The dishes they ordered were placed on the table, and Ji Yeon Woo picked up her fork and knife.

It had been a long time since she had visited a restaurant with such a nice atmosphere.

It had been almost three years since she frequently came with her family before her father’s company went under.

Seo Jin Won lifted the wine menu that was placed to his right.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

“Ah, I don’t really like alcohol.”

“Same here. I’m not much of a drinker either.”

As if satisfied, Jin Won handed the menu to the manager.

Ji Yeon Woo slid her knife into the appetizing meat.

Her eyes sparkled as she chewed on the steak cut into bite-sized pieces in her mouth.

It was a familiar taste she had forgotten. The tenderly chewed meat melted in her mouth all too quickly.

Rich flavor and moist meat juices, it was perfect without anything missing.

Jin Won was about to ask if the food was to her liking, but seeing Ji Yeon Woo’s face, it seemed he already had his answer.

Seeing Ji Yeon Woo look quite pleased, Jin Won spoke with a gentle smile.

“This is one of my favorite restaurants. You should come here with your husband next time.”

Come to think of it, she had never eaten out alone with Nam Do Hyun.

No matter what, for a married couple, they had never even had a meal together.

Could there be another couple as indifferent as them?

“You’re right. We should come together next time.”

Though she said that, she doubted there would be an occasion for her to have a meal alone with Do Hyun.

“Your sister-in-law seemed quite something. Did everything go okay that day?”

“Ah……”

At Jin Won’s question, Ji Yeon Woo recalled the message she had received a few days ago.

She had received a message filled with profanities without a single space from Nam Seung Hee.

As if one wasn’t enough, she received five more before her phone finally quieted down.

It was something that often happened when she went against Seung Hee’s mood, so she didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Everything was fine.”

“Really? She seemed quite angry, so I thought she might say something to you. That’s unexpected.”

“My sister-in-law doesn’t really get angry at me directly.”

She had no choice but to give a vague answer, as she couldn’t discuss personal matters with the representative of an outsourcing company.

“You look younger than me and weren’t wearing a ring, so I never thought you would be married.”

“Was that unexpected too?”

“That’s right. That was unexpected as well.”

They looked at each other quietly for a moment and then burst into laughter.

Though they were having dinner together for work, they didn’t actually broach the subject of work.

It wasn’t the atmosphere for such a rigid topic.

“Do you know that Seo Jin Won is interested in you?”

Why did Do Hyun’s words suddenly come to mind?

Putting down the knife she was using to cut the thick meat, Ji Yeon Woo cautiously spoke.

“Representative Seo. Previously when you suggested having a meal together, was it simply to discuss work without any other meaning?”

Jin Won, who had been nervously gripping and releasing his knife and fork, sprinkled a dry laugh.

“I was going to give a rough excuse, but when you ask with such pure eyes, I can’t seem to lie.”

“That means…”

Jin Won looked down at Ji Yeon Woo’s bare hand.

“Actually, seeing you weren’t wearing a ring, I assumed you weren’t seeing anyone. I was too simple-minded.”

“……”

“As the coincidences kept piling up, I thought it was fate and tried to turn it into inevitability. Though I felt greatly rejected hearing you were married.”

Her senior colleague was right.

I was more dense about these things than I thought.

Do Hyun had already given permission for her to meet with Jin Won.

So she could let Jin Won know she was maintaining her marriage for some reason.

To tell him not to give up his feelings for her.

However, since she hadn’t severed ties with Do Hyun as a couple yet, no matter if her husband allowed it, it would undoubtedly be an affair.

Moreover, she didn’t want to give Jin Won any false hope by telling him the truth.

“I’m sure you can meet someone much better than me.”

Though she didn’t know everything about Jin Won, she could tell he was a good person.

Rather than getting tangled up with her, it was better for him to meet someone else.

“Are you wishing me happiness? Thank you.”

“Well, you said you would treat me to dinner. So for today, I’ll wish you happiness.”

“The steak is worth it then.”

Though they had only met three times, Jin Won felt as comfortable as if they had known each other for a long time.

The discomfort was more with Nam Do Hyun than with Jin Won.

It was truly strange. How could Do Hyun feel more awkward than someone she had barely met a few times?

‘I wonder if he ate dinner.’

Even while with Jin Won, Do Hyun came to mind.

Yet that man didn’t spare a thought for her.

Feeling gloomy, she aimlessly cut the innocent steak into small pieces.

***

After dinner, she parted ways with Jin Won right away.

Since the restaurant was close to the nursing home, she met with Lee Jung Hye and chatted late into the night.

Though most of it was worry and nagging about Ji Yeon Woo, even that made her happy.

Just being able to talk with a healthy Jung Hye was the ordinary daily life Ji Yeon Woo had hoped for.

Chatting with Jung Hye, she didn’t even realize it was past 11 o’clock.

Hurrying home, Ji Yeon Woo entered through the brightly lit entrance.

‘Did I forget to turn off the lights?’

Looking up at the lit ceiling, Ji Yeon Woo stepped into the living room and jumped back half a step in surprise.

Assuming Do Hyun would be asleep since it was late, there he was, sitting squarely on the sofa.

“You’re still awake.”

As Ji Yeon Woo asked, coming from the hallway, Do Hyun spoke while still looking over documents.

“Why did you turn off your cell phone?”

“Did you call? I didn’t have time to check my phone.”

Having had dinner with Jin Won and meeting Jung Hye right after, she had no time to look at her phone.

Moreover, on the way home, she had been staring at distant mountains the whole time due to motion sickness from the bus driver’s rough driving.

“Seems like you had fun. No time to even check your phone.”

“Yes. I had a packed day today.”

Without any rest for herself, Ji Yeon Woo had been going back and forth between work and home due to the continuous overtime.

Having dinner with someone else and visiting Jung Hye was a rare occasion.

Do Hyun stood up from the sofa and walked over to Ji Yeon Woo, who was smiling with satisfaction.

As if intending to get very close, Do Hyun swung his long legs and stepped right up to Ji Yeon Woo.

Ji Yeon Woo’s upper body leaned back due to Do Hyun bending his waist forward.

As Do Hyun’s gaze touched her lips, Ji Yeon Woo unconsciously bit her plump, inwardly curled lips.

Do Hyun’s half-lowered eyelids lifted.

“Did you drink?”

“Ah, no?”

Shaking her head, Ji Yeon Woo took a step back.

At her words that she didn’t drink, Do Hyun also straightened his bent waist.

Unable to endure the brief, suspicious silence enveloping the living room, Ji Yeon Woo asked.

“Why were you still awake?”

“I couldn’t sleep so I was doing some work.”

And here I thought he was waiting for me again.

I knew it couldn’t be, but I guess I was secretly hoping for it.

I should quickly get rid of such futile expectations.

“Keep working then. I’m going to head in and sleep.”

In case she disturbed his work, the moment Ji Yeon Woo tried to pass by Do Hyun, he abruptly asked.

“Isn’t it too late?”

“Excuse me?”

“No matter what, it’s almost midnight. Isn’t it dangerous to be out with a man this late?”

Ji Yeon Woo stepped back and stood in front of Do Hyun.

Seeing his expressionless face, it didn’t seem like he was worried about her. She couldn’t understand why he was spouting words that would be more fitting coming from a father. Ji Yeon Woo questioned him.

“Isn’t it better for you? You can comfortably do work at home when I’m not here.”

“Work goes well even when you’re here. Don’t worry about that and come home early.”

Because you’re not here, that’s why work isn’t going well.

In three hours, there wasn’t a single document he had properly looked at.

There was no point in bringing the piled-up work home.

“Do I seem like a child in your eyes? I’m twenty-seven years old. There’s no problem with me coming home after midnight at my age.”

“Are you informing me in advance that you’ll be coming home after midnight from now on?”

It was strange. It wasn’t like she had a commute, and coming home a bit late wasn’t something to be reprimanded for.

He wasn’t even her real husband, so there was even less reason for her to be scolded by Do Hyun.

“You’re the one who told me to go ahead and meet men.”

“You should screen them carefully as you meet them.”

“Do you think I can’t even filter that out?”

“The Shin Ji Yeon I know is the kid who barged into a single man’s house and said she’d do anything if he married her.”

When he brought up the past she had briefly forgotten, Ji Yeon Woo’s cheeks quickly flushed red.

Those were words she had spoken without hesitation because he was someone she could trust.

If it hadn’t been Nam Do Hyun, she wouldn’t have said such things.

I wonder if he realizes what kind of person he was to me.

He probably doesn’t know. Since I never told him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take out that part about doing anything when proposing, as you advised.”

You went that far?

Even to the point of proposing?

How far into the future did you jump after meeting just once?

“What are you going to use instead of that?”

“Instead, I’m going to ask him to love me as much as he wants, to his heart’s content.”

She looked up at Do Hyun with round eyes, cheekily.

“I haven’t been able to get that from my husband so far.”

“You wanted that from me?”

Who would refuse to be loved?

However, she didn’t want to readily confess to Do Hyun, who disliked her so much that he practically tossed her to someone else.

Ji Yeon Woo raised one index finger and waved it side to side.

“Eh. Why would I want that? You should do something better for me than love or anything like that.”

“Something better?”

“Since it’s been a year, we need to renegotiate my salary. Please give me a big raise.”

The corners of Do Hyun’s straight mouth slanted to one side.

He even let out an absurd laugh as if it was ridiculous.

“You don’t need anything else and just want me to give you money?”

“What’s better for me right now than money? I can get plenty of love from other men, so I’m saying you should give me what I need most right now.”

“And if I can’t give you that?”

Ji Yeon Woo snorted as if she had no regrets.

“Then find someone else. I guarantee it’ll be hard to find someone who plays the role of a wife as well as I do.”

“Shin Ji Yeon, your negotiation skills have improved over the past year.”

“People need to make progress, you know? I guess mine have improved a bit.”

Do Hyun rubbed the back of his neck with his palm, feeling a dull ache.

Having said her piece, Ji Yeon Woo walked to her room, leaving behind a dumbfounded Do Hyun.

Then, as if she had forgotten something, she turned around and spoke to Do Hyun.

“Ah. I’m sure you’ve never waited for me, but even if I’m late, don’t come looking for me. I might stay out all night from now on.”

“St-stay out? You’re going to stay out?”

“Yes, stay out. 24 hours in a day isn’t enough.”

Ji Yeon Woo kindly informed him again and nodded her head.

“Good night.”

Thanks to you, it won’t be a good night.