– Did you really kiss, not just a peck? Really?

Mijin’s shouting voice came through the phone as if it would pierce it.

– Are you really dating that writer? Is that it? Is he also the guy you said you drank with last time?

While Soo Young couldn’t answer her rapid-fire questions, Mijin started giving advice as if she knew everything.

– Wow, you definitely allowed it this time? So there was no further progress? No more than that! Absolutely not before marriage. You’ll end up like Yejin. You haven’t heard, right? Yejin actually didn’t plan to get married, but because she got pregnant… Whew, that mother-in-law was no joke. Even though her son was equally responsible, she accused your sister of trapping him. Her parents were treated like criminals… You absolutely can’t do that, even for your mom’s sake. Got it?

“Jo Mi Jin. You’re going too far from just one kiss. It’s not like that.”

– Hey! You never know between a man and a woman! Make it clear to that guy, I mean, that person, that you didn’t allow everything just because you kissed. Okay? So, was it good?

She asked what she should have asked first at the very end.

“…It was nice.”

Soo Young answered with a giggle. Mijin could be felt stomping her feet even through the phone.

– Girl, girl, girl! How was it?

Mijin, also inexperienced, was extremely curious about her friend’s first experience, like an unknown story.

“We ate sandwiches and juice. I could taste all of it.”

Hearing that, it sounded more gross than good, but since her friend said it was nice, Mijin just accepted it.

On the other hand, she also thought it was fortunate they hadn’t eaten something like tripe.

“But…”

However, Soo Young began to seek advice from the inexperienced Mijin.

“When you kiss, does it mean you’re dating?”

– What are you saying? Why would you kiss if you’re not dating? Even in movies, they don’t kiss during one-night stands unless they’re in love, right?

Both of their background knowledge came from movies. Though they always said it was exaggerated or lies, when faced with the situation, they interpreted everything based on what they’d seen in movies.

“Really? Then we’re really dating. Wow…”

– Why? Didn’t he ask you to date? That man?

“No, he did say that, but it wasn’t very clear.”

– Hey, you should have made that clear before kissing! Wow, our Kim Soo Young, now that I look at it, you’re quite experienced, experienced.

“Am I experienced just because I kissed?”

– No, if you did it without even being clear about dating, that’s experienced. If he said he wanted to date, whether joking or serious, and you kissed, then you’re dating, right? Wow… Kim Soo Young, I envy you. Isn’t that writer really handsome?

“Yeah. His looks are amazing.”

– Isn’t anything else amazing?

She wanted to say ‘his personality isn’t great’, but after having kissed, she didn’t want to speak ill of him.

And well, his personality, now it seems manageable enough to adapt to.

– Kim Soo Young. Date nicely and call this unnie twice, no, three times a week to update me. Let me live vicariously through you.

“Isn’t there anyone suitable at school? So sunbae said that it’s okay to date within the school at public schools.”

– Hey. Don’t you know male teachers? Do you want to marry someone from that profession?

When you’re too close to anything, its flaws become visible.

Moreover, she said that in public schools, female teachers vastly outnumber males, so single male teachers are always in fierce competition. Of course, it depends on the person.

Understanding all this was implied in Mijin’s words, Soo Young just laughed.

After kissing Seol Woo Jin, neither of them said anything on the way home.

Even after getting home, they said goodbye as if nothing had happened, and Soo Young came to her house.

But. Now we’re really dating…

Suddenly, the thought of seeing Seol Woo Jin’s face became burdensome. Will this man be okay…?

Oh no! Come to think of it, 10 minutes have passed since the book reading time. He must be waiting… No, it would be fine if he was just waiting, but he must be really angry.

“Hey, hang up, hang up. I just remembered an important appointment.”

As Soo Young hurried, Mijin asked in a subtle voice.

– Are you going to call your boyfriend?

“Yeah. I’m hanging up!”

– Hey, you traitor…

Without listening to the rest, Soo Young hung up the phone and quickly dialed Woo Jin.

As expected, his voice was heard before the signal even went through.

But it wasn’t an irritated voice. He was saying ‘hello’ in a nonchalant tone.

What’s this? Is it because we kissed? Oh my, is he already being considerate of his girlfriend?

At the sound of Soo Young’s giggle, Woo Jin’s face, which had been trying to answer calmly, crumpled.

Don’t tell me this woman… Did she call late on purpose? To make me wait? Are you playing hard to get after kissing, or what?

“Aren’t you going to apologize?”

Unable to hold back, a cold voice came out.

– Pardon?

“You’re 10 minutes late.”

– Ah, I’m sorry. I was on the phone with a friend…

“It wasn’t with So, was it?”

He even showed outright jealousy.

– It wasn’t, okay? I might meet So sunbae at night, but I don’t talk on the phone with him.

What did you say?

The corner of the precious Braille book was sharply crumpled. Soo Young, belatedly realizing her slip of the tongue, hurriedly corrected herself.

“Ah, no, in the past, in the past. Not now.”

– Exactly when in the past? Before or after meeting me?

To be precise, even after meeting Seol Woo Jin, she had met late at night at the pub in front of her house to chat.

Huh? Doesn’t he know this? I think I told him that So sunbae had asked me out then? Did he forget?

Thinking there was no need to remind him if he had forgotten, she raised her voice and said,

“Oh, I didn’t do that after meeting Seol Woo Jin! It was before I met you.”

Woo Jin seemed to remember hearing something about So confessing before, but he wondered if they had met at night then too, but for the sake of inner peace, he didn’t ask.

Instead, he just answered dryly.

“Read quickly. I’m going to sleep.”

She thought the person asking her to read was quite shameless, but thinking that Seol Woo Jin wasn’t going anywhere regardless of the kiss, Soo Young calmly read the book.

Still, she thought it wasn’t so bad that he was falling asleep to her voice. His sleeping face she saw at the hospital looked just like a child’s.

Those thin eyelids deeply covering his large eyes, the long eyelashes, that high nose wheezing as if breathing was difficult, and the slightly parted lips looked like those of an angel, and Soo Young had taken several mental pictures.

When she heard his breathing through the phone while reading the book, that sleeping face from then came to mind, and she couldn’t help but smile.

Sleep well listening to my voice today too, Seol Woo Jin…

As Soo Young was coming home late after visiting Woo Jin’s house, a familiar silhouette appeared in front of her house.

Average height, average build, a moderately handsome face with rimless glasses. It was So.

Having seen such outstanding visuals all day, Yeon Ho’s face, which used to look so handsome, now looked like just an ordinary office worker’s face.

“Do you always come home this late? Is it because I’m not picking you up?”

Although Yeon Ho picked a fight as soon as he saw her, Soo Young just widened her eyes, looking not particularly surprised.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“I’ve been waiting since I got off work.”

“You should have called. Have you had dinner?”

“I haven’t eaten.”

“Aren’t you hungry? Want to go to the tteokbokki place nearby? Or chicken? Hamburger?”

“What do you want to eat?”

“I’ve already eaten.”

“Where? At that guy’s house?”

She wondered if all men usually called others ‘guy’.

Woo Jin called So ‘guy’, and now So sunbae is calling Woo Jin ‘guy’.

Isn’t ‘guy’ an insult for men? ‘Bitch’ is an insult.

Yeon Ho, who was looking down at Soo Young fiercely, sighed lightly and then brought something rustling from the car parked on one side.

It was a bouquet of baby’s breath and yellow freesias emitting a wonderful fragrance. This time, Soo Young looked alternately at the bouquet and Yeon Ho with a surprised expression.

He held out the bouquet to Soo Young and said with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Roses seemed a bit over the top, and I thought these flowers suited you.”

“Oh…, thank you…”

Suddenly, why a bouquet… Seeing the yellow petals reminded her of Woo Jin’s amber eyes.

Should I decorate his house with freesias? With the scent of phytoncide from the plants and the flower fragrance, it would really feel like being in a forest.

Good, good. Tomorrow I should buy lunch and freesias to take. Is there a flower shop near the recording studio?

“Let’s date. Let’s date and then get married.”

Soo Young snapped back to reality at Yeon Ho’s sudden words. Seeing her obvious gaze, Yeon Ho spoke again with a serious face.

“I had a blind date a few days ago. Twice even. But while seeing those women, I could only think of you. No matter what woman I meet, there’s no one as comfortable and easy to talk to as you. You like being with me too, so let’s date for a while and then get married.”

“…”

As Soo Young just stared at him with a blank expression without saying anything, Yeon Ho thought she might not have understood and spoke again clearly.

“I’m not saying let’s break up if it’s not good after dating, I’m saying let’s date and then get married. I won’t create a situation where we might ruin even our current relationship by dating unnecessarily. Kim Soo Young.”

“Haa…”

It seemed like she should be shyly lowering her head at this point, but instead, she was letting out a long sigh.

Her expression was strange, and it was hard to tell if it meant she liked it or not.

“Why are you sighing? Don’t you like it?”

“No… So sunbae really has bad timing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I got a boyfriend two days ago. You should have spoken so clearly earlier. Then I might have given it some serious thought.”

Yeon Ho’s face hardened.

“You got a boyfriend? Who?”

“There is one.”

“You, don’t tell me… that house owner?”

At that, Soo Young looked at him with her round eyes wide open. It was an expression that clearly asked how he knew.

Yeon Ho unknowingly grabbed Soo Young’s shoulders tightly.

“Kim Soo Young! Are you crazy! Isn’t that person visually impaired?”

“Ouch! What’s wrong with you!”

Soo Young frowned and shook him off. As a result, the freesia bouquet she was holding shook, and a few petals fell to the ground.

“You, aren’t you being too thoughtless? How can you date someone who’s visually impaired?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You, do you think your mom will approve?”

“Hey, am I getting married? You said it yourself. Dating doesn’t mean marriage. It’s only been two days. And that person’s mood changes like boiling porridge, so I don’t know when he’ll say he doesn’t like me.”

“Then, it’s not certain?”

“I think I need to see. We agreed to date, but not much has changed from before. But we’ve done everything we should, so I guess we are dating…”

Hearing Soo Young’s mumbling, Yeon Ho shouted with veins popping on his neck.

“D-done everything? You! What did you do with that guy!”

“Huh? Ah, it’s not like that.”

“You said you’ve done everything! Then…!”

Unable to finish his sentence, his face suddenly turned red. Seeing his face, Soo Young deliberately asked mischievously.

“Then what? Oh my! So sunbae, have you slept with all the women you’ve dated? Even before marriage?”

“W-what are you saying!”

“No, when you hear ‘done everything’, you seem to think of that first. Don’t you think of things like holding hands or something?”

At Soo Young’s words, Yeon Ho felt relieved on one hand, but also felt like his weakness had been exposed, so he cleared his throat.

“I, I was only thinking of holding hands with you too.”

“Really? That’s strange…”

She narrowed her eyes and muttered. Yeon Ho cleared his throat again and spoke solemnly.

“Hey, these days, it’s not strange to do that when dating. Rather, if you don’t, they think there’s something wrong.”

“Oh ho…”

“I’m saying this because you haven’t dated before and don’t seem to know well…”

“So, you did sleep with them?”

When Soo Young asked secretly, Yeon Ho’s ears turned bright red and he stammered.

“Hey! You’re a girl…”

“So sunbae. Behave yourself. Don’t accidentally get your girlfriend pregnant and be forced to marry.”

“W-what are you saying!”

He confessed and asked her to date him, but he didn’t know why the conversation was going this way.

Talking with Soo Young always made him flustered because her reactions were different from other girls.

However, although her reaction was strange, he clearly understood that she had rejected his confession.

He also realized that guy, who can’t even see but is a writer, had unnecessarily aroused sympathy in this kind girl and even confessed.

But it doesn’t seem like there’s anything definite yet…

It seemed like he needed to take action before it became definite. If he tells her to quit that part-time job, she’ll definitely resist.

Should I meet that guy?

But how can I know where his house is? I should meet him and have a showdown… No, should I tell Soo Young’s mother? That seems like the simplest method.

Soo Young’s mother is not an ordinary person either, so if she finds out her daughter is in that kind of relationship with that visually impaired person, won’t she make her quit the job even if she has to drag her by the hair?

While Yeon Ho was seriously considering how to rescue Soo Young from that guy, Soo Young was wondering how many flowers she would need to buy to fill Woo Jin’s large house with the scent of freesias.