Romance for You (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
At Ji Ho’s low, quiet voice, Lee Su turned her head.
“What do you mean, ‘first time’?” Lee Su raised and then lowered her eyebrows slightly as she looked at Ji Ho.
“I was completely new to everything too—bringing someone home, having breakfast together, even giving up my bed. All of it.”
So please, just look at me a little.
Don’t turn your head away so casually like that.
“It was because it was you. If it hadn’t been you, I wouldn’t have gone to pick you up.”
His voice, overly sweet, was speaking directly to Lee Su.
Because it was you.
Lee Su looked as though she’d just heard something she wasn’t supposed to.
His words, crystal clear with no room for misinterpretation, sent a visible tremor through Lee Su’s flustered eyes.
What was she supposed to say in a moment like this?
“Ah… thank you.”
Was that an appropriate response?
Thinking she had to say something—anything—Lee Su blurted it out and nodded her head.
Her heart pounded rapidly, and all the things Ji Ho had said until now suddenly flooded her mind, making it even more chaotic.
“I just want you to care about me a little.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“Let’s meet on a rainy day.”
“No man spends his time on a woman he doesn’t like.”
“I like it when you look at me.”
“Come to me again next time too.”
Would Ji Ho even remember the things he’d said?
His casually tossed-off words had been hiding somewhere in Lee Su’s memory, waiting for just the right moment to burst out all at once.
She wanted to let them slip away, but against her will, not a single word faded from her mind.
If anyone else had said those things to her, she’d have taken it without doubt as a sign of interest.
But strangely, when Seo Ji Ho said them, they didn’t sound straightforward at all.
Every time that faint suspicion—“Could it be…?”—rose in her mind, she’d immediately brush it off as ridiculous, thinking it was just her imagination.
Knowing just how wildly popular Seo Ji Ho was, she didn’t want to jump to any hasty misunderstandings.
There must be countless girls who liked Ji Ho.
Why would Ji Ho, with so many girls around him, go out of his way for someone like her, whom he’d barely even met?
So even when Ji Ho was unusually kind and considerate to the point of seeming strange, she’d always just assumed that’s simply the kind of person he was—and felt grateful, nothing more.
But now… he was saying it was because it was her?
“It’s not that I’m trying to hear you say thank you. It’s just… you seem to know so little about me. About why I’m acting like this.”
“…….”
“I’m saying this because I want you to understand a bit more.”
“……Understand what?”
“That you’re special to me.”
Ji Ho looked at Lee Su gently as he spoke.
Even in the moment he said those words, Ji Ho showed no sign of nervousness.
Ironically, it was Lee Su—the one listening—who was trembling.
Wasn’t this completely backwards?
Ji Ho’s confidence granted him ease even in a situation like this.
Leaning back against the sofa, Ji Ho set his coffee cup down on the table.
The elegant way he moved looked as if it belonged in a coffee commercial.
“Lately, I’ve been doing things that aren’t like me at all—because of you.”
It had been that way from the very beginning.
Even deciding to return your student ID in person wasn’t like Ji Ho at all.
Maybe it had been destined ever since he first felt an inexplicable curiosity about you—the girl he saw on the airplane.
Worrying over your tears, making up childish excuses just to wait for your call.
Feeling bitter when seeing you smile at someone else.
And now, honestly admitting all of that right in front of you—that wasn’t like Ji Ho either.
“What does that even…?”
So everything she’d thought was just her imagination… hadn’t been imagination at all.
Hearing Ji Ho’s words and looking back, everything suddenly felt painfully clear.
Her strong belief that “Seo Ji Ho couldn’t possibly be like that” had clouded her judgment all this time.
Lee Su swallowed hard and tightly bit her lips, tucking them inward.
“I think I understand why I’m acting like this…”
“…….”
“But you don’t?”
Ji Ho asked gently.
Lee Su felt like she was starting to understand—but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything in reply.
She wasn’t ready to face feelings she couldn’t handle.
Lee Su tightly gripped the coffee cup in her hands.
At this rate, would Ji Ho even hear her heartbeat?
Even her exhales trembled.
She didn’t want Ji Ho to see her like this.
Breaking the suffocating silence, Lee Su finally spoke.
“I really need to go now.”
If she didn’t want him to notice, the only way was to leave right then.
“Alright. Then go ahead.”
Seeing Lee Su flustered and at a loss, Ji Ho decided it was time to let her go—though his expression showed no sign of being shocked.
He hadn’t really expected an answer from the start.
It wasn’t so much a question as it was a confession—
Almost like a preview.
He’d met plenty of girls who misunderstood him completely despite his clear words, but this was the first time he’d met someone who genuinely didn’t seem to get it, even when he laid it all out plainly.
He’d have to kindly clarify that it wasn’t a misunderstanding after all.
Now that he’d pulled her this far, it was Lee Su’s turn to respond.
“Where are you headed? Home?”
Ji Ho asked, his eyes lingering on Lee Su, who was wearing his clothes.
“No. I’m going to meet my dad.”
Ji Ho’s house, which had felt like a peaceful dream, had instantly become an airless space.
She wanted to leave—anywhere—as quickly as possible.
“Wait a sec. Let me change and I’ll drive you.”
“No, I can go by myself. Just lend me 20,000 won. I don’t have my wallet.”
“Wait.”
As if he had no intention at all of granting her request, Ji Ho turned and walked into his room.
**
Lee Su stared out at the scenery beyond the car window.
It was absurd—trying to run away from Ji Ho, only to end up sitting in his car, drenched in his scent.
She’d refused several times, but in the end, she couldn’t win against him.
Ji Ho had insisted he’d only drive in silence, and somehow, he’d gotten her into the car anyway.
‘Could I really push away a man like this completely?’
Ever since she’d first met Ji Ho, something good had happened each time they met—and with every kindness, Lee Su felt another invisible debt piling up, one she had yet to repay.
She hadn’t repaid a single thing.
From beginning to end, all she’d done was receive.
Ji Ho’s endless kindness and goodwill were slowly weighing heavier on her heart.
And if what had confused her all this time wasn’t just a misunderstanding after all…
Lee Su was at a complete loss for how she should treat Ji Ho from now on.
‘If I get closer to Ji Ho, I’ll naturally hear things about Yoo Mi too. Even if I don’t want to, Yoo Mi won’t stay quiet.’
But she didn’t like that idea.
Glancing sideways at Ji Ho, who was silently driving, Lee Su thought,
‘Sharing family stories means showing someone everything.’
‘Maybe I should just distance myself first. Then I wouldn’t even have to worry about this.’
While Lee Su was lost in these troubled thoughts, Ji Ho’s car came to a stop in front of Won Jin’s hospital.
“You’re meeting your dad here?”
Ji Ho looked out the window.
Emblazoned across the tall building’s facade was the large sign: JS Plastic Surgery.
Except for the café on the first floor, the entire building was the hospital.
“Yeah. Thanks for the ride.”
Lee Su almost said something about Won Jin’s hospital, but stopped herself, remembering that Ji Ho might already know through Yoo Mi.
“Take this.”
Ji Ho pulled out 20,000 won from his wallet and handed it to Lee Su.
“What’s this? Earlier, when I asked to borrow money, you didn’t even pretend to hear me.”
“I wanted to take you myself. If I’d lent you the money earlier, you would’ve just left on your own.”
So that’s your real intention, huh?
While making her heart race like this, Ji Ho himself just smiled calmly—as if nothing had happened at all.
“Thank you.”
Even though she was meeting her dad, she took the money Ji Ho offered—just in case.
Saturdays were busy with surgeries; she didn’t know how long she’d have to wait for her dad, and there might be unexpected complications.
“I’ll wash the clothes and return them.”
“Whatever.”
Ji Ho got out of the driver’s seat first.
As Lee Su unbuckled her seatbelt, her eyes followed Ji Ho as he walked around to the passenger side.
Outside, the passenger door clicked open.
“I could’ve opened it myself and gotten out. Why bother?”
“I was worried you might trip getting out. I came to help you up.”
On Ji Ho’s face, a shamelessly playful smile accompanied his ridiculous excuse.
He held out one hand for Lee Su to take, while the other gently cradled her head.
Ignoring Ji Ho’s hand, Lee Su simply got out of the car.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have given him medicine in the middle of the night.’
Ji Ho gave a soft chuckle and quietly curled his outstretched hand back into a fist.
“Go meet your dad well, and head straight home. If you don’t feel like going home, you can call me.”
“You must be tired. Go home and rest. Thanks again—and I’m sorry.”
“Can I call you?”
“Huh?”
“I owe you quite a lot, after all.”
Ji Ho lifted the corner of his lips into a teasing smile.
“Well… yeah.”
It was a statement she couldn’t argue with.
“I’ll call.”
Lee Su nodded and turned to walk away.
The moment she parted from Ji Ho, she felt as if she’d returned to reality.
When she met her dad, what should she talk about first?
**
“Ugh… my head feels like it’s splitting open.”
Yoo Mi wrinkled her face, clutching her head with both hands as she sat up in bed.
Overcome by a parched, cotton-mouthed thirst, Yoo Mi staggered out of her room.
She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.
Tilting her head back, Yoo Mi gulped down the water in big swallows.
“Ah… I’m alive again.”
Collapsing onto a dining chair, Yoo Mi rested her chin in her hand and scrunched her eyes shut.
Her memories from last night were fragmented.
She remembered going into Lee Su’s room and picking up the perfume…
“But what else did I do? I think I cried?”
The moment she tried to recall more, her head throbbed painfully.
“You’re up now?”
Hearing movement, Su Min came out from the bedroom into the dining area.
“Mom, I went into Lee Su’s room last night. How did I end up back in my own room?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Su Min clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
If you really thought about it, last night’s whole mess was entirely Yoo Mi’s fault.
If Yoo Mi hadn’t gone into Lee Su’s room, Su Min wouldn’t have slapped Lee Su.
“What on earth happened to you last night that made you drink so much?”
“Huuuuh…”
Yoo Mi let out a deep, earth-shattering sigh, her expression grim.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mom, remember when Lee Su said she got perfume as a gift a few days ago? Turns out… it was from Ji Ho oppa.”
Yoo Mi’s face instantly crumpled into a pout.
“What?”
Su Min’s eyes widened in shock.
“Argh! This is so frustrating!”
“Are the two of them… dating or something?”
“I don’t know! Lee Su insisted there’s nothing between them, but I saw him drive her home last time!”
“Ji Ho took Lee Su home?”
Though Ji Ho was the son of a family friend, Su Min had secretly hoped he’d end up with Yoo Mi.
Ji Ho wasn’t just handsome—he came from a good family and had been raised by admirable parents, making him, in anyone’s eyes, the perfect husband or son-in-law.
“Don’t you know anything else?”
“Lee Su flat-out denied it, but how would I know if she’s lying? Why else would he give her perfume?”
Frustrated, Yoo Mi crumpled the empty water bottle in her hand.
“Of all people, why does he have to know Lee Su?”
Su Min’s brow furrowed deeply.
In the end, Lee Su hadn’t come home.
She’d lied to Won Jin, saying Lee Su was staying at a friend’s place, but Su Min was deeply uneasy—Lee Su hadn’t replied to her texts or answered her calls.
“What on earth is she planning to do?”
**
The elevator stopped at the 12th floor, where Won Jin’s consultation room was.
As the doors opened, many people waiting for consultations were visible on the sofas near the reception desk.
When Lee Su stepped inside, a staff member immediately recognized her and greeted her warmly.
“Oh, Lee Su! Long time no see.”
“Yes, hello.”
Lee Su bowed slightly in greeting.
“What special occasion brings you today?”
The staff member murmured quietly, tilting her head in curiosity.
“Lee Su, the doctor’s almost done with surgery. Go wait for him in his consultation room.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Su opened the door to Won Jin’s consultation room down the hallway—and her expression instantly turned cold and stiff.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)