Suddenly, Park Gwan Jang stopped and looked in the direction of Gi Tae’s gaze with a puzzled expression.

Confirming the painting at the end of Gi Tae’s gaze, Park Gwan Jang smiled softly and said,

“Ah, that painting? It’s quite well done, isn’t it? To be honest, it’s my favorite out of all the paintings Ga Eul presented for this exhibition.”

Gi Tae abruptly pointed at the couple in the painting with his finger and asked,

“Sir, those two people. Do you happen to recognize who they are?”

“…Are you referring to the figures in that painting?”

“Yes.”

Gi Tae’s gaze remained fixed on the two figures, passing over the scenery.

After carefully examining the painting for a moment in response to Gi Tae’s question, Park Gwan Jang answered,

“I’m not sure. Perhaps Ga Eul painted them abstractly, or they’re people she saw in passing?”

Ha ha ha−! At Park Gwan Jang’s response, Gi Tae rarely let out a loud laugh.

The inside of the gallery was filled with the sound of his laughter.

Gi Tae looked at Ga Eul’s painting again with a delighted expression.

Park Gwan Jang didn’t know, but Gi Tae could clearly tell who those two figures were.

Everything matched his memories perfectly, from the clothes they wore that day to the scenery they saw.

‘It’s from when we went to the botanical garden.’

Gi Tae’s gaze warmly settled on the figures in the painting.

It was Ga Eul and himself.

Did I look at Yoon Ga Eul like that? It looked like an affectionate couple.

Though he couldn’t see his own expression, he could tell from the painting that it remained a good memory for Ga Eul.

Park Gwan Jang looked at Gi Tae, who suddenly burst into laughter, with a puzzled expression.

Absorbed in the painting and only now noticing Park Gwan Jang’s gaze, Gi Tae waved his hand and said,

“It’s nothing. Well… it’s probably as you said.”

Gi Tae looked at Ga Eul’s painting again.

The painting he gazed at so solemnly contained something that tickled the viewer’s heart, beyond just warmth.

Gi Tae, with the corners of his mouth raised, asked in passing,

“So, what’s the title of this piece?”

“Ah, yes. The title of this piece is…”

Park Gwan Jang glanced briefly at Gi Tae, who had many questions about Ga Eul’s work today, then withdrew his gaze and quickly flipped through the exhibition documents before saying,

“It’s .”

Upon hearing the title, one of Gi Tae’s eyebrows rose nimbly. Then, he quickly asked again,

“My… Beloved Lover?”

“Yes. The title is quite pretty too, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

Gi Tae recalled the gentle face he had seen before leaving the studio this morning.

He deliberately didn’t wake her up and let her sleep more, only carefully tucking the blanket around her before silently leaving…

He wanted to see that face again.

Gi Tae, giving the painting a warm gaze as if looking at Ga Eul, pointed at it with his hand and said,

“I’ll have to take this painting.”

“What? But we were planning to include it in this exhibition. Why on earth…”

Park Gwan Jang asked in a fluster.

He felt he couldn’t give up this painting. It was the first painting he wanted to personally own.

“Sir, that’s the painting Ga Eul put the most effort into. She really wanted to include it in the exhibition.”

Gi Tae, who had already picked up the painting, turned around and said,

“If she has a problem with it, tell Yoon Ga Eul to come find me at the office.”

Flabbergasted by his remark, Park Gwan Jang was at a loss for words.

Gi Tae shamelessly pointed at Ga Eul’s other paintings and said,

“There are plenty of other good paintings besides this one.”

Of course that was true.

But he had never taken paintings from his artists based on personal feelings before.

Ignoring Park Gwan Jang’s internal grumbling, Gi Tae said in a low voice as he passed by,

“I really need to have this painting.”

Right.

Gi Tae took the painting and went upstairs, not caring about Park Gwan Jang.

Anyway, she does all sorts of mischief when I’m not looking.

Entering his office, Gi Tae picked up his cell phone. Then, he made a call.

Ga Eul’s name popped up on the screen.

What should I do with you, my cute one?

The three characters of her name on the screen tickled his heart.

A pleasant smile settled on his face.

* * *

Rrrr… Rrrr…

Ga Eul, who was in the annex, picked up her cell phone.

Ga Eul checked the caller and smiled. It was him, who had stayed by her side late into the night yesterday.

‘When did he even leave?’

When she woke up, he was no longer by her side. She had fallen fast asleep without even realizing he was gone. The blanket carefully tucked around her was the only thing that told her he had been there.

Did he leave right after seeing her fall asleep, or did he go straight to work from the studio before she woke up?

“Hello?”

Ga Eul answered the phone. He immediately asked,

“I got off work early today, want to meet up outside?”

Ga Eul’s eyes widened for a moment before she smiled brightly and replied,

“Yes! I’d love to.”

* * *

They came to the scenic restaurant where they had their first meal together.

The river view outside the window was still beautiful.

But… the CEO was really acting strange today.

Ga Eul pursed her lips and stared intently at Gi Tae sitting across from her.

He had acted differently from usual yesterday too.

But whether it was just her feeling or not, she got the sense that he was even weirder today. It definitely felt 180 degrees different from yesterday.

To be precise, it seemed that way from the moment she found him waiting for her at the gallery entrance instead of inside the office as he had said.

‘Huh? He clearly said he’d be in the office…’

There didn’t seem to be anyone she knew around anyway, and Park Gwan Jang would be inside the gallery. Ga Eul waved at Gi Tae, whose eyes met hers, and called out to him loudly.

“CEO-nim.”

Then he approached right in front of her in an instant.

He strode over and intertwined his fingers with hers. He left an affectionate kiss on the back of her hand that he grasped tightly and grinned at her.

Faced unexpectedly with his refreshing smile, Ga Eul looked up at him blankly, then suddenly came to her senses.

He had never done this outside before…

It felt unfamiliar, so she was momentarily dumbfounded.

Why was he doing something he didn’t usually do?

On the way to the restaurant, she felt like he was treating her preciously.

Ga Eul, who kept wondering, finally asked Gi Tae.

“CEO-nim.”

“Yes?”

“Did something good happen to you today, by any chance?”

He shook his head.

“No, not particularly.”

Ga Eul only halfheartedly picked at the food that came out, recalling what happened at the gallery entrance.

Then, he asked,

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating much? Does it not taste good?”

Ga Eul was startled and reflexively replied,

“What? No, that’s not…”

He frowned at her answer and called the waiter.

The table was already full of more than enough food, but he recited another menu item.

Surprised, Ga Eul hurriedly waved her hand.

“No, really. It’s all delicious, truly.”

Ga Eul sent the waiter away after stopping him. Then, she said in a slightly reproachful tone,

“We can’t even finish what we ordered now, why are you doing this, seriously…”

“Then try to eat more enthusiastically. You’re the one not eating well.”

Hmm, looking at it this way, it seems like a misunderstanding again. Ga Eul kept poking at the poor salad with her fork.

Looking down at Ga Eul acting like an angry rabbit, Gi Tae, who let out a chuckle, wiped the sauce off the corner of her mouth and said,

“What’s displeasing you so much?”

“I’m sure there’s something I don’t know, but you keep not telling me.”

Gi Tae pointed outside with a nod of his head, looking at Ga Eul who had completely taken her hands off the meal by now.

“If you’re done eating, let’s go out.”

“Tsk… Yes.”

Ga Eul surrendered to him, who was now blatantly even avoiding her words.

.

.

.

Ga Eul, who thought they would go directly to his officetel as usual, widened her eyes as she looked at the large building in front of her.

The place he led her to was Taesan Department Store.

“Why are we here…”

“Just because. I want to buy you something you want.”

“But there’s nothing I want?”

“I’m saying I want to give my girlfriend a gift, can’t you just accept it?”

“I’m telling you there’s really nothing I need.”

Gi Tae took Ga Eul’s hand again, which she kept refusing.

Except for when they were eating, it was a hand he hadn’t let go of since they met.

However, this was in front of his department store.

Ga Eul quickly pulled her hand out, worried someone might recognize them. Even his brother Han Gi Jeong was like that. It was a place they could very easily run into him.

When Ga Eul refused his hand with that thought, he immediately frowned.

To divert his attention elsewhere, Ga Eul had no choice but to enter the department store on her own.

“CEO-nim, shall we go inside for now? I don’t want anything, but I’d still like to look around!”

“…Alright.”

Gi Tae, who had been looking down at his empty hand for a moment, followed Ga Eul into the department store.

Ga Eul walked around the inside of the department store, standing next to him.

As Ga Eul only followed him from a distance, he suddenly took her to the luxury brand section and picked up a women’s handbag, holding it out to Ga Eul.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“Haha… Well… I don’t really know how to look at these things, whether they’re pretty or not…”

Ga Eul replied, trying hard to lift the corners of her mouth.

He held out another bag. Perhaps thinking her rejection was a matter of taste, he showed her a bag with a slightly different design.

It kept repeating, with him asking and her refusing, as if he was determined to make her hold at least one thing.

The bags seemed too expensive.

Ga Eul picked up any reasonably priced dress, wanting to leave the department store before someone recognized Gi Tae.

“CEO-nim, I want to wear this dress instead of a bag!”

Having escaped the swamp of recommendations, Ga Eul ran to the fitting room with the dress in her hand. She let out a sigh uncontrollably, having been tense since entering the department store.

Ga Eul changed into that dress without even looking at it properly.

After changing, Ga Eul quietly approached Gi Tae, who was staring into the air for a moment as he was on a call.

Ga Eul quickly spoke to him as if receiving an inspection, thinking of showing him what she was wearing and leaving the department store fast.

“CEO-nim, I’m done changing.”

Then, he turned his gaze to her and stopped the call he was on.

He grinned, meeting her eyes, and gently grasped the ends of her hair.

Ga Eul widened her eyes, dumbfoundedly looking at what he was trying to do, and he kissed the ends of her hair before pulling away and murmuring,

“You have good taste. It’s pretty.”

“…”

The waiting clerks all turned their heads away, pretending not to see.

Ga Eul’s face flushed red, having never expected him to do this in front of all the clerks.

.

.

.

The two of them left the department store and strolled along Han River Park.

Seeing the Han River up close for the first time in a while, Ga Eul unknowingly became excited and approached the railing.

He quickly followed and tightly embraced her shoulders from behind.

Ga Eul, startled, tried to remove his hands out of habit. Then, she stopped.

Ah, that’s right. There’s not a single person here who would recognize us.

As the sun was setting, the Han River was filled only with people absorbed in spending time with their loved ones.

No one was watching them.

She had been acting too sensitively. Being cautious and mindful of others’ gazes had become a habit ingrained in her.

Ga Eul comfortably leaned against Gi Tae’s chest and asked,

“CEO-nim, when did you leave the studio?”

In response to Ga Eul’s question, Gi Tae answered briefly,

“In the morning.”

So he really did stay by my side the whole time without going home.

Ga Eul smiled brightly.

Even though his expression couldn’t be seen as he stood behind her, somehow he noticed her smiling and was smiling along with her.

She could tell he was smiling from his laughter reaching above her head, even without turning around.

He spoke in a gentle tone,

“I deliberately didn’t wake you up to let you sleep more.”

“You must have been tired, not getting much sleep. You went to bed late yesterday.”

“Not really.”

The two of them, chatting away, at some point began walking along the promenade as if by mutual agreement.

Gi Tae held out his hand without a word, as if telling her to hold it, and Ga Eul grabbed that hand, smiling brightly at him.

Usually it was hard to walk side by side because his stride was so large, but holding hands made it so they had to keep walking together.

His large, firm hand felt warm and nice. Ga Eul’s steps became lighter and lighter, enjoying the cozy time at the Han River.

They walked and walked for a long time like that.

After a while, Ga Eul showed signs of fatigue.

Gi Tae glanced down at Ga Eul, chuckled, and pointed to a nearby bench with a nod of his head.

“Want to sit?”

“Yes.”

The two of them sat side by side on the bench. Ga Eul leaned against Gi Tae’s arm and asked again,

“So the whole day is passing, are you really not going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“The real reason you’re in a good mood today, CEO-nim.”

At Ga Eul’s question, Gi Tae recalled that painting again. Then, suddenly reminded of an old memory, his thoughts briefly went back to that day.

It had been so long that he had temporarily forgotten, but there was a painting Ga Eul had desperately tried to stop him from seeing when he visited her studio. She, who was always eager to show him her paintings for evaluation.

Could that have been back then…?

Now he understood that day’s memory. She had desperately embraced her body tightly, as if embarrassed to show it to him, and blocked him.

After speculating on his own, Gi Tae finally smiled at the cute Ga Eul flickering before his eyes again, and told her,

“I discovered a great painting.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. So I brought it with me.”

“So that’s why you were in a good mood.”

“It was a painting I personally wanted to own.”

“For you to like it that much, I’m really curious about that piece… Huh?”

Ga Eul, who had been talking with a bright smile, suddenly widened her eyes and looked up at Gi Tae with a perplexed expression.

What does that have to do with him treating me well today?

Gi Tae, noticing Ga Eul’s thoughts, let out a chuckle.

It was cute how her thoughts were clearly shown on her face.

“Well, I also happened to miss my lover.”

“…We were together until this morning.”

As if his words hit Ga Eul’s sweet spot, she grumbled shyly while her lovely cheeks flushed peach-colored.

Gi Tae deliberately left out the information that the painting was Ga Eul’s.

Since you hid the existence of that painting from me, I’ll tease you a bit too.

She was so adorable, secretly doing such things behind his back.

Gi Tae smiled as he caressed Ga Eul’s cheek.

The night had already fallen on the Han River, and the streetlights cast their glow. The two people sitting on the bench looked at each other, smiling for no reason, and shared a long kiss.

* * *

At that moment, in front of TS Gallery.

Yeon Woo sighed and muttered with a frown.

“What am I doing now?”

He had said he would forget her, but unknowingly found himself drawn to the gallery as if enchanted.

Fortunately,

He came to his senses before pushing open the door and going in to find her.

“What will you do after coming to find her?”

It had been like this lately.

He said he would forget her, but when he walked down the street and found things that reminded him of her, his gaze was unknowingly captivated.

However, nothing could replace her absence.

Suddenly, everything felt unsatisfactory.

In front of people, he acted as usual, but when alone, his lips that had lost their smile were always pressed together in a straight line.

Yeon Woo clenched his fists tightly and barely turned his body around.

Why couldn’t he forget a woman he had only seen briefly?

Everything felt unfamiliar because it was the first time this had happened to him.

Yeon Woo shook his head and quickly left the gallery.