After finishing their meal and parting with Yoon Bin, Joo Han and Eun Soo arrived in front of Eun Soo’s house in Joo Han’s car.

Just as she was about to unbuckle her seatbelt, Joo Han spoke.

“Eun Soo.”

“Huh?”

Eun Soo, who was about to grab the door handle, turned around and her eyes met Joo Han’s.

In the car where even the engine sound was barely audible, their gazes intertwined silently. Seeing Eun Soo’s eyebrows furrowing slightly, Joo Han smiled broadly.

“Just. After working outside all day, I feel like I didn’t see your face as much as usual, so I wanted to look at you a bit.”

What’s this, such a cheap trick?

A warning for crazy talk started ringing in Eun Soo’s head. Her eyes darted nervously.

“Are you sure there’s no camera? Why are you acting like this?”

“Even if there’s no camera, filming isn’t completely over. Let’s say I’m maintaining the emotional line.”

“You’re that immersed? Geez. Is it fun to talk nonsense after eating an expensive meal?”

Eun Soo clicked her tongue. Joo Han continued to look at Eun Soo without backing down.

“What happens to us after filming ends?”

“What do you mean what happens? We agreed to break up 3 months after the show ends, remember?”

“Right. Then what about ?”

Eun Soo was at a loss for words.

It was something she had been meaning to think about anyway. When she first joined, she thought she’d work for about 2 years, but as she kept working, she became more ambitious and at some point stopped thinking about changing jobs or quitting. If the office romance and breakup were real, she probably would have quit, but they weren’t.

“Well… After publicly dating and breaking up, wouldn’t there be talk if I stayed?”

“Let them talk.”

“Huh?”

“We’re doing this now to grow with the help of the show, but if we quit right after it grows, it defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?”

“That’s true, but.”

Eun Soo became confused. She thought maybe he wanted her to quit because it was uncomfortable even if it was fake, and that’s why he brought it up, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

“And I forgot to tell you when I scouted you, but if you want to quit , you need to give 12 months’ notice.”

“What are you talking about? What company in the world has such a crappy rule…”

“You think it’s real?”

Joo Han laughed softly. Eun Soo blinked her eyes. Joo Han’s mood was somewhat different from usual, but it was hard to explain how.

“Let me ask one more thing.”

“Ask quickly. I want to go home soon.”

“You really don’t remember?”

“Huh?”

Joo Han turned his body completely towards Eun Soo and slowly crossed his arms.

“What happened last night.”

Eun Soo’s heart, caught off guard, sank to her toes and then bounced back up. Feeling like her heart might jump out if she opened her mouth, Eun Soo clenched her molars and steadied her breath before barely managing to reply.

“…I don’t. Whatever it is, I’d like it if you just erased it.”

“Okay. Go in.”

Joo Han unexpectedly turned away easily. Eun Soo got out of the car as if escaping, and Joo Han followed suit.

“Then I’ll be go-”

Eun Soo abruptly closed her mouth. Joo Han’s voice flashed through her mind.

‘Please don’t say you’re going in front of me. When I hear that, I…’

Eun Soo opened her mouth again.

“I’ll be heading off then. See you tomorrow.”

Joo Han just nodded his head and watched Eun Soo’s retreating figure as she hurriedly entered the building. Then, dropping his shoulders as if deflated, he muttered.

“…While remembering everything.”

He immediately noticed that she was about to say “I’ll be going” but stopped herself. In fact, Eun Soo wasn’t very good at lying, and it was especially difficult to deceive Joo Han’s eyes, of all people.

While insisting she didn’t remember anything, even shedding tears at those words I blurted out when my emotions ran high, if she cares that much…

‘How can I not like you.’

Joo Han bit the inside of his lip gently. He recalled the kiss that was as salty as it was heart-wrenching and as sweet as it was painful. And the soft body that clung to him without resistance.

‘You’re wavering. You probably think you’re mistaking it because of the show.’

Even if that’s true, I won’t let it end as a misunderstanding.

Joo Han got back into the driver’s seat. As he mulled over various things, Yoon Bin came to mind, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.

A few years ago, there was a time when he carried Eun Soo, who had collapsed from stomach cramps in the early morning, on his back to the emergency room.

While keeping watch by Eun Soo’s side as she finally fell asleep after receiving emergency treatment and getting an IV drip in her arm, he stepped out briefly. When he returned, Yoon Bin was sitting by the bed.

In a flashy outfit that was clearly stage costume, and wearing a hat that didn’t match the outfit at all, probably trying to cover his face.

That side profile, as pale as the sick Eun Soo.

That gaze, looking down at Eun Soo with his hand placed almost touching hers, next to where the IV needle was inserted.

It felt like the ground had suddenly given way beneath his feet. It was a feeling he had never experienced before, like he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

No matter how close of a younger brother, no matter how worried, could one look at someone with such eyes?

It wasn’t possible in Joo Han’s common sense. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask anyone.

Until then, he had jokingly complained to Eun Soo before.

Isn’t it too much that your close neighborhood oppa is Choi Yoon Bin, that guy looks like that and is even kind on top of it, it’s a bit much. When he pouted and said such things, Eun Soo would brush it off with words like ‘You’ve grown a lot, even knowing how to be jealous’.

But after witnessing that gaze that day, Joo Han never brought up Yoon Bin first. Even when Eun Soo mentioned him, he would just respond briefly and move on.

He did so because it felt like he shouldn’t think about it any further, but today he gained certainty without needing to ask or question.

That gaze that said he wouldn’t give up Eun Soo’s side.

He recognized it right away. Because I must have had the same look in my eyes.

Just like that night, when the worried gaze for Eun Soo was uncomfortably familiar.

Joo Han fiddled with the ring on his left hand with his right hand. It had become a habit without him even realizing it.

At first, I thought it was enough just to be within your boundaries in any form. But greed has no end.

And, I…

‘Won’t let you go a second time.’

A few days later, Joo Han and Eun Soo left together, three hours earlier than usual.

They were driving ‘s white truck towards writer Hwang Hee Baek’s studio. Inside the car was a camera pre-installed by the production team, and behind them followed a car with PD Park and the assistant director.

“Want a cookie?”

“Yeah.”

Joo Han, who was holding the steering wheel, kept his eyes fixed ahead and just opened his mouth. Eun Soo in the passenger seat put a bite-sized piece of cookie into Joo Han’s mouth.

“This is what we made at yesterday.”

“Really? It’s delicious. There’s no way something you and I made could taste like this…”

“The shape might have been messed up, but the taste wasn’t, you know?”

Just yesterday, there was a second group filming. The next couple in the present and future was barista Kang Min Jae and patissier Shin Mi Soo.

It was a date experiencing the one-day baking class that they actually run every week by reservation at , the dessert cafe they operate together.

The time spent concentrating with flour on hands and face in a space filled with sweet and savory smells was a different kind of fun from the boisterous party date last time.

“Mi Soo said it would taste better if we let it cool and ate it the next day, and she was right.”

“Yeah. Want some coffee?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

This time too, Eun Soo picked up the tumbler she had placed beside her and held the straw up to Joo Han’s lips. Eun Soo briefly thought that this much, well, didn’t even count as acting anymore.

The truck left Seoul and headed towards the suburbs. Eun Soo felt a bit excited when she saw the countryside-like scenery. It was partly due to the bright weather. It wasn’t bad that it was a legal skipping of work during paid working hours.

The car stopped in front of a studio building built with a traditional Korean house motif. Eun Soo and Joo Han picked up the desserts they had packed from yesterday and entered.

“Writer.”

“Oh, sit over there for a moment.”

Writer Hwang’s voice came from inside the building first. Joo Han and Eun Soo sat side by side on the wooden floor. Soon, Writer Hwang came out, roughly wiping his wet hands on his clothes.

“Hello, Writer. Nice to meet you. I’m Sun Eun Soo.”

“Oh my, it’s nice to meet you.”

Writer Hwang greeted Eun Soo with eyes full of goodwill. Joo Han had called ahead to explain that he actually had a girlfriend and that they were filming a TV program, and asked if it would be okay to visit together.

“I was really surprised because he hadn’t said anything until now. I had no idea he was dating such a nice person so close by, and I was just nagging him about when he was going to get married.”

The three sat around a round wooden tray. Writer Hwang, saying it was the first time Joo Han had brought anyone, asked Eun Soo various questions.

“I see, so that’s what happened around that time. When Joo Han suddenly said he was going to America, I saw him once around that time and was surprised because he looked so dark, like a completely different person. Do you know what I thought to myself then? That maybe the young man had caught some difficult disease and was going to try to get it treated. But now I see it was when he suffered a once-in-a-lifetime heartbreak.”

Writer Hwang’s eyes were consistently filled with contentment. It was quite a heartwarming atmosphere anyway. Joo Han thought that in the broadcast, it would probably be portrayed as if Eun Soo was visiting her in-laws.

“Writer, can you show us the furniture?”

“Ah, of course.”

Writer Hwang immediately stood up at Joo Han’s subtle request.

The three of them looked around Writer Hwang’s vintage furniture collection that harmoniously filled the quite spacious studio.

As a first-generation collector who had been interested since the time when even the term ‘vintage furniture’ was unfamiliar, each piece was a unique and precious collection, and Eun Soo was purely excited, momentarily forgetting about the camera and the broadcast.

“Is this really the original chair? The one they say only 50 pieces were made at the first factory?”

“That’s right, you really know your stuff. I found this unexpectedly at a flea market in Germany. Strangely, like fate.”

“Oh my, I’ve only heard about it… Your discerning eye to recognize this on the spot is amazing. Thanks to you, I get to see such a wonderful sight. Wow.”

Writer Hwang’s expression was infinitely soft as he watched Eun Soo genuinely enjoying herself.

“But is it really okay to entrust such precious items to us?”

“Of course. As time goes by, I become less greedy. I’ve seen them enough, so now I think maybe other people should see them too. I also think about what I would keep if I were to give everything away and keep just one thing to take to my grave at the very end.”

After looking around carefully for quite a long time, Writer Hwang expressed his intention to sell two side chairs, a cabinet, and a side table to . Since they were all not large items, Joo Han tried to pack the items and load them into the car without much difficulty.

“Huh?”

The truck, which was definitely fine when they arrived, was acting up. It sputtered and then stalled.

“What’s wrong with this…”

As Joo Han struggled with the key, he inwardly thought ‘Oh no’.

He remembered So Min saying a few days ago that the truck should be taken to the repair shop.

He had said he would stop by the repair shop after finishing deliveries, but he forgot because he had a dinner appointment with Yoon Bin, and he had forgotten about it since then. It seemed a problem had developed in the meantime. It was fortunate that it didn’t happen when So Min was driving it out.

Writer Hwang, who was watching with his hands behind his back next to the car, said,

“The village chief’s cousin runs an auto center in town, why don’t we ask him to come take a look?”

Writer Hwang added, taking out his mobile phone,

“If he can’t fix it, since you can’t drive anyway, stay the night. I’ll give you a room.”