Every person who saw Leon wore a surprised expression. The sound of muttering, such as Chairman Kennedy, could be heard from here.

The gazes originally directed at Leon naturally turned toward Heesun. The curious eyes seemed to question why he was with such a woman, making Heesun want to disappear somewhere.

I wonder if this person isn’t embarrassed. Whether being with me is not shameful.

Due to the embarrassment, Heesun picked up the glass bowl on the table, thinking it was drinking water, and drank it all at once. Leon, who looked somewhat embarrassed, quickly followed suit.

A woman sitting at the adjacent table looked at them with a bewildered expression. Leon smiled at her, a kind smile, but his eyes didn’t smile at all. It was a signal to stop looking.

“If you’ve washed your hands, I’ll clear the table for you.”

When the waiter approached and said this while clearing the glass bowl, Heesun finally realized that it wasn’t drinking water.

She was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide somewhere. Suppressing the desire to run away, Heesun gripped the hem of her dress tightly under the table.

A moment later, the course meal started, mostly consisting of seafood.

“Since you had meat during the day, I thought seafood would be good for dinner.”

Ingredients such as sea bream, crab, and shrimp were cooked in ways Heesun had never tasted in her life.

Rather than food, it felt like someone had drawn a beautiful picture on the plates, making it impossible to know where and how to start.

Should I use a knife even though it’s so small, or should I just eat it whole? There are several forks; which one should I use?

Focused on every detail and conscious of the surroundings, Heesun had no idea what was going into her mouth.

In contrast, the man sitting across from her seemed comfortable, as if eating in the living room of his own home.

“I’ve been drawing pictures from time to time.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you want to see?”

“I don’t know.”

She was too tense to properly understand what he was saying. In the end, she responded with short answers.

“I made a mistake.”

Leon, who had been trying hard to continue the conversation, eventually sighed.
“If I knew it would be like this, I should have just gone to a small restaurant. I’m sorry for making it uncomfortable for no reason.”

The ordeal-like meal finally ended. As soon as she put down the fork, Heesun stood up.

“I enjoyed the meal.”

Even though it didn’t feel like she ate anything properly, her stomach felt full. Seeing that she didn’t touch the dessert, the manager rushed over, concerned.

“Could it be that the food didn’t suit your taste?”

“No, it was delicious. I’m just feeling a bit unwell.”

The issue wasn’t the food but herself.

Carefully, Leon asked in the car, “It’s too early to go home. Do you want to go watch a movie?”

“I’m tired. I want to go rest early today.”

Right now, she only wanted to hide somewhere quickly. She couldn’t forget the gaze of the nearby customer who stared with surprise at Leon drinking the water he used to wash his hands.

Leon, with a disappointed expression, drove smoothly to the accommodation. Throughout the journey, Heesun stared out into the dark through the window.

Inside the car, Eric Clapton’s song played.

I’m begging you like this, my love, please.

Rather than comforting, the lyrics that seemed targeted made her even more uncomfortable. She wished she hadn’t understood. For the first time, Heesun regretted learning English.

She knows. He deliberately prepared and cared to take her to a nice place and give her good things. However, a man who had always lived in comfort couldn’t understand her perspective.

For 25 long years, Heesun had lived hiding from others’ eyes.

She had lived like that since she was twenty, and the time spent hiding was longer than the days when she didn’t. A person like that couldn’t suddenly stand tall and confident.

Leon wasn’t at fault. Romeo being Romeo isn’t Romeo’s fault. The problem was that she wasn’t Juliet. She wasn’t a woman who could face him properly from the beginning, and now, even more so.

As soon as they arrived home, Heesun tried to go to her room, but Leon followed and held her.

“Let’s have a light drink before going to bed. I’ll make you a cocktail.”

However, she was too exhausted, both physically and mentally. She wanted to get away from this man as soon as possible.

“I’ll go inside and rest.”

Without even looking at his face, she responded, and her wrist was grabbed.

“Please don’t do this. We had a very enjoyable time today, didn’t we?”

It was annoying for a man who hadn’t done anything wrong to beg like this.

“You’re the one who promised not to do this to me, right?”

Sharply responding, he momentarily held his breath.

“What’s the problem? Because of drinking the water I used to wash my hands?”

He noticed. Heesun bit her lip and said, “You didn’t have to embarrass yourself for my sake.”

It was embarrassing to drink what she had drunk, of course. However, what she couldn’t endure even more was that he embarrassed himself in front of others because of her. Moreover, he did it deliberately.

With a frustrated expression, Leon ran his hand through his hair, messing it up.

“What’s the big deal about it? If it’s because of you, I can even drink poison.”

“Let go.”

She tried to shake off the grabbed wrist, but he didn’t release it. Instead, he held it even tighter, trying desperately to make eye contact with her.

“Look into my eyes and tell me. You didn’t put on this lipstick because of me.”

Heesun bit her lip. He saw through everything. Not only the excitement of secretly buying the lipstick but also the feelings she didn’t want him to know even though she was excited.

“Say it.”

From the moment he first saw those beautiful brown eyes that captivated him, a burning flame was lit in the depth of those eyes.

In that gaze, memories buried deep within were resurrected.
He wasn’t always a reserved and gentle man. Especially when sharing love, he was hotter than anyone, and sometimes even coercive…

The man whispered, “I didn’t imagine kissing with me.”