Ji Soo looked at the cheerful intern alone with incredulous eyes while everyone else was at a loss.

Of course, she didn’t go all the way to Paris to buy this. She just took it out of Yoon Seo Ha’s dressing room and wore it as she pleased.

But these shoes were definitely from the Paris collection. It wasn’t something casually picked up, Yoon Seo Ha had written it herself on the shoe box. 2018 Paris Collection, it said.

Too arrogant for an intern.

Ji Soo hardened her expression and asked coldly.

“Alright. Intern Jo Seo Ha, you said this was from the Milan collection? That it’s engraved in Italian on the sole?”

“Yes. May I take a look?”

“By all means. It’s my job to teach interns after all.”

Ji Soo slipped one foot out of the shoe. Another employee quickly brought a slipper and placed it on the floor for her to wear instead of the shoe.

“Thank you!”

Seo Ha cheerfully greeted as she picked up the shoe and held the sole up to the fluorescent light.

“Huh?”

The confused and puzzled expression was truly worth seeing. Of course. There would be no such engraving in Italian on those shoes.

“Let the others take a look too. See if there’s an engraving.”

Seo Ha hesitantly passed the shoe along. It was Hwang Joo Hee, a new designer who also started working today like Seo Ha.

“There is an engraving… But it looks like French. Not Italian.”

“I thought so.”

Ji Soo shrugged and tapped the floor with her toes.

“Now, would you put my shoe back on, Intern Jo Seo Ha? And from now on, don’t trust your shallow knowledge too much.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you for teaching me.”

Seo Ha crouched down and put the shoe on Ji Soo’s foot. Her own shoe that she had rushed to Paris to buy despite her tired body.

“By the way, Team Leader.”

The gazes of Seo Ha, crouching with the shoe in hand, and Ji Soo looking down met in mid-air.

“Who is Yoon Seo Ha?”

“What?”

Ji Soo’s eyes shook greatly.

“It’s written on the sole. In French.”

“Wh-what are you talking about? In-Intern Jo Seo Ha. Can you even read French?”

“Yes.”

Seo Ha flipped the shoe over and read what was written on the sole.

“2018, Paris. Made by master craftsman Pierre Dubois. For Madame Seo Ha Yoon.”

This is mine. Starting with these shoes, you’ll lose one by one the things you stole from me. On that final day, even Lee Seung Oh who loved you to death won’t be by your side.

“It says it was made by Pierre Dubois in Paris. For Madame Yoon Seo Ha. Oh, she has the same name as me?”

Some people flinched when she said ‘Yoon Seo Ha’. Even the new designers seemed to know that name.

“I mixed it up with another shoe. So, what are you trying to say?”

Ji Soo snapped in a sharp tone as she snatched the shoe away. Seo Ha shrugged slightly.

“Well, I was wrong after all. Thank you for teaching me. There’s a lot I don’t know. I look forward to working with you!”

“I wonder how much I can teach you in three months. Sit down and organize your desk, Intern Jo Seo Ha!”

Leaving behind the will to ‘definitely fire you when the internship is over’, Ji Soo went straight to her seat.

Go ahead. If you can.

Seo Ha’s eyes sparkled as she looked at that desk, which was originally hers.

Lee Seung Oh had a few set restaurants he went to. After lunch, he would always have a cup of coffee at his regular cafe, take a walk around the company, and then return to the office.

Seo Ha knew all those restaurants and his routine. What time he came out, where he went, what time he had coffee, and what time he took a walk.

But she didn’t go to find him directly. That would be awkwardly artificial to the point of being off-putting.

“Hello.”

The place Seo Ha chose was the street. A tteokbokki stand that he would inevitably pass on his way from the restaurant to the cafe.

“How much is one serving of tteokbokki?”

“Three thousand five hundred won.”

“I’ll have one serving. Can I have some soup too?”

“Sure.”

While the lady was filling a plastic-wrapped bowl with tteokbokki, Seo Ha sipped the warm soup.

He’ll be here in about five minutes.

Using Lee Seung Oh, she could not only successfully establish herself in the company, but also legally visit the hospital room. It would be possible to meet her mother or visually confirm Yoon Seo Ha’s original body.

And she wanted to see it. The sight of your once passionately intense love turning to trash, spewing contempt at each other and meeting its demise.

“One serving of tteokbokki is ready.”

“Thank you!”

Seo Ha actually didn’t like tteokbokki. It was Lee Seung Oh who liked it. To dig deeper, Lee Seung Oh liked ‘Yoon Seo Ha eating tteokbokki at a street stand’.

She didn’t know then, but now she thought she understood. The reason why Lee Seung Oh used to take Seo Ha to street stands and Kimbap Heaven so often.

Lee Seung Oh stopped on the other side of the crosswalk. The unwelcome Ryu Kyung Jun was with him. Why that spy was sticking so close was something to look into gradually.

Seo Ha stuffed her mouth full of tteokbokki and chewed. The swollen rice cakes stuck to her teeth and heavily blocked her throat.

“Oh my, young lady. Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion!”

The kind lady quickly filled another cup of fish cake soup and handed it over.

“Thangk you!” (Thank you!)

Seo Ha barely swallowed the tteokbokki with the soup, pounding her chest.

From across the 4-lane crosswalk, that sight looked very interesting. The person who first noticed Seo Ha wasn’t Lee Seung Oh, but Kyung Jun.

A woman who looked nothing like Yoon Seo Ha yet somehow resembled her was eating tteokbokki alone at a food stall. The way she was shoving rice cakes into her mouth like a homeless person who had been starving for three days while running away was definitely not Yoon Seo Ha.

Right. They just have the same name. There’s no way a woman like that could resemble Yoon Seo Ha.

“Jo Seo Ha…”

At the words he unconsciously muttered, Lee Seung Oh also noticed Seo Ha’s presence.

The signal changed to green. Kyung Jun quickly grabbed Lee Seung Oh, who was about to cross the crosswalk with quick steps and enter under the stand’s awning.

“Where are you going?”

“I didn’t eat enough lunch.”

It was a blatant lie. Kyung Jun had already noticed Lee Seung Oh’s gaze fixed on Jo Seo Ha and furrowed his brow.

“I’ll have snacks brought to the CEO’s office.”

“I’ll just have one fish cake and go.”

At the sound of their bickering, Jo Seo Ha turned around and hurriedly greeted them.

“Ah, hello! I’m Intern Jo Seo Ha!”

Red tteokbokki sauce was smeared around Jo Seo Ha’s mouth as she bowed at a 90-degree angle. Seung Oh chuckled and took out a handkerchief to offer.

“What were you eating so deliciously by yourself?”

“Oh, just, tteokbokki…”

Seo Ha didn’t take the handkerchief and instead pulled out a few tissues hanging at the stand to roughly wipe her mouth. The tteokbokki sauce didn’t wipe off and instead smeared to the side along with her clumsily applied lipstick, making an even bigger mess.

“Did you come to eat tteokbokki too, CEO?”

“I was thinking of having a fish cake. Ah, Secretary Ryu, you should have some too.”

“I’m fine.”

Kyung Jun firmly refused and retreated slightly behind the awning to watch the two. It was extremely uncomfortable and bothersome, but Seung Oh picked one of the fully stocked fish cake skewers and brushed on some soy sauce.

“You started work today, right? How’s the company?”

“It’s so great. Like a dream.”

With lipstick and tteokbokki sauce smeared around her mouth, Seo Ha smiled brightly. It made him want to wipe it clean.

“It’s all thanks to you, CEO. I’ll really work hard. I’ll definitely repay the favor of hiring me!”

“No. Working hard is good, but.”

Seung Oh dampened the handkerchief slightly with water and slowly wiped Seo Ha’s mouth.

“Let’s not go around with things like this on our face. It looks foolish.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Seo Ha hurriedly snatched the handkerchief and wiped her mouth vigorously.

“I think I ate too quickly. I was hungry since I didn’t eat breakfast…”

“You didn’t eat breakfast either? Then you should eat a proper meal. Is tteokbokki enough?”

“Uh, well, that…”

“That?”

Seo Ha fidgeted with her fingers while avoiding Seung Oh’s eyes, then shook her head with it bowed low.

“It’s nothing. I like tteokbokki.”

The sneakers peeking out from under Seo Ha’s navy blue Vietnamese skirt were clearly bought from the market. Even those looked worn enough that her toes might poke through soon.

Seung Oh took his eyes off Jo Seo Ha’s shoes and took out his wallet.

“Ma’am, how much did she eat?”

“One serving of tteokbokki. Three thousand five hundred won.”

“Here you go.”

“What? CEO, you don’t have to!”

Jo Seo Ha jumped up. Seung Oh paid no mind and handed the yellowed 50,000 won bill to the lady.

“Don’t give me the change, give this young lady tteokbokki when she comes. You can give her fried food too.”

“Oh my. The boss is so kind.”

“You really don’t have to. I have money!”

Even the wallet she hurriedly pulled out was that stationery store wallet she had dropped on the street last time. Moreover, there was only 5,000 won inside.

“It’s fine. Think of it as employee welfare and eat.”

“Welfare?”

Jo Seo Ha blinked a few times and then smiled innocently.

“Thank you, CEO! Employee welfare is the best! I’ll treat you to tteokbokki and sundae when I get my paycheck!”

“I look forward to it. Finish eating slowly and come in.”

As Seung Oh was about to turn around waving his hand, Seo Ha grabbed his clothes.

“Here, you should take your handkerchief!”

“Didn’t you just use it to wipe your mouth? You use it yourself and then tell me to take it back and wash it?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant…”

She was smiling just a moment ago, but now her eyes drooped and she shook her head. She was an even more naive and concerning woman than Ji Soo three years ago.

“Then I’ll wash it clean and bring it back to you. I’ll iron it too.”

“Where are you going to bring it? Don’t tell me you’re planning to come up to the CEO’s office yourself?”

“No, no, no, not that either!”

Jo Seo Ha, who already looked pitiful, now looked like she was about to cry. Seung Oh stopped teasing and smiled gently.

“Bring it to the CEO’s office tomorrow morning. If I’m not there, just leave it on the desk.”

“What? How could I dare to enter the CEO’s office…”

“I’ll let them know in advance, so it’s fine. Well then.”

At this point, Seung Oh waved his hand coolly and made his complete exit. Kyung Jun also glanced at Seo Ha and moved towards the cafe.

Left alone, the tearfulness gradually disappeared from Seo Ha’s face. Her drooping eyes found their original position and her trembling lips stopped.

“… How dreadful.”

He likes to act so high and mighty. How much must he have struggled with feelings of inferiority living next to Yoon Seo Ha, who was better than him.

The tteokbokki was getting cold. Seo Ha didn’t touch the remaining tteokbokki and carelessly stuffed Lee Seung Oh’s handkerchief into her pocket.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“You’re leaving already? There’s still some left.”

“I’m not feeling well. Thank you for the meal.”

Her stomach did feel bad. For real.