“Just as you get out of being the junior, this happens. Is the hospital close?”

“Yes, it’s just a 10-minute drive. I can walk there after work.”

“With this cold weather? Don’t do that. Instead, Mr. Ji.”

“Yes, team leader.”

Do Han was about to sit down when Dong Sik suddenly called him.

“Your first task is to be the right-hand of your mentor.”

“…What?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected task, Do Han asked again.

“Take her to the hospital, help her during lunch, and until her bandage comes off. You said you wanted to be her mentor, so do it properly.”

Dong Sik’s assignment perplexed Sa Rang the most.

Why did they keep pairing her with him? It was suffocating.

“Team leader, I really am okay. I can go to the hospital and eat by myself.”

“It’s not that you can’t. You’ve been taking care of the tough tasks for a year, so enjoy some luxury for a few days.”

It couldn’t possibly be a luxury for her, but Do Han was quicker to respond.

“Understood. I’ll take good care of her starting today.”

“Good. Now take Sa Rang home.”

“Yes, team leader. See you tomorrow.”

Dong Sik, pleased with Do Han’s dependable response, returned to his desk.

Sa Rang, dumbfounded by the turn of events, couldn’t say a word.

Overwhelmed by the absurdity of the situation, she was speechless.

“Let’s go.”

Do Han’s decisive voice cut through the silence, prompting Sa Rang to follow.
What on earth is this man thinking?

Sa Rang couldn’t understand how he could act as if nothing had happened.

Whenever she saw him, every moment of their relationship and breakup haunted her, causing pain.

Sa Rang raised her head and glared at Do Han with disdainful eyes.

Her heart was in turmoil, yet he seemed so calm, which made it even more unfair.

Sa Rang indeed ended up leaving work with Do Han.

If she hadn’t gotten into his car, it would have seemed like the new deputy was defying the team leader’s order.

The problem was that it wasn’t just for today.

Should she go to the hospital tomorrow and ask them to remove the bandage?

Sitting in the passenger seat, she gazed out the window, massaging her throbbing head.

“Are you still living with Kang Ji Woo?”

Sa Rang didn’t answer.

His informal tone made it sound like a question to Lee Sa Rang, the junior from college, not the work colleague.

She saw no need to have a personal conversation with him.

To her, he was just her colleague, Ji Do Han.

“I saw Kang Ji Woo in the cafeteria. Did you join the company together?”

Sa Rang, who had intended to keep silent until they reached her home, finally turned her head towards the driver’s seat.

“I’m not your junior, Ji Do Han. I’m your colleague. And right now, you’re on duty.”

“So, I should be polite?”

“Yes.”

Isn’t that obvious?

If it weren’t for the team leader, why would she even have a conversation with this man outside of work?

Sa Rang never wanted to cross paths with Do Han on a personal level.

“I’ll treat you strictly as my mentor at work. But I can’t do the same outside.”

Do Han was adamant.

He knew he couldn’t make such a promise as he wouldn’t be able to keep it.

“Then I’ll get off here.”

“That’s not possible either.”

Sa Rang felt her anger boiling over.

She didn’t want to respond to his provocations, but she was reaching her limit.

“Just for a few days. The close protection of Lee Sa Rang. So, you just…”

Do Han was about to brazenly tell her to endure the discomfort when she suddenly unbuckled her seatbelt.

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous.”

Do Han couldn’t help her with the seatbelt since he was driving.

Reluctantly, he pulled over to the side of the road, but she opened the door.

Startled, Do Han quickly grabbed her arm.

His eyes met hers, filled with a mix of anger and resentment.

“I told you not to call me by my name.”

He thought the issue was with his informal speech, but it wasn’t.

Sa Rang was upset because he had called her by her name.

“Alright. I won’t say anything.”

Do Han remembered her threat to quit the company if he called her name again.

Despite her gentle appearance, she had a strong will – it wasn’t an empty threat.

If Sa Rang decided, she could suddenly disappear from his life.

If she hid, he might never find her again.

Do Han kept his promise and remained silent until they reached Sa Rang’s house.

Sa Rang got out of the car without a word.

She heard him getting out too, but she didn’t look back and walked straight into her house.

“What happened? Why is your hand like that?”

Ji Woo, who had just come home, was surprised to see Sa Rang’s bandaged hand.

“Are you hurt? Is it broken?”

“It’s nothing serious. I just spilled some coffee.”
Exhausted from a day that felt like a year, Sa Rang slumped onto the sofa.

Her head was too filled with thoughts of Do Han to even care about her injured hand.

“Be careful, will you? Did you burn yourself?”

“It’s not serious, so don’t make a fuss. It looks worse because of the bandage, but they said it’s fine.”

“You should have called me. I would have come home with you. It must have been uncomfortable to take the subway alone.”

As Ji Woo scolded her for not relying on friends, Sa Rang just gave a faint smile.

She thought to herself that the subway might have been more comfortable.

“What’s with your luck today? First, Ji Do Han joins your team, and then you hurt your hand…”

“Tell me about it. It was the worst day ever.”

Sa Rang sighed deeply.

She wanted to retreat to her room to rest, but Ji Woo stopped her.

“It’s not you, right?”

“What is?”

Sa Rang, annoyed by the sudden question, responded indifferently.

“You don’t still have feelings for Ji Do Han, do you?”

“Have I lost my mind?”

What a thing to say.

Sa Rang was dumbfounded by Ji Woo’s comment and let out an incredulous breath.

“Good, I’m glad it’s not true. If you still had feelings for Ji Do Han, that would be foolish.”

Ji Woo’s words were laughable, and Sa Rang let out a snicker.

“I don’t know what kind of joke fate is playing, but don’t you ever fall for that guy again.”

Did Ji Woo know?

That just the mere appearance of Do Han was already shaking my heart.

After all, to the twenty-year-old Lee Sa Rang, Ji Do Han was everything.

And Ji Woo, who had seen how much I suffered when my world fell apart, must naturally be worried.

“Why aren’t you answering? I’m reminding you because you might have forgotten. Ji Do Han is the worst guy in the world. If you fall for him again…”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

Sa Rang interrupted Ji Woo with a faint smile.

“How could I forget that?”

She reassured her friend that there was no need to worry, but her heart was saying something else.

But Ji Woo.

I should have forgotten.

I shouldn’t have engraved it in my heart; I should have erased it long ago.

And I realized that today, after meeting him again.

If I had forgotten, my heart wouldn’t have fluttered at the sight of him.