“… What?”

Ina asked with a startled face.

“I have a feeling that guy will wait until morning, so I think it’s better to go out together.”

“Huh? Oh…”

Juwon’s words made sense, but Ina’s face showed her bewilderment.

It was because she had never planned for Juwon to sleep over at her place.

“Oh… But I, that’s…”

Seeing the perplexed Ina, Juwon, who fully understood her feelings, said quietly,

“I know. You’re surprised because it’s so sudden. But the situation is a bit unusual right now, and I’m worried that if I leave, that guy might harm you.”

“Oh. I know… that you’re worried about me.”

“It wasn’t planned, but you don’t have to think too seriously about it. You used to come to my house to play and sleep over a lot when we were young. This time, think of it as me coming over to your place to sleep. Just think of it like when we were kids.”

At Juwon’s kind words, Ina touched her cheek and replied,

“No, I’m not thinking too deeply about it… It’s just so sudden, that’s all. And well, since we’re friends… you can come over and sleep. And like you said, it’s an unusual situation right now…”

“Yeah. That’s how you should think about it.”

‘And also, if I call a cab again, I’ll have to pay again, so I feel bad.’

Ina muttered to herself and took her hand off her cheek.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa, so don’t worry too much. If that guy is gone when we wake up in the morning, I’ll leave on my own.”

Only then did Ina startle and wave her hands.

“Huh? No. Why sleep on the sofa when there’s a room? There’s a small room, so you can sleep there. And have something to eat in the morning before you go, even if it’s simple. I can’t just send away someone who’s trying to help me like I’m kicking them out.”

Juwon nodded his head and smiled.

“Okay. Then can you give me a toothbrush? I need to wash up a bit.”

“Ah. There are toothbrushes in the cabinet inside the bathroom, so you can take one and use it. And wait just a moment.”

Ina went into the small room and opened the top drawer.

She took out a black men’s long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants and came out to the living room.

“These are clothes Youngmin used to wear, but they’ve been washed clean so you can wear them.”

“Youngmin?”

Juwon asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah. He’s my cousin and sometimes he comes and sleeps over. They’ll probably fit you roughly.”

Juwon silently looked down at the clothes, then took them.

“Okay. Thanks. Then I’ll go wash up first.”

“Okay.”

After Juwon went into the bathroom, Ina went out to the veranda again and looked down.

Junghun’s car was still parked in the same spot.

Ina glared at the car, not knowing what he was thinking, then sighed and turned around.

As she turned and looked at the bathroom, she suddenly felt strange.

Even though they were friends, the fact that she had brought a man home and that man was now washing up in her bathroom felt somehow strange.

As if trying to shake off her thoughts, Ina shook her head and went into her room.

She changed into simple clothes and then went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

As she was rummaging through ingredients, thinking about what to eat for breakfast, she heard the bathroom door opening after a while.

Turning around, she saw Juwon coming out while drying his hair with a towel.

Juwon, who was drying his hair, looked at Ina standing in the kitchen.

Ina also looked at Juwon without a word.

Water droplets fell from Juwon’s wet bangs onto his forehead.

Then it passed over Juwon’s sharp nose bridge and went right into his thick lips.

“…”

As her gaze was drawn downwards, she saw Juwon wearing Youngmin’s clothes.

Since Juwon was much more built and taller than Youngmin, the black t-shirt tightly wrapped around Juwon’s body.

As a result, his fine chest muscles and firm arm muscles were fully exposed.

The sweatpants were also tight on Juwon, revealing the shape of his firm thighs.

Juwon’s body was showing that Ina’s thought that they would roughly fit him was a big miscalculation.

And looking at such Juwon, Ina unconsciously swallowed.

But the swallowing sound that came through the silence was so loud that Ina’s face turned red.

Feeling embarrassed, Ina quickly turned her head and closed the refrigerator door.

“Sh- shall we have toast for breakfast tomorrow?”

It seemed like she was asking herself, but Juwon looked at Ina, who was asking while looking at the refrigerator, with puzzlement and answered, yes.

“Th- then I’ll wash up and go to bed too, so go to the small room over there and sleep. I laid out the bedding, so just sleep.”

“Yeah. Got it.”

“Th- then good night.”

After saying that, Ina rushed past Juwon and went into the bathroom.

Juwon looked at the bathroom door for a moment, then went into the room Ina had pointed to.

A cute patterned comforter was laid out on top of a thick mat.

Lying on the mat looking up at the ceiling, he heard the bathroom door opening after a while.

Then the living room light turned off and the sound of a door closing followed right away.

Juwon tried to fall asleep with his eyes closed in the still darkness, but strangely, he couldn’t fall asleep.

He tossed and turned, trying to close his eyes, but it didn’t seem like he would fall asleep easily.

So he just lay there with his eyes closed, smelling the faint fabric softener scent from the comforter.

And Ina was the same in not being able to fall asleep.

The feeling of lying in the same house as Juwon felt too unfamiliar, and the image of Juwon’s body she had seen earlier kept replaying in her head.

“Ugh, what’s wrong with me. Am I a pervert?”

After scolding herself, Ina closed her eyes and started counting sheep to fall asleep.

But after counting over 200, instead of getting sleepy, she only became more wide awake.

“Ah. I need to fall asleep quickly… I have a lot to take care of tomorrow…”

She pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes, but it didn’t seem like she would fall asleep.

That night, the two had difficulty falling asleep until 2 am.

* * *

When it became 6:30 am, the alarm vibration rang.

Ina tossed and turned, reaching out to her cell phone to turn off the alarm.

Ina, who was half asleep, sat up on the bed and stretched while yawning.

She quietly opened the door and went out to see Juwon pouring water in the kitchen.

“Huh? When did you wake up?”

Ina asked with wide eyes.

“Just now. Want some water?”

When Ina nodded her head, Juwon handed her a glass of water.

“That guy’s car wasn’t downstairs anymore.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“Whether it’s a relief or not, we’ll have to keep an eye out. Then I’ll get going now.”

“Huh? You’re going already?”

“Yeah. I need to stop by home and change clothes too.”

“Then I’ll make you some toast. Just eat that and go.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t usually eat breakfast. I have documents I need to take to the office, so I think I should get going now.”

“Oh. Is that so? But I feel bad, what should I do? You slept over because of me.”

“There’s a lot to feel sorry about. I’ll go first, so take your time getting ready and go to work. If anything happens on your way to work, call me right away. Okay?”

“Oh? Oh. Okay.”

Ina nodded her head and answered.

Juwon, who had put on his jacket, went to the front door and put on his shoes, then looked at Ina.

“That guy won’t come looking for you at the office later, right?”

“Huh? No. He wouldn’t go that far.”

“But you never know, so be careful on your way to work.”

“Yeah. Got it.”

“Okay. Then I’ll get going. See you in the evening.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Juwon.”

Juwon gave a short hand wave and went out, closing the front door.

After looking at the front door Juwon had left through, Ina let out a long sigh and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Fortunately, Junghun was not waiting in front of the company as Juwon had worried.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Ina went into the office and worked as usual.

She filled out documents to be processed in the morning, got approval, and prepared training materials for the retirement pension education happening tomorrow.

“Are you all going for lunch?”

As lunchtime had come before she knew it, Kim Bujang said while getting up from his seat, and the HR team employees also got up from their seats one by one.

Ina also turned off her computer and got on the elevator with Park Gwajang, Eun Jeong, and Sena.

Getting off on the first floor, Ina was walking out the main gate while chatting about this and that, when she suddenly stopped in place.

“Why are you doing that? Ms. Seo Daeri?”

Eun Jeong asked with a puzzled face.

Ina’s expression was stiff, staring ahead with startled eyes.

It was because Park Junghun was walking this way from a distance.

As Ina looked at Junghun with wide eyes, Junghun, who had approached before she knew it, stopped in front of Ina.

He was wearing the same outfit as last night, his eyes were bloodshot red, and the smell of alcohol was wafting from his body.

Park Gwajang frowned and covered her nose at the sudden appearance of a drunk person, and the female employees next to her stepped back in surprise.

Ina’s heart was pounding and her vision went white, but she tried her best to stay calm and took a deep breath.

Then she bit her lip, bowed her head slightly to Park Gwajang, and said,

“Manager Park. I’m sorry, but can you all go ahead without me…”

“Hey!”

But before Ina could finish her words, Junghun shouted loudly.

At that sound, some of the people who had flocked out for lunch turned to look.

At this, Ina squeezed her eyes shut.

Her heart started beating even faster.

Opening her eyes again, Junghun was grinning at Ina.

“Hey! How can you go stuff your face after ruining someone’s life? Can you swallow food down your throat? Huh?”

The female employees opened their mouths in surprise, and Park Gwajang narrowed her eyes and looked at Junghun.

Ina swallowed dryly and bowed her head to Park Gwajang, saying,

“Manager Park. I’m sorry. Can you please go ahead first? I’m in this situation right now.”

But Park Gwajang took a step closer to Junghun, lifted her chin, and asked,

“Hey you. Who are you to do this?”

At Park Gwajang’s words, Junghun scowled as much as he could and looked at Park Gwajang.

“Who are you to ask me that?”

Ina was about to stop Junghun, who retorted in a drunken voice, but Park Gwajang folded her arms and answered,

“Me? I’m Seo Ina’s direct superior, so who are you?”

“Ahh. Direct superior? Then the employees here are all in the same department too? Huh?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Same department. So what?”

Park Gwajang glared at Junghun, responding to his informal speech with the same informal tone.

“But you don’t know me? I’m her boyfriend, you know?”

The three were surprised by Junghun’s behavior as he staggered and pointed at Ina.

At those words, Ina squeezed her eyes shut again.

“Of course you wouldn’t know. This bitch always told me to pick her up behind the company building! That was all to hide her two-timing! You filthy bitch!”

The female employees were appalled at Junghun’s outburst, and Park Gwajang glared at him with wide eyes.

“You all! Seo Ina, this bitch! Do you know how filthy this bitch is? This bitch has been two-timing and playing with me! This filthy bitch!”

At Junghun’s raised voice as he pointed at Ina, people even stopped to watch.

Ina’s heart was pounding like crazy and she felt like she would collapse at any moment, but she came to her senses and grabbed Junghun’s arm.

Then Junghun glared at Ina and yelled,

“What? Let go! You bitch? With those dirty hands that groped that bastard last night, how dare you…”

But before Junghun could finish his frenzied words, Park Gwajang lifted her foot and kicked Junghun’s shin with all her might.