At the time when Sung Hyuk was on the phone with Hee Ran, Mrs. Han was answering a call from her friend.

“Listen, that’s not going to happen. Let’s hang up now.”

Mrs. Han, with an annoyed expression, removed the mobile phone from her ear and after thinking for a moment, called Sung Hyuk.

-Yes.

Her son’s tone was even more blunt than before. He seemed to still be in a bad mood because of the last blind date.

He probably wouldn’t like today’s business either, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Son, did you go to Jeju Island last week?”

-Yes, how did you know?

“My friend saw you in front of a hotel.”

She didn’t relay the part about how Baek Hee Ran’s eyes were dripping with honey when looking at him.

-There was an advertisement shoot for our contracted actors, so I went to show support.

“Is Baek Hee Ran one of those contracted actors?”

-Yes.

“I don’t need to worry, do I?”

Mrs. Han was concerned that the reason Sung Hyuk suddenly declined the management planning division and went to entertainment was because of Baek Hee Ran. She absolutely could not accept an entertainer as a daughter-in-law.

-No, you don’t. And you won’t have to in the future either.

Sung Hyuk’s assertion made Mrs. Han smile.

“Right, I didn’t think so.”

-When your friend mentioned seeing me in front of the Jeju hotel, did she also mention Seo Jin Gyo?

“Seo Jin Gyo? She didn’t say anything about Seo Jin Gyo.”

-Seo Jin Gyo was there too, but if she only mentioned Baek Hee Ran’s name, it seems she intended to make you worry.

A frown appeared between Mrs. Han’s eyebrows.

“It seems so.”

Though they had been friends for over 20 years, it seemed she needed to keep her distance.

-If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll hang up.

“Son, wait a moment.”

-Yes.

“There’s a really nice young lady, won’t you meet her once?”

-I won’t.

“I won’t push you to marry, so just meet her lightly once. You never know where you’ll find your destiny.”

After a brief silence, an unexpected response came.

-I’ve already met someone.

Mrs. Han’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? You’re seeing someone?”

Now she understood why he had been so adamant while talking about Baek Hee Ran.

Mrs. Han was completely unaware that Sung Hyuk was currently very upset because of Baek Hee Ran.

-Yes, I am, so please stop now.

“Whose daughter is she?”

-I’ll tell you when I formally introduce her.

“Is it a family I know?”

-I’m hanging up.

Mrs. Han put down her mobile phone with a serious expression.

Even though her son, whom she wanted to get married soon, said he was seeing someone, she felt more uneasy than happy because of an ominous feeling that it might not be a respectable family.

It was at that moment when a voice mixed with curiosity and anxiety tapped on Mrs. Han’s ear.

“The young master is dating someone?”

Startled, she turned around to find Jung Hye sitting right next to her.

“Who is it? Which family’s daughter is she?”

Mrs. Han knew well why her eldest daughter-in-law, whose personality differed from her elegant appearance and was quite jealous, was feeling anxious. She also knew that Jung Hye desperately wanted Sung Hyuk to marry a woman inferior to herself.

Sometimes she wondered why Jung Hye, the daughter of a famous political family and whose father was a strong candidate for the next presidential election, would be so flustered.

Even when no one was specified, she was busy keeping potential sisters-in-law in check, so it was obvious how much more she would do when someone was chosen as Sung Hyuk’s partner.

Of course, Mrs. Han had no intention of considering an inadequate second daughter-in-law just to please her eldest daughter-in-law.

Though both were children she had given birth to, honestly, she couldn’t deny the fact that Sung Hyuk was more outstanding than Myung Gyu. It was natural that her expectations for the second daughter-in-law were higher.

“I don’t know. He said he’d tell me later.”

A momentary smile of relief flashed across Jung Hye’s face, her thoughts aligning with her mother-in-law’s.

“Ah, I see…”

She thought that if it were a family worth boasting about, there would be no reason not to reveal it.

“I need to lie down for a bit.”

Mrs. Han, who had gotten up from the living room sofa and entered her room, sat down in a chair at the tea table and started searching through her phone’s address book.

“I wonder if the number hasn’t changed…”

What Mrs. Han was looking for now was the number of the president of what is commonly called a private investigation agency. The difference from a general agency was that it only accepted requests from people belonging to the upper class.

Three years ago, Mrs. Han had gone to Sung Hyuk’s house and discovered women’s clothes in the dressing room.

That very day, she had requested an investigation into the woman Sung Hyuk was seeing, and was confronted with a reality that was like a bolt from the blue. Even now, just thinking about it made her break out in a cold sweat and her hands tremble.

If there was any consolation, it was that she found out early and separated them before they became too attached. If this time too it was an unsuitable woman, she intended to swiftly remove her just like three years ago.

Having found the number, Mrs. Han immediately pressed the call button.

A moment later, a smile formed at the corners of her lips.

It was the moment when she heard ‘Yes, madam.’ from across the phone.

It was about an hour after finishing the call with his mother when Sung Hyuk left his office and got into the elevator.

He went to the 5th floor instead of the basement 1st floor. He intended to briefly see Young In’s face outside the office.

Returning to the company when others were about to leave work meant he had a lot to do, so he didn’t want to disturb her. Though he wanted to comfort her knowing she must be very upset because of Baek Hee Ran, he decided to refrain as Young In probably wouldn’t want it.

However, as soon as he got off the elevator, he ran into Hae Yoon.

Hae Yoon immediately guessed his purpose for coming to the 5th floor.

“The team leader just left work.”

“Already?”

“She said she couldn’t focus on work and was going out for a drink. She said she wanted to drink quietly alone, so I couldn’t go with her.”

“Do you know where she went by any chance?”

“There’s a bar the team leader goes to when she wants to drink alone, she went there.”

“Where is that bar?”

“She said she wanted to drink quietly alone…”

Hae Yoon trailed off, seeming at a loss.

“Her mind might have changed.”

“That’s right. People’s minds change unexpectedly all the time.”

Having unwittingly become a second informant, she discreetly provided information to Sung Hyuk.

The place Sung Hyuk arrived at was a cozy and warm atmosphere bar. Sweet jazz music further enhanced the peaceful ambiance.

However, his expression was far from peaceful. It was because Young In was talking with a young man who could have been the owner or an employee, smiling brightly.

Even knowing it was a drinking habit that emerged when moderately drunk, jealousy instinctively boiled up.

He sat down next to Young In and silently looked at her as she turned her head, sensing his presence.

Young In, momentarily taken aback, narrowed her eyes as if trying to focus. Her gaze was blurry with intoxication.

After a while, her lips opened again.

“Is this… a coincidence…?”

“How could it be.”

“Ah, it must be Hae Yoon…”

“That’s right.”

“I should scold Hae Yoon.”

Young In straightened her head and emptied the glass of whiskey.

“Don’t scold her. She’s an excellent talent.”

After putting down her glass, she nodded towards the owner who was mouthing ‘Do you know him?’

The owner smiled and placed an empty glass in front of Sung Hyuk, but this time Young In’s head moved left and right.

“Owner, this person specializes in bringing tea to bars. He probably brought some today too. He can’t drink alcohol.”

Sung Hyuk returned the glass to the owner as if acknowledging Young In’s words. Then he turned to Young In and asked.

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you’re feeling alright.”

“I’m not okay. I feel dirty.”

Young In guessed that he had come knowing everything about today’s events.

Though she hadn’t been particularly proud of her profession as a manager, today she even doubted her job.

“How can I become clean?”

“Hmm, maybe after sleeping and waking up?”

“Then let’s go to sleep.”

Young In chuckled as she saw him suddenly grab her wrist.

Today she had adamantly refused Hae Yoon who insisted on coming along, saying she wanted to drink quietly alone. But ironically, the presence of the man beside her was a great comfort.

“Later.”

A smile spread across Sung Hyuk’s face as he released her slender wrist. He liked seeing Young In softened unlike usual, perhaps due to the effects of alcohol.

“You still haven’t found a hobby to relieve stress?”

“I haven’t.”

“I told you to learn a sport, but you didn’t listen.”

Young In pouted her lower lip and protested.

“I was thinking of learning to swim, but my senior wouldn’t let me.”

“Let’s be precise. I told you to learn from me, when did I ever say you couldn’t learn?”

“I didn’t want to learn from you, that’s what I mean.”

“Why didn’t you want to?”

“Because I didn’t want to show you me floundering…”

“What kind of nonsensical reason is that. It’s natural to flounder if you can’t swim.”

Young In swallowed the words that she didn’t want to show you her clumsy and inexperienced side.

“Then why did you so strongly oppose me learning from a professional instructor?”

“There’s inevitably holding, supporting, unavoidable touching. How could I just stand by and watch someone else touch your body?”

“That’s quite a reasonable excuse.”

After heaving a deep sigh, Young In suddenly giggled. Sung Hyuk laughed along.

The two who learned the truth after 3 years looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Young In emptied the glass Sung Hyuk had filled while reminiscing.

“I may not have learned to swim, but thinking about it, I learned a lot from you. I learned to drive, I learned about whiskey…”

“Didn’t you learn how to kiss from me too?”

“I think I was already good at that without learning.”

“You weren’t good, but you were good.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you were clumsy but drove me crazy.”

Young In, who had been gazing intently at Sung Hyuk, suddenly got up from her seat.

“Let’s go now.”

“Alright.”

The two went outside together.

After putting Young In in the passenger seat first, he went around to the driver’s seat and heard a soft voice.

“Let’s go to your place.”

“…”

Sung Hyuk’s gaze turned to the passenger seat.

“You said let’s go to sleep.”

He slowly opened his mouth.

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m drunk, drunk enough that I won’t remember anything when I open my eyes tomorrow.”

Sung Hyuk responded as he started the engine.

“It’s okay if you don’t remember. I’ll remember for you.”