The Most Difficult Person in the World
Sunday, early dawn.
I woke at my usual hour and moved straight into my morning routine. In my previous life, I had allowed myself to sleep in once a week—and even then, only on a strictly predetermined day and within rigid hours. In this life, however, even that small indulgence proved entirely unnecessary. Though I kept an alarm set out of habit, my eyes inevitably opened well before it could ever ring; this body was so remarkably efficient that it recovered completely on minimal sleep.
After a bustling morning, I left a quick message for Yeo-eun.
A flicker of unease crossed my mind, so I promptly sent a follow-up.
I deliberately tacked on three exclamation marks. If I didn't spell it out, she would almost certainly shovel food directly from the stainless pot with her spoon the moment she woke up.
With the texts dispatched, I slung my bag over one shoulder and grabbed the handled cooler tote containing the lunch I had packed. After one final check by the front entrance, I stepped out into the crisp morning air. The fine-dust index was clear, and the gentle breeze carried the distinct, mild warmth of genuine spring weather.
The moment I swung the gate open, a gleaming black sedan parked directly outside caught my eye.
"Jeongseo! Good morning!"
"Hello, Noona."
It was Leehyun. Today was the day of our outing, and because we had agreed to meet early in the morning, I had spent the past few hours moving at a brisk clip.
"Ah... sorry about this. There wasn't really anywhere else to park around here."
"It's totally fine. But why are you here so early?"
Standing beside the driver's door, Leehyun gave a delighted wave and answered with an apologetic smile.
"I only just pulled up, honestly. I was worried you'd be left waiting."
"You could have arrived right on time, you know."
It wasn't as though I had come out late. Leehyun had offered to pick me up right at my doorstep, and I had walked through the gate a full five minutes ahead of our promised hour. Even so, she had beaten me to it and was already standing by.
"Hehe, yeah. Oh, is that the picnic lunch? Hand it over—I'll stash it in the back for us."
She took the tote from my hands. While planning our route, I had mentioned in advance that I would take care of packing our food.
"Whoa. It's heavier than I expected. Did you pack a whole feast?"
"Just an appropriate amount. Most of the weight is from the drinks."
"You must've worked so hard. We could've easily grabbed something out... it must've been exhausting, right?"
"Not particularly. It was easy enough."
Leehyun opened the rear door to stow the bag, and as I glanced past her shoulder, I noticed the entire back seat was crammed with shopping bags. For a fleeting second, it reminded me of the mountain of bags Mother had paraded through the living room yesterday. Apparently, Leehyun had gone on a spree and hadn't gotten around to unpacking yet.
"I saw a post online the other day," Leehyun said as we climbed inside. "Some woman was venting about how her boyfriend is late every single time they go out."
"Late? For an agreed-upon time?"
"Yeah. She said she drives all the way to his place to pick him up, but he always finds an excuse to dawdle and keeps her waiting outside forever."
Settling into the driver's seat, Leehyun rambled about the internet drama she had read. In this world, it seemed, quite a few men made a habit of keeping women waiting under one pretense or another.
"Meanwhile, my Jeongseo is always early. And you even made a homemade lunch... honestly, do you have any idea how touched I am?"
She showered me with glowing praise. In truth, I didn't feel as though I had done anything extraordinary; this was merely adhering to basic common courtesy. Yet in this society, women appeared to be remarkably easy to move with the smallest of gestures.
"Noona, did you eat breakfast?" I asked, brushing off the compliments with casual humility to steer the subject away.
Leehyun's hands on the steering wheel gave a tiny flinch.
"Uh... yeah. Just... something light."
I studied her profile as she tapped our destination into the navigation screen. Her makeup had been applied with meticulous care—subtle, elegant, and far from rushed. Her hair fell in soft, deliberate waves, and the graceful white sundress she wore was clearly not something thrown on at the last minute. Regardless of what ungodly hour she had set her alarm for, getting ready must have taken considerable time. Given that she had driven all the way across town to fetch me at my doorstep, it would hardly be surprising if she had skipped a meal entirely.
"Seatbelt fastened?" she asked, glancing over.
"Yes. But Noona... did you really have breakfast?"
"Huh? Oh... well. No, not really. But I usually skip breakfast anyway, so... it's totally fine!"
Cornered by a second inquiry, she finally confessed the truth, hurriedly assuring me that it was no trouble at all.
"In that case, I suppose I'll have to eat this myself."
"Wait, what's that?"
"I figured you might skip breakfast on my account, so I prepped a little something."
I reached into my canvas shoulder bag and produced a clear container packed with freshly assembled sandwiches, washed cherry tomatoes, and a small carton of drinking yogurt.
"I already ate my fill this morning, so I'm completely stuffed... but it would be such a waste to throw it out."
"Jeongseo... sniff..."
A soft, pitiful whimper slipped past her lips.
"Go ahead and eat before we set off. It's not a huge portion."
"Thank you so much..."
"I couldn't bring any coffee, though. Neither Yeo-eun nor I drink it at home."
Leehyun looked on the verge of tears from sheer overwhelming gratitude. She was getting overly emotional far too early; I hadn't even brought out the real gift I had prepared for her today.
Leehyun devoured the sandwich in no time flat, and soon we were smoothly pulling onto the main road toward our destination.
"Um, by the way... aren't you cold?" she ventured tentatively.
"No, I'm comfortable."
Catching a red light, Leehyun turned her head toward the passenger seat, her gaze immediately drifting down to my exposed legs. It was probably because of the brand-new shorts Mother had purchased for me yesterday. While standing, the hem grazed just above my kneecaps, but leaning back in the plush leather seat caused the fabric to ride up, leaving half of my pale thighs bare to the open air.
"It feels a bit warm in the car, actually."
I slipped off my light cardigan and draped it over my lap. Only then did her transfixed gaze finally manage to pull away.
"Is it warm? Should I turn on the air conditioner?"
"No, it hasn't reached that point."
I folded the cardigan neatly and tossed it onto the rear seat. Predictably, Leehyun's eyes snapped right back to my bare legs like iron filings to a magnet. When I lightly swayed my knees side to side, she stared as though hypnotized, completely unable to tear her eyes away.
"The light changed, Noona."
"Ah! Right!"
Startled, she snapped her head forward and hit the accelerator.
"Looking is totally fine," I said mildly, "but if it distracts your driving, I'll have to cover back up."
"Ah... I'm so sorry. That made you uncomfortable, didn't it...?"
"No, not at all."
I genuinely meant it. I had been perfectly content to let her feast her eyes in silence, only speaking up out of concern that we might end up in a traffic accident. Yet Leehyun seemed to have taken my gentle warning as a reprimand, her shoulders drooping into a crestfallen posture.
"I really don't mind when it's you, Noona. You're welcome to look."
Adding that single reassurance was like watching a wilted flower bloom; her downcast face brightened instantly. When I first met Leehyun, she had struck me as cool, sharp, and intellectually aloof. But the more time I spent with her, the more she revealed herself to be an emotionally fragile, innocent maiden—despite being significantly older than me.
"Have you ever been to this park before, Noona?"
"Mmh... once, when I was a kid. With my family."
Our initial destination was a scenic park bordering the Han River, an outing suggested by Leehyun.
"It's really famous for its cherry blossoms. They have a whole avenue planted with blossom trees, and if I remember right, the trail goes on for quite a while."
We had set out with the express purpose of enjoying the spring blossoms together, which was why I had prepared the packed lunch and agreed to meet at dawn. The original plan had been to stroll leisurely along the paths and lay out a picnic mat for lunch.
"The only thing worrying me is that today's Sunday," she murmured. "There are bound to be tons of families and couples coming out."
"Do you think it'll be crowded?"
"Probably... it might be completely packed."
Her remark stirred a sudden prickle of anxiety in my chest. Among that massive sea of weekend visitors, was it possible someone might recognize me from Yeo-eun's livestreams? What if an overzealous viewer spotted my face and called out to me? I had brought a mask in my pocket, but you couldn't eat or relax outdoors without taking it off eventually. If a viewer caught sight of us together, they might jump to conclusions and assume Leehyun was my girlfriend. In the absolute worst-case scenario, someone might snap candid photos, upload them to internet communities, and demand an explanation on Yeo-eun's channel.
It was probably an overreaction. Yeo-eun's broadcast had expanded considerably, but it was still far from a mainstream corporate titan. I certainly wasn't an A-list celebrity whom everyone on the street would recognize on sight.
"Noona," I asked, testing the waters, "do we absolutely have to go to that specific park?"
"Huh? Why, what's wrong?"
"Well... I'm not particularly fond of places swarming with suffocating crowds."
"Ah—honestly, me neither! We don't have to go there at all."
I refrained from mentioning my fear of being recognized. Reassessing the thought, such worries were undeniably premature. While Leehyun would surely understand, voicing it aloud would sound embarrassingly self-important, as if I had contracted a case of celebrity delusions.
"Last time, we stayed cooped up indoors the entire day," she added gently. "Since the weather is so gorgeous... and the blossoms are in full bloom, I just wanted us to enjoy the season."
Fortunately, the riverside park itself had never been the core objective. Leehyun didn't care much for chaotic crowds either. The more I interacted with her, the more I felt our temperaments naturally aligned.
"In that case, how about Plan B... a scenic drive?" she suggested. "There's a wonderful driving route not too far from here."
"A drive sounds lovely. Where is it?"
"It's called the Bugak Skyway. I've never driven up there myself, but I hear the mountain road is famous for cherry blossoms too."
Leehyun proposed swinging by a drive-through cafe to grab some beverages before heading toward the hillside course. Given that it was a sunny weekend, traffic would be thick everywhere in the capital, but her alternative route meant we wouldn't have to disembark into the sea of people.
"We can just crack the windows open and let the spring breeze roll through. How does that sound?"
"Sounds wonderful."
Her lips curved into a relieved smile, and she suggested keeping an eye out for a suitable cafe along our path.
"Noona, did you have a 'Plan B' ready from the very beginning?"
"Uh? Well... yes..."
"Do you happen to have a Plan C, too?"
Leehyun stole a sheepish, sideways glance at me, looking slightly bashful.
"Yeah. Actually... I do."
"You really have a third one? Just how many backup plans did you prepare?"
"I... I had up to Plan 5 mapped out..."
Calling it thorough preparation felt like an understatement. It was impossible not to feel the staggering depth of sincerity she had poured into this single date.
"I-it's not like I'm normally this intense, I swear!" she stammered quickly.
I had only asked out of casual amusement upon hearing the phrase 'Plan B,' genuinely curious about what other routes she had devised. Yet Leehyun seemed to have misinterpreted my question, worried that I found her stifling or obsessive.
"I just wanted to make sure nothing went wrong, just in case! It's not like I'm some rigid, micromanaging neat freak in everyday life! Well... okay, maybe a tiny bit, but still—"
Leehyun spent far too much energy walking on eggshells around me. Her self-conscious rambling stretched on like a flustered defense attorney pleading her case, and listening to her desperate, endearing explanations gave me a distinct revelation—a clear clue on precisely how to guide our relationship forward.