood. I’ll be right there.”

She hung up, straightened her clothes, and headed out.

What now? What does she want from me? Am I even keeping this job?

The main building wasn’t far, but her steps felt heavy with all the thoughts swirling in her head. She hadn’t had many direct interactions with Director Joo before. Maybe once during the interview. Once again, two years ago.

“Pick up on things without being told. Listen well. Don’t complain about small errands. Brew some coffee when guests come. Fetch stuff if I’m in a rush. All of that’s part of museum work, right? You get it?”

Yeah. She remembered.