Seo Jun and So Yeon arrived at their destination 20 minutes after leaving the CN building.

If he was a great mountain, deserving of the title “luxury actor” and more, I was merely a small mound rising slightly on flat ground. Perhaps because of that, during the ride in his car with a chauffeur, So Yeon felt it unreal to be with Tae Seo Jun.

So Yeon got out of the car, hugging her fluttering heart, and stepped through the blue door held open by a staff member with a polite attitude.

The striking luxuriousness of the interior was very different from what she had expected of a famous brand chicken chain restaurant. Following that, as So Yeon entered the large space, she couldn’t help but swallow hard.

This grand room, seemingly renting out an entire restaurant, was a bit excessive. After all, they had just come to eat chicken…

With that thought, So Yeon sat across from Seo Jun at a large table that could easily seat 10 people, and deliberately composing her voice, she asked calmly.

“Is this the chicken place you mentioned, Director?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Given the quiet atmosphere and all. This doesn’t seem to be a chicken specialty restaurant?”

So Yeon was right. This was a high-quality restaurant known for its craft beer. But that didn’t mean their chicken dishes weren’t delicious. This was actually a hidden gem that Tae Seo Jun frequented.

“Just because it’s called a rice restaurant doesn’t mean they only serve rice, and just because it’s called a makgeolli house doesn’t mean they only serve alcohol.”

“…That’s true.”

Appetizers and draft beer were placed on the table before the main course.

Satisfied with the crispy texture of the nachos dipped in salsa sauce, So Yeon quickly brought the draft beer mug she lifted with both hands to her mouth. The tempting white foam had stimulated her desire to drink.

It was at that moment.

Seo Jun’s hand suddenly reached out from the L-shaped side of the table to snatch So Yeon’s glass.

“Ah, Ms. Eom So Yeon, you can’t.”

“Oh my!”

What kind of mischief is this! Chicken and beer are an inseparable pair, an absolutely irresistible fantastic combination!

Instinctively twisting her body to the opposite side, So Yeon clutched her beer mug tightly as if it were her life and snapped in a sharp voice.

“Why are you doing this?”

Seo Jun leaned his lips closer to So Yeon’s ear and said in a smooth, low voice.

“You’re not injured, are you? I think Ms. Eom So Yeon should drink non-alcoholic sparkling water instead.”

The moist breath melting her eardrum and the resonant voice made So Yeon dizzy, her thoughts turning mushy. Perhaps taking advantage of this moment, Seo Jun’s hand moved quickly.

“Ah, don’t!”

To think this man would use his handsome charms.

She almost lost her will and was about to give in obediently, but So Yeon quickly regained her senses and kept her glass far away from him, protecting it to the end.

“I’m only slightly injured. Since there are two glasses, one is definitely mine!”

“Ordering two glasses was my mistake. Anyway, you can’t.”

“No, I’m saying I’m fine, why do you keep doing this!”

Could a cunning deer be like this? The fiercely raised eyes, round and large, were incredibly cute.

“Heh…”

Seo Jun slightly covered his mouth with his long fingers and chuckled.

The image of her fearlessly grabbing his collar and kissing him with the same look in her eyes as now on the day they first met suddenly came to mind, but it was also a laugh that naturally arose from his feelings that he couldn’t yet name.

“Then let’s do this.”

“Do what…?”

“You come running when I call for you.”

“When? No, what are you talking about?”

“We should be careful even with minor injuries. Moreover, I’m not the type to neglect a patient.”

Seo Jun was well aware of how childish it was to attach such great significance to her small injury. Yet he couldn’t help but be persistent, not wanting to miss this opportunity to keep Eom So Yeon close.

“When you’re at the company and I call, come to the director’s office. I need to check on you until the wound heals, at least. Especially the day after drinking, you must do so without fail.”

“So, if I accept your wishes, I can drink this beer?”

“Your comprehension isn’t bad.”

Although knowing it was unreasonable, So Yeon didn’t dislike his excessive demand. So her response was utterly docile.

“…Alright. I’ll do that.”

“That doesn’t mean you can drink a lot. Just a little.”

“I understand.”

So Yeon hoped her wound would heal slowly. She wanted to see this person every day, even if it meant that. She also wanted to selfishly have this man.

There was no reason to refuse when he was deliberately giving her an excuse. No, she was grateful to him for providing an appropriate pretext for her to possibly linger around the director’s office anyway.

“But why are you going this far for me…”

So Yeon stopped mid-sentence and suddenly stared intently at Seo Jun’s face.

“Because I don’t like it when Eom So Yeon is in pain.”

“Why should you care, Director.”

“Concern and interest as a colleague and counterpart in the same work? Let’s leave it at that.”

He was already aware that she had been cast as a supporting role in the drama he was starring in when he said this.

But there was a hidden meaning in his words.

The emphasis on ‘colleague’ seemed to draw a line calmly, saying ‘the past has no power’.

So let’s do just as much as this man. If doing so allows my breath, which feels like it might break at any moment, to ease even a little, that alone would be something to be grateful for.

Seo Jun and So Yeon clinked their beer glasses and took a long drink.

Just then, the charcoal-grilled barbecue chicken arrived.

The two picked up their forks simultaneously and put the food in their mouths.

“…!”

The spicy-sweet seasoning and unique spices blend together, making the meat melt in the mouth. So Yeon spoke with her brows furrowed, full of the impressive taste.

“It’s delicious. How can it taste like this? You must have really missed it.”

“I’m glad you like it. Eat as much as you want.”

Seo Jun served the most moist and tasty parts onto So Yeon’s plate.

He had felt before that she ate well, but he hadn’t realized she was this serious about food. Seeing her eat so well what he had given her, chewing with her small mouth, a pleased smile naturally spread across Seo Jun’s lips.

As the draft beer, which went down exceptionally smoothly, soon showed its bottom, Seo Jun replaced So Yeon’s empty glass with a new one and held out his palm.

“Give me your phone for a moment.”

“Why that…”

“I’ll put in my phone number.”

“The attending physician’s call?”

“Something like that?”

“W-wait a moment…”

Instinctively hiding her bag behind her back, So Yeon took out her phone using just her fingertip sensations and covered the background image of the child with the keypad screen.

Even after handing it over, So Yeon, still uneasy, pressed her face close to the side of Seo Jun’s view. She was preparing to snatch it back if necessary.

Fortunately, Seo Jun returned So Yeon’s phone to its owner immediately after exchanging phone numbers. However, as the saying goes, it’s not over until it’s over, and the dreaded event happened in an instant.

Just before the phone was handed back to So Yeon, his long fingers closed the call log window.

“!”

For a moment, So Yeon’s vision went dark and her hair roots stood on end.

If he asked who the child in the background was, what would I say, and where should I start explaining, and how? It was a dizzying moment when that thought consumed her mind.

As if there’s no law saying people should just die, the phone vibrated and the words ‘Senior Jo In Ha’ floated in the center of the screen.

“I’m sorry. I need to take this call.”

“By all means.”

So Yeon, extremely relieved, hurriedly answered the incoming call with trembling eyes while apologizing to Seo Jun.

“Yes, senior.”

−I was wondering if you were still at the company since it’s dinner time.

“Ah, I just left a little while ago and am having dinner.”

−Alone?

“No… with a friend.”

−A woman?

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

As So Yeon finished the call with brief answers and took a sip of beer, Seo Jun spoke.

“You could have said you were with me.”

Jo In Ha’s voice had been faintly audible to Seo Jun as well.

Moreover, Eom So Yeon’s expression, overly pleased at another man’s call, was almost unbearable to watch.

Hence the comment, but the cold wind that brushed Seo Jun’s hardened face was because he was extremely displeased with Eom So Yeon’s attitude of lying about a perfectly normal man by turning him into a woman.

Do Soon, who had followed her shopping mother and sister all day and even attended someone else’s dinner party, was finally able to return home late in the evening.

“Argh! This isn’t what my day off is for!”

Do Soon threw off her stuffy suit and entered the bathroom, crying out as if in agony.

After showering and sitting in the bathtub filled with warm water, Do Soon turned on her tablet PC and checked her schedule for tomorrow. But since there was nothing special except for the new drama she was joining, she habitually browsed through the album synced with her phone.

While eagerly looking at Tae Seo Jun’s photos, Do Soon inadvertently discovered another photo and muttered with a smirk.

“This kid, he’s grown a lot already.”

Do Soon, who had only seen photos of the child in Canada, had saved the new photo of Hyun Woo that was recently set on So Yeon’s phone to her own phone. She was only now looking at it closely, but the more she looked, the more familiar it seemed, as if resembling someone she knew.

Who was it again…

As Do Soon pondered deeply, her eyes suddenly widened.

“…Huh?”

Why does she see Tae Seo Jun in the bright face of the child? Is it because they’re both handsome that they look alike? Or have her eyes gone weird? It was truly perplexing.

After thinking it over several times, Do Soon finally hit her own head.

“Nah, that can’t be!”

They say a growing child’s face changes several times a day. So how much more different could a photo be from reality depending on the angle?

Besides, hadn’t she heard from So Yeon that the child’s father was someone she had met by chance years ago? As if Tae Seo Jun could meet someone by chance.

Yeah, that’s it!

My eyes must be weird from seeing Tae Seo Jun so often lately!

“Wow, Yeo Do Soon! Imagining strange things, you must not be busy enough yet!”

Do Soon got out of the bathtub, erasing even a trace of doubt with a light laugh as she left the bathroom.

As much time had passed, quite a few empty beer glasses had piled up at the end of the table.

Seo Jun gazed at So Yeon, whose face had turned bright red, as if in a daze. But So Yeon, who had lowered her eyes as if about to cry, wouldn’t raise her gaze for a long time.

That’s right.

So Yeon, who felt strangely sad just looking at Tae Seo Jun’s face, was staring blankly at his beautiful hand resting on the table. She was holding back tears that seemed about to burst out at any moment.

Because she wanted to reach out to him, who could never be her past. Because she couldn’t stop herself from being drawn to him, even though she knew he was someone she dared not covet.

Because of that feeling.

So Yeon moved her hand little by little and lightly touched the man’s delicate fingertips. Yet he remained still. Because of this, So Yeon, growing bolder, gently held one of Seo Jun’s fingers in her hand. Out of a desperate desire to feel even his body temperature.

You’ve really lost it, Eom So Yeon…

Even while reproaching herself, So Yeon couldn’t let go of his finger once she had grasped it. But for some reason, he too was quietly looking down at his hand held by her without any particular movement. As if everything had stopped.

So Yeon earnestly wished inside.

Just a little…

Just a little longer…

Please stay like this just a little longer.

So I can feel you. So my tears can dry.

“Your hand… is pretty. It makes me want to keep touching it…”

“…”

She says she wants to touch it while already doing so. No matter how drunk, her actions were uncommonly cunning. But Seo Jun didn’t dislike the small, soft feeling wrapping around his hand either.

No, he might want even more than her.

It was a moment.

Seo Jun, who had only been offering his hand, suddenly gripped the defenseless, tender hand tightly. So Yeon, caught off guard and grabbed by Seo Jun, let out a short breath between her teeth.

“Huh…!”

“I don’t think I can hold back any more than this. What do you say, want to touch more?”

Startled, So Yeon suddenly remembered something she had forgotten for so long, buried in the depths of her memory.

That this man, who could suddenly reveal his male instincts even when still, was truly the fiercest of beasts.