Kim Joo Han glanced down at the convenience store bag he was holding.

“Beer. I stopped by on my way to drink and get a good night’s sleep…”

“I’ll have one can before I go too.”

Joo Han’s eyes narrowed. Sun Eun Soo gestured in front of his face, conveying her dislike of that expression.

“Is one can of beer too much between friends?”

“You don’t look like you’ll stop at just one. So greedy.”

“Ah, what greed?”

Sun Eun Soo pushed Joo Han’s shoulder. Joo Han clicked his tongue and led the way up the stairs.

Sun Eun Soo followed nonchalantly behind and entered the house without hesitation. Joo Han roughly set down the bag and carrier he had been carrying on one shoulder by the door and headed to the bathroom, saying he would wash his hands first.

Sun Eun Soo took out two beer cans from the bag, put the rest in the fridge, and looked around for something to eat. It was empty except for water, as if he had cleaned up thoroughly before his business trip.

Sun Eun Soo asked Joo Han, who was coming out after only removing his outer clothes and rolling up his sleeves:

“Did you really only buy alcohol? No snacks?”

“If I had known you would be tagging along, I wouldn’t have bought even the alcohol.”

While complaining, Joo Han took out snacks and chocolates from his bag. He traveled abroad so often that there wasn’t much to buy anymore, so he usually just bought snacks for the employees.

“This is what you said was delicious last time! The one with cheese inside, right?”

Sun Eun Soo excitedly opened the snack bag. Joo Han smiled slightly, opened the beer can in front of Sun Eun Soo, and opened his own.

“I’m really only having this one and then leaving.”

The beer cans in Sun Eun Soo and Joo Han’s hands clinked together.

After taking a refreshing sip, Sun Eun Soo smiled mischievously.

“Isn’t it nice? Aren’t you grateful? To have a friend to drink with as soon as you get back. It’s better than being alone at home, right?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“If you’re going to answer so half-heartedly, don’t bother.”

“…”

“Oh? Not answering?”

“What do you want me to do?”

They exchanged various conversations. From the business trip to where to have the staff dinner in a few days.

After about 30 minutes of sitting, Sun Eun Soo stood up.

“You must be tired. Get some rest soon.”

“It’s late. Take a taxi.”

“It’s only a 15-minute walk? The village bus is still running too.”

“Just use the company card when you work overtime. And when the weather’s bad.”

“Should I…?”

Sun Eun Soo hesitantly opened the taxi app. She had just gotten off work when Joo Han arrived, so it was indeed overtime.

After checking the app, Sun Eun Soo gathered her bag.

“Seems like there’s one nearby. It’s coming right away. I’m going. See you tomorrow.”

Joo Han escorted Sun Eun Soo to the entrance. After listening to the sound of her going down the stairs, he closed the door and headed to the window.

He saw Sun Eun Soo cross the front yard and get into the taxi waiting at the gate. He watched until the car disappeared onto the main road before turning back. Only then did he press a few buttons on his phone to turn off the lights in the stairway and the garden surrounding the building.

In the suddenly quiet house, a strange light flashed and disappeared in Joo Han’s eyes as he looked at the two beer cans placed side by side on the dining table.

To have a friend to drink with as soon as you get back.

Sun Eun Soo’s voice brushed past his ear. Joo Han laughed silently.

Yeah, well.

It’s nice, friend.

The next afternoon, Sun Eun Soo, who had been focusing on work moving between the showroom and office, suddenly realized that Joo Han hadn’t been seen all day and looked up. The clock showed it was nearly three o’clock.

‘Is he still sleeping because of jet lag?’

Is he eating before sleeping?

True to her character of loving the idioms “three meals a day” and “a sumptuous meal,” Sun Eun Soo worried about this first. She tried calling to wake him up, but he didn’t answer. Even after trying twice more, it was the same.

“What’s this? How deeply has he fallen asleep…”

As she had something to ask Joo Han anyway, Sun Eun Soo got up from her seat. Thinking of going directly to his house, she was going down the stairs when Lee Jae Rim, whom she met in the first-floor showroom, called out to her.

“Where are you going?”

“The CEO isn’t answering his phone.”

“The CEO was in the basement just now.”

“Oh, really?”

Sun Eun Soo, who was about to go outside, changed direction and headed to the basement.

“Kim Joo Han. Your phone…”

Sun Eun Soo hesitated at the edge of the stairs.

A space quietly filled with the late afternoon sunlight.

Joo Han was working alone. Thanks to the softly playing music and the heavy scent of wood in the air, it looked like a completely different world from the showroom just a few stairs above.

Joo Han was dressed as usual in a loose short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. Looking at his clothes alone, one might think he looked shabby, but his shoulders and arms were so sturdy that not even a hint of scruffiness came to mind.

In front of him was a chair. It was a British vintage wheelback chair with a distinctive backrest resembling a carriage wheel.

The process of firmly fixing a rickety leg with tools, lightly sanding out small scratches, and then rubbing with an oil-soaked cloth to make it as clean as possible overall was careful but without hesitation.

When Joo Han had just inherited his father’s shop, he was in a state of knowing absolutely nothing. As a result, there were many trials and errors, but he learned the work surprisingly quickly. Sun Eun Soo, who had seen it right beside him, knew this effort better than anyone.

He studied about vintage furniture by obtaining all available materials, and learned about general woodworking and furniture by visiting craftsmen in his spare time.

At the same time, he went abroad directly, facing challenges and pounding the pavement to increase his business contacts. Sun Eun Soo didn’t know about that process directly since she hadn’t actually flown with him, but she guessed that he might have had some kind of know-how from when he said he had worked at a business consulting company while staying in the United States.

Sun Eun Soo, who had been blankly watching the movement of Joo Han’s hands – long and large yet somewhat blunt at the joints, with veins clearly visible – turned around with a start at the voice from behind.

“Manager. Why are you standing there?”

Kim So Min, holding a paper bag in one hand, was coming down the stairs with a puzzled look.

At So Min’s voice, Joo Han also stopped working and turned his head. Meeting his eyes, Sun Eun Soo felt her cheeks burning with unnecessary embarrassment and hurriedly said:

“No, I came down for something… but I forgot what I was going to ask.”

Joo Han gave her a faintly disdainful look.

“I’m the one adjusting to jet lag, but why is the manager so scatterbrained?”

“I remembered! So when is the next container coming in?”

Joo Han slightly furrowed his brow and then relaxed it.

“The one sent from the US should arrive around the end of this month. I’ll check the exact date.”

“Oh. Okay.”

So Min, looking slightly awkward, held up the paper bag in her hand.

“When I asked Lee Jae Rim on my way out, he said everyone in the office had lunch, so I only bought for the CEO and myself…”

“Oh, right. We’ve eaten. Don’t worry and eat quickly.”

Sun Eun Soo quickly gestured. So Min, saying “Okay,” approached Joo Han and took out two sandwiches and two drinks from the bag, placing them on the side table next to the workbench.

Joo Han, lightly dusting off his clothes, approached while looking for wet wipes to clean his hands.

“Is this one with ‘No Cucumber’ written on it mine?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t have to be so careful. Thanks.”

Joo Han picked up the sandwich with a large X drawn on the wrapper and chuckled. So Min also smiled calmly and picked up her drink.

Watching this scene, a certain day suddenly flashed through Sun Eun Soo’s mind.

It was when she was eighteen, in her second year of high school.

Sun Eun Soo was sitting in a corner of the cafeteria. She was eating her meal alone silently as usual when suddenly there was a sound of the chair opposite being pulled out.

It was a classmate she knew by face and name but could never call close.

Kim Joo Han put down his tray and sat down, and Sun Eun Soo looked at him quizzically.

They were classmates who had only exchanged a single “Hello” that morning when they became desk mates after changing seats, despite being in the same class for months.

There were plenty of other seats, and his friends seemed to be over there, so why sit here? She wondered but felt awkward asking, so she was about to silently continue eating when Joo Han suddenly spoke.

“Desk mate.”

“…?”

Sun Eun Soo stopped her chopsticks, looked at Joo Han’s face once, and then looked down at her school uniform top. Her name was clearly written on the nametag, so why was he calling her that? As she was thinking this, Joo Han asked:

“Why aren’t you eating this?”

Joo Han was pointing at the cucumber salad. Sun Eun Soo was going to ignore him but answered briefly.

“I don’t like it.”

“Then can I eat it?”

Sun Eun Soo frowned. She was wondering what this was about when they weren’t even close, but Joo Han took the cucumber from Sun Eun Soo’s tray with his untouched chopsticks and put his portion of rolled egg in its place.

“What’s this?”

A sharp retort sprang from Sun Eun Soo. Joo Han smiled, unfazed.

“I gave you something too because I’m grateful. Eat up quickly.”

Years later, Sun Eun Soo had asked him once. Why he had called her “desk mate” so cheesily back then.

Joo Han had laughed awkwardly and said:

He didn’t know, but at that time, calling her “Eun Soo-ya” somehow felt more cringeworthy.

As it turned out, Joo Han didn’t like cucumbers either. When asked why he had asked for them, he said there was no other choice since that was the only thing she wasn’t eating, and then he covered his mouth with his hand, telling her to stop talking about it…

‘What am I doing now?’

Sun Eun Soo, who had been watching Joo Han and So Min eating at the same table as if familiar, thought it strange that she was watching this and was about to go back up.

But then there was a thudding sound of footsteps from above, and Lee Jae Rim suddenly poked her head out. She was holding a camera in one hand.

“Oh, Manager, you’re still here. That’s good. I was trying to take some natural photos of the items with the warehouse as a background…”

Lee Jae Rim naturally pulled Sun Eun Soo, who was about to go up, back down while talking. Sun Eun Soo, caught off guard, was helping set up a chair in front of the large window where natural light came in well, as Lee Jae Rim asked for help, when she suddenly came to her senses.

“Wait a minute. Why am I acting as your assistant?”

“Could you turn the handle part a little towards me? It gives a more nonchalant feel that way, yes, thank you.”

“But she’s not even listening to a word I’m saying…”

Sun Eun Soo put one hand on her waist and rolled her eyes. Regardless, Lee Jae Rim, immersed in her artistic world, kept pressing the shutter and then checked the photos with a grin.

“Wow, this is killer. I’ve created art again.”

“You’re getting artistically cocky.”

“But it’s a bit monotonous with just product photos.”

Lee Jae Rim’s gaze subtly shifted elsewhere. Following her gaze, they saw Joo Han, who had already finished his meal and was in conversation with So Min. They were looking at the phone he had put down on the workbench together.

“It’s amazing that they even do this part by hand sewing.”

“I know, right?”

“But actually, we don’t need to restore it to be perfectly like new like this, do we?”

“That’s true. But there’s a difference between not being able to do it because you lack the skill, and being able to do it but choosing to keep that feel.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Lee Jae Rim slipped in between Joo Han and So Min, who were in serious conversation.

“What is it?”

On Joo Han’s phone, a video was playing of a white-haired old man holding an unidentified tool.

“On this business trip, I was able to watch up close as a craftsman in Finland restored a chair made in the 1930s. I got permission and took some video.”

“Really?”

Sun Eun Soo also peeked in curiously. Meanwhile, Lee Jae Rim, who had stepped back slightly, raised her camera again.

“I don’t know what it is, but the CEO’s side profile as you’re leaning over the table looking down feels really good right now? I’ll just take one photo.”

“Jae Rim.”

Joo Han said, without even lifting his bent body:

“Let’s just sell our furniture. Don’t sell my face.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not handsome enough for my face to be used for that kind of thing.”

As soon as Joo Han finished speaking, Sun Eun Soo chimed in: