“Why, why are you looking at me like that? You said we were starting, so I did.”

Ha Yeon couldn’t shake the feeling that Min Je’s gaze had changed. It was as if a switch had been flipped.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Wow, he just brushed off what I said. Ha Yeon gaped blankly as she saw Min Je respond halfheartedly.

“Let’s begin.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the shuttlecock flew like a bullet.

Gasp! Startled, Ha Yeon reflexively hit the shuttlecock. Ping, ping, tack, tack, a frenzied rally continued.

‘We were supposed to practice!’

Ha Yeon opened and closed her mouth, not understanding the rally that was more intense than a match, but had no time to speak. Then she glanced at Ji Hoo. He was standing dazedly holding the racket.

The child’s head moved back and forth each time the shuttlecock passed.

Min Je seemed to notice Ji Hoo’s presence belatedly after catching Ha Yeon’s gaze. As he abruptly stopped swinging his racket, the incoming shuttlecock hit his head with a thud and fell.

“At this rate, Ji Hoo won’t be able to learn badminton.”

You just realized that now? Ha Yeon let out an exasperated sigh.

“Here, Ji Hoo, you try.”

Min Je handed the shuttlecock to Ji Hoo. His expression softened only when speaking to the child.

“Um, I’m not sure how to do it yet.”

“You can learn slowly. First, let’s practice throwing and hitting.”

Encouraged by Min Je’s words, Ji Hoo threw the shuttlecock and quickly swung the racket. With a dull sound, the shuttlecock’s direction veered sharply to the side.

And as if Min Je’s head was its destination, it gently landed on top of his head.

“Ah…!”

Ha Yeon let out an exclamation but quickly bit her lip. She was forcibly holding back her laughter.

Min Je glared at Ha Yeon with fiery eyes. Ha Yeon pretended not to notice his gaze and deliberately looked elsewhere.

Letting out a short sigh and running his hand through his hair, Min Je matched Ji Hoo’s eye level and explained kindly.

“The shuttlecock needs to hit inside the racket head to fly well. And when holding the racket, choose between forehand or backhand grip, whichever is comfortable for you.”

Looking at this, he seems like quite a good father, but does he really not know how to treat a child? Ha Yeon gazed at Min Je with a deepened look.

“I’m going to rest a bit, so you two practice.”

Ha Yeon blinked awkwardly, thinking this was all to increase intimacy between father and son. Min Je looked at Ha Yeon with an exasperated expression before breaking into a smile.

‘Like father, like son, they both have million-dollar smiles.’

Ha Yeon plopped down on the bench and smiled faintly as she watched the picturesque scene. She hadn’t noticed when they were close, but from afar, Min Je and Ji Hoo looked quite affectionate.

Thoughts of her late father naturally came to mind. Whether learning to ride a bike for the first time, learning to skate, or getting on a boat, she had always been with her father.

The scenes of those times when her father would take the scolding in her place when her mother nagged were now memories that could never be seen again, no matter how much she missed them. Ha Yeon’s nose tingled, and she blinked while looking up at the sky. Usually, that would make the tears disappear like magic, but today, for some reason, the tears wouldn’t go away easily.

“Noona, let’s play together now!”

Ji Hoo waved his hand with an excited face.

“Oh, okay! I’m coming!”

Ha Yeon answered in an deliberately cheerful voice and sprang up from her seat.

Having spent a hectic day, Ji Hoo must have been quite tired as he fell asleep earlier than usual.

Instead of going straight to her room, Ha Yeon opened the front door and came out to the yard. The night garden with street lamps occasionally lit had a distinctly different atmosphere from the bright daytime.

The temperature difference from the hot day was quite noticeable, but the coolness felt good. Ha Yeon sat on the bench and stared blankly at the green leaves swaying in the wind. Perhaps because of the yellow streetlights, the leaves looked as if they were tinged with yellow.

It feels like being in the middle of autumn rather than spring. Ha Yeon pulled her feet up onto the bench and sat curled up.

Perhaps it was because she had thought of her parents in the afternoon. The empty feeling in her heart wouldn’t easily subside.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay…’

Ha Yeon kept muttering as if chanting a spell. Sometimes when she felt alone in this world, she would be overwhelmed by a terrible fear. At such times, repeating the same words could help her come to her senses.

‘I miss you.’

But the longing suddenly came and showed no signs of leaving. It was a rare day for Ha Yeon, who was second to none in being cheerful, to be so dejected.

Just then, there was a sound of the gate opening and closing with a click.

‘Who could it be at this hour?’

Ha Yeon lifted her head to check the source of the presence. Min Je was walking over with a plastic bag in one hand.

“Well, this is perfect timing.”

Seeing Ha Yeon sitting on the bench, Min Je said that and sat down with a thud beside her.

“Where have you been?”

Ha Yeon asked, calming her surprised heart and composing her expression.

“Well, I felt like this would be needed today.”

What Min Je pulled out with a rustling sound was beer.

Wow, it’s like he’s psychic. Ha Yeon smiled, hiding her true thoughts.

“Thank you. It’s a very timely gift.”

“This isn’t a gift. It’s a tribute.”

Ha Yeon burst into laughter at Min Je’s words.

“It’s a tribute to thank you for your hard work today.”

Hearing his words, the gloomy mood from just moments ago seemed to fly away. Ha Yeon opened a can of beer and took a sip.

“Ah, that’s good.”

Seeing Ha Yeon’s reaction, Min Je opened his own beer can and drank.

She hadn’t known that drinking beer sitting on a bench on a cool night could be this atmospheric. For a while, they both just drank their beer without saying anything.

“Honestly, I asked for your help, but I didn’t expect you to be this considerate.”

Min Je calmly shared his inner thoughts. Looking at Ha Yeon gave him a peculiar feeling. He had thought the world moved entirely on money, but she seemed to show that wasn’t everything.

“It’s because I inherited my meddlesome nature.”

Ha Yeon smiled with a chilly expression, saying even meddlesomeness is hereditary. Min Je, who had been quietly observing that expression, carefully asked.

“Are your parents not around…?”

When submitting her resume, she had left the family section blank. He must have remembered that.

Ha Yeon, thinking it was something she would have to face eventually, spoke as calmly as possible.

“They passed away. Both of them, in a car accident.”

“…”

Min Je’s response was cut off. Ha Yeon felt a bit dazed, as this was a first for her.

When she talked about her parents, people usually responded in set patterns.

‘That’s so sad at such a young age.’

The sympathetic type.

‘If you work hard even through difficulties, your parents will be happy in heaven.’

The hope-injecting type.

‘That’s pitiful. Is there anything I can help with? Just say the word.’

The con artist type.

After her parents passed away, Ha Yeon learned that she needed to be careful in choosing friends and not to trust blindly.

But Min Je was the first person who didn’t say anything. Ha Yeon, not knowing how to react, glanced at Min Je’s face. His face had hardened terribly.

“I’m sorry. I’m not good at comforting.”

Unlike his hardened face, his words seeped into Ha Yeon’s heart like spring rain. Why did his words feel more sincere than any plausible words?

“No, don’t say that.”

Ha Yeon smiled with all her might, trying to look nonchalant. Otherwise, she felt like she might cry.

“My parents aren’t around either. But maybe because I don’t even know what they look like, I don’t feel particularly sad. You must have many memories with your parents until you became an adult, so I can’t even imagine that sadness. Moreover, to lose them in an accident…!”

“You don’t have parents either, Director?”

Ha Yeon interrupted Min Je’s words with her eyes wide open.

“But…?”

Seeing Min Je’s eyes filled with suspicion, Ha Yeon wanted to pull her hair out.

Magazines and articles mainly focused on reporting Kang Min Je’s actions and achievements as the director of Liam Art Gallery. Ha Yeon had only clipped such materials, never thinking to look into his family history or personal life.

Moreover, not even knowing his parents’ faces? Not being sad because he didn’t know their faces?

“What’s that? The one who needs comfort isn’t me, but you, Director.”

Min Je couldn’t understand Ha Yeon’s words. Moreover, he couldn’t understand why her face looked so sad.

Not once had he considered himself as someone who needed comfort. Having never consumed much emotion, everything felt indifferent and boring, but not uncomfortable.

Perhaps that’s why someone like Ha Yeon, who put her all into crying and laughing, was fascinating. Maybe her appearance of pouring all her energy into things that weren’t even her own business and smiling happily at it was so unfamiliar that it caught his eye.

In a way, she was like a moth flying towards a flame, and in another way, like a mayfly. Nevertheless, he was curious about what kind of emotions this woman, who made him feel things he couldn’t feel himself, would make him feel in the future.

“I’m fine. Really.”

Min Je hurriedly answered, not even realizing he was speaking as if making excuses. Otherwise, it seemed like tears would fall from Ha Yeon’s eyes at any moment.

“Then, did your parents pass away when you were very young?”

Seeing Ha Yeon asking with a very tense face, Min Je regretted saying unnecessary things. It was really a story that shouldn’t cause such agitation.

“Well? I guess it’s something like that. They say I was abandoned in front of an orphanage when I was a baby.”

Plop, plop, finally, large teardrops fell from Ha Yeon’s eyes.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it…”

Surprised at herself, Ha Yeon hurriedly wiped away her tears, but it was useless. The tears that had thoroughly wet her cheeks quickly made stains on Ha Yeon’s clothes.

Damn it, Min Je muttered a low curse towards himself for creating this situation. His fingertips twitched involuntarily.

He wanted to wipe away her tears but couldn’t move rashly in the situation. His head was spinning as if dizzy.

This moment of embarrassment was probably one of the few countable in his life. While Min Je was unable to do anything, Ha Yeon regained her composure first.

Ha Yeon, who had wiped her face by rubbing it with her sleeve, smiled with a truly apologetic face.

“I’m sorry. Hearing about your situation made me feel bad, and also like I’d found a comrade, so I couldn’t control my tears. I usually don’t cry like this in front of others…”

Those words sounded like she cried well when alone, causing Min Je to harden his face. His mind had become blank like white paper, unable to think of what to say.

Damn it, he muttered another curse, when Ha Yeon said with a clear smile,

“Don’t take it to heart. Don’t worry about it.”

How is it that this woman is so natural at caring for others more than herself? Min Je let out a hollow laugh and sighed.

“…Actually, I was going to invite you to the gallery tomorrow. If it’s alright, I’ll send a car, so come with Ji Hoo.”

In the end, what Min Je chose was avoidance. He changed the subject because he didn’t want to continue the awkward topic or see Ha Yeon’s tears anymore.

“Wow, really? If you’re inviting me, I’m grateful.”

Ha Yeon smiled brightly, her eyes crinkling as if she had never cried. That gap was irritatingly noticeable. It was inexplicable why his insides were boiling so much.

“Then I’ll go in first. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll go in soon too. Good night.”

Min Je entered the house with a calm face. Click, with his back to the front door, he stood still, clenching his fist.

As if trying to control his fingertips that had been twitching against his will since earlier.