“Elder brother Sung Hun!”

Sung Hun inadvertently smiled as he turned his gaze towards the voice. His cousin Hyun Wook had poked just his face through the doorway and grinned, making Sung Hun smile in return.

“Elder brother. Are you busy?”

“What is it. When did you get here.”

Sung Hun stood up from his seat. Only then did Hyun Wook enter the office, smiling even wider.

“Just arrived. I was going to go straight to Domyeongjae, but I wanted to see you first.”

“If you were coming, you should have called ahead. Without any notice.”

“Isn’t it better to show up suddenly to see this kind of face from you? I’m glad you’re happy to see me.”

As Hyun Wook joked around, Sung Hun lightly hit him around the waist and sat down on the sofa.

At twenty-nine, Hyun Wook was the son of Sung Hun’s uncle, Nam Tae Jin, who was also the president of Seolyang Construction.

Sung Hun and Hyun Wook had a good relationship. Although they didn’t see each other often, it was clear that Hyun Wook had looked up to Sung Hun since childhood.

As Hyun Wook sat down on the sofa, the secretary brought drinks. After emptying his glass of orange juice in a few gulps, Hyun Wook let out a big sigh.

“Ah, it feels good to come even if this is called a trip.”

“What’s so good about a dusty construction site.”

“Why not. It’s cool. A space filled with men’s fierce sweat and passion. Tsk, a place where real muscles gather, totally different from those made at the gym. I like it.”

“Then why don’t you come work here.”

“No thanks.”

Hearing Hyun Wook’s immediate rejection, Sung Hun stared at him for a moment as if scolding him. Hyun Wook scratched his neck, pretending not to notice.

Hyun Wook was unusually sociable and friendly for someone in the Nam family. As if inheriting the fortunate fate his father Nam Tae Jin was said to have, Hyun Wook too was living a life far from the family business.

Hyun Wook made furniture in his private workshop. When he got bored of that, he would take off on a trip with just a camera.

A life with nothing to envy, a free spirit. That’s the kind of person Hyun Wook was.

“Elder brother. You should work at a relaxed pace too. At least when you’re away from our father.”

Sung Hun opened his lips slightly as he replied.

“The one working at a relaxed pace when away seems to be your father, not me.”

“Ah. Right. That’s true. These days our father goes out golfing every day. He’s so diligent then. Can you believe someone who loves sleeping in goes out at dawn?”

As Hyun Wook explained in detail as if tattling, Sung Hun sipped his tea. Though his father was the president of a construction company, Hyun Wook knew his father’s character all too well.

He was someone who habitually said, ‘Our company is supported by Sung Hun, not me,’ and was proud of that fact, even calling himself Sung Hun’s ‘figurehead president’.

“No, is it really something to be proud of that he’s a figurehead president? That’s why nothing good ever comes out of our mother’s mouth.”

Hyun Wook shuddered as he thought of his embarrassing father.

“No matter how I think about it, you should have been our father’s son. Father said he’s getting some deer antler extract made because he’s worried about your health.”

“Please tell him to stop doing useless and unnecessary things.”

“Anyway, he’s fretting that you might collapse. Why worry about health while making you work so much? Our father is really thoughtless.”

“It’s because he’s thoughtless that I can serve him comfortably. If your father had sense on top of that personality, I would have cut ties long ago.”

As Sung Hun indirectly expressed that it didn’t matter, Hyun Wook smiled brightly. His elder brother who served his thoughtless father without a single complaint seemed amazing. As someone who fought with his father every time they met eyes, it was inevitable that his brother seemed like a bodhisattva to him.

He quickly acknowledged that he could never imitate that, even if reborn. Hyun Wook shook his head.

“Elder brother. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I could live like you. How can a person only work all the time? There are so many fun and good things in the world.”

“Right. There are many fun and good things in the world. So many that I don’t know where to start.”

“Whoa. You don’t know? Elder brother, just make time. I’ll take care of everything and show you some amazing things. You just need to make time.”

“Really? Then do you want to work at the company instead of me?”

“…No thanks?”

“I need to have time to try anything, right? Amazingly. So come into the company, I’ll give you my position.”

“No? I’m fine! Should we pretend this conversation never happened?”

As Hyun Wook said he absolutely couldn’t do that with a serious face, Sung Hun couldn’t help but smile. Hyun Wook smiled along and tapped the table.

“Elder brother. What time do you get off work?”

Sung Hun checked the time by lifting his sleeve.

“One hour.”

“Maximum?”

“Minimum.”

Hmm. Hyun Wook showed a displeased face at Sung Hun not leaving work right away, but soon nodded his head. He couldn’t bring himself to tell him to leave work immediately after showing up unannounced.

“Then work, elder brother. I’ll look at my phone.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sung Hun stood up. As he was returning to his desk, Sung Hun turned and asked Hyun Wook.

“How long are you staying at Domyeongjae?”

“Me? Well, I came without any particular thoughts. A week? Ten days? Or until you’re here?”

At Hyun Wook’s vague answer, Sung Hun let out a short breath as he sat down.

“Elder brother. Should I wait outside if I’m bothering you?”

“Just breathe without talking like you are now. That’s fine.”

“Yes sir!”

Since he needed to move quickly to finish work within an hour, Sung Hun turned his gaze back to the monitor screen.

*

Though she started work with grand ambitions, Yeon Woo grew tired of the endless tasks. Having taken over the work without detailed explanations, she wasn’t sure if her methods were correct. When she went to Eun Ja midway to ask for confirmation on the work she had been given, the only answer she got was:

‘If I was going to check everything, I might as well have done it myself. Why did I give you the work? Figure it out on your own.’

Yeon Woo took out dishes from the storage and filled a large basket. As she carried it out, a groan escaped without her realizing. She couldn’t even count how many times she had repeated this, and she began to wonder why so many dishes were needed in the first place.

With a soul-drained face, she mechanically lathered up soap. Since stubborn stains wouldn’t come off easily without soaking, there were about ten baskets of soaked dishes. She knew she definitely couldn’t finish today, or tomorrow, or even the day after.

No, even if she went crazy and threw herself at it, it seemed like it would take a full week to finish everything piled up in there.

“What are you doing?”

Just as she was about to reach for the pile of dishes again. Turning her head at the voice from behind, she saw that Manager Moon Ok Rye had come.

Yeon Woo reflexively stood up. Her stiff legs wouldn’t listen and she staggered.

“I was washing dishes.”

Manager Moon’s expression looked quite displeased as she watched the staggering Yeon Woo answer. With her lips pulled down into a long frown, Manager Moon looked around.

It was now a cool late afternoon as the sun was setting.

“Have you been doing this all day?”

Yeon Woo looked around before turning back to Manager Moon.

“Do you have any other tasks for me?”

“What about meals? I didn’t see you at mealtimes?”

Not knowing when or where meals were eaten, Yeon Woo had starved all day. She thought about contacting Ja Young, her mother’s friend, but she didn’t have her phone and Ja Young was off work today.

When Yeon Woo kept her lips tightly shut without saying anything, Manager Moon clicked her tongue.

“Are you carrying that walkie-talkie just for show? You should use it when it’s mealtime, are you wearing it for waist exercises? Who’s going to take care of you? You need to eat on your own, you know?”

Yeon Woo still kept her mouth shut. She thought about explaining truthfully that she lost track of time because she was focused on finishing work quickly, but gave up. Manager Moon’s expression was too stern, and her gruff way of speaking made Yeon Woo even more tongue-tied.

“Unless you’re planning to make a coffin and get in it tomorrow, put this away and wash your hands for today.”

“Then what should I do now?”

As Yeon Woo immediately asked while taking off her rubber gloves, Manager Moon made an exasperated expression. She had expected the next question to be if she could rest now, but here she was asking for more work.

Manager Moon was about to tell her to rest a bit since she would have to be on night duty after the employees left, but she raised her chin and opened her mouth.

“The executive director is leaving work, so go sweep Unseon Hall like yesterday. And ventilate it.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Yeon Woo cleaned up without a word and started walking. Manager Moon watched her for a moment and shook her head while muttering.

“A tough one has come in. Tough, very tough.”

But as Eun Ja said, how long would she last? The more tenaciously she held on, the faster she would fall.

Manager Moon thought for a moment about whether she should set a new interview date.

It seemed Yeon Woo would quit sooner than expected.

*

Sung Hun returned to Domyeongjae with Hyun Wook, who had shown up at the office without warning. As they passed through the main building and headed towards Unseon Hall, Hyun Wook added various comments.

“Nothing ever changes here. Every time I come, even old lady Moon is still around.”

Hyun Wook pointed to a tree with a thick trunk.

“Elder brother, do you remember? In the old days, I would climb up there and you would help me down.”

Sung Hun smiled slightly instead of answering and opened his lips.

“It must have been a while since you came to Domyeongjae too.”

“Well, it hasn’t been that long. I like it here. Maybe because I went to school here until middle school, for some reason I feel at ease when I come to Domyeongjae.”

As if trying to prove what he said, Hyun Wook exhaled. The long breath sounded relaxed, and Sung Hun moved forward, matching Hyun Wook’s pace as he slowed down to take a long breath.

The path to Unseon Hall. The backs of the cousins walking side by side after a long time looked quite affectionate in their own way. Sung Hun in his sharp suit and Hyun Wook in his comfortable hoodie looked like brothers to anyone who saw them, giving the impression of a proper older brother and an immature younger brother.

“…Huh?”

It was when the carefully laid tiles of Unseon Hall’s roof came into view. Hyun Wook, who had been talking non-stop while walking with Sung Hun, stopped.

Sung Hun stopped behind him and turned to look at Hyun Wook.

“Yeon…Woo?”

Hyun Wook called out an unfamiliar name while looking at the yard, and Sung Hun’s head turned slowly.

In an instant, many thoughts gathered and swelled. It was as if the events that had taken place around this time yesterday were being reenacted.

Strangely, romance began to tilt into the space that had always been ordinary.

The time when the sun was setting. The sound of sweeping in the yard, swish, swish.

“Ji Yeon Woo? Wow, it really is Ji Yeon Woo!”

Today, she turned around – the one who had been in his fleeting thoughts during break time, which he had dismissed as idle musings. The sunset turning gradually purple as the sun fell claimed the background behind her.

As he looked, the guard covering his pupils loosened.

“Hey! Yeon Woo! Ji Yeon Woo!”

An emotion he had never experienced before surged up.

She stood upright amidst the flower petals piled up like a grave, as if she had been sweeping up the petals that had fallen during the day.

When their gazes met, Sung Hun’s fingertips twitched. The veins on the back of his hand holding the briefcase stood out, and when her gaze that had lingered on him moved to Hyun Wook, he unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.

His heart suddenly began to beat roughly, and his breath naturally lengthened. His heart felt heavy, no, it was beating lightly as if about to fly away.

No, it felt like it was crumbling and emptying—

No. That wasn’t it either. His heart, full to bursting without a single leak, felt hot and cool, an impossible situation where it felt burning hot and icy cold at the same time.

“Yeon Woo! It’s me, Hyun Wook!”

In short, it was a feeling he couldn’t get a grasp on.

Hyun Wook quickly walked up to her and offered a handshake. Sung Hun watched blankly.

“Yeon Woo, you know me, right? I’m Hyun Wook. Nam Hyun Wook. Domyeong Middle School, Class 2, 3rd Year! You remember me, right?”

…Yeon Woo.

“Wow, to meet Ji Yeon Woo here. Nice to see you, friend!”

Yeon Woo.

Ji Yeon Woo.

It was the name of the woman standing in the middle of a sea of flowers.