Chapter 178 - Shin Soyeon

"Soyeon?" Lee Jinhee questioned whilst raising one of her eyebrows. There was no one Jinhee knew by that name.

"Ah! You must have not met with her until now," Taehyun spoke out, "Shin Soyeon, you can enter in now."

Hearing footsteps, Lee Jinhee turned towards the direction of the door and saw an unfamiliar female walk into the room. The female wore a student's uniform and had her brown hair tied into a ponytail. Held within her hand was two lunch boxes. Stepping in front of Lee Jinhee, the student bowed.

Seeing the student now, Lee Jinhee was confused and therefore, bowed as well. Turning towards Han Taehyun, Lee Jinhee waited for an answer from him.

Shin Soyeon spoke out, "Miss Jinhee, I am your new bodyguard. I'm under your care now, and you can order me as you see fit."

Facing Shin Soyeon, Jinhee smiled at her. She must be the bodyguard Han Taeho was talking about. Lee Jinhee could see how polite and professional Shin Soyeon was being from her facial expressions, and this left a good impression on Jinhee. 

"Soyeon can be a little stiff and strict at times, but she is really skilled, Jinhee-ah," Taehyun said, "Now that she is here to take care of you, I am finally feeling relieved. With you being such a trouble magnet, I—"

"Geez! Han Taehyun, quit being so dramatic," Jinhee commented.

Then, turning to look at Shin Soyeon, Jinhee voiced out, "Soyeon-ssi, I am under your care as well. Nice to meet you."

"Alright, alright. Now the that introduction is over, it's time to eat. Bring over the food, Soyeon," Taehyun spoke out.

Shin Soyeon nodded and placed the lunch boxes on the ground. Han Taehyun sat down beside Lee Jinhee whilst Soyeon stood at one side.

"What are you standing there for? Sit down and eat your lunch," Han Taehyun spoke out whilst wearing a wide smile on his face.

"Mine?" Soyeon questioned.

"Of course yours. One is for me, and the other one is yours. Do I really need to state the obvious?" Han Taehyun said.

Shin Soyeon turned to look at Lee Jinhee, who had nonchalance written on her face, and said, "I'm not hungry, Young Miss Taehee."

"Soyeon-ah, you don't have to be shy. Just follow my orders and sit down. You can freely eat your food. If you don't eat your food, who will? In the end, they will be wasted," Taehyun said.

Forcing out a smile towards, Lee Jinhee said, "Yes, Soyeon. You should sit down and have your lunch as well. You can not work properly on an empty stomach."

'If he didn't bring any food for me, then fine. It's not like I actually wanted to eat in the first place. I am not even hungry.'

"Well…"

Wearing an awkward expression on her face, Shin Soyeon nodded. Glancing at both Lee Jinhee and Han Taehyun in turns, Soyeon gradually sat down on the ground— in front of Jinhee and Taehyun.

Wearing a wide smile on his face, Han Taehyun removed the lid lunch box, and looking at the food, Han Taehyun licked his lips. The smell from the food wafted into the air, making Lee Jinhee feel more hungry.

Lee Jinhee desperately prayed that her stomach won't groan at this moment and embarrass her in front of Han Taehyun. Staring at the ground, Lee Jinhee hoped for thoughts to plague her mind, so that she won't be thinking of the food.

'Think of Kwon Youngmi and what she could be planning next? What will be she doing to you? Think about that Lee Jinhee. The food is not—'

Lee Jinhee's thoughts were broken when Han Taehyun placed the food— that he picked up with the pair of chopsticks— into his mouth and voiced out, "Wow! This is really, really, really delicious, Soyeon-ah! You should have a try."

Shin Soyeon stared down at the unopened lunch box and made no comment. At this moment, Shin Soyeon was stuck on what she should do. It would be too impolite if she started eating, and, therefore, she did not dare open the lunch box in front of her.

'Don't think about the food, Lee Jinhee. Don't! You have eaten better food in life. This doesn't matter to you.'

"Soyeon-ah, why are you not opening up your lunch box until now? Do you need me to do it for you?" Han Taehyun asked.

As she was about to extend her hands toward Shin Soyeon's lunch box, Soyeon shook her head immediately, indicating a 'no' and said, "No, Young Miss Taehee, you don't need to do that."

Staring at Lee Jinhee, Shin Soyeon slowly opened her lunch box, and more scent of food wafted into Jinhee's nostrils. The hunger Lee Jinhee felt increased by a lot, and Jinhee did not know how much longer she could keep it in.

"Would you like to have something, Miss Jinhee?" Shin Soyeon questioned.

Before Lee Jinhee could open her mouth to answer, Han Taehyun said, "Of course not. Soyeon, can't you see that Lee Jinhee is not hungry? If she was hungry, she would have brought food with her, right?"

Since Lee Jinhee did not want to lose her pride at such a moment, she forced out smiled and nodded at Shin Soyeon. 

"Soyeon-ssi, you can eat comfortably."

Holding the railings, Lee Jinhee supported herself on the railings and stood up. Pointing towards the sky, Jinhee continued, "I'll just continue to look at the clouds."

"Alright, Miss Jinhee," Shin Soyeon answered.

Propping her head with her hand, Lee Jinhee stared at the blue sky before her whilst trying take her mind off the food. Why can't her mind be plagued with thoughts at this moment?

Han Taehyun's lips curved up to a playful smile, and placing the chopsticks down, Taehyun stood up. Standing beside Lee Jinhee, Han Taehyun turned to look at Jinhee's side profile. 

The light breeze caused her hair to flow, and few of her bangs were scattered across her face. In Han Taehyun's opinion, Lee Jinhee looked ethereal at that moment.

"What is so interesting about the clouds?" Han Taehyun questioned. Raising his hand, Han Taehyun pushed the bangs away from her face.