After hearing her niece’s words, Young Mi’s face, as she sat there, was extremely troubled.

“So, you want to continue doing that work?”

“Yeah. But can you keep it a secret from mom? It’s only two hours a day anyway.”

Soo Young looked at her aunt with a somewhat desperate expression as she spoke. Young Mi couldn’t understand why her niece was so eager to be a housekeeper.

Suddenly she wondered if the child was in need of money. Come to think of it, she had never given her a generous allowance.

Thinking about how Soo Young always wore hoodies and jeans and ate cheap cafeteria food at the library, while her friends worked part-time jobs to buy pretty clothes and eat delicious food, Young Mi suddenly felt very sorry for her niece.

Well… These days young people can’t even get jobs, and the government is giving them money. Who knows when she’ll be able to get a proper job.

She wished Soo Young could earn some pocket money to dress up nicely and go out to eat delicious food with her friends.

“I’m sorry, dear.”

When Young Mi sighed deeply and spoke, Soo Young looked at her aunt in surprise.

“Why, aunt?”

“No, it’s just that our Soo Young must have so many things she wants to buy and do right now, but I’ve never given you proper pocket money. I’m very sorry. Okay?”

Not quite understanding why the conversation had suddenly taken this turn, Soo Young took her aunt’s hand and spoke kindly.

“I have money, aunt. Why are you worried about my money?”

“Seeing how desperately you want to do that housekeeper part-time job, it got me thinking.”

“Huh? No. For me, it’s not about the money…”

She wanted to say that she was concerned about the homeowner, but wasn’t sure if she should. Maybe it would be better to just go along with the idea that it was about money. It would be good to save some money with this opportunity.

So she quickly concluded:

“So, I’m going to do that part-time job? You can work at the CEO’s house when your back gets better. Okay? It’s a secret from mom? Okay? Aunt, okay?”

“…Alright. I’ll tell that CEO.”

“Hehe, that’s my aunt.”

As Soo Young smiled brightly, Young Mi gave a bitter smile. Oh, poor thing.

With her aunt’s permission, her steps felt incredibly light as she went to her part-time job. Even the tedious subway transfer route felt as exciting as exploring a maze in a game.

After an exciting transfer, when she was about to get off at her almost-destination, her phone suddenly rang. Thinking it might be David, she answered without checking, but unexpectedly, Seol Ji Hyun’s voice came through.

− Kim Soo Young?

“Ah, yes. Hello?”

− Yes, hello? Excuse me, but where are you now?

“Huh? I’m almost there now? I’m getting off the subway.”

− Ah, I see. I just received a call from Jo Young Mi. She said you’ll continue coming to Woo Jin’s house…

“Ah, yes.”

− Thank you so much. It’s a blessing for our family, a blessing. Haha.

What blessing? However, in his laughter, she could sense the care of an elder brother for his younger sibling.

− We still have some time, so would you like to have a cup of tea with me? There’s a coffee shop in front of the subway station. Would you like to come there?

Thinking that for a CEO, he doesn’t seem to work much, and wondering why he’s so eager to drop everything for his brother’s affairs, she still answered brightly.

“Yes. I’ll head there now.”

− Okay. I’ll be waiting.

She was curious about what the CEO wanted to say, but she was also secretly excited about what to drink at a coffee shop, as she usually only had vending machine coffee.

As she walked towards the ticket gate, Soo Young’s fingers quickly searched for the coffee shop menu.

[This is the timeline separator]

As soon as Soo Young sat down, Ji Hyun smiled kindly and said,

“Please order whatever you’d like. If you’re wondering what’s good here…”

“Blue tangerine lime ade, please!”

Soo Young quickly raised her hand as she spoke. He found it odd how she always raised her hand like a student answering in class when she spoke, but he found it somewhat cute.

“Oh, is there such a drink?”

“Yes. I heard it’s new. The color is so pretty, I wanted to try it.”

“Then I’ll have the same. Please wait a moment.”

Soo Young’s eyes widened as she watched Ji Hyun tapping on his phone. She found the system of ordering through an app even inside the coffee shop novel.

When the drinks arrived, Soo Young couldn’t help but exclaim “Ooh!” at the sight of the ade’s ethereal sea-blue color. Ji Hyun smiled silently and spoke to her.

“Thank you for agreeing to keep coming. Woo Jin has become much brighter since you started coming.”

Is the brightness only visible to his family? Thinking of Seol Woo Jin who always seemed irritated in front of her, Ji Hyun’s words seemed like mere pleasantries.

So she cautiously asked,

“…By any chance, does Seol Woo Jin speak ill of me behind my back?”

Ji Hyun replied with a puzzled expression,

“Not at all. Why would Woo Jin speak ill of you?”

“Well, Seol Woo Jin gets irritated with me a lot.”

Only then did Ji Hyun laugh heartily and say,

“Ah, Woo Jin is originally like that with other people too.”

“Is it his original personality, or did he become like that because he can’t see?”

“He was originally like that, and it got worse after he lost his sight.”

Ji Hyun seemed different now, speaking his mind behind Woo Jin’s back, when he seemed so indulgent in front of him. So he was originally irritable. Somehow, it was comforting to know that it wasn’t just directed at her.

“Apart from Woo Jin’s irritation, do you have any other difficulties? I’ll try my best to accommodate. If you keep track of any overtime, we’ll calculate that too.”

“Well, not really.”

As Soo Young answered indifferently, Ji Hyun said with a smile,

“I saw the contract.”

“Ah…”

As the contents written in the contract came to mind, a look of embarrassment crossed Soo Young’s face.

“It was really so touching, I teared up.”

It was unusual to call a contract touching, but she had a rough idea of why he said that.

“How did you come up with such ideas? 5 minutes of outdoor walking per day. And even reading books at night. And in each, uh, their own bed.”

It was a clause Soo Young had added after being embarrassed for asking if she had to read next to Woo Jin.

Belatedly, she thought she should have written ‘home’ instead of ‘bed’, but it was too late.

“I haven’t really done it properly yet.”

“You wrote it yesterday, right? You’ll do it properly today. The weather is nice too.”

Somehow, Ji Hyun’s expression and voice seemed very excited. Encouraged by his kind expression, Soo Young hesitated before carefully opening her mouth to ask something she had been curious about.

“Um, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, anything.”

“Did Seol Woo Jin… kill his father?”

At that, Ji Hyun’s face instantly hardened. It wasn’t just hardened, he seemed a bit shocked.

“Did Woo Jin say that?”

“Yes.”

Ji Hyun’s hand cupped his chin.

“Hmm. I didn’t know he still thought that way. No, it wasn’t like that. It was just an accident. There was a fire, Woo Jin survived, and my uncle passed away.”

“But why does Seol Woo Jin think he killed his father?”

“My uncle went to look for Woo Jin and that’s when the accident happened. It’s a bit difficult to explain in detail… Anyway, it’s not like that. It was just an accident. I didn’t know Woo Jin had told you such a story.”

“It just came up casually while talking.”

“Whenever Woo Jin says that, please tell him it’s not true. That it’s not his fault.”

Soo Young tilted her head and asked,

“If he thinks it’s his fault, is it helpful to unconditionally say it’s not his fault?”

Ji Hyun’s hand, reaching for his cup, paused at Soo Young’s words.

[This is the timeline separator]

As Ji Hyun drove to the company, lost in thought, he took the wrong road several times. There was a meeting scheduled at 4 o’clock, but it looked like he would have to postpone everything.

− If he thinks it’s his fault, is it helpful to unconditionally say it’s not his fault?

The doctor who counseled Woo Jin said that’s what should be done. That we should clearly tell him it’s not his fault to change his perception.

That advice applied to Ji Hyun as well, so whenever Woo Jin was plagued by guilt, he told him those words as if he was telling himself.

Because Woo Jin no longer said such things in front of Ji Hyun, Ji Hyun thought his brother had somewhat moved on from those thoughts.

But hearing what Woo Jin had said recently, it seemed that those words hadn’t been as helpful as Soo Young suggested. And in fact, Ji Hyun himself hadn’t escaped from his guilt either.

When Ji Hyun asked how he should speak to him then, her answer was surprisingly simple.

− Shouldn’t you just apologize? If you’re that sorry?

Not asking him to apologize, but telling him to apologize…

He thought she was an unusual woman. Very much so. He had thought Yeon Seo was unusual when he first met her, but she was nothing compared to this. Is that why Woo Jin’s heart had opened up?

He wanted to talk more with her, but thinking of his wife’s expression when he talked to Na Eun yesterday, that was absolutely out of the question.

Shaking his head vigorously, Ji Hyun soon made a hands-free call to the company.

− Yes, CEO.

“Oh, Jung Won. Can we push back the meeting with the J-Braille people to 5 o’clock today?”

− They’re already here, sir.

“Oh, already? Then, tell Oh Director and the development team to go in first and start the meeting. I’ll hurry there.”

− Yes, sir.

J-Braille was a company developing Braille books using 3D printers, run by college students. They had been developing since high school, but due to lack of proper support, their research had been delayed.

However, thanks to active support from Ji Hyun’s publishing company, commercialization was finally in sight.

The key to Braille books is the bumpy paper texture, so if they get wet or torn, they have to be discarded.

They’re also expensive, costing 40,000 won for a volume that would be 10,000 won for regular books.

Moreover, most were spiral-bound books that felt like they were bound, so readers who already had difficulty seeing weren’t very interested in Braille books. Especially young children.

Friends who weren’t interested in books had much lower literacy rates compared to sighted friends.

But J-Braille possessed new technology to make books by imprinting Braille on a kind of plastic paper made from sugarcane and corn.

Since high school, these students had struggled to create their own 3D printer that could print Braille at 1mm intervals, and used it to print Braille books.

So that any visually impaired person could read Braille books to their heart’s content at an affordable cost.

They had printed a few copies of Woo Jin’s book as a test with this printer. And when those books were sent to libraries, the popularity was explosive.

Thinking of Soo Young, who made him see Woo Jin’s wounds in a new light, and the J-Braille friends who constantly challenge themselves for the disabled despite being able-bodied, Ji Hyun’s shoulders naturally straightened.

[This is the timeline separator]

“We’re here.”

As the elevator arrived at the first floor lobby, Soo Young spoke softly.

“I know. Don’t explain everything.”

Woo Jin said in an irritated voice. Soo Young felt a surge of anger at his words for a moment, but she thought to herself, “He’s nervous. This person is like this because he’s nervous…” and tightly sealed her lips.

As soon as they stepped into the lobby, Woo Jin’s hand on Soo Young’s shoulder gripped so tightly that she barely managed to hold back a cry of pain.

As they entered the lobby, a security guard saluted. Soo Young slightly bowed her head, causing Woo Jin to stumble slightly, wondering what had happened.

“The security guard greeted us.”

Soo Young quickly explained the situation. She had seen in a video that visually impaired people fear unexpected events the most when in unfamiliar environments.

Woo Jin made no response to Soo Young’s explanation. Honestly, she hadn’t realized the lobby was this spacious. It seemed like the distance to the apartment entrance was at least 100 meters.

He was just coming to get his cane, but trusting only Soo Young and not bringing it made each step more fearful.

Finally, when they stepped out of the lobby entrance onto the long path leading to the park, Woo Jin stood stock-still. He could feel the wind and light.

He had really… come outside. He had only moved through the directly connected underground parking lot with Ji Hyun, so he hadn’t had a chance to properly feel the outside air like this.

Soo Young quietly waited for Woo Jin, who was standing still in front of the entrance, without saying a word.

After a moment, his phone alarm went off. Five minutes was too short for Soo Young, but thinking it might feel like several times that for Woo Jin, she quietly asked,

“It’s been 5 minutes. Do you want to go back in?”

“……”

But Woo Jin was silent again. As if trying to feel the wind, he was seen slightly raising his hand and touching his fingertips.

Soo Young was a bit worried that they might be in the way if someone came out while they were standing here like this, but it didn’t seem right to disturb Woo Jin now.

How long had they been standing there when a small sigh, or something, escaped from Woo Jin’s lips. It sounded like a noise made from anxiety, or maybe from feeling refreshed.

Woo Jin gently stroked Soo Young’s shoulder with his finger as she stood firmly beside him, waiting for him.

The feeling was somewhat strange, and Soo Young looked up at him, but his gaze was just facing forward.

Wondering if he meant to go back, Soo Young asked again.

“Shall we go in?”

Seeing Woo Jin nod, Soo Young lightly held his waist and slowly turned around.

The security guard looked at the two people who came back in right after going out with a puzzled gaze, but Soo Young pretended not to notice.

While waiting for the elevator going down, Soo Young felt the strength gradually leaving Woo Jin’s hand on her shoulder.

Wondering if his tension had eased, Soo Young glanced at him again.

“Stop looking.”

Hearing Woo Jin speak fiercely, somehow knowing she was looking, Soo Young quickly turned her head away. With a ding, the elevator doors opened.