“A private conversation……”

Jeho mumbled to himself, tilting his head. It was probably about the newlywed home design, but he was secretly curious about what she would say.

The past few days had been quite difficult for him. After hearing that Director Yoon, who had been in charge of overseas construction project management, was in Gyeongnam, he had followed Manager Kim on a business trip to the province without much thought. Director Yoon had mainly managed the core information, but when problems arose with the overseas construction project, he had submitted his resignation and suddenly disappeared.

Director Yoon, who greeted Jeho with a troubled face, refused to open his mouth until the end despite earnest persuasion. As he returned empty-handed, Jeho’s body and mind felt as heavy as if they were pressed down by a boulder. But the moment he encountered Yuri in the office, the oppressive feeling that weighed down his entire body disappeared.

Perhaps that’s why?

“If you wish……”

Although he was extremely tired, Jeho willingly accepted Yuri’s proposal.

“There’s a quiet cafe in front of the company. Let’s go there.”

“No, let’s not do that. Your car repair isn’t finished yet, right? I’ll give you a ride. We can talk in the car on the way.”

“Alright.”

Yuri agreed to Jeho’s suggestion without objection. As she was about to enter the elevator without much thought, Yuri hesitated and stopped in her tracks. She was afraid that if she rode the elevator with him, she might recall the contents of her strange dream. But trying to avoid Jeho coming from behind, she ended up entering the elevator anyway.

Ah, don’t be nervous.

Yuri took a deep breath and stared intently at the descending lights. However, the scene from her dream where they were passionately kissing kept coming to mind, making her heart swell as if it would burst.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“Pardon?”

Yuri startled and hastily stepped back. As Jeho looked at her quizzically, the truth spilled out before she knew it.

“Ah, I had a dream. In the elevator……”

Oh no, what am I saying?

Coming to her senses, Yuri quickly changed her words.

“……It was a dream about falling. So……”

Fortunately, Jeho took it at face value. He put his hand on Yuri’s shoulder as if to reassure her and said,

“Don’t worry. Such things hardly ever happen in reality.”

“That’s right. What happened in the dream won’t actually happen in reality.”

Amusingly, Jeho’s practical advice began to calm her trembling heart. Right, a dream is just a dream……

Arriving at the underground parking lot, Jeho opened the passenger door for Yuri, and after she got in, he closed it for her.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

Jeho spoke first as the car pulled out of the alley.

“I hope it’s what I’m thinking……”

When she hesitated to speak, he muttered as if to himself.

“There’s a man who keeps catching your eye and occupying your thoughts. Something like that, isn’t it?”

At the same time, the stop signal turned on, and Jeho stopped the car and turned his head towards Yuri. Not avoiding his gaze, Yuri gave an awkward smile.

“Half right and half wrong.”

“Oh?”

The corners of Jeho’s eyes lifted slightly.

“There is someone occupying my thoughts.”

“Really? ……Who could it be?”

Yuri glanced at Jeho with dissatisfied eyes as he pretended not to know while clearly knowing. Then she answered in a deliberately calm voice.

“I’ve been thinking about Kwon Jeho for the past few days. After all, we were once almost married.”

He might not have had personal feelings for her, but she did. Whenever she thought of Kwon Jeho’s existence, her heart fluttered, and even though she opposed the arranged marriage itself, she didn’t want to push away her fiancé. To be honest, her heart was still wavering.

Given this situation, it was absolutely unreasonable to ask her to start her newlywed life in a house designed by Kwon Jeho.

“Can we pretend the newlywed house design never happened? I’m desperately asking.”

Not expecting such a direct approach, Jeho’s expression, which had been playful until now, hardened.

“Why? Do you think I’ll make you uncomfortable?”

“It’s not so much uncomfortable as……”

Ding-a-ling―

As she was choosing the right words, her phone rang. It was a call from Minwoo.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Yuri asked for understanding and pressed the call button.

“Yes, Minwoo.”

[Where are you now? Home? Company?]

Yuri delayed her answer and looked at Jeho. He seemed uninterested in the call content and started the car as the light turned green, his face indifferent.

“I’m on my way home.”

[Oh? You’re leaving work late?]

“Yes, a little. Why? What’s up?”

Not wanting to waste time on unnecessary calls, Yuri immediately asked for the reason.

[Ah, nothing. ……Um, I was wondering what time our fitting appointment is tomorrow.]

Yuri frowned at the absurd answer.

The wedding planner would have already informed him by email and text…..

The fact that he called specifically to ask probably meant he was checking if she might suddenly visit the company again like yesterday. Minwoo seemed quite surprised by her unexpected visit to the company. It’s understandable, as he almost got caught doing something wrong.

“7:30. Do you think you can make it to the fitting tomorrow?”

[Of course, I must go tomorrow.]

Having confirmed that she wouldn’t be coming, Minwoo answered in a brighter voice with a higher tone. She tried to resume the conversation after ending the call, but today the traffic was unusually light, and they had already arrived home.

As Jeho parked the car in front of Yuri’s house, he said in a low voice.

“I’d like to answer tomorrow, if that’s okay? I’m a bit tired today……”

“Of course. Let’s do that.”

Although she wanted to hear the answer right away, she couldn’t force it. As Yuri obediently got out of the car, Jeho immediately drove off.

Yuri stood in place, watching the back of the departing car. And when the car completely disappeared from view, she turned her body and headed in the opposite direction of her house.

She needed to walk a little to sort out her complicated feelings. She was afraid that if she fell asleep with this unsettled mood, she might have another strange dream.

Yuri moved her feet aimlessly, deeply lost in thought. How long had she walked?

Before she knew it, she had left the quiet residential area and reached a bustling apartment complex. Thinking she should head back home now, she turned the corner of the building when a child who looked like an elementary school student brushed past her.

Their arms lightly bumped, but the child, engrossed in a mobile game, didn’t seem to notice. The child’s head was deeply bowed, focused only on the phone screen.

It’s dangerous to walk like that……

As she approached the child to warn them, a motorcycle suddenly approached with a roaring sound. Yuri reflexively dodged, but the child, absorbed in the phone, didn’t notice the approaching motorcycle.

“Kid, watch out!”

Yuri quickly reached out and wrapped her arms around the child. The momentum twisted her body towards the motorcycle. As she tensed, expecting a collision, someone’s hand pushed her towards the building. It happened so quickly that she couldn’t tell exactly what was going on.

When she came to her senses, she was crouched against the building wall, tightly hugging the child. The threatening motorcycle was already gone and out of sight.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Hearing a familiar voice from above, Yuri slowly raised her head to look up. Surprisingly, Jeho was looking down at her with a furrowed brow and an angry expression.

……Why are you here?

Yuri was momentarily flustered by his unexpected appearance. The person who had left saying he was tired had suddenly returned and was standing in front of her.

“What are you doing here now?”

“Is that important right now? Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

He asked in a trembling voice as if struggling to suppress his anger.

“……Yes. I’m fine.”

Only then did Jeho exhale in relief and wrap his hands around Yuri’s shoulders to help her up. His expression was stiff, but his touch as he helped her up was careful and gentle.

After reassuring himself once again that she was unharmed, Jeho turned his attention to the child who was still trembling, clutching the phone tightly.

“Kid, are you hurt anywhere?”

The child, with a frightened face, quickly nodded.

“If I catch you playing games while walking one more time, I’ll take away your phone.”

“Yes.”

Knowing their mistake, the child bowed their head in apology and quickly ran into the apartment complex. Judging by how swiftly they ran like a squirrel, it seemed they really weren’t hurt anywhere.

As the child disappeared into the apartment complex, Yuri turned her attention back to Jeho. It was time to ask why he was here. But before she could ask, Jeho abruptly held out a phone.

“You left it in the car……”

Yuri discovered her own phone in Jeho’s hand. It seems she had forgotten it in the car after ending the call with Minwoo.

“……Thank you.”

Jeho looked at Yuri, who was receiving the phone, with a disapproving expression.

Jeho, who only discovered Yuri’s phone left on the passenger seat after arriving home, turned his car around to return it to her. On his way to her house, he saw Yuri walking on the street and parked his car nearby to follow her, only to witness a dangerous accident unfold before his eyes.

If he had been just a little late! The mere thought sent chills down his spine.

This wasn’t the first time. She had acted the same way at the shopping mall. It might be what any adult should do, but thinking about how she could have been hurt made his anger rise.

“Is this a habit of yours? Jumping in without thinking? Even when you know you’ll get hurt?”

Yuri looked at Jeho’s tense face with a subtle expression.

Strange. The words were very similar, but the feeling was completely different when he said it compared to when Assemblyman Chae had said it.

―Is that a habit of yours? Jumping in even when you know you’ll get hurt?

Those were the words Assemblyman Chae had said to So Yeon, his wife and Yuri’s birth mother. Assemblyman Chae had been proud of his wife’s actions. After all, his election ratings had skyrocketed thanks to her good deed. He seemed more concerned about the public sentiment gained from the aftermath than his wife’s injury.

But Jeho’s reaction was different. His expression was stiff, as if he disapproved of Yuri throwing herself in harm’s way for the child.

He’s not worried, is he…? Is he annoyed by the inconvenience?

Unfortunately, she couldn’t discern his true feelings just from his expression.

That’s when Yuri noticed a red stain spreading across his white shirt.

“……Are you bleeding?”

At Yuri’s widened voice, Jeho glanced down at his own shoulder. Seeing the shirt stained with blood, the throbbing pain followed.

Damn it!

It seemed that the wound from the previous accident had reopened before it had fully healed.

“Are you hurt, Jeho?”

“It’s nothing.”

As Yuri tried to approach, Jeho raised his hand to stop her.

“It’s not a big deal. The wound just opened up a little.”

By wound, do you mean from when you were hurt at the shopping mall last time…?

Coincidentally, it was the same situation as at the shopping mall. Back then, she had sent him away injured due to the confusion, but this time was different. Quickly taking out a handkerchief from her bag, Yuri pressed firmly on the blood-stained shoulder to stop the bleeding.

“Keep pressing until the bleeding stops. And give me your car keys. I’ll drive you home.”

When there was no response from Jeho, Yuri spoke with a strained voice.

“This happened because of me, so at least let me do this much.”

Jeho, who had been silently watching, shook his head as if he had no choice and handed the car keys to Yuri.

His house was only a 10-minute drive away. Guided by the navigation, Yuri arrived at the apartment parking lot, quickly got out of the car, and opened the passenger door for Jeho.

“You’re not going to the hospital like last time, right? Then I’ll disinfect it for you. It’s difficult to do alone, isn’t it?”

This time too, her voice was resolute, as if she had no intention of backing down.

Jeho didn’t get out of the car, but frowned while still sitting in the passenger seat. Perhaps due to the confusion, Yuri didn’t seem to realize that she would have to follow him into the house to treat him. He fell into contemplation for a moment, looking at her.

“Alright then.”

Finally, Jeho got out of the car and spoke leisurely.

“Let’s go to my place.”