This time, like Swimming before, Woo Jin’s breath stopped.

What on earth is he saying now….. Why does he keep confessing! Are you crazy, Seol Woo Jin? Has your head gone bad now too?

Woo Jin bit down hard on his own lips that were recklessly running wild.

What are you going to do? So what are you going to do? Do you know this woman? Have you ever even seen her? What will you do if you date? Make her live by your side taking care of you for life? Are you going to kill another precious daughter of someone else’s family?

Wasn’t Jung Na Eun enough? At least she had money at home so she could escape to America, but this one looks poor….. Even if it’s hard, she probably won’t be able to run away…..

Suddenly Woo Jin pushed his chair back with a screech and stood up.

“Where are you going in the middle of eating?”

“I’m done eating.”

“Ah, is it because I said earlier that senior So would cut the meat for me? I really didn’t mean it like that! Eat all of this before you go!”

“I know you didn’t mean it like that either. I’m full.”

Woo Jin spoke with his characteristic dry expression and then left the kitchen.

Swimming stared blankly at him, still holding meat in both hands.

Then she spoke again in a loud voice.

“Let’s clean this up and go for a walk! Okay?”

But there was no answer, only the sound of a door slamming shut.

Swimming regretted mentioning Yeon Ho’s story as she put the meat she was holding into her mouth.

She had said it thinking they had gotten a bit closer. She didn’t know it would be hurtful. By the way, he said it wasn’t a joke confession, right? Surely?

Then, does that mean I’m a woman? He likes me as a woman? Oh my…..

Belatedly realizing Woo Jin’s confession, Swimming cupped her cheeks with her disposable glove-covered hands.

Not realizing the meat sauce had gotten on her face, the corners of her mouth that had risen high showed no signs of coming down.

[This is the timeline separator]

Chairman Seol Ma Jung was closely examining several documents handed to him by his secretary.

“She graduated from the university’s Korean Language Education department, worked as an academy instructor for 2 years, and has no work history after that. She’s been working at Woo Jin’s house for the past month.”

“Her parents… got divorced?”

“Yes. It seems to have happened a long time ago. Kim Soo Young is currently living only with her mother.”

“Hmm…..”

“Her mother, Jo Young Soon, is working as a designer at a construction company.”

“Is her father still alive?”

“Well… um…..”

This time the secretary handed over a slightly thicker document. Inside, several photos marked with highlighter could be seen.

“What is this?”

“Kim Soo Young’s father was Kim Chul Ho.”

“Who?”

“Kim Chul Ho, manager of Daeho Security.”

Suddenly Chairman Seol Ma Jung’s bushy eyebrows twitched and the crow’s feet around his mouth deepened.

“How could this…..”

At the pained groan that unconsciously escaped, the secretary moved closer to him.

“Chairman, are you alright?”

At that, Seol Ma Jung looked at the secretary with flashing tiger-like eyes.

“……Who knows?”

“No one knows yet.”

“Not even the person involved?”

“You mean Kim Soo Young? No. It seems she doesn’t know. From what Jin Hyun says, it seems she doesn’t even know Woo Jin is your grandson.”

“Well, Woo Jin hasn’t been publicly revealed since the accident.”

The chairman’s eyes turned back to the photo attached to the document.

It was a kind face with the same round face and big eyes as Swimming.

However, the photo below of him in prison uniform looked so gaunt and darkly dead that it was hard to believe it was the same person.

He had lived grateful to the god who saved his grandson, but now he was frustrated again at not being able to understand its will.

How his grandson would react when he found out this fact, and how that Kim Soo Young girl would react.

As his wrinkled large hand was rubbing his equally wrinkled forehead, not knowing what to do, another secretary knocked and entered the chairman’s office.

“Chairman, Assemblyman Jo Hyun Jung is here.”

“Ah. Tell her to come in.”

Putting aside his complicated feelings, Seol Ma Jung smiled and welcomed the elegantly dressed woman entering with a guide dog for the visually impaired.

“Welcome.”

“Hello, Chairman?”

As Hyun Jung bowed her head towards the chairman in greeting, the gentle-looking golden retriever guided her to the sofa.

And after making sure its owner was safely seated, it also sat down obediently beside her.

Seol Ma Jung, who was allergic to dog hair, swallowed a pill handed to him by his secretary and asked gently.

“Was it difficult for you to come?”

“I came comfortably because you sent a car.”

“I sent a car so you could come without the guide dog, but how did you come together?”

“Ah, I get anxious without this child… I’m sorry.”

“No, no. I was just asking. What would you like to drink?”

The Chairman Seol Ma Jung now was a completely different person from when he had grabbed his son like catching a mouse at the department store.

[This is the timeline separator]

When the ebook production of was confirmed, the team leader ordered Na Eun to go find Seol Ji Hyun and get the author’s signature on the contract.

It was something that could all be done by email, but since the author wasn’t replying, there was no choice.

She went to Ji Hyun’s publishing company, but since she came without notice, he wasn’t there. Na Eun turned the car straight to Woo Jin’s house.

She had to meet at least once to restore the awkward relationship from back then.

And this time, she was determined not to fight and to resolve everything that had been knotted between them.

She parked in the underground parking lot and called Woo Jin’s apartment number, but there was no answer.

Na Eun had no choice but to leave the underground parking lot and head towards the entrance.

She was planning to follow someone going in if there was anyone.

But then a familiar person came out carrying a garbage bag.

Jeans and a green hoodie. Swimming, dressed in the exact same outfit as when they met before, as if it were a school uniform, looked Na Eun up and down briefly before greeting first.

“Hello?”

“Oh? Oh… hello?”

Not recognizing Na Eun who was taller than her at first, Swimming raised her head at her voice and then bowed her head again.

“Are you leaving work now?”

Na Eun asked, looking at the bag on Swimming’s back.

“Yes. I’m about to go now.”

“Is Woo Jin at home?”

“Yes.”

Since Na Eun seemed to want to say something more, Swimming stood awkwardly on the stairs.

Na Eun looked at her quietly for a moment before shifting her gaze to the garbage bag.

“Isn’t there a disposal chute in the house?”

“Ah, yes. There is, but recyclables have to be thrown away separately…”

“It must be hard working.”

Na Eun said with a seemingly sympathetic expression, but Swimming replied calmly.

“Well, Seol Woo Jin is so clean that there’s not much work.”

“Ah. He’s always been like that.”

But Na Eun still made no move to leave.

As her arm started to hurt more and more, Swimming bowed her head first and went down the stairs. That’s when Na Eun suddenly called her to a stop.

“Wait, would you like to have a cup of coffee?”

“What? Ah, yes…”

Swimming nodded and walked briskly to the recycling area.

Quietly worried about what she wanted to talk about.

The two sat facing each other in the coffee shop they had visited before with Seol Ji Hyun, each with an Americano in front of them.

Actually, Swimming wanted to drink something else because she had coffee with Woo Jin, but strangely, she couldn’t confidently say what she wanted to drink like she did with Seol Ji Hyun.

If they had just said they would each buy their own, she would have chosen what she wanted, but Na Eun insisted on buying, so out of courtesy she ordered the same as her.

“When is your aunt coming?”

At the sudden question, Swimming hesitated for a moment before answering.

“My aunt decided to go work at the CEO’s… I mean Seol Ji Hyun’s house.”

“What does that mean? Isn’t there someone else at Ji Hyun oppa’s house?”

“I’m not sure about that, but they said they wanted to hire her because she’s good at her job…”

It was clearly a measure to keep Swimming coming to Woo Jin’s house, so Na Eun’s lips stretched thin.

“Are you okay with working as a housekeeper at Woo Jin’s house, Kim Soo Young?”

Her voice became cold on its own.

“Yes. But I’m not a housekeeper, I’m a manager.”

She said what she couldn’t say back then. Although the work wasn’t much different from when she was a housekeeper, he did call her a manager after all.

“A manager?”

“Yes. Seol Woo Jin’s manager.”

“Haa…..”

As an indecipherable sigh escaped her lips, Swimming stared at her blankly.

“So, what do you do?”

“What?”

“You said you’re a manager? So what do you do?”

When asked like this, there wasn’t much to say. Since the work was exactly the same as a housekeeper.

“Do you like Woo Jin?”

Na Eun asked directly. Honestly, Swimming’s feelings weren’t important.

Even in high school, there were many girls who liked Woo Jin because of his standout looks.

What she really wanted to know was Woo Jin’s feelings.

But she was afraid to ask him, so she ended up asking Swimming instead.

“Do you like Seol Woo Jin?”

“What? Yes. Well, I like him.”

When Swimming unexpectedly answered calmly without hesitation, Na Eun went into full questioning mode.

“He’s disabled and has a prickly personality, what do you like about him?”

Then Swimming smiled brightly and said.

“He’s handsome…”

Even after saying it, she grinned shyly, and Na Eun’s expression became genuinely dumbfounded looking at her. No matter how much they liked him for his looks, no one had ever said it so openly…

But there was no statement more relatable. Na Eun had first fallen for Woo Jin’s looks too.

If she spent some time with him, she would realize looks weren’t everything.

At the same time, Na Eun felt bitter too.

No matter how much looks weren’t everything and she knew Woo Jin’s personality was prickly, she herself still wanted to be by Woo Jin’s side.

“Are you okay with Woo Jin not being able to see? You’ll have to keep helping him.”

“There’s not much to help? He eats well on his own, dresses well, and writes. Oh, he’s good at cooking too.”

“Cooking? Woo Jin?”

“Yes. He makes things like kimbap and rice balls well. Like the owner of a Japanese restaurant.”

“Woo Jin… made kimbap and rice balls?”

“Yes.”

Na Eun suddenly remembered when he made kimbap at the high school festival. Is he going back to that time?

“That’s surprising.”

Na Eun muttered quietly.

“Woo Jin was extremely popular in high school. Not just his looks, but he was really smart too. He never failed to win awards in math competitions, coding competitions, science competitions. He was also really good at writing. He even published under a pen name.”

At the mention that he had been good at writing since before, Swimming looked at her for a moment before her eyes grew wider and wider. No way…..

Suddenly Swimming looked around and then leaned her upper body close to the table and asked in a secretive voice.

“By any chance… is Seol Woo Jin Seol Yong? The one who wrote and …”

“How do you know? Did Ji Hyun oppa tell you?”

“Really? Really?”

Swimming covered her gaping mouth with both hands in shock.

What did I say when he revealed he was Seol Yong…

Saying it was different, that wuxia suited him better, as the words she said back then came to mind, Swimming’s face turned bright red as if steam would rise from her head.

Na Eun asked again.

“Did Ji Hyun oppa tell you? For a publishing company to reveal an author’s pen name so carelessly…”

“Ah, no. Seol Woo Jin told me directly. I didn’t believe it… How could someone with that personality write such stories? Wow…”

Listening to Swimming’s words, Na Eun’s expression became no less surprised than Swimming’s.

Woo Jin revealed his pen name? The pen name he kept strictly secret even from the publishing company? To this woman?

The more she heard, the more it felt like confirming Woo Jin’s feelings for Swimming, which didn’t feel good.

She had been away for too long. No matter how much he hurt her, she should have stayed by his side.

Back then, she wanted to be away from him for a while.

She wanted to meet someone healthy in both body and mind. So she wanted to be loved.

“Was Seol Woo Jin not prickly in high school?”

When Swimming suddenly asked, Na Eun replied calmly.

“He was indescribably prickly then too, but because his specs were so impressive, no one could touch him. The teachers loved him too. After being so acknowledged, suddenly losing his sight… it must have been an even bigger shock. He didn’t come out of his room for 2 years. He would throw a fit if anyone just touched him… He wouldn’t eat, just slept all day… In short, it was a disaster.”

“Is that why you left? Because it was hard?”

Na Eun’s eyes narrowed, wondering what Woo Jin had told her. Did he tell this girl about me too? What did he say?

After a moment of silence, Na Eun spoke heavily.

“I needed my own life. I had lived just looking at Woo Jin for almost 2 years. If you count from high school, I had been with that child for 5 years.”

While the changes were a shock to Seol Woo Jin himself, it was also a shock for Na Eun watching from the side.

She sincerely wished for him to return to his high school self. So she kept pushing.

Swimming thought that no matter how much she had seen Woo Jin for 5 years, if she had been away for almost double that at 8 years, wasn’t it all for nothing, but she kept quiet.

“I still like Seol Woo Jin.”

As if sensing Swimming’s thoughts, Na Eun spoke honestly. Swimming nodded her head.

“Ah, I see…”

At Swimming’s impassive face, Na Eun spoke even more directly.

“So it bothers me that you are by his side. Even if you’re there as a housekeeper.”

“I’m a manager though…”

At that moment, Swimming’s cell phone rang. Worried it might disturb the people around, Swimming quickly pressed the answer button and heard a ticklish voice in her ear.

– Where are you?

“What? Here… at the cafe in front of Seol Woo Jin’s house.”

– … Why are you there? Are you with Seol Ji Hyun?

“Ah, no. Um…”

Suddenly she couldn’t remember Na Eun’s name.

What was it? Da Eun? No, was it Da Yeon? She understood why people kept calling her by different names.

So she spoke as politely as possible.

“I’m with Seol Woo Jin’s friend from high school.”

While Swimming had expressed it politely about Na Eun, to Na Eun’s ears it sounded like why was a high school friend from 10 years ago meddling now.