The sky quickly darkened. The sparkling morning disappeared without a trace, and suddenly, a cloudy sky appeared. The weather forecast predicting rain in the afternoon seemed to be accurate.

“Good thing I brought the car.”

Yeoreum muttered to herself. On a rainy day, the subway would be even more challenging than usual.

Dark clouds gathered in the gloomy sky. Even though it was only 1 o’clock, it was as dark as sunset in all directions. Would there be thunder and lightning? Yeoreum drove a little faster than usual.

She didn’t want to hear the thunder sound she was particularly afraid of while on the road. Fortunately, she could enter Tae-seok’s apartment before anything happened. Once inside the building, she finally felt relieved.

Ding dong. Ding dong.

The door clicked open.

Tae-seok’s apartment was also darker than usual. Yeoreum walked through the long corridor and said, “Why is it so dark? Turn on some lights.”

“Oh.”

Tae-seok casually replied and pressed any switch on the wall to turn on the lights. Light came in from the farthest window in the living room. The dim light near the window didn’t help much because the living room was so spacious.

Nevertheless, Tae-seok seemed satisfied just by listening well to what Yeoreum said. He sat down on the sofa without turning on any other lights.

In the end, Yeoreum turned on another auxiliary light between the dining room and the living room and took her seat.

The long silence made Yeoreum fear what might come next, so she spoke first.

“Speak up.”

The weather was dark, tension was high. Trying hard to conceal her feelings, she unintentionally spoke in a more businesslike tone than she thought. Without looking at him, Yeoreum added another word.

“You said you came because it would only take a moment.”

“Oh, right.”

Tae-seok let out a dry laugh and nodded slightly. Then he looked at Yeoreum, and their eyes met.

“That’s it.”

Unexpectedly, he looked up. After a moment, as if making a big decision, he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I want to apologize.”

“…?”

“For making things difficult for you all this time.”

The sudden apology was an unexpected variable, making Yeoreum blink her eyes. She had come expecting an extension of the conversation to restart or a point about the script.

If not, maybe he’s in a lot of pain or…

“Meeting again, I was too impolite in many ways.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was in pain. Although he looked pale and tired, there were no noticeable signs of illness.

A strange sense of relief washed over her.

“Yes.”

Yeoreum responded dryly. She couldn’t find a suitable response because she couldn’t understand the reason for the sudden apology.

“I’m sorry. I mean it.”

Tae-seok’s hoarse voice stuck one letter at a time into her chest. Although it was an apology she once wanted to hear, it didn’t feel as good as she thought. It felt more uneasy and perplexing.
“Especially, causing embarrassment during filming was really uncalled for. I’m sorry.”

“…….”

“And two years ago when you wanted to break up.”

“!”

“I didn’t admit it and kept ignoring it. I’m sorry for repeating the same words. I’m sorry for holding you back until the next morning.”

Apologies spread like a downpour. Yeoreum briefly pondered the meaning behind these apologies.

But she didn’t know. The fact that Tae-seok already knew a lot, that he was planning revenge against Ji Hyeon-jeong, and other unimaginable things made it feel out of place for Yeoreum.

Moreover, it was strange. It would have been more fitting for Tae-seok to earnestly and arrogantly plead.

“Sorry. Yeoreum, I just…”

Tae-seok’s shoulders shook intermittently. Yeoreum didn’t want to hear more.

“That’s enough! Stop it.”

After speaking, she felt her voice might have been too sharp, so she added another word.

“It’s too sudden. It feels strangely uncomfortable.”

“…….”

“I understand. If it’s sincere, I’ll accept the apology. Okay, then I’ll leave now.”

Strangely, the heart couldn’t stay still. Darkness settled on the man’s shoulders, hunched over like a wounded animal.

Seeing that, a strange sensation, as if something in the abdominal organs was about to fall to the ground, filled her belly.

“It looks like it might rain, so before that…”

Her hand quickly grabbed the bag, but the movement was too hasty. The already open bag widened, and a few items fell out.

Yeoreum quickly checked and bent down to pick them up. Among them, a round something rolled and stopped at Tae-seok’s toes.

It was lemon tea.

Both Yeoreum and Tae-seok froze in their places.

“Choi Yeoreum’s lemon tea is a hundred times better than the hospital. It’s a cure-all for colds.”

It felt like some memory had vividly passed through her mind.

“I’ll make it for you whenever you’re sick. No, I’ll make it even if you’re not sick, so don’t get sick. Why isn’t the fever going down?”

Tae-seok moved first, reaching out to grab the lemon tea. Then he quietly placed it on the table. When Yeoreum, who had been frozen, mustered the courage to reach out toward the illness, it happened.