But seeing that he deliberately called to ask, he must be worried that she might suddenly show up at the office like yesterday. Min Woo seemed quite surprised by her unannounced visit. It’s understandable since he nearly got caught doing something wrong.

“7:30. Can you come for the fitting tomorrow?”
[Of course, I have to go tomorrow.] Once Min Woo confirmed that she wouldn’t come, he replied with a brighter tone. He tried to start a conversation again after ending the call, but today, unlike other days, there was no traffic, and they arrived home sooner than expected.

As he parked the car in front of Yuli’s house, Je Ho spoke in a low voice.

“I want to respond tomorrow, is that alright? I’m a bit tired today…”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
As much as she wanted to hear his answer right away, she couldn’t force him. As Yuli obediently got out of the car, Je Ho immediately drove off.

Yuli stood in the same place, watching the car get further away. And as soon as the car completely disappeared from her sight, she turned her steps in the opposite direction of the house.

She needed to walk a little and sort out her complicated feelings. She was afraid to go to sleep with a heavy heart, fearing she might have another strange dream.

Engrossed in her thoughts, Yuli walked aimlessly. How long had she been walking?

She had unknowingly left the quiet residential area and reached a bustling complex of apartments. She was about to turn the corner of the building to go home when a child, who looked like an elementary student, passed by her.

Their arms slightly brushed against each other, but the child seemed too engrossed in his mobile game to notice. He was walking with his head deeply bowed, focusing only on his phone screen.

It’s dangerous to walk like that…

As Yuli was about to warn the child, a motorcycle sped towards them from somewhere with a loud noise. Yuli instinctively dodged, but the child, engrossed in his phone, failed to notice the approaching motorcycle.

“Hey, it’s dangerous!”
Yuli quickly reached out and pulled the child towards her. In reaction, she found herself turning towards the motorcycle. Expecting a collision, she tensed up, but someone pushed her towards the building. It all happened so quickly that she couldn’t comprehend the situation.

When she regained her senses, she found herself sitting hunched against the building wall, tightly hugging the child. The threatening motorcycle was nowhere in sight.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
At the familiar voice above her, Yuli slowly looked up. Surprisingly, Je Ho was glaring at her with an angry expression.

…Why are you here?

His unexpected appearance took Yuli by surprise. The man who had said he was tired and left was now standing right in front of her.

“What are you doing here?”
“Is that important now? Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
His voice was shaking as if he was struggling to suppress his anger.

“…Yes. I’m okay.”
Only then did Je Ho sigh in relief and helped Yuli up from her crouched position. His expression was stern, but his hands were careful and gentle.

After confirming her safety again, Je Ho turned his attention to the child, who was trembling and tightly gripping his phone.

“Kid, are you hurt anywhere?”
The child quickly shook his head, his face pale with fear.

“If you play games while walking again, I will take your phone away.”
“Yes.”
The child seemed to realize his mistake, bowed his head as if to apologize, and then quickly ran into the apartment complex. Seeing him run swiftly like a squirrel, it appeared he was not hurt.

As the child disappeared into the apartment complex, Yul Li turned her gaze back to Je Ho. It was time to ask why he was here. But even before she could ask, Je Ho abruptly offered his phone.

“I left it in the car and got out……”
Yul Li discovered her own phone in Je Ho’s hand. It seemed she had forgotten it in the car after finishing her call with Min Woo.

“……Thank you.”
Je Ho looked at Yul Li, who was receiving her phone, with a displeased expression.

Only after arriving home did Je Ho discover Yul Li’s phone left on the passenger seat. He turned the car around to return her phone. On his way to her house, he saw Yul Li walking down the street, parked nearby, and followed her. At that moment, a dangerous accident happened right before his eyes.

What would have happened if he had been a little late! Just thinking about it gave him the chills, and the goosebumps rose.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. She had done the same at the shopping mall. It was something adults should naturally do, but when he thought about how she had almost gotten hurt, he felt a surge of anger.

“Do you have a habit of this? Running into things without checking? Even though you know you’ll get hurt?”
Yul Li looked at the rigid expression on Je Ho’s face with a subtle expression.

It was strange. The words were very similar, but the feeling was completely different when he said it and when Congressman Chae said it.

“You, do you have a habit of this? Running into things even though you know you’ll get hurt?”

These were the words Congressman Chae had said to his wife, and Yul Li’s biological mother, So Yeon. Congressman Chae had been proud of his wife’s actions. Her good deeds had caused his election approval rating to skyrocket. It seemed he was more concerned about the public sentiment he would gain from the aftermath than his wife’s injury.

However, Je Ho’s reaction was different. As if it was annoying that Yul Li was throwing herself for the child, his expression was hard.

He couldn’t be worrying… Could it be that he didn’t want to be bothered?

Regrettably, just by looking at his face, she couldn’t understand what he was thinking.

Then, Yul Li saw a red stain spreading over the white shirt.

“……Are you bleeding?”
At Yul Li’s loud voice, Je Ho glanced down at his shoulder. When he saw the bloodstained shirt, the lingering pain followed.

Damn it!

The wound from the previous accident seemed to have opened again before it had healed.

“Are you the one who got hurt, Mr. Je Ho?”
“It’s fine.”
When Yul Li tried to get close, Je Ho held up his hand to stop her.

“It’s nothing. It’s just a wound that opened up.”
Was it the wound from when he was hurt at the mall last time…?

Coincidentally, it was the same situation as at the mall. She had no choice but to let him go hurt at the mall, but this time it was different. Yul Li quickly pulled a handkerchief out of her bag and pressed hard on the bloodstained shoulder to stop the bleeding.

“Hold pressure on it until the blood stops. And give me your car keys. I’ll drive you home.”
When there was no answer from Je Ho, Yul Li said with a firm voice.

“It happened because of me, so let me do at least that.”
Je Ho, who had been silently watching, shook his head as if he couldn’t help it, and handed the car keys to Yul Li.

His house was only a 10minute drive away. Yul Li arrived at the apartment parking lot with the guidance of the navigation, quickly got out of the car, and opened the passenger door for Je Ho.

“You won’t go to the hospital like last time, right? Then I’ll disinfect it for you. You can’t do it alone.”
Again, her voice was determined, as if she had no intention of backing down.

Je Ho did not get out of the car, but frowned from the passenger seat. Perhaps because of the circumstances, Yul Li seemed unaware of the fact that she would have to follow him into the house for treatment. He contemplated this for a moment, looking at her.

“Alright, then.”
Eventually, Je Ho, who got out of the car, spoke leisurely.

“Let’s go to my place.”