After finishing her meal, Yi Soo got into Won Jin’s car as they left the Korean restaurant.

Yi Soo kept thinking about Soo Min saying she was taking Yoo Mi to London.

And of all days, it had to be on the same day.

There’s only one direct flight to London on July 3rd.

Unless they’re taking a connecting flight, it means they’ll even be on the same plane.

‘Did they deliberately schedule it to match Ji Ho’s travel date?’

Yi Soo was lost in thought.

Her head was turned towards the window, but she didn’t notice any of the scenery rapidly passing by outside.

‘If Yoo Mi runs into them that day, it’ll surely reach Dad’s ears too.’

While staying in London, Yoo Mi would naturally find out that Ji Ho was going to Paris, and if she happened to ask Won Jin about Yi Soo’s schedule, it would only be a matter of time before they knew the two were traveling together.

To keep it completely secret, they’d have to deceive too many people.

Yi Soo bit her lower lip hard, wondering why it felt so embarrassing to say she was going on a trip with her boyfriend.

Yi Soo stared blankly at Won Jin, who was driving while looking straight ahead.

“It’s good that you’re dating, but be careful while you’re seeing each other.”

If he could say something like that, maybe he would allow it.

“Dad.”

Yi Soo, having finally made up her mind, carefully parted her lips.

“Yes?”

“Um, Ji Ho is also going to London this summer. To his parents’ house. Since I’m going to London too, we decided to go together.”

“I see. You won’t be bored then.”

“Yeah.”

Actually, up to this point, it was just about taking the same flight, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

Before bringing up the trip, Yi Soo kept hesitating, pressing her lips together and apart.

After a long hesitation, Yi Soo swallowed dryly and finally opened her mouth.

“Dad. Actually… On my way back from London this time, I’m planning to travel to Paris with Ji Ho.”

“What? Just the two of you?”

Surprised by the unexpected news, Won Jin’s voice reflexively came out startled.

Yi Soo checked Won Jin’s expression once more before answering.

“Yeah. I’m telling you in advance in case you might say something later when you find out. …Is it okay if I go?”

Her voice became almost inaudibly small at the end.

Yi Soo was mentally prepared to hear any kind of scolding.

Fidgeting with her hands on her lap while waiting for an answer, Yi Soo took a deep breath.

After a moment of silence, Won Jin spoke.

“If I tell you not to go, will you not go?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Yi Soo hesitated with a troubled expression.

“You’ve already decided to go anyway, right? Well then. Be careful and have a good trip.”

“What? Really?”

Yi Soo immediately brightened up and asked again.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like you wouldn’t go if I stopped you.”

Won Jin chuckled.

“I thought you’d be really upset about it. I was really worried about whether to tell you or not.”

“Ha ha, I’m not that narrow-minded… I feel hurt.”

“Thanks for allowing it. I feel relieved now.”

Yi Soo said in a cheerful voice, feeling like she had just unloaded a heavy burden.

“When you’re dating, it’s natural to go on trips together. I understand. Just make sure to keep in mind what I told you last time. And thank you for not hiding it from me and telling me honestly.”

While Won Jin couldn’t help but worry, he also had great trust in Yi Soo, and her honesty actually put his mind at ease.

“Okay. I’ll keep it in mind, definitely.”

Yi Soo answered promptly, forgetting her embarrassment.

“Traveling together is a good opportunity to really get to know each other, because you can see what a person is truly like. When you’re together 24 hours a day, personalities are fully revealed. That’s why even close friends often fight when they travel together. You two might end up having a big fight and breaking up during this trip.”

Except for school group trips, Yi Soo had never traveled with friends before.

Hearing Won Jin’s words, she thought it could be possible.

‘I can’t imagine fighting with Ji Ho… But I guess we might realize we’re not compatible during this trip.’

“Did you tell Mom too?”

“No. Just you know about it, Dad.”

“Why? If you’re going together this time, you could introduce him to Mom too.”

Yi Soo felt a headache coming on just thinking about how Hye Jin might react.

If Hye Jin found out, she might ask about Ji Ho every time she called even after returning to Seoul.

Come to think of it, if it weren’t for Yoo Mi, she probably wouldn’t have introduced Ji Ho to Won Jin first either.

“Well… I’ll think about it.”

Thinking of Hye Jin naturally led to thoughts of Soo Min, which reminded her of Yoo Mi.

“By the way, Dad. Yoo Mi doesn’t know I’m going to London yet, right?”

“No, I haven’t told her. Why?”

“Then keep it a secret until the end.”

Yi Soo said with a smirk.

“If you’re leaving on the same day, you’ll end up meeting at the airport anyway.”

“That’s right. Imagine how surprised Yoo Mi will be when she sees me at the airport. Isn’t that fun?”

She imagined seeing that face again at the airport soon, the same one she saw when she brought Ji Ho home last time.

Won Jin nodded, laughing along with Yi Soo’s cheerful laughter.

Won Jin’s car stopped in front of Yi Soo’s house with the hazard lights on.

“Yi Soo, go inside. Make sure to eat your meals properly, okay?”

“Okay. You be careful on your way too, Dad. And don’t forget this is a secret!”

Yi Soo answered cheerfully and got out of the car.

**

Yoo Mi turned on Yi Soo’s old fully charged phone.

She opened the phone screen, which wasn’t even password-protected, and searched for Kim Min Jae’s number.

A few days ago, precisely on the day Yi Soo brought Ji Ho home, after Yi Soo left, Yoo Mi, who had been crying her eyes out, went up to Yi Soo’s room late at night.

She immediately went into the study and started searching for Yi Soo’s old phone, opening all the desk drawers and storage cabinets.

When the phone wasn’t in the expected places, Yoo Mi let out an annoyed sigh.

‘It must be somewhere. Why hide a phone you’re not even using?’

Yoo Mi went into the dressing room and while rummaging through the closet, she found a wooden box tucked away in the back corner of the floor.

‘I think I’ve found it.’

The box had a 4-digit combination lock, like a travel suitcase.

Yoo Mi tried entering numbers related to Yi Soo one by one.

Despite trying everything she could think of, the tightly locked box wouldn’t open.

After several days of this, just when she was about to give up out of frustration, thinking it was her last try, she entered the simplest number.

Then, with a click on the second try, the lock turned.

1111.

‘What? Acting all smart, but it’s actually so simple.’

Yoo Mi laughed dejectedly as she opened the box.

Inside were envelopes, small memo pads, and small trinkets that looked useless to Yoo Mi’s eyes.

As she rummaged through the box, Yoo Mi found the phone Yi Soo had used in high school and smiled triumphantly.

‘So it was here.’

Underneath, she saw a stack of photos.

As Yoo Mi flipped through the photos one by one, she found Min Jae’s face, whom she had met in front of the house not long ago.

In a photo taken with friends, Min Jae and Yi Soo were smiling side by side.

‘It would have been better if it was just the two of them.’

With a somewhat disappointed look, Yoo Mi closed the box, holding one photo and the phone in her hand.

**

After parting with Won Jin and entering the house, Yi Soo took a shower and then plopped down on the sofa.

After sitting for a moment, she took out her phone and sent a message to Ji Ho.

−I’m home now.

As if he had been waiting, a call came in right away.

“Yes, Ji Ho. You called right away.”

[Yeah, I was waiting. Did you have a nice dinner with your dad?]

“Yeah. How about you?”

Yi Soo leaned her head back on the sofa and closed her eyes as she spoke.

[Unlike some people who just eat whatever, I had a proper meal.]

“What did you eat?”

[I made pork belly rice bowl.]

“Wow. That must have been delicious.”

[Yeah. I’ll make it for you next time you come over.]

Hearing Yi Soo’s subdued voice, Ji Ho asked.

[Are you tired?]

“Just a little. Why?”

[I miss you.]

Yi Soo slowly opened her eyes and looked at the clock on the wall.

The short hand had just passed the number 10.

If she said she missed him too, it seemed like Ji Ho would come right over even at this hour.

Wondering how to respond, Yi Soo just blinked slowly.

What should they do if Ji Ho came over at this time of night?

Should she tell him to come over and have some ramen before leaving?

As Yi Soo remained silent, lost in thought, Ji Ho spoke again.

[Can I come over now?]

His sweet voice that melted her heart rang in Yi Soo’s ears.

With a tired smile, Yi Soo slowly answered.

“I miss you too, but…”

Just as she was about to say it was too late today, as if he knew, Ji Ho said,

[I understand. I won’t come.]

“…”

Feeling the disappointment in his voice, Yi Soo felt sorry, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him to come over either.

[I’ll come early tomorrow instead.]

“Okay, if you came now you’d have to leave right away… It would be hard for you too.”

[Right.]

A small sigh was heard from the other end of the line.

Ji Ho put down the car keys he had been holding and ran his hand through his hair.

He sat down on the sofa with a bitter smile.

[If you’re tired, rest early. See you tomorrow.]

As he was about to hang up, Yi Soo’s voice was heard again.

“Ji Ho, um, does your mom know you’re going to London?”

[Yeah. Of course I told her.]

Yi Soo felt like she had asked something too obvious.

“Right. Of course.”

[Why?]

“Well… I heard from Dad today that my stepmom and Yoo Mi are also planning to go to London to meet your mom. But coincidentally, their departure date is the same as ours, so I wondered if it was intentional.”

Ji Ho frowned at Yi Soo’s words.

This was the first he’d heard of it.

‘So that’s why Mom kept asking when I was coming.’

He had thought something was strange when she asked for his flight details, unlike before.

He remembered Yeon Soo’s words about wanting to invite Soo Min to London for a long time.

“You didn’t know either.”

[I had no idea. It seems Mom intentionally didn’t tell me. I don’t know why though.]

“Well, I’m sure she had her reasons.”

Yi Soo thought it might have been at Yoo Mi’s request, but since it involved Ji Ho’s mom, she didn’t want to say it outright.

‘I was hoping to avoid any clashes with Yoo Mi over Ji Ho.’

“We’ll probably run into each other at the airport that day anyway, but I wanted you to know in advance. It seemed like you didn’t know either.”

[I see. We’ll be on the same flight then.]

Ji Ho nodded as he answered.

Taking the same flight on the same day wasn’t really a problem.

Yi Soo would be sitting next to Ji Ho anyway, and even if Yoo Mi and Soo Min were on board, there wouldn’t be any discomfort during the flight.

The issue was after arriving in London.

‘Knowing Mom’s personality, I don’t think she’d let Aunt Soo Min and Yoo Mi stay at a hotel.’

He could almost see Yeon Soo excitedly preparing the guest room where the two would stay.

“I told Dad not to tell Yoo Mi that I’m going. So you should pretend not to know until the end too. It won’t change anything if we let on that we know now anyway.”

[Okay. Got it.]

Ji Ho agreed readily and hung up the phone.

Yi Soo smirked, imagining what Yoo Mi’s expression would be like at the airport.

If Yoo Mi was doing this because she still couldn’t give up on Ji Ho, it might actually be a good thing.

All they had to do was make it crystal clear that it wasn’t going to happen.

‘Two times, three times, as many times as it takes until Yoo Mi gives up.’