Ji Wook could tell right away.

He’s such an emotionally dry guy, it’ll probably take ages for him to properly recognize even his own feelings.

That’s why he deliberately provoked him. Si Heon hesitated at the words that after meeting her in person, she was his type. Though he said nothing and just listened, Ji Wook could tell from his eyes alone.

Finally, when asked if it was true that Jin So Yi wasn’t interested in him either, he couldn’t answer.

He barely held back his laughter, but Si Heon excused himself saying he wasn’t feeling well.

Surely if left alone, he would have just passed by without ever realizing, or realized too late and regretted wasting all that time.

Anyway, just when he thought things were going well between them, the news broke. He thought he had comforted So Yi’s heart by saying Ri Na was nothing, just a nobody, but to think he was two-timing.

“Is it because of the photos taken with Yeon Ri Na at the hotel?”

Feeling he should at least explain, Ji Wook asked.

Perhaps due to drinking beer too quickly, So Yi felt her head spinning and collapsed onto the bar.

“That day, I had a blind date with Ms. Yeon Ri Na.”

Glancing at So Yi, Yoo Hye Na thought she had passed out drunk and whispered quietly.

“Ah…”

“What, that expression… it must really be true then.”

So Yi’s chest ached as she turned her head while lying down.

The pain near her heart that had already been wrung out several times surged again.

“Actually, that date wasn’t something either of us wanted.”

“But he still went on a blind date without saying a word to So Yi. While they were dating!”

“He had no choice because of his parents.”

“No matter what, how could he go on a blind date when he has a girlfriend? And if he got caught, he should have apologized and begged for forgiveness.”

Hye Na said excitedly, as if speaking on So Yi’s behalf.

“Si Heon is like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cha Si Heon doesn’t know how to apologize.”

Doesn’t know how to apologize? Hye Na tilted her head.

“The chairman of Cha Han Group, Chairman Cha, adored Si Heon especially. He never allowed him to be scolded no matter what he did. He was raised indulgently.”

“Still, he should apologize when he’s done something wrong.”

“What can you do when he’s already grown up that way? Even his parents can’t do anything about it.”

Ji Wook said with a bitter smile.

Just as Hye Na was about to snort that she couldn’t understand at all, someone called So Yi’s name from behind.

“Jin So Yi.”

It was Si Heon.

So Yi sat up with surprised eyes and looked at Si Heon.

At some point, Si Heon had grabbed So Yi’s wrist and said to Ji Wook:

“Let’s drink another time.”

So Yi was dragged out of the lounge bar by Si Heon in a daze, only coming to her senses when they reached the elevator.

“Let go of me.”

So Yi said, pulling her wrist free from Si Heon’s grip as she stopped walking. Her eyes focused sharply on Si Heon.

When So Yi stopped, Si Heon also stopped and turned to look at her.

Just then, with a ding sound, the elevator doors opened.

“Let’s talk outside first.”

Si Heon said in a low voice as he stepped into the elevator first.

“Come here.”

He said, one hand in his pocket and the other pressing the open button.

“I don’t want to.”

As if now immune to her refusals, he asked in a low voice.

“Why don’t you want to?”

He asked calmly while still holding the open button.

“I told you. I don’t like you anymore, sir.”

So Yi’s words that she didn’t like him seemed to be something he could never become immune to, as Si Heon’s chest twisted painfully once again.

“What if I say I was wrong?”

So Yi’s pupils trembled slightly at Si Heon’s next words.

“Will you still not like me?”

So Yi’s heart began to race madly at Si Heon’s languid voice.

Unlike her two legs trying desperately to hold firm, her heart kept feeling as if someone was pushing her from behind.

Asking if she couldn’t believe just one more time.

Telling her that if she just closed her eyes and stepped inside now, she might be able to hold that sweet candy in her hand again.

As if trying to shake off those devilish whispers, So Yi pressed her lips together before speaking again.

“Don’t say such things to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’ll only be temporary anyway. You did the same thing last time. You said I was what you wanted most, then turned your back on me the very next day.”

So Yi said, clenching her fingertips tightly.

So don’t shake me.

Because I’m still dying to like you, so please stop shaking me.

Swallowing the words that had risen to the tip of her tongue, she spoke different ones instead.

“It hurts whether I go or not anyway.”

Si Heon’s eyes trembled slightly.

“So I’ll just hurt here. At least I won’t have expectations. At least I won’t expect you to look back at me.”

Tears welled up in her reddened eyes.

Seeing So Yi stubbornly refusing to come, Si Heon spoke in a low but weighty voice.

“How long have I been looking at you?”

At Si Heon’s sincere voice, all surrounding noise seemed to hold its breath.

He’s been looking at me?

With that one sentence, her mind went blank. Only the frantic beating of her heart became clearer and clearer.

“I like you.”

At those words that followed, her heart finally pounded as if it would burst.

Wondering if she was dreaming, feeling dizzy, Si Heon spoke again.

“So come here. Before I go crazy.”

Tears welled up, threatening to spill from her round eyes.

Those words that he liked her seemed like a dream, making her head spin.

Through her blurry vision, Si Heon’s unwavering figure seemed to ripple like waves.

Even if it was candy laced with poison… Even if it was a terrible curse that might one day take her breath away.

Just as she was barely holding back the urge to run to him pretending not to know anything, Si Heon’s voice cut through the air calmly.

“I like you.”

So Yi’s lips turned white as she tried desperately to hold back her tears.

“I’m serious.”

Si Heon said again with an anguished expression.

“I can’t see anyone but you, can’t think of anything but you. If I don’t see you for even a day, I feel like I’ll go crazy and can’t breathe. I’ve liked you for a long time already, and I still like you so much I feel like I’m going crazy.”

At Si Heon’s continued words, tears finally began to stream down So Yi’s cheeks.

Seeing So Yi still unable to move, only crying, Si Heon finally reached out his hand.

While pressing the open button with one hand, he pulled So Yi towards him with the other, embracing her in his arms in one swift motion.

Gently stroking her head with his large hand, he said in a soft voice.

“I was wrong.”

Soothing So Yi’s trembling sobs, Si Heon continued.

“It’s not that I didn’t like you and went on a blind date on my own. I didn’t think of you lightly, didn’t just pluck you like a pretty flower I spotted while walking, to enjoy briefly.”

His low voice flowed languidly from Si Heon’s chest to So Yi’s ear.

“I’m sorry. For upsetting you and hurting you. I’ll make sure it never happens again. I won’t upset you ever again. So you too…”

Si Heon gently grasped So Yi’s delicate shoulders and pulled her away from his body.

“Keep liking me.”

Just as So Yi’s reddened lips were about to move as she looked up at him, Si Heon spoke first.

“Don’t say you don’t want to.”

Afraid So Yi might say “I don’t want to” again, Si Heon spoke preemptively.

“And don’t say you don’t like me anymore either.”

“…”

“It’s not simple possessiveness. It’s not obsession either.”

Si Heon’s dark eyes, full of sincerity, met So Yi’s pleadingly.

How much I’m burning for you right now.

How much I want you.

My heart is already torn and tattered beyond repair.

If only he could open his chest and show her.

“When I said you’re the only person I want, I meant it and I still do. And I always will.”

So Yi’s lips, which had been tightly pressed together as she faced Si Heon, slowly parted.

“…I don’t know.”

Don’t know?

Si Heon’s dark eyes flickered frantically at So Yi’s hesitant response.

“I still don’t know. Your words that you like me are so thrilling and unbelievably overwhelming. But now I’m scared it might disappear like a mirage if I reach out my hand.”

Because I’ve lost it once before.

Because I’ve already experienced reaching out confidently only to find there was nothing there.

So she couldn’t easily extend her hand again.

“What should I do to make you believe me?”

Si Heon asked with a desperate expression.

“Please give me a little more time.”

“Time…?”

“Time to be able to trust you. The belief that our relationship could become real.”

So Yi said, her eyes reddened and moist.

“Until that time you set… Please give me until the end of that period we agreed to fake date.”

At So Yi’s words, Si Heon nodded and embraced her again.

“Alright. Until then, I’ll show you how sincere my heart is. But before that, absolutely don’t say you don’t like me. Or that you don’t like me anymore. And don’t go around saying you’ll break up with me or that we’ll break up.”

Still in Si Heon’s arms, So Yi nodded slightly.

The sound of Si Heon’s pounding heart seeped hotly into her ear.