Juwon drove straight to the villa.

As they arrived in front of the villa, he started to feel nauseous, probably from the alcohol hitting him.

But more than that, Ina was worried about Juwon, who had seemed to be in a bad mood for a while.

Ina quietly unbuckled her seatbelt and glanced at Juwon out of the corner of her eye.

Juwon, who was looking straight ahead, had a strangely cold expression on his face.

Ina hesitated, feeling like she should say goodbye to Juwon but somehow unable to open her mouth. Then Juwon called out to her.

“Ina.”

“Oh, yes?”

Ina answered with a start.

“What did you mean by that earlier?”

“Huh? What, what are you talking about?”

As Ina stammered, Juwon stared at her intently and asked.

“When you said, ‘I’ll go with Juwon today.’ What did you mean by that?”

“…Huh?”

Ina blinked, not understanding why he was asking about what she had said to Siwoo at the bar earlier.

“Are you saying you’ll go with me today, and next time you’ll go with Kim Siwoo?”

Ina’s blinking eyes froze for a moment.

Then she stared at Juwon with wide eyes.

She was surprised that Juwon coldly referred to Siwoo, whom he had met for the first time today, as ‘Kim Siwoo’, but her mouth fell open slightly at the nuance that sounded like he was jealous.

As Juwon stared intently with eyes that seemed to demand a quick answer, Ina gulped once.

“Ah. No, that’s not what I meant. I just… I was just saying I would go with you.”

Ina fidgeted with her fingers as she answered.

“From now on too?”

“Huh?”

Juwon put his hands on the steering wheel, leaned his face in, and looked at Ina.

“Does that mean, from now on, if you get drunk, I can take you home?”

“…..”

As Ina hesitated to answer, Juwon let out a short sigh and said,

“It would be best if you didn’t drink to the point of getting drunk in the first place. But I understand there are days you want to drink like that. But…”

Juwon paused, taking his hands off the steering wheel, and said to Ina,

“You should know that no matter how close of a friend, all men in this world are wolves.”

Ina’s throat bobbed at Juwon’s heavy voice.

Lowering her head and moving her lips, Ina asked in a whisper,

“Are you, are you saying you’re like that too?”

At Ina’s question, Juwon stared at her with eyes as black as pitch.

“I guess I’m no exception. Because I’m a man too.”

Ina’s heart started pounding at those words he said while looking into her eyes.

Ina quickly turned her head to look forward, and her heartbeat grew louder and louder.

Worried that Juwon would notice her pounding heart, Ina hurriedly picked up her handbag.

“Well, I’ll head in then.”

“Are you free next Wednesday?”

Just as Ina was about to open the car door, Juwon asked.

“Huh?”

“I think I’ll be busy with work for about a week. But next Wednesday should be good. If you’re free, want to have dinner?”

“Huh? Oh, okay. Let’s do that.”

“Okay. Then hurry in. Make sure to take the hangover medicine before going to bed.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Then… see you Wednesday.”

Juwon smiled and gave her a nod.

Ina also gave an awkward smile and nod before quickly opening the car door and getting out.

After waving to Juwon once more, Ina hurried into the villa.

A moment later, Ina opened the front door, went inside, threw her handbag on the floor, and plopped down on the sofa. Despite her throbbing headache from the hangover, her foolish heart kept pounding.

Ina raised her hands and ran them through her hair.

“Haa…”

Sighing heavily, Ina ruffled her hair wildly before lowering her hands a moment later.

With her hair disheveled like a lion’s mane, Ina became lost in thought.

These unfamiliar feelings she had felt while looking at Juwon these past few days, and Juwon’s inexplicable actions towards her, especially that chilly gaze he had given Siwoo earlier when he came to pick her up drunk…

Recalling Juwon’s gaze, Ina gulped.

Could it really be as Hyunju said, that Juwon…

Unable to even finish the thought, Ina covered her flushed cheeks with both hands.

Touching her heated cheeks, Ina felt like she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily tonight.

* * *

The next morning when she opened her eyes, her head was throbbing, but thanks to the hangover medicine Juwon had given her, it didn’t hurt too badly.

Ina got out of bed, washed up simply, and got ready for work.

Usually she would eat at least a simple breakfast, but this morning she didn’t feel like eating anything.

As Ina poured some water and brought it to her mouth, her cell phone rang.

It was Siwoo.

What’s up with Siwoo calling so early in the morning?

Ina put down the glass of water and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

-Oh. Ina. Did you get home okay yesterday?

“Huh? Yeah. I got home fine.”

-I see. That’s a relief. I was a bit worried since I didn’t hear from you.

“Ah. Sorry. I forgot. My head hurt so I fell asleep as soon as I got home.”

-Yeah? How are you feeling now? Does it still hurt a lot?

“No. I’m okay now. I took the hangover medicine before going to bed yesterday.”

-Really? That’s good then.

Siwoo paused for a moment before speaking again.

-Um, Ina.

“Yeah?”

-Do you happen to have plans on Saturday?

“Saturday? I don’t have plans on Saturday. Why?”

-Ah. Then do you want to go to the movies with me?

“Movies?”

-Yeah. We talked about going to the movies together before, remember?

“Ah… Right, we did.”

-There’s a movie I want to see that just came out. I wanted to go see it with you.

“Oh. Really? What movie is it?”

When Siwoo told her the title, Ina blinked.

It was a romance movie that she had seen a preview for on TV, currently number one at the US box office.

“Oh… It’s a romance movie?”

-What? You don’t like romance movies?

“Huh? No. I don’t dislike them.”

-Okay. Then do you want to go see it together?

With her mind in turmoil, Ina didn’t think she would be able to focus on a movie right now. But since she had already made the promise, she said okay.

“Yeah. Sure.”

-Then how about around 3 o’clock? I’ll book the tickets.

“Yeah. That’s fine.”

-Okay. Then have a good day at work and see you on Saturday. I’ll let you know the exact time after I book the tickets.

“Okay. You have a good day too and see you Saturday.”

After hanging up, Ina brought the glass of water to her mouth.

It felt a little strange to be watching a romance movie with Siwoo, but thinking a movie is just a movie, Ina headed to work.

* * *

Barely finishing work with her exhausted body, Ina headed to Gangnam Station after getting off.

During lunch, Hyunju had called and insisted they meet up after work no matter what.

When Ina said she wanted to go home and sleep because she was tired, Hyunju flatly refused.

At Hyunju’s words asking if she could still talk about being sleepy after seeing the fierce lasers going back and forth between the two men yesterday, Ina let out a deep sigh.

It was true she was tired to death, but after confessing her strange feelings for Juwon to Hyunju yesterday, they hadn’t had a chance to really talk about it before Siwoo came and the conversation ended ambiguously.

Thinking she should talk with Hyunju for now, Ina headed to Gangnam Station after work.

With sunken eyes from the dark circles, Ina went up to Exit 2 to see Hyunju standing in the distance.

Spotting Ina, Hyunju strode over and linked arms with her.

“Let’s have a deep conversation about the two men over some chicken and beer.”

The two entered the chicken place they frequented.

Hyunju placed a simple order and the employee promptly brought over two 500cc mugs of beer.

“Let’s have a refreshing drink first.”

Hyunju raised her mug and spoke.

After a lively cheers, Hyunju cheerfully gulped down the beer and set the mug down with a thud.

Then wiping the beer from the corners of her mouth, she stared at Ina with sparkling eyes.

Seeing Ina’s eyes that had lost their shine from exhaustion, Hyunju spoke first.

“You know, after you left with Juwon yesterday, the atmosphere with Siwoo was no joke. He got all serious by himself and ordered another bottle of soju. Then he started asking me this and that.”

“…What?”

“What else could it be about besides you? How long have you and Juwon known each other, how close are you two… At the end, he even asked if you two are purely friends. I was totally shocked. I didn’t know Kim Siwoo was the type to be so direct like that.”

Hyunju shook her head as if reliving the surprise from yesterday.

And Ina was just as surprised by Hyunju’s words.

“…So what did you say?”

“What could I say? I said I don’t know that well either. Just that you were friends in middle school but lost contact after you moved to Yeosu, and recently met again by chance.”

“…You didn’t mention Park Jeonghun?”

“Am I crazy? Why would I bring up that bastard? If I talk about him, I’d have to explain how Lee Juwon helped you. That could become a handicap for Siwoo, so why would I mention it for no reason? It would only discourage him.”

Ina fiddled with her beer mug, looking troubled.

Her heart that had grown complicated because of Juwon seemed to have doubled in complexity because of Siwoo.

“The way I see it, both men are totally grade A material. Of course, the choice is ultimately up to you. But I hope you give Siwoo a fair chance too. You saw Juwon a lot in a short time because of Park Jeonghun. And you developed feelings in the midst of that. But you weren’t close with Siwoo even in school, and you two have never met alone now either. I think it’s not too late to judge after meeting him once as Kim Siwoo the man. That’s what I think.”

Having said her piece, Hyunju gulped down her beer as if her throat was dry.

Ina fiddled with her mug, lost in thought.

And after a moment, she quietly opened her mouth.

“Actually, I got a call from Siwoo this morning. Asking to see a movie on Saturday.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. Last time when I saw a movie with Juwon, Siwoo had said he likes movies too and suggested we go together next time.”

Hyunju looked at Ina with a surprised face.

“What? Then Kim Siwoo made a move from the very first day we met?”

“What move, he just suggested seeing a movie together.”

“How is that not a move? Then why didn’t he ask me to see a movie?”

When Hyunju asked that, Ina couldn’t come up with an answer and made an awkward expression.

“Anyway, that’s not the important part. So did you agree to see the movie with Siwoo?”

“…Yeah. Since I already promised.”

“Wow. Kim Siwoo doesn’t mess around, huh? Asking you to a movie right after facing Lee Juwon?”

“…..”

“Okay. You haven’t met Siwoo alone, so meet him once. See the movie together and talk a lot. Observe carefully what Kim Siwoo is like as a man, not a friend. Got it?”

As Ina let out a short sigh instead of answering, Hyunju picked up her mug and said,

“Hey. Other people are dying of loneliness, but you have two Benzes pulling up side by side and opening their doors for you. This calls for a standing ovation, so what’s with the sigh? Stop that and raise your glass. Come on.”

At Hyunju’s urging, Ina reluctantly raised her mug.