‘Han Gi Tae……? When did he get here……?’

Ga Eul’s pupils trembled violently upon seeing Gi Tae.

His appearance was different from the one in her memories. Even though she had never once forgotten him.

In the place where his youthful face had completely disappeared, only the appearance of a mature man existed.

She took in his face, which felt very unfamiliar after not seeing him for a long time, bit by bit.

His straight forehead visible between slightly swept back hair, high nose bridge, strong jawline.

The him that she thought was handsome even when she first saw him at 14 was now boasting a height reaching 190cm. His shoulders had also broadened tremendously, exuding strong masculinity. She now had to look up quite a bit.

Wearing a suit and looking down at her, he gave off the aura of a successful CEO. Finding that strangely unfamiliar, Ga Eul absently fiddled with the neckline of her clothes.

‘I didn’t hear that he was coming……’

As he happened to be looking down at her indifferently, Ga Eul stood frozen in place as if her body had stiffened.

Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t greet him.

Ga Eul first offered a greeting to him for now.

“Ah, hello.”

“……”

“I didn’t know you had returned to Korea…… No, it’s really been a while……”

“……”

Ga Eul, who nervously tried to hold back the trembling corners of her mouth, ultimately failed to properly finish her words.

If it was going to be like this, she should have just greeted him with a silent bow instead.

Ga Eul bit the tip of her tongue and reprimanded herself. She ended up greatly flustered as it was such an unexpected encounter.

But still.

‘Why is he staring at me like that……?’

From earlier, he had been fixedly gazing only at her, neither going on his way nor ridiculing her for spouting strange things.

Ga Eul unconsciously stiffened her body under that gaze.

Like before, but even more so now, she didn’t know what to do.

“……Huh?”

Out of the blue, he reached his hand out to her face and roughly rubbed her cheek with a somewhat coarse touch.

Their eyes met. The moment his touch, void of any emotion, made contact with her felt strangely slow.

“Is it oil paint.”

“……”

One thing hadn’t changed. His eyes were the same as before. Bearing a deep brown color that could only be achieved by applying layers of paint multiple times, they always drew her gaze. The memory of thinking that color was truly beautiful every time suddenly came to mind.

As Ga Eul froze like she was broken from his sudden touch, he frowned and pulled away.

Right then, Mi Jeong’s loud exclamation could be heard from inside the main building.

“Gi Tae! What are you doing outside? Still not coming in!”

Leaving behind a dumbfounded Ga Eul, he roughly wiped his hand with a handkerchief and swiftly turned around.

‘……What was that. What the heck?’

On Ga Eul’s one cheek, a red blush was painted over the slightly smudged paint.

.

.

.

‘Where did I get this on me?’

Ga Eul, who had rushed straight to the bathroom, pressed her lips together upon confirming there was paint on her face. Moreover, her head tilted to the side as it wasn’t even a color she had used while working.

‘He could have just told me with words……’

Ga Eul recalled the touch of his hand on her face. Perhaps because she was very startled, her heart was still beating rapidly.

Ga Eul, who had been touching the cheek he had put his hand on for a moment, suddenly checked the time and quickly moved her steps.

Having arrived a bit late to the dining room due to the earlier happening, everyone was already seated when she entered. Ga Eul quietly searched for her seat like a guilty cat.

Perhaps because of what happened earlier, Ga Eul turned her head to avoid him, as he kept drawing her attention.

With that, a dining table atmosphere different from usual entered her line of sight.

‘Hmm……? Something seems to have changed.’

Before she knew it, Ga Eul began meticulously scanning the tabletop. Even while seated, her eyes busily darted around.

‘Zucchini pancake…… Braised short ribs…… Hmm, and……’

The number of side dishes seemed to have increased compared to usual, likely from hasty additions, but what caught Ga Eul’s eye was a flower vase placed on the long table she always saw, which normally wouldn’t be there.

‘Ah! That’s it.’

Inside, flower blossoms showing off their freshness as if they had just been picked were holding droplets of water. Ga Eul immediately guessed that Mi Jeong had put those flowers there.

From what she had observed over 9 years, Mi Jeong always enjoyed making small changes on special days.

As expected, Mi Jeong’s eyes, which Ga Eul furtively glanced at, were twinkling like a child seeking praise. Ga Eul warmly gazed at her while smiling.

‘It’s because your son returned.’

Unable to contain the rising corners of her mouth, Mi Jeong ended up unable to hold back and poked her son’s side as he only talked about business with Chairman Han. Mi Jeong asked him in a friendly tone.

“Son, are you eating well? You look a bit pale. And…… Ahem! Did you take a look at the dining table?”

“Yes, I’m eating well. It’s delicious.”

“Is, is that so? Well…… What, it’s a relief that it’s delicious……”

He, who in reality hadn’t even looked at the dozens of side dishes laid out on the table, turned his head back to Chairman Han to continue their business discussion. There was no way he would have seen that flower vase.

‘She probably wants to talk about the flowers……’

Ga Eul let out a small groan upon seeing Mi Jeong, whose expression had become slightly crestfallen. She had a trivial worry about whether it would be alright for her to notice it before her son did.

“Umm…… Madam.”

After a moment of conflict, Ga Eul cautiously called out to Mi Jeong.

In a very small voice so as to not disrupt the business talk between the Chairman and him. Mi Jeong weakly raised her head.

Ga Eul brightly smiled at Mi Jeong and tried bringing up the flower vase.

“I was thinking the dining table looks somewhat vibrant today, and there were flowers placed on it. The flowers seem really pretty.”

“Oh my, is that so? You think so too, Ga Eul?”

“Yes.”

As Ga Eul showed interest in the flower vase, Mi Jeong’s mood could be felt gradually reviving.

“I picked a few blossoms from the greenhouse garden. It’s hard to see flowers in winter too. I tried arranging it myself in my own way…… How is it? I feel like I’ve somewhat lost my touch since it’s been a while since I’ve done flower arrangement?”

“Not at all. It’s pretty as can be.”

“Really? I learned it by paying quite a hefty amount, you know? As expected, learning it was worthwhile.”

With the two’s lively conversation, Chairman Han and Gi Tae finally paid attention to the flower vase as well.

“Mi Jeong, when did you prepare something like that.”

“Of course I have to put in some effort since Gi Tae came for the first time in a while!”

“I see. Well, it’s not bad since it’s a change of pace.”

“Oh my…… Thank you, Father.”

Mi Jeong, who unexpectedly received a compliment, moved a few side dishes in front of Ga Eul.

“Eat a lot, Ga Eul.”

“Thank you, Madam. Please eat a lot too.”

“Alright, alright.”

Ga Eul had simply wanted to understand the heart of a mother, Mi Jeong, who wanted to look good to her son. She thought that aspect was exactly the same as her own mother.

It wasn’t empty flattery, but regardless, Ga Eul’s mood also brightened with the dining mood that had grown warmer.

Ga Eul gently gazed at Mi Jeong and softly smiled but then awkwardly stiffened.

He was intensely staring at her before she realized it.

Ga Eul quickly turned her head without knowing why. Then, she fidgeted and bit her lower lip anxiously.

“When are you planning to return to the department store. Are you going to leave all the department store work to Gi Jeong and only manage the gallery?”

“……”

Not even realizing that the Chairman was asking, Gi Tae kept focusing only on Ga Eul.

The woman with peach-colored cheeks, as if the paint had seeped in even after he lightly wiped it off, was still smiling as she conversed with his mother. The two looked quite delighted.

‘Come to think of it……’

Whenever he dropped by Korea from time to time, he had felt the dining atmosphere changing bit by bit.

Gi Tae, who clearly realized it today, narrowed his eyes.

That woman was the cause.

The dining table was no different from a place to convey business matters while busy. As everyone was living hectic lives with no time to spare separately, it was a formality they exchanged in the fleeting moments they gathered.

Meals at his house had always flowed that way.

But his mother, who was always quiet without saying a word at the dining table, began speaking a lot from some point on. Then, she frequently laughed too.

Gi Tae found that change both unfamiliar and welcome.

He blankly gazed at the woman who changed his mother.

‘Wasn’t she just a kid who paints?’

The one Grandfather sponsors.

Gi Tae’s head tilted to the side. Then, he tried saying that name, albeit softly.

“Yoon Ga Eul……”

“You brat! Are you even listening to me?”

Gi Tae, who had been staring at Ga Eul, averted his gaze at the shout Chairman Han let out. Then, he obediently answered his grandfather’s question.

“I didn’t hear.”

“Seriously, thinking about other things while eating. You don’t even say empty words.”

Clicking his tongue, Chairman Han turned his head and discovered Ga Eul, just like Gi Tae. After gazing at Ga Eul for a moment, he suddenly grinned and spoke loudly to both Ga Eul and Gi Tae.

“Go see Ga Eul’s paintings, Gi Tae.”

“……Pardon?”

“Yes?”

At Chairman Han’s abrupt remark, the two simultaneously answered in surprise, but he continued speaking as if pleased.

“Ga Eul is graduating soon, so we need to bring her to TS Gallery. Don’t you agree? Ga Eul, when did you say your graduation exhibition is?”

“Ah, yes. It’s in three days, Chairman.”

“Right, right. You’ll go see it, won’t you, Gi Tae?”

He’s going to come see my exhibition?

At the Chairman’s question, Ga Eul also furtively glanced at him. Then, upon meeting his gaze, Ga Eul flinched and trembled her shoulders.

Gi Tae raised one corner of his mouth and soon nodded his head.

An unexpectedly easy answer flowed out from him.

“Yes, I’ll go see it.”

Really……?

The one most greatly surprised by Gi Tae’s words was naturally Ga Eul.

Because unlike this mansion’s members, he was a man who was particularly uninvolved in her affairs.

* * *

On the day of the graduation exhibition.

“What the, Yoon Ga Eul……? Why are you shaking so much?”

“Well…… Maybe because it’s the graduation exhibition? I feel a bit nervous.”

“You just need to do it like you normally do.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

“Want me to give you some Cheongshimhwan*?”
[*T/N: A traditional herbal medicine that calms the mind.]

“No, I’ll just get some fresh air outside for a bit and come back.”

“Alright. The exhibition is starting soon so go and return quickly.”

“Okay.”

Ga Eul left Ju A, who was looking at her strangely, and exited the building. Wearing a rabbit-like pure white long coat, Ga Eul looked up at the exhaled breaths dispersing and still trembled.

Not because the cold was rushing in, but because she was really nervous.

It was the first day the Chairman was visiting a school exhibition.

But the real reason Ga Eul was nervous was something else.

Han Gi Tae. To think that he was coming to her exhibition.

Ga Eul found it particularly difficult to face Gi Tae. In fact, encountering him for two consecutive days was a first.

Among the Chairman’s family members, he was the only one uninterested in Ga Eul’s affairs.

So the only opportunity to face him was at dining occasions she was occasionally invited to at the main building.

But whenever he visited the mansion, meals were always held with only his immediate family members.

It was a natural fact that she had no reason to be involved in that setting.

Seeing his back as he occasionally left the mansion was all there was.

That’s why Ga Eul didn’t know what to do whenever she stood in front of him. She always ended up acting as if her body was malfunctioning.

It was already overwhelming to just face him, but to make matters worse, her paintings had to be quite satisfactory. She couldn’t help but be nervous.

‘What if he says my paintings are no good?’

Her heart raced like crazy.

Perhaps because she had been out for too long, a text message suddenly flew in from Ju A.

[Ju A: There’s someone looking for you? I told them you’ll be right there. Come quickly.] [Okay, I’ll be right there.]

Ga Eul pushed open the glass door and entered the building again. Then, as she looked around searching for Ju A, Chairman Han and Secretary Kim, whom she often saw, were together in front of her.

Ga Eul quickly approached and deeply bowed her head to Chairman Han before raising it. Then, conscious of Ju A who was curiously tilting her head behind them, she called the Chairman with a different form of address than usual.

“You’re here, Grandfather.”

Upon hearing that form of address, Ju A went “Ah, so it was her grandfather” and left to check on her acquaintances. Before Ga Eul could even catch her breath, Chairman Han asked.

“Right. Are these five works yours?”

“Yes. How are they?”

Ga Eul asked like that while observing the Chairman’s expression.

“The theme is life…… Life.”

The five flowers Ga Eul painted were all of different types.

The appearance of small petals clustered together exuding freshness as if they had just bloomed. The appearance of being in full bloom with beauty at its peak. And those gradually losing vitality and withering were dramatically expressed, successively evoking the birth and death of life.

He intently examined the paintings for a while, then nodded his head.

‘That’s a relief. It seems he likes them.’

Ga Eul finally let out a sigh of relief upon seeing his satisfied expression.

As Chairman Han was picking apart and scrutinizing the paintings, he abruptly asked Secretary Kim.

“That kid? He should see this.”

“One moment, Chairman.”

“Hoho.”

At the Chairman’s question, Secretary Kim, who had stepped outside the building for a bit, returned not long after.

“Umm…… Chairman.”

“What.”

“For a moment……”

Secretary Kim cautiously called Chairman Han while minding the quiet gallery. Then, with a slightly troubled face, he whispered in a small voice.

A moment later, after hearing everything, Chairman Han’s face reddened and paled, which was rare. With blue veins even bulging on his temples, he trembled his tightly clenched fist and shouted.

“Han Gi Tae! That punk!”