“Getting startled by a person……”

Tae Wook mumbled awkwardly, as if he felt sorry for startling Gyeo Wool.

Gyeo Wool, still too surprised, pressed her hand against her unsettled chest and let out a long breath.

“Are you alright?”

When Tae Wook asked worriedly, Gyeo Wool finally turned around.

Wearing checkered pajamas, she had her hair wrapped in a towel as if she had just finished washing.

The subtle scent of body cleanser emanating from her.

As he inhaled, the fragrance that filled his nostrils made him dizzy and lightheaded.

It was a much stronger stimulation than the scent that had emanated from Gyeo Wool when she fell asleep after drinking wine a few days ago.

Tae Wook couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Her slightly flushed cheeks and the plump, deep pink lips below.

As the memory of their secret kiss came to mind, desire began to stir once again.

If he were to take a big bite of those moist lips that looked even more luscious with moisture…

What flavor would they have today?

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Gyeo Wool asked with a puzzled look.

Only then did Tae Wook realize he had been staring at her too blatantly.

“No. What words, I was just wondering why Han secretary wasn’t sleeping and what brought her to the kitchen.”

Tae Wook managed to hide his embarrassment and spoke.

“I was about to drink some water and go back in.”

“Is that so? I came for water too.”

He made up an excuse and went to the refrigerator to take out a bottle of water.

As he closed the fridge door and turned around, he asked casually.

“Are you okay?”

“Okay with what?”

“I mean, did you catch a cold from getting so drenched in the rain?”

“I’m not weak enough to catch a cold just from getting rained on.”

Is she still angry?

Gyeo Wool’s tone suddenly became businesslike.

He didn’t like her tone at all, as if she were addressing a superior.

He knew well that Gyeo Wool used this kind of tone when she was upset or displeased with someone.

“That’s good then.”

Tae Wook’s expression wasn’t good as he nodded his head.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll go back in.”

She gave a slight bow and immediately left the kitchen.

“She’s going to freeze.”

Tae Wook muttered as he took a sip of water from the bottle and wiped the moisture from his mouth with the back of his hand.

He could be certain that Gyeo Wool was seriously angry.

“But what was she looking for?”

Tae Wook became curious about the drawer that Gyeo Wool had suddenly closed in surprise at his appearance.

He went to the cabinet where Gyeo Wool had been standing and opened the drawer.

Inside were small paper boxes containing various first-aid medicines.

“Were there medicines here?”

Despite living in the apartment for several years, he was learning for the first time that there were medicines in the drawer.

Among those boxes, there was one medicine box that particularly caught Tae Wook’s attention.

It was placed haphazardly on top of the neatly arranged boxes, as if it had been hastily picked up and thrown back.

He picked up that medicine box.

“Cold, body aches, fever reducer, pain reliever?”

Tae Wook frowned deeply as he read the text written on the box.

“And she said she wasn’t weak enough to catch a cold……”

Tae Wook realized that Gyeo Wool had been looking for medicine because she was sick.

Well, it would have been stranger if she was fine after getting soaked in all that rain and shivering from the cold.

“She could have just said she was sick.”

He opened the medicine box to look inside.

“It’s empty?”

The medicine that should have been inside was nowhere to be seen, and it was completely empty.

“It seems she was looking for medicine because she was sick.”

Tae Wook looked down at the empty medicine box, pondering.

[This is the timeline separator]

Gyeo Wool, who had returned to the guest room, sat blankly at the dressing table for a long time.

Then she turned her head from side to side, examining her face in the mirror.

Perhaps due to the fever, her face looked flushed.

Gyeo Wool had thought Tae Wook had noticed she was sick because he kept staring at her face so intently.

“What a relief. It seems he didn’t notice.”

Gyeo Wool, who had been sitting listlessly for a while, removed the towel wrapped around her head.

Her wet hair fell heavily onto her shoulders.

“I should dry it… but I have no strength.”

In fact, Gyeo Wool had fallen asleep after showering.

However, she woke up due to the raging fever.

She had sweated so much that her nightgown was damp.

She couldn’t sleep in wet clothes, and if she wanted to change into pajamas, she felt she needed to wash up again.

She went into the bathroom to shower once more and came out.

She needed to sleep again, but her fever was severe and her whole body ached as if it had been beaten.

Thinking she should probably take some medicine, she went to the kitchen.

She remembered that the previous housekeeper, Mrs. Lee, used to keep first-aid medicines in the cabinet next to the sink and take them out when sick.

Just as she was about to take out the cold medicine from the drawer, she unfortunately ran into Tae Wook.

“I guess I should have just said I was sick.”

It seemed her useless pride would prevent her from even taking medicine.

The thought of having to endure until tomorrow made her feel miserable.

And she couldn’t help but think of her mother in Jeju.

“Mom, I’m sick.”

Her nose stung and tears rolled down her cheeks.

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock!

There was a knock on the guest room door.

“If you’re still awake, could you open the door for a moment?”

It was Tae Wook’s voice.

What does he want to say now!

Gyeo Wool frowned as she raised her heavy body.

“Ah……”

Feeling dizzy, she gripped the dressing table with both hands.

She squeezed her eyes shut from the severe dizziness.

“Han secretary… if it’s hard to come out, should I come in?”

“No. I’m coming.”

Gyeo Wool barely managed to squeeze out a reply and slowly made her way to the door.

She opened the door slightly and peeked outside.

“What is it?”

“This!”

Tae Wook thrust forward a plastic bag with a convenience store logo printed on it.

The bag looked bulging, as if it contained various items inside.

“Take it.”

Gyeo Wool took the plastic bag that Tae Wook held out, but since the opening was tied, she couldn’t tell what was inside at all.

“What is this?”

“I didn’t know what you needed, so I bought various things.”

“What?”

“There’s stuff like that.”

Tae Wook gave an awkward smile to the curious Gyeo Wool.

“I’ll be going now. Sleep well.”

He immediately turned and went to his bedroom.

“What’s inside?”

Gyeo Wool opened the plastic bag as soon as she closed the door.

“Oh my… unbelievable.”

The plastic bag contained various cold medicines, fever reducers, and even bottled water.

[This is the timeline separator]

The sky was full of heavy clouds.

Unable to bear their weight, the clouds occasionally shed rain.

6:30 AM.

Due to the cloudy weather, it was still dark outside as if it were dawn.

Tae Wook was in the dressing room.

Today, there was a breakfast meeting with executives at Lee Chi Sung Group headquarters, so he was preparing to leave earlier than usual.

He was tying his necktie in front of the full-length mirror.

The toned-down blue necktie that Gyeo Wool had picked out.

She had chosen a not-too-light color with the executive meeting in mind.

Still, the pearls embedded between the patterns had the effect of making the potentially heavy color appear brighter.

It was a fashion sense that couldn’t be found in Tae Wook.

“When did she prepare this while being sick?”

Tae Wook muttered as he adjusted the knot of his tie to the center.

His eyes reflected in the mirror were mixed with worry and gratitude.

He put on his jacket and fastened his watch to his wrist.

Then he looked at himself in the mirror one more time and left the dressing room.

As he was walking towards the entrance, he stopped and turned his head to look at the end of the hallway.

That’s where the guest room where Gyeo Wool was staying was located.

“Is she alright?”

Perhaps out of worry, Tae Wook’s lips set into a straight line.

She must have taken the medicine, right?

Tae Wook had gone to the convenience store in the basement of the apartment yesterday to buy cold medicine.

It would have been better to go to a pharmacy, but there were no 24-hour pharmacies near the apartment.

He asked the convenience store part-timer for all types of cold medicines available.

And thinking it might be troublesome for her to come out for water when sick, he even got bottled water.

“Huff……”

Tae Wook let out a long, frustrated breath.

He had clearly seen tears streaming down her cheeks when Gyeo Wool slightly opened the door.

– If it’s hard to come out, I’ll come in.

Perhaps because of Tae Wook’s urging, Gyeo Wool had hurried, not even wiping away her tears.

“If she cried, she must have been in a lot of pain……”

He guessed that the reason she had hidden her illness was due to his cold words and attitude.

He felt quite uncomfortable, thinking he had pushed her too harshly yesterday.

“I wonder if she’s feeling better?”

Tae Wook desperately wanted to check if Gyeo Wool had taken the medicine.

If she had slept well through the night, if her fever had gone down.

If she hadn’t gotten worse.

But there was a possibility that she was still sleeping, so he hesitated to go to the guest room.

Just then, he heard the sound of the front door opening and saw the sensor light in the entryway turn on.

A moment later, the sliding door opened and the housekeeper came in.

“Are you leaving already?”

The housekeeper asked in surprise, seeing Tae Wook already prepared to leave.

Since Gyeo Wool had returned to the apartment, he had been eating breakfast before leaving for work, unlike before.

As a result, the housekeeper’s arrival time had also been moved up by an hour.

“There’s a morning meeting.”

“Have a good day.”

As Tae Wook was walking towards the entrance after receiving the housekeeper’s greeting, he suddenly stopped.

“Ma’am.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Could you make some porridge?”

“Porridge?”

The housekeeper made an expression that seemed to ask, ‘Why porridge all of a sudden?’

“I’d like it prepared for breakfast instead of rice.”

When sick, one might not have an appetite, and eating rice could be a struggle with a dry mouth.

“Is it for Secretary Han?”

“Yes.”

“She looked really sick yesterday……”

“Did she look sick?”

“Of course. Her face was pale and her lips were blue.”

“I see……”

Tae Wook frowned and rubbed his thick eyebrows with his fingers.

He had missed Gyeo Wool’s cold symptoms that even the housekeeper had noticed at a glance.

“I’ll make the porridge soft for you.”

“Don’t do that. Please buy it from the porridge shop on the first floor of the apartment.”

“Pardon?”

“Secretary Han likes the porridge from that place.”

Tae Wook made up a lie.

He had almost forgotten how poor the housekeeper’s cooking skills were.

Gyeo Wool would already have no appetite. He couldn’t let her eat unappetizing porridge in that state.

“And please watch over her to make sure she eats it all.”

Tae Wook gave firm instructions to the housekeeper and left the apartment.