Ha Yeon frowned, feeling the urge to tell him everything no matter what questions he asked.

Now that I think about it, he’d make a perfect interrogator. With that appearance and those eyes, there’s no reason he couldn’t get the answers he wants.

Would you like to change jobs? Since she couldn’t ask that, Ha Yeon gave the most likely response in that situation.

“What are you curious about?”

“How many questions do I get?”

Like father, like son, his words were exactly the same, like a parrot.

“There are no exceptions for the director either. Three.”

So Ha Yeon gave him the same answer she had given Ji Hoo.

“Hmm… That seems a bit unfair.”

Min Je mumbled, slowly stroking his chin as if choosing what to ask in his mind. What on earth could he be trying to ask that was so great?

“What’s your favorite food?”

But his question was surprisingly ordinary. Ha Yeon smiled, relaxing her body that had tensed up from nervousness.

“I like everything without discrimination. Except for one thing, beans… I don’t like those.”

Ji Hoo, who had been pretending to sleep until now, suddenly opened his eyes and chimed in.

“Then you told me to eat beans even though you don’t eat them yourself?”

Ji Hoo’s expression was utterly serious, as if confronting a grave issue.

“Well, it’s not that I don’t eat them, I just don’t like them.”

When Ha Yeon deftly avoided saying what he wanted to hear, Ji Hoo pouted. What a shame, it was a golden opportunity to avoid eating beans.

“You need to eat a balanced diet to grow well.”

Min Je chuckled and ruffled Ji Hoo’s hair. Realizing his grand hope had been completely dashed, Ji Hoo let out a short sigh with a resigned expression and lay back down properly.

As Ha Yeon turned the page to continue reading, Min Je immediately asked his second question.

“What’s your favorite place?”

Her eyelashes fluttered involuntarily. Is this man’s goal to investigate my personal information? I don’t understand why he’s only choosing such private questions.

‘This makes it seem like he wants to know about me.’

Ha Yeon tried not to show any expression on her face, which was feeling inexplicably warm, as she answered.

“Art museums.”

“Oh? Me too!”

Ji Hoo opened his eyes again, sparkling as he spoke.

This kid, he has no intention of sleeping. Ha Yeon looked at Ji Hoo with an affectionate gaze, finding the child somehow adorable.

Then Min Je asked his third and final question.

“Want to go to an art museum this weekend?”

This seemed more like a date invitation than a question. Ha Yeon felt her heart drop to her feet and couldn’t answer right away.

Observing her face, Min Je hastily added:

“I mean, all of us together.”

“Where? The Liam Art Museum?”

Ji Hoo blurted out, unable to contain himself. Min Je gently stroked the child’s head and answered kindly.

“Yes, let’s stay overnight at the annex building in the museum.”

“Wow, how exciting!”

The child’s eyes lit up brightly. The drowsiness that had been clinging to the corners of his eyes just moments ago seemed to have vanished in an instant.

He didn’t come to put the kid to sleep, but to wake him up. Ha Yeon sighed deeply and answered.

“Yes, that sounds good. If Ji Hoo is coming too…”

She tried hard to conceal her fluttering heart. Convincing herself that it would be wrong to refuse when Ji Hoo was so excited.

“Great, excellent choice. Well, that’s three questions done.”

Min Je straightened up, having leaned forward waiting for her answer, and smiled broadly. His expression was very satisfied, like someone who had gotten what they wanted.

Seeing his smile head-on, Ha Yeon raised an eyebrow at the man who was doing things harmful to her heart without any awareness.

“I haven’t asked my questions yet, so I still have three left!”

Ji Hoo, whose sleepiness had completely disappeared and whose eyes were now bright and alert, cheerfully exclaimed. After that, Ha Yeon had to answer what seemed like ten questions from Ji Hoo, though it was supposed to be just three.

Time passed and the weekend they planned to go to the art museum arrived. Once again, Jun Won came to pick up Ha Yeon and Ji Hoo.

On the drive there, Ha Yeon suddenly became curious. Since Min Je usually drove himself, Jun Won was practically Ji Hoo’s personal chauffeur. But Ji Hoo rarely used the car.

So what did he do normally? Unable to contain her curiosity, Ha Yeon asked Jun Won.

“If it’s not rude to ask, what do you usually do when you’re not driving us?”

Jun Won laughed heartily and replied.

“Haha, so that’s what you were curious about. I still drive even during normal times. When Ji Hoo doesn’t have any engagements, I mainly transport artworks that the director has purchased. Depending on the value or number of pieces, sometimes several people move them, but most of the time I work alone. It’s possible because I’m a martial arts expert. Hahahaha.”

Huh? A martial arts expert? You need to be a martial arts expert to transport artworks? Ha Yeon’s eyes wavered momentarily.

“That’s right. Uncle’s leg can go all the way up to the sky.”

Ji Hoo chimed in, nodding his head. Ha Yeon’s eyes wavered even more than before.

Ji Hoo, what exactly did you see? She wanted to probe further into Jun Won’s work, but the words wouldn’t come out. Somehow, it felt like there was a dangerous aura that she shouldn’t know any more about.

“Ah, I see. You do really amazing work.”

“Oh, it’s not that amazing, haha.”

Jun Won laughed shyly at Ha Yeon’s words.

She had thought he had a unique vibe because he always tied up his long hair tightly, but after hearing his words, she had the illusion of seeing a character from a Hong Kong noir film.

Ah, I shouldn’t have asked. Ha Yeon turned her gaze to the window, feeling a bit regretful.

The weather had become hot enough to remind one of summer. The roadside trees and surrounding scenery passing by her eyes were all a deep green. The sky seemed especially high and blue today.

Looking at the scenery outside the window, Ha Yeon recalled her visit to the Liam Art Museum a few years ago. When she was obsessed with newspaper clippings about Director Kang Min Je, she had visited the museum with her friend Yu Jin.

The surrounding landscape, encircled by forests, was so beautiful that it remained in her memory for a long time afterwards. There was an arboretum next to the museum, so it was often featured in magazines as a travel destination.

After driving for a while, they arrived at their destination.

‘The building is still the same.’

Ha Yeon felt a sense of warmth at the unchanged exterior of the museum as she got out of the car.

“You have to be careful not to get lost because it’s really big here.”

Hearing Ji Hoo’s worried words made her smile involuntarily. Who’s worrying about whom here?

“Well then, I have another appointment, so I’ll be going now.”

As Jun Won said goodbye, dark and dangerous scenes played out in Ha Yeon’s mind.

“Yes, thank you. Goodbye. And… take care.”

That’s why such a farewell naturally flowed out.

After sending Jun Won off, Ha Yeon toured the museum with Ji Hoo.

Since it had been several years since her last visit, the exhibition content had changed, making it interesting to explore. These days, museums don’t just display flat artworks, but make various attempts, so there was a lot to see.

In a corner titled “Metafiction”, there were particularly many three-dimensional works and installation art pieces.

“Oh, this is so fun!”

Ha Yeon exclaimed in admiration at an artwork where pressing a button made the figure on the cathode-ray tube move to a different location.

“You’re the first adult I’ve seen pressing buttons like playing a game.”

Min Je’s voice came from behind.

Of all times to appear, why now? As Ha Yeon turned her head stiffly, she saw Min Je’s contemplative expression. His expression seemed to be saying, “Should I have taught installation art instead of painting?”

“You’re here?”

Ha Yeon greeted him smoothly as if nothing had happened.

Hah, you think I’d be affected by something like this? After living each day with a pounding heart and feeling like riding a roller coaster because of him, this much was nothing.

“How’s this exhibition? Is it worth seeing?”

Min Je asked while patting Ji Hoo’s head. He always brought Ji Hoo to see new exhibitions and asked for his opinion.

“It’s fun because it feels completely different from when I came last time.”

Ji Hoo answered maturely.

Although the child’s opinion always concluded with the same “it’s good” statement, Min Je still asked Ji Hoo the same question every time. He thought it was worth asking the same question just for the child to think seriously about it.

Also, if Ji Hoo could develop an eye for art while pondering how to answer, that would be the icing on the cake.

Min Je looked at Ji Hoo with kind eyes, then suddenly turned his head to look at Ha Yeon.

Ha Yeon, who had been confident until just now, flinched. Somehow, it felt like she should give a review of this exhibition using all her expert knowledge like an art critic.

Realizing that the thought that had suddenly popped into her head was at the same level as Ji Hoo’s, Ha Yeon quietly turned her gaze in another direction.

Tsk, Min Je clicked his tongue and said to Ji Hoo.

“After you’ve seen everything, go to the annex. Can I ask you to guide her?”

He glanced at Ha Yeon as he spoke. The subject was omitted, but you could tell from his gaze. He was entrusting her to Ji Hoo right now.

“Yes, of course! Leave it to me!”

Ji Hoo exclaimed confidently. Ha Yeon let out a sigh at the father and son’s behavior, talking about her as if passing an object.

But no matter how many times she had been to the Liam Art Museum, she had never entered the private spaces, so she had no choice but to keep quiet.

“Come in an hour.”

Min Je said after checking the watch on his wrist, then walked away from them. The sound of his shoes hitting the marble floor echoed through the spacious space.

Ha Yeon took in the unbelievable sight of the man she had most admired walking away in the art museum, her favorite space. Somehow, it was difficult to take her eyes off his back.

After finishing the museum tour, they were guided to the annex. Despite saying he would leave everything to Ji Hoo, an employee carried their luggage and opened the door before bowing and leaving.

The annex was attached to the back of the museum, but because the buildings were connected, from the outside it looked more like a special exhibition hall than a separate building.

“Wow, the view is no joke.”

Ha Yeon ran to the window in one breath, seeing the scenery visible through the large window.

“If you follow the path outside, you’ll reach the arboretum.”

Ji Hoo smiled as he informed her. He seemed quite amused by how excited Ha Yeon looked, like a child.

The interior of the annex was decorated in beige tones with yellow and green accents, giving a fresh feeling like a high-end resort designed for relaxation. It was a completely different atmosphere from the main house, which was decorated in gray and brown tones giving a heavy feeling.

Perhaps because of this, it felt like being on a trip after a long time.

“Ji Hoo, you’re lucky. You can use a nice annex like this freely.”

When Ha Yeon, who was almost stuck to the large glass window, spoke enviously, Ji Hoo rolled his eyes.

“Uh, um, there’s a way for you to use it freely too.”

Captivated by the scenery outside, Ha Yeon didn’t notice that Ji Hoo was closely observing her expression, unlike usual.

“Huh? There’s such a way?”

When Ha Yeon asked again, Ji Hoo, who somehow had an extremely solemn expression, even clenched his fist and opened his mouth again.

“There is. It’s to become my moth…!”

At that moment, the front door opened with a beep and Min Je entered.

What’s this? This strange atmosphere? Min Je furrowed his brow, feeling confused as no one seemed happy to see him.

Did I come too late? Interpreting the situation that way, he quickly held up the bag in one hand.

“I bought chicken.”

But when the subtle feeling still didn’t disappear, he added unnecessary words.

“Don’t worry. There are no beans in it.”