The surgery ended early.

After the schedule ended and he returned to the professor’s office, Sun Woo took out a thesis paper. He seemed lost in thought for a moment and stopped what he was doing. Then, he put the thesis he had opened into his briefcase and stood up.

By the time he arrived at the studio apartment in a daze, a sense of emptiness had washed over him. The woman wasn’t there.

He put the cake box he was holding down on the dining table and accepted the absurd laughter that burst out.

To think that a guy like me could do this for a woman he likes.

On the way, his steps suddenly stopped in front of a bakery. It was because he remembered the image of Eun Jae eating cheesecake deliciously last time.

Like her eyebrows that slightly raised or her small lips that moved when she ate something delicious.

Today, he wanted to sit face to face with her and listen to whatever she had to say. Even trivial things like how she spent her day or what she ate would be nice.

After finishing the call with Eun Jae, looking at the quiet cellphone made him laugh emptily.

Today, let’s have dinner at the hotel again.

What should we eat, what would she like.

Sun Woo pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat down, pondering thoughts he had never considered before.

Soon, Sun Woo’s gaze fell on the neatly arranged wedding invitation envelopes on the dining table. They were the ones left over after distributing them to acquaintances.

Just today, he had looked at them dozens of times.

The card that he had felt no emotion for when he first received it now looked different. He opened it again and again, gently tracing Eun Jae’s name engraved on it.

Sun Woo reached out and grabbed a wedding invitation. Then he slowly unfolded the card.

{ Groom Yoon Sun Woo }
{ Bride Ji Eun Jae }

As his gaze skimmed down the letters and stopped at Eun Jae’s name, the corners of Sun Woo’s mouth naturally lifted.

Eun Jae’s soft face was superimposed on the wedding invitation.

Eun Jae was like a blank canvas. The colors of emotions appearing on it were so clearly visible that it made him laugh at times.

Like her cheeks that blushed pink when flustered, or her ears that turned red when lying.

Looking back, he seemed to have deliberately teased her just to see that again.

Sun Woo’s gaze returned to where the two names were written side by side.

What if it became real, not just a contract.

He now wanted to attach a different reason to the marriage that had a clear purpose.

“You’re fond of contract violations. Even though you’re nothing without me.”

That’s right. I’m nothing without you.

Should I argue that it’s a clear contract violation? Aren’t those the words I always habitually said to women?

“Looks like you’ll get more than you give.”

The woman who’s always trying to find a way out. She might think she caught a good deal. And it seems there will be more.

At this point, even the confession that she likes me, said drunkenly, is confusing. I keep thinking she might have really mixed me up with someone else, making me anxious.

This won’t do, I need to make a clear decision one way or another.

‘Be careful. What if things go wrong.’

The Yoon Sun Woo who was still holding on to the thread of reason whispered.

For a moment, he thought it didn’t matter even if it turned out confusingly like that, but Sun Woo quickly came to his senses.

Then he laughed emptily. Because it felt so awkward to be interested in something other than the hospital.

Sun Woo rested his chin on the dining table and stared blankly at the seat across from him. The image of Eun Jae sitting there smiling brightly flickered in front of his eyes like a mirage.

The woman always seemed to bring out a different side of him hidden deep inside.

He had never thought about wanting to touch someone, but when he quietly looked at the woman, he wanted to pat her small head, and then the urge to hug her arose.

You might be the only woman who can save me driven to the edge of a cliff. In that sense, you and I might be each other’s saviors who can save one another.

The things he had vaguely thought about gradually twisted, and before he knew it, the woman had quietly drifted in. It was too late to push her out now, he knew that too.

He still wasn’t sure what emotion his feelings toward the woman spoke of. The emotion he had never felt before was unfamiliar.

He just likes Ji Eun Jae.

He likes being with her, he likes looking at her, he likes her smiling face, he likes how she finds happiness in small things.

And……

He hoped Eun Jae would continue to be happy by his side.

When his thoughts reached that point, Sun Woo picked up his jacket without hesitation and left the studio.

Spotting Eun Jae, Sun Woo waved his cellphone that he had been talking on in the air, as if happy to see her.

Even from a bit of a distance, she could see the man smiling brightly.

What woman wouldn’t fall for that kind of seduction.

It’s not that I easily give in, but that you’re good.

So, in case you ask why I mixed personal emotions into this contract marriage.

Thinking that she hoped he wouldn’t blame her, Eun Jae slowly walked to where the man was.

The man also took steps closer in the same direction. As the distance quickly narrowed, Eun Jae stopped walking and asked.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you leave work earlier?”

“I had nothing to do and was bored.”

At Sun Woo’s words that he was bored, Eun Jae furrowed her brows tightly.

“You were bored? Didn’t you say you left work early because you had to work on your thesis?”

“No, well.”

Sun Woo avoided answering, rubbing his nose.

Strange, these recent attitudes of his.

Even small actions he did casually made the person receiving them misconstrue his meaning. There was much room for misunderstanding. As if he had purposely come to get her.

Eun Jae waited for Sun Woo’s answer, then took steps first and continued.

“You couldn’t have come on purpose, did you have something to do nearby?”

“Why?”

At the unexpected answer, Eun Jae stopped walking and turned to look at Sun Woo.

“What do you mean why?”

As the man’s hand approached Eun Jae’s face, she flinched and pulled back.

“Why do you think that?”

Sun Woo, who had come close with a smile on his lips, reached out again for the distance Eun Jae had made and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Well……”

The man’s touch approached with a rustle and heat rose to both cheeks without fail.

The man, who narrowed the distance she had made by stepping back without realizing it, slowly stroked down the hair he had tucked behind Eun Jae’s ear and lightly grabbed it in his hand.

“You’re right, I came to get Eun Jae on purpose.”

Eun Jae was very startled by the man’s words. Her mouth that had lost words opened and closed repeatedly.

It’s too close……

Eun Jae looked up at the man’s face that had come close. As their eyes met, Eun Jae’s pupils visibly shook.

In an unguarded moment, a cool yet cozy scent seeped in. It was the familiar scent that always wafted from the man when she got close to him.

“You’re quite dense when I look closely.”

The man’s deep gaze and whisper-mixed breath stuck stickily to her cheek.

“Or do you prefer directness?”

Outside, the spring breeze was gently blowing, but the air enveloping the two was humid and sultry like summer.

The man’s deep, dark eyes followed Eun Jae’s pupils relentlessly.

“Then I’m willing to do that too. To a burdensome degree?”

That gaze that was hard to tell if it was real or fake.

“Which does Eun Jae prefer?”

That gaze that made even me confused about what my true feelings were.

“Relax. People will think I’m going to eat you up.”

The man released the hair he was loosely holding and tilted his head slightly, smiling faintly.

What’s wrong with this man these days…… He’s really acting strange lately.

Although she inwardly spat those words out, her mind was completely blank. Even if the man had said something a moment ago, it evaporated to the point of forgetting it all.

Eun Jae moved her gaze slowly from the man’s face to regain her senses and took a step back. Then, a question came from the man.

“Have you never dated?”

It was a very out-of-the-blue question. The man, who narrowed the distance again, smiled brightly and continued.

“Usually when people date, the guy comes to get the girl like this.”

Last time he talked about newlyweds, and now he’s going on about dating.

He’s been saying strange things since earlier and what favor is he trying to ask now? Whatever it is, it’s playing foul to say it after captivating a person like this.

Eun Jae, who became awkward in the unfamiliar atmosphere, could only scratch her head and avoid the man’s heated gaze.

That’s between lovers, and we’re not dating.

Eun Jae barely swallowed the words that had come up to her throat and looked up at the man with narrowed eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone seems to do at least this much. We’re getting married, so I should make time to come even if I have to.”

Ah. Eun Jae made a sound as if realizing something, and Sun Woo let out a deflated laugh.

The sight of the woman sighing as if she understood was amusing.

Of course, the woman seemed to be greatly misunderstanding his words.

After having an early dinner and getting into Sun Woo’s car in the hotel parking lot, Eun Jae glanced at Sun Woo as she was about to fasten her seatbelt.

“Relax. People will think I’m going to eat you up.”

The man’s finely burning gaze comes to mind. Even the right corner of his mouth that slightly lifted at the end.

There was clearly desire in those eyes. Just recalling the man’s words made her heart race and face flush.

It felt like yesterday’s events were unfolding before her eyes again.

“Have you never dated?”

That question, as if asking if he had dated but she hadn’t, was very irksome.

Eun Jae sidelong glanced at the man who was sitting in the driver’s seat fastening his seatbelt. She already knew, but an unapproachable aura emanated from the man.

Her gaze that followed the man’s movements paused briefly on his lips. Appropriately red yet luscious lips. They were pretty lips with a moist sheen.

If the man asks about what happened that day, she will confidently say this.

That those lips tempted her.

Come to think of it, there’s no way he hasn’t dated when he’s this handsome. Women must have lined up even if he just stood still.

She became inexplicably upset.

What kind of women had the man dated?

She suddenly became curious about the man’s past that she hadn’t been interested in before.

As soon as Eun Jae’s eyes met Sun Woo’s, who had finished fastening his seatbelt and raised his head, she quickly averted her gaze as if she hadn’t seen him. Then, click, she fastened the seatbelt she had been holding in her hand.

“What about you?”

At the question lacking a predicate, Sun Woo tilted his head and looked at Eun Jae.

Eun Jae’s gaze was directed at her knees, but she could feel the man looking at her even without seeing.

“Have you dated? You said you have mysophobia but you do everything.”

You said before as if I was your first. That no one’s hand had touched you? That it couldn’t be touched?

Eun Jae, who had been sulking, glared at him and the man snorted. At that sound, Eun Jae looked at the man with a displeased expression.

“What’s that?”

He rested his left arm on the steering wheel and turned his body towards her, smiling. That sight alone was so dazzlingly cool that being embarrassed about blushing while looking at such a man made Eun Jae reply in an even sharper voice to avoid revealing her feelings.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Those words, they sound a lot like jealousy.”

“Wh-why would I? Why would I be jealous?”

Sun Woo smiled softly, looking at Eun Jae’s two ears that had visibly turned bright red.

“Why not, I’m your husband.”

Thinking that he really hoped it was a lie, that he really hoped she was truly jealous.

“…..It’s not jealousy!”

Sun Woo was about to start the engine but stopped as if he remembered something and turned his body towards Eun Jae again. Sensing his movement, Eun Jae also turned her head to look at Sun Woo.

“So I’m saying, we have a month left until the wedding and I think we need to get a bit closer than we are now.”

I want to know the things that can be naturally acquired through experience, not just mechanically instilled.

“We should at least basically know what each other likes and dislikes.”

“Well, that’s true.”

As Eun Jae looked up at Sun Woo obliquely, expressing agreement, the corners of Sun Woo’s mouth lifted gently.

Sun Woo looked down at Eun Jae intently. He liked this moment when his own image was fully contained in her dark and clear eyes.

“Eun Jae.”

I want to know what kind of person you are.

I’m curious about what you like and dislike too.

I thought I had lost all emotions and curiosity about people while living, but in front of you, everything that had broken down moves normally.

Perhaps you, Eun Jae, might be the only person who can fix the creaking me.

“Shall we date?”