Deep darkness. The only light was the faint glow of the predawn moonlight. Hae Yeon, who had been enjoying a long-awaited date, seemed tired as soon as she entered the house and quickly fell asleep.

Someone leaned over her face, which was sleeping soundly with small breathing sounds. The deep guilt between her furrowed brows seemed visible even without fully understanding that emotion. Do Ha looked down at his wife with distorted eyes and pressed her palm against his, folding her small five fingers.

Eventually, a voice like a sigh pierced the darkness.

“…Hae Yeon.”

His eyes were reddish. The expression filled with self-blame looked like someone without any tolerance.

– Mr. Do Ha, Hae Yeon suddenly says she wants to work.

– …I want to work.

Do Ha’s hand, which pulled the blanket up to his neck, lingered on Hae Yeon’s cheek. Afraid of waking her if he touched her, he kept a little distance and gently murmured while tracing the contours of his wife’s face in the air.

“I wish you would keep not remembering.”

With a deep sigh, Do Ha slowly blinked. It was impossible to know what this change meant. Do Ha’s face, which only hoped that this was not the process of finding memories, looked somewhat tired.

Hae Yeon couldn’t enjoy the same ordinary college life as her peers.

The grades she had to maintain for scholarships, various certifications, and official English scores. In addition to these, she didn’t even have enough time to sleep due to various academic and extracurricular activities. Of course, there are other students who live diligently. But she was.

Because she was alone.

That’s why she lived controlling everything herself. Acting or thinking recklessly was unthinkable for Hae Yeon at that time. It was a consciousness that spanned her entire life of living alone forever, and it was the result of being engraved by force.

It was a mere coincidence that Hae Yeon, for whom private gatherings were a luxury in her busy daily life, was able to participate in the department gathering that day.

The owner of the store where she worked part-time in the evening closed due to a traffic accident, and Hae Yeon, who was wandering in her suddenly free time, impulsively moved her steps, remembering that a department friend had told her to come if she happened to have time.

“Ahahak! Drink up quickly!”

By the time Hae Yeon arrived, boisterous sounds were leaking from the store. As she entered, young men in their 20s were mixing and clinking glasses. The occasional ‘department jackets’ proved that these were students from the university Hae Yeon attended.

As Hae Yeon, who hadn’t often participated in such scenes, approached awkwardly, a friend who recognized her stood up from her seat in surprise.

“Min Hae Yeon? Wow! It’s Min Hae Yeon!”

As all the customers in the store looked over at the excessive fuss, Hae Yeon’s face turned red. After all, being the top student in the department and having good specs were enough to eliminate the time and energy to come to such gatherings. As she didn’t know what to do out of embarrassment, her friend came over and hugged her tightly.

“Min Hae Yeon! I thought I was going to graduate without having a drink with you!”

“Really? Sorry.”

Of course, she had drunk with friends. It was only a few times in her rented room, and Hae Yeon, who had always turned away from department life thinking there would be no connection anyway, felt a sense of excitement gradually building. However, that feeling faded quickly.

“Are you the Min Hae Yeon?”

A familiar person opened his bleary eyes with a red face. It was Kim Seung Woo, who was in the same year as her. Of course, Kim Seung Woo, who was three or four years older than Hae Yeon as he had returned from a leave of absence, had great dissatisfaction with Hae Yeon for never participating in department gatherings, clubs, festivals, and so on.

In fact, she couldn’t go, but would people understand that much? Those with stable and accepting families can’t properly empathize with her situation.

Kim Seung Woo was especially like that. With a famous politician that everyone would know by name as his father, his circumstances were different from ordinary students. Although she hadn’t seen him often during campus life, Hae Yeon knew about him because her friend had told her.

“I’m lucky today. I attended a gathering I don’t usually go to and saw Min Hae Yeon. Hey, pour me some drinks.”

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and no one stepped forward. There were widespread rumors that even the president, let alone professors, couldn’t casually mess with Kim Seung Woo, the son of a powerful family. Judging by the fact that he had caused several incidents directly but always got away with them and was freely enjoying his freedom like this, it seemed to be true.

“I’ve been drinking with ugly ones all this time, so the taste of alcohol has dropped significantly. Seeing you makes my appetite come back to life.”

In the silence where no one stepped forward, making the previous noisy situation unbelievable, Hae Yeon calmly opened her mouth.

“Did you ask me to pour drinks?”

Hae Yeon’s expressionless face turned towards Kim Seung Woo.

“Yeah. Come here.”

Kim Seung Woo patted the seat next to him. Then, a junior who didn’t want to get involved quickly vacated the seat.

“Hae Yeon, don’t go. Let’s just leave.”

A department friend whispered in Hae Yeon’s ear. Hae Yeon stood still as if she hadn’t heard.

“Hey, Yoon Ye Eun. Do you want to not graduate this year?”

As Ye Eun, who was trying to persuade Hae Yeon, flinched, Kim Seung Woo giggled and shook his glass as if to show off. It meant to come here quickly and pour. Despite Ye Eun’s attempts to stop her, Hae Yeon walked quickly to narrow the gap with Kim Seung Woo.

“Do you want to drink that badly?”

“Not just any drink, but one poured by you.”

“Alright.”

Hae Yeon let out a deflating laugh and picked up the bottle. She poured the drink into an empty glass on the table, not the one Kim Seung Woo held out. After pouring every last drop of the remaining alcohol in the bottle, Hae Yeon picked it up and drank it all at once herself.

For a moment, the surroundings fell silent.

As Hae Yeon finished drinking the alcohol and shook it over her head, applause broke out. Kim Seung Woo’s face contorted, and Hae Yeon stared straight at the man.

“It’s too precious. To feed it to you.”

“What? Hey!”

Kim Seung Woo, who seemed about to spit out vulgar curses, suddenly laughed loudly.

“Didn’t they say she came here because her part-time job was canceled today?”

“Uh, yeah…”

Another senior nearby reluctantly answered.

“Hey, Min Hae Yeon. I’ll give you a hundred per hour, so come here and say that again.”

The atmosphere split in two. Some were afraid of what Kim Seung Woo might do if he went too far, while others were angry at his disgraceful behavior and didn’t know what to do.

“What are you doing? I heard you can’t resist money. I said I’ll give you a hundred? Ah, should I give you one more?”

Kim Seung Woo opened his wallet. Amidst the uncomfortable silence, the sound of someone standing up and dragging a chair was heard.

As it happened in a tense situation, everyone’s gaze turned to the source of the sound. At the end of their gaze stood a tall man who caught people’s attention.

“Oh? It’s Cha Do Ha. What, if you were here, you should have said something. How about it? Do you want to join in too?”

“…”

There was no way Kim Seung Woo wouldn’t recognize the man who attracts attention wherever he goes. The department students whispered to each other as he spoke glibly.

“Hey, try to stop Seung Woo hyung.”

“If we try to stop him now, won’t it just make things worse?”

Regardless of the sounds heard around, Kim Seung Woo continued to say what he wanted to say.

“I said come here, didn’t I? What’s with being good classmates?”

“…”

In reality, Cha Do Ha and Kim Seung Woo were classmates, but due to Kim Seung Woo’s frequent leaves of absence, they ended up in different years. As Do Ha continued to ignore him, Kim Seung Woo’s face clearly showed his displeasure as he looked at him crookedly. Hae Yeon also looked at the man’s side profile, from his sharply defined nose bridge to his plump protruding lips.

It was the first time she had looked at him closely. That man was an even more famous figure within the university than Kim Seung Woo. Unlike Kim Seung Woo, who was known for his notoriety, he received attention purely for who Cha Do Ha was as a person, and his background was also extraordinary like Kim Seung Woo’s.

However, Kim Seung Woo, who was already an outcast in his family, was incomparable to Cha Do Ha, who was already designated as the successor to the Gil Myung Group.

“XX. Why don’t you say something?”

Finally, unable to bear the silence, Kim Seung Woo threw out a word. The man who had been quiet tilted his head slightly.

“Is Assemblyman Kim Su Dong still letting loose a guy who smears his own family name?”

It wasn’t sarcasm, but a tone that genuinely seemed curious.

“What? You…”

When Kim Seung Woo was about to say more, bristling at the comment that disregarded him, it happened.

“I was going to let it slide considering our school’s reputation, but it seems I can’t because one mudfish keeps muddying the waters.”

It was a low voice. Cha Do Ha! Even though Kim Seung Woo called out his name, he couldn’t do anything more and just fumed. Hae Yeon was disgusted by this atmosphere itself, but worried about Ye Eun and the other students, she couldn’t just leave by herself. The man’s low voice continued.

“I don’t like doing annoying things either, so why don’t you just quietly go about your business from now on? Or should I contact your father directly?”

“What do you mean by that!”

It meant that if he didn’t behave, he would contact his father and have him kicked out of the university. In fact, Kim Seung Woo had already fallen out of favor due to continued incidents, and if Cha Do Ha of Gil Myung Group, who supports the university in various ways, intervened, the outcome was bound to be unfavorable.

“Now it’s quiet.”

At the man’s nonchalant words, the atmosphere suddenly became silent. Kim Seung Woo tried to refute, but the man had already turned away, and someone shouted the department slogan to defuse the tense atmosphere. The mood soon calmed as if nothing had happened.

Hae Yeon blankly watched the man leave leisurely, then found herself being pulled out of the store by Ye Eun’s hand. As they came out onto the street, Ye Eun smiled brightly.

“What would we have done without senior Cha Do Ha? Did you see how Kim Seung Woo got scared?”

“Huh? Oh…”

Hae Yeon couldn’t say anything. She felt strange, it seemed good but also bad, refreshing but also frustrating. She didn’t know what this meant.

“I should thank him, but I’m too nervous to do it. Anyway, the mood ruined by Kim Seung Woo today has been recovered thanks to senior Cha Do Ha. Oh, the taxi’s here. Hae Yeon, let’s get in.”

Ye Eun, who had been waiting for a taxi on the sidewalk in front of the road, pulled Hae Yeon when the car arrived.

Cha Do Ha.

At the name that suddenly crossed her mind, Hae Yeon unknowingly turned her head in the taxi. A figure waiting was reflected in the back window. For some reason, the man walking down the street with an expressionless face stuck in her mind, and Hae Yeon stopped the taxi.

“Min Hae Yeon, why?”

“I just remembered something I need to do. Sorry, Ye Eun. I’ll go separately!”

Before Ye Eun, who was sitting next to her, could ask more, Hae Yeon quickly got out of the car and ran towards the man. With some courage she didn’t know she had, she went to his side and walked alongside the man who was just looking ahead and walking with an indifferent face like before.

“Thank you for earlier.”

The man stopped walking and only then looked down at Hae Yeon. Various colors were reflected in his pitch-black eyes under the street lights. Now that she met the man’s eyes, Hae Yeon didn’t know what to do and averted her gaze in embarrassment.

“I’d like to repay you, please contact this number.”

Still, grateful is grateful, so she took out a post-it note she always carries in her bag and wrote down her phone number. When she handed over the memo, the man deeply furrowed his brows and a pleasant voice rang in her ears.

“I didn’t do it to receive thanks, so it’s fine. But may I give you one piece of advice?”

“Advice…?”

When Hae Yeon blinked in surprise, the man furrowed his brows again.

“There are many guys who misunderstand this kind of thing.”

As the man handed back the post-it note, Hae Yeon received it with a reddened face. She received it reflexively, but she was very embarrassed. It felt exactly like being firmly rejected.

“Sorry…”

Without even listening to the full apology, the man straightened his head as if that was enough. His expression seemed strangely stiff, making Hae Yeon feel awkward.

The man walked forward again. Hae Yeon found herself following him unknowingly, but suddenly the man stepped down onto the road and hailed a taxi. Hae Yeon followed dazedly but then felt embarrassed and was about to go her own way when her wrist was grabbed.

“Get in.”

“What?”

Cha Do Ha nodded his head, and his pitch-black eyes were expressionless. Hae Yeon entered the taxi as if drawn by a magnet, feeling like she couldn’t refuse in this atmosphere. But then he, who seemed about to close the door, sat in the front seat.

“Where shall we go?”

When the taxi driver asked, Do Ha turned his head slightly to look at Hae Yeon. At the man’s gaze, Hae Yeon gave the name of the station near her home.

“Please go to Dobong-gu station.”

As she turned her head towards the window, before an awkward air could flow, the taxi driver turned on the radio. Soon, trot music that didn’t match the atmosphere in the car flowed out, and as they started driving in that state, Hae Yeon slowly exhaled. It felt like all the tension was draining out at once.

And then the thought came. How far is this man planning to follow? Or is he going in the same direction as me?

“Um…”

When Hae Yeon spoke up, Do Ha’s head turned back again. Hae Yeon awkwardly started speaking with her face red again.

“But where are you going?”

“I’m fine, so let’s go to Dobong-gu.”

Do Ha said, slightly frowning his eyebrows. Hae Yeon turned her gaze back to the window, embarrassed by the curt answer, but her feelings were plainly visible on her face. With reddened cheeks, Hae Yeon was almost about to press her face against the window.

“Thank you.”

When she tried to pay the taxi fare in front of the arrived station, Do Ha was faster. Hae Yeon couldn’t even react properly to the sudden event.

The driver who had already received the card finished the calculation and returned the card to its owner. As Do Ha got out of the taxi, Hae Yeon quickly took out a bill from her wallet. She wanted to pay at least half of the taxi fare.

“Please take this.”

“Let’s go.”

Cha Do Ha said brusquely. When Hae Yeon stopped walking, he continued speaking.

“I’ll take you home.”

What? When Hae Y

While Hae Yeon was pondering, Do Ha turned around and went down the alley. Because he was so tall and went down with long strides, she couldn’t catch up to him.

“What could it be.”

Muttering while watching Do Ha disappear into a single point, Hae Yeon entered her house.