It was directed at Seo Hee Won, who had already been waiting outside for a while.

Then, as if he had been waiting, a tall man opened the cafe door and strode inside. Lee Seol Ah furrowed her brow.

Seo Hee Won walked over and stood next to the table where Yoon Na Eun and Lee Seol Ah were sitting.

Na Eun then calmly began organizing the books, notebooks, and stationery on the table.

“Did you find all this out recently, or did you already know?”

“…Half and half.”

Hee Won replied briefly to Na Eun’s question with a complexly stiffened expression.

Hee Won couldn’t even imagine how Na Eun must be feeling right now, after she had been talking with Seol Ah and texting him saying, ‘There might be something to find out, so wait for me.’

While he had some idea about Chairman Yoon Seok Hoon’s death, Hee Won, who had just learned the detailed circumstances, simply sighed with a bitter feeling.

“I’m sorry for letting you find out like this.”

Hee Won apologized to Na Eun in a low voice. But Na Eun said nonchalantly as she put her books and stationery into her bag,

“No, it’s fine. You told me it was okay even if I didn’t tell you.”

If Na Eun had found out anything, even a little, from her conversation with Lee Seol Ah just now, and if it had become more advantageous for the heroes, she was satisfied with that.

“Anyway, thanks for telling us all the nitty-gritty details about your internal affairs that we didn’t know. We’ll get going now.”

Na Eun, who had finished packing her bag, stood next to Hee Won and looked down at Seol Ah as she spoke.

Upon hearing those words, Seol Ah’s face crumpled.

Seol Ah was angry at Na Eun, who was acting as if their conversation was nothing more than time to dig up information.

“Wait, is that all you have to say?”

Seol Ah asked Na Eun in an urgent tone as she was really about to pack her bag and leave.

“You heard about Jae Kyung. Don’t you have any thoughts?”

“…What. Should I rush to him in tears and thank him?”

It was a coldness that even Hee Won, who had overheard through the communicator how Han Jae Kyung had protected Yoon Na Eun all this time, had not expected.

Hee Won tensed at her frigidity that would suppress even a hint of unease.

Seol Ah opened her mouth in surprise, and Na Eun openly sneered at her.

“Why do villains always have the same thought process, whether in movies or reality?”

They steal ten things, and since they only stole nine, I’m supposed to thank them? Is that something to be grateful for? Na Eun tilted her head with a dumbfounded look and quipped sarcastically.

“But I am thankful that you let me know one thing.”

Na Eun slowly exhaled to control her emotions, then tightly gripped the strap of the bag she was carrying.

“That my dad remained someone who wasn’t ashamed of me and my mom until the end, and that he’ll always be someone I’m proud of. …I’m thankful you made that clear to me.”

Hee Won instinctively stepped closer to Na Eun.

Because in Seol Ah’s eyes, who was sitting, a murderous madness was revealed. It was clear she was on the verge of snapping at Na Eun’s words.

“Now, even though I told you everything about Jae Kyung, that’s all you can say?”

“What about it? Let’s say he genuinely came to like me and has been protecting me until now. So what.”

Seol Ah’s eyes flipped at the tone that brushed it off as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“You evil…!”

“-Bring my dad back to life.”

Interrupting Seol Ah’s words, a voice colder than the frost of midwinter pierced between them.

Hee Won was intentionally surprised by the anger filled with chill emanating from Na Eun.

Seol Ah’s eyebrows twisted hideously, and Na Eun glared down at her and muttered again as if chewing her words.

“I said bring my dad back to life. If you do that, I’ll run to Han Jae Kyung right now, get on my knees, and bow to him in gratitude.”

“……”

“Then I’ll forgive you. Though I probably won’t be able to love him again anyway.”

But you guys can’t do that. Right? Na Eun gritted her teeth with bloodshot eyes.

“I once told Jae Kyung something like a curse. That I hoped he truly loved me. That his every day would be hell. …Should I tell him congratulations on falling into hell?”

As soon as Na Eun finished speaking, Seol Ah stood up.

Her eyes were glowing blue with anger and the wrist she had raised with the intention of really killing her opponent was caught by a strong force from the side.

Hee Won, who had blocked Seol Ah’s wrist that was about to slap Na Eun’s cheek, looked down at her with icy eyes.

“Where do you think you’re raising your hand.”

Seol Ah gritted her teeth instead of screaming at the uncontrolled force that seemed to break her bones.

Hee Won put more and more strength into his hand gripping her wrist, his expression unchanged.

Just before the bone was crushed, he smiled and released his grip on Seol Ah’s wrist.

“This is a cafe in broad daylight. We shouldn’t cause a scene.”

Of course, I don’t care if I kill you here. At the threat as natural as breathing, Seol Ah bit her lip.

Clutching her sore wrist and huffing, she glared at Na Eun with resentment.

“You bitch.”

Na Eun didn’t hold back any longer at the abusive language uttered by Seol Ah, who had over-identified with Jae Kyung more than necessary because they were in the same one-sided love.

She picked up the half-filled glass of water on the table. And without hesitation, she poured it towards the brown-haired woman standing in front of her.

Gasp. A small surprised moan escaped from the surrounding tables, mistaking it for a love triangle between two women over one man and secretly watching.

Seol Ah was staring at Na Eun with astonished eyes, her hair drenched.

Na Eun glared at Seol Ah with unwavering eyes and said,

“Who are you calling a bitch.”

When you’re the real bitch.

It also takes energy to hide agitation. In the car on the way back, Hee Won and Na Eun didn’t exchange a single word.

Na Eun sat still with her eyes closed as if sleeping, leaning her body against the backrest, and Hee Won also focused on the road ahead as if driving was his only mission.

About 20 minutes had passed like that.

Suddenly, Na Eun, who had been lying down halfway with her eyes closed as if sleeping, sat up and began rummaging through the backpack she had put in the backseat.

Hee Won, who was holding the wheel, followed her urgent gestures with his eyes.

Na Eun took out a pencil case from the bag she brought over and unzipped it to check the inside, and her complexion turned pale.

She had suspected it, wondering if she had properly packed it while organizing the table earlier…

“Why. Did you leave something behind?”

Hee Won asked, seeing Na Eun’s faded expression.

Na Eun hesitated for a moment, then shoved the pencil case back into the bag and zipped it up. She shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

Just go. Seeing her expression wasn’t good as she said that, Hee Won frowned.

“What did you leave behind.”

“…Just a hair tie.”

Na Eun hesitated for a moment before speaking.

It was precious to her, but she felt bad asking him to turn the car around in this situation, and it was likely to have already been mistaken for trash and thrown away by the cafe staff.

She didn’t want to bother a busy person with something that had almost no chance of being found.

“It was broken anyway, so I couldn’t use it again. It’s okay if I can’t find it.”

“……”

Hee Won glanced at Na Eun, who was deliberately composing her expression and speaking as if it was no big deal, then asked,

“What did it look like.”

“…It was a red cherry shape, something I used to wear when I was young. It doesn’t suit me at this age.”

Hee Won stared at Na Eun’s side profile for a moment without a word as she glossed over it as something she couldn’t use either way. He gave up on asking further questions and shifted his gaze back to focus on driving.

Na Eun hugged the bag on her lap tightly and tried hard to hide her upset feelings.

…It’s okay. I’m all grown up now. I’ve had it for too long.

It was about time to lose it. While earnestly comforting herself like that, the car they were in was smoothly heading towards her studio apartment.

She didn’t want to think about anything.

She knew it was a bad habit, but she chose to keep herself busy and overwork her body again.

As soon as she arrived home, she took a shower and started cleaning the house.

Although she was usually a neat person and there was nothing to clean, she deliberately created work by rearranging the furniture.

The tutoring session scheduled for the evening was canceled due to the student’s circumstances, so Na Eun tried to spend the unwanted remaining time busily.

By the time the deep cleaning she had done by deliberately turning the house upside down was all finished, it was past 9:00 PM.

Still, she deliberately opened a book because it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

She was floundering to get rid of distracting thoughts by taking an online course for a subject that wasn’t urgently needed for studying. Then, the screen of her cell phone she had tossed in a corner of her desk lit up.

It was Seo Hee Won. Seeing the caller, she took out the earphones she had plugged in without complaint and got up.

When she opened the steel gate, she saw a familiar back view standing on the familiar path.

Na Eun opened the door wide and stepped aside for Hee Won, who had waited outside in the cold with his hands in his pockets.

“It’s cold. Come inside.”

Hee Won looked at Na Eun, who was inviting him into her house without any reluctance, with somewhat complicated eyes, then shook his head.

He declined, saying he would leave soon, and took his hand out of his pocket to hold it out in front of him.

Seeing the object resting on his open palm, Na Eun’s eyes widened.

The familiar red cherry shape. The unsightly broken elastic band. It was the hair tie she had lost at the cafe during the day.

“How did you…”

“Take it.”

She was so surprised that she was flustered for a moment, but she quickly took the hair tie from Hee Won.

No matter how much she examined it, it was definitely the item she had lost.

She looked at Hee Won with an incredulous gaze.

“How did you find it?”

“I told you. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Hee Won grinned and replied in the tone she used to criticize as annoying.

Now, Na Eun was no longer bothered by his attitude. She bit her lip.

Hee Won stared at her trembling lower lip for a moment, then spoke.

“Go inside now. It’s cold.”

He was concerned about the cold wind getting to Na Eun, who was in her homewear.

Despite Hee Won’s advice, Na Eun absentmindedly fiddled with the hair tie in her hand, then asked,

“Did you hear it from Jae Won by any chance?”

“Hear what.”

“……”

She closed her mouth.

Only her close friends and Jae Won knew what meaning this hair tie held for her.

But through Hee Won’s answer just now, she realized that he had never received any hints about this item.

She suddenly noticed a pleasant scent emanating from Hee Won.

It wasn’t the strong cologne he occasionally sprayed, but a faint scent that comes from shampoo.

Confirming that his hair was slightly wet, Na Eun blinked.

Could it be…