“I know you handle things well on your own, but don’t provoke Ms. Oh too much when you’re alone.”

“…”

“That woman is not to be underestimated. She’s a nasty woman.”

She observed him as he sat at an angle, resting his chin on his hand, speaking earnestly.

Not liking her seemingly dismissive attitude, Jae Ha rose from his seat.

“You’re not paying attention. You’re not focusing on what I’m saying?”

“Of course, I’m careful. But it seems like you’re overprotective.”

“Overprotective? It’s a reasonable protective measure.”

She gave him a skeptical glance at the word “reasonable.”

He chuckled at her expression and then pulled her camping chair closer to him.

“Hey? What are you doing?”

“When conversing, you’re supposed to make eye contact. Ms. Yoon Yeo Jin.”

Due to him forcibly adjusting her chair, their eyes met.

The uncomfortably close distance made her sit up straight in her chair.

“Doesn’t this seem like how you treat a child?”

“Does it? But if I don’t do this, you don’t focus on me.”

It wasn’t that she wasn’t focusing, but rather his intense gaze was overwhelming.

Despite her attempts to avoid his gaze, she ended up meeting his eyes even more directly.

The crackling fire reflected brightly in Jae Ha’s dark eyes.

He seemed deep in thought for a moment before cautiously speaking.

“Sometimes you seem more experienced than me, and at other times, you seem younger than twenty-nine. You’re a bit strange.”

He intently looked into my eyes, seemingly seeking answers.

After what felt like a long moment of eye contact, she was the first to turn her head.

Wearing the guise of twenty-nine, when she was actually thirty-four, proved Jae Ha’s instincts were sharp.

For some reason, lying in front of him was difficult, especially under that gaze.

‘It’s better to feign ignorance.’

“I always feel the same. I don’t know.”

“…”

“By the way, are we going to keep facing each other like this with the chairs? It’s uncomfortable.”

She tried to turn the chair back to its original position, but it didn’t budge an inch.
Jae Ha seemed unwilling to let go, so I eventually gave up on returning to my original spot.

“Why are you doing this? I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Under Jae Ha’s piercing gaze, I unexpectedly began to feel parched.

I reached out extensively, but perhaps due to moving the chair, I couldn’t reach the table where the glass was placed.

“Could you pass me that glass?”

I received the glass he had been drinking from.

Only after savoring the aroma of the wine that spread in my mouth did I start to feel a bit more at ease.

Jae Ha’s eyes held a playful shimmer as he watched me down the wine in one go.

“By the way, you mentioned hurrying the wedding. What’s the plan?”

“Rushing? Me?”

“Don’t you remember? It’s strange. It happened today.”

‘Today?’

Looking at him with a puzzled expression, Jae Ha furrowed his brows.

He sat askew in his chair, his gaze somewhat mocking, “You seemed to have forgotten so quickly. You spoke clearly in front of Ms. Oh earlier today.”

‘Could it be?’

It suddenly dawned on me that Jae Ha had been on the call earlier.

My heart raced when Jae Ha mentioned Ms. Oh.

“I plan to forgo all the complex procedures and ceremonies, and just go straight to the reception.”

Jae Ha parroted my words exactly, without missing a single detail.

“Ms. Oh has raised her son very well.”

His words left me increasingly speechless.

“Stop! Wait a moment!”

I could almost predict the words that would follow.

“Thanks to her, I’ve fallen deeply for you, Jae Ha.”

That sentence, I did not wish to hear from Jae Ha’s lips.

In my urgency, forgetting the glass in my hand, I covered his mouth.

At that moment, the wine in the glass sloshed, spilling over my blouse.

The red wine staining my white outfit made me jump from my seat.

“You should’ve been more careful.”

Pulling my hand away from his mouth, Jae Ha responded.

“Did you also spill on yourself, Jae Ha? What should I do? I didn’t mean to.”

Thinking that only I was soaked, I noticed the spreading red stain on Jae Ha’s white shirt.

Temporarily setting aside my embarrassment, I put the glass on the table and turned to him.

“Why are you so mischievous?”

“I’ve always been this way, not just for a day or two.”

Jae Ha shrugged.

Seeing Jae Ha’s smirking face made me feel even more irritated.

After all, this is the only outfit I had on.

Brushing off the wine droplets on my blouse, my dismay was evident.

“Do you have a spare outfit by any chance?”

“Why would I have one?”

Seeing his response, I looked at him despondently.

With the stain spreading rapidly, I began to scan our surroundings in desperation.

“What are you looking for?”

“It’s a bit awkward to return to the villa like this. Ah! It’s over there.”

Spotting a faucet nearby, I took Jae Ha’s hand and led him towards it.

The sound of cascading water was persistent.

I struggled for minutes trying to clean the stained areas, but it wouldn’t budge easily. The more I tried, the wetter the shirt became.

I regretted wearing white.

My blouse kept sticking to me due to the wine and water, and I busied myself shaking it off.

‘How many outfits have I ruined like this?’

Turning around, Jae Ha stood just as he did when we first arrived at the faucet.

A sigh left my lips seeing the wine stain on his shirt.

“Why are you just standing there? Come here.”

I led Jae Ha, who seemed to have no intention of cleaning up, closer to the faucet.
His prank did play a part, but it was fundamentally my fault for spilling the wine.

Seeing his ruined shirt, I felt a pang of guilt.

“It’s not coming out easily. What should we do?”

Despite my efforts to clean Jae Ha’s shirt with water, the red stain only seemed to spread more due to the water.

This wasn’t something a towel could fix.

“Do you have a change of clothes, Jae Ha? You don’t, do you?”

I suddenly recalled how Jae Ha hadn’t brought any extra luggage with him.

Thinking it might be faster to wipe it with my hands, I put down the towel I had been using on the faucet.

As I laid my hand on his shirt, Jae Ha flinched.

Thanks to the water soaking through his shirt, the contours of his chest beneath became visible.

That’s when I realized something was amiss.

“That’s enough.”

I heard a deep sigh from above, followed by Jae Ha’s low voice.

Only when I looked up did our eyes meet.

What was I doing…

Startled, I tried to pull my hand from his chest, but this time, Jae Ha gripped my hand.

“I find this hand more difficult to endure than the wetness.”

He said, lifting my held hand for me to see.

A heaviness settled in my chest. The playful look in his eyes was gone.

“I get it. Can you let go of my hand now?”

I backed away as Jae Ha moved closer to me.

His eyes darkened, sensing my intention to escape.

Finally, the tips of my fingers touched the faucet.

The sound of the continuously flowing water was the only thing filling the silence.

He leaned closer, placing both arms on either side of my shoulders.

His face moved closer and with his extended hand, he turned off the tap.

The sound of water stopped, and silence enveloped us.

For a while, we just stared at each other.

I could feel Jae Ha’s deep breath, with no other place to escape.

The cool breeze from the forest made me involuntarily shiver.

The night was not just fresh but chilly, and being wet made it even colder.

“Yeo Jin, why do you provoke me like this?”

And then, an unfamiliar tone calling my name lingered in my ears.