Looking at the navigation that showed an arrival time of about 30 minutes later, Si Hyun asked.

“Why are we going so far just to eat? We can just eat somewhere nearby.”
“My father is acquiring a new hotel in Seoul. He wanted me to check out the restaurant there.”
Tae Ha answered as he started the car.

“I ate there once before, but I didn’t really know if it was good or not. So, you can check it out.”
Si Hyun heaved a silent sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t a date. Plus, if Leon asked for a favor, she had to help.

“If it’s a favor from your father, I should help.”
Tae Ha asked with an annoyed expression.

“Why do you like my father so much?”
“What?”
“He just looks similar to me, but older. Shouldn’t the younger one naturally be more appealing?”
Si Hyun stared at Tae Ha, surprised. He had always seemed upset whenever the topic of his father came up, and she wondered why he was acting like this towards his longlost father. Now that she had received his confession, she finally understood.

He was jealous.

Tae Ha really thought Si Hyun was interested in his father.

Of course, Leon was charming and exceptionally handsome. It was true that she blushed every time she saw him, but it was never the emotion that Tae Ha was imagining.

Maybe Tae Ha misunderstood because she often met alone with Leon while he stayed in Korea. There was another reason for that.

“Actually, about that…”
“What?”
Si Hyun sighed and closed her mouth.

“Never mind.”
She had promised Leon that she would never tell Tae Ha.

A little while later, Si Hyun, who followed Tae Ha into the hotel, was shocked at the size of the hotel. To think that he was acquiring such a large hotel. She knew Leon was really wealthy.

The problem occurred when they were led into the restaurant. The grand chandelier and classic interior decorations gave off the feeling as if she had stepped into a European royal palace.”

In front of the glass windows in one piece, the brilliant night view of Seoul was visible. She hadn’t realized the restaurant was this highend.

“If it was a place like this, you should have told me in advance. I just threw on some clothes…”
Contrary to the slightly dejected Si Hyun, Tae Ha seemed to fit in perfectly, as if he had been born in this hotel and had eaten three meals a day in this restaurant. Well, he would be the son of this hotel’s owner in the future, Si Hyun thought.

A moment later, a waiter came to take their order. For both the meal course and champagne, he emphasized that they should prepare the very best.

After the waiter had withdrawn, Si Hyun murmured in a low voice.

“Is that really necessary? It’s going to be expensive no matter what we eat.”
“I don’t know much about French cuisine, so I thought anything expensive would be tasty.”
But it seemed that was not the real reason.

“You saw Woo Jin, right? It was at this restaurant?”
For a moment, Si Hyun could see Tae Ha’s large shoulders flinch.

“I suspected as much.”
Si Hyun laughed. So that’s why he ordered the very best. He deliberately brought her to the same place to treat her to something more expensive. She appreciated his thoughtfulness.

“Are you really going to forgive that guy?”
“I’m not sure.”
She downed the champagne that was served first, like drinking soju, and gazed out at the night view through the window. She thought that somewhere out there would be places where she had been with Woo Jin.

“You might think I’m a fool for not being able to cut him off all at once, but six years isn’t an easy period. We loved a lot, too. There were days when we were together all day, yet we couldn’t bear to part in front of the house, and even after parting, we would stay up all night talking and end up going to work without sleep… We were in love like that, too.”
Why wouldn’t there have been good moments? There were definitely days when she laughed, was happy, and felt joy because of Woo Jin.

“Do you ever think it’s too much to talk about him in front of me?”
“…Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Well, I’m the one in unrequited love now.”
The food started to come out. The dishes, served on pretty plates, were astonishingly small in portion, and astonishingly delicious.

Throughout the meal, Tae Ha put his own food aside and focused solely on what Si Hyun was eating. If Si Hyun seemed to be enjoying her food, he quickly transferred some from his own plate.

As the meal was coming to an end, Si Hyun cautiously brought out something that had been swirling in her head all day.

“You know, by any chance, have you mistaken your familiarity with me since childhood for romantic feelings? Like, I mean, something like a mother.”
Tae Ha put down his knife and stared straight at Si Hyun.

“Do you know any guys who think of their mothers in bed at night?”
Si Hyun almost choked on her salad. Her face flushed as she looked around, worried that someone had heard. But Tae Ha asked without a care.

“Do you see me as your son?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then, do you still see me as a nineyearold kid?”
She could say that was not the case either.

[No matter how old you get, to me, you’re just a nineyearold.] She had said this to Woo Jin, but in fact, there was no way to see Tae Ha as a kid. Even if she tried hard to see him that way, it was tough. Moreover, Tae Ha looked more mature than his actual age.

But it was true that she had always thought of him as a younger brother for a long time.

“I may not see you as a kid, but… I’m not sure if I see you as a man.”
She spoke as cautiously as she could, and thankfully, Tae Ha didn’t seem hurt. Instead, he picked up his napkin and said.

“We’ll find out if we try.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll know if you try. Whether you see me as a man or not.”
As he wiped his lips gracefully with the napkin and put it down, he said,

“Sleep with me here tonight, and go home in the morning.”

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