He was the person she had met a few months ago at her father’s recommendation. She had met him twice, and he was flawless in terms of looks, status, and manners.
Just before making the third appointment, Yoon Taeha suddenly became the department head overnight, and he cut off contact from this side.

The other party’s voice was slightly curt. After all, they were in a good mood, and suddenly losing contact must have hurt their pride.

“I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t had a moment to spare.”

Bora spoke with a genuinely apologetic tone.

“Would you be available for dinner tonight, by any chance? I’ll buy something delicious as an apology.”

Even if the storm rages and thunder and lightning fill the sky, the eye of a typhoon is known to be endlessly calm.
Despite the chaos unfolding outside, Si Hyun, who was at the center of the scandal, had a relatively peaceful day. After all, no one had come directly to her with questions.

Of course, considering the upcoming events, Si Hyun’s mind was undoubtedly complex. However, at the moment, her thoughts were solely occupied by Tae Ha, and there was no room for any other thoughts to intrude.

When Tae Ha said that, her lips moved before her mind. And the moment their lips met, she realized naturally.

Oh, I really like you a lot.
Things like whether the other person was someone she had raised with her own hands or what others might gossip about no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered was the person right in front of her.

So, she had first committed the act and then felt like her face was on fire afterward.

‘Why did I do something like that?’

With my own lips, I said you didn’t even look like a man, and I even called you a kid, and yet I kissed you first.

‘It must have been ridiculous, right?’
Suddenly, without a word, Tae Ha kissed Si Hyun. He didn’t say anything, nor did he kiss her back or embrace her. He just stared at Si Hyun, his eyes wide, frozen in place.

In the end, Si Hyun, feeling like a fool, managed to mumble only one thing, “I think black hair suits you better,” before hastily retreating and leaving.

“I wonder if he understood that it meant I like him too,” she thought belatedly. Overwhelmed by her newfound emotions, she couldn’t concentrate on her work. She became increasingly worried when Tae Ha didn’t show up at the One App Team office all day.

“I wonder if Tae Ha is thinking about me right now?”
I don’t know how a whole day has passed. Si Hyun, who came home after work, couldn’t eat dinner and anxiously waited for Tae Ha. Even though she saw his face every day at work and at home, she couldn’t understand why she was feeling so nervous all of a sudden.

She was certain that he would rush over as soon as he finished work, but for some reason, Tae Ha hadn’t shown up.

Despite knowing that he liked her, she couldn’t help but have anxious thoughts.

“Maybe he suddenly felt overwhelmed because I said I liked him? Could that be why he’s not coming?”

It was well past eight o’clock when the doorbell finally rang.

When she opened the door, a man with black hair was standing there.
Finally, Si Hyun understood why Tae Ha was late.

“Because I said I liked black hair, he went to…”

Her anxious heart melted away like snow. In a momentary welling of tears, Si Hyun, taken aback, opened her mouth.

“Hey, you know… this afternoon, I…”

Before she could utter a word, Tae Ha suddenly opened his arms and embraced her.

Startling Si Hyun, he held her close to his chest as if to press her flushed cheek against it. In a determined tone, he said, “Even if you call it a mistake now, I won’t listen.”

It was a stubborn voice.

“I’ve been thinking about it all day. Why did you do that to me? What were you thinking?”

“…….”
“But whatever it was, it doesn’t matter. Even if it was a joke, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you say, we can’t go back now.”

While Tae Ha spoke, Si Hyun quietly pressed her ear against his chest. She could feel her heart pounding as if it were about to burst. She understood why he was holding her and speaking like this.

“You’re scared, aren’t you? Scared to look at my face, just in case I say it was a joke or a mistake.”

As Si Hyun gently placed her hands around his waist and pulled him closer to face her, she felt Tae Ha’s surprised and twitching reaction.

“Do I mean that much to you?”
Even though I knew it well, I wanted to hear it again. He didn’t say, “Don’t you already know?” or “How many times do I have to say it?” He simply nodded his head.

“Yeah.”

“Even though I’ve lived just fine for years without seeing you.”

“To be honest, I wanted to live my whole life without seeing you. Since you wouldn’t even look at me, I figured.”

Tae Ha, while holding Si Hyun, spoke as if releasing his emotions.

“But when Future Bank made the offer, I just couldn’t resist. So I accepted, thinking I would just see your face. But the moment I saw your face, I knew.”

“…….”

“I can only be with Kang Si Hyun.”
Finally, Si Hyun realized it. The initial moment when he failed to recognize her wasn’t due to amnesia.

Instead of getting angry when she found out she had been deceived, she felt a pang in her heart.

So you wanted to catch me so desperately, even if it meant deceiving me.

There was someone who wanted her so passionately, so close to her, yet why did she take such a distant path? Being unnecessarily afraid, running away, even denying her own feelings.

“I don’t ask for much. Even if it’s one out of a hundred of what I like, or one out of a thousand, it’s fine.”

He said that and, finally, Tae Ha released his arms that had been holding Si Hyun and looked into her eyes from up close.
“Do you have feelings for me?”

His eyes were filled with half hope and half fear.

Even though he had kissed her first and she hadn’t understood until now, it was endearing how this big-hearted but timid man made her heart skip a beat.

At this point, she should reassure him by saying, “I like you too,” but strangely, a mischievous feeling welled up inside her.

Despite thinking of herself as having a somewhat bad personality, Si Hyun said with a mischievous smile, “What would you do if I said no?”

The glimmer of hope in his eyes gradually faded as he looked at her.
“Even if I say it was a mistake just now, even if I say it was a joke, you won’t listen,” the man, who had insisted it was okay and that it didn’t matter, muttered with his head lowered as if to say, ‘When was that the case?’

“What power do I have?”

“…”

“I’ll probably spend my whole life having unrequited love, just like I have until now.”

Ah, I see. You’ve probably loved me for almost your entire life. How long have you suffered and been sad all by yourself until now? And even now, you’re saying you’ll continue to live like this…

“I won’t make you have unrequited love for me again.”
She reached out and gently touched Tae Ha’s head. One strand of hair, dyed twice in a day’s interval, felt slightly stiff, leaving an impression on her heart.

I’ve been living in ignorance all this time, like a fool.

You’ve always been such a lovely person.

“As much as I’m late, I’ll love you even more.”

Looking into Tae Ha’s eyes, which seemed surprised, Si Hyun confessed, “I love you, Yoon Tae Ha.”