So Min narrowed her eyes.

“What are you doing now?”

Aware of the person standing behind So Min, Jae Rim moved closer.

“I said I’m sorry. Just let me in this once.”

Then he leaned in closer and whispered.

“Count me as your companion. Let’s go in together. I really wanted to come here.”

“Wow, where’s your conscience…”

“What’s wrong with having a colleague? If our positions were reversed, I would have called you over first, So Min.”

No need to say more.

So Min folded her arms and looked ahead as if to say ‘do as you please’. Jae Rim checked the time with a grin.

“What time did you get here, So Min?”

“About 30 minutes ago.”

“I could have arrived around then too if I hadn’t gotten lost on the way. But this is a bit unexpected. Somehow, I didn’t think you were the type to seek out places where you have to wait in line.”

“You’re right. I absolutely hate that sort of thing. But I’ve been a regular here since it first opened. I didn’t come because it became famous, I just kept coming and one day it suddenly became popular.”

“Ah, I see.”

So Min let out a heavy sigh.

“The owner does such a good job, they should earn a lot, but from a customer’s perspective it’s a bit… I liked it better when it was quiet.”

“I understand. By the way, So Min, could you move over a bit? I’m trying to take a picture of the sign but your head is in the way.”

Ugh, this photo-addicted, SNS-addicted human.

So Min stepped aside.

“Oh, looks like they’re opening the door now.”

An employee came out to open the door, and people started entering in order. The place wasn’t that big, so the line cut off right behind So Min and Jae Rim.

“Wow, amazing. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, but don’t you love this kind of thing? When it’s just your turn that makes it, or when something sells out right after you buy it. Anyway, it’s all thanks to you, So Min.”

“If you’re grateful, buy me coffee. Here, it has to be einspänner.”

Like a true regular, So Min ordered without even looking at the menu. Jae Rim willingly took out his wallet and ordered the same thing.

“It smells good. The lighting is nice here, and the music too.”

So Min nodded vaguely and was about to pick up her coffee cup when Jae Rim said, “Wait.”

“We have to take pictures, pictures.”

So Min silently put down her cup. She watched as Jae Rim enthusiastically took photos from the front, top, and side, then spoke up.

“If it cools down any more from here, it won’t taste the way I expect, and that will make me angry.”

“I’m done! Drink up quickly.”

So Min picked up her cup, and Jae Rim put down his phone and grasped his cup. The two slowly took a sip of einspänner each. Despite being polar opposites who would fight at the mere sight of each other, they reached 100% agreement for once.

“The best einspänner I’ve ever had.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

So Min finished her coffee, while Jae Rim carefully observed and photographed the surrounding interior. Then he held out his phone to So Min.

“Take a picture of me just once.”

So Min took the phone and mechanically pressed the capture button. Jae Rim struck naturally casual poses, managing to get a few good shots, and smiled with satisfaction.

“You have to upload photos like this so it doesn’t look like you came alone. A strategy to make people wonder who you came with.”

“Who are you trying to show this strategy to?”

So Min asked without much thought, but then seemed to recall something and frowned deeply.

“Don’t tell me it’s that trash from before?”

“It’s just, rather than targeting anyone specific, it’s more like a wide-area attack. It’s not that I have lingering feelings, but I want to look like I’m doing better than anyone else, I don’t want to lose no matter what, that kind of feeling?”

“Right, I heard your pathetic excuse well.”

“Oh, come on.”

So Min leaned back in her chair, still holding her cup.

“I read somewhere that showing off is evidence of deficiency. The very thing you keep flaunting to others is what you feel most inferior and insecure about.”

So you’re saying I’m blinded by inferiority and insecurity to the point of putting on airs?

Jae Rim pressed his lips tightly together. So Min no longer even glanced in Jae Rim’s direction and took out a book from her bag. Then she quietly started reading.

Jae Rim, who had been habitually fiddling with his phone, found his gaze fixed on So Min reading at some point. In a place like this with just the two of them, one might at least pretend to make small talk, but So Min was merciless.

I’m bored, but even if I say I’m bored, it probably won’t make a difference.

Jae Rim thought this as he stared intently at So Min before him. At first, he looked without any particular thought, but for some reason, as he kept looking, he found himself examining her from various angles with a somewhat intriguing feeling.

‘Did she always look like that?’

She seemed like a different person from when he saw her at . She even seemed like someone he was seeing for the first time. Her clothes were similar, her clear face was similar, and even her blank expression was the same as usual, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint why she looked different.

Her eyes downcast as she read, her thick eyelashes that might not have been visible if the lighting were just a bit dimmer – as he was taking in these details, a voice came from beside them.

“Oh, So Min, you didn’t go to work today?”

“No, I’m on vacation.”

“I’m jealous. How nice.”

The cafe owner, wearing a barista apron, gave a gentle smile.

“But I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you come with someone? This person is…”

Before the owner could finish pointing at Jae Rim, So Min answered sharply.

“A colleague from work.”

“I see. But he’s very handsome.”

“Thank you.”

Jae Rim, who readily accepted the compliment about his looks, smiled with his eyes. So Min inwardly tilted her head.

Is Lee Jae Rim handsome?

So Min pondered seriously. Since she preferred fit men with plain looks over pretty and stylish types, subjectively it didn’t really resonate with her.

But recalling the favorable comments from customers at and on his SNS account, she thought that objectively, it might be true.

“Oh, by the way, So Min. The owner of the alley restaurant is reopening from today.”

“Really? I wonder if it’s not too soon to start working right after being discharged from the hospital.”

“I know, I’m a bit worried too, but they said doing nothing makes them feel worse, so they’ll take it easy. We’re planning to go check it out during our break time later.”

“I guess I’ll have lunch there today too.”

After the owner left, So Min finished reading the last bit of her book, finished her coffee, and stood up. Jae Rim naturally followed suit.

“Are you going to eat lunch? At that restaurant you mentioned earlier? Where is it? What’s on the menu? Is it good? Let’s go together. I’m hungry too.”

“What’s wrong with you today, really?”

So Min, who had properly acquired a leech on her day off, narrowed her eyes. But Jae Rim just kept smiling.

In the end, they ended up eating together and even going to the bookstore near the station together.

“This is really a place I was planning to visit. I’m not just following you, So Min.”

“Ah, I got it, okay?”

The bookstore near the station was one of the largest. Inside, besides books, there were sections selling related accessories and flowers, and even a small cafe.

Just as So Min and Jae Rim were passing by that cafe:

“Sun Kyung.”

Hearing a familiar name, So Min turned around reflexively and stopped. Jae Rim also looked at the same place at about the same moment and said, “Oh.”

Sun Kyung was sitting in a cafe chair. Across from her was a man. The name they just heard seemed to have been called by that man, but the atmosphere flowing seemed unusual.

Jae Rim and So Min instinctively hid their bodies behind a pillar right next to them.

“Wait a minute. Haven’t we been in this situation before? When the CEO and Director were kissing…”

“Be quiet for a moment.”

So Min, who had tapped the whispering Jae Rim, observed Sun Kyung. She looked like she was about to cry at any moment. Although she hadn’t heard the details, So Min remembered that Sun Kyung had said she had been dating a boyfriend for quite a long time. She wondered if this was that person.

The man opened his mouth.

“Let’s not be pathetic about this.”

“…Did you just call it pathetic?”

Sun Kyung’s voice broke miserably. Jae Rim and So Min held their breath. It felt like they shouldn’t be watching, but as if overwhelmed by the atmosphere, their feet wouldn’t move.

“Hey, Han Dae Woo. What… what kind of situation is this? You said let’s take some time. I waited even when that ‘some time’ became a month, two months. But after nearly three months, you show up and now… what? You’re getting married?”

The man’s brow furrowed in irritation.

“It’s you who lacked insight by taking it at face value. I meant it as a breakup.”

“What?”

“We already broke up then, and since we’re strangers now, whether I marry someone else or not has nothing to do with you.”

The man’s words, devoid of consideration or anything else, poured out to the stunned Sun Kyung.

“Since we’re on the topic, let me tell you, I was really suffocated the whole time I was with you. I hated feeling like I was the only one looking at you, and I hated feeling like I was the only selfish and bad guy. All that support during your medical licensing exam and everything, you did it because you wanted to, right? I didn’t force you to do it. Didn’t you do it because you wanted to be called a doctor’s wife?”

Finally, tears began to fall from Sun Kyung’s eyes. The man frowned even more and even swore under his breath.

“Damn… See? Again with that act like you sacrificed everything, like you’re the pitiful one… Enough. Fine, I’ll be the world-class bastard. Happy now? Let’s stop. I just can’t be with you anymore.”

The man stood up abruptly.

“I’m leaving first.”

The man hurriedly left his seat, as if fleeing from the glances that kept darting their way.

So Min, who had been at a loss watching Sun Kyung left alone, was about to take a step forward when Jae Rim gently held her back.

“If it were me, I don’t think I’d want to meet someone I know right now.”

“Ah… I think you’re right. And considering Director Oh’s personality too…”

So Min, who had been pondering something, pulled Jae Rim along.

“Then come this way.”

Then she turned around and headed in the direction the man had gone earlier. Soon, the back of that man’s head came into view.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Let me pretend to accidentally hit him just once.”

“W-wait a minute! Isn’t it wrong for a martial arts expert to do that?”

Jae Rim’s face turned pale. So Min, who had hesitated, quickened her pace again.

“You’re right. Then you do it, Jae Rim.”

“Me? Do what?”

“His name was Hwang Dae Woo? Han Dae Woo? Just go and say, ‘Hey, Dae Woo!’ and hit the back of his head hard once. You can do that, right?”

“No, why should I…!”

As soon as they exited the bookstore, So Min pushed Jae Rim’s back.

At that moment, Han Dae Woo suddenly raised one hand. A woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties at most got out of an expensive-looking car parked on the street and brightened up.

“Oppa!”

What’s this now?

While Jae Rim and So Min froze, the woman trotted over and linked arms with Han Dae Woo.

“Did you talk to her properly?”

“Yeah. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment with her crying and wailing in front of all those people. I ran away as fast as I could.”

“Ew, really? How pathetic. You worked hard, oppa.”

A vein popped on So Min’s forehead.

“Ah, forget martial arts expert or whatever, I’m just going to hit him once and go straight to Cheongju Women’s Correctional Facility…”

At that moment, Jae Rim stepped forward first. He strode towards the couple who were closely heading to the car and grabbed Han Dae Woo’s shoulder.

“Dae Woo.”

Han Dae Woo turned around with a question mark in his eyes.

“Who are you?”

Jae Rim stared intently at Han Dae Woo with an expression that anyone could see was laden with hidden meaning, then suddenly turned his head to look at the woman standing next to him.

“So this is the woman.”