Woo Jin, who had finished showering hastily with one hand as Kang Hyung Min had instructed him not to get his hand wet, came out of the room with his handsome brow furrowed as much as possible due to his uneasy feeling.

As soon as he took a step into the room, he realized Ji Hyun was there and spoke in an irritated voice.

“At least make some noise when you’re sitting there.”

“You know I’m here even without making noise. How do you always know I’m here? I’m not making any sound, just like you said…”

Ignoring Ji Hyun who always repeated the same question, Woo Jin headed for the closet. Ji Hyun let out a light sigh as he watched Woo Jin’s back, which looked slender to the point of being slightly gaunt.

Though he was thin, his body had improved remarkably compared to before. He had gained some flesh and muscle.

Feeling slightly stimulated by his brother’s body, Ji Hyun looked down at his own body, which seemed to be gaining some middle-aged weight, and resolved to at least run on the treadmill before work.

Of course, every morning, the previous day’s resolution and memory would completely disappear.

Soon, Woo Jin appeared wearing a V-neck sweater and cotton pants and sat down in the desk chair.

“I shower when I come, why did you shower already?”

Woo Jin raised his head and asked at Ji Hyun’s words.

“When you come?”

“I’ll wash you.”

At that, Woo Jin’s brow furrowed mercilessly.

“What are you saying? Are you a pervert?”

“What are you talking about? I used to wash you every day when you weren’t well. Don’t you remember?”

“…Don’t bring up that dark history.”

Woo Jin warned with a displeased face, but Ji Hyun didn’t stop.

“Oh right, the other day I washed your hair.”

“You did. Your hands on my head… ugh…”

Ji Hyun smiled good-naturedly even as he watched his brother make an expression as if bugs were crawling all over his body and shudder.

“I’ll at least wash your hair for you. You didn’t wash your hair, right?”

“No thanks. Soo Young washed it for me.”

“…Miss Soo Young?”

It was surprising that his brother, who found it so horrifying to have anything touch his body, was okay with Soo Young touching him.

Knowing what expression Ji Hyun would have, Woo Jin pretended not to know and replied.

“Yeah. She does it better than you.”

“Oh really?”

At Ji Hyun’s incredulous voice, Woo Jin deliberately avoided looking at him and felt the Braille book with his hand.

The corn plastic paper that Lee Ji Hyun had printed was good because there was no risk of damage, but it wasn’t as familiar as the paper he had been touching all along, making it difficult to concentrate.

“Are you still doing that 5-minute walk these days?”

Ji Hyun asked, watching Woo Jin’s reaction. One of Woo Jin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Soo Young keeps threatening me, so I have no choice but to go out.”

“Soo Young threatens you? What does she say to threaten you?”

“…That she won’t come.”

At Woo Jin’s words, Ji Hyun barely managed to suppress his laughter with his hand. Remembering that no threats had worked before, it was a simple yet clear threat.

She won’t come, huh. So you go outside because you’re afraid of that…

When he suddenly lost his sight, Woo Jin feared all stimuli felt on his body.

Even when he could see, he didn’t like other people entering his personal space.

He disliked even the common shoulder-hugging among guys, so his peers and even Ji Hyun’s friends all thought Woo Jin was arrogant.

The only time he allowed contact with others was when playing basketball.

For someone like that to now face stimuli in unpredictable situations, Ji Hyun only came to understand the extent of that fear after hearing from the counselor.

According to the counselor, it was partly due to having been in the hospital for a long time after suddenly losing his sight.

Indeed, doctors and nurses had frequently approached and handled Woo Jin when he was in poor physical and mental condition.

“Na Eun saw you and Soo Young out together.”

“Na Eun?”

“Yeah.”

“She came again?”

“Yeah.”

At that, Woo Jin lowered his head with a displeased expression. Knowing what that expression meant, Ji Hyun leaned forward to examine his face.

“Woo Jin.”

“…”

“It seems Na Eun still has feelings for you.”

“…”

“Do you too?”

“What are you talking about? I never had any such feelings from the start.”

“Then tell Na Eun clearly. So she doesn’t misunderstand.”

“Tell her not to come to our house anymore. We fought like that back then, why did she come again?”

“I guess she wanted to see you.”

“Tch, this is why being too handsome is tiring. You wouldn’t know since you’ve never experienced it, Lee Ji Hyun?”

“Right. I don’t know, you punk.”

When they were young, Ji Hyun always got annoyed at Woo Jin’s boasting. But now, he just went along with his brother’s boasting, finding it pitiful.

Knowing Ji Hyun’s feelings, Woo Jin didn’t say anything more either. Everyone was like that. Pitying him, feeling sorry for him. So his words and actions were exempt from judgment altogether.

Only Soo Young wasn’t like that. That was why he liked her.

It was definitely Soo Young, but her scent was different. A cosmetic smell was added on top of her usual scent. What could it be? Could it be… she’s trying to look good for me?

Just from the added cosmetic scent, his face turned red for some unknown reason.

“Mr. Seol Woo Jin. I need to leave work on time today.”

Even though she was just saying she’d leave at the regular time, not early, it was somehow unpleasant. So his tone naturally became curt.

“When did I ever tell you not to leave work?”

No, who was it that always asked for coffee at quitting time and held me back?

Soo Young wanted to say something, but today she kept the harsh words to herself, trying her best to maintain her composure.

“I have an interview today.”

He was about to ask who asked, but different words came out of Woo Jin’s mouth.

“What kind of interview?”

“Senior So said they’re hiring contract teachers at his school, so I’m going for an interview there.”

“…You’re trying to become a teacher?”

“I’m just going for the interview. Since the senior who introduced me put his reputation on the line.”

We’re not even dating, so why are you worried about that guy’s reputation? Woo Jin’s lips puckered.

“Even if I don’t get it, if I do get the position, can I come at 5 PM? I’ll work from 5 to 7 PM.”

“What are you saying! I was here first!”

Woo Jin suddenly shouted. I made a decision and had you come here!

He covered his mouth with his hand to hide the twitching at the corners of his mouth from being so angry.

“It’s just working for two hours anyway. It’s not like I’m saying I won’t work at all…”

“Aren’t you considering my time? Do you know how busy I am from 5 to 7 PM?”

What could he possibly be busy with? We’ve leisurely had tea together at that time several times.

“Then Mr. Seol Woo Jin can do his own things during that time. I’ll take care of cleaning the house on my own. That works, right?”

“What about lunch? We can’t go for a walk either!”

“Ah…”

Woo Jin became even more agitated at Soo Young’s reaction, as if she had just remembered.

Ah? Wasn’t it her suggestion first? Does this woman not know how big of a decision that was for me? Does she really not know? Didn’t she know?

For her part, Soo Young found it strange that Woo Jin was so enthusiastic about the walk. She had thought she was dragging him out forcibly all this time. So she felt a bit guilty every time they went out.

She thought he would be glad if they couldn’t go for a walk, but him saying they couldn’t go because of the time evoked a peculiar emotion.

Right, it was a decision he made somehow… Recently, the walking time had increased by about 1-2 minutes. He would take about ten more steps even after the alarm went off…

She wondered when they would be able to walk around the park once at this rate, but Ji Hyun said that just going outside was a big deal, so the walking time didn’t matter.

Lost in thought for a moment, Soo Young was startled when Woo Jin stretched out his long arm. His fingertips touched her shoulder. It wasn’t the usual soft cotton T-shirt. He felt the material of a flowy blouse.

What… are you wearing?

Unconsciously, his hand moved from her shoulder down her arm. At first, Soo Young flinched but then stayed still, wondering why he was doing this.

She wished he could see how prettily she had dressed today. She wanted to show off the flowy dress she had worn for the first time in a million years.

So she deliberately brushed the hem of her skirt against his hand. She thought it would be nice if he could at least feel it to know.

When something like a skirt hem touched his hand, Woo Jin unconsciously rubbed it with his fingers before quickly pulling his hand away.

You’re wearing a skirt? Not jeans? You’re going to him wearing this?

The thought that he couldn’t see her appearance but that man could see it freely made Woo Jin’s jaw muscles twitch.

“…Don’t go.”

Soo Young was startled by the unfamiliar voice and looked at him.

“What?”

“The interview, don’t go.”

“I already said I’m going!”

“You, you contracted with me first. If you make a double contract with someone else, I’ll sue you.”

“Huh?”

She thought it wasn’t something to sue over, but somehow she felt he might actually be capable of doing so.

“Do you know who my grandfather is?”

Suddenly, Woo Jin took a step closer to her as he spoke. Intimidated by the height difference, Soo Young took a step back.

“My grandfather has a lot of lawyers. If I mobilize all those lawyers, you might have to pay a few hundred million won in damages.”

“No, that’s nonsense…”

“If we add compensation for my mental distress, you might even have to sell your house.”

Soo Young could only gulp at the increasingly extreme threats, dumbfounded.

Suddenly, his amber eyes started to look like the dragon’s eyes she had seen in a movie before. It seemed like fire might come out of his mouth if he got any more heated.

“B-but… I still have to go to the interview today…”

As Soo Young stammered but still pushed her thoughts to the end, Woo Jin’s upper body slowly leaned towards her. The closer his upper body got, the more Soo Young’s upper body leaned back.

“10 minutes.”

Woo Jin said firmly.

“Wh-what? What is?”

“I can’t concede any more than that.”

“What?”

Then Woo Jin slowly raised his upper body that had been lowered. Soon he looked at her sideways and said.

“…Are you stupid?”

Soo Young just stared at his back as he turned around and entered the room without listening to her words.

The corners of Woo Jin’s mouth stretched into a thin smile as he entered the room. Whether she would go to the interview or not.

He felt similar to when he had submitted a project for a science competition and was waiting for the results. Back then, he had no doubt he would win the grand prize.

Soo Young, who had been glaring at her phone on the table, laid her head down on the table, feeling a headache coming on.

10 minutes. 10 minutes, huh. In 10 minutes, they couldn’t make it around the park, but they could at least reach the fountain where a baby angel was smiling inside a seashell.

Suddenly, she saw an image of Woo Jin shaking his wet hair after getting splashed by water from the fountain.

Everything was like an animation. And in that animation was Seol Woo Jin, a man who didn’t look artificial at all.

And such a character was hugging her shoulder so tightly it might break. Oh! This is a scene you could never see in just 5 minutes.

Then…

It’s just a one-year contract position anyway. Absolutely not because of Seol Woo Jin, but even considering the cost-effectiveness ratio, keeping this part-time job is more beneficial. Absolutely not because of Seol Woo Jin.

Just then, Soo Young’s phone buzzed. It was Senior So. Though she hesitated to answer knowing why he was calling, she felt she should at least tell him in advance that she couldn’t go, so she pressed the call button.

− You know the interview is today, right? Come to the faculty office by 4:30 PM. First, meet with the vice principal…

“Senior So. I can’t go today.”

− Huh? Then when can you come?

“No, I can’t do the interview at that school. I’m sorry.”

Yeon Ho was silent for a while. Soon he asked in a dubious voice.

− Don’t tell me it’s because of that part-time job?

“Yeah. Actually, I recently signed a contract to extend my work here. But if I go to that school…”

− Hey, Kim Soo Young! Get your head on straight!

Soo Young quickly pulled the phone away from her ear at the sudden shout that seemed to pierce her eardrum. She knew this would happen. How should she persuade him about this?

A mischievous smile appeared on Woo Jin’s lips as he stood next to the kitchen entrance, out of her sight. He had thought about listening in on the conversation but silently went back into the room.

He didn’t need to listen anyway.