“Such personal questions are unpleasant.”

“Don’t you understand why I’m asking these questions?”

“…. Sir, you and I are not close enough to have this kind of conversation.”

“Even though we spent the night together.”

“Sir!”

As Bo Mi’s voice rose, Jae Kyung laughed shamelessly. Deep dimples formed on both his cheeks. Bo Mi couldn’t take her eyes off Jae Kyung’s face.

This shameless man has no intention of backing down.

“I’m a single mother. I don’t want to talk about the child’s father. The employees at Narae Creative understand.”

She had married Nakwon, but there was no record of it. The man, whose origins were unknown, suddenly appeared one day in Nakwon village.

He didn’t even reveal his name, so the village grandmothers called him the Nakwon bachelor. He existed only in Nakwon village, with no name or residence elsewhere, a person who didn’t exist on paper.

The spring paradise that appeared like a mirage and disappeared like an illusion.

“Well, within the Do Won Group, there are rampant speculations about the child’s father.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It bothers me.”

He wasn’t at all pleased with the situation where everyone from Ha Su Young to Hwang Min Jun was becoming Han Bo Mi’s partner.

“Is that man the father of Yeo Reum?”

“…”

“The man called Won.”

Bo Mi took a deep breath, swallowing as she usually did when lying. What should I say…

“Do I have to answer?”

Bo Mi avoided answering, thinking that lying would be counterproductive.

“Is the man you mistake me for Yeo Reum’s father?”

Jae Kyung wanted to hear a proper answer from Bo Mi.

“I won’t be confused anymore…”

Knowing too well that it’s a different person, she won’t be swayed by Jae Kyung anymore. She only felt sorry for seemingly mistreating Jae Kyung.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll go.”

“Is the reason you’re uncomfortable with me because of that man called Won?”

Bo Mi’s gaze met Jae Kyung’s. His darkened eyes held only Han Bo Mi. Just like that day in paradise… Jae Kyung’s scent drifted to Bo Mi on the wind.

I shouldn’t have these feelings anymore.

Bo Mi shook her head firmly.

“You… You look similar, but you’re not Won.”

Bo Mi’s eyes burned hot. Just saying Won’s name out loud made her feel like she would cry immediately.

“Forget about that person.”

“How rude. Who are you to…”

Since Jae Kyung appeared, the existence of Nakwon had been shaken within Bo Mi.

It’s painful to see you because I’m afraid Nakwon will be forgotten, and you tell me to forget him?

If not for me, there’s no one else to remember my Nakwon…

A numbing pain arose in a corner of her heart.

“He’s a person who doesn’t exist in this world anymore.”

“How can you say such a thing!”

Bo Mi bit her lip and glared at Jae Kyung. So this man knew that Nakwon had died.

“You have no right to say such things to me.”

“You push me away because of that man’s shadow…”

“Don’t force your feelings on me unilaterally.”

“Unilaterally?”

“…”

“Are you saying you’ve never once held me in your heart?”

Could he say this feeling was his alone? Her gaze, which had been openly directed at Jae Kyung, seemed to make her heart almost tangible.

She was saying everything was just his own delusion.

“I don’t like it.”

Bo Mi tried to ignore Jae Kyung’s criticism.

“That there’s no place for me beside you because of a man who doesn’t exist in this world.”

“Won… he’s not dead.”

Emotions she had been suppressing alone for years welled up, wetting her eyes.

“I never saw… his death…”

Bo Mi had heard about Won’s death through her aunt. Bo Mi hadn’t confirmed anything herself.

When Bo Mi wailed that she would at least attend the funeral, she was dissuaded for the sake of the baby in her womb. After fainting several times, when she woke up, it was already too late, and she had to forcibly accept his death.

That’s why she held onto the vain hope that Nakwon might be alive somewhere. It was also Bo Mi’s wish that made her tell Yeo Reum as if it were true that his father would come to meet him someday from heaven.

A foolish hope that as she spent each day with Yeo Reum, Nakwon might appear before the two of them like a scene from a movie.

She had spent 5 years on the borderline between reason and emotion, knowing about his death but unable to accept it.

Because she loved him, because she still loves him, she can’t easily erase him.

“I don’t believe it… That he’s not in this world…”

“If he’s alive, why doesn’t he appear before you?”

“That’s…”

Hot tears rolled down Bo Mi’s cheeks.

“If he loved you, he wouldn’t leave you alone like this.”

At least if it were me, I would never leave Han Bo Mi’s side.

“Who are you to… say such things…”

Bo Mi’s hand rose into the air.

You bad person. Who are you to casually speak the truth like that!

You like me.

If you like me, you shouldn’t say hurtful things. If it were Won… if it were my Nakwon, he wouldn’t say such painful things.

“Let go.”

Bo Mi’s slender wrist, about to brush Jae Kyung’s cheek, lost strength as Jae Kyung caught it.

“I said let go.”

“Bo Mi.”

“Sir. Please don’t like me.”

Jae Kyung loosened his grip on her wrist. Her trembling hand fell limply.

“Bo Mi. Look at me.”

Jae Kyung gently cupped Bo Mi’s feverishly hot cheek. Bo Mi tensed at the closeness, their breaths almost touching.

She thought she could hear the sound of willow branches rustling in the wind near her ear.

When the sky turned bright red, she would climb the hill covered in willows with Nakwon after finishing work. Wanting to hold his hand, she would deliberately brush against his fingertips.

Nakwon, as if knowing Bo Mi’s heart, would always hold her hand tightly.

They say you hear bells ringing when you fall in love, but Bo Mi only heard the sound of willow branches swaying in the wind.

Just like now…

Why are those memories coming back again? Her vision blurred with tears that had fallen without her noticing. The man’s figure was distorted, but she clearly recognized that the man before her was Do Jae Kyung, not Nakwon.

The warmth enveloping her cheek was something only Jae Kyung could give.

“Even if I’m a replacement for a dead man, it’s fine.”

Jae Kyung’s fingers gently circled Bo Mi’s eyes as if wiping away tears.

“So I want to beg you to look at me, not that man…”

“Sir.”

“Even if there was a way for me not to like you, I wouldn’t want to know it.”

“…”

Don’t make such confessions to me.

Bo Mi herself couldn’t understand this confusing heart that seemed to be standing somewhere between Nakwon and Do Jae Kyung.

Bo Mi took a deep breath, slowly swallowing.

“I have no feelings for you, sir.”

“Even if you try to hide it with lies.”

Jae Kyung knew Bo Mi’s habit of swallowing deeply whenever she tried to lie.

“It’s useless.”

“…”

“You like me too, Bo Mi.”

“Ha…”

Bo Mi sighed long as if dumbfounded.

“That’s quite some confidence. Did every woman in the world fall for you or something?”

“I don’t need other women. I’m talking about you, Han Bo Mi.”

Jae Kyung remained calm, unlike the agitated Bo Mi.

That demeanor made Bo Mi even angrier.

You say you know my heart when I don’t even know it myself?

Bo Mi couldn’t define her feelings for Do Jae Kyung.

She wanted to dismiss it as an emotion that would disappear when this season passes, with only the noisy sound of wind shaking tree branches.

“You may not be able to judge clearly now because you’re confusing me with that man.”

Jae Kyung gently rubbed Bo Mi’s lips, which she habitually bit.

‘You’ll get hurt.’

She thought she heard Won’s voice from somewhere.

“I’ll give you time.”

“I don’t need time. My answer is already decided.”

The stinging pain on her lips seemed to pierce her heart.

Let’s end this game now. Bo Mi pushed Jae Kyung away, exerting force with both palms.

Jae Kyung stepped back without resistance, pushed by Bo Mi.

“To me, Do Jae Kyung, you’re not a man.”

Her slender shoulders trembled as she exhaled roughly as if angry. To Jae Kyung’s eyes, everything from her flushed cheeks to her furrowed brow was nothing but lovely.

“Do Jae Kyung, is it?”

Jae Kyung’s eyes curved gently, and dimples formed deeply at the corners of his mouth. Jae Kyung’s smile seemed so much like summer that Bo Mi lost herself for a moment.

“I like being called by my name.”

“You’re crazy.”

Wrong. This man doesn’t understand.

“I’ve stated my intentions, so if you’re done talking, please leave.”

“I’ll see you off.”

Jae Kyung didn’t mind being called crazy.

If he had intended to back down here, he wouldn’t have come this far. If there was a gap that Han Bo Mi allowed only to him, that alone was an achievement.

“I refuse.”

Bo Mi glared at Jae Kyung and rejected him coldly.

“Alright. That’s a shame. Take care on your way.”

As Jae Kyung waved and stepped back, Bo Mi felt drained.

Why does he seem so irritating…

She wanted to think this really was the end with Do Jae Kyung.

Yet, she thought she might have been disappointed if Jae Kyung had easily given up on her.

Han Bo Mi. You’re the crazy one.

Bo Mi’s mind was as tangled as a ball of thread.

Bo Mi quickly turned and started running, afraid Jae Kyung’s deep eyes would see through her.

“What if you fall?”

Jae Kyung slowly followed behind Bo Mi, watching her back.

I didn’t mean to make her angry… Jae Kyung swallowed bitterness as he wiped his mouth.

Only after confirming that Bo Mi had sprinted into the apartment entrance like an athlete did Jae Kyung turn away.

Jae Kyung regretted getting uncharacteristically excited. It was true that he had spoken harshly out of anger at her constantly looking for that guy called Won.

He was also irritated by his own appearance that resembled that guy. How similar must they be for even the child to be confused?

No. This might also be an advantage over other guys if it can be used.

Jae Kyung looked up at the sky, rubbing his face dry.

It won’t be easy with a dead person as a rival.

“Ha… I was completely rejected today.”

He had rejected approaching women before, but this was the first time he had been refused like this.

Even so, he didn’t feel like giving up.

She must surely know that the feeling of liking someone can’t be controlled…