Chapter 11: Why Is Minji Park Helping Jepoy
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3l4BPbyeB
Seoul, 9:47 PM.
The neon lights of Hongdae flickered across the rain-slick pavement, a kaleidoscope of color reflected in every puddle. Music bled from a dozen doorways—bass-heavy EDM, indie rock, jazz, even a guy beatboxing with a saxophonist near the subway exit. But inside the dimly lit bar tucked between a karaoke joint and a convenience store, everything was hushed. The kind of hush where secrets lean close.
Jepoy sat near the back, arms crossed over his chest, drumsticks poking out from his hoodie pocket. He kept glancing at the door.
Minji Park finally entered, umbrella dripping, hair tucked under a black cap, trench coat damp around the sleeves. Her sharp eyes scanned the place and locked on him immediately.
She walked straight over and sat without a word.
"You're late," Jepoy said, not out of irritation, but habit.
"You’re lucky I showed up at all," she replied, pulling off her cap and shaking out her hair. “I told you—I don’t do favors unless I owe someone.”
Jepoy tapped his foot. "Do you owe me?"
Minji smirked. “Maybe.”
Silence. The low hum of jazz played in the background, the saxophone slow and sultry, like a question neither of them wanted to ask first.
Finally, Jepoy spoke.
“Why are you helping me?”
Minji arched a brow. “Straight to it, huh?”
“I don’t have time for circles. You’ve been talking to Dr. Hana Lee. You arranged the hospital ride. Even sent that care package last week with those seaweed crackers Erica likes. I didn’t tell you about those.”
“I listen more than you think.”
Jepoy leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “This isn’t just about you being nice. You’re not the ‘just because’ type. What’s your deal?”
Minji didn’t answer right away. She reached for the drink menu and used it to cover her face slightly, pretending to browse.
“I knew someone like her,” she finally said. “Once.”
Jepoy stayed still, waiting.
“She was my cousin. Grew up in Busan. We weren’t close, but she was brilliant—painter, top of her class, kind. Until the guy she loved broke her in pieces. Stole her work. Gaslighted her for years. When she finally left him, she had nothing left. Not even her will to fight.”
Jepoy swallowed, the air suddenly heavier.
“She went blind too,” Minji said quietly. “Not permanently. Just long enough to scare everyone. Doctors called it conversion disorder. The same thing Erica has.”
Jepoy’s heart thudded in his chest.
“Your cousin… she’s okay now?”
“She moved to Jeju. Married a florist. Never touches a canvas anymore.”
Silence stretched between them.
Minji finally looked at him, eyes sharp but sincere. “So when I met Erica, and saw her sitting in that bar, listening to your music like it was the only thing holding her together—I remembered.”
“You think I can help her?” Jepoy asked, almost afraid to hope.
“I think you already are,” Minji replied. “But you don’t know what you’re doing yet. You’re falling without a parachute.”
He smiled faintly. “I didn’t plan on falling at all.”
Minji chuckled. “No one ever does.”
She took a sip from the glass of water the waitress had silently placed in front of her.
“Don’t let her go,” she added softly. “Even when she pushes you away.”
“She already tried.”
“Then push back. Gently. She’s used to being hurt. Make her unlearn that.”
Jepoy ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know how to be what she needs.”
Minji stood. “Then don’t try to be. Just be there. Sometimes, that’s enough.”
He looked up at her, confused. “So this is why you’re helping me? Because you couldn’t help your cousin?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “That… and because I see something in you that she didn’t get. You’re real, Jepoy. You’re messy, you’re awkward, you stutter when you’re nervous, and you give your food away to strangers without thinking. That kind of love? People like Erica don’t expect it. And that’s exactly why they need it.”
She grabbed her cap and slid it back on.
“And besides,” she added with a small smirk, “if you screw this up, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Jepoy laughed under his breath. “Thanks for the threat. And the talk.”
Minji paused near the door. “Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t earned the happy ending.”
And with that, she slipped out into the Seoul night, umbrella snapping open against the rain.
Later That Night…
Jepoy walked home with slow steps, the city buzzing around him like a distant dream.
Minji’s words echoed in his head.
Make her unlearn that.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViarJyRGxq
Be there.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRL82JFW0F
Don’t let her go.
When he reached his apartment, he paused by the old beat-up drum set by his kitchen wall. He ran a finger over one of the cymbals, the metal cold beneath his touch.
Then he pulled out his phone.
He didn’t message Erica. Didn’t call.
Instead, he opened his notes app and typed:
Things I want to say to her one day:
I think you see more clearly than all of us.
Your silence isn’t empty—it’s safe.
If loving you means being patient, I’ll wait.
You don’t owe me your healing.
I just want to stay… even if you never ask me to.
Then, after a pause, he added a sixth line:
Minji thinks I’m a fool. I hope she’s right. Fools fall the hardest.
He saved it.
And for the first time in weeks, Jepoy didn’t feel like the guy in the dark. He felt like the one holding the candle.
ns216.73.216.238da2
