Their lunch ended quickly.

While Yoo In had no interest in the meal from the start, Ki Yeon also lost his appetite at some point.

As the waiter cleared away the barely touched steak, he asked if the two would like dessert prepared, and Ki Yeon raised an eyebrow at Yoo In.

Then Yoo In asked in a timid, small voice, “Do you have ice cream?”

“Is it that delicious?”

Ki Yeon watched Yoo In continuously putting cold chunks into her mouth and asked with his chin resting on his hand.

When Yoo In nodded with the small silver spoon between her lips, Ki Yeon let out an exasperated laugh.

Why did it look cute that she was now smiling happily at something 10 times cheaper than the meat she had disliked earlier, which was melting at room temperature?

Not long after, Yoo In quietly put down her spoon.

“I’m done eating.”

“First time I’ve seen Nam Yoo In clean her plate.”

Ki Yeon teased playfully as he glanced at the empty transparent bowl.

“Let’s go.”

As soon as the words were out, Ki Yeon swiftly got up and draped his jacket over his arm.

While he was paying, Yoo In followed slowly behind and stood awkwardly at Ki Yeon’s back.

Even as they passed the smiling, friendly staff member, she continued to hide behind his broad shoulders.

What is she doing now? Ki Yeon chuckled and asked Yoo In, who was clinging to him like a duckling following its mother.

“What are you doing?”

“The staff is staring too intently. Looking back and forth between you and me, sir.”

“Really?”

Noticing a flash of discomfort cross Yoo In’s face as she mumbled softly, Ki Yeon’s eyebrow raised disapprovingly.

Ki Yeon, who paid no attention to others except for business, hadn’t noticed.

For Ki Yeon, being stared at was commonplace and even if he knew, he’d just ignore it. But Nam Yoo In, with her uniquely low threshold for sensitivity, seemed bothered as usual.

“Hmm. I should go say something.”

At his half-joking, half-serious words, Yoo In urgently grabbed his shirt sleeve.

“No, no? You don’t have to.”

“Why? Weren’t you uncomfortable?”

“Yes, I was… But we won’t be coming back here anyway, so it’s fine.”

“I come here often. As you keep accompanying me, Nam Yoo In will probably come here frequently too. Are you really okay with that?”

Then large, moist eyes looked up at Ki Yeon plainly and said:

“Sir, it seems you don’t even consider the possibility that I might refuse.”

“Right. I don’t.”

“I think you could consider it a little.”

“Why would I do that? You won’t refuse, Nam Yoo In. Right?”

As Ki Yeon smiled slyly, Yoo In turned her head with an awkward expression as if she had eaten a sour fruit.

Though her displeasure and unwillingness to say more were quite evident, such reactions from Yoo In only served to stimulate Ki Yeon further.

Chuckling softly, Ki Yeon tapped Yoo In’s cheek as she looked up at the elevator display.

“Why the expression? You’re pouting.”

“Ah, stop it.”

“You didn’t like my answer?”

At the teasing taps, Yoo In glared at Ki Yeon with her round eyes fiercely raised.

Seeing her attempt at intimidation that lacked any threat, Ki Yeon laughed heartily, his voice brimming with genuine enjoyment for the first time in a long while.

Just then, the elevator chimed brightly as it opened its doors.

Upon noticing the occupants inside, Ki Yeon lightly wrapped his arm around Yoo In’s lower back and stepped aside to let them exit.

“Oh, who do we have here? Director Do!”

Ki Yeon, who had been smiling down at Yoo In pressed close to him, looked up.

His brows furrowed ever so slightly at the person calling him, but quickly returned to normal.

Then, very naturally pushing Yoo In behind him, he put on a mask-like smile and spoke.

“President Jung. It’s been a while.”

“That’s right! I’ve called you several times, but why is it so hard to get through?”

“Ah. I received the messages, but I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot.”

Ki Yeon smiled politely like an upright and diligent young businessman.

The nouveau riche, who had recently fattened his wallet by winning a bid for an electronic semiconductor project, seemed to have changed girlfriends again, as he was with a woman who looked 5 years younger than the previous one.

As Ki Yeon’s emotionless gaze briefly touched her, the woman clinging to President Jung’s arm blushed shyly.

The sharp-eyed pot-bellied man noticed this and pulled her closer by the waist as he said:

“You must be really busy these days. I don’t see you at the bar much either. I ask every time I go there. ‘Hasn’t our Director Do come?’ Haha! But… who’s that behind you? A new one you’re raising?”

His bulging frog-like eyes seemed to have finally noticed, searching here and there for Yoo In whom Ki Yeon had hidden.

Ki Yeon, who had turned cold, raised just the corners of his mouth in a slight smile.

“No, sir. She’s an important person, so it’s a bit… You know what I mean, President Jung?”

Fortunately, the man seemed to understand the warning that someone like him didn’t need to know. He stammered “Uh” for a while with a foolish expression before trying to gloss it over with an affected loud laugh.

“Hahaha! I see, I see. Well then. Director Do, you must be busy, shouldn’t you be going?”

“Yes. I’ll see you next time. I hope you have a good time with your girlfriend.”

Ki Yeon smiled his service smile, curving his sleek eyes, then roughly pressed the button to open the elevator doors and quickly ushered Yoo In inside.

Blocking Yoo In’s front until the unpleasant pot-bellied figure was out of sight, Ki Yeon only stepped aside when the doors closed precisely.

And the first thing he did after that was to check on Yoo In.

“Nam Yoo In.”

The clear features that had been hidden behind the large back the whole time just stared back blankly like a wax figure.

Ki Yeon pressed close to Yoo In, who was giving off a strange aura, bent down and called again in a low voice.

“Nam Yoo In?”

“…Who is this important person?”

At the thin voice that finally came out, Ki Yeon straightened up and smiled loosely, relieved.

“It’s you, Nam Yoo In. Who else?”

“Me?”

“There’s nothing good that can come from people knowing I ran into you. It wouldn’t be good for you to be known. Were you upset?”

“No. What would I have to be upset about?”

The end of her quiet voice trailed off faintly.

Ki Yeon languidly observed her small shoulders that somehow seemed stiff, and her lips that she was nervously biting.

It was a sign that she was hiding something.

“Why? What’s bothering you?”

“…”

“Is it because of what President Jung said?”

Ki Yeon tapped Yoo In’s shoulder, who was staring intently at the oak-colored machine doors.

He had expected a reaction like before telling him not to, but Yoo In remained motionless with her lips tightly shut.

What could this little one be thinking now? Ki Yeon narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat.

A moment later, a voice that could have sounded stiff spoke:

“I heard from my elder sister.”

“What?”

“Sir… the rumors about you.”

Ki Yeon just raised and lowered his dark eyebrows without any reaction.

“And?”

“Pardon?”

“You heard. And then? I’m curious about what comes after that.”

Yoo In’s gaze slowly moved to Ki Yeon.

Her eyelids blinked rapidly, seeming unsure of what to say.

Ki Yeon chuckled and turned his head. It meant he wouldn’t rush her.

Rumors, gossip, hearsay. Baseless words that circulate by word of mouth, distorted tales that have lost their original purpose.

They were one of the inseparable things while running an entertainment agency, but the malicious, baseless clouds aimed at Ki Yeon himself were particularly severe and persistent.

Anyway, it was true that he was a parachute who joined his father’s company, and the exceptional personnel treatment was also true, so he had nothing to say about that.

However, Ki Yeon was curious where the endless stream of stories without a shred of truth came from – that he had affairs left and right without discretion, that he was secretly sponsoring certain celebrities, that he was actually a young married man with children.

Probably what Yoo In heard from Nam Yoo Jin was also one of those absurd and ridiculous stories.

The reason she recalled it was likely because of that trash President Jung they just encountered.

“Is that… what you meant by ‘good’?”

It was a voice with ice shards sprinkled on top of stiffness.

Right on cue, the elevator chimed brightly, announcing its arrival at the basement.

“What do you mean by ‘that’? Be more specific.”

Ki Yeon glanced indifferently at Yoo In, then grabbed her arm and pulled her out.

Until he opened the passenger door and gestured for her to get in, walking through the gray parking lot packed with cars, Yoo In didn’t say anything more and remained quiet.

Yoo In just stared blankly at Ki Yeon without moving further.

Ki Yeon smiled, slightly squinting his eyes.

“Aren’t you going to get in?”

“…”

“You can clear up misunderstandings sitting in the car too. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

At Ki Yeon’s overly relaxed attitude, Yoo In furrowed her brows in contemplation before finally getting into the seat.

Ki Yeon, who had swiftly gotten into the car as well, started the sedan urgently, revealing the irritation he had been hiding well in front of Yoo In.

He couldn’t help but be angry at ruining the atmosphere that had been maintained well so far by encountering one of the blacklisted people he didn’t want to meet.

Though the sunlight filtering through the darkly tinted glass was lovely and warm, unlike the bright and clear outside, the inside of the car had cooled down and was filled with silence.

Ki Yeon suppressed his annoyance that had risen slightly with a shallow sigh and spoke first.

“So. What did you hear from Nam Yoo Jin?”

At the low voice that sounded gentle, Yoo In moved her lips before speaking.

“That you don’t stop people from coming or going. That you change so quickly there’s said to be no one officially.”

“…Ha.”

“She also said you probably sponsor a lot of people. That there’s a line of people who want to be sponsored.”

Ki Yeon burst into laughter while irritably rubbing his brow.

She really said all sorts of things to her ignorant younger sister. Even though he already knew about it, hearing it from Yoo In’s mouth made him feel dirtier than he expected.

Is this the price for leaving the spreaders and those who heard and spread it alone because it was bothersome? To be called someone who sponsors women he’s interested in? For her to misunderstand after hearing false rumors and avoid him?

A bitter regret filled his throat, and a self-deprecating smile settled on his lips.

“It’s true that Nam Yoo In is young and pretty, and that I have the ability to sponsor multiple people.”

“…”

“That’s the only truth in what you heard.”

“How would I know if it’s true?”

Ki Yeon turned his head and met Yoo In’s eyes.

The transparent, clear face was looking at Ki Yeon with a straight gaze. Nam Yoo In, who always seemed fragile, now looked firmer than anyone else.

Stirred by the strangeness of that unexpected appearance, Ki Yeon smiled as if relaxed.

“If that story were true, I wouldn’t need to rush to the school in one go to catch a woman who says she doesn’t want to meet me. There would be plenty of substitutes besides Nam Yoo In.”

Yoo In’s expression became a bit disheveled, but Ki Yeon ignored it and added with a chuckle:

“There’s probably a lot more, but it’s all useless and fake so you don’t need to listen. Well, you’ll understand better as you experience it in the future.”

“…”

“When you understand, tell Nam Yoo Jin later. That it was all lies.”

Ki Yeon looked over at the passenger seat, but the white face was silently looking out the window.

What could be filling that tiny head again?

“Will you do that?”

He asked again, but there was still no answer.

However, seeing the slightly visible pale ear tips faintly blushing, he felt he knew without having to hear it.

And so, their first midday drive was passing by, punctuated by misunderstandings, suspicions, and clumsy excuses.