Led by Do Hyun, Joo entered the hotel room and took a step back.

After closing the door, Do Hyun revealed his true colors once they were alone.

“You probably have a lot to say to me right now.”

Joo, who was cornered in the entrance without even taking off her shoes, turned her head to the side, quite flustered.

“Let’s not do this in the entrance and go inside to talk.”

“You know it’s more suspicious to avoid it like that, right?”

The night view of Yeosu’s sea was right in front of them, but he didn’t even give her a chance to look around the hotel room.

Do Hyun’s hand struck the wall right in front of her, making it impossible to look away.

“What did you say about me?”

“I-I told them exactly what I heard.”

“I’m asking you to recite it to me since I didn’t hear it.”

He wasn’t someone who would let it slide if she tried to gloss over it here.

So Joo had no choice but to reveal everything truthfully.

Was it her imagination that every time she confessed without missing a single detail, another wrinkle seemed to form between Nam Do Hyun’s eyebrows?

“I threw a tantrum because I didn’t want to be apart from you.”

It would be unbelievable.

“Half of what you’re saying is tongue-tied. Me?”

So he pointed out what he had heard several times.

Joo, who had been staring at Do Hyun, nodded her head.

Do Hyun acted like he was about to detonate a bomb at any moment, but then straightened his back, organizing his thoughts.

“It can’t be that you have pseudologia fantastica.”

“……”

“Did you want to be a beloved wife or something like that?”

Love.

It was a word that didn’t suit her bitter life at all.

When his pitying tone was added, Joo, who had been all shriveled up until now, confidently straightened her shoulders.

“I have absolutely no interest in such things.”

“Then?”

“I just wanted to quell the rumors circulating in the company.”

“What rumors are going around in the company?”

There was no way Do Hyun, who was busy with work, would be interested in company rumors.

It was frustrating that even though they got married together, only she was being tossed around by rumors.

“In the eyes of the employees, we don’t seem like an ordinary couple.”

“……”

“It’s natural. As soon as we got married, you went to Clark, and I stayed in Korea.”

Her solid voice seemed to implicitly reveal her frustrated feelings.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but Joo quickly made amends as if she had blamed Do Hyun.

“I thought I didn’t care about such things, but I guess I was unconsciously conscious of it.”

Wrapped in silence, Joo glanced at Do Hyun.

Do Hyun, who had been looking down at Joo intently, opened his tightly pressed lips.

“You did well.”

Even if punishment followed, she was going to accept it gladly, but praise was given instead.

“I… did well?”

“I overlooked that part. I’ll pay attention to it.”

“You’re forgiving me?”

“I wasn’t angry from the beginning, so there’s no forgiving or not.”

He easily backed down, as if he had been fiercely pushing forward until just now.

Joo watched Do Hyun enter the spacious living room, passing by her.

Joo, who had hurriedly taken off her shoes, followed behind Do Hyun.

“What do you mean by that?”

Do Hyun, who had pulled off the tie wrapped around his neck, turned his body towards Joo.

A breathtakingly beautiful night view was spread out behind him.

However, Joo’s vision was filled only with Do Hyun, who was standing and making eye contact with her.

“What do you mean by paying attention to it? What are you going to pay attention to?”

“Our married life, you and me.”

Her heart, her pulse, beat wildly as if announcing its existence.

It was a moment when the loose tension was pulled taut again.

His tone flowed out slowly and softly, as if letting her know in advance.

“I’m thinking of catching up on the husband’s role I couldn’t do for the past year all at once.”

“……”

“A beloved wife, it’s not impossible, right?”

Even with his nicely raised corners of his mouth, Joo couldn’t bring herself to smile.

Even though you’re not my real husband.

Even though you don’t really like me.

Why are you saying you’ll give me love?

Making me unnecessarily rely on you.

Making my heart flutter for no reason.

***

Lying in the same bed as Do Hyun, there was no way sleep would come.

Even if Do Hyun tossed and turned a little, sleep would come but then run away.

As if pushed by someone, she had to spend the whole night lying precariously at the far end of the bed.

Even though she stayed up all night, Joo handled her work without any signs of fatigue.

“Then, let’s outsource the online and offline advertising to ‘JIN’.”

At Joo’s words, Team Leader Cho nodded.

“The PR team should be in charge of communicating with JIN, but Joo, you’ll be doing this, right?”

“Yes. I’ll compile the data from the Yeosu resort, send it to JIN, and set a date for a future meeting.”

“I think we’re roughly done, so shall we wrap up and go to the hotel?”

As Team Leader Cho concluded the meeting, Joo looked at the clock on the wall.

It was already well past 8 pm.

Still, satisfied that it ended earlier than yesterday, Joo organized the reports placed on the desk.

As soon as Team Leader Cho left the meeting room, Assistant Manager Ryu pulled his wheeled chair next to her.

“Team Leader Shin, it seems like you couldn’t sleep last night. You look tired.”

“I couldn’t fall asleep because the sleeping arrangement changed.”

It seemed like Assistant Manager Ryu wasn’t the only one whose mouth had been itching all day. Employees with ominous smiles quickly joined Assistant Manager Ryu’s side.

“I was surprised yesterday. Coming all the way to Yeosu just to see Joo.”

“He’s like a leech~ He needs to stick close to Team Leader Shin.”

Joo closed her eyes tightly.

She unnecessarily said something strange and ended up making Nam Do Hyun seem like a leech.

Assistant Manager Ryu rubbed his shoulder against Joo’s shoulder and laughed strangely, going “Hehe.”

“How much did you talk with the CEO yesterday?”

“I was tired yesterday, so the CEO and I went to bed early.”

The employees all booed in unison, as if they couldn’t believe it.

Pretending not to hear, Joo got up from her seat, hugging the report to her chest.

Other employees also gathered their belongings and left the office.

As if it was regrettable to go straight to the hotel like this, Assistant Manager Ryu made a spontaneous suggestion.

“We have to leave early tomorrow morning, so how about going to see the night sea before going in?”

“Sure. Let’s have a cool beer too.”

“Shall we do fireworks too? There’s a supermarket near the beach.”

The employees, who had looked like dried-up sunflowers during the meeting, offered opinions more enthusiastically than ever.

“It’s good for you too, right, Team Leader Shin?”

“Yes, I’d like that too.”

If she went to the hotel room and ran into Do Hyun by chance, it would be another series of awkward moments.

She thought it would be better to go in when Do Hyun was about to fall asleep after enjoying the night sea.

However, her plan alone was twisted in an instant.

“Hello, CEO.”

The employees bowed their waists in unison as they saw Do Hyun entering the office.

Perhaps he had come from visiting the construction site, as Do Hyun was wearing a gray work uniform instead of his usual suit.

The work uniform with the scent of dirt suited him just as perfectly as the suit, so Joo’s gaze lingered on him for a long time.

“You’re going in after finishing work, I see.”

Do Hyun also asked, his eyes fixed on Joo.

Assistant Manager Ryu, who read the exchanged glances, said to Do Hyun,

“CEO, we’re going to the beach in front of the hotel right now. Would you like to come with us?”

“Is Team Leader Shin going too?”

“Of course.”

Assistant Manager Ryu quickly answered on behalf of Joo.

“I need to change clothes, so you go ahead first.”

No, you don’t have to!

I want to be alone!

I need freedom too!

Although Joo sufficiently conveyed her intention with her eyes, Do Hyun went inside the office.

The employees linked arms with the dazed Joo and headed towards the beach.

In the end, Joo had no choice but to be dragged away, her eyes still fixed inside the office.

***

You said you were coming.

Do Hyun didn’t set foot on the beach for a long time, making Joo’s nervousness seem meaningless.

Joo’s eyes, sitting on a mat from the convenience store surrounded by employees, kept turning towards the hotel.

Her throat kept getting dry, so she finished a whole can of beer that she had been holding in her hand.

“Oh? You already finished the beer.”

Assistant Manager Ryu lifted the beer cans he had placed next to him, but they were all empty.

Joo put down the can she was holding and stood up.

“I’ll go and buy some.”

“Shall we go together?”

“No. I can handle it alone.”

Rejecting Assistant Manager Ryu’s kindness, Joo walked to the supermarket behind them.

She bought plenty of beer and snacks inside the supermarket with a soft light and came out.

In Joo’s right hand, there was also a twisted strawberry-flavored ice cream.

“You could have just said you couldn’t come.”

Making people wait.

She deliberately took a wide detour around the sandy beach instead of the nearby stairs.

Crushing the crunchy ice cream in her mouth, she swung the bag in her hand.

The employees in the distance seemed to have noticed Joo coming back, as they were waving their hands.

It was when she was moving her steps with a wider stride.

In an instant, the weight of the bag she was holding disappeared, and a warm, large hand entered.

Joo’s hair fluttered in the waves that came crashing in.

Nam Do Hyun, whom she had been secretly waiting for, was standing next to her.

Naturally holding her hand.

“The employees are in front.”

Joo tried to pull her hand out, wriggling her fingers, aware of the employees’ gazes that could be felt even from a distance.

However, Do Hyun’s straight, thick fingers intertwined with her slender fingers instead.

“I’m doing this because they’re in front.”

The sweet ice cream remaining in her mouth turned into sugar water.

It seemed like there was a cotton candy scent in the sea breeze, perhaps because of the ice cream.

“You mean it’s for show?”

“You want to clear up the rumors, don’t you?”

“……”

“Is there anything more definite than skinship?”

Yeah. There was nothing as definite as that.

To look like a loving couple, it was enough to show people that kind of appearance.

“Holding hands is okay between a married couple, right?”

That’s why it was a problem.

It didn’t seem like it was just her hand that was caught by him.

The warmth of a person that she felt after a long time was cozy, and the starlit night sea was so beautiful that it made her lose her mind.

This moment seemed perfect for falling in love.

So it felt like even my heart was caught by him, and that was the problem.