And he recalled the remark from the outing, ‘Where did you find such a monster?’

It seemed Do Han was indeed an extraordinary monster who could quit smoking in just a few days.

“Did you really quit smoking?”

Sa Rang asked tentatively as she was leaving work with Do Han.

She had finished processing an email just before leaving, so she was later than usual, but Do Han waited for her, allowing her to ride in his car.

If she had taken the subway, she would have been late for her 6 PM appointment.

“I said I would quit. Where’s the meeting place?”

As he pulled the car out of the company parking lot and stopped at a traffic light, he prepared to enter the destination in the navigation system.

Sa Rang was about to mention a subway station near the meeting place, but then she gave the name of the restaurant instead.

Today was Yun Jae’s birthday, so she, Ji Woo, and he were going to have dinner together.

She had planned to ask Do Han to drop her off nearby, fearing he might see the two of them, but looking at the time, it seemed unlikely they would run into each other.

“People say you’re really stubborn if you manage to quit smoking.”

At her comment, he let out a chuckle.

“You know better than anyone how relentless I am.”

Acknowledging that with a nod, she asked, “Isn’t it hard?”

“Not really.”

“I didn’t see you eating sweets in the office either. When my dad quit smoking, he always had candy in his mouth.”

“Normally, you have to resist the urge to smoke, so eating candy helps to endure it.”

“But how come you’re not like that?”

Having watched her father struggle and eventually succeed in quitting smoking after several failures, Sa Rang was all the more puzzled.
The original Korean paragraph contains 42 lines. Here is the verbatim English translation, keeping the same number of lines:

Is it because it’s only been a few days since he decided to quit smoking?

No, it’s not. It’s only been a few days, so shouldn’t the withdrawal symptoms be worse?

Is he really so relentless that he can quit without any difficulty?

While Sa Rang pondered various speculations, he said to her,

“I have you by my side.”

“……What?”

“To me, Sa Rang is my candy.”

With you, who are so sweet just by being there, why would I need candy?

Sa Rang gaped in surprise at Do Han, who was giving her such a look and smiling.

Has quitting smoking changed him this much?

It almost seemed like a withdrawal symptom, so out of character for him.

“Wow, you really know what women like to hear.”

“From taking ‘Love and Marriage’ twice?”

At the mention of the course title, Sa Rang remembered the dates she had with Do Han.

The first date, not yet real lovers but so thrilling she couldn’t sleep.

The second date, when her feelings grew and she confessed her love because she couldn’t keep it to herself.

The third date, strolling around the campus hand in hand, sneaking into the basement of the dormitory building, sharing a secret kiss.

And the fourth date alone, unable to be together because of their sudden breakup.

‘Love and Marriage’ was her entire life at twenty.

“I feel like I took it twice too. In my sophomore year, Jae Seong oppa registered for that course and would occasionally ask me about test questions and stuff.”

“Who’s Jae Seong oppa?”

“Han Jae Seong from the Architecture department. He was the junior of Tae Hoon oppa, who I had a blind date with.”

Do Han then realized who Sa Rang was talking about.

The one who liked sly women.

The one who said he didn’t care for nice girls.

Who rejected Sa Rang then later asked for her number saying they should grab a meal sometime.

“How’s that oppa doing? He must have graduated by now. What’s he doing?”

Do Han frowned, displeased by her excited voice.

“He’s fine. Working at a company.”

“Isn’t that a bit indifferent? He thought he was close to you.”

“How would you know that?”

“I didn’t have much to talk about during the blind date, so I talked about you. He seemed more interested in you than me.”

“I should have asked for two wishes instead of one.”

“What?”

Sa Rang blinked, confused by his sudden change of topic.

“The wish I asked for if we won the soccer game.”

“Ah, and what’s the other one?”

Besides asking to be allowed to call her name, what else could there be?

And why did he suddenly bring that up while talking about Han Jae Seong?

As Sa Rang was curious yet felt it strange, he said,

“To call me ‘oppa’ instead of Do Han.”

This wish, too, was completely unexpected, and Sa Rang was speechless.

“I didn’t mind being called Do Han, but hearing you call Han Jae Seong ‘oppa’ made me jealous.”

Do Han wasn’t particularly fixated on being called ‘oppa.’

Any term of endearment was fine if it came from Sa Rang’s voice.

But her consistent use of ‘oppa’ for Jae Seong was grating on his ears.

Was he more friendly with Han Jae Seong than me?

Do Han, childishly, felt a surge of jealousy at just the sound of ‘oppa.’

“Should I ask the Product Planning Team for another soccer game?”

“Just to hear me call you ‘oppa’?”

“Yes.”