“Achoo!”

Soo Young sneezed so loudly the bathroom shook as she was washing her hair. Wearing that flowy dress yesterday was the root of the problem.

Why did she wear that when it’s getting cold and she wasn’t even going to an interview? Plus, she couldn’t even show Woo Jin. Though she did get to touch it…

“Achoo!”

This time snot came out too. It definitely seemed like she had caught a cold.

Soo Young blew her nose with a tissue as she was setting the table. She had bought stir-fried octopus at the side dish shop on the way, but now she didn’t feel like eating at all.

As she was thinking she’d just watch Woo Jin eat, the gentleman in question appeared in the kitchen.

“Give me food.”

The same line in the same tone as always. They say the words a wife hates most from her elderly husband are “give me food”, but Soo Young understood that feeling even though she was only 25.

Aren’t managers supposed to manage schedules and such? She wondered if they didn’t set the table too, but then remembered seeing managers buying kimbap for celebrities and realized they end up taking care of things all the same.

“Sit down.”

At Soo Young’s words, Woo Jin was about to sit in the chair but then fixed his gaze on her.

“What?”

“Your voice… sounds strange.”

“Ah, I caught a cold so my voice changed.”

“You caught a cold?”

“I tried to look stylish yesterday when I shouldn’t have…”

“…Then why did you come?”

At Woo Jin’s question, Soo Young looked at him wondering if he was worried about her, then smiled and said:

“It’s not bad enough to take a day off. And if I take off, I think Woo Jin would skip meals again… I’m so nice, right?”

Soo Young said with a grin, but Woo Jin stood still without much reaction before soon leaving the kitchen. The sound of a door closing followed.

What, what’s this? Is he worried about catching my cold? Wow… I came to make his food even though I’m sick… Really… Life… is bitter.

The untouched octopus suddenly felt melancholy. But then the door opened again and he walked back into the kitchen with heavy steps.

His large hand held something out to Soo Young. It was two pills and a bottle of liquid medicine.

“What is this?”

“Cold medicine.”

“…Is Woo Jin a doctor? Can I just take this as I please?”

As she threw his own words back at him, he calmly replied, not seeming to remember:

“It’s medicine prescribed by my doctor, so you can take it. Take it. Then go home.”

“I just got here a few minutes ago and you’re already telling me to leave?”

Soo Young put the pills in her mouth and drank the liquid medicine he gave her. It had an unpleasant strawberry taste.

“Go home and rest. Don’t give me your cold.”

“Tch, I knew it. I knew you were worried about catching it. Don’t worry, I won’t give it to you. I’ll just watch you eat and then go. Sit down and eat.”

“…You eat too. You need to eat well to get better.”

“If we eat together it would be 100% right? And I don’t feel like eating.”

“Still, eat.”

He reached out his hand and fumbled around before grasping a spoon and holding it out to her. Soo Young took the spoon he offered and scooped up some rice. It seemed like he would only eat if she did too.

She said she had a cold, and indeed sneezing and nose-blowing sounds kept coming from the living room.

Why won’t she go home when I told her to? Is it hard for her to go home? It doesn’t seem to be out of a sense of responsibility for her work.

Woo Jin was quite bothered by her presence in the living room, but there was nothing he could do since she refused to leave even when told.

When the clock struck 3, Woo Jin got up thinking he should send her home now that she’d probably finished cleaning up.

But as soon as he turned the doorknob, a familiar sound came from outside. The sound he’d heard when he first met her.

Her stuffy nose made her snoring sound rather pitiful. I told her to go home…

Woo Jin carefully walked towards the sound, but tripped on something and banged his knee on the living room floor.

“Ah! Ouch…”

Feeling around with his hand, he found a mop. It seemed she had fallen asleep on the sofa while mopping the floor.

Setting aside the pain, he quickly focused on the sounds she was making, worried his shout might have woken her. But her snoring was louder than his yell, so it seemed she hadn’t woken up.

Woo Jin rubbed his knee with one hand while setting the mop upright in the corner of the living room. His hand was sore too, making him think the old injury might be acting up, but checking on her condition came first.

He carefully reached out towards the snoring sound. Soon his fingertips touched warm, soft skin.

Feeling hair too, it seemed to be her forehead. He gently pressed his palm to her forehead to check her temperature.

She seemed to have a slight fever. He wondered if it was okay to let her sleep on the sofa, but there wasn’t much else he could do. Suddenly he thought about letting her sleep comfortably in his room.

But could he get her there safely?

After pondering for a moment, he carefully slipped his arms under her neck and legs. When he lifted her with some effort, she was lighter than expected. No, surprisingly small and light.

Wondering if she was light or if he was strong, he slowly made his way to the room. Much more carefully than when walking alone.

After the planning meeting to turn out-of-print novels into e-books ended, Na Eun looked over the list of publishers she was assigned. Jin Hyun’s publishing company was among them.

They were going to republish the fantasy novel that had been popular 10 years ago but was now out of print.

However, Diver also wanted to release it as an e-book and had emailed the author, but received no response.

The author kept their identity secret so no one knew who they were, but Na Eun knew it was Woo Jin. Because it was the novel Woo Jin had shown her in high school.

He wrote in secret, afraid his grandfather would scold him for wasting time instead of studying if he found out.

And he always showed it to Na Eun first before submitting to publishers. Jung Na Eun was Seol Woo Jin’s very first reader.

These days people read more online books than paper books, so having Woo Jin’s debut work produced as an e-book by a big company like Diver would be good for him.

But after the fuss she caused with Jin Hyun last time, she felt awkward about meeting him.

– Woo Jin doesn’t have friends. He made a friend his age right away. You don’t think Woo Jin should only be friends with you, do you? And you were gone for 8 years.

The more she mulled over Jin Hyun’s calm words, the less room there was to argue. It wasn’t that she disliked Woo Jin making friends. It was because it was a girl.

As if understanding Na Eun’s feelings, Jin Hyun spoke again in a soothing tone.

– I know you care a lot about Woo Jin. I understand you wanting to get him professional help… but just watch over him for now. Thanks to that friend, Woo Jin who only stayed in his room is now coming out to the living room and even going outside.

She knew. She wanted to support Woo Jin. She just wished she could be the one to provide that catalyst.

No, she had thought Woo Jin might have found someone else while she was in America. After all, she had someone else too.

But thinking about it and actually seeing it were different.

– They’re not officially dating or anything yet…

Na Eun pondered Jin Hyun’s words as she drove. Was he telling her there was still a chance? Then, what should she do? How could she get Woo Jin to open up to her?

Jin Hyun greeted Na Eun as warmly as ever when she entered the office. Na Eun showed him the e-book proposal.

“That’s a good idea. The younger generation is more used to e-books than paper books. Plus Woo Jin launched Diver, so it’s not unfamiliar.”

“But isn’t he working too much under a pen name? If he revealed his face, wouldn’t he become more famous? It’s not ordinary for someone in Woo Jin’s situation to write like that, so wouldn’t it be noteworthy?”

“Woo Jin doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want attention, and he doesn’t read comments at all.”

“Can his phone read comments too?”

“Yeah.”

“The world has really improved. We didn’t have things like that before…”

“These days, the essential item for the visually impaired isn’t a cane, it’s a smartphone. The phone helps with a lot of things. I wish Korean phones had voice support too.”

“But you know what, oppa? In America, Korean phones have full voice support.”

“Yeah, I heard. They don’t even allow phones to be released without that feature, right? Big countries are different indeed.”

“There’s a separate development department just for disability support. And the development team leader is visually impaired too.”

Na Eun seemed to have been very interested in matters related to the visually impaired in America too. Confirming once again that Woo Jin still held a place in her heart, Jin Hyun gave a bitter smile.

He thought that Na Eun’s inability to contact the man who occupied such a large part of her heart must be due to the deep wounds in her own heart as well.

“We’ll have to ask Woo Jin directly whether to publish as a paper book or just as an e-book. Do you want to ask by email, or meet in person? Or I can go and relay the message.”

Jin Hyun asked first, worried it might be uncomfortable to meet directly after their fight.

“Doesn’t he rarely check his email?”

“I check important emails and pass them on.”

“Oppa, you’re really amazing, now as before. You started this publishing company and bookstore all for Woo Jin, right? I heard you’re developing braille books these days too? I just pushed him, but you’re really providing practical help.”

“You got Woo Jin braille books and canes. You got audiobooks too. We couldn’t even think of those things, we were just focused on feeding him and keeping him from doing other things. Woo Jin being able to live in society like this is all thanks to you, Na Eun. I’m really grateful. That’s why I feel even more sorry that Woo Jin hurt you like that…”

While the man who should apologize just growls at the sight of her, Jin Hyun apologized instead, making Na Eun smile wryly and change the subject.

“Woo Jin’s high school classmates who were close to him all miss him.”

“When he starts going out, he’ll gradually meet friends too. Don’t rush. Well, shall we go to Woo Jin’s house?”

As Jin Hyun stood up and asked, Na Eun looked slightly flustered and asked:

“Is it okay to go without contacting him first?”

“I go at this time every day and have dinner together.”

“What about breakfast and lunch?”

“He doesn’t eat breakfast much, and he eats lunch with Soo Young.”

“Is that housekeeper’s name Soo Young?”

Jin Hyun smiled gently at Na Eun’s question and said:

“Yeah. Kim Soo Young.”

“She looked young…”

“She’s probably 3-4 years younger than Woo Jin?”

“Really young.”

There seemed to be thorns in her tone, but Jin Hyun pretended not to notice and gestured for her to come along. Na Eun stood up, smoothed her clothes, and followed Jin Hyun out of the office.

Woo Jin was coming out to the living room at Jin Hyun’s voice when he stopped abruptly at the sound of another set of footsteps. This scent…

“I’m here again.”

At the delicate voice, an image of a small face with eyes, nose, and mouth tightly packed in flashed through Woo Jin’s mind.

“…How did you two come together?”

Woo Jin asked, standing still.

“Let’s sit down and talk. Should we talk in your room?”

As Jin Hyun was about to go to Woo Jin’s room, Woo Jin quietly said as he walked towards the sofa:

“Let’s talk in the living room.”

Thinking it must be because Na Eun was here, Jin Hyun also went to sit on the sofa, and Na Eun took a seat on the L-shaped sofa as well.

Even after sitting, the three were silent for a while. Watching Woo Jin and Na Eun’s reactions, Jin Hyun smiled awkwardly and said:

“Well, want something to drink? There are drinks in the fridge, right?”

“It’s okay, oppa. I had coffee at your company earlier, so I’m good.”

As Na Eun waved her hand in refusal, Woo Jin asked with an annoyed expression:

“Why did you come?”

Jin Hyun cleared his throat and said seriously:

“Remember we decided to republish that you wrote? Diver wants to produce it as an e-book. I think it’s a good idea. Fantasy is popular with young people, and these days young people read more online than paper books. What do you think?”

Woo Jin crossed his long legs, rested his elbow on the sofa armrest, and propped his chin on his hand.

His amber eyes looked somewhat melancholic, and Na Eun stared at Woo Jin’s picturesque appearance without breathing, as if looking at a photo shoot.

When the beautiful boy, exactly the same as before, seemed to meet her eyes, she unconsciously blushed.

After being lost in thought silently for a moment, Woo Jin slowly opened his mouth:

“…Seol Jin Hyun can do whatever he wants. I lost interest in that a long time ago…”

It’s a piece he wrote when he could see, living off his own talents. It felt like a dream when he secretly contracted with the publisher under a pen name and exchanged manuscripts via email.

However, the Seol Woo Jin from when he could see felt like a different person from his current self, so Woo Jin deliberately cut off interest in everything he did back then.

What’s surprising is Na Eun’s interest.

She was his very first reader. Before submitting manuscripts to publishers, he would show them to her to check for typos, and she would always chatter that they were childish, but now she’s so enthusiastic about a work from over 10 years ago… Is it because it’s the company she works for?

Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound from Woo Jin’s room, and then Soo Young with her messy hair burst out, flinging the door open.

Though he must have heard the sound, Woo Jin had no particular reaction, while Jin Hyun and Na Eun were startled and stared at her.

Soo Young also looked at them with a dumbfounded expression. She especially stared at Na Eun for a long time, who looked as pure as her voice. She’s even prettier than my sister-in-law…

Unlike Soo Young who was staring with admiring eyes as if enamored, Na Eun’s face looking at Soo Young was gradually turning ashen.