Song Mirae, 22, was just your average university student with one foot in the real world and the other trying to escape into her textbooks. If there was one thing she was good at, it was avoiding drama. She had mastered the art of walking away from gossiping classmates, turning a blind eye to awkward confrontations, and pretending not to see the obvious tension between couples in the library.
But Mirae's life wasn't so simple. Her universe was absolutely swarming with soap opera-worthy incidents, and no matter how hard she tried, she kept getting tangled in the chaotic web of melodramatic events happening all around her.
It started like any other Tuesday. Mirae left her cramped student dorm, navigating the crowded streets toward her university. The day was relatively calm, with only the usual chaos of campus life. But as she crossed the main quad, the morning news blaring from a café TV screen caught her attention.
"BREAKING NEWS: The Han Group Heiress Caught in Scandal—Was She Framed or Just Another Heartless Mistress?"
Mirae sighed, rolling her eyes. Another rich family scandal. The latest one. Every other week, it was something new with them—infidelity, bankruptcy, family betrayal—always aired for the public like it was the latest drama series.
She made her way to the café where she worked part-time. The usual stream of gossip greeted her as she walked in.
"Did you hear? The Jin family's youngest son was caught publicly arguing with his mother about an arranged marriage at the charity gala last night! They say he stormed out, and now he's going to disown the family."
Mirae blinked. "Aren't they always arguing?"
"No, no. This was different. He's actually serious about the whole 'I'll marry for love' thing. Gasp, right?"
Mirae internally groaned. "It's always for love," she muttered, opening the café register.
As the hours ticked by, more drama unfolded around her. A regular customer, who happened to be a rich man with a rumored scandal of his own, walked in. The café was too small to escape the whispers.
"He definitely has a second family in Jeju. I heard his wife is furious."
Mirae just made coffee, her mind racing, remembering last month's coworker, Jiyoon, who had been slapped with a check by her rich boyfriend's mother for being too common and almost drenched in a water bottle.
That night, after her shift ended, Mirae made her way home, walking through the busy streets and trying to shake off the weight of all the gossip. But even on her walk back to her dorm, the drama followed her like a dark cloud.
A car slowed down next to her, and out popped an ex-classmate, now a fully-fledged socialite. She immediately launched into a story about how she'd just caught her secret crush with another woman in front of the cafe. As Mirae politely nodded and tried to look interested, her thoughts began to wander. Was she ever going to have a chance at a normal life, without getting pulled into these kinds of ridiculous scandals?
When she finally reached home and settled into her small room, she checked her phone and saw the news: "The Jin Family Heiress to Marry a Prince?"Another scandal? Were they making these up now?
Her life was filled with over-the-top plots that didn't even involve her. She longed for some of that absurdity to rub off on her.
Last month, Mirae watched her café coworker, Jiyoon, get slapped across the face with a literal check.
A real, rectangular bank-issued check.
It had bounced off her nose and fluttered into a cappuccino. Dramatically.
And if that wasn't enough, the rich boyfriend's mother had then poured mineral water over her head and said the immortal words:
"Leave my son alone, you two-faced commoner!"
Mirae had ducked behind the espresso machine to avoid collateral splash damage while texting her group chat:"YALL. SOAP OPERA MOTHER-IN-LAW JUST ENTERED THE BUILDING."
So when this week, Mirae found out her own boyfriend—Yoon Jaemin, sweet, handsome, suspiciously lowkey—wasn't just rich, but "makes Forbes blink twice" rich…
Her internal drama alarms went off.
Hard.
She was fully prepared for chaos. Bracing for it. When a well-dressed woman visited the café the next day asking, "Excuse me, are you Song Mirae? May we talk for a moment?"—Mirae mentally drafted her will.
She stepped outside, already imagining the scene.
>Public confrontation.>Icy stares.>Possibly a flying drink.>Definitely an insult about her fashion sense.>Maybe a background violin playing somewhere.
Instead, the woman gave a polite bow and said,
"I'm Jaemin's mother. He mentioned you. I was nearby and thought I'd say hello."
Mirae blinked.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to judge or scare you. I just wanted to meet the girl who makes my son smile like an idiot on video calls."
Another blink.
"Do you have any food allergies? I make a mean lotus root side dish. I'll pack you some next time."
A third blink. Now her eyes were dry.
Where were the judgmental eyes? The offensive banknotes? The existential threats??
The woman even complimented her earrings. Complimented. Mirae checked her surroundings twice to make sure they weren't secretly filming a redemption arc.
That night, she cornered Jaemin in front of her apartment, arms crossed, suspicious.
"Your mother visited me today at work."
Jaemin looked up from opening her bottled tea. "Oh yeah. She said she'd drop by."
"She… was nice."
"She is nice."
"She gave me restaurant recommendations."
"She knows all the best lunch spots downtown."
"She offered me side dishes."
"She loves feeding people."
Mirae's brow furrowed. "She didn't threaten me. Or toss her drink. Or call me a filthy commoner."
Jaemin paused. "Would you… have preferred that?"
"No! I mean—yes? No! I don't know!" Mirae burst out. "Your coworker's mom basically tried to baptize Jiyoon with Evian!"
Jaemin shrugged. "Maybe she was dehydrated?"
Mirae glared. "Your family isn't following the rich people playbook."
"We're more of a book club family."
She slumped onto the steps, dramatically defeated.
"Why is everything so... reasonable?"
Jaemin sat beside her, handing her the tea. "Maybe we're just the side characters in someone else's messy drama."
"But I'm the main character now. Where's my pain? Where's my slow motion betrayal?!"
He patted her head.
"We can fake a scandal if you really want."
She scowled at him over her drink. "You're ruining my expectations with logic."
"I try my best."