Anyway, nothing had changed.

She was still tiny, cute, and even now, she would huddle her shoulders or roll her eyes around as if glancing around when suddenly touched.

Thinking about it, what had changed was himself.

If it were in the past, he might have casually ignored such a reaction, but now he became more persistent.

Then, Ga-eul, shy and unsure of what to do, would suddenly give me a lovely smile without realizing it. This recent habit of aimlessly lingering around just to see that reaction became unnecessary.

Taking advantage of the signal, Ki-tae looked down at Ga-eul, who sat in the passenger seat.

She was smiling broadly for some reason, even though he didn’t know why he was looking at her, she giggled and smiled at him.
“How did I end up getting involved with Yoon Ga-eul like this?

At that time, it was an unexpected turn of events.

Who would have known it would turn out like this?

If that’s the case, I should have done it sooner.

After lightly poking Ga-eul’s cheek and dropping it, Ki-tae chuckled and said, “Come to think of it.”

“Yes?”

“Yoon Ga-eul doesn’t seem much different then and now.”

“…?”

Ga-eul widened her eyes and looked up. Ki-tae, staring back at her, casually continued.

“I thought you’d grow taller.”

“I’m not that small!”

This time, Ki-tae teased Ga-eul.

She retorted, “It’s not that I’m small; it’s just that Representative-nim is incredibly tall. I’m about average height.”

“I am tall, but you’re the same as back then.”

“Ugh.”

Judging by Ga-eul’s reaction, it seemed like she hadn’t grown much.

Although he didn’t intend to tease her, he couldn’t help but playfully poke her as she kept reacting cutely.

Before she knew it, Ga-eul’s lips puckered.

Seeing that, Ki-tae burst into laughter. Saying she was small wasn’t a derogatory term, but she seemed slightly offended.

It wasn’t meant that way. Rather… she was cute because she was small, and he liked it.

When he embraced her, everything from her head to toe fit snugly into his arms. Holding Ga-eul tightly in his arms momentarily satisfied his thirst for her.

But being far apart for a while and then coming together again was the problem.

“I apologize for being small.”

Ga-eul, unaware of Ki-tae’s thoughts, grumbled discontentedly. Ki-tae tousled Ga-eul’s hair and said, “No, that’s why I like it.”

Ga-eul took Paul in the carrier and went to a nearby park. Cats usually didn’t go for walks, but unable to leave Paul alone due to Ju-ah’s call, she impulsively took him with her.

While waiting on a bench for a moment, Ju-ah’s figure appeared in the distance.

Ju-ah approached, ready to greet her, and raised her hand, but when she saw the carrier, she widened her eyes and asked, “What’s that?”

“I’m taking care of a cat. I couldn’t leave him alone at home, so I just brought him out. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Can I take a look too?”

“Sure.”

Ju-ah looked into the carrier where Paul was. At the sudden appearance of a strange face, Paul let out a cry.

Clearly, the little one had set up a defense against the unfamiliar face, but it unexpectedly made Ju-ah smile.

“Ha… He’s really cute.”

“Isn’t he?”

“Yeah. But, what’s with the cat?”

“It’s a cat I’ve been taking care of near the gallery. We could keep him, so I brought him with me.”

Of course, not me, but our representative did.

Ga-eul briefly explained while swallowing the back story.

“What’s his name?”

“Paul.”

“Paul?”

“Yeah.”

Ju-ah, unable to touch him for fear he might get scared, smiled with a motherly expression.

Ju-ah was about to say something to Ga-eul with a smile, but suddenly, her eyes widened.

It was because of the ring on Ga-eul’s hand. Since Ga-eul didn’t usually wear accessories, it caught her eye easily.

Surprised, Ju-ah pointed to Ga-eul’s ring and asked, “What’s that? Is it a couple ring?”

“Uh…”
Until now, Ga-eul had proudly boasted about Paul as if he were her own child. However, when the conversation shifted to the ring, she shyly lowered the couple ring, and her cheeks turned a rosy hue.

In that gap, Ju-ah burst into laughter.

“What’s this? Did your boyfriend buy it for you?”

“Yeah. The representative gave it to me a while ago.”

“Really? Envious… What?”

Ju-ah, who had been echoing Ga-eul’s responses, widened her eyes for a moment and fell silent.

What is it? What happened?

Did she just mention the representative…?

Why would the representative buy a couple ring?

Ju-ah, scratching her ear, asked, “Yoon Ga-eul, did you just say the representative gave it to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why did your boyfriend, the representative, buy you a couple ring?”

“Because he’s my boyfriend.”

“What?”

Ju-ah’s voice raised significantly.

“Are you talking about your gallery representative… Han Ki-tae?”

“Uh… Yes.”

“Crazy!”

Ju-ah shouted loudly. Then, in disbelief, she repeatedly asked, “Is your boyfriend really that Han Ki-tae? The man who came to pick you up when you were drunk?”

In response, Ga-eul nodded briefly with both cheeks reddened.

“Yeah, that’s right.”