A sunny morning.

Sun Woo came out to the living room, adjusting his shirt. He headed straight to the kitchen and placed a mug under the built-in coffee machine, pressing the button.

Whirring― The sound of beans grinding was heard, and soon the mug was filled with coffee, golden crema rippling on top.

The rich coffee aroma spread throughout the living room. With each breath, the deep and savory scent of coffee beans filled the air.

Sun Woo sat on the sofa with the freshly brewed coffee, casually crossing his legs. He tilted the cup, leisurely waiting for Eun Jae.

Today was finally the day to pay respects to the main family.

It was the first step towards receiving the hospital, and the most difficult and important task given to the woman.

Sun Woo had spent days organizing various precautions to inform the woman. As always, she absorbed them quickly like a sponge.

Among them, what they practiced most carefully was, of course, the form of address. It was also something that still hadn’t been corrected.

“Sir! Ah, Mr. Sun Woo… What should I do? The word ‘sir’ keeps slipping out.”

This is driving me crazy. Remembering Eun Jae’s image of muttering to herself and slapping her own mouth as if to punish it, he couldn’t help but smile.

It seems he’s not in his right mind, smiling when it’s not the time to smile.

Sun Woo shook his head at his own unfamiliar behavior and tried to clear his thoughts. The more he thought about it, the more complex and subtle his feelings for the woman became.

Will we be able to get past this without Grandfather noticing?

It didn’t matter much for himself, who rarely showed emotional fluctuations, but the problem was the woman whose emotions were always transparently visible.

That train of thought shifted to the image of the woman blushing in embarrassment in front of the hospital yesterday.

Recalling that scene, Sun Woo let out a faint smile.

“You have to keep your promise.”

“What promise?”

“You said you’d let me go earlier than the contract period once things are sorted out.”

Sun Woo frowned as he recalled Eun Jae’s unexpected words in the elevator yesterday.

So the woman is already thinking about running away from me.

“For whose benefit?”

Thinking that he should make sure to fulfill the full one-year contract period no matter what, Sun Woo took a sip of coffee.

Just as the coffee was reaching its bottom.

Eun Jae walked into the living room hesitantly, wearing a light yellow tweed two-piece suit. At the same time, Sun Woo slowly uncrossed his legs and scanned the woman from head to toe.

He didn’t mean to look. His gaze moved that way without him realizing it.

At first, he hadn’t noticed, but objectively speaking, the woman was pretty. She was a woman with a pure charm even without much makeup.

Is it the clothes that are pretty, or is it Ji Eun Jae who’s pretty?

As his thoughts branched out following the flow of consciousness, Sun Woo quickly cut off that branch.

Like last time and this time too, the shopper seems to have a really good sense. That must be it.

Sun Woo approached Eun Jae with large strides, not taking his eyes off her.

“You look pretty.”

It was an impulsive statement that came out without going through his mind. The woman, who had already learned, asked as if it was obvious.

“The clothes?”

No, you.

Sun Woo swallowed the answer that was lingering on his lips and smiled silently.

“Do you want some coffee?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Then let’s go.”

Eun Jae nodded slightly and followed the man. Her gaze was momentarily caught by the sight of the man sitting on the entrance bench, tightening his shoelaces, but she quickly came to her senses and lowered her head.

“Huh?”

The shoes at the entrance were not the ones she had worn yesterday. The design was different, and so was the heel height.

While Eun Jae was puzzled, the man who had finished putting on his shoes stood in front of her. Only then did Eun Jae hurriedly lower her gaze to the shoes.

As Eun Jae was about to hastily put on her shoes and lost her balance, tilting her body, the man’s hand reached out in front of her.

“I’m fine.”

“Take it, as a rehearsal.”

“Ah.”

Sun Woo’s lips naturally curved up at the woman’s response, which came out like a bursting bubble. Without hesitation, the woman’s hand gently overlapped with Sun Woo’s.

One thing was certain, if nothing else.

The woman’s hand was warm. Once held, he didn’t want to let go.

Sun Woo gripped the woman’s hand even tighter. The touch was so soft and warm that it felt like light was rippling to places deep in his chest that it couldn’t reach.

Sun Woo didn’t take his eyes off Eun Jae even as he held her hand. As he rubbed the back of her hand several times with his thumb, her cheeks quickly turned bright red. Sun Woo smiled with satisfaction at the sight.

The weather was nice.

The warm spring sunlight pouring through the car window spilled over Eun Jae’s face. After driving for a while like that, the man’s car finally came to a soft stop in front of a magnificent mansion.

The black iron gate, which looked to be at least 3 meters high, was adorned with red rose vines blooming beautifully. Behind the iron gate, a wide garden and well-landscaped trees were visible.

It was like a gate to another world. To Eun Jae, the gate seemed so enormous that just looking at it made her feel dizzy.

In the car, Eun Jae kept repeating the things the man had told her, afraid she might forget.

“Grandfather is quite perceptive. He’s good at reading even subtle emotions. If you’re not careful, you’ll be caught.”

“There’s one more sharp-eyed fellow… Don’t talk to him much if you can help it. Keep your words to a minimum whenever and wherever possible.”

With a small device in the man’s hand, the fortress-like gate opened smoothly. The car drove through the large garden and headed underground.

The underground was a parking lot. Three more vehicles were parked next to the car Sun Woo had parked. Sun Woo looked around as if searching for someone’s car before getting out.

“Not here yet?”

“Who?”

“It’s nothing. This way.”

Sun Woo guided Eun Jae towards a large glass door located in the underground parking lot. That glass door led to the mansion’s entrance. Opening the glass door and going up, the garden she had seen from the car spread out before her eyes.

Thinking that she would soon meet the man’s parents, she felt her face heating up. She kept breaking out in cold sweat.

She was so nervous that she had even taken a calming pill, but as they reached the entrance, all her efforts seemed futile. Her heart was racing wildly.

Eun Jae stopped Sun Woo’s hand as he was about to press the doorbell.

“Um, sir, just five minutes…”

“Are you going to call me ‘sir’ inside too?”

Sun Woo frowned at the words that had slipped out without her realizing.

In fact, she had been so nervous since before coming here that the word ‘sir’ kept popping out. The man seemed very anxious every time she did that.

“I’m sorry. My heart is pounding so much. This is my first time in such a situation, ah… What should I do?”

“You think it’s not the first time for others?”

Whether it was because Eun Jae was being especially dramatic, Sun Woo’s own nervousness didn’t show at all, hidden by Eun Jae’s. Sun Woo took a deep breath and pulled Eun Jae, who was clutching her chest, towards him by her shoulders.

“Look at me.”

Sun Woo fixed his eyes on Eun Jae.

It was like this when I first met him too. He looked at me like this and reassured me that everything would be okay.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, I’ll take care of everything.”

That nothing will happen.

So just trust me.

Sun Woo’s gaze seemed to be saying that.

Eun Jae looked at Sun Woo and nodded slowly as if she understood. As if by magic, calm settled in her heart.

“Are you ready to go in?”

“Yes!”

At the man’s question asking for her opinion, Eun Jae stepped forward as if she had steeled her resolve.

Seeing this, Sun Woo naturally moved closer behind Eun Jae. His warm and soft hand gently rested on Eun Jae’s shoulder.

Eun Jae managed to raise her trembling lips.

The sight of the man’s hand reaching for the doorbell was captured in her eyes as if in slow motion. The doorbell sound was heard, and the front door clicked open.

The first to greet Eun Jae was Seongsan. Saying that she hadn’t been able to greet her properly last time due to the rush, she showered Eun Jae with pleasant compliments.

After chattering on for a while, Seongsan shook her head, saying, “Oh, look at me,” and finally guided Eun Jae and Sun Woo to the dining room.

In the dining room, Sun Woo’s mother Eun Jung and his aunt Soo In were seated.

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ji Eun Jae.”

“Oh my, aren’t you pretty. Come here and sit down.”

Eun Jung, who greeted Eun Jae before Sun Woo, couldn’t take her eyes off Eun Jae. It was a face so small that it was surprising how all the features were perfectly in place.

She was even more beautiful than expected. Eun Jung narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Sun Woo, who was standing there blankly.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sun Woo spoke to Eun Jung while habitually pulling out a chair and gently pressing on Eun Jae’s shoulder to seat her. Then he naturally sat down next to her.

“Did you inherit your father’s high standards?”

Sun Woo immediately understood what she meant and snorted.

“Where’s Father?”

“He’s in the courtyard with Grandfather. They’ll be here soon.”

As a moment of silence fell, Eun Jae, thinking she had briefly missed her timing, took the shopping bag Sun Woo was holding and placed it on the table.

“Here, I heard you like herbal tea.”

Eun Jae handed the shopping bags to Eun Jung and Soo In respectively.

“Oh my, did our Sun Woo tell you that?”

Eun Jae smiled and secretly glanced at Sun Woo. Sun Woo smiled at Eun Jae as if to say she was doing well.

She thought it was a relief.

So far, the conversation had flowed according to the script the man had created. Throughout practice, the man had agreed to speak more casually because her speech was too stiff.

Soo In, who had been staring at Sun Woo, put a blueberry in her mouth and asked.

“You said you weren’t seeing anyone until last month. How did you two meet?”

“I wanted to tell you more carefully. Eun Jae’s mother is at Yeonrim Hospital. We met as a guardian.”

“Oh! How romantic.”

Soo In, who had been agreeing with Sun Woo’s words, soon had a worried look on her face as she picked up another blueberry.

“I wonder when our Tae Gyu will bring someone. It seems he’s seeing someone, but he never shows her to us.”

Eun Jae flinched at the familiar name. It was because she heard his name in an unexpected place, and it wasn’t a very common name.

Before coming here, Sun Woo had earnestly implored Eun Jae about his sharp-eyed cousin brother.

So that person is that person, she thought.

Tae Gyu…

Since he’s the younger uncle, he must be a Yoon… Then Yoon Tae Gyu. Yoon Tae Gyu?

Suddenly feeling dazed, Eun Jae gulped down the water in front of her.

No way. It can’t be.

Sun Woo, who had been watching Eun Jae’s suddenly unstable behavior, quietly asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll just go to the bathroom for a moment.”

Where should I go? When she whispered and asked Sun Woo, Seongsan, who was standing behind, said she would guide her instead and took Eun Jae out.

Entering the bathroom she was guided to, Eun Jae caught her breath.

“No, it can’t be. Out of 50 million people, he can’t be the only one named Yoon Tae Gyu, right?”

Ji Eun Jae, get a grip.

She slapped her cheeks a couple of times with her palm wet with cold water. She took a deep breath and barely regained her composure when she opened the bathroom door.

All the resolutions she had made until just now seemed to crumble at the sight of the man in front of her.

It wasn’t just her who was surprised. The man standing in front was also looking at Eun Jae with a dumbfounded face.

“Why are you coming out of there?”

Eun Jae tried to pull the doorknob she was holding to close the door again. But Tae Gyu was faster. Instantly pushing the door open, Tae Gyu entered the bathroom with her and grabbed Eun Jae’s wrist.

“What are you? Why are you here?”

“……”

Seeing her eyes darting around without being able to say anything, Tae Gyu voiced what he didn’t want to think about.

“No way.”

Tae Gyu’s lips twisted mercilessly.

“Is the person you’re marrying Yoon Sun Woo?”