Lee Jae Ho couldn’t take his eyes off the laptop screen for a while.

With a schedule that required leaving for a whole month, there were many things to check like organizing the house and schedules, but nothing caught his attention.

Excitement and fear rushed in simultaneously.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly and stared at the screen again. Then he dropped his gaze to look at the memo below the screen.

His long, slender fingers tapped the desk next to the memo.

May this place make you happy.

It had been a long wait. As soon as Lee Jae Ho returned from studying in the U.S., he searched everywhere for Da Jung but couldn’t find her anywhere. Even the veteran Manager Jung had half given up, but one day Da Jung suddenly appeared before Lee Jae Ho. It was a day when frustration turned into hope. Lee Jae Ho couldn’t forget Da Jung’s smile he saw that day.

However, having decided to bury the past, Lee Jae Ho couldn’t readily approach Da Jung. While pondering how to naturally approach her, two years had already flown by.

The train of thought kept grabbing onto the past and digging deeper. Eventually, Lee Jae Ho lightly scratched the corner of his eye and smiled faintly.

“No way I can sleep. Too excited……”

After driving for hours, they reached a long bridge with the sea spread out on both sides. The sea filled the view to the farthest horizon. Feeling a liberating sense of openness in her chest, Da Jung took a deep breath. The salty smell of seaweed hit her nose.

“I’m going to come once a week,” Kyung Jun said gruffly while driving.

“Are you my guardian? Don’t do that,” Da Jung replied even more gruffly.

“Hey. How can a girl like you live alone in such a remote place for a month without any fear?”

“Lee Kyung Jun. Stop it. You’ve been nagging the whole way here.”

Kyung Jun sighed inwardly. He couldn’t count how many times he had sighed so far. If sighs could make the ground sink, it would have caved in long ago.

When he heard from Kyung Mi that she had recommended a sea trip to Da Jung, his heart turned black with worry.

Has big sister finally gone crazy? If she weren’t his biological sister, he might have scolded her. How could she think of throwing such a fragile person with so many ups and downs in life alone to a remote seaside?

‘Not only did she not stop her, but she even encouraged her!’

His trust in his sister had greatly fallen because of this incident.

He hurriedly looked into taking a vacation, but as a mere salaried employee, it was impossible to take a month off. His brave attempt ended with only receiving a scolding.

“I’ll come once a week. I can’t compromise on that, Yoon Da Jung.”

“Even if you come, I won’t let you stay at my lodging.”

“Why?”

“Hey. You’re a man, aren’t you?”

A snicker.

Kyung Jun replied in a deflated voice.

“Do I look like a man to you? Since when did we start observing gender separation?”

He moistened his dry lips. Even though he knew he would get a flippant answer every time he asked such questions, he always felt nervous. ‘Of course. You’re a man to me.’ Was it impossible to hear an answer like that…?

“Of course. You’re a man.”

A dream-like answer came abruptly. Kyung Jun almost lost his grip on the steering wheel for a moment.

Unaware of his feelings, Da Jung continued casually.

“Anyone can see you’re a man. What, are you a woman? I rented the pension for a woman to use alone, what would the owner think if an unrelated man stayed overnight? Think about it.”

Ah. So that’s what she meant by man.

Damn it.

Kyung Jun let out a hollow laugh. Despite knowing Da Jung’s heart well enough, it’s a mystery why small expectations always make one’s heart flutter.

“Didn’t you say the pension owner doesn’t live there? How would they know?”

“You never know about people. They might see by chance. The owner said they drop by every other day.”

On a summer day in the first year of middle school. When their heights were still the same. While dusting off Kyung Jun’s dirt-covered head, Da Jung had said, “What a mess, what’s this?”

That voice struck Kyung Jun’s heart. The smile of Yoon Da Jung, which he had seen day and night, suddenly looked pretty at that moment.

The short Kyung Jun thought he wanted to grow taller than Da Jung quickly. In fact, he drank so much milk after that day that he almost turned into a cow. But thanks to that, he eventually grew to over 180 cm tall and could look down at Yoon Da Jung from quite a height.

Now Kyung Jun could be the one to gently pat and tidy her head. So,

Right. You really never know about people. The same goes for our relationship. Kyung Jun nodded slightly.

“Yeah. You never know about people.”

They had to drive much further in. Thinking it was a seaside town, Da Jung expected to see only fishing boats and pleasure boats, but surprisingly there were many fields and paddies.

‘Is there really a pension here? Where on earth is the sea?’

Just as she was wondering this, the road suddenly narrowed and an unpaved path began. Da Jung was inwardly flustered.

She had heard it was a remote place, but didn’t know it would be this isolated. They had said it was an ocean view pension, but why couldn’t she see even a speck of the sea? Was there really a pension here? Anxious thoughts kept coming, but she kept her mouth shut, fearing Kyung Jun’s nagging would start again if she voiced them.

…It should be right.

She looked at a wide field that seemed to be a sweet potato field. There were many other fields too, but it was hard to tell what was being grown. Maybe because it was autumn, many fields were empty.

The road narrowed even more until it was barely wide enough for one car to pass. Da Jung couldn’t help but show anxiety on her face. Kyung Jun glanced at her and said calmly.

“600 meters left. There’s the sea ahead too. According to the navigation.”

He was always a friend who reassured her at crucial moments. Da Jung just nodded silently.

500m, 400m, 300m, the distance kept decreasing, and suddenly the view opened up wide. As if by magic, a vast sea spread out before their eyes. As the tension released, a sense of relief and emotion washed over her. It was the sea. A quiet sea unknown to anyone.

Whoosh. The waves crash in greeting.

“Wow. The view is killer.”

Kyung Jun also muttered as if enchanted.

It was a view that naturally evoked admiration. A wide sandy beach spread out, and rocky shores could be seen at the far right end.

A fishing boat was tied up at the end. As the late afternoon set in, the sky began to take on a pinkish hue, and the sea, reflecting the sky’s color, emitted a luminous glow.

“The sea… It’s beautiful.”

“The pension is over there.”

Kyung Jun came back to reality and checked the location first. Da Jung’s gaze followed the tip of Kyung Jun’s finger. Two white detached pension buildings standing side by side facing the sea caught her eye.

They were identical twin buildings. It matched the website description of two buildings with the same structure. Da Jung quickly checked the message on her phone and continued.

“Umm… My reserved room is 102. It seems to be the second building.”

Kyung Jun, who had parked in front of room 102, got out lightly and unloaded the luggage first. Da Jung also got out and called the pension owner.

“Hello, sir. I’m the one who reserved room 102. Oh. You’re here? Yes. Yes.”

As soon as the call ended, a middle-aged elderly woman carrying cleaning supplies came out from a storage room behind the building. She smiled brightly upon seeing Da Jung. Da Jung greeted her cheerfully.

“Ms. Yoon Da Jung? Nice to meet you. My husband bought some things for you to eat, thinking you might not have anything on your first day. It’s not much. Just things like ramen.”

“Thank you.”

“Is this friend staying over too?”

“No, he’s just dropping off the luggage. Ma’am, by any chance, do buses come here?”

Kyung Jun, who had decided to leave the car behind, asked the question he was curious about. Considering the narrow road, it would be impossible, but he wondered if there might be another way. As expected, she said it would take at least 30 minutes on foot. He thought it would be nice to stay overnight with that excuse, but the elderly woman quickly provided a solution.

“Ride in our car. We’re passing by, so we can drop you off at the terminal.”

“Hey. Why are you leaving your car? Take it with you.”

Da Jung tried to stop Kyung Jun from insisting on leaving the car, but it didn’t work.

“What if something urgent happens in this remote place? Without even a car.”

“What urgent thing could happen?”

“Just listen to me.”

Seeing the stubborn look in his eyes, Da Jung finally raised the white flag.

“I should have brought my car even if it’s small, Kyung Jun.”

“How could we fit all this luggage in a compact car?”

Kyung Jun lightly scolded and quickly moved the luggage. When they went inside to check the interior, everything was clean and neat as expected of a newly built pension.

“It’s quite nice.”

After finishing a rough organization, the two came out. The elderly woman, who was tidying up the yard, turned to look at Da Jung.

“Is room 101 empty?”

Da Jung, who had been looking around, asked the question, thinking she might have glimpsed a shadow on the terrace of the next building earlier. It could have been the reflection of a tree, but it was necessary to know just in case.

“Ah.”

The elderly woman turned around while putting away the cleaning supplies.

“Someone’s using it, but you won’t run into them. Well, we should get going now. Young man, follow me.”

It felt like the conversation was being hurriedly wrapped up somewhere, but there was no time to question it. Considering the time for Kyung Jun to go up, it was already tight. Da Jung saw him off, and Kyung Jun kept nagging about being careful until he disappeared from sight.

“Hey. Don’t open the door to just anyone…”

“I got it, I got it! Go!”

“Know the location of the police station in advance and stuff!”

The sunset had turned red.

The sunsets on the West Sea are beautiful, but often misty, so clear days are rare, but Da Jung was quite lucky. On her first day of travel, she got to see an almost perfect red sphere with her eyes.

Her heart pounded at the beauty of the scenery. Standing still in the yard looking at the sea, she couldn’t resist and moved towards the beach.

After walking a few steps, sand touched her toes. Only then did the sea feel real. Da Jung stood in the middle of the sandy beach and quietly watched the falling sunset.

It was then that she sensed a presence.

She saw an approaching silhouette. A tall man with broad shoulders. Da Jung thought for a moment that Kyung Jun had returned, but looking closely, the man was even taller. The footsteps approaching as if walking on Da Jung’s heart rather than on the sand were not Kyung Jun’s either.

Yet someone Da Jung knew well.

Her heart races. Surely because of the sunset. But.

The man who approached with unwavering steps stopped five paces in front of Da Jung. When he stopped, did he perhaps know that Da Jung’s heart also stopped.

‘It, it can’t be.’

Maybe she was seeing things.

The man’s indifferent gaze lingered on Da Jung’s eyes for a moment before falling to her feet, landing on the slippers with the ‘Bada Forest’ logo.

“The guest next door.”

Was this possible? It was Lee Jae Ho.