S Coffee, the most secluded corner.

Eun Jae, with her long straight hair falling down to her shoulder blades and a black hat pulled low over her head, did not forget to be wary of her surroundings while hunching her shoulders.

After Eun Jae’s explanation, a heavy silence hung between them for a long time.

There was no conversation except for the regular ‘tap tap tap’ sound of the smart key between his fingers, which were more slender and beautiful than most women’s, hitting the table.

His other hand was supporting his chin, as if deep in thought.

What kind of doctor is so handsome?

Unreal.

His appearance, which she hadn’t been able to observe closely before due to the chaotic situation, quickly seeped into Eun Jae’s sparkling eyes with interest.

Her gaze kept being drawn to him, even though she wanted to look away.

His bangs, just barely touching his eyelids, and the straight forehead and bridge of the nose revealed beside them, were like a perfectly sculpted statue.

His smooth, white skin that seemed flawless, and lips moist and full of vitality as if he had just bitten into a pomegranate.

Unnecessarily eye-catching.

While momentarily lost in admiration, Eun Jae froze in surprise at the sound of the smart key stopping against the table, as if her thoughts had been caught.

Trying to act as if she wasn’t startled, Eun Jae hid her emotions and took a long sip of her iced coffee through the straw in front of her.

Perhaps sensing her stare, his tightly closed lips slowly opened.

“Your phone was disconnected because you couldn’t pay the bill?”

“Yes.”

I shouldn’t have called. It felt like a rabbit crawling into a tiger’s den of its own accord.

Her shoulders kept hunching inward guiltily with each question he asked.

It happened because of unavoidable circumstances, it wasn’t my fault, that’s why I explained everything honestly!

Sun Woo stared intently at Eun Jae, who was sitting across from him with a somewhat indignant expression, maintaining a cold gaze that seemed to deepen the misunderstanding.

“So you couldn’t be contacted and couldn’t contact me.”

“Yes.”

At Eun Jae’s short answer, his consistently straight eyebrows twitched greatly. A sneer flashed across his face as if he couldn’t believe it.

“And you expect me to believe that? Just happening to coincide with that time?”

That’s right. Just happening to coincide with that time.

I really didn’t know. I only thought the incoming calls would be blocked for a while, not that it would be completely disconnected.

Being an expert at running away, Eun Jae had been eluding the loan sharks for weeks now by moving around unpredictably.

Just when they thought they had her, she’d slip away, right before their eyes, and so they were at their wit’s end. Recently, encounters with them had become more frequent whenever she went out, so she had been refraining from going outside.

So she didn’t want to explain in such detail to this person she had just met, no, just seen for the second time, about not being able to pay the bill. There was no need to, either.

By the way, I shouldn’t be sitting here leisurely drinking coffee in a cafe like this.

Eun Jae looked around again, realizing her situation, and pulled her hat down further as she lowered her posture and voice.

“If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself. I’ll let you verify it.”

Should he believe those clear eyes looking back at him so innocently, without a hint of deceit, or not?

Starting to feel confused, Sun Woo let out a sigh into the air and silently picked up his teacup.

“I was really grateful then, and I wanted to repay the favor somehow. If I had intended to run away from the beginning, I wouldn’t have bothered to contact you like this. As you said, I could have just run away.”

Here we go with the ‘sir’ again.

Sun Woo clicked his tongue as if displeased.

A week ago.

His heart had raced uncontrollably at the sound of this woman’s voice over the phone. He couldn’t understand why.

Unlike Sun Woo, who was ready to go to her location immediately, she had made him wait another week, keeping him on edge.

Suddenly appearing and touching my body without permission, giving me a fake number and disappearing, and then stirring up my mind until the day we met again, and the only excuse she offers,

Compared to what I’ve been through for two weeks, it’s so trivial and ridiculous that it’s not even comparable, that’s why my heart is clearly racing with excitement.

“If you ran away, you think I’d just sit still?”

“I happen to be quite skilled at hide-and-seek.”

“And I’m quite talented at being ‘it’.”

As Sun Woo, who had been drinking his tea, raised his eyes at Eun Jae’s words, she quietly lowered her gaze back to her coffee.

“I risked my life to save you too.”

Well, it’s not like it was a matter of life and death… Though it was an urgent situation.

“I know… That’s why I said I’d repay you.”

“If you had run away like that, I would have found you before those loan sharks did.”

Ah.

A short exclamation echoed in Eun Jae’s mind.

She finally realized. I’ve gotten into trouble, this person is worse than, if not at least as bad as, the loan sharks. Trying to avoid a trap, I’ve fallen into a large net. It’s already too late.

Eun Jae’s voice trembled slightly as she continued speaking.

“That’s, that’s why I contacted you.”

“And it took you a week to make that contact.”

Eun Jae scratched the back of her neck awkwardly as she saw the man’s cynical expression.

“I was a bit busy.”

“Wow.”

After a soulless reaction, Sun Woo, who had been staring at Eun Jae for a moment, folded his arms on the table. Leaning his upper body closer to Eun Jae, he asked.

“Let’s say that’s true, but you didn’t actually take out a loan, did you? How much? If you use those incorrectly, it can ruin your life.”

Are you scolding me or worrying about me? Just pick one.

Eun Jae thought this as she listened to the man’s rapid-fire words.

“I didn’t borrow it myself—”

“Your father? Mother? Or siblings?”

I said I’d repay the favor, not that I’d submit to an interrogation, right?

“No siblings, it was my father.”

It was oddly amusing how she was answering his questions so straightforwardly.

“My mother is in that hospital. I went there to pay the hospital bill, and that’s how things turned out.”

Even adding details that didn’t need to be said.

“How much is that debt exactly?”

“I’m not sure of the exact amount…”

She had never seen a document with the precise figure written on it.

A month ago, loan sharks had suddenly barged in and turned the house upside down.

Saying that her father had borrowed money from them while gambling and then ran away, so now they had to repay it.

“I only know that my father borrowed 50 million won about 20 years ago.”

Unfolding his arms and picking up his teacup, he leaned back in his chair and muttered quietly, almost to himself.

“It must have multiplied several times by now.”

Eun Jae responded impassively to the man’s words, taking a long sip of her coffee.

“They said it was… 200 million.”

She had never seen or touched such a large sum of money, so it didn’t feel very real. That’s why she was so impassive about it.

“200 million? These guys are nothing but robbers.”

His fingers, now back on the table, started moving as if playing the piano.

“So what should we do now?”

“About what?”

By the way, why have you been speaking informally to me this whole time?

We don’t seem to have that big of an age difference.

“How do we maintain continuous, stable communication with you?”

His gaze, which had been directed at Eun Jae, gradually moved downward, and he jerked his chin towards the cell phone in her hand.

“Should we revive that?”

“I suppose so?”

Before Eun Jae could finish speaking, the belongings scattered on the table were swept into his hand.

Standing up tall, he looked down at Eun Jae and turned towards the exit.

“Get up then. Let’s go revive it.”

W Hotel lounge.

Had she ever been to such a high place in her life?

It was hard to believe that she was now sitting inside a building that seemed to touch the very edge of the sky.

And in such an elegant restaurant at that.

Even more unbelievable was the latest model cell phone clutched in her hand.

Although the overdue fees had been paid, the already-terminated phone couldn’t be reactivated, so she had to get a new number.

While waiting for the system to process, Sun Woo looked down at the phone Eun Jae was preciously holding. The screen had been cracked for a long time. Sun Woo snatched Eun Jae’s phone and said,

“Let’s buy a new phone.”

“What? No.”

“Is that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?”

“It’s a no.”

“I’m afraid you’ll say you couldn’t answer calls because your phone was broken now.”

Not only buying her a new phone, but now having dinner alone with her in what seemed to be an expensive hotel.

Eun Jae stared blankly at him across the table, full of questions, as he cut into a well-cooked tenderloin steak with his knife. Even his most ordinary movements were elegant and refined.

Could this person… have fallen for me?

Well, I am quite attractive after all…

“Don’t misunderstand, having dinner at this hotel is just my routine.”

As if he had read her expression, he quickly cut off Eun Jae’s idle thoughts, suggesting she shouldn’t attach too much meaning to it.

Of course, why would someone like that be interested in me.

Then what exactly does he want from me? Anyone would think he’s the one repaying a favor.

As she watched him cut the steak into appropriate sizes and put it in his mouth, Eun Jae turned her head and briefly scanned the restaurant.

The room was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing a view of the twinkling night scenery from any angle just by turning one’s eyes.

Eun Jae was more captivated by the buildings emitting soft lights and the night view outside the window than by the lavish food placed before her.

With her chin resting on her hand, she gazed absently out the window, catching Sun Woo’s attention.

It was the first time he had seen someone come here just to look outside, and seeing Eun Jae like that, Sun Woo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

What’s so funny? Are you crazy?

Sun Woo quickly covered up his inadvertently raised lips, pretending to wipe his mouth.

He snapped his fingers, making a ‘click’ sound to wake Eun Jae from her meditation.

“Ms. Ji Eun Jae. Let’s save the sightseeing for later and eat first, it’ll get cold and lose its taste.”

“Okay.”

As he neatly cut his steak, he casually asked Eun Jae a question.

“Where are you staying now?”

“Just here and there…”

For some reason, the man seemed quite curious about her.

“What are you good at?”

“Me?”

As he nodded while taking a sip of the non-alcoholic champagne with bubbles rising, Eun Jae fell into thought for a moment.

What am I good at? I’ve never thought about it.

Although she was the type to learn things quickly due to her good comprehension skills, she had never thought of herself as particularly excellent at anything.

“Cleaning? Laundry? Dishes? Well…”

She wasn’t sure why these words suddenly popped out, but since that’s all she had been doing lately, she didn’t have anything else to boast about at the moment. That must have been why.

“Should I take that to mean you’re good at household chores in general?”

As the man took another sip of champagne, the corners of his mouth seemed to be slightly upturned somewhere, making Eun Jae swallow hard.

It’s not clear what the standard for being good at something is, or what this man’s standards are.

Right, as if I’d ever have a reason to show you me cleaning, doing laundry, or washing dishes.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“You said you wanted to repay the favor.”

Ah, right, I came to repay the favor? What am I, a magpie? Coming to repay a favor.

Eun Jae put a bite-sized piece of steak in her mouth and replied.

“Surely, you’re not planning to make me a housekeeper or something? I’m not that professional.”

“That would be too trivial to equate with the value of a life.”

With a smile on his lips, he opened the wallet he had placed beside the table. Soon, a piece of paper with something written on it was slid in front of Eun Jae.

“There’s something I need to verify. Come here by 9 AM tomorrow.”

It was a yellow piece of paper with an unfamiliar address written on it.

Eun Jae slowly recited the address written on the paper in her mind, then turned back to Sun Woo and asked.

“Where is this place?”

“My house.”

“What? Why should I go to your house, sir?”

“That ‘sir’ really grates on my nerves.”

He furrowed his brows deeply, expressing his displeasure in a low voice.

“Do I have to hear you call me ‘sir’ even outside? Strictly speaking, I’ve never been your teacher either.”

“No, but why are you getting angry?”

“I’m not angry, this is just how I talk.”

That’s something to be proud of. If you know, you should try to change it.

Eun Jae inwardly spoke the words she couldn’t say out loud and glared at him sideways.

“Anyway, why do I have to go there?”

“I told you, there’s something I need to verify.”

Mixing informal and formal speech in a strange way, she couldn’t fathom what was going on in his mind.

It’s like he’s fattening me up to eat me.

Is this person good or bad?

What does he want from me? No, does he even want anything?

“Just tell me what you want now.”

“Let’s talk about that after we verify tomorrow.”

She wanted to say something, but her words were stuck, leaving her mouth gaping. The man tilted his champagne glass and smiled faintly.

“I’m curious too.”

He smiled, lifting one corner of his mouth, and drained the remaining champagne in his glass.

“About what you can do for me.”