Arin quickly left the department store and got into the taxi parked in front of the hotel.

“Driver, please go to Yeonnam-dong.”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t until the taxi started moving that the tension eased. Arin leaned against the car seat, closed her eyes.

Thump, thump. Her heart pounded abnormally.

‘You did well.’

Thinking about it now, the time when she unilaterally left, leaving divorce papers without clearly settling the relationship, was wrapped in emotions of hatred and resentment. Still, she realized that she wasn’t ready to let Jaehyuk go.

Although she claimed to have forgotten verbally, she couldn’t sincerely let Jaehyuk go from her heart. However, it wasn’t until he reappeared and asked her to let him go that she realized.

That being with him, who was inexperienced in relationships and love, meant only getting hurt.

After the divorce papers were stamped, it felt like everything had ended. It certainly felt that way.

‘Even if it’s not now, meeting a man I once loved, there’s no way it won’t affect me. It’s an unexpected encounter. That’s all.’

When she thought of Jaehyuk’s face, her heart seemed to sink further as if there was no bottom.

Arin tightly closed her eyes. She wanted to erase Jaehyuk’s face, which was causing turmoil in her mind.

Memoria Yeonnam-dong workshop.

“Arin, are you here?”

Yuhyun warmly welcomed Arin, who entered through the door.

“Sorry, oppa. Go ahead and eat first.”

However, without even looking at Yuhyun, Arin quickly went out after placing a paper bag of sushi on the table.

“Hey, where are you going, hyung?”

“I’ll be right back in a moment.”

“What about the food?”

“Sorry, eat first.”

After taking off his apron, Yuhyun left a message for Cheol-yong and Suhan and quickly followed Arin.

Yuhyun rushed out of the building. He looked around, searching for Arin’s traces. He found her walking quickly on the other side of the street.

“Arin!”

Yuhyun called Arin loudly. Perhaps because of the noise of passing cars, she didn’t turn around.

“Arin.”

Yuhyun called her with an even louder voice. However, she continued to walk quickly without turning around.

The traffic light changed just in time. He ran towards her. Suppressing the breath that reached his chin, he ran. And, according to his wish, he could get close enough to her to reach out.

Yuhyun quickly grabbed Arin’s wrist.

“What’s wrong.”

It wasn’t difficult for him to notice something strange about her.

“Let go, oppa.”

“Arin.”

Rather than turning around, Arin repeated the words, asking him to let go.

“……Let go.”

A very small, choked voice flowed from her small and pretty lips.

“Arin?”
Yuhyun’s eyes touched Arin’s round shoulders. Her body was trembling weakly. He stood in front of her, holding her hand. After checking her face, he couldn’t continue speaking.

Arin was crying.

“Who said what?”

Yuhyun’s expression became serious. He stared at her with eyes deeply sunken like a deep sea.

“…It’s not like that.”

Arin lowered her head deeply, as if she didn’t want to show her face to Yuhyun. However, he was persistent. After holding her cheeks with both hands, he lifted her head to make her look him in the eyes.

“Then what happened at the department store?”

It was fine until a little while ago, just before the call.

But why did it suddenly turn like this?

With a worried heart, Yuhyun asked.

“No…”

“Tell your brother. What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Oppa.”

“Arin.”

“Just… just because today’s store went well… It was the first day, so I was very nervous, that’s all.”

Afraid of being caught in a lie, Arin couldn’t meet Yuhyun’s eyes.

Arin desperately turned her head, avoiding his gaze. She lied to him. She couldn’t bring herself to say she met Jaehyuk.

‘Sorry, Oppa.’

Emotions surged. Arin bit her lower lip tightly.

‘I can’t tell Oppa, especially because of that person. I’m sorry.’

Arin knew Yuhyun’s love well. Even if she couldn’t accept his feelings, she didn’t want to hurt him.

“Oppa, it hurts, let me go.”

At the words of pain, Yuhyun released her.

Unnoticed tears streamed down. Arin tried to wipe away the tears with her hands. The back of her hand was wet, but it didn’t matter.

Yuhyun’s gaze touched Arin’s hand, and he didn’t know it would move. His face was dark.

“Is it true?”

“Yeah. You know, Oppa. I was really nervous. It’s just that the tension was relieved.”

In the end, she wiped away all the tears that were in her eyes. Although her eyes were swollen from rubbing, it didn’t matter.

Arin bit her lip.

‘Yeah. It’s because it’s the first time. Just that.’

The first time, there was something that couldn’t be completely erased even if she tried to erase the special meaning it brought to her life.

The reason her heart fluttered when she saw a man named Ban Jaehyuk wasn’t because of lingering attachments.

A man’s first love.

‘So. Simply because I liked him for a long time.’

Arin raised her head, determined. She smiled at him, as if everything was fine.