As soon as Na Eun returned home after finishing school and her tutoring sessions, she threw her bag far away, dived onto the bed, and tapped on her phone.

[Hey guys.] [Guys.] [Hey.] [Reply quickly.] [Quickly! It’s a big deal−!]

Although it’s not something she usually does, given the gravity of the situation, she made a fuss this time.

As she relentlessly sent messages at a terrorizing level to the group chat with her friends, Sun Jin, who had been ignoring them, finally gave in and replied first.

[What now?] [What’s going on.]

As Sun Jin replied, Seung Joo also asked, unable to resist.

[Jae Kyung is going to have a date at his house this weekend!] [So what.] [Not at my house, but at Jae Kyung’s house!] [What?]

It was a well-known fact among her friends that the two of them often hung out at her house.

The probability of anything happening in that house, where both parents were present and there were more than ten employees, was close to zero.

However, if it were at the house of her boyfriend, who started living independently after entering university, the situation would be different.

[So you said you’re going?] [Of course! Guys, what underwear should I wear?] [She’s crazy.]

Immediately, Seung Joo called her.

Na Eun eagerly answered, but before she could say anything, Seung Joo’s sharp rebuke poured out.

[Are you out of your mind, Yoon Na Eun?] [Why are you worrying about underwear, now.]

Behind Seung Joo’s voice, Sun Jin’s stern scolding could be heard. The two of them were together.

There must be some circumstances that she shouldn’t know about, but still, it felt a little disappointing that the three of them were friends, yet the two of them were together without saying a word.

Na Eun tried not to show it and said,

“Who, who knows. If that moment comes……”

Despite not having had a proper kiss in nearly two years of dating, she was already considering the next step.

Even though she knew that the mature and considerate Jae Kyung wouldn’t invite her with such intentions, she couldn’t help but have those thoughts.

Besides, they were adults now.

[You’re really crazy. What moment are you talking about? Are you going to do it if it comes?]

When Seung Joo asked in disbelief, Na Eun nodded her head shyly, knowing that her friend couldn’t see her.

“Because I like Jae Kyung.”

[Yoon Na Eun, I’m seriously advising you, even if you like him, there are responsibilities that come with actions. Don’t take it so lightly.]

It seemed to be on speaker mode, as Sun Jin’s voice could also be heard clearly next to Seung Joo’s. Na Eun muttered in a sullen voice,

“I’m not taking it lightly. He’s someone I really like, and I don’t think that kind of thing should only be done after marriage. Isn’t it natural to love someone you like?”

[No, still…! Seung Joo, am I weird? Am I the only old-fashioned one here?] [Yoon Na Eun is completely open-minded. I think she’s watching American dramas.]

“If it were an American drama, I would have done it already!”

[Let’s not even talk about it.]

Even without seeing her, it felt like Seung Joo was shaking her head on the other end of the phone. In the meantime, Sun Jin added,

[But it could be something you’re expecting on your own. He hasn’t even kissed you while dating you.] [I think he will do it. It could have been one step back for two steps forward.]

Seung Joo’s opinion that he might have been trying to make her let her guard down by giving her trust and then devour her whole, Na Eun hurriedly put a stop to it.

“Our Jae Kyung is not that kind of guy!”

[It seems like you want him to be that kind of guy.]

“Ah, I don’t know!”

Na Eun flopped down on the bed with her phone in hand.

[Don’t get your hopes up on your own and end up embarrassing yourself. Just do what you normally do.]

As Sun Jin sincerely advised her, Seung Joo chimed in from the side.

[But just in case, if you’re going to do it, wear nice underwear.]

“Okay!”

[What do you mean okay! Kwon Seung Joo, why are you encouraging her?] [Is this me encouraging her? She’s already excited.]

Sun Jin’s opinion of discouraging her and Seung Joo’s opinion of letting her do as she pleases if she’s going to do it diverged.

Listening to their bickering over the phone, Na Eun mumbled sulkily,

“But you know what, guys.”

[What.] [What is it.]

“……I don’t have to buy that, right?”

Abruptly, the call ended.

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Someone had once jokingly told him that he lives an easy life.

The faint envy and jealousy that had cast over the face of the person who uttered those words didn’t leave a strong memory.

However, he clearly remembered how he had laughed it off with a smile, not denying those words that were meant to make him feel a little unpleasant.

Hee Won acknowledged that he was born with an easy life.

A wealthy family, innate intelligence, exceptional appearance. He possessed from birth the things that people dream of having at least one of in their lives.

And he also realized relatively quickly that he was an outstanding person.

When rubbing shoulders with other people, there are inevitably things that make you compare yourself to others.

And you come to realize. That you are special. And it was when he turned 10 years old that he noticed that his ‘special excellence’ had exceeded a certain level.

When he accidentally used his strength and crumpled the metal safe at home, when he mistakenly used too much force and broke his friend’s arm while playing together, when he blocked a drunk driving vehicle rushing towards him with one hand and had no injuries.

Even after realizing that he had rare strength and abilities that others didn’t have, he just shrugged it off.

An outstanding me being a little more exceptionally outstanding? It wasn’t something to be surprised about.

Thanks to that, he went through his teenage years with a few incidents and accidents, and unintentionally, he has been working hard until now, being a university student during the day and saving people at night.

Hee Won, who doesn’t attach much significance to this job that others praise him as a hero for, referred to his so-called other main occupation as ‘night work’.

When he had to urgently break a promise with the women he was seeing, if he expressed it that way, most of them assumed that Hee Won worked at a host bar and just let it be.

Occasionally, older women treated Hee Won like a ‘customer’, buying him meals and drinks, and giving him expensive gifts.

It was possible because they were unaware that Hee Won’s background was even more luxurious than theirs.

Although it was clearly the doing of the Center based on the circumstances, once his mother found out that her son had been exempted from military service under various pretexts, she became anxious to find him a marriage partner.

Kim Yeosa, who values appearances, seemed to think that even if her son’s outside affairs caused him trouble, it was just a reckless phase and he would stop once a truly important person came along.

Perhaps considering Hee Won’s age, which was a bit young for marriage, or conscious of the pointing fingers of others who might call it too unusual, she didn’t immediately push her son into an arranged marriage.

However, when she suddenly arranged tutoring for her younger brother who had no desire to study and brought in the tutor, Hee Won could only sneer inwardly after seeing who it was.

It’s so obvious, Kim Yeosa.

Indeed, once he heard about her background, he could roughly understand why his mother coveted her so much.

Moreover, with a good personality, intelligence, and an age not too different from Hee Won’s, it was clear how much she had set her eyes on her even without seeing it.

However, the young girl who had just turned twenty, still possessing the same long hair and eyes without heavy makeup even after entering university, had quite a strong will.

Sipping water in the living room kitchen and observing the argument between Kim Yeosa and Na Eun with a glance, he raised the corner of his mouth with a smirk.

“Are you very busy today too? I told you to eat before you go.”

“Thank you for the offer. But I have an appointment……”

The argument between his mother, who insisted on feeding Na Eun before sending her off every time the tutoring ended, and Na Eun, who tried to escape the house after just finishing her work, was quite entertaining to watch whenever he was at home since he accidentally discovered it.

Today, his mother, who had stepped back in front of Na Eun’s iron wall, seemed to have changed her approach and called Hee Won, who was standing in the kitchen.

“Son! Then you take Na Eun home. It’s dangerous for a young girl to go alone this late.”

No matter how dangerous the world is, 5 p.m. isn’t a dangerous time to go alone.

Although he wanted to be sarcastic as usual, he just shrugged his shoulders without answering, knowing that Kim Yeosa’s fury would really pour out if he did.

Na Eun alternately looked at Hee Won and Kim Yeosa, then shook her head with a startled expression.

“No, it’s okay! I brought my car today.”

“Oh my, is that so? What a pity.”

“My boyfriend is also coming right in front, he said. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Hee Won turned his head and laughed, seeing how she deliberately emphasized the word ‘boyfriend’ in a subtle way.

Kim Yeosa seemed taken aback for a moment, but she couldn’t hold onto her any longer when she refused like this, so she let her go without resistance.

It was another complete defeat for his mother this time.

“I told you to give up. The tutor said she has a boyfriend.”

After Na Eun left like a bullet, Jae Won, who was coming down from the second floor with a tray of snacks they had eaten during the lesson, shook his head and reprimanded Kim Yeosa.

Kim Yeosa, furious at the situation where nothing was going her way, glared at her younger son.

“Jae Won, you didn’t act rudely to Na Eun during the lesson today, did you?”

“I didn’t. And that noona is better than I thought. She teaches well.”

Jae Won answered obediently without much grumbling, seeming to like her as a tutor, even if not for his mother’s ulterior motives.

But while doing so, he felt a slight closeness to Na Eun after a few lessons and tried to give sincere advice in his own way.

“But I don’t think she suits hyung.”

“Oh my, look at the way you talk to your brother. What’s wrong with your brother?”

The expressions of the two sons looking at their mother, who no longer hid her hope for a prospective daughter-in-law, became similar.

Jae Won glanced at Hee Won and said,

“Honestly, if the tutor were my real sister, I would never let hyung meet her.”

He’s young but knows roughly what he needs to know.

The honest opinion of the middle school third-grader, who knew that his brother was absolutely not a good match as a man, made Kim Yeosa’s expression turn fierce.

Hee Won, who received a evaluation no different from an insult from his younger brother, rather found this argument amusing and grinned.

Kim Yeosa’s anger, fueled by Hee Won’s reaction, turned towards her eldest son.

“How long are you going to keep meeting strange ones?!”

Kim Yeosa was even more angry, knowing that her son’s behavior of changing partners every other day and playing promiscuously, even if he didn’t show it in front of his parents.

Before, she thought he was seeing a nice family’s young lady, but he made her collapse by giving her drugs, openly incurring the fury of the other family.

She wanted to ask how he could do that to every person he met, but she held back, feeling like she would faint grabbing the back of her neck if she knew the full story.

The only consolation for Kim Yeosa now was the hope that when he met a proper spouse, his playboy ways would end.

“Why are you so indifferent? Where can you find a girl like Na Eun? Pretty, kind, and smart too!”

“And her family is wealthy. Right?”

“Seo Hee Won!”

Kim Yeosa ended up shouting at her son’s openly sarcastic tone.

Hee Won chuckled.

“She has a boyfriend. Give up, Kim Yeosa.”

“That’s because she’s young now. It’s all puppy love. I’m not telling you to do well right away. Get close and build up favorable impressions. Hm? Wouldn’t it be so nice for both of you if it develops into a good relationship?”

Kim Yeosa chose the carrot instead of the stick and coaxed Hee Won relatively gently, saying that even without considering her background, she was objectively a good girl.

Hee Won rolled his eyes at those words.

A good relationship-. Then.

“Can I make her cry too?”

[This is the timeline separator]

“……You, you, youuu!”

He had just thrown it out as a joke, remembering that eight out of ten women he had met so far ended up in tears, but unfortunately, it seemed to have touched Kim Yeosa’s anger switch.

Jae Won, who noticed that his mother was really angry, quickly went up to his room before the sparks flew, and Hee Won, thinking it was the right moment, grabbed his coat and crossed the living room.

“I’m going to school~.”

“What school in the evening, you damn son of a bitch!”

“Night class, night.”

Kim Yeosa held her forehead at Hee Won’s nonchalant lie, which was unlikely to have a class on a weekend evening.

Hee Won’s lips curved into a smile as he left the house, leaving behind his mother’s voice lamenting why he turned out like that despite giving birth to him so well.

In fact, to be honest, that little girl was no longer someone Hee Won wanted to make cry.

Although crying women’s faces were annoying, he didn’t particularly dislike them, but at least he wanted to leave Yoon Na Eun alone.

It was because he was giving the other person a generous score, as she was a rare civilian who didn’t get in the way of his work or annoy him by being tactless.

Moreover, not long ago, she made a significant contribution to preventing an accident that nearly blew away downtown Seoul in one go, and she didn’t reveal it to anyone.

Not someone to be killed by his own hands, but a target to be protected if possible.

Compared to the beginning when he thought he would disguise it as an accident and kill her if things went wrong, the value he placed on her had skyrocketed.

Maybe I should try seducing her once she breaks up with that boyfriend she likes so much.

It wouldn’t be making her cry if I break up with her right before she starts crying.

Thinking calmly about the idea that the person in question would look at him with contempt as if looking at a bug if she heard it, Hee Won got in the car humming.

His mother had made a fuss, forcing him to stay home until just now, but today was a rare day off, so there was no reason for him to spend the night alone anymore.

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