Jang Ha-rin's Misguided Intentions
A thrilling yet utterly peaceful afternoon. Jang Ha-rin rolled around on the sofa, basking in the warm sunlight filtering through the window cracks. It was a luxury she couldn't have dreamed of in a typical cramped studio apartment. Living in a three-room place with her roommate made it possible.
Her roommate, Kim Ye-eun, had gone to campus for classes. And she'd mentioned shooting a video in the evening, so at least half the day was all hers. In other words, she didn't need to clean up the clothes and snack wrappers scattered across the floor right now—a sight that would have sent Kim Ye-eun into a raging fit.
"Hehehe…."
A creeping sense of liberation washed over her. Jang Ha-rin let out a sly chuckle, savoring the feeling. Lately, she'd been getting an earful from Kim Ye-eun. All that built-up, piled-on stress seemed to melt away in an instant.
"Anything fun out there these days?"
She scrolled through the lists popping up on her OTT apps and dove into the drama series section. It was her little guilty pleasure: addictive, dopamine-packed shows. She'd been taking a break lately because she'd binged too much and her tolerance had shot up, but today, she decided to break the seal.
First, she pulled up a site that gave quick summaries of Sanirao dramas. She didn't love spoilers, but these high-stakes thrillers were riddled with duds, so she usually skimmed the basic plots.
Thirty minutes in, she'd been reading through synopses one by one.
"Chaebol third-gen male lead dumps his pregnant arranged wife for his first love, only to realize it's all a scheme by his half-brother to steal her, so he rushes back too late, sees her engaged to the brother, loses his mind, and kidnaps them both to lock in a basement… Male lead's IQ is in the gutter."
"Female lead sacrifices her eyesight for the male lead, gets framed for murder by her sister-in-law and thrown in prison, male lead finally learns the truth and offers to gouge out his own eyes, but she's already got a terminal diagnosis… Smells like a tearjerker."
"Male lead mistakes female lead for his family's enemy, destroys her home, abuses her in a contract marriage, then realizes the real villain is his stepfather, goes insane, handcuffs her wrist to his, and says they're dying together… What's wrong with this guy's personality?"
"Ah… seriously. What a drought for good dramas."
Nothing caught her eye. All the same old plots she'd seen a time or two. No fresh, brain-melting creativity in sight. Like, for example…
Reincarnating as the child who tormented her in her past life, plotting from childhood to steal everything bit by bit, taking it all only to say, "These things mean nothing to me," crushing the tormentor in despair, then pulling a "it was all a dream" twist to piss off the viewers too. Where were those kinds of shows? Watching the furious reactions after was the real fun. Such a shame.
Her eyes stung after staring at her phone so long—an SOS to stop. Jang Ha-rin set it down and closed her eyes. No more motivation to hunt for dramas anyway.
Drama search: failed. So what now?
As she pondered, her phone buzzed—ziiing.
Her mind snapped alert. The message itself was mundane—just a casual opener. But the sender wasn't. Lee Jun-woo, Kim Ye-eun's childhood friend. He'd messaged her on KakaoTalk.
They'd exchanged numbers out of politeness, but this was the first direct contact. A few days had passed since he'd helped her when she tripped last time. No back-and-forth since.
She'd toyed with messaging him first sometimes, but her face would heat up just thinking about it. No courage. She'd even felt a bit miffed that he hadn't reached out first, despite her promise to buy him a meal as thanks.
"Hehe."
That resentment melted away like snow.
Oh no, too quick? The thought hit right after hitting send. She'd gotten so excited she hadn't realized. Looked like she'd been waiting for him.
Luckily, KakaoTalk had delete for unread messages. The '1' unread mark was still there, so doable.
She snapped back to reality and went to delete—but
"Agh, why'd you read it so fast?"
The '1' was gone. She gave up, exited the chat entirely. Already embarrassing to reply instantly; sticking around and reading his next one right away? No way.
Just imagining it flushed her face. Absolutely not.
Ziiing. Ziiing. Vibrations buzzed repeatedly.
She peeked, then shut her eyes. '…Ha-rin, hold it together.' Could check notifications, but one wrong tap and disaster. If that happened… she'd die of shame for real.
"All sent?"
Vibrations stopped. She waited three more minutes, just in case. Silence.
"……."
Cautiously, she picked up her phone, hit the side button. Messages flooded the lock screen. She read carefully.
"Amusement park?"
Her eyes lit up. No specifics on which one, but her answer was set regardless. That wasn't the point.
Lee Jun-woo. They'd met just twice, but each time left a strong impression—Kim Ye-eun's childhood friend stuck in her mind. Him asking her out to the amusement park? That was the key.
"How to reply just right?"
Now? Or wait thirty minutes? Her heart raced. No clear thoughts. To avoid wasting time, she decided quick.
"Send now."
Delaying risked forgetting to reply—total disaster. She sent "Sure, let's go!" and bolted to her room.
"What to wear?"
Half-empty closet, clothes strewn on the floor. Scanned for amusement park outfits: workout gear or casual daily stuff. Fine for outings, since she didn't usually rock hoodies and sweats.
But Kim Ye-eun—famous influencer roommate, coming along. She'd definitely go flashy. Showing up normal would invite comparisons.
"Gotta shop."
She changed and headed out. Plenty of time, but prepping clothes ASAP was key to shake the anxiety.
"Not many people."
Waiting for the group, I glanced around. Crowd thinner than expected, even for a weekday. Good date pick—Kim Ye-eun had pushed hard for it. Perks of being a popular influencer; she had the instincts.
"Jun-woo!"
"Oh? You made it."
Two figures waved from afar, dashing over like dolls. Kim Ye-eun and Jang Ha-rin. Men's gazes converged instantly. Ye-eun as expected, but Ha-rin held her own prettiness. Outfits flashy too—Ye-eun her usual glam, Ha-rin surprisingly matching.
Though we'd all change anyway.
"Shall we head in?"
"Yeah. Hehe, gotta wear uniforms here. Jun-woo, photos and video, please."
"Got it. I'll make 'em good."
Kim Ye-eun skipped into the rental shop. Jang Ha-rin… lagged, steps heavy. Pouty, grumpy expression—like a puffed-up pufferfish. Had Ye-eun dragged her here against her will? She'd said no on KakaoTalk, but now I wondered.
"Ha-rin, you okay?"
"H-huh? Yeah, fine. Uniforms… so exciting. Ahahaha."
Awkward laugh confirmed it. Heard her mutter, "If we're doing this…" as she entered. Definitely forced. Kim Ye-eun, content-crazed maniac. Knew it before, but dragging her roommate too? Kinda scary. I'd talk to Ye-eun later.
Jang Ha-rin Whose Intentions Went Awry (Image)
