And then Eun Woo turned away from Seol Hee. He walked back to his own room with heavy steps.

The distance between his and Seol Hee’s rooms was just 5 meters. But he seemed to be getting farther away. It felt like not just his body, but his heart was moving away.

Drifting apart from Ok Eun Woo. Drifting apart from Dr. Ok means…

“Don’t think that way!”

Seol Hee finally managed to shout. Dr. Ok, about to enter his room, turned to look at her. His eyes were narrow and stretched long.

“Don’t think of it like that.”

If Eun Woo entered his room and closed the door, it felt like this relationship would just end. She didn’t want that.

Something surged up in her chest.

Seol Hee had no tears. She rarely cried out of sadness. Even when her ex-boyfriend Chan Yeong said they should break up, she didn’t cry. No, she cried just once, but it wasn’t because she was sad about the breakup.
Seol Hee was upset and angry because her boyfriend at the time pretended not to notice when her former team leader was harassing her. She cried out of anger and frustration, not because of the breakup with Chan Yeong.

But now, thinking of Eun Woo drifting away, tears came foolishly.

She couldn’t let him go without any regrets.

“I was wrong…”

As Seol Hee’s voice choked with tears, Eun Woo, who had turned around, hesitated. He looked back at her, clearly startled, his usually steady eyes now trembling. He stopped opening the door and strode towards her.

“Yu Seol Hee, why are you crying?”

“I don’t know what to say. I hate myself for being like this.”

Seeing Seol Hee’s trembling lips, Eun Woo frowned in perplexity.

“First, let’s go inside and talk. Don’t cry, okay?”

Dr. Ok took Seol Hee’s arm and led her into her small studio apartment.

Sitting across from each other at the table, both were silent.

Seol Hee had managed to bring him inside, but now, not knowing what to say, only sighed. Tears kept seeping out, and she dabbed at them with a tissue.

“I didn’t know you would cry like this, Seol Hee.”

Dr. Ok watched her for a moment, then reached into his pocket and took something out.

“Here.”

In his hand was a small candy.

“What’s this?”

“You get cranky when your blood sugar drops, right? Have one of these.”

Seol Hee clenched her fists.

“When did I ever do that!”

But Dr. Ok unwrapped the candy and brought it to her mouth. His behavior, trying to feed her even in this situation, baffled her. Sure, she liked eating, but not to this extent.

It wasn’t dizziness from low blood sugar that made her cry, but being comforted with food.

“That’s not it! Stop teasing me.”

“Then what is it?”

Dr. Ok’s words made Seol Hee freeze. She had nowhere left to hide. Finally, she reluctantly opened her mouth.

“Dr. Ok.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“You said earlier that you don’t understand women. Or people.”

He nodded slightly.

“I feel like I don’t know how to be in a relationship.”

“…”

“Should I say I’m romantically challenged?”

She had never been so conscious of a man before.

She had only one experience in love, but it had been a gentle and warm start. However, with Dr. Ok, her heart races and feels like performing a tightrope walk over a cliff.

“It’s not my first relationship, but with you, I just don’t know. It’s the first time someone has liked me this much, and I…”

She looked down at the tissue soaked with her tears in his hand.

“It’s the first time I’ve been this confused and cried so much over a relationship. You’re all my firsts, Dr. Ok.”

“…”

“So, after the manager caught us, I felt embarrassed and ashamed. He was cheering on our relationship, assuming we were continuing to date.”

Eun Woo tilted his head slightly, then lifted one corner of his mouth.

“You should have just said we weren’t dating.”

“…”

“If it’s true that we aren’t dating, why worry so much? Just say that night was an accident.”

Eun Woo’s voice was light, but there seemed to be a hint of bitterness.

As Seol Hee remained silent, he continued.
“Ok Eun Woo likes me, but I have no interest in Ok Eun Woo. Just say that. Then tell the manager not to worry about it,” Dr. Ok said.

Seol Hee’s eyes widened at his words. They struck a chord in her heart.

“I’m not… uninterested.”

At Seol Hee’s response, Eun Woo smiled gently. His soft smile made her heart flutter. It felt unfair for him to smile like that while they sat alone in her small studio apartment.

“So, you are interested in me?”

His tone was softer than before, causing a slight smile to appear on Seol Hee’s lips.

“It’s not that I wasn’t interested. Rather… rather…”

She took a deep breath before blurting out.

“The problem is that I’m too interested.”

Ever since a certain day, Seol Hee found herself on edge around Eun Woo. She wanted to impress him without even realizing it, and avoided getting close to Lee Hyun because she didn’t want Eun Woo to misunderstand.

Even today, she shed tears she never had before, simply because he suggested they should stop.

Every cell in Seol Hee was attuned to him.

Eun Woo chuckled lightly.

“Yu Seol Hee, towards me?”

“Yes. I, towards Ok Eun Woo…”

She didn’t want to call him ‘Dr. Ok’ at that moment. She remembered his previous request to call him by his name.

Then Eun Woo lifted his lips into a smile.

“Really?”

“I can’t lie.”

“I know. But I wanted to ask and be sure.”

“…”

“Say it once more.”

His usually confident and firm voice carried a hint of desperation. That alone quenched her thirst.