“What are you doing? I said get on.”

Jae Wook urged her with a rough tone. Feeling awkward, Seo Ha alternated glances between the nearby house and the back of Kyung Joon’s head before making up her mind.

“I’ll just walk. If I walk slowly, it’ll be fine.”

“You’re walking too slowly, that’s why I’m doing this.”

Kyung Joon grumbled and started walking at a faster pace than before. Between Jae Wook and Kyung Joon, Seo Ha had to desperately cling to Kyung Joon’s neck to avoid falling off.

“Excuse me, the gate with the ‘Beware of Dog’ sign.”

“Beware of Dog? You mean that?”

“No, not that, Kim Minji.”

As Jae Wook pushed the gate open with a terrifying expression, he spoke sarcastically.

“You can go up the stairs on that side. Be careful not to drop Seo Ha.”

Kyung Joon, who was about to enter the front door in plain sight, hesitated and looked at where Jae Wook was pointing.

“Is it there, Miss Jo Seo Ha?”

“The stairs are narrow. I’ll manage on my own.”

“Just hold on tight.”

Soon, beads of sweat formed on the nape of Kyung Joon’s neck. It was natural since he had carried an adult woman up a hill for more than ten minutes.

Seo Ha carefully got off Kyung Joon’s back when they arrived in front of her rooftop room.

“Ah, ouch… Thank you for bringing me here.”

As she bowed her head without being able to straighten her back, Kyung Joon stood still, staring at the rooftop room.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Do you live here?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Who’s the person down there?”

Kyung Joon gestured with his eyes toward Jae Wook, who was still standing at the bottom of the stairs with a terrifying expression.

“He’s the landlord. I pay monthly rent here.”

“You really are dirt poor.”

“I told you so.”

Kyung Joon’s childhood, living with his mother in a house like this, was terrible.

Someone said that poverty wasn’t shameful but rather inconvenient.

Kyung Joon could bet his wrist that whoever said that had never experienced poverty.

Having experienced poverty himself, Kyung Joon could guarantee that Jo Seo Ha didn’t show any signs of being poor. He wasn’t talking about her appearance. Her posture, behavior, and especially her gaze.

“Take a break tomorrow if you can. Don’t strain your back for nothing.”

“Okay. I’ll rest if I can. Thank you.”

She replied and saw Kyung Joon off, but Seo Ha had no intention of resting, whether her back or her knees were strained.

“Good. It turned out for the better.”

Muttering to herself, the corners of Seo Ha’s lips rose slightly.

“What on earth? What’s this?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at this. Everything is really organized.”

The design office was bustling from the morning. As always, Ji Soo, who came to work a little late, discovered the designers not even turning around to look at her and deliberately made loud footsteps.

“What’s going on?”

“Team Leader, you’re here!”

Only then did the designers notice Ji Soo and bowed their heads in unison to greet her.

“Yeah. Why are you all gathered like this?”

“Take a look at this.”

One of them swung open the door to the fabric warehouse.

The once cluttered warehouse was now dazzlingly neat. The fabrics were sorted by material and type, and the fabrics to be used this season were separately categorized, making them easy to find at a glance.

What is this?

Ji Soo bit her lip.

It was impossible to organize this place in just one day. Besides, since it was manual labor, she wouldn’t be able to even dream of designing for days due to fatigue. She had calculated that and given the task.

Looking around, Jo Seo Ha was nowhere to be found. Ji Soo deliberately raised her voice and asked.

“Where did Intern Jo Seo Ha go? I should praise her.”

“I received a message that she would be late this morning, Team Leader!”

One person raised their hand and answered.

Despite the claim that she would be late, Jo Seo Ha appeared. It had been less than five minutes since Ji Soo had arrived at work.

“I’m sorry for being late. I’m really sorry!”

Being late was still being late. After all, she was later than the set starting time. Ji Soo put on a smiling face and asked gently.

“Intern Jo Seo Ha, why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry. It was too difficult to walk.”

Seo Ha, still clueless and innocent, answered while lifting her Tshirt slightly to show the patches of painrelieving plaster on her waist.

“I hurt my back organizing the warehouse until dawn. There were more fabrics than I thought, and they were heavy.”

Everyone in the design room knew that it wasn’t just that there were more fabrics than expected. Flustered, Ji Soo frowned with concern.

“Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

“I couldn’t afford the medical bills.”

“……”

Suddenly, the office became as quiet as a temple. Even Ji Soo was silent.

“Also, I’m sorry. You told me to go to Dongdaemun after organizing the warehouse yesterday, but I couldn’t.”

Organizing the warehouse alone would take days. Going to Dongdaemun would take up an entire day. The gazes of those who knew this well changed from indifference and annoyance to sympathy.