To put it bluntly, the blind date was a total disaster.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like the guy. He had a decent, handsome face, a nice voice, and was tall.

The atmosphere could have softened as he showed appropriate interest in her, but unfortunately, he seemed to like skinship and was too aggressive from the start.

He pretended to be surprised that her hand was small, and when he reached out his arm to compare the size with his own hand, she avoided it with a pale face.

After that, her heart kept pounding in a bad way and her palms were sweating so much that her mind became hazy. In the end, she barely ate her meal and ran away without even having dessert.

She hoped the matchmaker wouldn’t scold her. She believed there wouldn’t be a big problem since she did her best to maintain courtesy until the end.

Feeling nauseous, she bought a bottle of water from a convenience store and walked down the quiet street towards home, regretting inwardly.

She should have just taken on another part-time job instead.

Originally, she was supposed to work as an assistant instructor at an academy, but she took time off to go on this blind date arranged by a man, and now she couldn’t regret it more.

It was a well-paying part-time job with a high hourly wage.

As Na Eun endlessly regretted it while gulping down the water, she suddenly realized that the alley she was walking through was the darkest and least crowded place on her way home.

Would he be here today?

Remembering the person who always watched over her late night walks home on her days off, Na Eun didn’t hesitate to look around and wave her arm holding the water bottle.

“If you’re here, let’s go together. Are you around?”

After saying that a few times into the empty air, as if a stranger would think she was crazy, soon a small sigh was heard and a dark figure appeared.

Wearing a leather jacket and jeans, he frowned as if looking at a reckless little sister, with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“I told you not to care whether I’m here or not.”

“How can I not care when you’re here?”

Na Eun retorted casually. She rummaged through her bag and handed him a bottle of water.

“Want to drink?”

It was an extra one she got with a 1+1 deal at the convenience store earlier.

Hee Won looked down at her with a dumbfounded expression, but still took it.

He unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and slowly started walking a step away from her, matching Na Eun’s pace.

“I can’t come tomorrow, so keep your phone in your hand in case something happens.”

He said in passing while closing the water bottle cap. Na Eun looked down at the phone in her hand.

Since that incident, the app Hee Won installed for her was for emergencies and would immediately send her location to him just by opening it.

On the other hand, if it wasn’t opened, no contact would be delivered to him.

Fortunately, she never had to open this application herself in the past 3 years.

As Na Eun put the phone she was holding into her cross-body bag, she said,

“If you’re busy, you really don’t have to come anymore. If something happens, I can just contact you with this.”

“It’s just for tomorrow. Are you cold?”

Although it wasn’t quite the season to be very cold yet, the night air was quite chilly.

Noticing Na Eun’s light attire and slightly shivering shoulders, Hee Won pointed to the jacket he was wearing and smiled.

Should I take it off for you? No need. To the immediate rejection that he expected, Hee Won laughed.

He jokingly took his hands out of his pockets and lifted the front of his jacket.

Want to come inside? The blatant flirtatious tone, as if telling her to be embraced, could have been quite thrilling along with his handsome face, but Na Eun was used to it now and raised her middle finger.

Hee Won snickered even more amusedly.

“How many more years do you have to age for that thug-like way of speaking to change?”

“There are over twenty girls who fell for this thug-like way of speaking.”

“Ah, I don’t want to hear it.”

Na Eun stuffed the water bottle into her cross-body bag and covered her ears with both hands.

The mint-colored bag became taut with the opening stretched as she tried to cram the 500ml bottle into the small bag.

Hee Won noticed and closed her bag for her.

He had already finished the water bottle he was holding and threw it into a nearby trash can. Na Eun’s unfinished one was still in his hand as he teased her.

“That’s why you shouldn’t be stubborn in this cold weather.”

The outfit he saw her in the most while voluntarily taking on the role of her personal bodyguard was jeans and a t-shirt, or a hoodie.

Na Eun looked pretty in a short skirt and boots, but she seemed quite cold.

When Hee Won made a remark like an old man despite being in his 20s, saying that being stubborn at a young age would make her body suffer later, she grumbled.

“Then should I wear jeans and sneakers on a first blind date? The matchmaker would scold me.”

“Blind date?”

He stopped walking and turned around to look at her, staying a step away.

Na Eun didn’t notice Hee Won’s slightly flustered expression and sighed.

“Yeah. It was a huge failure though.”

“……”

“Strangely, even when he just tries to touch my body, I break out in a cold sweat. Why is that?”

Na Eun also stopped walking, following Hee Won in front of her, and gripped the strap of her bag with both hands, lost in thought.

Why was she really like that? What was the problem?

In fact, she knew the cause, but the problem was that she hadn’t found a solution yet.

“Is it because my first relationship ended up like that?”

“……”

Should I really try getting counseling? She had already received it 3 years ago, but she thought she was all better and stopped going to the hospital. She wondered if she should go again.

But that would require more money and time. Maybe she shouldn’t go after all.

As she was pondering such thoughts while rolling her eyes, Na Eun belatedly noticed Hee Won’s expression and shook her head with a smile.

“You have the same expression as my friends.”

At the same time, she immediately figured out where Hee Won’s gaze was directed. It was obvious.

Seung Joo and Sun Jin always did the same whenever this topic came up.

She wiggled her pinky finger, which was now gripping the bag strap and unable to move freely, pretending to be bright and said,

“I’m trying to date now.”

“……”

“Well, I failed today, but wouldn’t it get better if I keep trying?”

Just because she had scars and nightmares, would it be a solution to bury them in the past and hide them forever?

Na Eun didn’t think so. Rather, she wanted to take them out and struggle to overcome them somehow.

If she kept doing that, a day would surely come when she would succeed, and maybe someday she could click her tongue and say, “Ah, that happened too.”

So Na Eun deliberately didn’t avoid the scars of her past.

To him who was staring at her silently like a mute who had eaten honey, she said,

“I’m graduating next fall. And I’ll get a job at a good company to help my mom. When our family’s situation improves a bit, I’ll travel a lot and enjoy doing everything others do. My goal is to get married in my 20s, so I’ll save up for my marriage fund little by little, and later I’ll meet a guy as kind as a bear and get married. And I’ll live happily ever after.”

Even though he might be surprised by her suddenly spouting her life plans, Hee Won’s expression didn’t change.

He just stood there quietly, holding the water bottle. Na Eun smiled at him.

Why am I talking about this?

“So now, stop feeling sorry.”

“……”

“I’m not completely okay yet, but I’ll try harder to be okay from now on, and I’ll definitely be okay.”

So,

“I’m telling you not to sacrifice your time and invest in me like this.”

“……”

“And graduate from school already.”

Na Eun spoke with eyes full of concern, as if an older sister was comforting her younger brother.

It was advice directed at Hee Won, whom she still ran into on campus from time to time because he hadn’t graduated yet.

After a moment of silence, Hee Won, who had been quietly listening to her, finally opened his mouth.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something. As you said before, this is part of the witness protection program. It’s one of my duties. It’s a bit of a stretch to call it a sacrifice when I’m getting paid for it.”

“Really? Then don’t feel sorry for me anymore.”

I’ll just be grateful that you’re protecting me. As she said that and shrugged her shoulders, Hee Won laughed.

“I told you, I receive women’s gratitude with this.”

He made his usual joke to dispel the serious atmosphere that didn’t suit him.

Towards Hee Won, who pointed to his lips with his finger, Na Eun now raised her middle finger without any hesitation and laughed back.

His gaze didn’t leave her bright face that was cursing him with her expression. He said,

“Are you interested in tutoring a high school senior?”

“Tutoring? Who?”

“Seo Jae Won.”

Who’s Seo Jae Won? Na Eun tilted her head, then suddenly realized and clapped her hands. Ah, Jae Won!

“He’s already a high school senior?”

Na Eun asked in surprise. The last time she saw him was almost 3 years ago. She had to quit tutoring him, willingly or not, less than a month after starting because of that incident.

After she quit tutoring, she received a message from Jae Won, who was timid and not very talkative, saying, “Teacher, you’re not tutoring anymore?” which showed he cared quite a bit. But at that time, Na Eun didn’t have the capacity to respond to each and every one of those things.

Recalling the past that she hadn’t wrapped up neatly, she suddenly drooped her shoulders with a apologetic heart.

“I can do it, but would Jae Won want to learn from me? I didn’t even reply properly to his message back then and ended it.”

“That doesn’t matter. But his last mock exam scores were all in the bottom 10% nationwide.”

“…You mean top 10%, right?”

“Bottom.”

“……”

“Bottom 10%.”

“…What happened in the past 3 years?”

Na Eun asked seriously. The last time she saw him in middle school, he wasn’t that bad.

Moreover, he was a pretty smart kid. Hee Won crossed his arms and shrugged.

“He went through a proper rebellious phase since then.”

“No, even if you rebel, you should still study!”

“That’s not called rebelling. Someone who’s been a model student all her life wouldn’t understand.”

So, are you going to do it or not? Hee Won asked.

When Na Eun seemed to hesitate for a moment, he threw in a clincher.

“50,000 won per hour.”

Na Eun covered her mouth with both hands.

“Incentives provided based on the percentage increase in scores compared to the last mock exam before the CSAT. The lessons will be held at a study cafe, and all expenses will be covered by us.”

“……”

“Well, the conditions are good, so I was actually thinking of hiring a professional tutor, but I feel bad for you, so I suggested it. But you told me not to feel sorry, so now I’m having second thoughts.”

Hee Won twisted his lips and smiled mischievously. Na Eun shook her head hurriedly, still covering her mouth with both hands.

It was so fast that one might worry she would get dizzy.

“Should I ask someone else…?”

“Feel sorry! Feel sorry just for today! Let me do it! I want to do it!”

Na Eun hurriedly shouted at Hee Won, who was teasing her for no reason.

She politely clasped her hands together and bowed to the man in front of her who had suddenly become her employer.

“I will do my best to turn Jae Won’s hopeless grades into ones with hope! Please trust me and leave it to me!”

“…You know you’ve become a bit of a money-grubber, right?”

“I’ve become a proper member of capitalist society.”

Grinning.

As she flashed a fake business smile at Hee Won, who had now become her employer, he stared at her blankly and finally couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.