At this point, there would be no soap opera-level mess like this even in a morning drama.

“These people, could it be? The loan sharks who said they’d come to our house.”

Loan sharks, huh.

Ji Wan lifted his chin towards the sky, roughly brushed his face once, and then shoved his hand into his suit pants pocket.

His completely distorted posture and delinquent-like gaze unknowingly resembled that of a loan shark coming to collect unpaid money.

“Hey.”

The man, whose suit and shoes alone would easily cost over 10 million won, focused all his attention not on being called a ‘loan shark’, but on the stranger’s hand gripping Do Eum’s wrist.

“While I’m still being nice, let go of that hand.”

Fierce eyes that had seen something blasphemous and sharp eyes refusing to comply clashed in mid-air, sparking a vicious confrontation.

“…O-oppa!”

At a moment when it wouldn’t have been strange for either of them to throw the first punch,
the word ‘oppa’ suddenly burst from Do Eum’s mouth.

“Th-this is my elder brother, elder brother. Eun Hyeok. Say hello.”

“Elder brother? Do Eum, since when do you have an elder brother.”

Though still suspicious, his previously disrespectful gaze and the hand that had been roughly grabbing suddenly became polite.

“Oh, right. I didn’t have one before, but now I do. He’s my cousin, a very distant cousin.”

Ji Wan, who had gone from loan shark to distant cousin, let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“Haa.”

Regardless, Do Eum’s lie, once started, flowed smoothly.

“When the house I was living in got demolished and I had nowhere to go, my cousin here took me in. Thanks to him, I’m staying here now.”

Just as he thought no one would fall for such an obvious lie, Eun Hyeok, either foolishly or out of trust in Do Eum, fell for it completely.

“I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Choi Eun Hyeok, Do Eum’s friend.”

Despite the proper greeting, Ji Wan’s gaze toward Eun Hyeok remained chilly, as if asking when he planned to repay the borrowed money, so Do Eum nudged Ji Wan’s arm. Tap, tap.

“Oh, oh! The person I saw at school that time! Right? So you were her cousin!”

Min Seung and Jae Han came out through the wide open folding door, acting like they knew him.

Ji Wan, who simply nodded his head in lieu of a greeting, coldly looked over Eun Hyeok, who was still holding Do Eum’s wrist.

Just as Woo Seok came out of the pub after paying for the four people’s drinks, Ji Wan turned around as if he couldn’t stand to watch anymore.

“That’s enough, let’s go.”

Ji Wan walked towards the car, not even glancing at the intended recipients of his “let’s go”, while Min Seung and Jae Han thanked Woo Seok for paying.

His steps were full of anger, so Do Eum hurriedly said goodbye to her friends.

“I didn’t get permission to stay out late, so I need to go home and get scolded. Classes start next week, so let’s meet then. Everyone, get home safely.”

When Do Eum, who had somehow managed to leave like that, was following behind Ji Wan with quick steps, it happened.

“Do Eum!”

At Eun Hyeok’s call to stop the girl, Ji Wan almost whirled around.

The voice coming from behind was so urgent and affectionate that it seemed like lovers reuniting after years apart.

‘What’s with this guy? Why is he getting all emotional and worked up over just calling a name, when they’ll see each other again soon anyway?’

Though he didn’t turn around, Ji Wan’s highly raised eyebrows were likely the last of his patience.

It was also a warning that he might suddenly turn and shout “Aren’t you coming?” at any moment.

All his attention was focused on the back of his head.

He clearly heard Eun Hyeok’s whispered question as he stopped Do Eum.

“You’re really okay, right?”

“…Huh? Of course, I’m fine.”

“If where you’re staying now is uncomfortable, tell me. If I talk to my father, we could get you an officetel at least.”

This confirmed his suspicions about the feelings this man called Choi Eun Hyeok had for Do Eum.

Never before had the confirmation of a suspicion been so unpleasant.

“Don’t worry, my cousin may look like that, but he’s actually a tsundere type.”

That small woman was spitting out insults as if they were compliments.

Ji Wan squeezed his eyes shut, pretending not to hear.

Who does he think he is, offering to provide an officetel?

A brat whose hair isn’t even dry behind the ears, where does he get the money? At best, it’s just showing off with his father’s money.

With his mind thoroughly twisted, Ji Wan’s steps quickened.

Bam!

Ji Wan ostentatiously flung open the back door of the sedan and nodded his head towards Do Eum.

It was urging her to hurry up and get in, instead of dawdling.

Only after Woo Seok got in the car did it become quiet inside, as if a storm had passed.

No.

Perhaps it was the calm before the storm.

*****

Choyeon Art Museum.

An elderly woman stood for a long time in front of an ink painting that looked like footprints on a pure white canvas.

The thick sunset settled down like a spotlight.

“You’re not going home yet, Director?”

It was the curator, Ji Su.

Since the museum was in such a remote location, Eun Hee’s lodgings were arranged in the old building about 200 meters away from the museum building.

“Going home is just a few steps away for me. Don’t wait for me, go rest.”

Ji Su, who was about to turn and leave, stopped and came back.

“If you’re feeling upset, should we send a small gift to CEO Seo’s newlywed home?”

It must have been said after much hesitation.

Eun Hee, who had heard the news of her son’s marriage through the news, had been uncharacteristically off all day, barely eating.

Although her son had never visited even once, she had hoped he would tell her about his marriage directly.

The gray-haired head shook gently from side to side.

“Let’s not, I don’t think that guy would like it much.”

What does that guy like?

She didn’t know a single thing about what her son enjoyed eating or liked.

She was twenty-four.

With another man in her heart, blinded by greed, she made a choice she shouldn’t have.

She thought it was love because he said he loved her.

The fact that he was the son of the Bando Group and already had a wife wasn’t as shocking as the fact that she had deceived another man who had dreamed of a future with her despite having nothing.

That’s why she turned her back without hesitation, leaving behind a baby.

Forgetting everything and starting anew was out of the question.

The shadow of Bando chased after her for a while, even though she didn’t ask for anything.

She thought that even a life of hiding and helping with odd jobs in other people’s houses was punishment for betraying someone.

The year the child she left behind at Bando turned fourteen.

Suddenly, Chairman Jang of the Bando family came to find her.

“Since you’ve brought him into the world, you should act as a mother at least once. That’s why you should come back.”

It came with the news of the death of Ki Hyeok’s mother, the only daughter-in-law of Bando.

Don’t even think about acting as a mother, they said. When did they take away her baby, and now they treat her like a heartless mother who abandoned her newborn.

Acting as a mother.

That’s what she left everything behind for.

Even though she told herself not to look back, not to dwell on it, on nights when the cold wind blew, why was her heart so troubled?

Wiping away the tears from her wrinkled eyes, Eun Hee turned around.

*****

After dropping off Ji Wan and Do Eum, Director Han and Driver Park disappeared like lightning.

Well past midnight.

Do Eum, who had trudged up to the living room after opening the front door, quietly stood waiting for Ji Wan to take off his shoes.

Despite not saying a word this or that way the entire time coming home, his perverse determination to arrange the shoes no matter what made Ji Wan’s movements deliberately slow.

Click, click.

Only after carefully turning the shoes, setting them at a neat angle, did the man move towards his room as if he had finished the woman’s job.

“Speak up, what are you upset about?”

Ji Wan asked, holding his jacket in one hand after taking it off.

“It’s nothing, I’m not upset about anything.”

Her whole posture as she turned around was clearly sulking, but she insisted she wasn’t to the bitter end.

“Is that so? Then it seems I’m the only one upset, so I’ll say it.”

With an expression wondering what this was about now, bewildered eyes looked up at Ji Wan.

“It’s fine that you hid the fact that you’re married and that I’m your cousin, but when you made such a decision, shouldn’t you have at least told me? Whether I’m your cousin or grandfather, I should know something, right?”

“I didn’t know you would suddenly show up there without any notice, sir. You cleanly granted permission for the outing without asking further, so I thought you were being very cool. That’s what I thought, right?”

Ji Wan’s mouth corner slightly lifted at the voice raised a couple tones higher than usual and the mocking nuance.

“You’re angry.”

“I told you I’m not!”

“Alright, we’ll leave it at that then. I hate discussions that won’t reach a conclusion.”

Only after both of them concluded that their hidden feelings were all revealed did they quiet down.

“I’ll apologize for last night.”

“You already did that yesterday.”

“Not that, the talk about compensation. I shouldn’t have gone that far, but thinking of compensation before apologizing when making a mistake is a kind of occupational hazard. I’d like it if you could just think of it that way.”

When there was no particular answer, Ji Wan turned and walked towards his room as if taking that as understanding.

“Me too. I apologize too. For saying you were my cousin. For saying you look like that.”

Let’s pretend I didn’t hear the second one since you whispered it among yourselves.

She just had to say it out loud, confirming the kill.

“When classes start, I was planning to tell them. That I’m married. Of course, I won’t say it’s a contract.”

Ji Wan, lost in thought for a while, muttered.

“See how the situation is. If it’s better not to, then don’t. It doesn’t matter to me.”

For someone who said it didn’t matter, the man who had shown clear signs of being upset until just now entered the study.

‘He might as well not say it doesn’t matter.’

Do Eum, who had been pouting her lips, also walked towards her room on the opposite side.

The woman’s face, having fully read the man’s intentions, had long since cleared of yesterday’s resentment.

*****

6 o’clock.

Even before the alarm went off, Do Eum’s humming woke him up.

Taking out one of the shirts that were all the same white color with slightly different designs, he put on the tie and cuff links that the woman would have carefully chosen, and when he stepped out into the living room, without fail he saw Do Eum in a linen apron.

Not tall, with cute bare feet busily moving around the kitchen.

Do Eum wouldn’t know.

That watching her after finishing his preparations and opening the door was part of the man’s morning routine.

The moment the busy woman turned and saw the man standing in front of the door.

Even if the observation would end, this time was the most peaceful moment of Ji Wan’s day.

“You’re out, good morning.”

Soup, stew, side dishes, the woman put effort into every breakfast without lacking anything.

“The blind lady next door said red pepper leaves are good and brought some. Do you like red pepper leaf side dish?”

It was one of the side dishes he used to like when he was at home.

For some reason, most of the side dishes Do Eum prepared were like that.

As if she had learned his tastes from his home, even the light seasoning was just to his liking.

“They say this tofu is handmade by a tofu master. It’s supposed to melt in your mouth, but it doesn’t seem to. Should I ask for a refund?”

He had become quite used to the woman’s silly jokes too.

As his doctor had said he needed to eat well, Ji Wan allowed meal preparation but made Do Eum promise to eat together.

The table where the two sat facing each other, Do Eum’s incessant chatter, had somehow become a morning routine.

“Tomorrow is the start of the semester, you said?”

“Yes!”

Do Eum’s answer with her chin lifted high was cheerful.

Including the time she had moved in early before the wedding, she had stayed here for almost three months, so she couldn’t help but welcome the change in daily life that came with the excuse of starting classes.

“You’ll be busy once classes start.”

Not just breakfast, but if he happened to have a business trip or meeting and came home late, it wouldn’t be easy to even see her face.

The man wasn’t too pleased with that change.