“Do you want to do it with me?”

Jeho doubted his ears for a moment.

‘Do it with me?’ Do what?

As he delayed answering and just furrowed his brow, Yuri lowered her head and leaned her face against his chest.

“I met my father today. He said even though the marriage with Minwoo is off, I shouldn’t think about anything happening with you, Jego. How would it look to others?”

“You probably weren’t expecting anything else.”

“Yes, of course I knew he would oppose. But then he also said this. He’d turn a blind eye to us fooling around until you return to America.”

After finishing what she had to say, Yuri raised her body again and met his eyes.

“Jego, I know you won’t be in Korea for long. Until you leave, let’s not think about the future and just meet comfortably. In reality, we’re in a relationship that’s difficult to maintain anyway.”

She was acting tough again. Even though saying this itself must be painful for her.

Just what are you.

Feeling an inexplicable irritation wash over him, Jego unknowingly frowned.

“So by fooling around, you mean meeting comfortably without any commitments?”

“Something like that.”

“Ha.”

A short laugh escaped Jego’s lips. Contrary to his inner feelings, harsh words came out.

“Do you know what it means to say let’s not dwell on the future, meet without commitments? It means having only a physical relationship.”

“It means not dwelling on our future relationship.”

“That’s the same thing.”

Yuri didn’t understand Jego’s sharp reaction. She had thought he would take it well, as it would relieve the burden. Even if they weren’t on good terms, he and Minwoo were still from the same Kwon family bloodline. It would be uncomfortable for both families if she and Jego were to date seriously.

“I’ll be honest. As I said before, you’re my first love, Jego. Of course I’m still attracted to you, but it’s obvious the road ahead would be difficult. But I don’t want to push you away without even starting. So…”

Resisting the urge to retort ‘Fool, this is pushing me away right now’, Jeho quietly waited for her to finish speaking.

“Jego, when you return to America, we’ll gradually forget each other. Most long-distance relationships end up breaking up anyway…”

“So we might as well just enjoy fooling around without any unnecessary expectations since we’ll break up anyway?”

That wasn’t what she meant, but hearing it, Jego’s words were right. The end of a relationship without a future would be the same either way.

As Yuri slowly nodded, Jego lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Then our relationship should be kept secret from everyone as well.”

“Yes, I’d prefer if others didn’t know. If you don’t like it, you can say no now.”

As if contemplating, Jego’s gaze looking at her wavered slightly. But soon, as if he had sorted out his thoughts, a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

“How could I dislike it? It sounds thrilling and fun.”

He could have gotten angry, or rejected it saying he had no interest in such a relationship, but he didn’t.

Because he could tell how much she must have agonized over this decision on her own. It couldn’t have been an easy decision for her either. Should he be grateful that she came up with this solution in her own way? Of course, it’s not that he liked the method.

Jego looked into her eyes quietly.

“You must have worried a lot in that short time.”

It wasn’t clear if it was consolation or sarcasm, but at least the fact that he had accepted her proposal made Yuri let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

“And one more thing.”

“Tell me.”

Whatever it was, since it wouldn’t be more shocking than the current proposal, Jego nodded lightly.

“I want us to use contraception thoroughly.”

“Because we have no future together, so we absolutely shouldn’t do anything that requires taking responsibility?”

“Yes.”

When Yuri answered with a determined expression, Jeho smiled gently again.

“It’s a reasonable request, since in reality, women suffer more than men from unintended pregnancies. Everyone has the right to protect their own body.”

As he spoke, his hands began unbuttoning Yuri’s blouse one by one.

“But are you only going to protect your body? What about your heart?”

His fingertips lightly brushed the left side of her chest where her heart was.

“I’m going to seduce not just your body, but your heart too. Let’s say we protect the body with latex, how will you protect your heart?”

He kissed the exact spot where her heart was. His moist lips tickled her skin as his hot breath teased her.

If her heart had truly been there, he would have swallowed it whole. But despite Jego’s persistent advances, Yuri remained silent, her lips tightly sealed.

After a long while, he finally lifted his head. His eyes, darkened with passion, glittered as they gazed at her.

“…My heart.”

After staring at him for a moment, Yuri carefully reached out to cup Jego’s cheek.

“You don’t have to worry too much about that. I’m quite trained in that area.”

Instead of saying ‘Thanks to the wounds from my family, I’ve developed thick calluses in my heart’, Yuri gently pressed her lips against his, then pulled away. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

“Alright. But.”

Jego gave up trying to read Yuri’s true feelings. To understand why she was acting like this, he needed to get closer to her. For now, he needed a reason to hold onto her and not let go.

“If we still have feelings for each other after I return to America. If it stays the same even after 2 years, 5 years pass. Then shall we date officially? Throwing away all that nonsense about it being difficult to be together, about our families, whatever.”

Yuri’s eyes wavered at the sweet proposal. Even after 10 years, her feelings for him hadn’t changed, so what’s 2 or 5 years?

“I’d like that.”

Jego stared into Yuri’s eyes and confirmed again. Judging by his gaze alone, he seemed sincere. However, she didn’t want to rely on fleeting hope only to end up hurt. If there were no big expectations from the start, there would be no great pain at the end.

Still, rather than voicing opposition, Yuri nodded briefly. Thinking she had agreed, Jego smiled brightly and pressed his lips against hers. Without breaking the kiss, he lightly lifted Yuri and headed to the bedroom.

That night, his touch was rougher than usual. However, he didn’t push all the way. On her lips, as she breathed heavily, he whispered in a languid voice.

“We can’t use contraception today, so going all the way would be too much.”

She gave him an expression of disbelief. In response, Jego caressed Yuri’s slender waist and slid his palm down her smooth back.

“Why? Did you think I was the type to always be prepared for that? Ready to do it with anyone at any time?”

When Yuri couldn’t say anything, Jego narrowed his eyes and hugged her tightly.

“I’m actually quite a pure person, but you don’t seem to realize that.”

Yuri couldn’t tell if his words were meant to tease her or if he was genuinely upset. Jego stroked her head and back, as if soothing a child.

“…I clearly said I’d seduce not just your body, but your heart too.”

A sweet whisper that could melt her seeped into her ear.

Yuri closed her eyes, feeling Jego’s warm embrace and gentle touch. She thought she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily, but perhaps tired from cooking all day, she drifted off not long after.

“Heh.”

A laugh escaped Jego’s lips as he held the sleeping Yuri. Once again, she had fearlessly fallen asleep defenseless. Completely believing his words that he wasn’t prepared for contraception.

The truth was, he wasn’t mentally prepared yet…

He couldn’t rush into it when she was so worried about the future. Her words about not dwelling on the future and meeting comfortably actually contained her deepest concerns about their future.

That’s why he couldn’t easily enter into a relationship. If the body gets hurt, of course the heart gets hurt too. Why don’t you understand such a simple thing?

“I don’t want to hurt even a hair on your head.”

Jego tightened his arms around Yuri.

He didn’t want to hurt her. Whether it was her body or her heart.

Even if the whole world harmed her, he wanted to be the one to protect her.

But ironically, he himself would end up causing her the greatest pain.

Whether he wanted to. Or not.

[This is the timeline separator]

Feeling sorry for waking up later than him yesterday, even though she woke up early, the bed beside her was empty. It must have been a while since he got up, as the sheets on his side felt cold when she touched them.

Yuri got out of bed, quickly showered, and went outside. Jego seemed to have already finished his morning exercise and preparations for work. He was about to leave the house when he stopped, seeing Yuri coming out of the bedroom.

“Why are you up so early?”

“What about you, Jego? Why are you up so early?”

The wall clock’s hour hand was just pointing to 7 o’clock.

“I need to stop by the site early this morning. Did I wake you up?”

When Yuri shook her head, he smiled gently and hugged her.

“Just one more day of work. I took time off from tomorrow. If there’s anywhere you want to travel, think about it.”

“I don’t really have anywhere in particular I want to go.”

“If you want to stay in bed all day, that’s fine too.”

Though she knew it was a teasing remark, Yuri blushed slightly. Jego chuckled briefly and let her go.

After he left the house, she went to the kitchen and saw the breakfast he had prepared for her. There was freshly squeezed orange juice, an omelet with avocado and bacon, and crab salad. The thought that he had made breakfast for her yesterday and today made her heart flutter.

Just as she sat down at the table, a call came from an unknown number. It was an international number, so she wondered if it might be from her aunt. She pressed the answer button.

[Yuri!]

Minwoo’s booming voice came through.

[Do you know how many times I’ve called? Why didn’t you answer? Why!]

“Don’t shout. It hurts my ears. What calls are you talking about?”

Yuri checked Minwoo’s number saved in her phone. Her brow furrowed for a moment. For some reason, it was blocked.

Hyunkyung?

It seems Hyunkyung must have blocked Minwoo’s number when she was handling Yuri’s phone.

[Ah, sorry. The reception must have been bad.]

Minwoo quickly lowered his voice at Yuri’s cold response.

“You said you went because of an urgent accident at the Philippines site?”

Even though she knew it was a lie, Yuri spoke calmly. It wasn’t too late to settle things after Minwoo returned. She didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble.

“Was anyone hurt?”

[There were some injuries, but nothing serious.]

“That’s good. Handle it well, and contact me when you get back.”

[Yuri. Thank you so much for understanding.]

After hanging up with Minwoo, Yuri pondered for a moment. Should she unblock him? Leave it as is? Yuri not only left the block in place but also blocked the number that had just called before putting down her phone.

“Mm, delicious.”

As she put a piece of the omelet Jego made into her mouth with her fork, a smile naturally appeared on her face.

[This is the timeline separator]

Thanks to going to the site early in the morning, he was able to finish about three or four hours earlier. Jego drove straight home.

Yesterday, although Yuri tried to hide it, one of her fingers was red and swollen. She must have burned it with hot oil while frying. If she said she was going to cook like yesterday, he planned to stop her.

So he hurried home, but what greeted him was the sight of Yuri’s back as she cried quietly. And in front of another man’s photo at that.

“This is unpleasant.”

At the chilly voice, Yuri startled and turned around. As expected, her cheeks were wet with tears.

Jego’s gaze turned to the man’s photo filling the laptop screen. A very handsome man was smiling, showing his teeth.

In that moment, uncontrollable anger surged up.

“Are you crying over another man right now?”