“Thank you.”

Chae Won got out of the taxi after saying goodbye.

Unlike before, the sound of a dog barking could be heard from the small, old detached house with a low fence wall and untended trees stretching inside, which had all the essentials despite its small scale and age.

With a puzzled expression, Chae Won tilted her head for a moment before pushing open the green iron gate that Hee Joo would have passed through every day and entered.

“Welcome, Hee Joo.”

As she passed through the wide open front door and entered the living room, Young Ja approached to greet her, unusually.

“You must have had such a hard time out there. So, where are you staying? A sauna? A friend’s house? Or did you find a monthly rental?”

Young Ja held both of Chae Won’s hands, with an unexpectedly warm gaze.

“I’m managing well on my own.”

“Of course, of course. I’m sure you’re doing well on your own. I just asked because I was so worried.”

Young Ja’s face, which had been smiling, looked Chae Won up and down.

“Oh my, how pretty. Hee Joo, I never knew this kind of dress would suit you so well. Oh, look at the quality of the fabric.”

Chae Won smiled bitterly at Young Ja’s continued praise and made eye contact with Jae Min, who was standing behind Young Ja, striking a pose.

“How much settlement money did you get to be able to shop and dress up like that? Do you think changing your style will make me look at you? That kind of strategy won’t work on me.”

Just wearing a black long dress with a white cardigan over it, she had deliberately come dressed modestly, but this household had complaints about everything.

“You talk a lot for someone who didn’t even buy me a single piece of clothing.”

“W-What?”

As Jae Min’s voice grew louder, Young Ja winked and stopped him.

“And don’t misunderstand.”

Chae Won continued speaking as she slowly entered the living room.

“Today is just a casual chic concept, I didn’t choose my clothes to impress you.”

Young Ja approached Chae Won’s side again, holding her hand and smiling.

“Casual chic! I’ve heard that somewhere before, what brand was it? Haha. Our Hee Joo has become even more stylish living alone. Oh my goodness! Look at me! Are you hungry? Come over here, come here!”

Led by Young Ja, Chae Won was dragged to the kitchen and tilted her head at the scene before her eyes.

“I’ve been cooking all day because you were coming. I made everything you like – seasoned raw fish, pork hocks, and even spicy rice cakes. I made everything, so eat as much as you want!”

The table was full of food, with luggage bags placed in the right corner.

While thinking about what this disharmonious arrangement meant, Young Ja urged her.

“Sit down, Hee Joo. Hm?”

Chae Won pulled out a chair and sat down.

“You must have had a hard time out there. Let’s eat first. Eat a lot, this is all on me!”

“It’s not easy to find good restaurants and order delivery, is it?”

How did she know?

Young Ja froze for a moment and rolled her eyes.

Wondering how she knew when all the delivery bags had been removed, Chae Won turned her head left and right and saw various coupons placed on one side.

“You worked hard, Mother.”

“Hahahahaha. Look at me, hahaha.”

She laughed awkwardly, hiding the coupons with her hand.

“Just eat first, Hee Joo. Let’s talk after eating. Eat a lot, okay?”

“It’s touching. That you welcome me like this.”

“Of course we welcome you. You know how much I think about our Hee Joo.”

Chae Won showed a brief eye smile while receiving Young Ja’s suddenly kind gaze.

As she started to pick at her food with chopsticks, the impatient Jae Min held out a bankbook in front of her.

“Here, this.”

Chae Won and Jae Min just looked at each other, even as Young Ja’s voice was heard saying they should feed her first.

“What is this?”

“All the cash assets I have.”

“Are you… giving this to me?”

“Yes.”

Chae Won happily accepted the bankbook.

Jae Min’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he hoped her attitude would change dramatically.

Thinking that even though they had a lot of debt on the house, he was giving her all the cash he had worked hard to save, so this should be enough to sway her heart a little.

“Eh.”

At Chae Won’s response, as if to say ‘is this all?’, Jae Min straightened his back.

“What, ‘eh’? Hey, this may not be much, but I really worked hard to save this, you know?”

“It really isn’t much, but you worked hard.”

As Young Ja grabbed his hand under the table, Jae Min suppressed his rising emotions once more.

This time, along with Young Ja’s touch, a golden toad was placed on the table.

“This is the golden toad I’ve been saving. I’ll give this to you, Hee Joo.”

Chae Won picked up the golden toad and smiled brightly.

“Oh, how cute. It’s really adorable.”

The flustered Young Ja explained further that although it looks small, it’s quite valuable, but Chae Won just laughed, saying this was the first time she’d seen such a cute toad.

The two of them clenched their fists under the table, trying hard to stay calm.

“If you sign today, I’ll give you all of this. Let’s part ways amicably.”

Chae Won put down the golden toad and turned to Jae Min. As she focused with a serious expression, Jae Min seized the opportunity and continued speaking.

“This is your last chance. You know our family’s financial situation. With the debt we inherited after my father passed away, honestly, this is all we have… You know this is a lot, considering our circumstances.”

Looking at Jae Min’s grave expression, Chae Won suddenly thought it was strange.

His desperation to get divorced seemed particularly intense.

As if he had to get divorced as soon as possible, just like… there was another woman.

“It’s not everything, is it?”

“What?”

“Why aren’t you saying anything about this house?”

The two reacted with shock at Chae Won’s calm voice.

“Hey, if we sell this house, where are we supposed to live!”

Chae Won smiled gently.

“Then where am I supposed to live?”

“This was never yours to begin with.”

“Is there such a thing between a married couple? If it’s in your name, it’s joint property.”

“This is really!”

A certified copy of the register that anyone can obtain if they know the address.

Curious, she had obtained one, and fortunately, this house was registered under Noh Jae Min’s name.

“The bankbook with its cute amount, the adorable golden toad are all nice, but I’ll pass.”

“Hey, why are you acting like this? Since when did you become so greedy, huh? Are you saying you’re going to take even this house in the end?”

“It means I don’t want to get divorced that much.”

“Why! Why on earth!”

Chae Won rested her chin on the table and looked at Jae Min.

“Maybe because I love you?”

At her smile, Jae Min was frozen with a blank expression for a moment until Young Ja dropped her spoon, snapping him back to reality.

“Wow, I’m really going crazy.”

“Love is crazy by nature.”

“That’s not what I mean!”

Chae Won smiled with an innocent expression. Jae Min stared blankly at her again for a moment before turning his head and blinking several times.

All that could be heard was the two people’s frustrated breathing and the sound of Chae Won’s chopsticks as she began to eat in earnest.

Meanwhile, Jae Min’s phone, which had been placed on the table, vibrated.

Startled, Jae Min quickly picked up the phone to stop the vibration before Chae Won could see it.

“Why don’t you answer the phone?”

“It’s an ad, spam.”

“Then why does your expression look like that?”

“…Uh, it’s hot.”

Chae Won said ‘Ah, I see’ and glanced at Jae Min’s phone.

*

The family members who had quickly rushed over at Mrs. Kim’s call for the impending gift-giving finished their meal.

Mrs. Kim, who always drank tea after meals, called only Yoo Gun into the room.

As Mrs. Kim sat down on the cushion with the support of Butler Gong, her pale green hanbok skirt spread wide.

“So, I hear you’ve decided to date?”

She asked in a trembling voice like a sheep, neatly arranging the white jeogori ribbon.

“Yes.”

“See, boy? It’s this easy, hm? What’s so difficult that you’re always just working and lying around? A young man like you. Getting married and focusing on business is stable and so much better. Don’t you think?”

Yoo Gun silently picked up the tea set and poured tea into her cup.

Saying that he should get married before Ho Tae since he’s the older brother, that that rascal Ho Tae only knows how to date and not how to make money, that he takes after his father’s brains, she went on criticizing her second son, and after the conversation went round and round, the focus returned to Yoo Gun’s blind date.

“So, what do you think of that young lady? Don’t just sit there like a wooden block, say something.”

Ah, that woman Kim Chae Won.

She acts like she’s all that, listening to her talk you’d think she’s been a genius who can do everything since birth.

A princess with her nose in the air, stage 3.

Selfish to the core, not showing any consideration for others but always looking for consideration from them,

With a wicked heart that emphasizes it’s manners to always make other people’s faces appear larger than hers in photos, while saying personal information is important.

And also.

“She’s cute. Unique… and pretty.”

As a sincere voice flowed from Yoo Gun, Mrs. Kim smiled with a sly expression.

“Hmph. So you know how to say such things to women too? That’s right. This is how you should live. See, good things come to those who listen to their elders. There’s nothing to lose, I tell you.”

Yoo Gun smiled faintly.

“Looking at the photo, you two make quite a handsome couple. So, did you enjoy the movie?”

“Where would we have time to watch a movie? I was too busy looking at Chae Won.”

“Ohoho, this boy, really.”

He preemptively blocked her in case she might ask him to recite the movie’s plot.

Yoo Gun knew well that this wasn’t enough to stop Mrs. Kim.

By the way, when will she give him the house in Seongsu-dong?

Yoo Gun looked at Mrs. Kim with eyes asking for a specific time.

“Why are your eyes like that?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“Ohoho, my goodness. Do you like that young lady that much?”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Kim, intrigued by this unfamiliar side of Yoo Gun, laughed contentedly for a while.

“This old lady has nothing else to give for our Yoo Gun’s dating, but…”

Why not? The house in Seongsu-dong…

“Here, take this.”

Mrs. Kim took something out of a drawer and placed a white envelope on the table.

It wasn’t an ordinary money envelope.

It was made of a very luxurious material that looked like it might contain expensive gift certificates.

“What is this?”

“Open it and see.”

Mrs. Kim nodded with a satisfied expression.

Ah, it must be a surprise.

Perhaps she was giving some kind of document related to the gift of the Seongsu-dong house as a surprise.

Yoo Gun opened the envelope with anticipation, but the corners of his mouth immediately stiffened.

“I hear young people these days do a lot of that don-cation or ho-cation thing. Since you can’t go far, go to a nearby hotel soon, play in the water, eat something delicious, and do some dating like that before you come back.”

‘Hotel-cation.’ The reason Mrs. Kim unnecessarily knew about such things.

Yoo Gun sharply looked at Butler Gong, who was sitting on the right, true to her nickname as Mrs. Kim’s right-hand woman.

As if she had expected it, she had her gaze lowered from the start.

“I hear the hotel breakfast is so delicious? Go have a summer vacation, hold hands tightly, play around, and stay for a night before you come back.”

It would be even better if you came back after making a grandchild.

“Pardon?”

Mrs. Kim, who had been muttering while scratching her knee, suddenly raised her head.

“Hm? No, no. Anyway, this old lady is giving this as a congratulatory gift, so go have fun together.”

After thinking for a moment, Yoo Gun soon met Mrs. Kim’s gaze.

“That’s difficult. First of all, Chae Won is very busy with hospital work.”

“Isn’t that hospital going on vacation soon? How many days was it? Butler Gong, how many days was it?”

“It’s 27 days. If you use the weekend, you can have a full 3 days off.”

Butler Gong, who had spoken while flipping through her personal notebook, failed to control herself and met Yoo Gun’s sharp gaze, then hurriedly lowered her eyes.

“Right, right. Wait a minute. Then should I have gotten a 2 nights 3 days package instead?”

It’s unusually going smoothly, he had said.

It didn’t seem likely that Mrs. Kim would just leave them alone to date for a month.

“It’s still too early to spend nights like that.”

“Ah, why is it still too early? Huh? It’s up to you, you rascal. In our time, just holding hands was enough to speedily lead to marriage. You know that, you fool?”

Yoo Gun quietly closed his eyes as another 19+ Joseon era love story began.

“And, don’t forget to always send proof photos. You understand? Ah, this boy doesn’t answer!”

“…Yes.”

“Call her right now and tell her.”

What? That we should spend the night together?

“…I’ll do it later.”

“Do it now, now! Let me hear the voice of our future daughter-in-law!”

He had forgotten.

Mrs. Kim’s impatient temperament.

Yoo Gun quietly sighed.