After saying that, he stretched his long legs towards the parking lot. The footsteps of Song Eun Chae, who followed him carrying a heavy viola case like a small frog, overlapped with his.

Ki Joo, who seemed to look back, soon walked on, indifferently looking straight ahead. Eun Chae also moved her feet silently, and moved them again. But it didn’t mean they were headed to the same destination. At the crossroads, he headed to the parking lot, and Eun Chae headed to the road where cars were passing by. Just like strangers.

After a while, Ki Joo brought the car. Eun Chae was standing at the intersection, her ears red as if it was cold in the meantime.

Ki Joo tutted, biting his tongue and stepping on the brake. As the car stopped, Eun Chae opened the rear seat door without waiting for his help. Then she pushed the viola case into the corner with a grunt.

With his elbow on the window and his chin on his hand, Ki Joo watched her work. She took good care of the viola with her small hands, and then sat next to him with a satisfied look.

So stubborn.

Ki Joo silently smiled and readjusted his grip on the steering wheel. He thought that people really don’t change, looking at her stubbornly doing everything on her own.

As they entered the road through the vehicle entrance, he spoke casually.

“You said it was a graduation recital.”

Eun Chae looked at him as if to ask why he was asking. No, it would be more accurate to say she was looking at his calm eyes reflected in the rearview mirror.

She frowned. Through the short length of the rearview mirror, she couldn’t tell what expression he was making.

“When is it?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I heard it’s quite meaningful to be invited there.”

Where did he hear that again? Indeed, he has been frequenting the art hall because of me these days. He must have overheard the conversations of those about to graduate. It is true that who to invite has become a frequent topic of conversation these days.

That being said, why is he curious about it?

Eun Chae showed her defiance against him by crossing her arms, and said leisurely.

“Then I know who to invite.”

“Is it Han Seung Yoon?”

Ki Joo’s voice, mentioning that name, was filled with a touch of laughter. It was irritatingly ticklish, too much to simply call it a misunderstanding.

“Don’t invite him.”

At his words, Eun Chae snorted out loud.

“Why should I do that?”

While asking the question, she stared at him with eyes saying, ‘I never gave you the right to do that.’

Conveniently, the car stopped at a red light at that moment. After stepping on the brake to stop the car, Ki Joo raised his eyes. Their gazes met through the rearview mirror. Eun Chae didn’t avoid his gaze.

There are several kinds of silence. Ignorance, recognition, and resignation.

She felt that all of these were mixed in his straight gaze.

Suddenly, she felt a desire to break the silence.

“About that kiss.”

He seemed to ask her to continue, tilting his neck.

“It wasn’t like the old times.”

“….”

“It wasn’t fun.”

Just after she said that, the signal turned green. The sound of stepping on the accelerator came first, then his gaze went straight ahead.

Eun Chae stretched out her hand and pressed the button to open the window.

Her face was burning with her own childishness and passion.

((())) ((())) ((()))

“Team leader,” Kwon Ki Joo opened his eyes at the sound of a difficult voice calling him.

He had been dropping Song Eun Chae off at her home from the art hall. After receiving a call from Chairman Song Myung Hwan, he had moved directly to a Japanese restaurant in Cheongdamdong.

The two of them had drank about three bottles of sake. Despite wanting to call a substitute driver and leave separately, an argument broke out due to the chairman’s insistence on going together in one car.

Let’s skip such trivial process, even though he wasn’t totally drunk, Chairman Song was quite tipsy. The chairman’s dedicated driver didn’t dare wake him up and just looked at me.

When he slightly twisted his upper body to look back, Chairman Song Myung Hwan was sound asleep.

“Chairman, I will support you, so please take care of the parking,” he said.

Saying so, Ki Joo unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the passenger side door, and got out. He undid the button on the jacket inside his coat and opened the rear door. He lightly shook the shoulder of Chairman Song Myung Hwan, who was soundly asleep with his neck bent.

“Chairman, we’re in front of your house.”

Chairman Song Myung Hwan opened his eyes wearily, then nodded his head. Despite his drowsiness, he was a gentleman who maintained his dignity.

Ki Joo tried to support the chairman as he got out of the car, but Chairman Song Myung Hwan refused with a wave of his hand. Instead, he casually wrapped his arm around his shoulder and said,

“I know all about your hard work.”

Chairman Song Myung Hwan had simply abbreviated the task of dealing with Kwak Hyun Seob as ‘hard work’. It was proof that something like dealing with unnecessary noise and rumors quietly was just a common thing for the chairman.

“You flatter me.”

“Just keep doing it like this. Just like this.”

As he responded in courtesy, Chairman Song Myung Hwan stretched his legs toward the stairs with a satisfied face. When Ki Joo tried to support him right away, he raised his hand to stop him.

“That’s enough. You should go in and rest too.”

As he said, Chairman Song Myung Hwan walked without staggering. Ki Joo leisurely stretched his legs behind him.

When he opened the door and went in, he saw the mansion enveloped in silence. His gaze ran along the wall and stopped on the second floor.

The windows were tightly shut. He could not see inside because the curtains were drawn. He could barely see that the lights were on.

Chairman Song Myung Hwan suddenly turned around just before he opened the front door of the main building.

“Ah, Team Leader Kwon.”

Ki Joo lowered his gaze and responded by straightening his spine.

“I don’t know how you ended up on this path.”

At his words, Ki Joo’s eyes cooled down. It was so obvious that Chairman Song Myung Hwan would have noticed if it wasn’t hidden in the dark.

The chairman confidently said while hitting his chest with his clenched fist.

“I will surely compensate you.”

Chairman Song Myung Hwan laughed heartily as he said this. He seemed to be very pleased with the fact that he had moved before Kwak Hyun Seob could do anything and prevented the disaster in advance. The chairman was certainly a mood person.

When Ki Joo greeted him formally, he waved his hand as if to say that the greeting had been done and opened the front door and went in.

After the door closed with a thud, silence came.

Ki Joo stood blankly in the silence, staring at the closed door.

How did he end up on this path.

Eventually, he twisted his mouth like a rogue.

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