Ha Jun entered the lecture hall without any expectations. The law school he entered due to his father’s insistence was unbearably boring. Today was just another one of those days.

“Are you Kim Ha Jun?”

When he was sitting in his seat with no enthusiasm, tapping on the broad desk and waiting for class, his name was unexpectedly called. Ha Jun, who thought the bright voice sounded a bit like Mi Ri’s, looked up.

Where his gaze landed, there was a woman looking down at him with long hair dyed a bright brown, heavy makeup, flashy clothes, and an equally confident expression.

“I’m Shin Hae Min. Have you heard of my name by any chance?”

“Not at all.”

At Ha Jun’s indifferent answer, the woman shrugged her shoulders.

“I thought Shin Jin Industries was quite a big company, but I guess the respected judge didn’t think so.”

Ha Jun bit his lip to avoid cursing.

At a glance, it might sound like sarcasm, but it was probably her sincere thought with no ill intent. He knew her type too well. There were often people like that in college too. The type that approached him after seeing his background…

“I need to attend the lecture, so could you move aside?”

“Then talk to me a bit after it’s over.”

“About what?”

“You’ll know right away once we talk.”

Ha Jun, who wasn’t even curious about what she wanted to discuss, nodded unenthusiastically. The situation changed when he received a call from Mi Ri during the lecture.

It was about meeting together with Ji Hyun. At the single name of Ji Hyun, Ha Jun completely erased from his mind what Hae Min had said about talking later.

“What kind of man doesn’t even have a car!”

Hae Min, who chased after Ha Jun as he disappeared like an arrow as soon as the lecture ended, shouted.

‘Ah…’

Only then did Ha Jun remember his promise with Hae Min and looked around.

She seemed more annoyed by the fact that Ha Jun didn’t have a car than her words being ignored.

The meeting place was right in front of them. Worried she might act like this in front of his friends if he ignored her more, he turned around.

“Why are you following me?”

“I said I have something to tell you.”

“What is it? Say it here.”

Hae Min, who was watching the cars whizzing by on the road, opened her mouth.

“Date me.”

“I think we just had our first conversation today?”

Hae Min quickly added as Ha Jun looked at her in disbelief.

“I’m not too keen on saying this either. It’s what my dad wants. So…”

There was only one answer to give at a time like this.

“But I don’t want to.”

The woman’s eyes grew wide.

“You think it’s only my dad who wants this? Your father feels the same way.”

At the word ‘father’, Ha Jun ran his hand through his hair irritably.

‘Why do these kids always bring up their parents? Do they really believe it’s persuasive?’

“Then the people who want it can meet each other.”

“Oh my, Ha Jun, your words are a bit much. I didn’t think you were like that…”

“I didn’t think you were like that…”

It was the phrase Ha Jun heard most often from female students during his college days. Unlike Shin Seung Ho, who had ‘jerk’ clearly written on his forehead, girls readily approached Ha Jun, who had a gentle impression.

When he heard the words he was tired of hearing whenever he flatly rejected their favors coming from Hae Min’s mouth, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Then will you let me go now? I have somewhere I need to be.”

“Wait! Don’t be like that and think about it a bit more.”

Hae Min grabbed Ha Jun’s sleeve.

“Hold on, this isn’t a bad offer, I’m telling you.”

“Enough. I clearly said I don’t want to.”

He shook off her hand without hesitation. With these types, if you engaged them too much, they were bound to think their words worked on you, so you had to brush them off to the point of being rude.

“Go look elsewhere.”

It was a familiar situation. He wasn’t worried about any repercussions at all. Until he faced the fact that Mi Ri and Ji Hyun had probably seen everything from the window seat…

As soon as he entered, Ha Jun, who was told he was a bad man, immediately regretted pushing Hae Min away.

“Hey, about what you two saw.”

Ha Jun rolled his eyes with a cautious expression. The gaze of the girls sitting across the table from him was quite serious.

But he couldn’t honestly tell them the circumstances he was in. He was afraid of what they would think if they found out that even dating involved a cost-benefit analysis in the world he belonged to. After a brief silence, Mi Ri spoke first.

“Yeah. I get it. A fatally bad boy, you probably wanted to try it at least once.”

“What? That’s not it…”

“Still, you should know how to reject a girl who likes you nicely.”

Ha Jun’s mouth went dry at Mi Ri’s words that sounded like an admonishment.

‘If she had clung to me saying she liked me, I could at least be a bad boy, but rejecting a girl who rushes at me just because her parents recommended it doesn’t make me bad.’

“Stop it. Ha Jun probably had his reasons too. More importantly, how’s law school?”

Ha Jun, who had been silently gulping down his iced Americano, stopped at Ji Hyun’s question that cut off Mi Ri’s words.

He had never told Ji Hyun that he was attending law school. Then there was only one person who could have told her. As accusatory eyes immediately turned to her, Mi Ri, whose position had changed, darted her eyes back and forth.

“That’s right. I told her. You two are friends, so why do you have so many secrets?”

“Secrets?”

“Ji Hyun got a job too.”

“What?”

Ha Jun’s questioning gaze turned to Ji Hyun.

‘Not preparing for the teacher certification exam?’

Ji Hyun, who read his thoughts, smiled as if in a difficult position.

“That’s how it turned out. I thought it would be better to earn some money before preparing for the exam since it costs money…”

“Why are you even going through such trouble? I can…”

‘Help you with that!’

Ha Jun tried hard to swallow the words that came out on their own. For a moment, he almost said he would cover the expenses while she prepared for the exam. He had suppressed those words countless times, knowing Ji Hyun would feel burdened if he said that.

“That’s good. What kind of job is it? Could it be that on the day you went out after receiving a call, you were offered a teaching assistant position?”

While Ji Hyun hesitated for a moment, Mi Ri spoke.

“It’s not a teaching assistant, but a personal secretary to the Grand Prince of the North.”

“The North… what?”

“Not quite a secretary…”

The moment he realized who the Grand Prince was, Ha Jun’s face contorted. Ji Hyun, who poked Mi Ri hard in the side as she tried to say more, looked at Ha Jun with slightly tense eyes.

“I ran into Shin Seung Ho by chance. He asked me to help out for a bit, so I’m working for him.”

“Shin Seung Ho…”

Ha Jun’s face as he uttered the name that felt as grating as sand was even worse than when he brushed off Hae Min. Ha Jun couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling in a situation that couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

Shin Seung Ho was a creepy person through and through. His name that kept popping up whenever he was about to forget was like that, and his carefree demeanor the last time he saw him in high school twisted his mood.

‘He couldn’t have possibly known it would turn out like this and smiled back then, right?’

Instead of asking a question, Ha Jun stirred his glass that only had ice left.

“What’s with this mood? Why is it so heavy?”

Mi Ri alternately looked at him and Ji Hyun, as if judging she had to do something about the chilly atmosphere that had set in. Ha Jun found it absurd. To be precise, the one who created the source of the problem was Mi Ri.

“You two don’t know this?”

“Know what?”

Mi Ri lowered her voice. Accordingly, Ji Hyun and Ha Jun also leaned in to hear her properly.

“There’s nothing like alcohol to soften the mood. And they sell it here too. Hey owner! Bring us some alcohol!”

Time passed and Ha Jun saw Mi Ri collapsed on the table, looking like she was about to throw a punch.

Mi Ri, who had shouted about having a good time and downed glass after glass, had passed out just like that. Despite her low alcohol tolerance, she always ended drinking gatherings like this because she loved to drink.

“Let’s go too. I’ll take care of Mi Ri…”

“Ji Hyun, wait a second.”

When Ji Hyun, who also had to think about going to work tomorrow, tried to get up from her seat, Ha Jun called out to her.

“Can we talk for a bit?”

Ha Jun’s eyes that hadn’t had much to drink were serious. Ji Hyun nodded.

“…Okay.”

“About you working. To be honest…”

Riing riing.

Just then, Ji Hyun’s cell phone rang. Her face stiffened as she checked the name on the screen. The caller was Shin Seung Ho.

Ji Hyun got out of the taxi and arrived at the I Hotel building exterior, glaring at it while huffing and puffing.

‘No wonder he told me to rest so easily, I was a fool for believing it at face value.’

There was no way Shin Seung Ho, who could make a fool of her with just a dessert menu, would readily give her a vacation.

The lounge bar that only VIPs could enter politely let Ji Hyun in upon hearing her name.

The marble floor and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling made the space even more elegant and atmospheric.

Shin Seung Ho, who had called Ji Hyun, was sitting alone at a table near an intricately sculpted fountain.

Before she could even say ‘hello’ into the cell phone that had been ringing continuously since the café earlier, his voice was heard first.

−I’ll send you the address, come here.

“It’s a bit difficult right now. Can’t I hear about it tomorrow when I come to work?”

−Haha…

When Ji Hyun refused in an awkward voice, Seung Ho openly sneered.

−Did you forget again?

“…”

−Absolute obedience to superiors during the contract period.

“But, but I have my own circumstances right now.”

−Come right away.

Click. After only saying what he wanted to say, Seung Ho hung up mercilessly, making Ji Hyun resent him.

“…You came.”

Clink, the ice in the glass Seung Ho was holding made a refreshing sound. Although she had also drunk alcohol, in Ji Hyun’s eyes, Seung Ho holding a crystal wine glass looked a bit unfamiliar.

“Are you drunk?”

At her question, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

“This is a whiskey soda. Do I look like I’d get drunk on something like this?”

Just by looking at his face, it seemed like he wouldn’t get drunk even if he drank hard liquor. Seung Ho looked at Ji Hyun and jerked his chin towards the empty seat in front.

“Sit.”

As Ji Hyun sat down, an employee of the lounge bar came over with a menu. Before even receiving the menu, Seung Ho spoke.

“An Einspänner with whipped cream on top.”

“But I haven’t decided yet?”

“You like sweet things.”

Ji Hyun couldn’t say anything as she looked at Seung Ho who stated it with certainty.

It was true that she liked sweet things. The coffee he ordered was soon placed in front of Ji Hyun.

The whipped cream nicely placed on the small coffee cup looked appetizing.

“But why did you call me?”

“…First, drink.”

Ji Hyun’s eyes grew round as she quietly brought the whipped cream to her lips.

Seung Ho rested his arm on the armrest, propped his chin, and leisurely watched her drink the coffee.

‘It must taste much better than expected.’

Choi Ji Hyun was truly too easy to read.

Just by looking at the movement of her eyes, he could tell what she was thinking.

Snicker, he laughed without realizing it. After taking a few more sips, Ji Hyun carefully put the cup down so it wouldn’t make a sound and faced Seung Ho.

“What did you want to say?”

“…”

Instead of answering, he stared intently at her, and she blushed as if finding his gaze burdensome.

“Wasn’t there something important you wanted to say since you called me?”

Seung Ho, who turned his gaze to Ji Hyun as she asked with emphasis again, gulped down his whiskey soda. It was a somewhat tiring day from the meaningless competition.

He was sick of his brother who was desperate to find his weakness. Then what suddenly came to mind was Ji Hyun.

Just thinking of her allowed him to forget, even a little, the disgust he felt towards his own flesh and blood. So he called her.

Because I thought of you, because once a thought popped up, I absolutely couldn’t stop it with willpower alone…