“Minus Min Woo.”
Of course, she didn’t intend to go with Min Woo. However, at the words “Minus Min Woo”, she tensed up. Worried that her words about wanting to go again might be misinterpreted, Yul Li added.

“I think I lost a necklace there.”
At the word ‘necklace’, one of his eyebrows raised.

“Are you referring to your mother’s keepsake?”
“Yes.”
He twisted his lower lip as he kept his gaze on her. It seemed like he was thinking about something, but his expression was so serious that it involuntarily held one’s breath.

“The construction resumes tomorrow, but we’ll pause it for a while.”
He eventually opened his mouth to speak.

“If you’re sure you lost it there, you’ll be able to find it.”
From his expression, it seemed he was genuinely concerned. The intense gaze that had been seductively looking at her a moment ago had completely disappeared. Yet, she didn’t know why she felt somewhat upset. While resisting to not move on too quickly and building a defensive wall, her heart silently crumbled when he backed off like this.

Thankfully, there were tasks to be completed before leaving work which distracted her from her flustered feelings.

When it was time to leave, Je Ho was the first to turn off his computer and stand up. Without a word, Yul Li picked up her bag and followed him.

“Let’s take one car.”
“Then let’s take my car.”
“Alright then.”
Even though Je Ho had said it was inconvenient to ride in another person’s car, he obediently climbed into Yul Li’s car. Upon arriving at the mansion, Je Ho turned on all the indoor lights, making it as bright as daylight. However, he didn’t help her find the necklace.

“Take your time to look for it. I’ll prepare dinner in the meantime.”
“Huh?”
“You have to eat while searching, don’t you?”
She had not thought it would take so long to find one necklace, but Yul Li silently nodded. She couldn’t understand how he could calmly prepare dinner in someone else’s house, but in her situation, she couldn’t complain.

Je Ho opened the door of the large refrigerator and began to take out the ingredients one by one.

Strange. It was empty until yesterday…

Yul Li moved to the living room, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

Min Woo had been very curious about the refrigerator, as it was a highend brand costing tens of millions of won per unit, and a premium model that has not yet been officially imported. He had opened the door and looked inside, and it was definitely empty yesterday.

But today, it was filled with fresh ingredients. However, that was not the issue at the moment.

Yul Li tied her hair up and started looking for the necklace in earnest. She crouched down and searched every corner, but contrary to her expectation, the necklace was nowhere to be found.

The enormous size of the mansion was a problem. Just looking around the first floor took a significant amount of time. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath when Je Ho, who had finished preparing dinner, approached her.

“You won’t be able to search the whole place even if you stay up all night. Let’s eat something first, shall we?”
He was right. Staying in a crouched position for a long time had caused her knees to go numb, her back to ache, and even spasms were starting to occur in her hands and feet.

“…Ah.”
As Yul Li was getting up, she suddenly felt dizzy and lost her balance. Her blood must have rushed to her head from keeping it lowered for too long, messing up her sense of balance. Je Ho, seeing her reach out to the floor to keep herself from falling, supported her as if hugging her and helped her stand.

“…I got dizzy.”
Yul Li mumbled as if making an excuse, burying her face in his broad chest. A sigh from above her head was heard, and a large hand gently stroked up and down her back.

Even though she knew she should break away from him, Yul Li stayed still in his arms. His embrace was too comforting to push away. Luckily, he seemed to think she couldn’t control her body because of the dizziness. He lowered his head and whispered sweetly in her ear.

“Let’s eat first. We can look for it later.”
Je Ho, who led Yul Li to the dining room, seated her at the table and put the dish he had just taken out of the oven in front of her. White steam was rising from the pasta, which was piled high with cheese like snow.

“If you finish all of this, I’ll help you look.”

Sitting across, he spoke in a soft voice as if soothing a child. However, she just couldn’t swallow the food. They needed to find it as soon as possible. Was it okay to sit leisurely and eat like this?

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she couldn’t burst into tears in front of him. Having lost her precious necklace so carelessly, Yul Li bowed her head and fumbled with the pasta with a fork.

Seeing that she wasn’t eating, Je Ho spoke gently,

“Why? Are you worried that you won’t be able to find it?”
“……Yes.”
At her words, Je Ho rolled pasta on his fork and curled his lips to the side.

“If you can’t find it today, you can come again tomorrow.”