“What’s wrong?”

That afternoon.

Yu Min, who came home with In Sook, shouted as soon as he saw Jin Cheol.

“Yu Min.”

When Jin Cheol called Yu Min, Yu Min jumped up and hugged Jin Cheol. In Sook laughed at the sight.

“Oh my, our Yu Min really likes Uncle Jin Cheol. I have to go out now, so have a good dinner later, okay?”

“Yes, have a safe trip.”

In Sook said goodbye to Jin Cheol and Yu Min and left the house.

As soon as the door closed, Jin Cheol took out the instant cup noodles first.

In fact, Yu Min was an instant noodle killer. But Seol Ah never bought it for him and of course he couldn’t eat it at kindergarten, so he always felt regretful.

“Wow, Uncle is the best!”

Yu Min jumped up and down at the sight of the cup noodles.

“You know not to tell Mom, right?”

“Of course. Do you think I wouldn’t know that? I’m an adult now, an adult! I’m seven years old!”

Spreading out seven fingers and speaking proudly, Jin Cheol ruffled Yu Min’s hair.

“And there’s something else to eat after this. Ta-da!”

Jin Cheol took out the red bean bingsu ice cream from the refrigerator. Yu Min’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

It was the same when he first saw the cup noodles, but the red bean bingsu ice cream was also a pie in the sky for Yu Min. When Yu Min wanted a snack, Seol Ah always fed him only organic snacks or rice crackers.

In Yu Min’s head, those things were all remembered as tasteless things. The rice crackers were also delicious when he first ate them, but now he had no desire to eat them at all.

“What is this? Red bean bingsu?”

Seol Ah used to make red bean bingsu by grinding milk ice and adding red beans that she boiled herself. That was also once a week.

So both this and that were a whole new world to Yu Min.

“Yeah, this is tasteless when eaten plain, but if you pour milk and condensed milk here and add misutgaru powder, it’s as delicious as the red bean bingsu they sell. I always eat it that way.”

Jin Cheol laughed and put the red bean bingsu back in the refrigerator.

“I’ll give it to you after you finish your meal. Oh, you have to eat rice together too. Otherwise, your mother will nag again. Of course, we’ll have to properly destroy the evidence that you finished the cup noodles.”

When Jin Cheol brought the hot water, Yu Min waited excitedly for the noodles to cook.

Yu Min ate spicy food well, but Seol Ah still didn’t make particularly spicy food for him except for kimchi, saying it’s not good for him.

Yu Min sincerely loved his mother, but he was a little dissatisfied with that point.

“I don’t know why our mom won’t let me eat cup noodles.”

Yu Min said, smelling the scent of the noodles cooking in the broth.

“She says it’s unconditionally bad for your health. Huh? Then you shouldn’t eat rice or side dishes either.”

“It’s not good for your health. Let’s eat cup noodles occasionally. Only when you come to play at our house.”

Yu Min smiled at Jin Cheol’s words.

“Yes, that’s why I like Uncle.”

“But can you eat one of these all by yourself? I wonder if it’s too much.”

Jin Cheol could finish five cup noodles in one sitting, but Yu Min was still a child. However, Yu Min waved his hand as if rejecting such excessive concern.

“It’s a lot. It’s just right. I can pour rice in here and eat it, right?”

“If you think it’s too much, leave it. If you eat too much too quickly, you’ll get an upset stomach.”

“I don’t want to. When will I get to eat something like this again? When I go home, my mom will make me eat side dishes made with organic vegetables. It’s tasteless. Mom makes it tasteless on purpose, saying it’s not good to season it strongly.”

Yu Min shook his head from side to side.

“Isn’t that too much? I want to eat delicious things. Last time I went to Yoon Sung’s house and they had cup noodles stacked up, shrimp snacks, potato snacks and all. They said they buy side dishes from a side dish shop and they’re all delicious.”

“That’s all because your mom loves you.”

At Jin Cheol’s words, Yu Min waved both hands.

“I don’t like it. Even if she says she loves me, I don’t like it. I don’t love those kinds of foods!”

Jin Cheol, who was laughing at Yu Min’s passionate speech, opened the lid of his cup noodles. A spicy smell rose with the steam.

“It looks delicious. It’s hot, so let it cool down a bit before eating.”

“Yes, I want to eat it quickly.”

Yu Min suddenly recalled that his stomach had been hurting frequently these days and his stool hadn’t been very good.

Seol Ah had said that he should be careful about what he eats, and last night she made porridge for him.

‘It’ll be fine.’

After today passes, he won’t be able to eat it again. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity by revealing unnecessary facts. Hiding the fact that his stomach had been hurting, Yu Min picked up the noodles in the hot broth.

*

“Where did you say?”

Seung Jun, who came out of the conference room after a long three-hour meeting, narrowed his brows as he answered the phone. The caller was Jung Ah.

[I’m at Seung Jun’s company right now. If you’re not busy, could you come out for a moment?]

It was the woman he had met before.

He had said let’s get married, and let’s meet at the wedding hall, and they had parted well. But why did she suddenly show up like this?

“I’m busy. I don’t think I’ll have time to meet separately. If you have something to say, say it now.”

[Ah, well then, should I say at the counter? What do I call this place? I’ll leave it here. Should I say I’m your fiancée?]

Seung Jun’s footsteps stopped.

He closed his eyes and opened them. Exhaling a deep breath, he turned around.

“I’ll come out now.”

Suddenly, he remembered the marriage article that came out 7 years ago. Although they were now a couple who had promised to marry, he didn’t want articles to come out first without his permission.

Seung Jun, who hurriedly went out to the lobby of the headquarters, frowned as soon as he saw Jung Ah.

“What the heck is this?”

Jung Ah was standing there, neatly dressed in a suit. She seemed more dressed up than when they had met before. She was holding a bouquet in her hand.

“What is it?”

A bouquet at the company. Did someone have a performance? Seung Jun was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even laugh.

“It’s flowers.”

Jung Ah held out the bouquet to Seung Jun.

“I bought it on the way. It felt strange to come empty-handed. Do you know what kind of flower this is?”

Seung Jun didn’t answer. He didn’t know much about flower names and wasn’t interested. And there was no reason to be interested.

After all, the flowers at home were changed by the housekeepers at the right time. Seung Jun only had to glance at them and say, “They’re nice.”

“Marigolds.”

Jung Ah smiled brightly. At that moment, Seung Jun frowned.

“Marigolds?”

“Do you know what they mean?”

Jung Ah said with a smile on her glossy face, and Seung Jun’s lips opened involuntarily.

“Eternal love.”

“Oh my, you know. You’re more of a romanticist than I thought.”

Against the backdrop of Jung Ah’s laughter, a small voice rang in Seung Jun’s ear.

– They’re marigolds. They mean eternal love.

When he returned to the hotel where Seol Ah was waiting after working late, she was waiting for him with a bouquet.

– What’s with the flowers?

It had been an insanely busy day. When he arrived at the hotel in a somewhat exhausted state, Seung Jun was a little dumbfounded by the sudden bouquet she held out.

– I just thought of it and bought them. The flower meaning, it’s nice, isn’t it?

Seung Jun didn’t say any more. When he woke up the next morning, Seol Ah was gone. And there was a vase he had never seen before. The marigolds she had given him were neatly placed in that vase.

Eternal love.

Only then did he remember the meaning again, and Seung Jun carefully stroked the petals with his hand.

After that, he didn’t know who moved the flowers or threw them away. He didn’t have the leisure to take care of such small details.

“But what’s the matter?”

Irritation flashed across Seung Jun’s brow.

“I just thought of you on the way. We’ve made a marriage promise after all.”

Jung Ah lightly grabbed Seung Jun’s elbow.

Seung Jun moved his arm to shake off Jung Ah’s hand. Jung Ah stepped back with a slightly startled face.

“Seung Jun?”

“I thought we discussed this before.”

Seung Jun continued with a stiff face.

“I’ll take care of all the wedding preparations on my own, and let’s meet at the wedding hall.”

Jung Ah opened her mouth.

If Seung Jun was not the son of a chaebol family, and if he was not the successor to the chairman, she wouldn’t need to go this far.

There were always men she could meet, and there were plenty of men who would say they liked her if she just reached out her hand.

“Seung Jun, that doesn’t make sense.”

“Why is Yoon Jung Ah deciding that?”

I’ve already decided. Why are you butting in? Seung Jun was asking with his eyes.

Jung Ah brushed her hair back with one hand.

She wanted to live a little luxuriously. She wanted to marry into a chaebol family and brag to the people around her. Of course, her father was a politician, but chaebols were on a different level.

But to live that luxurious life, she had to marry this crazy man.

“I understand. I get what you’re saying.”

Jung Ah approached Seung Jun, clicking her heels, and raised her head.

“I’ll do as you wish.”

“Thank you.”

Seung Jun gave a perfunctory nod and immediately turned to go back inside. Watching him, Jung Ah threw the bouquet carelessly and stomped out of the building, snorting.

*

“Yu Min, Yu Min what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Yu Min was clutching his stomach and groaning.

It was fine until he finished the delicious cup noodles and ate the red bean bingsu. But halfway through the bingsu, Yu Min suddenly clutched his stomach and went into the bathroom.

At first, he thought it was just a mild case of diarrhea.

But even after going to the bathroom, Yu Min didn’t look well. Eventually, he lay down again, saying his stomach hurt.

“What should I do? Aish, should I contact your mother?”

Jin Cheol just fidgeted anxiously.

“Don’t contact her. I’ll be okay.”

Even though his face was pale, Yu Min spoke solemnly.

Shouldn’t we go to the hospital now? Jin Cheol thought, but Yu Min kept insisting he was fine, so he couldn’t do anything.

“Do you want to go to the bathroom one more time?”

“Yes, I will.”

Yu Min, who got up from his seat, couldn’t even walk properly. It was when Jin Cheol barely supported Yu Min and sat him on the toilet.

Yu Min collapsed onto Jin Cheol from the toilet.

“Yu Min!”

The body he held had suddenly become a ball of fire. Only then did Jin Cheol realize that something serious had happened.

He called In Sook and Seol Ah, but both of them must have been busy and didn’t answer the phone. He thought about calling 119, but then remembered that the last time In Sook was injured, they had to wait over 20 minutes just for the ambulance.

“This won’t do!”

Jin Cheol picked up Yu Min and ran out of the house. He thought he should at least take a taxi and go to the emergency room.

However, before he could take a few steps, he was blocked by a black silhouette.

“What’s going on?”

Seung Jun threw a sharp gaze at Jin Cheol.