He was completely sincere.

“I was surprised that Dr. Choi Ihyeon suddenly quit.”

The decision for Ihyeon to resign was sudden. He came one day, and just as abruptly, he disappeared. He came for a normal day of work, didn’t see patients in the afternoon, and left without a word.

The manager narrowed his eyes at Chaerin’s words.

“Yeah, it seemed like Director suggested him to resign. But usually, people leave after a while, right?”

“That’s true.”

“But why does Chaerin seem disappointed that Dr. Choe left?”

“Oh no, not at all.”

Chaerin shook her head.

“It’s just that it’s strange that he suddenly quit, and also, I thought he was a person without manners. It’s a bit disappointing. Dr. Choe suddenly left, so Director, who hasn’t been seen much lately, should come out, and Dr. Ok is getting extremely busy. The Vice Director who is pregnant also comes out once a week for consultations.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

The manager tilted his head in thought.
“He seemed a bit strange.”

“Yeah.”

The manager looked up and gazed outside.

“Oh, but, Chaerin.”

“Yes?”

“He seems to be waiting outside.”

“Oh.”

Upon the manager’s words, Chaerin turned her head to look outside. A distinctive and large car caught her eye.

It was Jin-ho.

“Go quickly. I’m done here.”

Chaerin was finishing up the last-minute tasks with the manager. How long had Jin-ho been waiting over there? We couldn’t know, but Chaerin nodded.

“I’ll finish up and go.”

Jin-ho probably wanted that as well.

“You can leave first on days like this when it’s ending late.”

Jin-ho’s eyebrows furrowed at Chaerin’s first words as she got into the car. Earlier in the day, he had contacted Jin-ho, thinking the appointments might be delayed and the closing time might be late. However, Jin-ho had waited for over an hour in front of the hospital.

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“I’m sorry for making you wait every day.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

The last time, there was a strange man waiting in front of Chaerin’s house. At that time, for some reason, she contacted Jin-ho. It was an unexpected contact, and Jin-ho came running to her without saying a word.

They went to a hotel and had a good night’s sleep that day.

The problem was what happened next. After that day, the suspicious man was witnessed a couple more times waiting in front of her house. It was too frightening, and with no other place to go, Chaerin found a cheap room urgently.

A trendy share house these days. It had CCTV and an auto lock, making it safe. However, due to her urgent move, it took more than an hour by public transportation from the hospital, which was just a 15-minute drive away.

Knowing all these facts, Jin-ho proposed a carpool. He said it conveniently passed by her location.

When he heard the location of her house and figured out the location of Wonderful Land, where he worked, it was indeed on his way, but it wasn’t always during the commuting hours.

If she was waiting anyway, she could study or prepare for the next day while staying at the animal hospital, but usually, Jin-ho waited for Chaerin, who finished late.

Although she paid a reasonable fee for the carpool, it didn’t seem like enough.

Feeling sorry for Chaerin, she became silent in the car.

After Jin-ho came to pick her up, Chaerin didn’t say a word in the car. It wasn’t chatty, but Chaerin, who used to bring up today’s events or light small talk while quietly listening, was now silent.

“Is it burdensome?”

“Oh, no.”

The Chaerin that Jin-ho saw was delicate but strong. She always cared more about others than herself, and that always bothered him.

Once, he told her sorry for caring about her all the time, even though he didn’t want her to feel sorry.

He didn’t want her to feel sorry.
Jinho had come here simply because he enjoyed being with her. However, if the emotions she felt were burdensome, he intended to stop here.

Contrary to Jinho’s frustrating feelings, the car smoothly headed towards Chaerin’s house. When the car stopped, Chaerin lowered her head deeply.

“Thank you.”

“Chaerin.”

“Yes?”

“I have something to ask today.”

How long had it been since they spent time together? Two months? Three months?

It was already enough time.

If Chaerin was doing this to spare Jinho from being rejected again, if she was reluctantly carpooling due to the burden, he had to let her go now.

“Yes, what is it?”

“If you don’t want to carpool, you don’t have to.”

“What?”

“Or meeting me. If you found it difficult to say it because it would burden me, I’m sorry.”

“Ah…”

“…Originally, I wasn’t the type or preference you liked, right?”

At Jinho’s words, Chaerin widened her eyes. It seemed like an unexpected statement, and she blinked for a moment.

“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

“You seemed too sorry today. Chaerin, you’re someone who cares about others before yourself. So, it seemed like you couldn’t say it.”

Last time, when she was rejected for the first time, Jinho knew better than anyone how much Chaerin hesitated. Behind the hospital, she had held onto her fingertips until they turned white, telling him to stop contacting her.

For whatever reason she sought him out, it was just a momentary emotion.

“So, I’ll stop coming. From tomorrow. Commuting, you’ll have to do it alone.”

Considering that Chaerin already had to spend two hours in the morning and evening due to the lack of stamina, the thought of commuting was painful. But it wasn’t something he could interfere with.

He was nothing.

Chaerin spoke in response to Jinho’s words.

“Yes, I’ll commute alone from now on.”

It was over. Jinho smiled bitterly, pulling up the corners of his mouth. However, Chaerin’s next words pierced his ears.

“But I still want to keep seeing Jinho.”