Strong attractions usually come with an equal amount of conflict.

However, Seo Jun, unaware that love was the cause of his accumulated discontent, decided to stop unnecessary emotional drain.

He thought it was none of his business whether Eom So Yeon called a taxi or walked endlessly until reaching town in this place where one can’t come or go without a car. At least until he looked down from the window and saw her entering the forest.

Why was she going that way, leaving the well-paved road? She seemed to have chosen a shortcut to the main road, but unfortunately, where she was headed was a mountain surrounded by steep cliffs.

After confirming that the bag he gave her was still on the dining chair, Seo Jun found himself following Eom So Yeon as she wandered in the dark, treacherous mountains.

A while later, when So Yeon nearly fell and doubled over with a sigh, Seo Jun decided to end his observation and moved towards her.

Startled by the sound, So Yeon plopped down with a yelp and muttered loudly. She was chanting nonsensical words so earnestly that Seo Jun couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

But when he saw her face up close, it was no laughing matter. Though she was inherently beautiful and didn’t look too sickly, her face had grown pale in such a short time, which concerned him.

Seo Jun gently took So Yeon’s hand and said,

“Maybe I should have just let you hit me.”

“I told you I didn’t know it was you, sir!”

She had run out on her own, without anyone pushing her, and got lost. Scared, she even tried to hit a man. How ridiculous and pathetic she must have looked. Not wanting to appear more miserable, So Yeon shook off his hand.

“Why did you follow me and scare me like that?”

“We came together, so we should leave together.”

But Seo Jun gripped her hand again, firmly. As if he would never let go again.

“Let’s go back to the villa for now.”

“……”

So Yeon blushed and fidgeted with her plump lips.

In her penniless and lost state, there was only one answer. To return to the villa as he said. She decided not to mention that she had left her bag behind.

He must have already seen her trembling and making a fool of herself, and admitting to that would be like certifying herself as an idiot.

“When are we leaving?”

“I was thinking tomorrow. Since I’m neither a criminal nor an abusive employer.”

Bong (manager) and Park Sung Ho, who went to the guest house while we were having dinner, also had dinner and drinks, and so on. Seo Jun gave a somewhat lengthy explanation.

His point was that if they had to leave today, someone would have to drive drunk, and if that were discovered, undesirable news would immediately make the front page of entertainment news.

“But……”

The small hand enveloped in his large one fidgeted. Seo Jun, enjoying the soft, baby-like touch, seemed to understand why she was hesitating and unable to speak.

The line they had precariously maintained until now.

The wall between them that seemed about to crumble but was still intact, perhaps So Yeon’s shield, she must be afraid of it falling.

Reading this from So Yeon’s hesitant expression, Seo Jun said, gently arching his thick eyebrows,

“Don’t worry, I won’t eat you. I have no other intentions. It’s been a while since either of us had some leisurely time, right? So let’s rest at the villa today and leave tomorrow.”

His attitude, quite different from his behavior inside the villa, was no longer threatening.

His gentle tone and occasionally smiling expression, as if soothing a mischievous child, were even affectionate like an older brother.

No, maybe he never had any special intentions to begin with.

Perhaps he just wanted to have various conversations they couldn’t have before, and that’s why he teased her a bit. Maybe she had been overly sensitive and needlessly overreacted out of fear. Therefore, the troublemaker who turned nothing into this mess was none other than herself.

“Who said what? More importantly, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Earlier. For speaking rudely to you, and even running out driven by my emotions. I was rash.”

Without reflection, there’s no progress.

So Yeon, who had learned this principle early on through her parents, knew how to look at her own mistakes. Moreover, now as a mother of a child, she needed to become a more mature adult.

“You even know how to apologize. That’s unexpected.”

“…!”

Eek! What’s with this patting?

So Yeon’s brow slightly furrowed at Seo Jun’s hand stroking her head. It felt like being praised by an adult as a child.

“Shall we go now?”

Seo Jun started walking with long strides.

As her legs struggled to keep up with his hand and big steps, taking quick, small steps, that’s when it happened.

“Ah!”

The heel that had been wobbling earlier completely came off her shoe. And because of that, her ankle twisted…..

When Seo Jun placed his hand on her right foot to check its condition and moved it slightly, a shallow moan escaped So Yeon’s lips. Besides that, walking immediately was impossible due to the broken shoe.

“You’ve sprained it. Get on my back.”

Without hesitation, Seo Jun bent his waist and knees, lowering his tall frame.

“Ah, no, uh, uh!”

In an instant, So Yeon was on his broad, flat back.

It was because Seo Jun pulled her arm without giving her a chance to decline.

Although his warm touch felt nice, it wasn’t entirely comfortable for a grown woman to be clinging to a man’s back.

Unable to shake off the awkwardness, So Yeon chattered on and on, and before she knew it, they had arrived at the villa garden.

Seo Jun walked slowly across the lawn and then climbed up onto the arched bridge.

The reflection of the two, one carrying and one being carried, was clearly visible under the quaint bridge over the small pond.

So Yeon didn’t want him to hear her racing heartbeat, but throughout the piggyback ride, her chest had been pounding more and more noisily, and it was still the same now.

“You must be tired, sir. Please let me down quickly.”

“Your foot.”

“It seems fine now, and we’re almost there anyway.”

“……”

When So Yeon tapped her toes impatiently like a whining child, Seo Jun’s closed lips tightened firmly.

He had walked slowly, wanting to stay like this a bit longer. And upon arriving here, he had needlessly wandered around the villa.

The pounding heartbeat. The cute movements tightening around his neck, not wanting to fall off. The feather-like breath tickling his ear. Even the sweet scent.

It was because he found it not at all funny how engrossed he had been in everything transmitted from her.

“Can I sit here?”

“Of course.”

Seo Jun sat So Yeon down on one side of the arched bridge and sat beside her, dangling his long legs.

The gentle moonlight flickering on the water. And the two-shot of a man and woman sitting side by side like lovers. So Yeon voiced her romantic fantasy in a small voice, as if talking to herself.

“This is so nice. I’ve always wanted to do something like this……”

“Is this Eom So Yeon’s taste?”

“I guess I’m a bit old-fashioned.”

“But you’re not exactly docile. You were quite fierce. Saying something about a tiger, even threatening to bite everything.”

“You followed me just to tease me, didn’t you?”

A coy glance landed on his handsome face.

“Yeah. It was really fun. So much that I would have regretted it if I hadn’t followed.”

“I’m glad you at least found it amusing, sir. I was scared just short of dying. Were you always like this? Teasing and provoking people at every turn. Ah, even before, you……”

While So Yeon chattered on, Seo Jun’s brow gradually furrowed, as if something was displeasing him.

He had wanted to say this for a while but held back, disliking how childish he would become. But it seemed he couldn’t take it anymore, as Seo Jun fixed a disgruntled gaze on So Yeon and said,

“Why am I ‘sir’ to you?”

Despite Seo Jun’s prickly tone, So Yeon’s lips, already set in motion, didn’t stop.

“Then what should I call you? Teacher? Senior? Or the great star, Actor Tae? What do you want?”

“……”

“See, you don’t even respond because you don’t like any of it. It’s always like this. Either teasing, getting angry, or ignoring. I called you ‘sir’ because you’re the director, what did I do wrong……”

It was when So Yeon paused to catch her breath after speaking rapidly. Seo Jun gently held her slender chin between his thumb and index finger, drawing her gaze to him.

“Will you do anything I want?”

“Well, if it’s something I can do……”

“……”

His temples throbbed with irritation and annoyance.

That his head was so full of thoughts of this woman all day, it felt like it would burst.

Even today. He didn’t know how many times he had stopped and started again while watching Eom So Yeon wandering in the mountains, how much he had agonized over whether to call her name or not. His own behavior was truly astounding and extremely displeasing, not even eliciting a wry laugh.

Did she even know what she was doing to him?

This wasn’t like him at all.

How much longer would this go on?

Eom So Yeon, how much more because of you.

His gaze fixed on her face seemed to be peering into an abyss, and his fingers gripping her chin unconsciously tightened.

Her clean face, bathed in the soft texture of moonlight, was like a wildflower blooming at night. After staring at that face with his pitch-black eyes for a while in silence, Seo Jun said,

“Call my name.”

“What? Whose……”

“My name. Always when we’re alone.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. You, me, just the two of us.”

Though there was no special meaning to the name, So Yeon felt a tickle somewhere in her heart and tilted her head with widened eyes.

“Tae, Seo, Jun….. Like this?”

“Try again.”

When So Yeon said his name, albeit haltingly, Seo Jun asked once more.

“Tae Seo Jun…… sir?”

As if he liked hearing his name spoken in her voice, his gaze deepened a little more.

So Yeon kept staring at him, not letting go.

Being close to Tae Seo Jun made time seem to stand still, as if they were the only two people in the world. So Yeon wanted to cherish this strange and fluttering feeling for a long time.

“You’re finally quiet.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you don’t look it, but you talk quite a lot. Weren’t you saying something about tigers and threatening to bite everything?”

“That’s not true. I don’t talk much. This is the first time I’ve heard that……”

“See? You’re talking a lot again.”

“……”

Wondering what he might say next, So Yeon pursed her lips and made her round eyes look prim.

“I let it slide because you’re pretty.”

“……”

Who wouldn’t like being called pretty? The corners of So Yeon’s lips lifted daintily. Seo Jun slowly caressed those luscious lips with his thumb and asked in a barely audible voice,

“…May I?”

His face, drawing in her gaze, with eyelashes lowering shallowly, was very profound, as if desiring more than just a kiss.

“……”

So Yeon unconsciously placed her fingertips gently on Seo Jun’s cheek.

Wondering if this kind Tae Seo Jun was just a dream.

If this was a dream, wishing to wake up late, very late.

But contrary to her heart, So Yeon’s hand was hastily withdrawn from Seo Jun’s face. Even her hurriedly averted gaze fell to the ground below.

When she ran out of the villa earlier, she had tried to run as far away from him as possible. A sinner who had to back away, if nothing else, in the face of the child issue. Someone who couldn’t be confident in front of Tae Seo Jun, who didn’t deserve to look at him squarely. She knew this all too well.

So Yeon, who had dropped her gaze into the pond, bit her lower lip hard. She clenched her constantly fidgeting hands into fists.

Because she wanted to see his face again.

Because she wanted to touch that defenseless face he had offered again.

But she was in the midst of convincing and reconvincing herself that she shouldn’t.

“If you don’t like it, you could just say so, why……”

Seo Jun gently held her slender chin, drawing her gaze back to him.

“……”

So Yeon’s eyes, now looking at him again, trembled slightly.

Her heart was pounding.

Before long, the season when cold winds no longer blow, full spring had returned. Now there was one more season to remember this man by, besides winter.

Just for that, So Yeon’s heart was overflowing.

The stars in the night sky sparkle brilliantly through the darkness. The wind carrying the fresh scent of the forest feels as soft as fluffy cotton.

It was a perfect night.

For a trembling kiss with one’s first love.