After a reserved patient was canceled, Sun Woo took a sip of coffee to catch his breath and pulled out his phone from his pocket. There was a message from the woman.

-Please contact me when you have time.

The thought of her sending the message with surprised rabbit eyes made him laugh.

“You’re busy today, Ji Eun Jae.”

Should I tease her a bit, make her wait?

Such mischievous thoughts crossed his mind briefly, but Sun Woo called Eun Jae right away.

As Sun Woo expected, Eun Jae answered before the first ring even finished. Skipping the usual greetings.

[Did you pay my mother’s hospital bill, sir?]

Her voice was different from usual. Very businesslike and resolute.

“Yes.”

[I suppose you also moved her to the VIP ward?]

“That’s correct.”

[Ha, why?]

Her exasperated sigh follows.

Why? This was unexpected.

Sun Woo was momentarily flustered but quickly regained his composure.

“Article 1, Party B shall provide Party A with all necessary financial support. Is that answer sufficient?”

[I never said it was necessary. I have money too, why are you paying?]

“Originally, there’s no ‘yours’ or ‘mine’ between spouses.”

The woman is silent, seemingly taken aback. Sun Woo barely holds back his laughter and continues.

“Would you like to pretend this never happened?”

[It’s not that…]

“Outpatient hours are starting soon.”

[No, I’m not done talking yet.]

“Let’s discuss this at home. I’m busy, hanging up now.”

He was about to press the end call button when he heard the woman’s sharp, disgruntled voice through the receiver.

[Oh geez! What’s with always being busy!]

“Ms. Ji Eun Jae, the call hasn’t ended yet.”

[Ah… I’m sorry.]

Sun Woo chuckled, pressed the end call button first, and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“How cute.”

The smile lingering on his lips wouldn’t fade.

This contract marriage, which seemed like it would be bleak and dry, might actually turn out to be fun.

Because the other party is Ji Eun Jae.

[This is the timeline separator]

The bell chimed as the cafe door opened.

Eun Jae reflexively looked up. Ye Rim, who had just entered the cafe, saw Eun Jae sitting alone and unleashed a stream of colorful curses. Even that sight was endearing to Eun Jae, making her laugh.

“Why are you laughing, you brat!”

Ye Rim sat down across from Eun Jae, her furrowed brow refusing to smooth out.

Though they frequently kept in touch, it had been half a year since they’d seen each other face to face. Yet, it felt as comfortable as if they’d met just yesterday.

Having been in the same class throughout all three years of high school, they were each other’s one and only friend. For Eun Jae, Ye Rim was a comforting and cozy presence even after not seeing her for a long time.

“You’re here?”

“Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

A little while ago, while waiting for the bus at the stop in front of the hospital, Eun Jae suddenly thought of Ye Rim. She might have been worried since the contact had abruptly cut off.

Their last conversation had been a week ago, using the phone provided in the motel.

When Eun Jae dialed the number she remembered for Ye Rim, her friend insisted on meeting without even hearing the full story. She had always had good intuition.

Looking at her wristwatch showing it was a little before 3 o’clock, Eun Jae thought she could afford to take some time and agreed to meet.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy lately.”

“I was going to the police station tomorrow, seriously.”

“And what would you have told them? That I was taken by loan sharks?”

As Eun Jae laughed at the visibly agitated Ye Rim, her friend glared at her with intense eyes. There was moisture gathering at the corners of those glaring eyes.

Feeling guilty, Eun Jae couldn’t look directly at Ye Rim.

“I know your address, what’s stopping me?”

At Ye Rim’s words, Eun Jae, who was about to take a sip of her drink, mumbled incoherently and made strong gestures of denial before she could swallow. Finally managing to gulp down her drink, Eun Jae exclaimed.

“No, no, not that person!”

She had been so busy that she had momentarily forgotten about that incident.

The last time she had contacted Ye Rim was the day she first went to that man’s house.

Feeling uneasy, she had used the motel’s phone to contact Ye Rim. She had recited the man’s address in detail and added that if anything happened, Ye Rim should report it.

What she had told the man then wasn’t just a light warning of ‘don’t try anything funny’, it was the truth.

“It’s ridiculous, acting like you were being kidnapped.”

“Anyway, it’s not like that. Not with that person.”

Eun Jae breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that if she had contacted Ye Rim just one day later, they might have met at the police station. Knowing Ye Rim’s personality, she would have reported it without hesitation.

Ye Rim, who had only just arrived, finished her remaining coffee and gathered her bag.

“You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s go get some food.”

Ye Rim was always worried about Eun Jae’s meals. She knew Eun Jae’s circumstances better than anyone else, which made her even more concerned.

“No, I need to go home.”

“That crappy motel? Forget it, come to my place. I’m telling you, it’s really okay.”

She was the kind of friend who would casually offer to stay together at her own studio apartment, even knowing full well that Eun Jae was being chased by loan sharks.

“No, I’ve moved. And I’ve settled my debts.”

Ye Rim’s eyes widened.

“What? How?”

“I’ll tell you everything soon.”

Eun Jae finished her remaining tea as she tidied up her things. Then, suddenly remembering something, she stopped Ye Rim, who was about to stand up, and asked.

“Lee Ye Rim, do you remember Yoon Tae Gyu?”

She would probably remember. He was quite famous back then.

As soon as Yoon Tae Gyu’s name left Eun Jae’s lips, a meaningful smile appeared on Ye Rim’s face. Her voice was filled with excitement.

“Yoon Tae Gyu? Did you meet him? Finally?”

“What do you mean, ‘did I meet him’?”

Eun Jae’s brow furrowed at Ye Rim’s unexpected reaction. As she looked at Ye Rim with a ‘what are you talking about’ expression, Ye Rim adjusted her posture as if she was about to give a lengthy speech.

“I gave you Yoon Tae Gyu’s contact info, told you to reach out. Last year, the year before, and the year before that too.”

Come to think of it, every time Ye Rim went to the high school reunion, she would give Eun Jae some guy’s phone number and tell her to contact him.

Working part-time jobs during the day and taking care of her mother in the evenings, Eun Jae barely had enough energy for herself.

Back then, she was so busy and tired, both physically and mentally, that she had paid little attention to the contact information Ye Rim had given her, suggesting she meet the guy.

“Ah, so that person was Yoon Tae Gyu…”

“I’ve told you so many times, Yoon Tae Gyu has been looking for you ever since graduation.”

“But why? Why would he be looking for me?”

Ye Rim roughly pushed back her bangs with an expression of disbelief and exasperation.

“Are you seriously asking? Everyone else knows, why are you the only one who doesn’t?”

“…”

“Yoon Tae Gyu liked you, for all three years of high school.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Eun Jae stood blankly in front of the dining table at home, not even having put down her bag.

It was because of what Ye Rim had said at the cafe. She kept mulling over the story her friend had told her, momentarily lost in recollection.

“Remember Kim Ji Yeon? She bullied you a lot. Stealing your textbooks, scribbling on your gym clothes.”

“Was it in our second year? When you were in the same class as Yoon Tae Gyu, the bullying stopped abruptly. Why do you think that was? I think I know.”

Now that she thought about it, the bullying seemed to have started after Yoon Tae Gyu first forcibly took her number.

It wasn’t particularly bothersome bullying, so she hadn’t paid much attention, but as Ye Rim said, from the year she was in the same class as Yoon Tae Gyu, the bullying from Kim Ji Yeon and the others stopped as if by magic.

If it’s true, it feels a bit grateful?

“When your mom was selling tteokbokki in front of our school, Yoon Tae Gyu would bring the whole class to eat there all the time. So when I said it seemed like Yoon Tae Gyu liked you, you vehemently denied it then.”

As she mulled over Ye Rim’s words, Eun Jae vaguely recalled memories of Yoon Tae Gyu herding his classmates like a flock to the tteokbokki shop. She had been too busy helping her mother with the short-handed business after school.

“Now that I hear it, it does seem that way.”

While she was lost in thought, Eun Jae’s phone, still in her hand, vibrated briefly.

It was a message from Yoon Sun Woo.

-I’ll stop by the family home before coming.

It seemed to be because of what happened this morning.

Just as she was about to type and send a message saying she was fine and he could take his time, another message arrived from him.

-I’ll try not to be late.

The man’s attitude changes several times a day. Sometimes he’s like a cold contract husband, other times like an affectionate boyfriend.

“Unnecessarily affectionate.”

Just do exactly what’s specified in the contract, she thought. She neither wants nor expects anything more than that.

She typed a short ‘Okay’ and was about to head to her room when Eun Jae stopped in the middle of the living room.

She remembered the question Ye Rim had asked just before they parted, which she had evaded with a mumbled response.

“So what did Yoon Tae Gyu say? Did you meet?”

Well, I did meet him recently…

Suddenly, she recalled the day she had left Yoon Tae Gyu alone in the lounge.

“Maybe I should have talked to him before leaving.”

It was an afternoon where she unexpectedly felt sorry towards him.

[This is the timeline separator]

Eun Jung found herself humming at the thought of spending time alone with Sun Woo after so long.

“My son is quite the man after all.”

Seeing Sun Woo so stone-faced about women at his age, she had wondered if perhaps his preferences were different.

She had been itching to ask about it ever since hearing the story from Mrs. Seongsan, and when Sun Woo said he was coming home, Eun Jung was quite excited.

Eun Jung stood in front of the cabinet where she kept her prized tea sets.

After careful consideration, she took out the tea cups she had chosen and the S Coffee limited edition herbal tea set, which she had bought after hearing it was blended with only the highest quality herbs but had been too precious to drink.

For a child who had never even brought a friend home, the fact that he had brought a woman to the house was something Eun Jung could never have imagined.

“I wonder who she is, what kind of woman could she be.”

To have made our Sun Woo like that.

According to Mrs. Seongsan, although she couldn’t remember clearly because she was so surprised and flustered at the time, the girl was very polite and had a gentle, lovely voice.

“I’m even more curious about what kind of girl she might be.”

Eun Jung had married Yoon Gang, Sun Woo’s father, for love at the young age of twenty-two.

Perhaps because Sun Woo was born that year, even though her son was over thirty, she herself was not yet sixty.

She looked quite young for her age, and people were often surprised to hear she had a son as grown as Sun Woo.

Eun Jung put herbal tea bags in a transparent teapot and waited for Sun Woo. The clear teapot gradually turned pink.

Soon, she heard the sound of slippers trudging up the stairs and perked up her ears. As Sun Woo’s figure slowly came into view, Eun Jung’s expression brightened.

“I’m home.”

“Were you busy today?”

Sun Woo made a noncommittal sound as he sat on the sofa. Then he answered with a voice tinged with exhaustion.

“A little.”

It seemed like he was saying ‘don’t ask too much’, which made Eun Jung feel a bit hurt. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Sun Woo.

“Stay for dinner.”

“I should go. I have some papers to review.”

“Eat before you go. Take some side dishes I prepared too.”

“Someone’s waiting for me at home, how can I eat alone and go?”

“Are you really going to be like this?”

Sun Woo chuckled at Eun Jung’s reaction and reached out to pour the steeped herbal tea from the teapot into an empty cup. The tea was still warm from the warmer, and steam rose with a berry aroma.

“We’re planning to register our marriage first.”

“What? Yoon Sun Woo, did you…!”

Get into trouble?