Bringing the teacup to her lips, Bo Ra immediately frowned.

“Who made this coffee?”

Her accusing gaze naturally turned to Ji Hyun. Judging by her expression, it seemed she was going to find another absurd fault.

Glaring disapprovingly at Ji Hyun who was quietly occupying the space, Bo Ra soon began ordering her around incessantly. It started with pointing at the napkins on the table, saying she disliked the plain design and to bring ones with lace patterns.

“Bring some cream biscuits. You should know what those are, right?”

“The ade tastes bad. I don’t want it, change it to green tea.”

But that wasn’t the end of it. She grumbled that the other desserts, which had already been changed several times, tasted bad, and suddenly pushed away the green tea she had been drinking well.

She said that continuously smelling the scent of green tea reminded her of a British friend who would shout “I love oriental” whenever he saw her, which annoyed her.

Although Bo Ra seemed to be tormenting Ji Hyun by making her run errands, unfortunately for her, Ji Hyun was unfazed. She was already used to this kind of task because of Shin Seung Ho.

As Ji Hyun skillfully carried out the demanding orders without mistakes, contrary to what she had expected, Bo Ra, who was trembling alone, finally ordered coffee as a last resort.

“It has to be hand-dripped. Instant coffee won’t do.”

Soon, a cup of coffee was placed in front of Bo Ra. She gave a triumphant smile. Since Ji Hyun had nodded her head in a daze at her complicated order, she was convinced that Ji Hyun must have brewed the coffee.

Now all that was left was to thoroughly humiliate her. Bo Ra raised her chin and spoke primly.

“The coffee tastes terrible.”

“…Pardon?”

Before Ji Hyun could show her bewilderment, Min Woo abruptly interjected into the conversation.

“That’s strange. It couldn’t be like that, right? Bo Ra, are you sure your taste buds aren’t off?”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Bo Ra furrowed her brows fiercely. Leaning back on the sofa as if lying down, he opened his mouth with a nonchalant expression instead of the pale-faced Ji Hyun.

“The coffee was probably made by the ajumma in the kitchen. She has a barista certificate, you know.”

“What? A barista?”

Bo Ra, with an incredulous expression, stared blankly at the coffee she had been drinking. The pitch-black coffee swayed like her heart.

“My aunt likes coffee, you see. So when hiring the kitchen ajumma, we purposely looked for someone with a barista certificate to be the helper, as far as I know.”

“Why are you mentioning that now?”

Embarrassed, Bo Ra shouted loudly.

Ji Hyun was also surprised by his explanation. It was true that the coffee was brewed by the helper ajumma, but she hadn’t known she had a professional barista certificate.

Only then did she understand why the ajumma would take out different types of coffee beans and smell them whenever a coffee order came in.

‘No wonder she meticulously selected the beans.’

“Tsk.”

Bo Ra, whose plan to drive Ji Hyun out of this space by finding fault had gone awry, pursed her lips and soon carried on the conversation with a different topic as if nothing had happened.

“What should we do in Switzerland during the break? I’m so looking forward to something.”

“What else? We’ll ski to our heart’s content. Duh.”

“Kwon Min Woo, I wasn’t asking you, was I?”

“Who cares who answers? Seung Ho will only ski if he goes too.”

Lying at an angle, Min Woo stretched, perhaps because his back hurt. Bo Ra glanced at Ji Hyun and raised her voice as if telling her to listen.

“My mom told me to buy a watch, so I’m thinking about that. Of course, I have a bag in mind too, but I’m not sure how it’ll be.”

Bo Ra even flashed a smile at Ji Hyun. It was a childish ploy to blatantly show how different their worlds were and where she stood.

However, unfortunately for Bo Ra, her efforts had no impact on Ji Hyun. Rather, the more she heard about their vacation plans in a different world, the more excited she became.

As Manager Kim had said, it was certain that Seung Ho would soon go abroad with his friends. That meant that once the break started, tasks like this by Seung Ho’s side would come to an end.

Now, without being summoned to the mansion, she would be pulling weeds in the garden, tending to the trees preparing for winter, and doing such work. It meant returning to a peaceful daily life.

That wasn’t all.

Although she disliked going to the mansion to the point of skipping school, she had saved up quite a bit of money.

With that amount, she wouldn’t be able to buy anything expensive, but she could replace her aunt’s old bag. Ji Hyun’s heart raced at the thought of a quiet but happy break.

If a little more time passed, if she endured a little longer…

Seung Ho only sipped his non-alcoholic Bamboo Salt drink and remained silent. Unable to bear his silence, Bo Ra turned her body.

“What are you going to do, Seung Ho?”

“Yawn, I just said earlier. He’ll be with me.”

Min Woo, who couldn’t stand it anymore, directed his annoyance at Bo Ra, who kept yawning.

“Hey, Kwon Min Woo, are you Seung Ho’s girlfriend? Why do you keep answering?”

Scolded, Min Woo shrugged his shoulders with an unfazed expression.

“Well, because Seung Ho…”

‘Doesn’t seem to be in a good mood, so.’

In fact, Ji Hyun wasn’t the only one uncomfortable in this situation. The quick-witted Min Woo noticed that Seung Ho wasn’t his usual self. If it were the usual Seung Ho, he wouldn’t have paid attention to when his friends came and went to his house.

Rather, he knew how to respond appropriately to unexpected guests and solidify his position by doing so. But today, Seung Ho was unusually strange.

His behavior, as if an important time had been disrupted, was unfamiliar and, above all, awkward. Because he had wanted to introduce his friend to Seung Ho today.

‘Out of all the days, why does he have to be in a bad mood today of all days!’

Biting his lip tightly, Min Woo recalled what he had said to his friend before leaving with Bo Ra.

“Come later. It’ll be good for you to get acquainted with each other for the future, so don’t skip out no matter what.”

“…Got it.”

Regret washed over him. He wanted to slap his own mouth for confidently telling him to come to a house that wasn’t even his.

‘If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have invited him. No, I hope even now that something urgent comes up and he can’t make it…’

Anyway, it was already a done deal, so Min Woo swallowed dryly as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was about time to bring it up.

“Seung Ho, actually, there’s something I want to say.”

At the hesitant and cautious voice, which was somehow unlike him, Seung Ho nodded his head as if to keep talking.

“I have a friend I invited for you. He’s a good kid.”

Bo Ra quickly chimed in, pretending to know.

“Ah, him? Is he really your boyfriend?”

“Not a girl.”

“I know.”

Seeing Bo Ra smiling as if the atmosphere wasn’t her business, Min Woo felt even more disturbed.

“He heard you were injured and wanted to come visit, and he was also a friend I wanted to introduce to you someday.”

“…Is it a girl?”

Seung Ho bluntly asked the same thing Bo Ra had said, but Min Woo politely shook his head.

“Hmm, there’s no way. I clearly said no earlier.”

“If it’s a guy, that’s awesome. Whoever he is, Kwon Min Woo must really like him.”

Min Woo gritted his teeth. Bo Ra, who kept chiming in and snickering as if she had changed her harassment target from Ji Hyun to him, had never been more annoying than today.

‘Yu Bo Ra, just you wait.’

“He doesn’t attend Seomun High, so you probably won’t know him well. His father is in the legal circles. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be friendly with him.”

Seung Ho nodded his head with an indifferent face. Such an acquaintance wouldn’t be bad. Sensing an opportunity, Min Woo continued his explanation enthusiastically.

“He attends Cheongmyeong High and his name is Kim Ha Jun. His father is at the Seoul Supreme Court and is quite well-regarded.”

Kim Ha Jun.

The moment the familiar name came out of Min Woo’s mouth, thump, Ji Hyun’s heart dropped.

‘Ha Jun, Kim Ha Jun. So you’re talking about the Ha Jun I know?’

It couldn’t be, there’s no way…

Ji Hyun’s pale lips trembled.

She wanted to deny it, wanted to believe it was someone with the same name, but their conversation was painting a clearer picture of Ji Hyun’s friend Kim Ha Jun. Seung Ho’s brows furrowed slightly at the name Cheongmyeong, which grated on him.

“Why would someone like that go to Cheongmyeong?”

“His parents told him to go to Seomun, but he said he didn’t want to.”

“Stupid.”

Seung Ho raised the corner of his mouth in derision. He had no expectations for a guy who would kick away the stairs to his future due to a worthless rebellious spirit. The fact that he attended Cheongmyeong, in particular, made him more unpleasant for no special reason.

“If you meet him in person, you’ll think differently. I’m telling you, he’s an incredibly good kid.”

While Min Woo was heating up with praise for Ha Jun, Manager Kim came up to the second floor.

“Young Master Seung Ho, a guest has arrived. He said his name was Kim Ha Jun, was it?”

Hearing the visitor’s name, Min Woo brightened up as if he had been waiting.

“He’s finally here. He’s my friend. Manager Kim, please show him this way.”

Neatly clasping her sweaty hands together, Ji Hyun closed her eyes and prayed in her heart.

‘Please let it not be him, let it not be the Kim Ha Jun I know…’

Soon, along with Manager Kim’s voice guiding him, the sound of ascending the stairs and the busy commotion of people coming and going could be heard, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes.

“Seung Ho, this is the friend I mentioned. Kim Ha Jun.”

Please…

“Nice to meet you.”

The moment she heard the familiar voice, Ji Hyun unknowingly opened her eyes. The kind voice with a rich tone. Her friend Ha Jun was there.