“No, once is enough.”

In fact, I shouldn’t have made such a mistake to you even once.

Jeho smiled bitterly and tightened his arms around Yuri.

It was too late to turn back the past. The cup had already been overturned, and the water had spilled. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do now. All he could do was reveal everything when the time came and wait for her decision…

But the person who would be hurt the most in the process was not himself, but her. That’s why Jeho felt even heavier. While saying he would protect her, he was actually causing her the greatest pain.

Somehow feeling the mood had sunk, Yuri looked up at Jeho as she pulled away from his embrace. Sad eyes were looking at her.

“Why do you have that expression?”

When Yuri asked with a worried face, Jeho shook his head and smiled softly.

“I’m so moved. You’re forgiving me not just once, but twice.”

“Then, wouldn’t Jeho do the same?”

“I…”

Jeho was suddenly at a loss for words. Because he realized that the weight of the mistake she was thinking of and the weight of the mistake he had committed were incomparably different…

She couldn’t even imagine it. Just imagining what expression she would have when the truth was revealed made his chest tighten painfully.

“Yuri.”

Jeho pulled her back into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he felt suffocated by the reality that he couldn’t. But all of this was his fault. So there was no one to blame.

“Of course I should forgive you as much as possible.”

“Huh, even though Jeho would do the same…”

Unaware of Jeho’s inner thoughts, Yuri laughed lightly and buried her face in his chest. She was grateful to Jeho for beautifully changing what could have been a terrible day, and felt fortunate that he was always by her side.

“…Let’s go to mother’s columbarium together later.”

“Okay.”

Jeho whispered softly and gently stroked Yuri’s hair. Though his voice was subdued, Yuri was too caught up in the sweet atmosphere to notice. As Jeho lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her heart fluttered with happiness.

“That day, I was very drunk, wasn’t I? I’m sorry, senior.”

Yuri had made plans to treat Dahee to dinner as thanks for taking care of her until the end at the last college alumni gathering.

“No need to be sorry, these things happen.”

Dahee smiled brightly as if it was no big deal. Yuri poured wine into Dahee’s glass and carefully opened the conversation.

“Actually, you should hate me rather than take care of me. Because of Senior Jae Sik…”

“What are you saying? If someone who doesn’t know heard that, they’d think you made a pass at Jae Sik. If you look at it, you’re a victim too. Jae Sik got excited on his own and came on to you.”

Even as she said that, Dahee felt a sudden rage inside.

Bastard.

The fact that just mentioning that name made her feel dirty showed that her anger had clearly not subsided yet. Mun Jae Sik and Shin Dahee, who were college classmates, had been a couple in their department since their freshman year. She had waited for him until he was discharged from the military, but as soon as Jae Sik returned to school, he said he had fallen for a junior in the department and broke up with her.

The one he fell for was Chae Yuri, a golden spoon daughter of a congressman. It seems Jae Sik had put in quite a bit of effort on his part, but it ended as soon as he confessed. Yuri firmly pushed Jae Sik away, saying she already had a man she liked.

Honestly, if you look at it, Yuri had done nothing wrong except appearing in front of Jae Sik. But even if it wasn’t intentional, it was a fact that Yuri had stolen Jae Sik’s heart. Because she had never pushed away Jae Sik who was coming on to her while knowing he was dating Dahee.

She said she thought he was just being nice as a senior, but that was just an excuse. Yuri must have noticed what kind of feelings Jae Sik was approaching her with, and probably enjoyed the precarious tension.

If she could, she wanted to grab Yuri’s hair and smack her right now. But Yuri, daughter of Congressman Chae Hyung Sik, was a golden spoon who couldn’t be easily touched then or now. And…

“By the way senior, why did you suddenly quit your job?”

“Oh, I felt like I had been at one company for too long. I’m planning to recharge a bit while traveling abroad.”

After taking a sip of wine, Dahee asked Yuri with a serious face.

“Oh right, I heard your sister and Director Kwon Minwoo’s marriage wasn’t just postponed but actually cancelled?”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, it’s not official yet, but Director Kwon has been assigned to an overseas branch. So of course the marriage is cancelled. Didn’t you hear anything from your sister?”

Yuri’s expression hardened instantly as if shocked. Dahee barely suppressed a smile and put on a puzzled expression.

“I heard he’ll be at the overseas branch for at least 3 years.”

“…Ah.”

“Console your sister. Even if it was a strategic marriage, marriage is marriage. When a marriage falls apart like this, it’s the bride’s side that gets hurt.”

When she started her revenge, Chae Yuri was clearly the target, but somewhere in the process it changed to Chae Yuli. Rather than Yuri who had taken away her long-time lover, Yuli who had everything became more unpleasant to see.

At least Yuri suffers alone, unable to receive Minwoo’s love. Meanwhile, Yuli received the love of two men, Minwoo and Jeho, while pretending to be noble. All while weighing the two men and managing her “fish farm.”

She was also enraged by the fact that Minwoo had used her as a tool to release his desires instead of Yuli.

She wanted to spread her unhappiness to Yuli. She wanted to deeply hurt her. She wanted to make her cry her eyes out. But it’s no fun if it bursts right away. Like a time bomb, it should explode when least expected for maximum effect.

“Yuri, I won’t be here for your birthday, so I’ll give you your present in advance.”

Dahee took out a jewelry box from her bag and handed it to Yuri. Inside the box was a brooch studded with small pearls.

“Oh my, it’s really pretty.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Shin Dahee looked at Yuri and smiled softly.

Though Yuli was staying at Jeho’s house, she commuted separately with about a 10-minute gap.

Since it was a secret relationship, they had to thoroughly hide their connection inside the company. It’s something that can’t be understood in Korean sentiment – dating your ex-fiancé’s cousin brother so soon after the wedding was cancelled, even if it was a strategic marriage.

Yuli and Jeho ate lunch separately and tried not to even make eye contact at work as much as possible. Coworkers assumed Yuli was keeping her distance because Jeho was cousins with Minwoo, her ex-fiancé who had broken off the engagement.

After about a week of this, Jeho got scheduled for a business trip to Jeju Island. He had to stay in Jeju for two days over the weekend to attend a seminar. He was set to leave Friday afternoon and return Sunday night. As much as Yuli wanted to go along, she decided to stay in Seoul so as not to interfere.

Perhaps feeling regretful about having to be apart over the weekend, Jeho approached Yuli and Seon Young as they were heading out for lunch.

“Seon Young, may I join you for lunch?”

“Of course. You’re heading straight to the airport after lunch, right?”

Jeho nodded lightly at Seon Young’s question. Yuli secretly smiled at the thought of being able to be with him, even briefly, before he left for Jeju Island. Then she remembered the lunch menu she and Seon Young had chosen.

“But will you be okay? We’re going for fire tteokbokki…”

Yuli looked at Jeho with worried eyes.

“Fire tteokbokki?”

He furrowed his brow as if he didn’t know what kind of food it was.

“It’s so spicy that it feels like your mouth is on fire, so they call it fire tteokbokki.”

Can someone who can’t eat spicy food handle not just regular tteokbokki, but fire tteokbokki?

“Ah.”

Jeho’s expression stiffened for a moment as if tense. He already couldn’t handle normal spicy food well, let alone something so spicy it feels like your mouth is on fire. But his desire to be with Yuli even a little before leaving for Jeju Island was greater.

“It’s fine.”

“I’ll walk ahead quickly in case there’s a long line.”

As Seon Young walked ahead with an excited expression, Yuli quietly approached Jeho.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? It’s really spicy.”

“Well, there must be other menu items besides tteokbokki.”

“I’m warning you, don’t even take one bite. It’ll be really, really spicy for you.”

Yuli was right. The moment they entered the restaurant, the spicy smell was enough to make him cough. But Jeho held back his cough and stood next to Yuli and Seon Young by the self-order kiosk.

“You’ll have the assorted fried platter too, right?”

Jeho quickly nodded at Seon Young’s question. He was in such a state that it was difficult to even speak as he kept trying to hold back his cough. Noticing Jeho’s condition, Yuli looked over the menu with a worried face.

Usually she would choose the spiciest level, but today she decided to order the mild flavor for Jeho’s sake. Even if he didn’t eat it, he probably couldn’t even handle the spicy smell.

“Seon Young, is it okay if we get the mild rose sauce flavor today?”

“Huh? You always eat the fire spicy flavor, don’t you?”

“I drank a lot yesterday. I think it might upset my stomach if I eat something too spicy.”

“Okay then. I’ll place the order, so go ahead and grab a table.”

As they sat down at a table inside the restaurant, Jeho asked Yuli with a puzzled expression.

“You drank a lot yesterday? When did that happen without me knowing?”

“…Oh, well.”

Yuli smiled sheepishly, delaying her answer. If he found out she didn’t order the spicy flavor because of him, he would feel bad given his personality.

Just then, a text message alert sounded. Yuli looked at the screen without thinking and stood up with a somewhat flustered face.

“Excuse me for a moment, I need to make a call home.”

Yuli quickly walked out of the restaurant and headed to the back of the building. Calling home was just an excuse; the truth was she didn’t want to show a surprised look to Jeho. The sender of the text message was the same number that had sent Minwoo’s affair photos last time.

Who on earth could it be?

Yuli looked down at the text message with a troubled face. This time it wasn’t a photo, but a short video.

Could it be one of Minwoo’s ex-girlfriends like he said? Are they still doing this because they don’t know the marriage was called off?

Yuli stared at the video play icon but put her phone in her jacket pocket without playing the video. If it was disgusting content like last time, it would be better to watch after the meal. She didn’t want to ruin the happy time with Jeho.

Yuli took a deep breath and went back into the restaurant. By then, the assorted fried platter, fish cake soup, tuna mayo rice, and rose tteokbokki had been served. As Yuli sat down, Seon Young asked with a puzzled face.

“Yuli, is everything okay at home?”

“No. They just told me to come pick up some side dishes after work today.”

Yuli made up an excuse and glanced at Jeho. Fortunately, he seemed to believe her words as they were. When the meal ended, Seon Young said she would stop by the convenience store before returning to the office and left first.

Thanks to that, Yuli and Jeho were able to walk back to the office alone. Maybe because they were walking together? The usually 10-minute walk from the restaurant to the company building felt so short today.

Yuli walked Jeho to the parking lot. Usually they avoided going to the parking lot together to be conscious of others’ eyes, but today was different. She wanted to be with him even a little longer.

“Let me know when you arrive in Jeju.”

Yuli said to Jeho as he got into the driver’s seat. He lowered the window and looked up.

“If it weren’t for work, I would have given you a deep kiss.”

“You can do it when you get back.”

As Yuli smiled and leaned towards the car window, Jeho reached out and cupped her cheek.

“No, I can’t wait until then.”

For a moment, a warm breath brushed against Yuli’s lips before pulling away.

Startled, Yuli quickly stepped back and looked around. Fortunately, there seemed to be no one else in the parking lot besides the two of them.

“I’ll give you a very deep one when I get back.”

After saying that, Jeho raised the window and immediately drove off. Watching the back of the departing car, Yuli took out her phone from her jacket pocket.

“Phew.”

A sigh escaped her lips as she fiddled with her phone.

What if it’s the same content as last time? But it would be better to check first, even if it’s shocking, rather than worrying anxiously. Yuli bit her lower lip and pressed the play button.

Yuli’s brow gradually furrowed as she looked at the video.

“This is…”