“You went ahead without any loyalty.”
As Min Hyuk rambled on with no real conviction, Seo Yeon shrugged nonchalantly, wearing a leisurely smile.

He quickly remedied the potential awkwardness in the atmosphere by switching the topic.

He threw out an enticing topic that Seo Yeon would enjoy, buying himself some time to think.

While Min Hyuk nodded along as though he was listening attentively, only Seo Yeon’s comment about being actively engaged in flirting was replaying in his head.

He had never thought such a radiant woman would be single, but her saying she was about to start dating soon wrapped him up in indescribable feelings.

Min Hyuk found himself staring intently at Seo Yeon for the second time.

What is this uncomfortable feeling?

In truth, the reason Min Hyuk showed up at Hannibal without mobilizing his staff was due to his concerns about hotel matters.

Having experienced women a day or two, he read disgust in Seo Yeon’s expression as she turned away in the hotel.

He wanted to fix the somewhat distorted first impression, and felt compelled to explain to Seo Yeon, who seemed to be misunderstanding.

Just as he was pleased to have cleared up the misunderstanding, an unexpected variable emerged.

She doesn’t have a boyfriend yet, but she’s about to?

He had yet to properly delve into the deep impression from their first meeting.

But with the risk of losing her looming, Min Hyuk’s mind grew complex.

‘Timing…’
Min Hyuk repeated the word ‘timing’ to himself.

‘That’s right! Timing is everything. I need to move fast before it’s too late.’
Min Hyuk decided to take his time turning his feelings of interest into love.

First and foremost was the urgency to distance her from the other guy she was flirting with.

Before her feelings deepened, he needed to first imprint his existence.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this tension.’
Realizing there wasn’t much time left, a strange competitive spirit emerged from his anxiety.

Min Hyuk managed to calm his shaken feelings while pretending to listen to Seo Yeon’s story.

And he decided he would bring up the topic he had set aside earlier.

Whether the two of them had a good relationship in the past didn’t matter.

It was enough to use this amazing coincidence as an opportunity to get closer.

All they needed now was to marvel at meeting again after years and assign a special meaning to it. That would be sufficient.

“Do you know that?”
Seo Yeon’s pupils widened.

“You even apologized to me in the past. And gave me money.”
Seo Yeon tilted her head as if that couldn’t be true.

“If you want to continue with the riddle from earlier, just say so. I really can’t remember.”
“New York, Washington Square Park.”
I could barely remember what happened a month ago, let alone a few years back.

Seo Yeon mumbled ‘New York, New York’ as if she was trying to recall the memory.

Then, her light brown eyes widened in an instant.

“Ah! The coffee jerk. Huh!”
Seo Yeon quickly covered her mouth at the unexpected words that slipped out.

At that, Minhyuk burst into loud laughter, seemingly amused by something.

“Ha ha. Did you just call me that? Yes. That coffee jerk. That’s me. It’s funny how we all meet here.”
Minhyuk smiled brightly as if he had run into an old classmate.

“Indeed…… We all meet here.”
In truth, it wasn’t a pleasant memory for Seo Yeon.

Seeing Minhyuk’s overly excited face, Seo Yeon recalled the day long ago.

During her study abroad days in New York, a friend came to visit Seo Yeon.

The two took photos near Washington Square Park and went in to buy coffee.

“Rina, here, coffee. Shall we walk around a bit more and then move on to Soho? We can also do some shopping.”
Seo Yeon, holding a takeout cup with the nickname ‘H’ written on it, spoke.

“Excuse me. That’s mine.”
Startled by the sudden Korean, Seo Yeon turned around.

She didn’t find the Korean language pleasant at the sight of the man with a scrunched up face.

“It’s mine. See, it says ‘H’ here.”
“Did you check if the order is right?”
Seo Yeon took a closer look at her cup.

Her order was correct, but as she was wondering why he was picking a fight, the man held out his cup with ‘H’ written on it.

“It’s mine. It has lactosefree milk in it. Don’t you see the mark?”
It was a mistake to overlook the tiny letter written on the same menu with the same nickname.

However, Seo Yeon was baffled by the man’s excessively irritable reaction.

“I’m sorry. I’ll order the same one for you again.”
Despite Seo Yeon’s apology, the man didn’t relax his furrowed brows.

As if greatly annoyed, he snatched the drink from Seo Yeon’s hand.

“That’s fine. And here.”
The man handed Seo Yeon her original order and just walked out.

“Ah, what the hell.”
With an uncomfortable feeling, Seo Yeon quickly followed the man.

“Excuse me! I’m sorry, but I already sipped from that.”
“Do you have a disease?”
“No! But you shouldn’t drink a beverage someone else started. I’ll order a new one for you. Give it to me. I’ll throw it away.”

As Seo Yeon reached out her hand, he spoke with a tired face.