In the middle of drawing during the day, Gaeul received a call from Jua and headed to the local cafe. Gaeul, who had been curious about Jua’s unusually persistent request to meet today, understood the reason as soon as she met her.

As soon as Jua saw Gaeul entering the cafe, she began to inquire about Hanguitae, bombarding her with various questions.

“So how did you come to know him?”

Since she didn’t respond properly to the messages, Jua’s curiosity seemed to explode. Gaeul hesitated but, prompted by the sharp gaze urging her for an answer, she finally opened her mouth.

“My father had a close relationship with Chairman Hanguitae when he was alive. The chairman liked my father’s paintings. So…”

“Wait, are you talking about the chairman of Taesan Group?”

“Yes.”

“Wow… what connections. So, what happened?”

“When I’m with the chairman, I occasionally run into Hanguitae. So, I’ve known him by face for a while.”

“Oh, so you had a connection.”

Although it was a situation shocking enough to be surprised, Jua reacted as calmly as possible. While she was throwing questions again after sipping on iced tea, Gaeul added another question.

“Could it be that the person who visited during the exhibition was…?”

“Yes. It was the chairman.”

“Oh. Jua opened her mouth wide.

This time, she couldn’t maintain her composure.

“But why didn’t you tell me? Do you know how surprised I was then? If you had told me in advance…”

“Oh, that. In fact, I wasn’t that close to Hanguitae.”

“Huh? Not close, but he came to pick you up?”

To the skeptical look from Jua, Gaeul added.

“I’ve known about it from the chairman for a long time… but we only became close recently. We’ve met frequently because of gallery work. We weren’t close before.”

“Oh, I see.”

Seemingly relieved, Jua leaned back on the backrest with a satisfied expression. Gaeul, who was tense because it was the first time someone knew about her and Hanguitae, felt her throat dry.

Jua, whose curiosity was satisfied, began to talk lively as usual.

“I was really surprised that day. I didn’t even know who it was in the cold, and then I got your call, saying you were coming to pick me up because you were drunk. But, I never thought it would be the second grandson of Taesan Group…”

Gaeul was also curious about how he ended up coming to pick her up. While listening to Jua’s words, Gaeul nodded lightly and responded with a casual agreement.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, of course! Although you see him often, it was my first time seeing him in person, not just in the media. At first, I didn’t think he would come here directly.”

Gaeul’s words dwindled in the midst of Jua’s chatter. Although she wanted to empty her mind of thoughts about him for a while, he was the talk of the town not only in her conversations but also in the words of people around her.

Well, I like him, so I think he’s cool…
To other people, he seems like an outstanding person.

In response to Jua’s chatter, Gaeul chewed on her straw absentmindedly.

Through Jua’s words, Gaeul learned for the first time how others perceive him. The product he wore on the official occasion quickly became the talk of the town, and he became someone recognizable just by his name, often involved in scandals with well-known actresses.

Among them, the scandal talk made Gaeul feel a bit uneasy, so she used the straw to poke and stir the remaining ice.

Unconsciously listening to Jua’s words, Gaeul once again recalled him from the past.

She had escaped the studio as if fleeing from him, who used to leave small kisses on her wrist. Since then, her heart would pound irregularly at the memory of his deep gaze, and she couldn’t grasp anything else.

Now, even though she tried to pretend not to notice, dealing with him as if indifferent became increasingly challenging.

“Jua, I, um, have something on my mind…”

“Yeah, what is it?”

As Jua, who had been recounting various things about Hanguitae from the media, heard Gaeul mention a ‘concern,’ she widened her eyes and asked. After hesitating for a moment, Gaeul patted her cheek and cautiously revealed her worry.

“Well… I’ve developed feelings for someone…”

“Feelings?”

In response to Gaeul’s mention of ‘feelings,’ Jua, who had been sharing information about Hanguitae from the media, raised her eyes wide and asked. Due to Jua’s sudden exclamation, all the customers in the cafe turned to look at her.

Embarrassed, Jua lowered her head, apologized, and returned to her seat. Gaeul, who became awkward together with her, managed to force a somewhat awkward smile.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Well, it’s been four years since you brought up this kind of talk. You haven’t dated anyone since you started school.”

In response to Jua’s answer, Gaeul’s cheeks turned a rosy color.

“So? Go on, talk about the person Yoon Gaeul likes.”

“Um, well…”

Blushing, Gaeul, who felt embarrassed to the point that her face turned red, cautiously continued without revealing the information that the person was Hanguitae.