The night sky was still beautiful, but Tae Hong, sitting next to her, seemed uninterested in it. He was stroking his chin with a somewhat serious expression.

“Jung Hae Jin.”

Just as the silence was becoming comfortable, he made it heavy again.

The three syllables of the name that came from his mouth felt unfamiliar. Of course, it wasn’t the first time, but his serious expression and tone made her straighten her back little by little. As she sat up straight, his seriousness seemed to drip down even more.

“I hope you’ll answer my question truthfully.”

Hae Jin involuntarily swallowed dry saliva. He was asking for the truth, but no particular wrongdoing came to mind. The only thing that slightly bothered her was the place where she had talked about her meeting with Seo Woo.

“Alright.”

Hae Jin rolled her dry lips into her mouth. After a pause, he asked.

“Was your first meeting with Park Seo Woo really a blind date?”

Hae Jin’s head tilted to one side. She had only picked up a pen for him, but was he guessing it was a blind date because of the hotel?

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Team Leader.”

Hae Jin found it curious that Tae Hong, waiting for an answer, seemed impatient and different from usual. She had been quite tense, but soon relaxed.

“What blind date are you talking about?”

Hae Jin laughed mischievously. However, it didn’t seem to be a satisfactory answer for Tae Hong, who still focused on her response. Of course, Hae Jin’s gaze was drawn once more to his uncharacteristic behavior.

An anxious Moon Tae Hong, cuter than expected.

“Team Leader, think about it.”

Hae Jin also turned her body to face him, who was still serious. His unrelaxed brow and crooked lips kept drawing out her smile.

“If my first meeting with Executive Director Park Seo Woo had been a blind date, he wouldn’t have been unaware of my name, would he?”

Hae Jin had told Seo Woo her name at the party, which was their third meeting. Only then did Tae Hong’s face gradually relax. His crooked lips found their place, and his furrowed brow smoothed out.

The great Moon Tae Hong had jumped to a strange conclusion without proper thinking.

“I was mistaken for a moment.”

His sheepish smile felt strangely friendly. Seeing him make a mistake, she felt his humanity. So you make mistakes too, you get flustered too, she thought.

“It happens.”

Hae Jin laughed it off as if it were nothing. Just as she thought that was the end of it,

“Which hotel did you meet at?”

She thought it was over, but the persistent man dug in until the end.

“The Grace Hotel.”

“Grace?”

Tae Hong suddenly stood up from the bench. His face suddenly disappeared from Hae Jin’s view. And then, wasn’t his large hand stretching out in front of her face?

“Hand it over.”

“What?”

She couldn’t understand what he wanted her to hand over. His hand, asking for something entrusted, was unrestrained.

Since Hae Jin had no idea, she just blinked her eyes blankly, waiting for the other person to provide an answer.

“The corporate card.”

That word was not appropriate for the timing. Why did that word come out right after hearing about the first place she met Seo Woo?

It didn’t make sense. The next part was as clear as day. Instinctively, she hugged her clutch bag closer to her body.

“This won’t do. Grace Hotel, 3 times, cancel.”

Where is there such a law, isn’t this an overreach of authority by a superior? There were many things she wanted to argue about, but she mentioned Tae Hong’s pettiness.

“How can you take back what you’ve given?”

“It’s fine since it hasn’t been used yet.”

Hae Jin opened her clutch bag with fingertips full of regret. The card she had put inside the bag touched her hand. She hesitated, unable to take it out, dripping with attachment.

“I think you’re misunderstanding, but that day when we went for the site visit.”

The last method Hae Jin thought of was to actively appeal her innocence and explain the situation at the time without lying.

She didn’t leave out the fact that she was busy taking in everything with her eyes at that time, and that you went to take a phone call.

He who had stood up sat down again. Can I not give the card, she slightly examined his expression. He seemed to be pondering something, but it was difficult to predict his inner thoughts.

“This won’t do.”

What do you mean it won’t do, I explained the facts in detail and emphasized that it wasn’t entirely my fault, but in the end you’re asking for it back. Huh, without the ability to win against him, Hae Jin finally took out the card.

“As soon as you disappear from sight, the dung flies gather.”

But Tae Hong, who was about to receive the card, rested his chin on the bench, crossed his long legs leisurely, and looked at her with a determined face.

“I’ll have to accompany you on that schedule too.”

Goodness, is he asking to do official business, or is he trying to fulfill his personal desires?

There was no way to know.

**

Finally, all the business trip schedules were over. As with all business trips, it was thoroughly exhausting.

It wasn’t because of jet lag like overseas trips, nor was it because of travel time, but strangely, it was burdensome.

It was clearly due to the unexpected emotional drain.

When I return, what should I really do now, his straightforwardness showed no signs of changing.

If you ask how I feel, well, I like it. He is a sufficiently charming person, and although he seems cold, I thought that might be his defense mechanism.

My heart raced when I saw him, I couldn’t sleep even with the smallest touch, and all my thoughts ended up being about him. If this isn’t liking someone, what is it?

The decisive factor was seeing him with Se Young. Why did it make me irritated? It was a question I had followed for a long time, but I didn’t like seeing another woman by his side.

Is it time to break the relationship I had confined myself to?

Even unconsciously, I observed him driving. He took the wheel in place of my tired self. Of course, there was a quarrel about who would drive, but I eventually handed over the wheel to him, who gave a lengthy explanation about the dangers of drowsy driving.

He was always like that. He checked my condition and was considerate. He kept taking away my roles.

That must be his heart.

The familiar cityscape passed by outside the window. When he gets off, I should arrive home as quickly as possible, then wash up faster than anyone else and fall asleep.

I should plunge all the lingering emotions into unconsciousness, I thought as I closed my eyes.

How much time had passed? Blinking, Hae Jin lifted her heavy eyelids as much as possible.

This is, the direction to our house. She quickly opened her eyes and looked around. One thing was certain, this wasn’t near Tae Hong’s house.

“Team Leader, where are you going?”

“I’m taking Jung Hae Jin home.”

Taking me home, according to the original plan, she should have been taking Tae Hong home. The boundaries of the relationship were clearly crumbling more and more.

“Why?”

“You looked tired.”

For him, every situation was always simple. The reasons for his actions were always straightforward.

“I couldn’t leave you alone.”

He was always honest with his emotions. He had no hesitation and never looked back.

It’s just giving a ride, you might think it’s excessive kindness from a superior, but it was different for Hae Jin.

Unlike her who thought excessively about many things, he thought and acted too simply and straightforwardly. But that always tickled her heart.

Is it because I answered that I like it to the question in my heart, even the slightest word touched me helplessly.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m not okay, so let’s just go.”

He drew the line, telling her not to argue anymore. Come to think of it, the definition of the lines he drew and the lines she drew were also different.

He drew lines to break down emotional barriers, while she drew lines to prevent breaking down relationship barriers.

Eventually, they arrived in front of her house. In the dark neighborhood, the only light was from the streetlamps. The sparse lights coming from windows indicated the late hour.

“Thank you for bringing me home.”

As Hae Jin got out of the car, Tae Hong followed. Before she could ask why, he took out her carrier from the trunk as if he had planned his movements in advance.

“I can carry it myself.”

But Tae Hong passed by her hands and picked up the carrier. The neighborhood was too quiet to drag it on the ground.

“I can’t watch you struggle again.”

As if it was absurd, he lifted the carrier with a jerk. It’s surprising even when he puts it down again. Was the carrier really that light?

When she carried it, she was dragged along by the bag while grunting, but Tae Hong even carried it with one hand. With him carrying the carrier, she had no choice but to walk quickly in the lead.

She tried to take the carrier he was bringing at the entrance of the officetel, but failed again this time too. He just put it down on the ground, but Tae Hong was still holding the handle.

“You can give it to me now.”

Instead of giving her the carrier she asked for, Tae Hong just looked around. Now she just needed to take the elevator up and it would be over, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

“I’ve come this far, should I just leave?”

After looking around for a while, he finally casually said he wanted to go to her house.

“Should I tell you to eat some ramen before you go?”

“I’d like that if you offer.”

Only then did his hand leave the carrier handle. Every time the sensor light flickered, her throbbing heart also moved along. Whether he knew or not, he didn’t show any emotional fluctuation.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have ramen at home.”

“If there’s no ramen, even a glass of water will do.”

What house doesn’t have water? He was insisting on coming in.

“Just be honest and say you want to come inside.”

He wasn’t a child of one or two years old, she understood the meaning of what he was saying. He loosened his tie as if he had been waiting for this.

“If I say I want to come in, will you allow it?”

Hae Jin tightly closed her mouth. Could she handle the intention hidden behind the pretext of permission?

“I’m thirsty.”

For a moment, her face reddened. Was thirst such a word? The ambiguous meaning at the end of impure thoughts was unclear.

No, he had been driving for a long time, so it’s natural to be thirsty. Surely the thirst he mentioned must be the latter. It had to be.

He must be tired too, since he kept driving in her place. Saying he’s thirsty must have such a simple meaning, and giving him a cool glass of water should be enough.

Let’s not get too lost in imagination alone.

Finally, to confirm that her thoughts were correct, she looked at him, but she couldn’t read any emotion from him at all.

Only the carrier that no one was holding was blocking between the two. But he slightly pushed the carrier to the side. The wheels moved easily.

Now there was nothing blocking between the two people. Even the sensor light that had been illuminating the two motionless people turned off.