“You really intend to marry this woman, huh?”

Han Dae Woo couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

“W-What? No, who are you to…”

“Hey, Han Dae Woo.”

“Wait, how do you know my name…?”

“You shouldn’t do this. How could you? Do you think I’ve been so good to you all this time just because I wanted to be called a doctor’s wife… no, a doctor’s lover?”

“W-What?”

Jae Rim looked down at the pale Han Dae Woo without blinking. The woman whose eyes and mouth had widened let go of Han Dae Woo’s arm and stepped back.

“Honey, what’s going on…?”

“No, it’s not true! I don’t know this person!”

“Of course. Once you break up, we become strangers who don’t know each other.”

Jae Rim muttered with a gaze that would seem wistful to an outsider. There was a subtle madness in her eyes.

“Someone who destroys human compassion has no business being a doctor. If you’re going to do it, save a lot of people with a repentant heart, and make sure you live a long life with illness. Got it?”

With that, she turned and left.

So Min, who had been watching from afar, unknowingly let out the breath she had been holding. It was her first time seeing this side of Jae Rim, and she was quite surprised. She doubted anyone at would believe it if she told them. Of course, she couldn’t tell them anyway.

‘I thought she was always just smiling and saying nonsense, but she can get serious and angry like that too.’

Though they were coworkers, So Min had never really felt like they were on the same side since they were so different. But for the first time, she felt glad to be on the same side as that weirdo.

Miss Lee Jae Rim, she’s not someone you want as an enemy.

Smack! The sound of Han Dae Woo getting slapped by the woman echoed through the street.

One slap isn’t enough. So Min muttered under her breath as her gaze followed Jae Rim’s retreating back.

That afternoon, only Joo Han and Eun Soo remained in after finishing the woodworking date shoot.

They sat side by side in the middle of the showroom with two chairs arranged in the same configuration as their first shoot. They were both wearing identical work aprons.

Though following Joo Han to the airport in two days would be the last shoot, this was the final filming at . So they decided to do the final interview now.

“Please share your final thoughts. How was the filming?”

Eun Soo answered first.

“It was fun. I think just being able to leave a record like this will be very meaningful. Though I’m not sure how it will look on TV.”

Joo Han added,

“It was a good time. I feel like we got to know things about each other that we didn’t know before. I think it will remain an important time and event in many ways.”

After asking a few more questions, PD Park said,

“Now we’d like to interview you separately.”

Joo Han said he’d go down to the workshop for a bit and left his seat, leaving Eun Soo alone.

The assistant director held out a container with folded papers inside.

“Ah, this.”

Eun Soo, now familiar with the process, drew a paper on her own. She unfolded it to see the keyword “Secret” written on it.

“If you have any secrets about Joo Han, it would be good to share them now.”

“A secret? Hmm…”

She decided to ignore the fact that their current relationship itself was a secret. Eun Soo carefully searched her thoughts.

“Actually, after breaking up with Joo Han and before meeting him again, I went on a blind date once.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. He asked for a second date, so we met twice. That was the end of it though.”

Now that she said it out loud, it didn’t seem like such a big secret. Still, please let him see it on TV later if possible. Eun Soo added with a bright smile.

Soon they switched places and Joo Han sat in front of the camera. He was also given the container with papers.

“What did you get?”

“It says ‘Confession’.”

Joo Han showed the unfolded paper to the camera before folding it again and holding it in his hand.

“I can talk about anything related to ‘confession’, right?”

“Yes. Like who confessed first when you were dating, how they did it, things like that.”

Joo Han nodded. Then he asked,

“But can I make one request? I’d like Eun Soo not to know about this video until it airs. Can you keep it from her?”

“Sure, we can do that.”

Only then did Joo Han begin to speak.

“There’s something I want to say…”

Two days later, it was the day of Joo Han’s departure for his business trip to Denmark.

With a morning flight, they had to start moving from early dawn. Eun Soo took on the concept of “girlfriend seeing off at the airport” for the last time and moved with Joo Han. Still feeling a bit guilty, she said to PD Park,

“We’ve never come to the airport together before because of people watching. This is our first time coming together.”

The airport was quiet in the early hours. Joo Han quickly finished checking in and dropping off his suitcase, returning with just a simple backpack.

“I should go in now.”

“Okay. Have a good trip. Bring back lots of nice things.”

“Alright. I’ll call when I arrive.”

Since it was their first time coming to the airport together, and for Joo Han, the first time being seen off by someone for a business trip, there was bound to be some awkwardness. Fortunately, the cameras were capturing them as if they were reluctant to part.

They arrived at the gate. Joo Han greeted PD Park and the assistant director.

“Thank you so much for all your hard work filming. I’m grateful for how well you’ve captured everything.”

“No need for thanks. We’re the ones who should be grateful. Have a good trip.”

“Yes. I’ll greet you again when I return.”

Joo Han and Eun Soo stood facing each other for a moment. They knew it would be wrong to PD Park to just wave and go in like this.

Eun Soo took a step closer first. As she raised her arms to embrace Joo Han’s neck, he instinctively lowered his body slightly and wrapped his arms around Eun Soo’s back. Eun Soo’s chin fit perfectly on Joo Han’s shoulder.

Eun Soo whispered, barely moving her lips,

“I’ll give you an answer when you get back.”

Joo Han nodded. He seemed to brush his hair against Eun Soo’s for a moment. Eun Soo slowly loosened her arms and faced Joo Han.

“Well then, have a safe trip…”

Joo Han cupped Eun Soo’s cheeks with both hands. His gaze as he looked down at Eun Soo was deep and direct.

The thought of “No way” barely had time to cross her mind before everything went dark. Eun Soo’s eyes, which had widened in surprise, closed reflexively as Joo Han’s lips pressed hotly against hers. They stayed still, not parting, before separating with a soft sound.

“I took advantage of the camera one last time.”

Joo Han whispered very quietly as he caressed Eun Soo’s cheek regretfully. He gently brushed her hair aside before letting go.

“Call me if you miss me. Don’t worry about the time difference, call anytime.”

Eun Soo managed to nod.

“I’m going.”

Joo Han turned and entered the boarding gate. Eun Soo stared intently at his broad back with the backpack slung over one shoulder as it disappeared beyond the door.

Suddenly, her nose stung with the threat of tears, catching her off guard.

What’s this? Why am I acting like I really don’t want him to go?

She almost really cried. It would have been ridiculous to make a tearful scene for just a 3-week business trip, not a permanent goodbye. They would have been immortalized as an overly dramatic, attention-seeking couple.

After barely managing her expression and calming her surging emotions, belated embarrassment washed over her. The reality of kissing Joo Han in the middle of the busy airport, in front of cameras and broadcasting staff, finally sank in.

As she pressed the back of her hand against her cheeks, which still felt hot as if Joo Han’s warmth lingered there, PD Park said,

“We’ll just film Eun Soo leaving the airport alone and then cut the cameras.”

“Oh, okay.”

Eun Soo made her way through the increasingly crowded airport to the outside. After crossing the crosswalk, PD Park approached.

“We’ll finish filming here. Eun Soo, thank you so much for all your hard work.”

“You two worked harder than us.”

She felt light yet slightly wistful. PD Park and the assistant director seemed to feel similar. They briefly exchanged words of appreciation for each other’s hard work, and joked about how much editing work was still left to do.

As they left the airport in the broadcasting company’s car, PD Park spoke in a more relaxed tone than during on-camera interviews.

“As I mentioned before, the concept of this show is to encourage dating. You two were such a perfect fit for that concept, it was fun for us to film. Just watching you two, we could see how well you matched.”

“I-I’m glad if that’s the case.”

“By any chance… do you two have any plans for marriage yet…?”

“No.”

Worried she had cut him off too sharply, Eun Soo quickly added,

“We’re both too busy with work right now.”

“I see. Well, you’re still young. In any case, I think you two would have an interesting and happy marriage if you did get married.”

Eun Soo mumbled a quiet “Thank you” and looked out the window, secretly swallowing a sigh.

The guilt that had been subtly present throughout the filming seemed to grow even stronger.

They were viewing her and Joo Han so positively, even seeming to have affection and expectations for the couple they were in charge of, yet she and Joo Han had only talked about breaking up around 3 months after the broadcast ended.

The car soon arrived near the broadcasting station.

“I had a comfortable ride thanks to you. Thank you for driving me.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow when I come to to pick up the cameras, Eun Soo.”

After saying goodbye and getting off at a suitable spot, Eun Soo immediately called Sol Hee. Sol Hee, who had said she’d be there soon, appeared in just about ten minutes.

“The chances of running into people we know are too high around here, so let’s go a bit further.”

“Okay.”

They took a taxi to a restaurant. It was a casual place that also served as a wine bar.

“I’ll treat you to the full course today. Thanks for working hard on the filming and for agreeing to appear even though it wasn’t an easy decision.”

“Well, it’s not like I did it for free.”

Eun Soo forced a smile. For some reason, her mood kept fluctuating. The slightly chilly morning air at the airport, Joo Han’s back as he entered the boarding gate alone, the warmth that had lingered on her cheeks and lips – these memories kept resurfacing.

She thought she would feel so relieved to have finished this fake couple act that she’d cheer spontaneously, but her thoughts and feelings grew heavier, constantly sinking.

“Hey, Sol Hee.”

“Hm?”

“What if… hypothetically…”

Eun Soo struggled to continue after barely starting. As Sol Hee carefully observed her friend jabbing at her innocent salad with a fork, a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

“Wait a minute. Are you perhaps getting back together with Kim Joo Han?”

“N-No?”

“No? Really no? Even if not, it seems like you want to talk about Kim Joo Han.”

Unnerved by her friend’s eerily accurate intuition, Eun Soo hesitantly spilled the whole story.

“Well, actually…”

She explained how Joo Han had asked to get back together and she had postponed her answer, how she decided to think about it more because she wasn’t sure if she was just confused from the filming. After hearing it all, an intriguing expression appeared on Sol Hee’s face.

It was an expression that said she had expected this but was still surprised it was actually true. It was similar to when Eun Soo had confided about dating Joo Han long ago.

“That makes sense. It was an environment conducive to developing feelings, even where there were none before. If there was still an unextinguished spark between you, it’s even more likely.”

Sol Hee nodded, saying she wouldn’t have answered right away either if it were her. Encouraged by her only friend affirming that she wasn’t wrong, Eun Soo opened up about her deeper concerns.

“But I’m scared. They say couples who’ve broken up are likely to break up again for the same reasons.”

She had thought breaking up would feel like the world was ending at that moment. But it wasn’t like that.

Just when she thought she was okay, the ground would give way beneath her feet. She’d barely climb out only to sink again. She realized after breaking up with Joo Han that it was like struggling in a sandpit in the middle of a desert.

Could she handle going through those emotions, that time, again with the constant underlying anxiety that it might happen?

Sol Hee, who had been listening seriously, asked,

“Let’s start with this question. What was the real reason you two broke up before?”