With closed eyes, Se-ah waved her hand and turned over. She whispered in her small ear.

“Ji-se-ah.”

She immediately responded to my voice. Opening her eyes wide, she pushed up her small chin.

“What time is it?”

“It’s almost 9 o’clock. Eat and go to sleep.”

“Why is the time so… Move, you’re heavy.”

Se-ah hesitated, half raising her upper body. Their legs were entangled. At the repeated request, the tall body slowly retreated.

“Are you hungry? Mr. Kang-woo. Let’s go out and eat.”

“Okay.”

Entering the dining room, Se-ah had Kang-woo sit down.

“Wait a moment. I’ll heat up some abalone porridge for you.”

Kang-woo rested his chin and watched Se-ah. Whether it was because she had just woken up, her steps were lively. Unlike when she clung to my chest and moved to the bedroom.

Anyway, it was cute to respond to him with all her heart, so he followed along as she set the mood. A beep sounded from the microwave. Wearing kitchen gloves, Se-ah carefully took out the bowl and placed it on the table.

“Go ahead and eat.”

“Let’s eat together.”

“Okay, then. Wait a moment.”

After a while, various side dishes were prepared on the table. Among them, the stew placed in the center was particularly appetizing.
My abalone porridge, filled with colorful vegetables and plenty of abalones, looks delicious. However, my attention is drawn to the spicy crab stew with a reddish hue. I don’t know if it’s because Jisea is enjoying it too much.

Seems like she noticed, Jisea subtly moved the stew towards her.

“Are you trying to hide it?”

Nonchalantly speaking, Kang-woo poured a bowl of porridge.

“…Is the porridge not good?”

“It’s delicious.”

“Once you feel better, I’ll make it for you. I haven’t tried making crab stew, but I watched when the ajumma did it earlier.”

“Will you do anything I want?”

“Of course. Just say it.”

“Nice to hear. Anything you want?”

“Kang-woo, you don’t have to do everything the same. I do it because I want to.”

Maybe overwhelmed by Jisea’s affection, one bowl of porridge was enough to satisfy her. She put the spoon down with a content expression.

“It looks good when you eat well. Want more?”

“It’s enough.”

Kang-woo silently watched Se-ah eat. Watching her eating habits, Se-ah preferred meat over vegetables, and her chopsticks often went to spicy or salty, stimulating flavors rather than bland tastes.

“You only scooped the broth. All the nutrients are in there.”

Lecturing while stirring, Kang-woo picked crab meat.

“Is there anything else in the soup besides sodium? You’ve already given me a lecture.”

The clean-cut man picked up something with his hands and took out the crab meat. Se-ah watched with curiosity. Plump crab meat was placed on Se-ah’s spoon, floating in the air.

“Why are you looking like that without eating?”

A faint smile played on his lips. He continued to focus on picking out crab meat without seeing Se-ah giggling. Then he added it to the rice bowl, and Se-ah’s lips were fully spread.

With a puzzled look, Kang-woo raised an eyebrow.

“Is it a pleasant expression?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Why?”

“I melted into Kang-woo’s kindness.”

Suddenly, she was so honest, making him feel awkward. Why is she so straightforward, he wondered. Although she hid her embarrassed feelings in rough words, her reddening ears couldn’t be helped.

Apparently caught, Se-ah reached out and lightly touched Kang-woo’s reddened ear.

“I might make Kang-woo feel awkward by saying this.”

“If you watch closely, you’ll notice I have a habit of quickly changing the subject after saying something soft. A stoic guy.”

But he looked forward to what she would say, so Kang-woo picked up the cup. After taking a sip and putting it down, Se-ah released her lips.

“I feel so happy when Kang-woo treats me so kindly. It feels so good. It’s the first time anyone has put crab meat on me. It’s better than an expensive gift, really.”

Moved, Kang-woo took another sip of water. To live with over a hundred other children in the orphanage, she must have had to do things on her own, even if it was awkward.

“That’s what I said. I told you to demand; I’m good at everything if I set my mind to it.”
“I didn’t even ask for this, but Kang-woo did it. It’s thoughtful, cool, and impressive.”

Kang-woo, who was absent-minded, lightly stroked Se-ah’s forehead.

“I have a business trip to the United States soon. Expect about a week to ten days.”

“Why are you going for work?”

“The G-Coms branch is in New York.”

“Ah… then.”

Se-ah’s lips hesitated as she bowed her head.

“This manager won’t go on a business trip.”

“Ah…”

“Funny.”

“…No… Suddenly going on a ten-day business trip to the U.S., honestly, I don’t want to go together, but…”

“Can I wait for you to return?”

“Of course. So when will you come back?”

“I need to coordinate the schedule over there, but I plan to go next week. I’ll be back before your birthday. Let’s go on a trip after I return.”

“Okay.”

Kang-woo thought he would clap his hands and see her eyes sparkle, but her reaction was unexpectedly indifferent.

“It’s not just talk this time. I’ve already scheduled it.”

“Really?”

“I’m busy right now, so I can only spare a week. This time, I’ll go to Guam. After things settle, we’ll go wherever you want. Honeymoon.”

Se-ah blinked her eyes as if in a daze.

“Of course, you have to accept my proposal.”

Recalling the proposal with a slyly twisted face, Kang-woo’s heart raced.

The dreamlike evening meal of the newlyweds came to an end.

The next morning.

Kang-woo descended to the underground parking lot and found his dedicated parking space. One household could own up to six cars, and Kang-woo owned four.

One of them had a broken bumper due to a driver’s mistake last week, and there were three other cars with different models, including Se-ah’s car.

He wasn’t particularly interested in cars, but he ended up with them to fit the business.

He opened the car door with an automatic key and got in. On the opposite side, a taxi was visible.

What? Why is a taxi coming in here?

Perplexed, he got into the car. It felt subtly uncomfortable as soon as he sat down. The seat seemed to have moved forward slightly. He quickly heightened his senses. Along with the faintly mixed air, a strange scent was in the car.

“Exactly, how did I live my life?”

He threw a sudden self-deprecating joke and started the engine. As his eyes glanced at the rearview mirror as if checking behind, a man wearing a masked appeared from the back seat with a glinting blue blade.

The fleeting thought was that he was lucky.

He realized that the guy wasn’t aiming for Se-ah but for him, giving him relief.

Just as he was about to press the accelerator, there was a loud crash as the car body broke.