Even though it was the weekend, I drove for about an hour along the uncongested Seoul outer beltway.

The destination the navigation guided me to was none other than a sundae gukbap restaurant located in an old neighborhood.

The tables and utensils showing clear traces of time revealed how long this place had been preserving its spot.

“Is this the date location?”

Tae Sung asked Ji Wan slowly as he looked around the unfamiliar space.

Ji Wan replied with an expectant expression while skillfully setting up the utensils.

“Yes, the sundae gukbap here is really delicious. I couldn’t come due to lack of time, but I finally made it today.”

“It doesn’t seem to be a famous place though.”

“Let’s say it’s a hidden gem only known to locals. I used to live in this neighborhood when I was young and it was our regular spot. I wonder if it suits the taste of Joo Tae Sung who likes horseback riding and pottery?”

Tae Sung smiled with playful eyes at Ji Wan’s teasing question and said:

“My wife’s taste is my taste.”

“Come on, we’re not that kind of relationship.”

As always, Ji Wan poured cold water on his banter.

Although she knew he wouldn’t pretend to understand anyway, it was something she had to do every time to avoid being swayed by his subtle flirting.

Tae Sung would usually just laugh it off at times like this.

“I know.”

But this time, a different answer flowed out.

“Huh? You just said you know……”

Puzzled by the unexpected response, Ji Wan stopped scooping kimchi and turned her gaze to Tae Sung.

Just then.

“Oh my! Who do we have here! Isn’t it Ji Wan!”

The elderly owner of the sundae gukbap restaurant greeted Ji Wan warmly.

Ji Wan quickly turned away from Tae Sung and happily greeted the owner.

“Grandmother! Have you been well?”

“Of course I’ve been well! But what brings you all the way here? How about your father?”

“Father was too busy to come, so I came alone because I missed your sundae gukbap! I wanted to check if it still tastes the same!”

“Of course it does! Everyone’s raving about how it’s even more delicious than before!”

The owner’s gaze, who was excitedly exchanging greetings with Ji Wan, shifted to Tae Sung.

After examining the well-dressed Tae Sung up and down, she whispered to Ji Wan in a voice loud enough for her to hear.

“But…… who’s this young man who came with you?”

Tae Sung raised the corner of his mouth into a grin towards the owner.

Knowing what that smile meant, Ji Wan hurriedly answered before his lips could part.

“He’s, he’s just a coworker!”

“A coworker?”

“Yes, I invited him to have a meal together since he said he was in the area.”

“Is that so? I thought……”

The owner, who fell for Ji Wan’s natural lie, showed a disappointed expression.

Dad was like that, and now the owner too.

I don’t understand why all the elders seem to like Tae Sung so much.

Worried that Tae Sung might say something unnecessary, Ji Wan quickly picked up the menu.

“Grandmother, I’ll have sundae gukbap and……”

“Sundae gukbap, dwaeji gukbap, and blood sausage, right?”

The owner recited the menu that Ji Wan would order every time she came with her father.

It seemed she still remembered it even after quite some time had passed.

Ji Wan, who wanted exactly that menu, glanced at Tae Sung discreetly.

She was checking if he might want to order something else, but Tae Sung nodded too easily.

“Order whatever you want.”

Having received his permission, Ji Wan returned the menu with a noticeably excited expression and said:

“Then please give us that! And lots of chives please!”

“I know, I know. Any drinks?”

“Hmm, one bottle of soju and one bottle of beer!”

“Like father, like daughter! You drink exactly the same as your father! Alright, please wait a moment.”

As the owner who took the order headed to the kitchen, Tae Sung asked while wiping his hands with a wet towel.

“Are you good at drinking?”

“Not really. Just average.”

“Then why are you mixing drinks?”

“I’m just pretending. Like my dad did 10 years ago. I couldn’t drink with him then because I was a high school student, but he said he felt like he owned the world whenever he had soju mixed with beer with this restaurant’s sundae gukbap.”

A happy smile spread across Ji Wan’s face as she said this.

It seemed that family was something that made her happy just by imagining it.

Tae Sung stared at her smiling lips for a moment, then picked up a beer glass with a light smile.

“Then I’ll drink with you.”

“But you drove here.”

“I can call a designated driver.”

“The designated driver fee from this neighborhood to Seoul would be quite expensive……”

“You’re the first person to worry about such things for me.”

Tae Sung brushed off Ji Wan’s concern with a light joke and handed her a beer glass as well.

In fact, the problem was not his wallet situation, but the fact of drinking with him itself, but she refrained from showing it, afraid it might look like she was being too conscious.

“Then…… let’s just taste a little bit. I don’t plan on drinking too much anyway.”

Ji Wan answered, pretending to be nonchalant, and took the beer glass.

The smile in Tae Sung’s eyes grew a bit more blatant.

For some reason, it made Ji Wan’s heart uneasy, but not wanting to get caught up with him, she decided to ignore it as much as possible.

Little did she know what kind of trouble that would bring three hours later…….

* * *

Hot sundae gukbap and spicy dwaeji gukbap seasoned with yangnyeom sauce.

And blood sausage still steaming.

With the best side dishes in front of her, Ji Wan felt like the alcohol was going down especially smoothly today.

She wondered why the soju, which she didn’t even like for its bitterness, tasted so sweet.

Before she knew it, while sipping alone, one bottle of soju and two bottles of beer were gone.

“Oh, the soju is already finished. Well, they say one bottle has eight and a half glasses, so did we each drink four glasses?”

Ji Wan, who wasn’t feeling tipsy yet, smacked her lips with a regretful expression.

Tae Sung neatly downed the unfinished glass and casually asked.

“Do you need more?”

Ji Wan waved both hands at those words.

“No. They say it’s best to stop when you still want more.”

“You don’t look like you want to stop.”

“You don’t want to get wasted after coming all the way here either, right? This is just right.”

Ji Wan downed her last glass.

The smoothly going down alcohol aroma further inflated Ji Wan’s chest, already excited from the trip down memory lane.

Maybe that’s why.

A personal story that she rarely shared flowed from Ji Wan’s mouth as she put down her glass.

“My dad’s insurance company where he worked was right near here. He worked for 18 years but never became the insurance king even once.”

“He worked for a long time.”

“For a very long time. It’s a neighborhood that takes 3 transfers from our house, but he never missed a day of work.”

Ji Wan’s eyes were fixed somewhere in the air as she spoke.

She seemed to be vividly recalling someone who wasn’t here right now.

Tae Sung quietly listened so as not to disturb her memories.

“He even went to work on weekends and holidays. I guess that’s how it is for salespeople. He must have felt at ease only by working without any days off.”

“…….”

“He was hardly ever home, so we had to come all the way to the neighborhood where he worked just to see his face. Every time, he would bring me to this sundae gukbap restaurant.”

“…….”

“Now that I think about it, it might have been a courtesy visit because the grandmother here bought a lot of insurance from my dad…… Still, this set meal here was the joy for my dad and me.”

Although she was recalling happy memories, there was a bitterness in Ji Wan’s eyes.

Unable to ignore that emotion, Tae Sung asked in a low voice.

“Do you regret those times?”

He was indeed a perceptive person, immediately pinpointing the hidden truth.

Thinking she couldn’t fool him, Ji Wan took a deep breath, then exhaled with a sigh and answered.

“Of course I regret it. I regret it a lot……”

“…….”

“My dad would do anything I asked for. I should have asked him to take it easy and work less instead of asking for useless things.”

Ji Wan reached out and picked up the beer glass.

But as soon as she brought it to her lips, she realized she had already finished the last sip earlier.

“Ah, right. I already drank it all……”

A look of disappointment settled on Ji Wan’s face as she put the glass back down.

Watching her, Tae Sung lifted the bottle in his left hand.

“Can we get one more bottle here please?”

“I said I’m done drinking, didn’t I? We need to go home too, really……”

“I ordered it for myself to drink. Just watch if you don’t want any.”

Tae Sung smiled as he took the soju that had just arrived.

Ji Wan’s eyes, which had been anxiously watching him, settled on the clear liquor freshly filling his glass.

Gulp―

The sound of Ji Wan swallowing her dry saliva caught Tae Sung’s attention.

He gently grasped the glass she was staring at intently and brought it smoothly to his raised lips.

Then, very slowly, as the cold liquor visibly went down his throat…

“Oh, whatever. Fine! Just one more bottle! Let’s drink just one more bottle!”

As expected, Ji Wan quickly gave in and snatched the bottle to fill her own glass.

She was clearly someone ready to go all out, grabbing the glass faster than anyone and downing it in one go.

By then, Tae Sung had put down his glass and concealed a smirk while pretending to wipe his mouth.

Indeed, an easy woman to handle.

A woman who moves exactly as predicted.

He usually doesn’t find interest in predictable types, but he doesn’t know why it’s so enjoyable right now.

Looking at this, it’s clear that even if it’s a bad habit, a habit is still a habit.

* * *

“Here! One more glass! And since we’re out of side dishes, one more sundae gukbap too!”

Ji Wan’s bright voice filled the restaurant.

The soju bottle that was supposed to be just one more had now reached five bottles between the two of them.

Although Tae Sung drank more once Ji Wan started showing signs of intoxication, it was clear to anyone that Ji Wan was the one who had become disheveled.

“I think you shouldn’t drink anymore.”

Tae Sung, who had been letting her have her way, suggested gently.

Ji Wan looked at him with eyes that seemed to ask why he would say such a disappointing thing.

“Why? Why shouldn’t I drink more?”

“You look just right now.”

“That’s why I should drink more. What if you fall for me because I look good right now?”

The fact that Ji Wan, who usually tries hard to act cool, was saying such things without batting an eye meant she had already lost more than half of her senses.

Tae Sung looked at her with an intrigued gaze while quietly emptying his glass.

“By the way, I have a question.”

Ji Wan said as she opened the cap of the newly arrived soju.

Tae Sung nodded as if to say ask anything.

“What did you mean earlier when you said you knew?”

“About what?”

“When I said we’re not in any kind of relationship, you said you knew, right?”

“Why? Did it make you feel bad when I actually agreed?”

“No! It’s not that! I was just surprised because it was the first time you acknowledged it……”

Although he didn’t think it was a particularly difficult question to answer, Tae Sung didn’t say anything.

He just filled her empty glass with an inscrutable expression.

“Tell me quickly. Don’t keep me in suspense if there’s no great reason.”

Ji Wan asked once more in a clear voice.

Just then, she made deep eye contact with Tae Sung, who had filled her glass about halfway.

The suggestion he let slip afterwards sounded very meaningful, even if she tried not to misinterpret it.

“Shall we play a truth game?”

“A truth game……?”

“If you can’t answer, you lose.”

“What happens if I lose?”

“The winner gets to decide that.”

There it was. Mr. Mysterious Joo Tae Sung’s dangerous eye smile.

Ji Wan knew from experience that she shouldn’t get caught up in this, but…….

“Hmm…… Okay! I haven’t played something like that in a long time!”

High on alcohol, she didn’t have the presence of mind to put up barricades.

That’s why they say alcohol is the enemy.