On the morning of Kang Hyun’s discharge, Ji-an started her day busily.

First, she took a taxi to Hannam-dong, near Kang Hyun’s house, and stopped at a florist.

Following the owner’s recommendation, she picked a bouquet mixed with white lisianthus and blue delphinium. Holding the bouquet, Ji-an buried her nose among the tightly packed flowers and smiled brightly.

“It’s beautiful.”

The winter sunlight, unusually warm, cast a glow over the flowers, making them as vivid as blue paint on a white canvas.

With her heart swelling and then subsiding, Ji-an, holding the bouquet dearly, bought a small cake from a bakery in the same building complex.

Although Kang Hyun’s discharge wasn’t a huge celebration, she wanted to prepare a small gift for him, having always received from him.

Lightly stepping out of the elevator, Ji-an hummed a tune, like a kindergartner on a spring picnic.
Kang Hyun, dressed in simple homewear, sat at the dining table and picked up a spoon.

“The seasoning is light, so it might not taste good.”

Ji-an, sitting opposite Kang Hyun, intently watched his spoon as it entered his mouth, waiting for his reaction.

“It’s good.”

“I’ll divide it into portions and put them in the fridge, so make sure to heat it in the microwave and eat.”

“Are you leaving now?”

As Ji-an stood up, Kang Hyun’s eyebrows drooped.

“No.”

Ji-an brought over a cup of lukewarm barley tea and pushed it towards Kang Hyun.

His eyes, which had been anxiously following Ji-an like a puppy worried about its owner leaving, finally settled.

“I’ll take care of your dinner and medication before I go. I want to see you sleep, but I have to leave early today because of the move tomorrow.”

Kang Hyun relaxed as he checked the time approaching noon.

If they had dinner around 7 pm, they could spend about 8 hours together.

“I did well getting sick.”

“What do you mean ‘did well’? You scared me to death when I heard you had surgery! During the business trip, pretending to be fine, eating all that food despite a bad stomach, and I just…”

Ji-an, without pausing, poured out all the words she had been holding back.

Kang Hyun’s casual words had ignited her anger.

“Sorry.”

Why is his apology so quick? He used to not even know how to apologize.

With a sulky face, Ji-an cut a quail egg in half and placed it on Kang Hyun’s spoon.

“Eat this, they said it’s okay to have this much.”

“What should we do after eating? Maybe we could go to the department store, buy what you need, eat something delicious…”

Kang Hyun, chewing and swallowing the food Ji-an offered, spoke in a more animated tone than usual.

“Today, it’s only the bed or the couch.”

Ji-an cut him off with a more resolute voice than usual.

He might have seemed unusually well for someone who had just been discharged from the hospital, but he was still a patient with stitches in his surgical wound.

“Just lie down like a corpse.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t do anything.”

“Yes.”

“You’re to take care of me.”

“Yes.”

“Good, then I’ll keep holding you.”

“Yes, what?”

Ji-an, repeating ‘yes’ like a parrot, was momentarily stunned, her eyes wide.

Kang Hyun, witnessing her adorable reaction, twisted his lips into a smile.

“If you get bored, we can kiss too.”

What did I just hear?

Ji-an, feeling her cheeks about to burst from heat, covered her face with both hands and shook her head.

Having no experience in dating or even a crush in her four years of memories, she was easily swayed in Kang Hyun’s palm.

“This will be fun.”

Ji-an, trying to play the strict teacher, matched her pace with Kang Hyun, who attempted to be a well-behaved patient, though his character had been flawed from the start.

Tae Seok-kyu rolled his shoulders a couple of times and then reached out to grab a golf club.

Thwack, the lightly tapped ball crossed the green putting mat and rolled out.

Normally, the ball would have been sucked right into the hole with each swing, but today, mirroring his uneasy state of mind, it rolled aimlessly here and there.

“Continue.”
“Prosecutor Jang Yeon-seok from the Central District Prosecutors’ Office has started a re-investigation as an acknowledged case. The office used by the errand runner has already been raided, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Gu Se-jun. The police are currently searching for him.”

“Any update on Gu Se-jun’s location?”

“Not yet.”

Tae Seok-kyu, standing like a statue, handed his golf club to Director Jo and sat down on the sofa.

“We need to find Gu Se-jun first. Make sure Director Jo handles it personally without causing any disturbance.”

“Understood.”

“That guy, Gu Se-jun, should have left quietly when told to.”

Tae Seok-kyu, envisioning the end of Gu Se-jun, clicked his tongue.

“Kang Hyun has been discharged?”

“Yes, he entered his apartment in Hannam-dong this morning, according to the report.”

“Young and utterly careless with his health, isn’t he? Draft some provocative headlines and spread a few articles. Keep pressing him consistently so he can’t make moves with his shares.”

“I will follow your instructions. Also, we estimate about five guards are positioned near Seo Yoon.”

Tae Seok-kyu nodded rhythmically and stretched his legs onto the low table, laughing.

“Keep a close watch. I hope it doesn’t reach the worst-case scenario, but just in case, we might have to resort to using Seo Yoon if cornered.”