On the way home from work, in the lobby of Bando Construction.

Ji Wan, who had just gotten into the sedan, hesitated for a moment before asking Woo Seok.

“Is there a good flower shop nearby?”

The driver, Mr. Park, who was sitting in the front seat, and Woo Seok looked at each other simultaneously.

It was probably to confirm if they had heard correctly.

If they had heard correctly, their eyes would probably say, “What did that guy eat wrong?”

“You mean a flower shop that sells flowers?”

“Are there flower shops that don’t sell flowers?”

“No, that’s true, but why a flower shop…?”

Even if the great Seo Ji Wan asked to borrow money, Woo Seok wouldn’t be this surprised, but he looked even more shocked than that.

That’s because even when Yi Seol, who unusually loves flowers, occasionally asked Ji Wan for a flower, he would either ignore it or have Woo Seok do it, but he had never asked where a place that sells flowers was.

“By the way, are you going to Nonhyeon-dong today?”

It was where Yi Seol’s studio apartment was located.

Ji Wan, who had thrown his gaze out the window with a nonchalant look, shook his head.

“No matter how poor of a husband you are, you should at least remember your wife’s birthday, right?”

Oops.

As if he had just remembered, Woo Seok lightly hit his own forehead.

It was he who had suggested using lady’s birthday as the password for their newlywed home to make it easy to remember.

He had said it was around early autumn, but it seemed his boss remembered what he had completely forgotten.

On the way to Hwaan-dong, stopping by a flower shop to buy flowers and even a cake.

When they saw Do Eum standing on the brightly lit garden, the corners of the three men’s mouths in the car curled up strangely.

When Do Eum’s classes ran late or she had other plans that delayed her return home, the men’s hearts were as dark as the unlit garden.

That’s how the little woman’s existence was.

“Wow, what is this?”

Do Eum’s eyes widened at the blue baby’s breath in Ji Wan’s hand.

“Happy birthday, my lady.”

Even though Ji Wan said he would go, Woo Seok spoke on behalf of Ji Wan, who would never say happy birthday even while personally handing the large flowers he had chosen to the woman.

“Wow, it’s so pretty! But how did you all know? This morning, Sokyeong made me a birthday table too. I had seaweed soup for my birthday for the first time in a really long time.”

Do Eum wouldn’t know.

That Ji Wan, with his good memory, had contacted Sokyeong early on to request a birthday morning table.

Only Woo Seok, who had grasped the situation, suspiciously stared at the back of Ji Wan, who was entering the house pretending not to know, since his boss had been asking him for Sokyeong’s contact information since the morning.

After sending off Mr. Park and Woo Seok, Do Eum followed Ji Wan, who had entered first, into the house.

She came to the front of the man’s slightly open bedroom door, but unable to enter, she paced back and forth like an anxious puppy.

“What is it?”

The man, who was unbuttoning his shirt in the dressing room, asked without turning around.

Somehow, just by the sound of the woman’s bare feet, he could gauge what she was doing and roughly where she was.

“The flowers are so pretty.”

What she really wanted to say was probably not that, but she was taking a roundabout way to say it.

“I’ve never seen blue baby’s breath before. It’s kind of mystical.”

Ji Wan had already guessed what would be the first question the woman would ask when she saw the flowers.

Even though he knew the answer he should give, he was just pretending not to know, as if it was fun to watch the woman fret.

Not long ago, while giving the flowers she had planted in the garden, Do Eum had spent quite some time talking about flower languages.

She believed that flowers represent meaning through the language they hold, so she would surely want to ask about the language of blue baby’s breath.

“So, what I’m saying is, what is the language of blue baby’s breath…?”

“I don’t know.”

The answer that came back was clear, despite the painstakingly asked question.

He doesn’t know?

“Huh? Why, why don’t you know?”

Though not visible, he could imagine the woman stretching her neck long towards this way.

That bewildered expression, peeping through the open door crack, unable to enter the room.

“Usually when recommending flowers at a flower shop, they would explain the flower language too, right?”

“They didn’t.”

Ji Wan, who had finished changing clothes, passed by the woman at the door and sat down at the dining table.

Do Eum followed behind Ji Wan like a puppy eagerly waiting for the ball to be thrown.

“Ugh, what the heck. Then why did you buy this flower out of so many flowers?”

“Because they said it was the most expensive.”

It was a lie.

There were many flowers that were more expensive than this, and more importantly, he had heard an explanation about the flower language from the owner who recommended this flower.

“Is it that hard to ask that? Geez.”

The woman, whose interest quickly shifted to the cake on the table, grinned at the cute heart on the white cream.

Even while busily running around on her little feet to turn off all the lights in the house to light the twenty-five candles, Do Eum looked more excited than ever.

When she sat in front of the lit candles, she was even breathless, her cheeks flushed.

Ji Wan ignored the woman who was grinning ear to ear, looking so happy for some reason.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Kang Do Eum, happy birthday to you.”

Even without anyone telling her, she confidently inserted her own name and sang the birthday song for herself, her face shining brilliantly in the candlelight.

“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I put your birthday present in your account.”

He was a man who could do that and more.

He was strict with money, but he couldn’t spend much time pondering what the woman needed and whether she would like it if he bought it for her.

“Take that money back and give me something else.”

“What is it?”

The man, who was ready to give her whatever she asked for, inquired without even asking how much money he had put in her account.

“I want to watch a late-night movie at a drive-in theater.”

To the man who put money in her account to save time thinking about what to give as a present, she was making a naive request to give her his time, not knowing.

“Last time it was a kiss, and this time what, a date?”

Ji Wan asked, picking up his spoon.

There was a hint of playfulness on his face, anticipating the reaction that would come.

As expected, the woman fell for the predictable teasing.

“No, it’s not!”

Despite her flushed cheeks and frantically shaking eyes, she insisted it wasn’t, lifting her eyes.

Concealing his escaping laughter with a napkin, Ji Wan rephrased his question.

“I don’t care what it is. I’m telling you to make good use of it while you have the chance.”

The woman, who readily fell into the carelessly set trap and then was pretending to be released, grinned.

“It’s not that this time. This is kind of like a bucket list. It’s my dream to go to a drive-in theater at least once. But to do that, I need to get a driver’s license, have a car, and to buy a car, I need to make money. But if I wait for that, I feel like I’ll become a hunched grandma. You have a nice car, check. Driver’s license, check. So I’m asking the CEO who has it all.”

“You found life’s shortcut too quickly. But don’t you need to at least try?”

“Of course I’ll try, but I’m saying the CEO should provide motivation for now. Well, you never know. I might want to work really hard to make money with the goal of buying a drive-in theater because I like it so much. Instead, when I get my license and get a car, I’ll take the CEO to the drive-in theater first.”

The man laughed, imagining squeezing his large body into a car as small as the woman’s, as she said, getting a license, earning money, and saving some of that money bit by bit to buy a car.

“Oh, of course, only if you’re not married by then.”

In the midst of it all, she even adds the naive remark that she won’t take a married man in her car to watch a movie.

“Okay, I get it. Do that one more time.”

“What?”

Do Eum’s eyes widened, wondering what more he wanted her to do.

“That… song.”

Although it was a common song that could be heard anywhere, it was the first time for the man.

Because the place where this song would be sung for someone’s birthday was not a place he would be, let alone his own unattended birthday, he had never heard it, let alone had a reason to sing it.

“The one you just did. Do it one more time.”

Strangely, today he wanted to hear that song that he had never wanted to hear or sing, because he wasn’t interested in listening to it or singing it.

It felt like he could listen to it all night.

Ahem, ahem.

At the words to sing again a song that didn’t require great skill or was a masterpiece, Do Eum cleared her throat and relit the extinguished candles.

“Do I have to do that again too?”

“Originally, birthday candles should be blown out at least three times. Two more times left.”

The smile revealing her even teeth, the sound of her small hands clapping together, spread in all directions.

Over the clear singing voice filling the living room, the florist’s explanation overlapped.

[The language of blue baby’s breath is endless, eternal love. It’s the perfect flower for proposing to a lover. If you take it with you, your girlfriend will love it.]

*****

After coolly agreeing to Do Eum’s request to watch a late-night movie at a drive-in theater as a birthday present, Ji Wan realized it was something he had never done before either.

A drive-in theater.

After much contemplation, the first thing Ji Wan did was receive a report from Woo Seok about his future schedule.

As the woman said, the only thing the man with a nice car and driver’s license lacked was time.

“I’ll ask Eunil Industrial’s CEO for understanding and reschedule the dinner that day.”

Ji Wan, who usually stuck to his appointments unless it was a matter of life and death to avoid the hassle of others’ schedules also having to change due to changes in his schedule.

“Is it a summons from Chairman Jang of Anseo-dong?”

A summons from Chairman Jang was a matter of ‘life and death’.

Instead of answering, Ji Wan lightly shook his head.

“… And look into renting a good drive-in theater on the outskirts.”

Woo Seok’s footsteps following behind Ji Wan gradually slowed down, and finally came to a stop.

It was due to the unfamiliar word he heard from his taciturn boss, following ‘oppa’ and ‘flower shop’.

A ‘drive-in theater’?

“CEO, are you perhaps going on a date?”

At Woo Seok’s question from a distance, Ji Wan turned around.

“Is that so surprising?”

It is surprising indeed.

As far as Woo Seok knew, a date for Ji Wan was at most taking a short break in his schedule to have a meal or appreciate art at a gallery recommended by Chairman Jang.

They were usually from notable families, whose names alone were recognizable, and even that lasted no more than an hour or two at most.

“There’s no way you suggested going first, so did the lady suggest it? When two adult men and women go to a drive-in theater alone, it’s a hundred percent a date, isn’t it?”

Woo Seok, who quickly came to Ji Wan’s side with short strides, rapidly fired questions as fast as his movements.

Gently stroking his cleanly shaven chin, Ji Wan became lost in thought.

It was because of the woman who had jumped up and down, saying it wasn’t when he joked if it was a date request.

“I thought so too, but she says it’s not.”

A faint smile spread across Ji Wan’s lips as he turned to walk again.

A man who expected a date was smiling even after hearing the quite disappointing answer that it wasn’t a date.

Woo Seok immediately read Ji Wan’s expression and inner thoughts that unfailingly showed whenever Do Eum was mentioned.

“A secluded drive-in theater on the outskirts, the genre is of course romance! I’ll make the reservation, CEO.”

Woo Seok, who was excited as if it were his own date, cheerfully entered the conference room that he would normally enter with much tension.