Seungjoo sat on the porch of the house where he used to live with his mother, lost in thought, not realizing how time was passing. Suddenly, the door opened, and a woman entered.

The first impression of the woman was that she was small. She was short, had a small face, small shoulders, and each facial feature was cute. It was fascinating how all the features fit into such a small face.

In front of the petite woman, the large Seungjoo was bewildered and didn’t know what to do.

Caught up in his observation and momentarily forgetting, he had to remember that this was someone else’s house, and he was clearly trespassing.

“……!”

As expected, an air of fear quickly took over the small face of the woman.

Reluctantly, Seungjoo stood up and bowed his waist.

“I’m sorry for entering without permission.”

He had no choice but to be honest and apologize.

“I used to live in this house briefly. I stopped by because I remembered the old times, and the door happened to be open.”

“……. ”

“If you permit, I’ll just sit for a moment and leave.”

Even as he spoke, he thought he would be rejected. Whether this woman lived alone or not, it didn’t seem like there were other family members in the house at the moment. Would she allow a man to be here in the middle of the night?

Regretfully thinking that he should have said he was the landlord, the woman unexpectedly nodded.

“Well… feel free to stay for a while.”

Unaware that he was enjoying the favor of a tenant he barely knew, Seungjoo could continue sitting there.

Sitting there, he pondered various thoughts throughout the night. He felt a mix of resentment, longing, and, of course, sadness for his mother. However, the most overwhelming emotion was emptiness. The years he waited so futilely, not knowing his mother was already dead, and steadfastly believing she was still alive without any basis, made him feel like a fool.

He couldn’t remember when he fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes, the distant eastern sky was faintly brightening. He was lying on the porch. One side of his body felt freezing cold, while the other strangely felt warm. Turning his head, he saw an electric heater turned on towards him. When he got up, a thick blanket flowed down.

Seungjoo felt belated embarrassment. He had caused trouble in various ways.

“Thank you.”

He mumbled an awkward thanks inwardly, but there was no response, and the inside of the house remained eerily silent.

“……. ”

Come to think of it, he couldn’t see the small sneakers that had been placed under the stone under the main floor. It seemed like the person had left the house like the dawn.

He couldn’t stay in someone else’s house forever, and there was no reason to. Thinking he should leave, he got up, and suddenly, he noticed something at the end of the porch.

There was a tray with a thermos and teacup.

It was an item that wasn’t there just yesterday. No matter how he thought about it, it was undoubtedly an invitation to drink.

Seungjoo opened the thermos and poured tea into the cup. The sweet fragrance emanated from the tea, and steam was still rising from it.
From yesterday morning until now, Seungjoo sipped warm honey tea, soothing the dryness in his mouth that hadn’t tasted a drop of water in a long time. As he slowly swallowed, he felt a gradual warmth spreading through every corner of his body, dispelling the chill.

Even to the frozen tear ducts.

The small kindness of a total stranger seeped into his heart painfully. Although he hadn’t heard a word, it felt like receiving warm comfort.

Throughout the funeral, at the mortuary, and until being placed in the crematorium, not a single tear had come out. But at that moment, tears gushed out as if the previous lack of tears was a lie.

“……!”

Seungjoo covered his face and burst into tears, letting out the pent-up sorrow.

The next time he encountered that woman, the tenant, was at the end of December that year, at the final interview venue for new employee recruitment.

Seeing Seungjoo’s face, the woman’s eyes widened like a surprised rabbit, but Seungjoo pretended not to notice. If he showed undue familiarity, it might not end well.

It was then that he first learned the tenant’s name.

‘Her name is Yoon Eunseo.’

The sweetness of the honey tea he had that day was still vivid in his mouth. Since he was the CEO, he should grade the test without bias for fairness, but honestly, making an objective judgment was difficult.

Fortunately, Yoon Eunseo was a quite smart woman. Despite her nervous face, she answered the questions smoothly, so Seungjoo closed his eyes and circled her name. Luckily, later he found out that other interviewers had also circled her, so he secretly sighed in relief. It meant that it wasn’t just him who chose her.

Thus, they transitioned from landlord and tenant to CEO and new employee.