What he casually said made her more awkward.

“Let’s eat.”

Since there was no sign of him backing off, she had no choice but to follow him.

To her surprise, the place he took her to was the snack bar in front of the old school.

‘…….’

With a plate of tteokbokki between them, she observed his appearance.

A long time ago, he said he might end up on the streets, and if that happened, they would be in the same situation, but he was still not abandoned and living well.

The luxury brand logo on the neat and plain T-shirt told her that fact.

Why would a rich son deliberately come to a place like this?

‘Well, did he want to reminisce about the old days?’
Well, she thought, there might be only good memories of school days for a friend.

There was almost no conversation between them until she forced herself to empty the plate and walked out of the store.

“I’m going abroad.”

“Yeah, I know.”

That was the only conversation that had any meaning.

No, there was one more.

“He’s not the one.”

At the moment when she was about to say goodbye and turn around, he said.

The pupils visible through the glasses shone firmly. It was about the person she liked.

If she had heard that statement a little later, after realizing that her love was meeting another woman during the time he didn’t contact her.

If she had felt strange about saying, “It’s comfortable to meet you, I’m at ease with you,” easily but never saying “I love you.”

If she had been rational enough to doubt the words of the man who said he had thought a lot during the time he didn’t contact her, she might have paid a little more attention to her friend’s words.

But at that time, she was blind.

Compared to the bright energy, warm emotions, and the person who made her look forward to a brilliant future, the memories of being excluded and ashamed brought by this friend were no matter how gloomy.

She didn’t respond at all and turned away.

And she fervently wished.

“Never meet again.”

Like the present-day Liz, she was an atheist in her past life as well. It was because God had never answered her prayers.

Please don’t let my parents die, please let the new family love me. Please let me have new clothes instead of my cousin’s clothes that are stretched to the limit. Please let that man love me, please let me get married……. God didn’t grant any of them.

But that day, for the first and last time, God answered her prayer.

He removed the friend from her life so that they wouldn’t meet again in this world.

“Take this.”

One day, a man in a neat suit came and handed me a letter.

When I opened it, there was a picture taken with my friend a long time ago. And…

“I don’t think this is the end.”

That was all there was on a note with a familiar font.

“Master has been sick.”

The man informed me of the situation matter-of-factly, as if making a statement in court.

It wasn’t a disease suddenly discovered, but a disease that had been going on for five years.

The person who delivered the letter was his legal representative, and although he couldn’t say for sure, he said it was a genetic issue.

Because he was abandoned as soon as he was born, no one knew, and when they found out, it was already in an irreversible state. The adoptive parents said that even though he wanted her to abandon him, they didn’t accept it, and they stated it in a bureaucratic tone.

There was no obligation for the legal representative to tell her why he gave this to her or what emotions he harbored for her.

Just that, in the last year of foreseeing death, the person he met was her,

And the only person who left a letter was also her.
In addition, he left a considerable amount of money in front of her and conveyed that his role was to sign the documents, and after following a few procedures, the property would be transferred.

“I won’t take it.”

She said.

Although she had paid off the debt to her relatives and had no money in her account, she still refused.

“Please make sure we never meet again.”

She begged.

After finishing the last meal, she had pleaded like that before the spicy aftertaste disappeared from her mouth.

So she couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t live with more guilt.

Since then, as time passed, memories faded, and as she went through rebirth, they completely disappeared. Although she remembered the moment she thought of her past life for a while, she let it go because she was busy with the impending fate.

However, the pleasantly stimulating sensation that settled on her tongue brought up a memory that had sunk below the surface.

It was a taste remarkably similar to what she had shared with her friend during their last meal together.

“Why are you crying?”

Ishar awkwardly offered a handkerchief and said.

“Because it’s so delicious.”

Liz took the handkerchief and wiped away the tears that had come out.

Although it wasn’t the reason for showing tears, it was genuine.

It was perfect not only in appearance but also in taste.

It was exactly the taste she had imagined in her mind while awkwardly explaining.

“How did you know? The information I provided might have been insufficient.”

“It was enough.”

Ishar said. Liz asked again.

“Where did you get the ingredients?”

“From the trade goods warehouse. It was among the samples brought by the gods for trade. It seemed to have been left unused because they didn’t know how to use it, but now that I know how to use it, I think I can use it in various ways.”

When an outcome unexpectedly resulted from a purely personal preference, Liz was surprised and pleased. She quietly soaked in the aftertaste.

“Have some more.”

Ishar pushed the plate further in front of Liz and suggested.

Liz resumed her meal.

Although her eyes turned red with old memories, she accepted it well in her heart, separate from that.

Her eating speed gradually increased.

Ishar had been silently watching Liz eat all this time.

Strangely, there was a corner that made him unable to take his eyes off.

Was it because she ate the food he made deliciously?

Or did he achieve the goal of making it spicy enough to extract tears this time?

Suddenly, Ishar realized that he had been looking at her lips for too long.

‘Crazy.’

He quickly averted his gaze. It was a slightly abrupt change of focus, almost unnatural.

Fortunately, Liz was too absorbed in eating to notice anything.

However, unexpectedly, it was exposed to another person.

Rene Esmond, a woman who, with her head tilted up, made her look even more delicate, noticed Ishar’s unintentional gaze.