Joo, who couldn’t finish her words, stared at her empty hands.

The phone that should be in her hands was somehow in Do Hyun’s hands without her noticing.

“Elder brother!”

Joo hurriedly reached out her hand, but Do Hyun lifted the phone up high.

Even if she stood on her tiptoes, there was no way she could reach the phone.

Leaving Joo, who was jumping up and down, behind him, Do Hyun answered the phone instead.

“This is Nam Do Hyun.”

[…How are you in Yeosu, Representative Nam Do Hyun?]

“Since my wife is in Yeosu, there’s no reason I can’t come.”

[It must have been a long and inconvenient trip, but it was a wasted journey. Joo and I had already planned to go up to Seoul together.]

“Since it was a long and inconvenient trip, we shouldn’t make it a wasted journey.”

The tense confrontation was vividly transmitted to Joo, who was standing next to him.

[I’ll talk to Joo. Please put her on the phone.]

“You can talk tomorrow.”

Do Hyun looked down at Joo who was standing behind him.

“You can go back to Seoul alone.”

[Wait, Do Hy…]

Without even listening to Jin Won’s answer, Do Hyun unilaterally ended the call.

Do Hyun, who even turned off the power, put Joo’s phone inside his jacket pocket.

Joo stretched her arm out towards Do Hyun’s jacket, but Do Hyun stepped back at the last moment.

“I’ll keep this.”

“Why are you answering someone else’s phone as you please.”

“You keep pointing out that we’re strangers to each other.”

“Don’t change the subject and give me my phone.”

“Let me have it my way today.”

It’s mine, so what is there to compromise about?

Joo narrowed her eyes, looking thoroughly pissed off.

“Why did you even come to Yeosu?”

“Let’s just say I came to eat with you for now.”

He drove for five hours just to eat a meal?

It was obvious to anyone that that wasn’t the reason, but Do Hyun made up a ridiculous excuse.

As if he had no intention of telling her right away, Do Hyun opened the passenger door and threw a glance inside.

“Get in.”

“Where are we going?”

“We need to go eat dinner.”

It seemed like these days, every time he saw me, he asked to go eat.

Led by the absurd reason, Joo came to a seafood restaurant near the beach with Do Hyun.

Sitting at an open-air table, Joo tilted her head to the side in the refreshingly blowing wind.

A smile lingered on Joo’s lips at the scent of the sea, which was hard to smell in Seoul.

Despite having said in the car that she wasn’t hungry and wanted to go back to Seoul, Joo really liked this place.

“Is this the first time we’re eating out together?”

“Yes. It’s the first time I’m dining out with you, elder brother.”

“We’ve known each other for 7 years, but we’ve never eaten a meal together outside.”

Nam Do Hyun would soon leave for Clark, and when he returned to Korea, he would have to divorce Joo.

Joo thought that perhaps eating together today might be the last time.

‘It’s a shame. A little. Just a little bit.’

What were the odds that the last time would be in such a wonderful place?

Oddly enough, the sky was embroidered with stars, and the night air was particularly sweet today.

“It’s nice.”

For a moment, Joo thought she had accidentally spoken her inner thoughts out loud.

Joo, who had been looking at the leisurely shining night view even in the darkness, turned her head to Do Hyun.

Do Hyun was gazing at Joo, not the night sea.

“What is?”

At Joo’s question, Do Hyun finally shifted his gaze to the wide expanse of the sea.

“Nothing, it’s just nice to look at something so beautiful.”

“Right? It’s nice.”

It was nice even without any hidden motives, even though I was alone with the man who had coldly ditched me not long ago.

Ah, this absolutely doesn’t mean that I’ve fallen for Nam Do Hyun again.

The night view was just so pretty, and the weather was just right, so I was simply excited.

Yeah. I was just excited, that’s all.

‘I’m sure I would feel the same way even if I were with Representative Seo instead of elder brother.’

Turning her back on her obviously visible feelings, Joo looked in the same direction as Do Hyun.

***

When Do Hyun said he would buy her food, Joo didn’t refuse and filled her stomach with fresh sashimi to her heart’s content.

She thought they would go straight home since it was late, but Do Hyun moved his steps to a nearby beach.

Since she was getting a free ride, Joo had no choice but to follow Do Hyun.

Walking on the sidewalk next to the sandy beach, Joo stopped in her tracks.

“Give me my phone now.”

Joo had forgotten that Do Hyun had taken her phone, having been quite satisfied with the dinner.

When Joo reached out with both hands clasped together, Do Hyun took out the phone from inside his jacket without a word.

Just when she thought he would obediently return the phone, Do Hyun put the phone back inside his jacket.

“I’ll give it to you when you get in the car.”

“You’re doing whatever you want.”

Wondering what kind of childishness this was, Joo quickly caught up to Do Hyun, who was walking ahead, so as not to lose him.

“How did you know that I came to Yeosu with Representative Seo?”

“Manager Kim Yang Mi told me you went to Yeosu.”

“Then why did you come here? It couldn’t have been just to eat with me, right?”

It didn’t make sense for him to drive five hours to Yeosu just to have a meal.

Joo couldn’t let herself be fooled by Do Hyun’s excuses forever.

“I was concerned about you going to Yeosu alone with Representative Seo Jin Won.”

Those words only confused Joo even more.

“Why would you be concerned about that?”

Finally, Do Hyun’s steps, which had been walking forward, stopped.

Joo, who had been looking at Do Hyun’s back the whole time, could finally make eye contact with him.

The moment their gazes met, it felt like she had already heard the answer.

“I’m jealous of Representative Seo Jin Won. To the point of irresponsibly abandoning meetings and all.”

How honest.

“You drive me crazy, Shin Joo.”

And he said it so calmly.

She could tell that Do Hyun had already come to terms with his feelings.

“You said you don’t get jealous. You said it’s okay for me to see Representative Seo.”

“I thought what I felt for you was simply affection. Because I’ve known you for a long time. So I thought that feeling was natural.”

“What feeling are you talking about now? Do you like me or something?”

Please say no, that’s what she hoped for.

I’ve been trying so hard to suppress my feelings for you.

How much I’ve been hurting trying to break down the feelings I’ve built up.

“It’s not going well, not liking you.”

“……”

“I didn’t even try to in the first place.”

“Elder brother.”

“Listen to me till the end this time.”

Like last time, when she cut off Do Hyun’s words in front of the house, she tried to stop him from speaking. But this time, things didn’t go her way so easily.

“I like you.”

“……”

“I think I’ve liked you for longer than I thought. Me, towards you.”

It was as if the leisurely flowing wind had stopped.

The sound of crashing waves no longer rang in her ears.

It felt like time had stopped for a moment, but the gaze reaching her was vividly transmitted.

It was a confession she had desperately wanted until not long ago, but now it was just confusing.

Come to think of it, what he said was nice at the restaurant wasn’t about the night sea.

It meant that he liked being with me.

“Don’t you think it’s too late?”

“……”

“After telling me who likes you to see another man… Now you’re saying you like me?”

“I was a hundred percent wrong for hurting you.”

Joo shook her head vehemently.

“Forget the apology. I’ve given up on you. I’ve just barely gotten to the point where I can live forgetting about you.”

She had somewhat guessed from Do Hyun’s change in attitude.

But when she actually heard him say he liked her, a sorrowful emotion surged up like the tide.

The voice flowing out instantly lost its composure, and the two eyes wavered as if swallowed by the dark waves.

“So stop shaking me up.”

“It can’t be hidden. Even if you try to hide it, it won’t be hidden.”

“It’s a waste of time. No matter what you say, I can’t accept your feelings.”

The reason she couldn’t calm down wasn’t simply due to Do Hyun’s change of heart.

The moment she heard him say he liked her, a strange joy rushed in together.

The moment she learned that she wasn’t a meaningless existence to Do Hyun, she was inwardly proud.

And at the same time, a feeling of misery and hatred for herself blossomed.

After being hurt like that, did she want to feel fluttered again?

“I wasn’t asking you to accept them. You don’t have to feel burdened.”

“Give up then.”

“No. Even if you say you don’t like me, I’ll keep liking you.”

It was unbelievable.

Even though she had come out so firmly, Do Hyun didn’t back down at all.

From the beginning, it seemed like he had no intention of backing down.

“You’re going to keep liking me?”

“Just like you used to like me, I’m going to try liking you too.”

Do Hyun’s straight lips curved up smoothly.

“Jumping in without thinking twice, that’s originally my specialty.”

Was it because she had been hurt by Do Hyun like that and still couldn’t come to her senses?

The heart that had been quiet began to beat violently again, making a fierce sound.

Perhaps it was because the blood was circulating rapidly due to the pounding heart, but her head felt dizzy.

“This isn’t love.”

She didn’t want to feel fluttered by Do Hyun anymore.

She didn’t want to open her heart, intoxicated by his words of liking her.

She tried to deny Do Hyun’s feelings in any way possible.

She returned the exact same words Do Hyun had said, without a single letter off.

“Just because our lips touched a few times, you’re confusing the feeling you felt for love, just like you said.”

“You think so too?”

“Yes. You may have mistaken it for fluttering, for liking, just because we rubbed bodies a few times.”

She had never thought that way even once.

Even looking at it coldly, her feelings of liking Do Hyun were genuine. Yet she spat out lies for the sake of Do Hyun’s giving up.

She didn’t want him to come into her gaps and step into her heart anymore.

“I’ll know if I try it. Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not.”

Before she could even ask what he meant, Do Hyun’s actions came first.

As Do Hyun tilted his head at an angle, the light from the straight streetlamp was instantly obscured.

Without even a moment to blink, Do Hyun’s nose brushed past, and his lips gently pressed down on Joo’s lips.