Ji Ho and Yeon Soo went to the seats guided by the staff after giving the reservation name.

Yoo Mi, who had arrived earlier and was waiting, immediately recognized Yeon Soo and jumped up from her seat, rushing over.

“Aunt Yeon Soo, I missed you so much!”

Yoo Mi hugged Yeon Soo tightly with a bright smile on her face.

“Oh my, Yoo Mi is greeting me more warmly than Ji Ho. Maybe I should have had a daughter.”

Smiling happily, Yeon Soo gently patted Yoo Mi’s back.

After a brief hug, Yoo Mi linked arms tightly with Yeon Soo and walked to their seats.

“Yoo Mi, how do you get prettier every time I see you? How much prettier are you planning to become?”

“Really? Hehe. Aunt, you seem to get younger every time I see you too.”

Soo Min stood up from her seat and smiled as she watched the two walking closely together.

“Yeon Soo, welcome. Ji Ho, it’s been so long. Have you been well?”

“Yes, how have you been?”

Soo Min looked at Ji Ho, who greeted her politely, with a pleased expression.

Ji Ho had become more and more handsome.

It was understandable why Yoo Mi was looking at Ji Ho with eyes dripping with honey.

“It’s so good to see you like this.”

Soo Min’s lips curled up in a genuine smile of happiness.

“Me too. Has it been a year since we last met?”

“Since we saw each other last summer, it’s almost been that long. But you must be tired, coming here yesterday without resting?”

“No. Seeing such welcome faces after so long, I don’t even feel tired because I’m so happy.”

With Soo Min and Yoo Mi sitting across from each other, Ji Ho naturally sat next to Yoo Mi, and Yeon Soo next to Soo Min.

A moment later, the staff bringing the food widened their eyes upon seeing Ji Ho.

“Oh, a few days ago…”

“Ah, yes.”

Perhaps because his face was hard to forget once seen, the staff member’s face lit up with a welcoming smile as they recognized Ji Ho at a glance.

‘Did elder brother come here a few days ago?’

Logically thinking, he wouldn’t have come to a restaurant like this alone, and he wouldn’t have come with another man either.

The smile that had been on Yoo Mi’s face disappeared completely.

‘Who did he come with?’

She secretly hoped that Soo Min or Yeon Soo would ask, but the two were so busy talking about recent events that they didn’t even notice the staff recognizing Ji Ho.

Ji Ho was also listening intently to their conversation, so there was no opportunity to interject.

As the meal was nearly finished, the birthday cake for Yoo Mi that Soo Min had requested in advance arrived.

“Since it’s Yoo Mi’s birthday today, I asked them to prepare a cake as well.”

“Good idea. It’s been a while since we’ve done this too.”

After singing the birthday song and Yoo Mi blew out the candles, Yeon Soo immediately held out a credit card to Ji Ho.

“Ji Ho, since I came in a hurry and couldn’t prepare Yoo Mi’s gift in advance, could you take Yoo Mi to the department store now and buy her a present?”

“…Me?”

Ji Ho had been drinking coffee, just waiting for this gathering to end quickly.

He didn’t even want to eat with Yoo Mi here, let alone go to the department store alone with her.

“Yes. I’ll wait at the cafe, so you two go together. Yoo Mi, you’d prefer going with Ji Ho rather than me, right?”

Yoo Mi, delighted beyond words, nodded her head vigorously with an excited face.

“Our Yoo Mi is so happy she doesn’t know what to do. Thank you, Yeon Soo.”

Soo Min also thanked her immediately without any hesitation, for Yoo Mi’s sake.

In many ways, the atmosphere made it impossible for Ji Ho to refuse.

Reluctantly taking Yeon Soo’s card, Ji Ho headed to the department store with Yoo Mi.

**

“What are you going to buy?”

“Oh, um…”

As soon as they arrived at the department store, Ji Ho asked while walking briskly.

He intended to just go along and pay as Yeon Soo had asked.

“I haven’t decided yet. Can’t we look around a bit?”

Yoo Mi didn’t want to rush to buy a gift like she was being chased.

Since opportunities to shop with Ji Ho were rare, Yoo Mi deliberately stalled, wanting to leisurely browse around and look at various things.

“Then look around by yourself and call me when you decide. I’ll be sitting over there.”

Ji Ho pointed with his chin towards the sofa next to the escalator as he spoke.

As he took a step, Yoo Mi urgently grabbed Ji Ho’s arm.

“Tch. Alright. Just a moment.”

Yoo Mi looked around the store and then spoke as if she had made up her mind.

“I’ve decided, so follow me.”

Yoo Mi led the way into a jewelry store that caught the eye with its sparkling, glamorous display from the entrance.

Yoo Mi glanced at Ji Ho’s reaction in front of the display case with rings and necklaces.

Honestly, she wanted to receive something like this as a gift from Ji Ho, not from Yeon Soo.

‘Right, I should save this kind of thing for later. Then…’

“I want to buy earrings. Could you pick some for me, elder brother?”

“Why should I? Just quickly choose what you like.”

Seeing Ji Ho’s indifferent response, Yoo Mi pouted her lips but was soon distracted by the earrings.

While Yoo Mi was absorbed in choosing earrings, Ji Ho looked around the store and noticed a beautifully sparkling necklace inside a display case.

The moment he saw the necklace with the engraved word ‘LOVE’ set with small diamonds, Yi Soo came to mind.

It seemed like it would suit Yi Soo’s slender, white neck well.

Ji Ho chuckled, imagining putting the necklace on Yi Soo.

“Elder brother, what do you think of this? Isn’t it pretty?”

Ji Ho turned slightly at Yoo Mi’s call and nodded half-heartedly.

“Then I’ll take this one.”

Ji Ho went to the counter, following the staff’s guidance.

He paid for the earrings Yoo Mi chose with the card Yeon Soo had given him.

“And I’ll take that white gold necklace too. Please wrap it separately and charge it to this card.”

Pointing with his fingertip at the necklace in the display case, Ji Ho took out his own card from his wallet and handed it over.

While looking around at various things waiting for the payment to finish, Yoo Mi’s eyes widened as she saw Ji Ho buying the necklace.

Looking closely, it seemed the necklace was being paid for with Ji Ho’s card, not Yeon Soo’s.

‘Oh my, could it be he’s buying it for me separately? That necklace is the design I really wanted.’

Yoo Mi’s cheekbones seemed about to pop out from her twitching with joy.

Yoo Mi deliberately pretended not to see and turned her head.

Yoo Mi’s heart was pounding wildly, anticipating a surprise event.

**

Although she had promised Won Jin she would go home for dinner, she didn’t want to see Yoo Mi feeling like this.

After hesitating, Yi Soo finally called Won Jin.

“Father, I think the lunch I ate today didn’t agree with me. I think it’s better not to eat dinner, so I’ll come tomorrow evening instead of today.”

Although she had to listen to a barrage of worry from Won Jin, she was able to postpone going home for a day with the excuse of indigestion.

“Yi Soo, let’s have some soju with clam soup for dinner.”

Sitting at the restaurant, Ae Ra filled Yi Soo’s glass to the brim with soju.

“You went through a lot today because of me.”

Yi Soo downed the bitter soju on an empty stomach.

She hoped it would clear her mind, which had been clouded with thoughts of Ji Ho and Yoo Mi all afternoon.

Ae Ra rested her chin on one hand and stared intently at Yi Soo, who had been wearing a dazed expression all afternoon.

“Did something happen in the bathroom earlier?”

“…”

“Did you try contacting Ji Ho?”

“No.”

“Aren’t you curious why he came there earlier?”

“…”

Yi Soo let out a deep sigh and laughed helplessly.

She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Thinking of Ji Ho, who hadn’t contacted her once all day, made Yi Soo’s nose tingle.

If only it had been another woman instead of Yoo Mi, she could have at least talked to Ae Ra about it openly.

Because it was Yoo Mi, she was reluctant to even mention it.

“Let’s stop talking about that.”

It seemed like continuing to think about it would only make her feel worse.

Staring at Yi Soo, Ae Ra refused to give up.

Even before Yi Soo mentioned seeing Ji Ho, her expression had hardened.

That meant something must have happened inside the bathroom.

“Wait a minute, there’s a way to find out everything.”

Suddenly taking out her phone, Ae Ra seemed to be looking for something while tapping the screen.

Not long after, Ae Ra showed her phone to Yi Soo with a triumphant smile.

“I found it! Look at this!”

What Ae Ra showed was Yoo Mi’s social media.

There were several photos just uploaded with tags.

#mybirthday#withoppa#birthdaygift#happy#steak

Photos of a restaurant that looked a bit different from the bar, a photo holding a luxury shopping bag, and a photo of the steak Yi Soo had eaten were visible.

She thought they might have eaten the same course meal, then let out a bitter laugh.

Ji Ho’s back was slightly visible beyond Yoo Mi’s face.

“Oh my! Oh my!”

Ae Ra exclaimed in an excited voice.

“That’s Seo Ji Ho, right? The clothes are exactly the same as what we saw earlier.”

“…It seems so.”

Haah… So it was real. It seemed she had vaguely hoped it might not be true.

Seeing it for real made her heart sink.

“What’s with this Seo Ji Ho! I just checked it out just in case, but… When Ju Hee asked Ji Ho last time, he said it was just a rumor. What kind of two-…”

The word ‘two-timing’ was about to come out but stopped abruptly.

Ae Ra, who had been speaking excitedly, clamped her mouth shut and glanced at Yi Soo’s reaction.

Yi Soo stared blankly at Ae Ra, who was getting worked up on her behalf.

“Even if they’ve known each other for a long time as younger sister, isn’t this a bit much? Shouldn’t you be angry?”

Yi Soo asked as if talking about someone else’s affair.

“Of course! Who eats at such an expensive place and even buys luxury goods for someone they just know as a younger sister? Especially when he has a girlfriend.”

Watching Ae Ra answer excitedly, Yi Soo felt complicated and confused.

It felt like all the strength was draining from her hands.

This is why… This is why she didn’t want to do anything.

‘Am I misunderstanding something? Maybe there was a good reason…’

Recalling everything that came to mind – Ji Ho’s words, Yoo Mi’s attitude – she still couldn’t make sense of the situation.

Was Yoo Mi such a dear younger sister to Ji Ho that he would celebrate her birthday like that?

She thought Yoo Mi had one-sided feelings, but had she been mistaken?

But she had never felt that the feelings Ji Ho showed her were false.

Looking at Yoo Mi’s social media photos on Ae Ra’s phone, Yi Soo suddenly felt like she had become a woman investigating her cheating boyfriend.

‘This is the worst. Really.’

A self-deprecating sigh escaped her.

What good would it do to know what they did together?

She spoke while watching Ae Ra, who was still glaring at the photos and fuming.

“Ae Ra, stop looking at that. Let’s just drink without getting worked up.”

“Hey, how can I not get worked up! Aren’t you angry?”

“And if I’m angry? I’ll only hurt myself by getting angry. If you’re going to keep doing that, I’m just going to go home.”

“Alright.”

Ae Ra let out a deep sigh and reluctantly turned off her phone screen.

Yi Soo filled her empty glass with soju and drank it in one gulp as if trying to wash something down.

Whether her senses had dulled or not, she could barely taste the bitterness of the soju.

At that moment, Yi Soo’s phone, which was face down on the table, vibrated and moved with a drr sound.

Yi Soo shoved the phone into her bag without even checking who was calling.

**

In the car stopped at a red light, Ji Ho checked the time.

It was just past 8 o’clock.

He was on his way back after seeing off Yeon Soo, who was flying down to Jeju on an evening flight.

He had called Yi Soo before leaving the airport, but she didn’t answer.

She said her part-time job ended at 6, but there was no reply to the messages he sent after that either.

Ji Ho smiled as he glanced at the necklace he had bought to give to Yi Soo.

‘I want to give it to her soon.’

Ji Ho called Yi Soo again, but she still didn’t answer.

The second and third tries were the same.

Fidgeting his fingers on the steering wheel, Ji Ho found Ae Ra’s number and called her.