As the empty liquor bottles increased, one by one, tongues began to slur and eyes grew unfocused.

While everyone was soaked in alcohol and staggering, only one person quietly emptied his glass without the slightest hint of discomposure.

Around Sung Hyuk, it was quiet as if in a different world. Amidst the chaotic atmosphere, his appearance even seemed noble.

The reason he didn’t leave this excruciatingly boring gathering was solely due to the single malt whiskey. He rather liked the harmony of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger.

He didn’t care whether the heavily drunk Beom Jun was whispering something to Chang Geun or not. He didn’t mind when Beom Jun, after bragging for a while about likely being promoted to executive director soon, stumbled out of the room saying he was going to the bathroom.

And a few minutes later, someone entered the room.

Naturally thinking Beom Jun had returned, he casually raised his gaze, which then froze.

A face he couldn’t forget even after three years, to the point of being sick of it.

The woman he tried so hard to forget, yet remembered as soon as he set foot on Korean soil, Chae Young In.

‘Why is she here?’

Even in his surprise and bewilderment at this unexpected reunion, Sung Hyuk’s eyes couldn’t leave Young In.

Her hair, which used to barely touch her collarbone, now fell long past her chest, and her black high-waisted wide slacks and cream blouse looked intelligent and sophisticated.

In short, she was still beautiful.

Her neat but indifferent expression remained unchanged. As did her characteristically cool aura.

Despite having no rough edges from head to toe, Chae Young In was somehow a woman difficult to approach.

It felt as if she had drawn a line around herself, warning others not to cross.

He had lightly ignored that warning and crossed over. No, he thought he had crossed over.

It was only when he heard her say they should stop seeing each other that he finally realized.

What he thought he had crossed was just his own delusion. To Chae Young In, Cha Sung Hyuk was nothing.

Their relationship ended as easily as it had begun.

Sung Hyuk snapped out of his past reverie when Chang Geun’s body blocked his view of Young In.

As he frowned, he overheard a snickering conversation nearby.

“Did that bastard Chae Beom Jun call Young In again? To come pick him up?”

“Chang Geun kept egging her on to call him, didn’t he?”

“What? He still hasn’t given up?”

“What do you mean ‘still’? He’s completely head over heels.”

Sung Hyuk stood up as he watched Young In’s wrist being grabbed by Chang Geun.

While Chang Geun’s dirty play of touching this woman and that had always been irritating, it wasn’t to an unbearable degree. But today, it bothered him to the point where he couldn’t stand it.

Even if she was no longer of any concern to him, it was unpleasant to see a worthless guy like Oh Chang Geun hitting on Young In. It felt like he himself was being insulted.

After Young In turned and left the room, his expression grew cold as he approached Chang Geun, who was standing there staring blankly at the closed door.

“Move.”

Chang Geun flinched and quickly turned around.

Faced with those eyes filled with murderous intent, he quietly stepped aside without a word.

Several days passed since then.

Sung Hyuk had no intention whatsoever of trying anything again with Chae Young In. It was too wasteful and frustrating to start over now, after all this time.

He thought that was compensation for the past three years. Perhaps he didn’t want to admit that the price of not letting go of his pride was too great.

His carefully maintained resolve changed at the second welcome-back party he attended, unable to refuse Beom Jun’s persistent urging.

The moment he heard that Oh Chang Geun was going on a blind date with Chae Young In, his firm determination immediately crumbled.

“She acts all coy in front of me, but jumps at a blind date? I wonder if she’ll cry tears of joy if he proposes marriage.”

Sung Hyuk followed Chang Geun, who had been bragging as if Young In was already his woman before hurriedly running out to the hallway saying his father called. He waited until Chang Geun finished his call and then stated his business.

“Hand it over to me.”

Chang Geun blinked, not understanding what he meant.

“…What?”

The corners of Sung Hyuk’s mouth, who had been leaning crookedly against the wall, curved into an arc.

“The blind date.”

“…Huh?”

And that’s how Chang Geun had his blind date with Young In stolen from him.

Six o’clock sharp.

Sung Hyuk arrived at the cafe in Hotel H.

There was no need to look around; Young In caught his eye immediately. She was sitting by the window, deep in thought about something.

After telling the approaching staff that he was meeting someone, his face betrayed an unwelcome expression as he walked towards the window.

Young In was wearing a black dress that clung to her slim figure, with her hair loosely tied up. Her slender, snow-white neckline caught the eye.

He felt irritated, wondering if she had dressed up to impress Oh Chang Geun.

For the sole reason that she was beautiful.

He was annoyed because she was pretty.

He felt sick imagining how Oh Chang Geun would have grinned if he had shown up here today.

Had she not come out wearing a sackcloth with charcoal smeared on her face, his reaction would have been much the same regardless of how Young In was dressed.

However, Sung Hyuk didn’t realize he was being unreasonable. Kind words were unlikely to come from the mouth of someone whose mood was already twisted.

“I told them to hand over today’s blind date to me.”

That was the limit of maintaining his composure.

Sung Hyuk’s tone changed drastically to one of sarcasm.

“You seem to have put a lot of effort into your appearance. Disappointed it’s not the person you were waiting for?”

“……”

Young In held her tongue, not understanding why he was sneering. She didn’t feel the need to explain that she had come here right after attending a friend’s wedding today.

“Chae Young In, weren’t you against marriage?”

It was an accusatory tone, as if asking how she, who used to frown at the mere mention of marriage, could come to a blind date premised on marriage.

“Values can change, you know.”

Young In wasn’t unaware of what he meant by those words.

She still had no thoughts of marriage, but it seemed contradictory to insist she was against marriage while attending a blind date, so she just glossed over it like that.

“That’s good to hear.”

“……”

Young In couldn’t understand why it was good news to him that her values had changed, so she made no reply.

“How about me as husband material?”

“You’re too good for me.”

It was an answer that came from the heart.

Cha Sung Hyuk was a man so perfect that his very existence might be the only flaw to fear.

“Then will you marry me?”

Young In let out a chuckle.

The proposal was so absurd that she didn’t even feel the urge to be flustered. She was only curious about why he was acting this way.

“Why did you come here instead of Chang Geun oppa?”

“That bastard Oh Chang Geun, his lower half is completely promiscuous.”

Sung Hyuk felt the words ‘Why am I sunbae and that bastard is oppa?’ rise to the tip of his tongue. But knowing it was childish jealousy, he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

“It means it wouldn’t be surprising if a child suddenly appeared one day calling him daddy.”

“And?”

“I can’t stand the sight of the woman who rejected me marrying a guy like that. It would make me look too pathetic.”

“……”

As if Cha Sung Hyuk could be made pathetic by something like that.

Young In swallowed the words that there was unlikely to be anyone as difficult to make pathetic as him.

“So if you’re going to marry someone like Oh Chang Geun, just marry me instead.”

“Don’t say such nonsense.”

“What’s nonsensical about it?”

“Everything coming out of your mouth, sunbae.”

“What else am I supposed to say at a blind date? Isn’t this what blind dates are about? A man and woman who know about each other and each other’s families talking about marriage.”

Sung Hyuk continued without giving Young In a chance to interject.

“I know about you, you know about me, we’re faithfully following the blind date custom right now.”

“It’s just you, not us.”

“There’s no need for both sides to be equally enthusiastic.”

“……”

Young In silently gazed at him, who seemed somehow angry.

“It’s not easy to find people who know each other as well as we do. How common is it to know your blind date’s bedroom preferences? How excited you get when touched in certain places, how sexy your moans are……”

“Sunbae.”

“What.”

“Please shut up.”

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Sung Hyuk’s mouth, having succeeded in provoking her. He was a bit excited to meet again the only person who told him to shut up.

“You know I get bored easily. I’ll give you a divorce when I get bored.”

Three years ago, it was Young In who rejected Sung Hyuk. But now, Young In felt as if she had been the one rejected.

In the midst of this, she found herself ridiculous for thinking that such arrogance suited him so well.

“I wonder how long it will take for you to get bored of me?”

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to find out since you dumped me without any warning.”

Young In recalled the last conversation she had with Sung Hyuk.

“Let’s stop seeing each other.”

“Do as you like.”

That day, he had turned away without even asking for a reason, and now he was suddenly proposing marriage – it could only be explained as insanity. He must have gone crazy.

“Are you proposing marriage just to confirm that now?”

“You know I can’t stand not knowing things I’m curious about.”

“Restrain yourself.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I have no desire to participate in satisfying your curiosity.”

Suddenly, Sung Hyuk’s eyes darkened.

“If you’re not going to participate, don’t ever come to a place like this again. Absolutely not with Oh Chang Geun.”

Young In realized that if she didn’t speak honestly, she would have to continue this meaningless conversation.

“I didn’t come to this blind date with the intention of getting married.”

“Then?”

“Just because I was bored.”

She didn’t want to tell him, who knew what kind of existence she was at home, that she was a sacrificial lamb.

“I’ll entertain you, so stop doing unnecessary things from now on.”

Unaware that Young In’s ears had turned slightly red, Sung Hyuk looked down at his wristwatch.

“I have to go now. I’d like to have dinner together, but I have a prior engagement.”

“I never said I wanted to have dinner with you.”

Why was her heart fluttering at mere words about entertaining her?

Young In deliberately spoke more sharply, afraid he might discover her feelings.

“I’m saying I want to, so what’s the problem?”

Sung Hyuk shrugged nonchalantly and changed the subject.

“My number is still the same. Call me.”

“I deleted your number, sunbae.”

“How cold.”

“Who keeps their ex’s number for over three years?”

“I still have my ex-girlfriend’s number.”

A flash of bewilderment crossed Young In’s face.

“…You’re the strange one, sunbae.”

“I know. I’m strange.”

He proudly admitted it and stood up.

Young In could only stare blankly at his retreating back, as if possessed.