Juwon quietly drank another glass of soju, and Ina returned from the restroom and sat down.

Ina tried to pour more soju into Juwon’s glass but realized the bottle was empty.

“We’re out of soju. Should we order another bottle?”

At Ina’s words, Juwon looked at her face.

Juwon’s complexion remained the same, but Ina’s face had turned red.

“Are you okay? Your face is very red.”

“Oh, this always happens when I drink. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Let’s just order one more bottle for now.”

Ina pressed the bell and ordered another bottle of soju.

“How much can you handle?”

Juwon asked as he poured a cup of cold water and handed it to Ina.

“Hmm, about one to two bottles? What about you?”

“Well, I’ve never been drunk before, so I’m not sure.”

“Wow, you’ve never been drunk? You must have a really high alcohol tolerance then.”

“It’s not that high. I’m not that much of a drinker.”

Juwon chuckled, and the server brought the soju.

As Juwon poured alcohol into Ina’s glass, he asked, “So what do you do for work?”

“Me? I work in HR. What about you?”

“I work at a trading company. I handle both exports and imports.”

“Wow, you were good at Japanese, so you went into trading, huh?”

“Not exactly… It’s actually my father’s company.”

“Your father?”

Ina’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. He struggled for a few years after the divorce but eventually started a company again. Thankfully, the company did well, growing in size with lots of work. Around that time, I graduated college, and my father kept urging me, so I joined.”

“Wow, I see. Your father is really amazing.”

Instead of responding, Juwon gave a faint smile.

“Oh, I usually get off work at 6 unless I’m busy, so if I head over to your company after work, the timing should roughly match. Send me your company’s location later when you go home.”

“Okay, thanks. Since I’m grateful, I’ll treat you to dinner for a week.”

“Dinner? No, it’s fine.”

“No, I insist. We have to eat dinner anyway, and it tastes better when eating together.”

At Ina’s words, Juwon laughed.

“You still love eating, I see.”

“Of course. Eating delicious food is my favorite thing in the world.”

Juwon replied with a smile, “Alright then, let’s eat something tasty on Monday.”

The two continued chatting about this and that, finishing another bottle of soju. At 11 pm, they got up to leave.

Ina reached for the bill, but Juwon swiftly took it.

“Wait, why? I said I would pay.”

“No, let me get it. You can pay next time.”

Juwon walked to the counter to pay, and Ina followed with an abashed expression.

“I should be paying… Then I’ll treat you to something really delicious on Monday.”

Instead of responding, Juwon just smiled.

“You’re taking a taxi, right?”

“Yeah, I should.”

They slowly walked towards the taxi stand.

As midnight approached, the taxi stand was crowded with people waiting.

Since it was Friday night, quite a few were heavily intoxicated.

As Juwon and Ina stood side by side waiting for an empty taxi, a drunk man next to Ina stumbled and leaned on her.

“Mommy…”

Startled, Ina let out a small scream. Juwon wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively and pulled her to his side.

He spoke to the intoxicated man in a low voice, “Please be careful.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Fortunately, the drunk bowed his head in apology and staggered back.

But even after he retreated, Juwon’s hand remained on Ina’s shoulder, making her feel strange.

Ina bit her lip and glanced up at Juwon, who looked down at her in return.

For a moment, their eyes locked.

As Ina gazed into Juwon’s dark eyes, her heart suddenly pounded.

Startled, she quickly averted her gaze, and Juwon slowly removed his hand from her shoulder.

‘What was that? Why is my heart suddenly pounding?’

Ina was perplexed.

Feeling awkward, she stared straight ahead until a taxi arrived and stopped.

“Let’s get in.”

Juwon opened the back door and let Ina enter first before getting in beside her.

“Oh, you’re riding together with me?”

“We’re going the same direction. I’ll drop you off on the way.”

“But won’t you be tired? It’s almost midnight.”

“It’s the weekend tomorrow. Don’t worry about it.”

“Still… I feel a bit bad…”

“It’s a short distance, so there’s nothing to feel bad about.”

After telling the driver the address, the taxi took off.

To calm her pounding heart from earlier, Ina turned her head to look out the window.

On the dark night roads, countless cars sparkled with lights as they hurried somewhere.

Soon, the taxi crossed a bridge over the Han River, and Ina gazed down at the gently rippling water in the pitch-black darkness.

Looking at the river seemed to finally calm her racing heart.

Ina let out a deep sigh and took a deep breath.

So much had happened today.

She was already tired from work, and then after meeting Jeonghun, he asked vulgar questions in front of his friends and even twisted her wrist.

If Juwon hadn’t shown up, Jeonghun would have kept dragging her along while spouting obscenities.

But most surprising of all was suddenly running into Juwon after 13 years.

When Ina got accepted to a university in Seoul at age 20, she moved there alone.

As soon as she arrived, she went to check the house where Juhee used to live, but someone else was already living there.

She asked around her middle school classmates, but none of them had Juhee’s new contact information.

Despite searching everywhere, Ina couldn’t find Juhee, and 13 years passed with only memories.

During those 13 years, Ina thought of Juhee and missed her so much.

Whenever Juhee appeared in her dreams as her 15-year-old self, Ina felt overjoyed.

Naturally, thinking of Juhee made Ina wonder about Juwon too.

Was Juwon doing well? Was he still handsome? Did he still have that cold personality?

Ina kept all those questions stacked in a corner of her heart as she lived on.

But today, Juwon suddenly appeared before her.

And in the worst possible situation too.

Remembering the precarious situation from a few hours ago, Ina let out a deep sigh without realizing it.

“What’s wrong?”

Juwon asked, looking at Ina after hearing her sigh.

“Huh?”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

When Juwon asked with a worried expression, Ina shook her head.

“No, it’s not that… I was just… thinking about this and that…”

Juwon quietly observed Ina as she spoke.

“Don’t overthink it. Everything will be forgotten with time.”

Juwon said that, probably thinking Ina was troubled by what happened today.

Instead of responding, Ina stared intently into Juwon’s dark eyes.

Looking into those deep, captivating eyes, Ina suddenly remembered the day she first met those eyes.

It was 13 years ago, on a day in early April.

As soon as Juwon opened the front door and entered, someone ran up to him and stopped in front.

“Wow~”

A girl Ina had never seen before clasped her hands together as if in prayer and looked up at Juwon in awe.

The short-haired, petite girl’s brown eyes sparkled as she spoke to Juwon in a rapturous voice.

“You must be Juwon!”

Frowning, Juwon scanned the intruder blocking his path.

She was wearing the same school uniform as Juhee, and her name tag read “Seo Ina.”

Having finished his assessment, Juwon looked down at Ina and asked, “Do you know me? Why the informal speech on our first meeting?”

“Huh?”

The handsome Juwon, who Ina had been gazing at adoringly, uttered something completely unexpected, leaving her flustered.

As Ina stammered, unable to reply, the sound of something flying through the air could suddenly be heard.

Just as the object whizzed past Ina’s head towards Juwon’s face, he swiftly reached out and caught it.

It was a soboro bread.

“What kind of way is that to talk to your sister’s friend?”

Startled, Ina turned around to see Juhee glaring at Juwon, a cream bun in one hand.

“Since when are you my sister?”

At Juwon’s indifferent remark, the cream bun flew next, and Ina jumped to block it but got hit square in the face.

The bun made a crinkling sound as it smacked Ina’s left cheek and fell to the floor.

“Oh my!”

The surprised Juhee ran over to Ina, who rubbed her bun-struck cheek and picked up the cream bun.

“Are you okay?”

When Juhee asked apologetically, Ina nodded and grinned.

Juwon glanced at the two, took off his shoes, and headed to the living room.

“What is this, a comedy duo?”

After his comment, Juhee quickly grabbed another bun to throw, but Ina stopped her in alarm.

“Juhee, don’t do that.”

“Ugh, that little punk.”

Seeing Juhee shake her fist at the back of Juwon’s head, Ina looked surprised.

It was a side of Juhee she had never witnessed at school.

As if sensing Ina’s thoughts, Juhee smiled awkwardly and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Shocked to see me like this for the first time?”

When Ina nodded, Juhee picked up the fallen cream bun.

“As you can see, my brother is a real piece of work… So whenever I come home, my hidden self emerges without me realizing it.”

Reverting to her usual self, Juhee spoke in a gentle voice with a smile.

“But… your brother is seriously handsome. You’re super pretty too, but your brother is no joke either. He’s like an idol…”

At Ina’s awestruck words, Juhee suddenly turned serious.

“An idol? Him becoming an idol? What nonsense is this?”

Hearing Juhee spit out those words with a sincere face, Ina’s eyes widened.

“He may be good-looking, but do you know how prickly and cold his personality is? Do you know how coldly he treats girls who confess to him just because they like his face? Some even got hurt and cried! What’s so great about him? And even though I was clearly born 5 minutes earlier, making me his older sister, he’s never once called me ‘noona.’ So how could I possibly adore that punk?”

Faced with the sudden reappearance of Juhee’s hidden self, Ina stammered, trying to find something to say. Just then, Juwon appeared.

“You and your 5-minute older sister spiel.”

Giving Juhee a look of disdain, Juwon headed for the stairs to the second floor.

“Hey!”

The moment Juhee shouted and threw the bun, Juwon swiftly turned around and caught it.

“Wow! Nice shot!”

Ina clapped and exclaimed without thinking, causing both Juwon and Juhee to look at her.

After a brief silence, Ina smiled awkwardly.

“Hahaha, you have really good reflexes.”

Giving a thumbs up and beaming at Ina, Juwon muttered under his breath.

“Where did she find a friend just like herself?”

At his words, Juhee quickly grabbed another cream bun to throw, but it hit the stairs and fell immediately.

That was Ina’s first encounter with Juwon.