“…….”

With a kiss that felt like having a sweet cotton candy in her mouth, Ina extended her trembling hand and grabbed Juwon’s shoulder.

Then Juwon reached out to Ina’s slender waist and pulled her closer.

After exchanging kisses several times for a while, Juwon finally let go of Ina.

Juwon lovingly caressed Ina’s face, her eyes hazy and unfocused.

Ina felt somehow embarrassed and nervous, unable to look directly into Juwon’s eyes.

“Ina.”

As if knowing Ina’s trembling heart, Juwon called her name in a gentle voice.

At that voice, Ina slowly raised her eyes to look at Juwon.

Juwon interlocked fingers with Ina’s small hand and said,

“From now on, unless there’s something special, I’ll pick you up after work. Except when we have other plans.”

“…Okay.”

“And when you’re with me, you can drink a lot, but when you drink with others, I’d like you to drink just a little.”

“Okay. I understand.”

“I think I’ll be finishing early starting tomorrow, so let’s have dinner together from now on.”

“Okay. But I have plans on Thursday.”

“Really? Meeting a friend?”

“Well, um… I’m supposed to meet Hyunju and Siwoo.”

Juwon’s movement of playing with Ina’s interlocked fingers stopped.

At this, Ina swallowed dryly with a tense expression.

“We agreed to have a meal together, the three of us.”

Juwon started playing with Ina’s fingers again and said,

“Go ahead. Have the meal.”

Ina looked at Juwon with surprised eyes at the unexpected words from his mouth.

“It’s a promise you’ve already made, you can’t break it.”

At Juwon’s benevolent response, Ina became a bit confused.

Was it my imagination when I felt Juwon looking at Siwoo with a cold gaze then?

“But, I’d prefer if there weren’t any more separate meetings like this in the future.”

Juwon said in a firm yet cold tone.

“I remember clearly how Kim Siwoo looked at you that day, and I can’t let you meet a man like that again. I don’t have that kind of generosity.”

Although Ina was a bit surprised by Juwon’s cold tone, she soon nodded in understanding.

“Yes. I know what you mean. I understand completely. So… I’m meeting tomorrow to tell Siwoo about this too.”

Juwon’s cold expression softened, and soon the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

“That Seo Ina has now become Lee Juwon’s ‘darling’?”

At Juwon’s playful words, Ina blinked her eyes repeatedly.

“Y-yes. Well. I’m going to tell them that I’ve now become Lee Juwon’s d-darling…”

Ina’s face turned as red as a runaway locomotive in embarrassment.

Seeing Ina’s face that looked like smoke might come out of her ears, Juwon burst into laughter.

“Heh, okay. I got it. Make sure to say that on Thursday. That you’re now Lee Juwon’s darling.”

As Juwon spoke with a smile, Ina’s nostrils began to flare.

Thinking that he shouldn’t tease her any further, Juwon touched Ina’s cheek and said,

“You must be tired, so go in now. Sleep well.”

“Okay. You get home safely too.”

After getting out of the car, Ina waved to Juwon.

When Juwon gestured for her to go in first, Ina nodded and turned to enter the villa.

After confirming that Ina had gone in, Juwon slowly drove off.

Ina, who had opened the front door and entered, stood in front of the door with blank eyes, lost in thought.

Even though she had been with Juwon until just now, she couldn’t believe the current situation.

With a dazed expression, Ina touched her lips, and the kiss she had just shared with Juwon came to mind.

To think that I kissed Lee Juwon…

And not just once, but se-several times…

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Ina’s face burst into flames.

“Uh, uwaaaaah!”

Ina screamed, threw her handbag, and ran dadadada into the bedroom.

Without turning on the lights, Ina jumped onto the bed, flipped the blanket over her head, and lay face down.

In the pitch darkness, as she recalled the kiss she had shared with Juwon, her body trembled.

“Uh, uwaaaaah!”

Ina screamed once again and roared under the blanket.

In the midst of her roaring, Juhee’s face flashed in her mind and disappeared.

“If, if Juhee finds out that I kissed Lee Juwon, what will she say?”

Even though Juhee wasn’t right in front of her, Ina blushed and roared once again.

After howling like a beast for a while, Ina finally calmed down and exhaled.

“Aish! It’s not like it’s my first kiss, why am I acting like this! Huh?”

Then Ina’s other self answered.

“Who’s the other person? It’s Lee Juwon! You kissed the great Lee Juwon, wouldn’t it be weird if your heart was calm?”

Feeling like she might end up having an all-night debate, Ina suddenly threw off the blanket and got up.

Ina’s face, which had been panting, was now bright red as if burned.

“Let’s wash up! Wash! Pull yourself together and go to sleep quickly!”

Ina shouted intentionally loudly as she strode to the bathroom.

* * *

Thursday morning, when the 7 o’clock alarm went off, Ina reached out to turn it off and opened her eyes.

After stretching once, Ina got out of bed and went to the kitchen to open the refrigerator.

She poured a bottle of sikhye into a large mug and gulped it down.

“Ah. That’s refreshing.”

After wiping her mouth, Ina headed to the bathroom.

She washed up briefly and came out to dry her hair when she got a message from Juwon.

−Did you sleep well? Have a good day at work and call me when you’re about to finish.

Just seeing the message made her heart flutter.

−Yes. You have a good day at work too and I’ll contact you later.

After sending the reply, while doing simple makeup, she got a message from Hyunju as well.

−Come as soon as you finish this evening. I’ll go there first.

−Okay. Got it.

On Sunday, after agreeing to date Juwon, Ina first called Hyunju to let her know this fact.

Over the phone, Hyunju made all sorts of strange noises and jumped up and down.

Then belatedly, she made a pitiful sound saying how sad it was for our Siwoo.

Hearing Hyunju’s voice going from ecstatic to heartbroken in a matter of minutes, Ina also sighed. Ina too felt nothing but sorry when she thought of Siwoo.

She felt even more sorry for coming to a conclusion without even giving the fair chance Hyunju had mentioned.

−Hey. Well, it can’t be helped. They say love is all about timing, and what can we do if Siwoo’s timing was late? Anyway, you’ve made your choice, so from now on, you just need to be lovey-dovey with Mr. Lee Piece. Understood?

After ending the call with Hyunju like that and lying in bed, it was a night where she couldn’t easily fall asleep.

After work, Ina moved to the meeting place.

Following Hyunju’s suggestion to go to a newly opened craft beer pub, they agreed to meet there today.

As she was almost at the beer pub, she saw Hyunju walking a bit ahead.

“Hyunju.”

When Ina called, Hyunju turned around.

“Oh! Seo Ina!”

Hyunju quickly walked over to Ina with quick steps.

“Our Seo Ina! How does it feel to be dating the sculpture?”

Hyunju put her phone to Ina’s mouth like a microphone.

“Oh, why are you doing this?”

As Ina pushed the phone away, Hyunju put it back again.

“Why? The living sculpture has now become Seo Ina’s property, you should give us a word about how you feel!”

Seeing that Hyunju wouldn’t remove the phone until she said something, Ina reluctantly opened her mouth.

“I’m so happy I want to go to Gwanghwamun Square and do the hula dance. Happy now?”

“Oh? Right? Even I would want to go to Gwanghwamun Square and dance! Hahaha!”

While Hyunju was laughing cheerfully, Ina’s phone rang. It was Siwoo.

“Hello?”

−Hey, it’s me. I think I’ll be about 20 minutes late, I’m sorry, what should I do?

“Oh? No, it’s okay. Take your time. We’ll go in first.”

−Okay. Then go in first. I’ll be there soon.

“Okay. Got it.”

“What did he say?”

When Ina hung up, Hyunju asked.

“He said he’ll be about 20 minutes late.”

“Really? Then let’s go in and have a drink first.”

“Okay. Sure.”

The two went into the beer pub and sat at a table inside.

After scanning the menu, they ordered a Margherita pizza, french fries, and two glasses of craft beer.

As different flavored craft beers were placed on the table, they each took a sip.

“Mm, they’re both delicious. Right?”

“Yeah. They are.”

After finishing one glass cleanly, Hyunju casually asked Ina,

“You’re going to tell Siwoo today, right?”

“Yeah. I have to…”

“Right. Once you’ve made up your mind, it’s better for Siwoo to tell him quickly too.”

Ina sighed briefly while touching her beer glass.

“There’s nothing to it. You can’t help how people feel, right? Well, Siwoo might have a hard time for a while, but he’ll get over it soon.”

Patting Ina’s shoulder, Hyunju rang the bell.

They ordered two more glasses of different beers and while waiting, the pizza and french fries arrived.

“Ooh. Look at that visual?”

Hyunju licked her lips and put a slice of pizza each on Ina’s and her own plates.

Just as she was about to bring the pizza to her mouth, the door of the pub opened and Siwoo came in.

“Siwoo. Here. Over here.”

Hyunju waved her hand and welcomed him.

“Oh. Sorry I’m late.”

Siwoo said as he hurriedly came to sit down.

“No need to be sorry. You came just at the right time. Quickly order a beer for yourself too.”

“Okay. Sure.”

As Siwoo opened the menu and hesitated among more than ten types of beer, Hyunju recommended one.

“We drank this earlier and it was delicious.”

“Really? Then I’ll try this one first. Well.”

“But what about your car?”

“I left it behind since I knew we’d be drinking.”

“You did well. Good job.”

At Hyunju’s praise, Siwoo smiled and naturally glanced towards Ina.

Instead of saying ‘hello’, he greeted Ina with an affectionate gaze.

At that gaze, a feeling of guilt suddenly rose up and Ina smiled awkwardly.

Watching the two, Hyunju inwardly clicked her tongue and picked up her beer glass.

‘Poor Siwoo. Such a handsome guy, and to be rejected right after confessing… Drink. Drink. There’s nothing else to do today but drink to your heart’s content!’

Whether knowing Hyunju’s thoughts or not, Siwoo kept smiling and looking at Ina, and each time, Ina’s heart fluttered and she quickly brought her beer glass to her mouth.

While drinking beer and chatting about various things, Ina couldn’t concentrate 100% on the conversation.

It was because the guilt towards Siwoo kept weighing heavily on her heart.

“Ina. What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Siwoo looked at Ina, whose expression hadn’t been good for a while, and asked worriedly.

“Huh?”

Startled, Ina looked at Siwoo with round eyes.

“Your expression hasn’t been good for a while. Did something bad happen?”

“Oh? Ah, no. Nothing like that.”

Ina answered waving her hand, but Siwoo stared at Ina with eyes full of worry.

Looking at Siwoo like that, Hyunju’s eyes filled with sympathy.

‘Tsk tsk, our poor Siwoo… The one with something bad happening is you. You.’

Hyunju shook her head and picked up her beer glass.