Lee Hoo woke up early, intending to take a shower. As he reached for his shampoo bottle, he remembered Jang Mi's comment about changing it. She had mentioned liking it on their previous date last year. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should use it again or not. Eventually, he finally decided to be safe and chose not to use it.
Rushing out of the shower, he dialed his sister's number. "Hi Noona, it's me, Lee Hoo. Do you remember the shampoo I stole from you last year? Can you recommend another scent?"
His sister sounded surprised, "You're still using that brand?"
"Yeah, I liked it the last time, so I kept buying it. But now I want a different scent."
"You should try the vanilla one; it smells really good too. What's wrong? You never cared about this stuff before. Are you going on a date?"
"See you later, bye!"
With that, Lee Hoo quickly ended the call, pondering his choice of shampoo and the implications of his upcoming date.
The same day , Jang Mi woke up and decided to wear a cute dress she had bought with her friend Seo Ah last time they went shopping. Wanting to look her best, she added some light makeup and paired the outfit with nice sandals. She woke up feeling optimistic, hoping that today might be her chance to break the curse on her dating life.
She planned to meet both of them at the same time to avoid any potential bad luck that might ruin her outfit. If she was alone with Lee Hoo, she couldn't afford to have bad luck, and the same applied for Min Hyuk.
As Min Hyuk suggested meeting for some coffee next to the park, Jang Mi went there and hid behind some trees, waiting for Min Hyuk and Lee Hoo to appear. As she concentrated on scanning the area, a voice behind her startled Jang Mi. It was Lee Hoo. He had seen her hiding there and approached her. He thought she was afraid of her date and was hiding, waiting for him to come. "Why are we hiding?" he asked.
"I am not hiding," she said. "I am just waiting for you."
"Waiting for me?" Lee Hoo questioned, "As expected," he thought.
"Yeah, I meant waiting for both of you," she added hastily, noticing Min Hyuk next to the coffee spot. "He's here, let's go," she said, urging Lee Hoo to follow.
Lee Hoo couldn't help but think she looked really pretty, but he said nothing. He followed her as she hurried towards Min Hyuk, trying to push aside the thought that kept lingering in his mind.
"Hello, Jang Mi, how have you been?" Min Hyuk said, smiling warmly. "You look pretty today," he added, making Jang Mi blush slightly.
Lee Hoo, standing next to her, chimed in, "Hello, I am Lee Hoo, Jang Mi's..." He paused, unsure if he should say "friend."
Jang Mi quickly interjected, "He's my manager from the last time. We had some work to do, and he came with me." She glanced at Lee Hoo, hoping he would play along.
"Ah, I see. So, are you headed somewhere now?" Min Hyuk replied, looking curious.
"No, I'm a little bored, so I'll hang out with you guys if you don't mind," Lee Hoo said, trying to sound casual.
"Sure, sure, I don't think Min Hyuk will disagree," Jang Mi added quickly.
Min Hyuk, concerned, thought, "Is she being bullied by her manager? Last time she stayed up all night, and now this? Poor thing."
"No problem," he said, smiling politely.
Min Hyuk got close to Jang Mi and whispered in her ear, "I didn't know you were being bullied that much—"
But Lee Hoo, not letting him finish his sentence, quickly stepped between them. "This should be fun," he said, trying to keep things lighthearted.
The three of them headed to the park.
Min Hyuk started to approach Jang Mi slowly, but Lee Hoo positioned himself between them, trying to keep them apart. Min Hyuk, noticing Lee Hoo's intervention, turned around to approach Jang Mi directly. Realizing he had no other choice, Lee Hoo grabbed Min Hyuk's hand, trying to hold him back.
Min Hyuk immediately exclaimed, "What are you doing?"
Lee Hoo felt confused, searching for some excuses: "My hands are a little cold, and I wanted to see if yours might warm them up,"
Min Hyuk seemed unconvinced. "What the heck!" he exclaimed.
"Maybe Jang Mi's hands are warm," Lee Hoo added, moving his hand toward Jang Mi's.
In an attempt to protect Jang Mi from her boss, Min Hyuk quickly grabbed Lee Hoo's hand and said, "Grab my hand; mine are warm enough for you " in a romantic manner that nearly shook Lee Hoo's heart.
Lee Hoo promptly put his hand in his pocket, replying, "I think they're warm enough now. I'm going to use my pocket from here on."
Jang Mi watched the scene unfold, unsure of how to react to Lee Hoo's behavior. "Is he a child?" she thought.
Min Hyuk suggested they ride a couple's bike to have a chance to be alone with Jang Mi. She agreed immediately, hoping it would give them some privacy. Min Hyuk chose a two-seater bike, expecting Lee Hoo to leave. However, Lee Hoo had other plans. He found a single-seater bike, which the couple assumed was for him. Instead, Lee Hoo handed it to Jang Mi and headed toward Min Hyuk to ride together.
Min Hyuk looked visibly frustrated but couldn't express his displeasure openly, considering Jang Mi's career. Jang Mi, on the other hand, didn't think much of it. She preferred the arrangement, believing it might prevent any potential bad luck from occurring if either of them were alone with her.
As Jang Mi enjoyed her bike ride, Lee Hoo and Min Hyuk began a conversation.
"You know what kind of men I hate the most?" Lee Hoo remarked. "The violent ones. Don't you agree, Min Hyuk?"
"For me, I think I hate the bullying ones more," Min Hyuk responded.
Lee Hoo then stopped pedaling the bike suddenly, making it uncomfortable for Min Hyuk, as if trying to provoke him. Min Hyuk stopped and stared at Lee Hoo, ready to confront him.
Sensing the tension, Jang Mi approached and intervened. "I'm kind of tired. Should we do something else?" she suggested.
The two men simultaneously responded, "Sure!" Then they exchanged a hateful glance.
While Jang Mi looked at them smiling, she commented, "You two should become friends!"
"I need to go to the bathroom," Min Hyuk interjected, perhaps to distract himself from Jang Mi's suggestion.
Min Hyuk excused himself to go to the restroom for a moment. Once he left, Jang Mi felt so stressed; she was afraid something bad would happen now that she was alone with Lee Hoo. She couldn't prevent the bad luck and feared it might ruin her date.
Lee Hoo, on the other hand, was relieved to be alone with Jang Mi. He thought they could discuss the strategy for ruining this date.
An old man approached Lee Hoo, asking for help. Lee Hoo ran toward the old man, who seemed in need. The old man asked him to hold his signboard, and Lee Hoo didn't hesitate to hold the big, heavy signboard. He helped the man sit on a nearby chair and then stood next to Jang Mi, waiting for Min Hyuk.
Jang Mi tried to distance herself from Lee Hoo, and he noticed, getting angry. "Why are you afraid of me? I won't eat you, you know. I sacrificed my vacation day to help you, but you don't appreciate it at all," he said.
"Oh, Min Hyuk is here," Jang Mi responded, ignoring what Lee Hoo had just said.
As Min Hyuk tried approaching Jang Mi and Lee Hoo, a crowd of people suddenly lined up between him and the pair, looking like protesters. None of them could understand where these people had come from so suddenly. Min Hyuk and Jang Mi tried to approach each other but couldn't, looking like lovers separated by the crowd.
"I can't be with just one of them; that's bad luck! I need to be with both of them," Jang Mi thought frantically. She grabbed Lee Hoo's hand and tried to cross the crowd.
Lee Hoo, to his surprise, couldn't understand a thing—not Jang Mi grabbing his hand, nor the sudden appearance of all these people. Suddenly, a big man shouted, "He is one of them!" pointing at Lee Hoo.
"One of what? Who, me?" Lee Hoo said, bewildered. Then the man pointed to the signboard Lee Hoo was holding for the old man. "No, no, it's not mine," he stammered, throwing the signboard away as the crowd started to get angrier.
Lee Hoo pressed Jang Mi's hand and ran the opposite way of Min Hyuk, trying to escape the escalating chaos.
Jang Mi shouted, "Min Hyuk!"
Min Hyuk, who had just come out of the restroom, didn't see Jang Mi and Lee Hoo running away. He found himself surrounded by a crowd of people standing and protesting, unable to spot Jang Mi amidst the chaos. He looked around frantically, but it was too late; Lee Hoo didn't stop running away from the protesters, pulling Jang Mi along with him.
Lee Hoo managed to hide with Jang Mi in a small alley. While they tried to catch their breath, they noticed they were holding hands. Jang Mi quickly pulled her hand away, thinking more contact could lead to more bad luck.
"Ahh, you don't like people touching you. Sorry!" Lee Hoo said.
Jang Mi didn't correct him; all she could think about was how to get away from the situation. "We left Min Hyuk there. Should we return?"
"Don't worry. I think he will definitely break up with you."
"You think?" Jang Mi asked, worried.
"Yeah, yeah, for sure. You did everything possible to make him break up," Lee Hoo said proudly, trying to comfort her.
" I really tried my best," she said, starting to cry.
Lee Hoo: "It's okay, it's over now," he said, thinking he was comforting her.
Jang Mi looked at him. "Are you mocking me?"
"What are you talking about? I helped you."
"Thank you for coming today," Jang Mi said. "It's not your fault; it's the bad luck's fault," she thought to herself and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Lee Hoo asked.
"Home," Jang Mi said, her voice tinged with exhaustion.
"Let's go eat first. Oh, I am really hungry, aren't you?" Lee Hoo said, trying to act nonchalant. He just couldn't let her go home when she was crying and looking so sad.
"Okay, if we can," Jang Mi replied, wiping her tears and forcing a small smile.
They found a nearby restaurant and sat down, but as soon as they were about to order, the waiter apologized and said the kitchen couldn't prepare any food. There were no ingredients left for the day!
"Of course," Jang Mi muttered.
Determined not to give up, Lee Hoo suggested another place. They walked a few blocks to a popular eatery, only to find it closed for a private event.
Lee Hoo felt a pang of guilt but tried to stay positive. "How about we grab some street food? There's a vendor over there."
Jang Mi laughed humorlessly. "You know what, let's just grab something from the convenience store. This isn't working."
Jang Mi entered the nearest convenience store and started picking up some noodle cups.
"I wanted us to eat somewhere nice," Lee Hoo said.
"This is nice too. Anything is nice when you're hungry," Jang Mi responded, grabbing a bottle of soju as well. They sat at a table outside the store, waiting for their noodles to be ready.
"To think about it, we aren't that close to share a bottle of soju. Maybe I should buy another one," Jang Mi said, standing up.
Lee Hoo grabbed her sleeve, avoiding touching her directly. "Let's get close then," he said with a smile.
His words froze Jang Mi's brain for a second as she looked into his bright eyes. "That might be dangerous," she said, pulling her sleeve away. The sudden movement affected her balance, causing her to stumble and fall.
Lee Hoo was surprised. "Are you okay?" he asked, but Jang Mi burst into laughter.
"See, I said that would be dangerous," she said, still laughing.
Lee Hoo tried to help her stand, but he lost his balance and fell on top of her. They paused for a moment and couldn't help but laugh as they both found themselves on the ground, caught in the hilarity of the situation.
"Oh, you changed your shampoo; it smells like vanilla now. It smells nice," Jang Mi said, noticing the difference.
A small smile appeared on Lee Hoo's face. "Just to clear things up, I wanted to change it, but I didn't because you told me to."
"Me, did I?" Then she remembered the day when she was mad and told him to change his shampoo. "Ahhh, I did. I remember now. You changed it, but you still smell nice."
"Still ? If it smells nice, why did you tell me to change it?" Lee replied, looking confused.
Jang Mi thought to herself, "I can't tell him it's because I thought I liked you." Then she responded, "Well, I was just curious if you smell nice because you have a good sense of smell or if you just picked it randomly. As expected, you have good taste in shampoo smells," and she started laughing awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't notice the lie.
"I should always ask my sister for suggestions," Lee told himself, feeling proud.
They finished their meal and started chatting. Jang Mi, feeling a little tipsy, began to talk and complain about her love life.
"You know, I've been on 40 blind dates in the last three years, but no match!" she lamented.
"40 blind dates! That's a lot. How do you know there's no match? Maybe you didn't actually give any of them a real chance. You never know," Lee Hoo suggested, referencing their last date together.
"I've been on 40 dates and I'm still single, so I know," Jang Mi responded. "Maybe I should just give up. I mean, I'm lucky; I can live a nice life!" she added, trying to sound motivated. "But single," she concluded sadly.
"What are you looking for in men? What are your standards?" Lee Hoo asked curiously.
"Standards? Huh! I just want a man, a nice man," she responded.
"I am a man, and I am nice,what about me ?" Lee Hoo said with a serious expression.
Jang Mi stopped and looked at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Can you imagine? Me and you! We'd collect the bad luck of a decade," she joked, assuming he was joking too. Her tipsy brain wasn't working right to understand his seriousness. She then started walking away with a drunken gait. "I need to go home; I'm tired," she said.
Lee Hoo immediately followed her. "Hey, wait for me; it's dangerous going alone," he said, concerned.
After a long day, it was finally time to go home. Jang Mi was exhausted and just wanted to get home, hoping to avoid any more bad luck for the day. Lee Hoo, worried about her, decided to stay with her until she found a taxi. However, no taxi was in sight.
Lee Hoo: "Usually this place is crowded with taxis. Why can't we find any?"
Jang Mi thought to herself: "Well, because you're here! How can we find a taxi with all this bad luck?" She then said aloud, "You can just go. I will find one on my own."
Lee Hoo: "How can I leave you here alone? It's not safe. I will stay with you until you find one!"
Jang Mi: "Just go, please, so I can find one!"
Lee Hoo: "What are you talking about? If we can't find a taxi when I'm with you, you won't find a taxi alone!"
"I will find a taxi myself; don't worry about me," she said. "I said just go! I'm already tired, and I just want to go home. Stay away!" she thought.
At this moment, two strangers overhear and approach, thinking Lee Hoo is harassing her.
"Is there a problem?" one of the gentlemen asked.
"It's just a misunderstanding," Lee Hoo replied, looking at Jang Mi, waiting for her to explain. But to his surprise, Jang Mi ran away at full speed.
"If I leave now, the bad luck will disappear, I can go home, and the problems will resolve smoothly without bad luck. Lee Hoo will be relieved too," she thought.
"Hey, where are you going?" he shouted, trying to go after her. The two gentlemen stopped him.
"You look like a good man, so why are you harassing a girl alone in the street? Didn't your mom teach you to respect women?" one of them said.
"I hate men like you," the other man added, and things quickly escalated. While Lee Hoo tried to explain what was happening, saying, "I'm her manager," one of the gentlemen retorted, "So you're harassing her at work too! Did you think you have the right to do so just because you're her manager?"
A fight broke out, and it ended with them all at the police station.
Meanwhile, Jang Mi didn't stop running until she was far from the scene, not looking back. "Things must be cleared up now that I am far away from him," she thought. She found a taxi easily afterward and, as she headed home, she looked forward to the long bath she would take once she got to her cozy place, unaware that her phone was off.
She had forgotten that not everyone was as lucky as she was. While she was safely away from any bad luck, Lee Hoo was stuck at the police station, trying to call her to explain the situation, but he was left with no choice but to leave voicemails.