Seung Woo also stopped abruptly and looked at So Eun with surprised eyes, then immediately smiled broadly and held out his hand.

“Hello? So Eun, it’s been a really long time?”

“Oh? Yes. It has been a while.”

As So Eun replied and extended her hand to Seung Woo, she felt strange.

Seung Woo enveloped So Eun’s hand with his large one and smiled brightly.

Seeing that bright smile, So Eun was reminded of how Seung Woo used to smile brightly every time he saw her in the past.

“Seung Woo. Our So Eun has grown up so beautifully, hasn’t she? She was so pretty when she was young, but how has she become even prettier? Right?”

So Eun’s cheeks flushed at Young Sook’s words.

“Ah, no. Aunt.”

As So Eun spoke in an embarrassed voice, Seung Woo looked at her intently and said,

“But it’s true? You were pretty when you were young, but now you’ve become even prettier?”

With Seung Woo’s words added, So Eun’s cheeks turned even redder.

As So Eun was flustered and didn’t know what to do, Seung Woo smiled and pulled out a chair for her.

“So Eun. Sit here.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. Elder brother.”

So Eun touched her red cheeks and sat down.

After everyone was seated, Hyun Jun looked around at the four people sitting at the table and grinned.

“Wow, really… How long has it been since we all sat down to eat together like this? It’s been 13 years. Wow.”

At Hyun Jun’s words, Young Sook nodded with a smile.

“That’s right. It really has been 13 years? Time has truly flown by.”

“If uncle were here, it would have been really nice…”

Hyun Jun, who seemed to have spoken without thinking, quickly glanced at Young Sook as if he had realized his mistake.

Young Sook’s husband had passed away from cancer two springs ago.

After her husband’s passing, Young Sook wanted to return to Korea, and after discussing it with her son Seung Woo, they returned last week after a year and a half of preparation.

“That’s right. If Seung Woo’s father were here, he would have been so happy to see how well our So Eun and Hyun Jun have grown…”

As Young Sook spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again, and mother Mi Sook’s eyes also became moist.

The atmosphere became solemn for a moment, but just then the door opened and food started to come out.

Young Sook deliberately put on a bright smile and picked up her chopsticks, saying it had been a long time since she had tasted Korean cuisine.

The other four also picked up their chopsticks and began to taste the elegant and traditional dishes that came out one by one. The five people chatted about various things while eating, and after having tea and fruit for dessert, they got up from their seats.

So Eun went to the counter to pay, but when the staff said the bill had already been settled, she was about to ask “What?” when Seung Woo came and stood beside her.

“I paid, So Eun.”

At Seung Woo’s words, So Eun looked at him with round eyes.

“No, elder brother, why?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“But still, we made the reservation for our mom’s birthday…”

“Does it matter who pays? When we were young, your mother made us so many delicious things. I can at least treat her to this much. Well.”

So Eun still looked at Seung Woo with an apologetic expression when Young Sook, Mi Sook, and Hyun Jun came to the counter.

“Mom, elder brother said he paid for this?”

At So Eun’s words, Mi Sook’s eyes widened.

“Oh my, Seung Woo. Why did you spend money like that? I feel bad.”

“Why feel bad? It’s your birthday, can’t I at least treat you to this much?”

As Seung Woo spoke with a smile, Young Sook linked arms with Mi Sook and said,

“That’s right. Do you know how much kimchi and side dishes you made for our Seung Woo when he was young? Even in America, he said he missed the side dishes you used to make. Thinking about that, what’s one meal for our Seung Woo to buy you? He should treat you more in the future.”

“Oh, sister. Why do you say Seung Woo ate a lot? And did you take it for free? You always paid when you took it.”

As Mi Sook spoke with an embarrassed face, Seung Woo said with a smile,

“Aunt, I really did eat a lot, didn’t I? All the side dishes you made were really delicious.”

At Seung Woo’s words, Mi Sook looked shy.

“Right? Elder brother? Our mom’s side dishes are really delicious, aren’t they? She has quite a few regular customers too. I heard that one lady even comes from another neighborhood to buy them after moving away.”

Mi Sook’s face turned red at Hyun Jun’s sudden praise of his mother.

Mi Sook opened a small side dish shop on the first floor of a neighborhood shopping complex in the year So Eun turned 11, utilizing her cooking skills.

The plain and clean taste without chemical seasonings soon spread by word of mouth in the neighborhood, and the business did better than expected. Currently, she was a proper boss with two employees.

“That’s right. Your mom’s side dishes are really delicious. I tried to replicate them in America, but I just couldn’t get that taste. Mi Sook, your cooking skills are truly unmatched.”

At Young Sook’s words, Mi Sook spoke with a shy face.

“Oh my, sister, why are you like this too? It’s embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing? I’m just stating facts.”

Seung Woo smiled as he watched the two of them and opened the door.

The five of them went out of the shop and headed towards the parking lot.

“Aunt, there’s a place nearby that makes good coffee. Would you like to have a cup before you go?”

At Hyun Jun’s words, Young Sook made an OK sign with her hand.

“Coffee is always welcome.”

Then, linking arms with Mi Sook, she said to Seung Woo,

“Seung Woo. Then I’ll ride in Hyun Jun’s car, and you bring So Eun there. Got it?”

Before So Eun could answer, Hyun Jun said to Young Sook with a bright smile,

“Sure. Aunt, I’m a good driver. I’ll take you there safely, so let’s go.”

At Hyun Jun’s words, Young Sook giggled and nodded.

“Sis, you know the coffee shop above the bakery, right? Come there with elder brother. Okay?”

Hyun Jun said to So Eun and then took his mother and Aunt Young Sook in his car.

Left alone, So Eun felt somewhat awkward for some reason.

“So Eun. You know the name of that coffee shop, right?”

When So Eun nodded at Seung Woo’s words, he gestured towards his car.

Following Seung Woo, a black luxury SUV came into view.

Seung Woo walked to the passenger side and opened the door.

“Thank you, elder brother.”

When So Eun told him the name of the coffee shop, Seung Woo entered the address into the navigation system.

“Are you living alone in Seoul?”

As the car started, Seung Woo asked while looking straight ahead.

“Huh? No. Ji Ye… Oh, maybe you remember her too. There was a girl who was always with me in middle school.”

“Ah, that girl with glasses who often came to your house?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Wow! Your memory is really good, elder brother.”

At So Eun’s words, Seung Woo smiled and said,

“You two were always together, so I guess it stuck in my memory. But what about her?”

“Oh, I’m living with Ji Ye now.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. It’s dangerous for a woman to live alone, and your mother would worry a lot too.”

“Yes. Ji Ye and I went to the same university, so we’ve been living together since we were twenty.”

“Really? Wow. Your relationship is really amazing, isn’t it? You’ve been living together for almost half your lives?”

“That’s right. It just happened that way.”

So Eun answered with a faint smile.

Seung Woo, smiling along with So Eun, glanced at her sideways and asked,

“But if you two keep living together like that, won’t your boyfriend get jealous?”

At Seung Woo’s words, So Eun hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Well… Ji Ye has only been dating her boyfriend for a short time, so he might get jealous.”

As So Eun answered, the signal turned red and the car stopped.

Seung Woo turned his head to the side and looked intently at So Eun as he asked,

“What about you? Doesn’t your boyfriend get jealous?”

So Eun was silent for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t have one. A boyfriend.”

As Seung Woo looked at her with surprised eyes, So Eun muttered,

“We broke up recently.”

“…Oh.”

Seung Woo opened his mouth slightly and then said with an apologetic expression,

“I’m sorry. I asked something unnecessary.”

“No, it’s okay.”

As So Eun answered, the signal changed.

Seeing Seung Woo driving with a very apologetic expression when she herself felt fine, So Eun couldn’t help but smile.

In fact, Seung Woo had been So Eun’s first love when she was young.

On the day Seung Woo’s family moved in, 5-year-old Hyun Jun, who was playing in the yard, curiously entered the next-door gate, and the surprised So Eun followed him. That’s when they encountered Seung Woo, a 2nd-year middle school student, who was just coming down from the rooftop.

Seung Woo, who looked at Hyun Jun and So Eun with round eyes, soon came down the stairs, bent down to Hyun Jun, and asked how old he was.

Touching Hyun Jun’s cheek as he held up five fingers, Seung Woo smiled and asked So Eun her age too, and So Eun said she was in 6th grade and lived next door.

Seung Woo said he was glad to meet them and held out his hand, and So Eun absentmindedly shook Seung Woo’s hand, which was large and warm.

Seung Woo often played with So Eun and her brother, and Hyun Jun followed and liked Seung Woo like an older brother.

So Eun gradually came to like the kind Seung Woo, and at some point, just thinking about him made her heart flutter.

When Seung Woo smiled at So Eun, her heart would race endlessly.

But the introverted So Eun never showed these feelings and just lived hiding her heart, staying as the next-door little sister.

She liked Seung Woo for two years like that, but in the year So Eun became a 2nd-year middle school student, Seung Woo’s family immigrated to America.

On the day Seung Woo’s family left, 7-year-old Hyun Jun cried loudly, holding onto Seung Woo’s leg saying “Brother, don’t go,” and seeing that sight, both So Eun and Seung Woo teared up.

After comforting Hyun Jun for a long time, Seung Woo hugged So Eun warmly too and told her to stay healthy and not get sick.

Tears flowed from So Eun’s eyes as she nodded.

It was tears coming from parting with her first love, who had made her realize romantic feelings for the first time.