As soon as she got in the car, Se Hyun leaned back and closed her eyes.

Thinking it was fortunate that she falls asleep when drunk, San Ha in the driver’s seat checked on the woman through the rearview mirror.

Rrrrr.

Worried that Se Hyun would wake up, San Ha quickly pressed the call button on the phone tucked inside his jacket.

– Dad!!

From the other end of the line, a small child’s voice loudly filled the car.

“Eun Woo, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

When the coldest man tenderly called the child’s name and smiled unguardedly.

Se Hyun in the back seat slowly opened her eyelids.

– Dad is bad! You didn’t come play again today!!

“It’s not that I didn’t go, but that I couldn’t go. I was busy. I’ll come pick you up early tomorrow morning.”

Unable to control the corners of his mouth turning up, San Ha clearly thought the woman in the back seat was drunk and asleep.

The small child’s voice was as clear as birdsong filling a dense forest.

If it was alright, Se Hyun wanted to hear that voice a little longer.

The cold man’s reaction to the small, cute voice was amusing, and above all, the bright voice made even her sunken mood lift.

– Eun Woo won’t sleep. Won’t sleep and will wait for Dad.

“Then Eun Woo, didn’t I say you won’t grow taller? I said the prince will come to pick you up, see you’re still small, and think ‘Ah, still a baby’ and leave you behind, didn’t I?”

Se Hyun barely swallowed the laugh that escaped without her realizing.

As if the prince who came to pick her up would really leave her behind for being short, it would be more about her face than height.

“Put Aunt Su Jin on, quickly.”

Seeing his words weren’t getting through, San Ha sought someone else who would listen.

“What time is it now. What were you doing keeping the child up until this hour?”

The man who cut off whatever was being said on the other end had already completely wiped away his earlier smile.

“I’ll come early tomorrow, let’s talk then.”

The call ended abruptly.

If you ask to talk to someone else, you should switch back to say goodbye to the child before hanging up.

What a cold-hearted father.

The child’s voice she had heard just once echoed in Se Hyun’s ears.

“…You have a child?”

San Ha flinched momentarily and checked on Se Hyun through the rearview mirror.

Se Hyun in the back seat still had her eyes tightly closed.

“You’re awake.”

“I wasn’t asleep.”

It was a calm answer without any further explanation.

“You’re better than me. You even have a child.”

Children that others seem to have so easily.

Children that come along even from one night’s mistake, without any planning.

After months of desperate effort with no news for her alone, Se Hyun’s voice was sorrowful.

“Director Seo’s car will arrive in about 30 minutes.”

San Ha informed her as he dropped Se Hyun off in front of her home.

Barely listening, Se Hyun staggered towards the main building and thought.

She should hurry and wash up and go to bed.

Even if she couldn’t sleep, she should at least pretend to be asleep.

It had been quite a nice night, and she didn’t want to smell cheap perfume next to the man who had returned.

*****

“Didn’t Manager Han tell you not to show off your money?”

The driver glanced at the two people in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

“He did.”

The wine bar was where Ji Wan took Do Eum when he suggested going somewhere without people after leaving the restaurant.

Friday evening,

The wine bar that would normally be packed full of people was strangely empty.

For an hour after they sat down, until they finished a whole bottle of wine.

When Do Eum asked what was going on since not a single soul was visible except the bartender, Ji Wan finally answered that he had rented out the place.

“Then why did you rent out the whole wine bar when he said that?”

“You saw earlier at the restaurant, right? I’ll draw attention like that wherever I go, and I don’t like seeing you fume every time that happens.”

Since when did this man become so brazen?

Saying it wasn’t a big deal, Ji Wan leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes.

Only after Ji Wan closed his eyes did Do Eum slowly scan his face.

His long, narrow eyes were consistently cool whether open or closed.

Even when he called her name tenderly.

Do Eum felt saddened, as if Ji Wan’s sorrow that she couldn’t do anything about,

the emotions he had to endure and hide, were entirely her own.

“Why.”

Taking Do Eum’s hand resting on her knee and intertwining their fingers, Ji Wan asked.

“What are you thinking about to have such a sad face?”

Unable to say it was because of him, Do Eum smiled.

A person more sensitive to others’ emotions than his own.

How much effort must such a kind person have made to try to hide it.

It was the same at the wine bar with just the two of them.

He would brush her hair back after one sip of wine, then hold her hand tightly after two sips, and finally kiss her on the lips after three sips, only to pretend each time that he hadn’t.

“I was thinking the money spent to kiss was a waste, and it’s definitely not a sad face.”

With the frequent kisses, Do Eum was starting to regret eating all of the delicious black garlic ice cream.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have eaten his portion too.

She was also annoyed at Ji Wan for willingly giving up his portion if this was his intention all along.

“I earn money to do things I like, can’t I do even that much? And what’s wrong with kissing. I’m doing that because I can’t do other things. Do you want to do other things? If you say you want to do them, then let’s do them.”

Every time he opened his mouth today, he said something rakish, making Do Eum wonder why he was acting like this.

“How do you manage to hold back from doing this all day? How do you sleep and work at the company…?”

Do Eum shot back, feeling strangely upset.

“It’s not like that, right? Since when did kissing become just a greeting? You casually kiss in the morning and evening now like it’s nothing.”

While telling her not to waver at all, Ji Wan had been constantly charging straight ahead.

Without considering her position of having to remain unmoved and steadfast, he was just doing as he pleased at any time.

No, that needs to be corrected.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just for his own pleasure.

Though the sudden skinship was startling, it wasn’t particularly unpleasant.

“You’re right, I wonder what I’ve been doing all this time without doing something this nice.”

Do Eum shook her head at Ji Wan’s nonchalant response.

“Chief, tell me now. You’ve dated a lot, right? Hm?”

The conversation that had been flowing smoothly suddenly cut off.

“Are you testing me right now?”

“What do you mean testing… It’s not like that.”

“Why ask a question that you won’t believe if I say I’ve never dated, and that you’ll get angry about if I say I’ve dated a lot?”

An exasperated snort escaped.

Whether the former or latter, she felt she had every right to ask from her position of receiving such active displays of affection from the man.

“Who in the world would believe you’ve never dated, Chief? Your dating history comes up with just one search.”

Ji Wan nodded as if agreeing.

“I guess those relationships that come up in searches didn’t have such nice kisses like this.”

The two continued their childish banter all the way to Hwa-an-dong, completely oblivious to the driver in the front seat overhearing everything.

Do Eum felt at ease whenever she came near Hwa-an-dong, the neighborhood where she had bought a house after saving up for months.

“I really enjoyed our date today. The horror movie was good, and the restaurant overlooking the Han River was nice too. Everything was great.”

Do Eum bowed politely across the long hallway.

“Good night.”

Just as Do Eum was about to take her first step after turning around.

“Where are you going, Kang Do Eum.”

Ji Wan called out to her in a firm voice.

“You seem to have forgotten, but people are coming from the main house tomorrow.”

“Yes, I know. So what?”

“So where are you going? Starting tonight, you should sleep in our room.”

Our room, he says.

Perhaps the wine she had drunk hastily was finally hitting her, as Do Eum’s mind went blank as if the world was spinning.

*****

Yi Seol’s officetel.

Manager Jung Hyeok followed behind Yi Seol carrying a full load of bags.

“What’s all that?”

“Oh, you know, some gifts from fans. And some products that need promoting…”

Sensing something odd in the way he trailed off, Yi Seol eyed Jung Hyeok suspiciously with half-closed eyes.

“You know, when I was young, my dad used to say my lips would turn purple if I lied. I thought it was just a joke like saying your nose grows longer, but as I grew up, I realized my lower lip really did turn bluish every time I lied.”

Jung Hyeok silently nodded as he opened the refrigerator door and filled a mug with milk.

“Wow, this is amazing. I thought I really wouldn’t be able to lie for my whole life.”

While the milk heated up in the microwave, Jung Hyeok checked each room in turn to make sure everything was in order, with Yi Seol following him like a puppy.

“Later I realized, I was biting my lower lip hard every time I lied. No wonder my lips turned purplish.”

Yi Seol, who had been trailing the man the whole time, suddenly blocked Jung Hyeok’s path.

“But you!!! Your eyes start twitching when you lie. And only one eyelid at that!”

Trying to appear composed, Jung Hyeok pushed Yi Seol aside and took out the heated milk.

“Anyone would tremble in front of you, even if they weren’t lying. Not just my eyes, but my legs and hands too – everything that can shake, shakes. I’ve said talking to you is scarier than talking to the company CEO.”

Jung Hyeok hesitated as he handed the milk to Yi Seol, as if about to say something.

“…About Cheonga Park.”

It was about the columbarium where Yi Seol’s late father’s ashes were interred when she was nineteen.

At the time, being young and not knowing any better, she had placed her father in the cheapest spot with the lowest management fees in the park, but recently she had mentioned wanting to move him to a better place now that her situation had improved.

“I heard they’ve already moved him.”

“Who? It hasn’t been long since I mentioned it, who would have done that?”

It had been less than two months since she visited Cheonga Park, so someone had moved him in that time.

With no parents or siblings, Yi Seol was her father’s only family.

So who on earth could it have been.

“They say it’s the best spot in Cheonga Park. Even if you pay extra, you can’t get in if the timing isn’t right. There are dozens of people on the waiting list.”

“So who moved him to such a place?”

Jung Hyeok avoided her gaze.

…No way, could it be?!

“Was it that woman?”

“Yi Seol, well…”

“It was, wasn’t it? She did whatever she wanted without even telling me!”

“No, it wasn’t just on her own. Not long after I told the park about your wish to move him, they contacted me. Your mother had already spoken to the park staff a while ago. She asked them to let her know if a good spot opened up.”

Yi Seol’s face turned pale.

“What mother? She knows I don’t like that woman! How could you do this, oppa? Without even telling me?!”

Yi Seol raised her voice as she set the mug down on the table with a loud thud.