“But Joo, it’s been over a year since you got married. Do you still call him senior?”

Joo lowered her head, worried that her stiffening expression might be visible.

She struggled to speak, her lips trembling before finally making a sound.

“I’ve gotten used to calling him senior.”

“I guess it would be hard to change after calling him that for years.”

Fortunately, Ji Eun didn’t find it suspicious and instead empathized with Joo’s position.

Joo’s heart sank once, and she lost her appetite.

She remained tense, fearing Ji Eun might ask detailed questions about their married life.

The occasional clinking of dishes briefly stopped as Ji Eun brought up a new topic.

“Elder brother, do you remember Young Jun?”

“Kang Young Jun?”

“Yes. He was a year junior to us. He lived in the same villa as me when I was in England.”

“Young Jun went to England?”

Joo, completely unaware of this story, just rolled her eyes between Do Hyun and Ji Eun.

“I was so surprised. He runs a Korean restaurant in England, and it’s quite popular.”

“I didn’t know he was good at cooking.”

“He’s really good. I went there often when I was in England, and his skills are impressive. Probably better than me?”

“Well, that’s a given.”

Joo felt like she was drifting away from Do Hyun and Ji Eun without realizing it.

As it was a name she had never heard before, Joo couldn’t join in the conversation at all.

Completely excluded, Joo unintentionally kept her mouth tightly shut.

“Pfft. Elder brother, do you remember? In my third year, during the MT, I volunteered to make dinner and nearly set the frying pan on fire.”

“That’s not something to laugh about. You almost burned down the whole kitchen.”

The dense conversation continued until the end of the meal. Joo felt like she was the one wedged between the two, rather than Ji Eun.

Ji Eun spoke to Do Hyun as he was leaving the restaurant.

“Since you treated me to the meal, I’ll buy coffee in good conscience.”

“Let’s have coffee another time.”

“Are you busy? Too busy even for coffee?”

“Yes. I’m busy now.”

Ji Eun, with both hands in her coat pockets, shrugged her shoulders.

“Can’t be helped then. We’ll have it next time, I guess.”

“I’ll be going first.”

“Alright, Joo. Let’s meet again soon.”

Ji Eun waved at Joo with a bright smile.

As Ji Eun walked away, Do Hyun and Joo turned to head back to the company.

Only after being left alone with Do Hyun did Joo feel the tension that had built up start to ease.

“Do we have to go straight back to work?”

“No. I need to take care of something with you now. Let’s go for coffee.”

Joo tilted her head.

“But you just told Ji Eun senior that you couldn’t have coffee.”

“Bae Ji Eun is a nuisance to me right now.”

“So you lied to Ji Eun senior?”

“Cut me some slack. I wanted to be alone with you today.”

Joo was grateful that Do Hyun unfailingly said what she wanted to hear.

The disappointment she had piled up in the restaurant earlier quickly washed away.

Her heart swelled with the thought that she wasn’t the only one who wanted to be alone together.

“Me too. I wanted to be alone with you too, senior.”

“Let’s go then. We’ll make the most of our remaining time.”

Both of their lips curved into identical smiles.

They walked in step, holding hands simultaneously reached out to each other.

Joo, who had kept her lips tightly sealed in the restaurant, now chattered away to Do Hyun.

Do Hyun couldn’t stop smiling at Joo’s chirping like a little chick.

Ji Eun, who had turned her back first, stopped in her tracks and looked back.

Seeing the intimate couple, Ji Eun swallowed a bitter smile before moving on.

***

It was two days after Ji Eun had returned to Korea.

Do Hyun, finishing a long day of work, pressed his fingers against his deeply sunken eyes and turned off his computer.

As he was putting on his jacket from the coat rack, his phone on the desk vibrated.

Seeing Ji Eun’s name on the screen, Do Hyun pressed the call button.

“You’ve been calling frequently these days.”

[You’re the first person I thought of right now.]

Ji Eun’s voice had background noise, suggesting she was outside.

[Are you still at the office?]

“I’m about to leave.”

[Perfect. I’m in front of your office. Can you give me a ride?]

“You know I have a place near the office.”

Do Hyun was in a hurry. Due to the recent influx of work, he only saw Joo during morning commutes.

He needed to get home quickly to at least see Joo’s face before she fell asleep.

[I know, that’s why I’m asking. I’ve used up all the cash I brought, and I left my card at the hotel. It’s only a 10-minute drive. Can’t you do me this favor? Hmm?]

Do Hyun knew well how persistent Bae Ji Eun could be.

Instead of scolding her about what she spent her cash on and why she didn’t bring her card, he decided to drive her to her destination.

“I’ll come to the front of the office, so wait there.”

[Got it!]

After hanging up, Do Hyun checked the time on his phone and hurried his steps.

He went down to the underground parking lot, got in his car, and started the engine.

Soon after reaching the ground level, he spotted Ji Eun standing on the sidewalk and pulled over to the curb.

Ji Eun quickly climbed into the passenger seat, rubbing her hands together and blowing on her red fingertips.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

“Where should I take you?”

“Drop me off at Hotel C.”

As they started moving at the green light above, Do Hyun questioned her.

“Why are you going to a hotel instead of home?”

“I found a place near my new job, but the current tenant leaves in a week, so I’m staying at the hotel until then.”

“Is the hotel comfortable enough?”

“It’s fine, but it’s lonely. I was alone in a foreign country, and now I’m alone in Korea too.”

Ji Eun’s parents had moved to Canada a year ago, so she had nowhere to stay in Korea.

Of course, her parents had the means to easily own several houses in Seoul, but being not materialistic, they had disposed of all unnecessary properties.

“So, I have a favor to ask you.”

“The answer is no.”

“No, hear me out first.”

Ji Eun whined, wiggling her hips.

“Can’t I stay at your place for just a week? Actually, just 4 days!”

“What? Where would you stay?”

“You have lots of unused rooms in your penthouse, right? Can’t you give me the most secluded one?”

Do Hyun was dumbfounded by her bold request.

Barely making it through an amber light, Do Hyun spoke with an expressionless face.

“How comfortable do you think you are with me?”

“How can I not be comfortable? Our parents know each other, and thanks to that, you and I have known each other since childhood. We’re practically family.”

“That statement is quite open to misinterpretation.”

Do Hyun, still looking straight ahead, glanced briefly at Ji Eun.

“Right now, Joo is my only family.”

“……”

“Keep the boundaries clear. What do you think Joo would think if I brought you home?”

Ji Eun felt Do Hyun was being too harsh, especially since she didn’t think she was asking for much.

“Are you worried Joo won’t understand our situation?”

“She would understand. That’s the kind of person Joo is.”

Ji Eun, who had been pressing her lips tightly, voiced her discontent.

“Then why can’t I stay?”

“That’s exactly why it can’t happen. Because she’s kind, she’ll force herself to accept your request, and because she’s kind, she’ll suffer alone trying to understand.”

“……”

“I’ve already made things difficult for her before you came. So I’m not going to make things hard for Joo anymore.”

Do Hyun cut Ji Eun off coldly, ensuring she wouldn’t dare make a similar request again.

She had returned because she missed life in her hometown, but after coming back to Korea after 4 years, many things seemed to have changed.

Especially Nam Do Hyun. Until college, she had followed him like an older brother, but now he felt as distant as a stranger.

“What you said makes sense since you’re Joo’s husband, but it still hurts my feelings. I wonder if you needed to be so cold. You weren’t like this before I left Korea……”

“I’m Shin Joo’s husband now. Joo’s feelings come first. Now and in the future.”

“……”

“So don’t get upset over things like this. You can’t feel hurt every time.”

It was clear that her priority had been pushed back.

She had thought her relationship with Do Hyun would remain the same even after his marriage, but now she felt naive for expecting that.

“Get out. We’re here.”

Ji Eun unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to get out of the passenger seat when she turned back to Do Hyun.

“Can I be a little mad at you today?”

“Be as mad as you want. Feel hurt too. But don’t lean on me. Nothing’s going to change from how it is now.”

Ji Eun finally came to her senses.

It had been a foolish desire to hope that Do Hyun hadn’t changed like her over the past 4 years.

She had expected the same daily life with Do Hyun when returning home.

Eating dinner together, going to cafes to chat, sharing their daily lives.

But now she painfully realized that was no longer possible.

“Sigh. I think I was quite rude to you today. I’ll apologize.”

Ji Eun put her palms together and then dropped them.

“I really had no ulterior motive when I asked to stay at your place. I thought there might be room for me since you have many rooms. I had no intention of interfering between you and Joo.”

“I know. I don’t misunderstand.”

“That’s a relief then. I’ll be going now.”

Ji Eun stretched her lips to the side and nodded her head as she opened the passenger door.

“Thanks for the ride.”

As Ji Eun got out of the car and closed the passenger door, Do Hyun’s car left the hotel.

The car sped down the now quiet road towards the apartment where Joo was.

Do Hyun quickly erased the conversation with Ji Eun from his memory.

His only thought now was that he needed to see Joo.

Perhaps that’s why Do Hyun never noticed that Ji Eun’s lipstick had fallen onto the passenger seat.