“You don’t have to. I’m not expecting it anyway.”

Just as Seung Jun was about to open his mouth, Seol Ah spoke.

Seung Jun furrowed his brows then relaxed them.

“Sorry.”

He said it deliberately nonchalantly. Seol Ah’s shoulders trembled slightly.

“It’s bad manners to judge whether someone’s place is small or not in front of the person who invited you. That part is indeed my fault.”

Seol Ah’s lips quivered at his straightforward acknowledgment. She spoke, turning her eyes elsewhere.

“No. It’s true the place is small. And it’s true you’re uncomfortable. Didn’t you say you had an appointment? You can go now.”

At Seol Ah’s words, Seung Jun sat down on the floor.

“No. I just canceled it a moment ago.”

“A moment ago?”

Jin Cheol blinked. Seung Jun hadn’t looked at his phone even once.

“When will the food be ready? Did it go to Italy? To get pasta?”

With nothing else to say, Seung Jun chided about the food not being ready. Seol Ah spoke as she scooped the prepared pasta onto plates.

“It’s all ready. Though I don’t know if it’ll suit your refined palate.”

Four plates of pasta and bowls of soup were placed on the small table. In the center was a plate of pickles that Seol Ah had made herself.

“Where are the napkins?”

At Seung Jun’s words, Seol Ah scoffed. Jin Cheol also scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“They say you should have a grateful heart at the dinner table.”

The one who properly rebuked him was Yu Min. Jin Cheol giggled without realizing it then shut his mouth. Seung Jun let out a deep sigh.

It was true that he had an appointment tonight. It was at a Japanese omakase restaurant. A high-end place where it costs over a million won per person. A place where reservations are booked three months in advance, so his secretary had a hard time making the reservation.

But if he was pushed out of this spot today, it seemed like Baek Jin Cheol would take his place. A kind and well-mannered person who receives the love of both Yu Min and Seol Ah simultaneously.

He couldn’t let that happen.

His son is different from him. His son doesn’t immediately bend over and follow just because he’s given the best. His mother was the same. So he had no choice but to take action.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you can go.”

At Seol Ah’s words, Seung Jun sat closer to the table. Go where?

“I told you I canceled the appointment. Not remembering after being told once, is that an old habit?”

“It just seems like you’re forcing yourself to stay. You look very uncomfortable.”

Seung Jun let out a light sigh and closed his eyes tightly then opened them at Seol Ah’s expressionless words.

“I’m trying to have a grateful heart at the dinner table. Like someone said.”

He cleared his throat lightly and moved closer to the table.

“I don’t need napkins. There are forks and spoons, right? Just give me anything that’s there.”

Seung Jun twirled pasta with his fork. As he slowly put it in his mouth, there was a slurping sound right next to him.

Looking to the side, Jin Cheol was slurping up the pasta with chopsticks. Seeing that, Yu Min also picked up chopsticks and imitated him.

“That’s not how you eat it.”

Ignoring Seung Jun’s words.

But as if to show off, Seol Ah was also eating pasta with chopsticks. She wasn’t slurping, but the way she ate pasta with chopsticks didn’t look good.

“Ha, do you not even know how to eat pasta?”

At Seung Jun’s remark, Yu Min asked.

“As long as it’s tasty, it’s fine.”

Seung Jun let out a low sigh at those words spoken while smacking and sucking on chopsticks. Alright, I’m the one who needs to adapt. No point in telling these people.

Seung Jun ate slowly with a somewhat dignified posture, twirling the pasta on his fork, but no one paid attention to how he ate.

Seung Jun also just ate the way he was taught, no longer minding how they ate.

“It’s really delicious. Thank you.”

Jin Cheol, who emptied his bowl in five minutes with slurping and drank the soup in gulps, expressed his gratitude.

“It’s nothing. It’s just the taste from store-bought sauce. I didn’t do anything.”

When Seol Ah spoke humbly, one of Seung Jun’s eyebrows shot up crookedly.

“Right, it tastes like store-bought sauce. You used the store-bought sauce well. Which company is it from? Is it possibly from our company?”

“No. I don’t buy products from that company at all anymore. It’s from a competitor. It turned out really tasty.”

At Seol Ah’s words, Seung Jun’s face stiffened. Look at the way she talks. She’s definitely doing it on purpose to snub me.

Suddenly remembering that Jin Cheol had an interview at a food company, Seung Jun asked him.

“The interview you had last time, have you still not heard back?”

Jin Cheol had noticed that Seung Jun had a certain level of wealth, considering how he helped with the interview last time and how he helped Yu Min this time.

Judging from his usual attitude and how he always says he’s busy, it seemed like he was in a high-ranking position at a corporation.

“No. Still no news.”

“When did you have the interview that there’s still no contact? Is the HR team there not doing their job properly?”

Seung Jun furrowed his brows.

When it came to hiring, Seung Jun was particularly strict about managing and supervising it. Because hiring is the start of talent management. But to handle interviewee management this poorly.

Seung Jun was about to make a call right away but held back.

“But, sir.”

Jin Cheol glanced at Seung Jun and spoke.

“I’m sorry but, are you someone from JK? You seem to be a higher-up.”

It was because of how he suddenly helped with the JK Foods interview last time, and how he asked if the sauce was ‘from our company’, and how he said ‘the HR team isn’t doing their job properly’, it somehow seemed like he was related to that company.

Usually unrelated people would react by saying ‘what’s wrong with JK’, not ‘the HR team’.

“Well, a friend of mine is there.”

“I see.”

Somehow it seemed like it was Seung Jun himself rather than a friend, but Jin Cheol didn’t inquire further. Seung Jun seemed like he didn’t want to answer more.

“You’ll probably hear back soon. I hope you get it.”

Jin Cheol smiled innocently.

Seung Jun looked at Jin Cheol. It wouldn’t be a big deal to speak honestly, but it was bothersome to give a detailed explanation.

Because he’d probably be curious as to why someone like that ended up having Seol Ah and even a child.

But Jin Cheol didn’t ask. As if he sensed what Seung Jun was thinking. Seeing this, he really is quite deep.

“What does ajussi do for work?”

Then Yu Min, who had been silently eating pasta with chopsticks, asked.

“I work at a company.”

At Seung Jun’s words, Yu Min’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.

“My mom works at a company too. So you go together?”

Seung Jun laughed out loud without realizing it.

“No, not all companies are the same even if they’re called companies. The company your mom works at and the company I work at are different. So we don’t go together.”

“Why are they different? Aren’t they both companies?”

He was asking why they were different when they were both places called companies. Seol Ah made eye contact with Yu Min while smiling.

“Hmm, when you were little, you went to Bright Mind Daycare, right? Next to it was Dream Star Daycare. They’re both daycares but different daycares, right? Just like that, there’s Bright Mind Company and Dream Star Company.”

Seung Jun clicked his tongue inwardly at the explanation tailored to Yu Min’s level.

“Then do they teach dancing at companies too? And teach origami and stuff?”

Seung Jun laughed out loud without realizing it.

That’s not bad. Should we have JK start teaching dancing and origami from now on? For emotional stability.

“No, it’s not like that. At companies, instead of learning things, people work hard. That’s why mom comes home late sometimes because she’s working, right?”

When Seol Ah explained again, Yu Min shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

Yu Min’s gaze turned to Seung Jun.

“Mom is busy but ajussi keeps playing around.”

In an instant, the corners of Seung Jun’s eyes that had softened rose again and wrinkles formed between his brows.

“I’m not playing around. I only clear my schedule when I’m meeting you.”

“Why?”

“Well, because you’re more important than company work.”

Of course. Yu Min and company work weren’t even on a comparable level.

But the moment he said that, Seung Jun felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.

Right, it had been so long.

Since I adjusted my schedule and apologized for someone’s sake. It’s been so long since I did that.

“If you’re done eating, let’s have cake.”

Clearing his throat, Seung Jun changed the subject. He specially brought out a cake box he had ordered from the hotel affiliated with the group. This cake was also a pre-order only item that couldn’t be purchased without ordering in advance.

Seung Jun had already ordered this cake once before. It was the day he was going to propose to Seol Ah.

But in the end, that cake had to be canceled.

“Wow, hyungnim brought cake. Preparing a party for Yu Min today too, you’re really a caring dad- no, hyungnim.”

Jin Cheol covered his mouth after the slip-up, but the words had already reached everyone’s ears clearly.

Seung Jun furrowed his brows and Seol Ah looked at Yu Min in alarm. Then Yu Min stared straight at Jin Cheol and said,

“He’s not my dad.”

Seung Jun took out the cake with mixed feelings. But as he was taking it out, his hand slipped.

The cake that fell to the floor was hideously deformed. The part that one of the top pâtissiers in Korea had carefully decorated was crushed.

“Dammit.”

Nothing’s going right.

It was because of that damn ‘dad’ remark. The moment he heard the bold statement that he wasn’t the dad, his hand had unintentionally let go of the cake.

“Forget it. I’ll get going now. The food was good. Buy yourself a cake or something. This needs to be thrown out.”

Putting the crushed cake back in the box, Seung Jun spoke quickly. His hands were trembling slightly.

No one said anything.

Just as he was about to close the box.

“I want to eat it.”

Yu Min opened his mouth.

Seung Jun turned his head to look at Yu Min. Yu Min’s gaze was directed at the box.

“That. Only the top part is ruined, the rest is fine. So I want to eat it.”

“Forget it. If you really want, I’ll order you another one. This won’t do.”

This is ruined. Even though it’s a cake I ordered with difficulty, it can’t be helped. A ruined cake can’t be returned to how it was.

He tried to close the box again but this time Seol Ah opened her mouth.

“Yu Min says it’s fine.”

Seung Jun looked at Seol Ah in disbelief.

“You’re going to eat this?”

“Even if we can’t eat it, we can still celebrate with it.”

Saying that, Seol Ah reopened the box Seung Jun had closed.

The deformed cake was revealed. As Seung Jun tried to stop her, asking what she was doing, Jin Cheol spoke.

“The cake is pretty. It would be even prettier if it wasn’t ruined. But this is fine too.”

Seung Jun looked at the three of them, feeling an indescribable emotion.