A new morning dawned.

The start of another day was heralded by Ji Wan’s louder than usual shout.

“Kyaaaaaak! Aaaaaak!”

Ji Wan, who burst out of her room faster than a cheetah, immediately dashed into the bathroom while yelling.

“Why didn’t the alarm go off?! Aak! I’m on morning report duty today!”

Tae Sung, standing in the kitchen, greeted her with a relaxed voice in contrast to Ji Wan.

“Yeah, good morning.”

Bang!

Before the one-sided greeting could even finish, the bathroom door closed.

The sound of the sink and shower could be heard simultaneously, and in less than 5 minutes, she burst out soaking wet.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?! You know what time I usually leave for work, so why didn’t you wake me?!”

“I was thinking I should…”

Bang!

Once again, before Tae Sung could finish speaking, the bedroom door closed.

Judging by the loud opening and closing of the closet door, she was clearly making a commotion trying to get dressed.

What a chaotic woman. But that’s what makes her entertaining to watch.

Tae Sung, who had been quietly staring at the closed door, shrugged and continued what he was doing.

After a few more minutes had passed like that.

“My, my car keys! Have you seen my car keys?!”

Ji Wan asked while turning over everything from her room to the kitchen and living room.

Having already had his lines cut off twice by the busy woman, he kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

But this time, Ji Wan really needed his help, so she moved close to him and asked once more.

“Car keys! I heard you cleaning the living room yesterday?! You really haven’t seen them?”

Ji Wan’s feet fidgeted impatiently.

Looking at those feet, Tae Sung silently raised just the corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“Don’t just smile, help me!”

Ji Wan grabbed Tae Sung’s arm and shook it while checking her phone.

Tae Sung, who had been wrapping something in tin foil, only turned his head towards Ji Wan very leisurely after neatly attaching the tape.

“What did you say?”

And then he asked an infuriating question.

Ji Wan showed an unfiltered anxious expression as she urged Tae Sung.

“Car keys, car keys!”

“Ah… car keys.”

“Yes, do you know where they are?”

“I saw them on the shelf by the front door this morning.”

Having teased her as much as he wanted, Tae Sung finally answered in an amused voice.

Ji Wan’s footsteps headed towards the front door at the speed of light after hearing the answer she wanted.

Watching her back, Tae Sung unknowingly imagined married life with her.

The image of himself taking care of the clumsy woman came to mind all too easily.

He didn’t like cleaning up after others, but somehow he felt it would be okay if it was Lee Ji Wan.

It’s quite fun watching her act like she can do everything alone even though she needs so much help.

Tae Sung quietly followed behind the chaotic Ji Wan.

Then he held out something in front of Ji Wan, who was hurriedly searching for her shoes with urgent steps.

“Take this with you.”

It was toast that he had made this morning and quickly wrapped up after seeing how busy she was.

But Ji Wan was in such an extreme emergency that she couldn’t even check what it was.

“It’s fine! I’m leaving!”

In the end, Ji Wan left the house in a hurry without even checking what was in Tae Sung’s hand.

Tae Sung’s brow furrowed slightly in front of the door that slammed shut once again with a bang.

Unaware of the situation, Ji Wan hopped into the elevator that had just arrived.

The elevator stopped no less than 3 times on its way down from the 8th floor to the 1st floor.

Ji Wan anxiously stared up at the resentful display panel.

“Oh my, Ji Wan is going to work late today?”

Just then, the notoriously chatty 4th floor representative ajumma got on the elevator.

Ji Wan hastily replied, trying not to get caught by her.

“Yes, that’s right! I have to keep running from now on!”

“You should have hurried up earlier. Now my daughter, she’s so diligent…”

The representative ajumma’s meddling began.

Despite clearly showing she was in a hurry, it seemed the ajumma was determined to unpack her stories.

The representative ajumma was also friends with her father, so Ji Wan wanted to listen as much as possible, but she didn’t have even a second to spare at this moment.

There’s no choice. Even if it seems rude, I’ll just have to run as soon as the doors open.

Ding―!

While thinking that, the elevator arrived at the first floor.

The heavy doors opened on both sides, revealing the apartment entrance.

But Ji Wan couldn’t run out as she had planned.

“…Are you going to be so cold?”

At the same time, the owner of the large silhouette appeared like the Grim Reaper – none other than Joo Tae Sung.

“Aah!”

A startled Ji Wan let out a short scream.

The other residents in the elevator were also startled because of her, but only Joo Tae Sung maintained a relaxed smile.

“Why are you so surprised? Like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“When did you come down? Are you really a ghost? Why are you so fast?”

Ji Wan asked, clutching her rapidly beating heart.

Tae Sung didn’t answer that, but held out the toast once more.

“You have to take this.”

“Wh-what is this?”

“Breakfast made with love and care.”

“When did you prepare this…?”

“While my sleepyhead wife was in deep slumber?”

Tae Sung raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk as he said something smooth that Ji Wan still wasn’t used to.

Ji Wan, who was most nervous when he smiled like that, finally accepted the toast with careful hands.

Even as she obediently put it away in her bag, Tae Sung’s meaningful gaze didn’t disappear.

It seems like there’s something he’s not happy about right now…

“Th-thank you. I’ll eat it well…?”

Ji Wan said while watching his reaction. Her attitude was like a student giving an uncertain answer.

Tae Sung stared at her shrinking expression for a moment, then returned to his usual demeanor and answered gently.

“It’s the least I can do for my wife.”

It seems he’s satisfied now.

Although she didn’t know why she had to consider the mood of a man who had barged into her home, Ji Wan finally let out a relieved sigh.

“Wife…?”

But it didn’t even take a few seconds for her heart to sink again.

The 4th floor representative ajumma, the most talkative and meddlesome person in this apartment.

A word that should absolutely not enter her ears had just been said.

“Uh, uh… No. Ajumma. That’s not it.”

Ji Wan hurriedly waved her hands in denial.

Being such long-time neighbors and well acquainted with her father, this shocking news absolutely could not reach her ears.

But Tae Sung, who had deliberately shown off their married life to make the marriage Ji Wan was denying a fait accompli, didn’t miss this opportunity.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ji Wan’s husband.”

At Tae Sung’s greeting, complete with an offered handshake, the representative ajumma’s eyes widened.

“Oh my, oh my, when did you get married? Oh my, oh my. I haven’t heard anything from your father, oh my.”

“That’s… that’s not it! I have circumstances…!”

A panicked Ji Wan tried to deny it before he could say any more nonsense.

Rrrrrr― Rrrrr―

But talk about bad timing. Just then, Ji Wan’s phone in her hand rang loudly.

The name that appeared on the screen was Jin Joo Ah, Ji Wan’s close senior at the newspaper.

This call was clearly out of concern for Ji Wan’s life, as she was definitely going to be late.

“L-let’s talk about this when I get back! I’ll explain later! Don’t believe what that person says!”

Unable to delay going to work any longer, Ji Wan hurried away, leaving behind the confused representative ajumma.

Even in the midst of that, she didn’t forget to remain wary of Tae Sung.

“When did she… when did she get married… My goodness. I had no idea.”

The representative ajumma’s gaze, which had been watching Ji Wan, turned once more to Tae Sung.

Good build, tall stature, and facial features that she could confidently call the best she’d seen in her 58 years of life.

“I’m glad we were able to let you know, even if it’s a bit late.”

Such a man gave the representative ajumma a relaxed eye smile.

The moment his sharp eyes curved, how her heart melted.

This was the biggest scoop in this apartment complex, no, in this neighborhood.

It was the moment the motor of the representative ajumma’s amplifier clicked on.

* * *

“Hoo…”

Ji Wan took a deep breath as she stood in front of the tightly closed conference room.

15 minutes late for the morning report.

Ji Wan was now seriously regretting that she should have hit a tree or something on the way.

But having come this far, there was nowhere to turn back.

Ji Wan calmed her anxious heart and quietly opened the door, taking advantage of a moment when Director Jang Dae Chul’s voice paused.

Creeeak―

Why is this door so noisy when she should be entering as quietly as possible?

The team members’ gazes fixed on the back door of the conference room.

Needless to say, the sharpest gaze was Director Jang’s.

“Ha, I was just waiting for you to show up.”

Director Jang said with a hollow laugh.

Knowing there was anger in it but pretending not to, Ji Wan answered with a friendly smile.

“I’m sorry, senior. There must have been a fender bender up ahead because the road wasn’t clearing at all…”

“Lee Ji Wan, don’t you live in the same neighborhood as Kim Sang Yeop? Sang Yeop didn’t mention anything like that?”

“Ah… Maybe he took a different route?”

“…Come to my desk later. Bring a written apology.”

Damn it. I should have just cleanly said I was sorry.

Ji Wan bowed her head in apology and took a seat next to Senior Jin Joo Ah.

Senior Jin, who hadn’t been able to acknowledge her while watching the director’s mood, finally scolded Ji Wan in a small voice.

“Are you crazy…? How could you be late when you were on meeting prep duty today…!”

“Sorry. I overslept. Then who prepared for the meeting?”

“Who else? I did it…!”

“Ah, as expected, only you could do it, senior. I love you, senior.”

Director Jang, who had been watching the two whispering with an unpleasant gaze, cleared his throat loudly. Ahem!

The two straightened their backs and fixed their eyes on Director Jang.

Director Jang glanced at the two with an unfriendly expression, then continued the meeting that had been briefly interrupted.

“Because of someone who causes various inconveniences, let’s go over the intro again – Kim Young Jae, who was being investigated for hit-and-run charges, has been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison. His father is trying to keep a low profile to avoid losing his ‘golden badge’, so it seems we can write the article without worrying too much.”

Ji Wan’s eyes sparkled as if she knew it would turn out this way, having been severely reprimanded for publishing an article about Kim Young Jae’s hit-and-run charges.

A congressman’s son getting a prison sentence. Despite all the talk about how corrupt the world is, it seems a shred of justice still remains.

“So, does that mean we can cover the Kim Young Jae story in detail now?”

Ji Wan asked carefully, raising her hand.

Director Jang nodded lightly to Ji Wan.

“Yes, it seems we don’t need to filter that side of things anymore. Related to that, I think we need to talk about this morning’s scoop…”

Director Jang turned the laptop screen in front of him towards the team members.

It was the main news of Hana Daily, the rival newspaper to Seyoung Daily where Ji Wan worked.

Thinking it was time to get back at Hana Daily for scooping them, the reporters collectively averted their gaze from the director and cleared their throats.

Among them was Ji Wan, who unnecessarily opened the water bottle in front of her and moistened her throat.

“It seems the prosecutor in charge of this Kim Young Jae case was attacked just before wrapping it up. He was severely injured in the head and the perpetrator hasn’t been caught yet?”

But her ears couldn’t ignore the somehow familiar article content.

“He was hospitalized at Seoul Central Hospital and his whereabouts became unclear after 2 weeks…”

This story also sounds very familiar.

So as she unconsciously focused all her attention on Director Jang’s voice.

“Prosecutor Joo Tae Sung… let’s find him.”

Her husband’s name came up without warning.

“Pffft! Cough! Cough!”

Even amidst the uneasy atmosphere, Ji Wan, who had been moistening her throat, ended up choking loudly.

It was the moment when everyone’s attention focused on her all at once.