New Normal - Chapter 66

Jisoo swallowed hard as she watched Seyeon smile softly.

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Seyeon looked like she wasn’t sure where to start, then suddenly blurted out,

“Actually, I’m leaving for Paris in two months.”

It wasn’t exactly the kind of personal news Jisoo cared about, so she gave a puzzled look.

Seyeon added, “A senior I know is the deputy director over at P Center’s new media division, and they offered me a spot at the G Museum. That’s why I quit Hansong too. It’s pretty recent.”

“Oh, I see. That’s great.”

Jisoo offered congratulations, even if Seyeon’s personal updates felt unnecessary. The G Museum in Paris was a national museum specializing in Asian art, big enough to have its own Korean wing. So if she had the skills, moving there wasn’t strange at all.

“Thanks. So I’ve been pretty relaxed lately. I even have time for brunch on weekdays now. Hansong’s job was pretty intense, you know.”

Seyeon’s friendly grin made Jisoo smile awkwardly. Seeing Jisoo’s discomfort, Seyeon frowned slightly, hesitated, and finally sighed.

“Anyway… So, you’re seeing Chae Juwon, right?”

When Seyeon finally brought up what Jisoo had been waiting for, her hand paused briefly, but she didn’t react. Instead, she met Seyeon’s gaze calmly.

“Yeah, it just happened that way.”

“How long have you been seeing him?”

Seyeon looked straight at Jisoo, her eyes clearly asking for more than just the surface answer. Jisoo swallowed again.

“Just a little while.”

Seyeon watched Jisoo closely, then lowered her eyes quietly.

“You do know he was my fiancé, right?”

Oh no. Jisoo swallowed the shock and nervously clasped her hands together.

She had guessed from the blind date that there was something more, but hearing about an engagement was a whole other thing. She blinked repeatedly, unable to hide her surprise. Finally, she forced out,

“Ah, yeah… but?”

“It was a relationship arranged between our families. My parents really liked his family. Honestly, the conditions were good—his family’s very well-off, and their connections run deep everywhere…”

“Seyeon, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Cutting off her rambling, Seyeon’s eyes snapped open. She set her cup down, tilted her head slightly, bit her lip, then rubbed her neck. The whole situation felt painfully awkward to her.

“Well, since things are a little complicated, I just wanted to make sure you don’t get the wrong idea. This is kind of personal, but… I’ve actually been seeing someone else for a long time. That’s why I kept turning down dates with Chae Juwon. But of course, the adults had their own ideas. It was frustrating but I understood—families wanting to connect similar social circles, you know. I’ve never liked that stuff.”

Whatever her intention, Seyeon’s rambling hinted at social status and background. If Jisoo hadn’t heard that, she might have felt insecure or anxious.

But Jisoo stayed composed. She looked at Seyeon quietly, silently telling her to go on. Seyeon hesitated before continuing.

“I was going to avoid unnecessary talk since you two seem to be doing well… but it might be a bit overstepping, or maybe you already know…”

Jisoo raised an eyebrow but kept listening. She didn’t want to hear any gossip about Juwon’s past or his relationships. Curiosity wouldn’t help anyway.

Seyeon carefully studied Jisoo and then said, “But this is something I think you should know.”

“What is it?”

Steeling herself, Jisoo braced for whatever was coming. But the words Seyeon spoke shattered all her calm.

“You know Chae Juwon is going overseas next year, right?”

Her heart dropped. The unexpected news stunned her so much her mind went blank and her breath caught. Unable to say a word, she stared at Seyeon in a daze, then slowly whispered,

“…Overseas?”

“Well, there were rumors that Juwon’s a bit… casual with dating, so I thought I’d mention it. You didn’t know?”

***

07. It isn’t perfect but it might be

RSTA Architecture Building Rooftop Garden.

The sprinkler sprayed water in a steady rhythm, the thin streams reflecting the outdoor lights as they shimmered silver over the grass. The scene was perfect for zoning out while smoking a cigarette.

But Juwon’s mind was focused on something entirely different.

“In the end, isn’t it all the same?”

It was lunchtime, and some office workers were having what sounded like a surprisingly philosophical conversation while smoking. Juwon stood quietly in the shade behind a flowerbed, not exactly eavesdropping, but not moving away either due to his awkward spot.

“At first, there’s excitement, then familiarity, and eventually boredom, and then it ends. Dating is like a consumable good. Pleasure, emotions—all fade the moment they become routine.”

The two women smoking looked serious as they talked. They worked in the 3rd Design Division, Section 3—whom Juwon had briefly crossed paths with earlier in the office hallway.

“So what’s it called? The law of diminishing marginal utility?”

“Exactly. Simply put, if you keep consuming the same thing, your satisfaction drops. It’s the same with relationships. Even if it’s not exactly a ‘boredom phase,’ the special feelings get dull and eventually evaporate. At some point, everyone you date feels the same.”

“He’s just like the others.”

“Right. The emotional freshness disappears. Honestly, date spots are all the same, right? When the effort, time, and emotional stress outweigh the satisfaction you get from those predictable routines, that’s when people just stop dating.”

“So the cost-benefit ratio is too low. No bang for your buck?”

“Maybe more like no ‘heart satisfaction.’”

It was a pretty convincing argument. But the serious discussion was cut short when the section chief of 3rd Section appeared, and Juwon sighed, flicking ash off his cigarette.

“Tsk. That was interesting, but too bad.”

Frowning, he looked up at the clear sky and took a deep drag.

Emotional freshness, huh.

The first love is always explosive—the feelings raw and intense, making love itself feel like a special event in life. Every thrill, every heartbreak is vivid.

People instinctively respond to newness, but repeated experiences dull that sensitivity. You start to predict the patterns of dating—the ups and downs, fights and makeups.

At first, even small things move you, but as experience builds, your standards rise. You unconsciously compare to past loves or simply can’t feel the same satisfaction.

And yet…

Why does a woman like Shin Jisoo still feel so new?

“I love you, Juwon.”

The moment he heard those words, everything became clear. The emotional balance he thought was tipped heavily on one side was now level—or even weighted more on his side.

He didn’t know when it happened exactly.

Their relationship had started only because of pressure—family pushing them to date and marry. But the woman didn’t move according to his predictions, and he couldn’t stand it.

Yeah. Maybe those unbearable feelings were the problem from the start.

Looking back, Juwon had always chosen the predictable. What could be precisely calculated and guaranteed results, rather than vague imagination. That was why he loved architecture.

Architecture was a world with no room for misunderstanding or guesswork.

The tolerance was just a few millimeters, and a tiny angle on a blueprint could lead to millions in structural changes. Load capacity, material flaws, sunlight rights, laws, regional conditions—all strictly controlled under the name of design. Creativity was just a variation within allowed limits.

It seemed free, but in reality, it was a strictly controlled domain operating within precise lines and standards. Choices without failure, emotions without risk. Human relationships were no exception.

But Shin Jisoo didn’t fit into any framework he knew.

Seemingly consistent, she was actually unpredictable. Her emotions didn’t flow logically, and her reactions were erratic. Strangely, Juwon couldn’t look away from that irregularity.

The fact that she was unpredictable made him uneasy at first, and he kept his guard up. But over time, that very uncertainty started to imprint her existence on him.

Her inconsistency made her clearer, and her refusal to fit any mold made her more fascinating.

To someone used to narrowing down possibilities, the feelings Juwon had for Shin Jisoo were the one exception. No matter how much he calculated, there was no answer.