At her friend’s words while shopping together, Yejin turned around in surprise. The man sitting on the sofa in the store was conspicuous even from a distance. It was undoubtedly Kwon Seung-joo.

“Really?”

Yejin’s face brightened with joy.

She didn’t know how much she had worried because there was no contact for a while. Even when she tried to contact him at the company, they only said he was on sick leave due to an accident, and he didn’t tell her where he was.

She heard that he returned recently, and they even held a large-scale welcome back party. Unfortunately, she couldn’t attend because she was overseas at that time.

“CEO Kwon…”

Yejin was about to approach him, calling him happily when she stopped in her tracks the next moment.
A woman emerged after changing into clothes and stood in front of Kwon Seung-joo, placing her hand on her waist, she asked, “How is it?” Without responding, Kwon Seung-joo only nodded. However, even with just that, Yejin was already shocked.

Shopping with a woman? Kwon Seung-joo?

‘Who on earth is this woman?’

Taesung Group’s youngest daughter, Woo Yejin, looked at the woman with sharp eyes.

The penthouse with a duplex structure was the largest and most luxurious house Eun-seo had ever seen since she was born. In reality, and even through the media, it was the same. Except perhaps for the palace where the Queen of England, or rather the King, lived.

“In this house… the CEO lives alone, right?”

She knew, but she had to ask again. Some people knew that the roof was dangerous, but they didn’t have the money to fix it, so it ended up like this… It felt like she now understood why the Proletarian Revolution happened.

“My room is over there. As you come in, there’s a small living room, and among the three rooms, the one on the far left is the bedroom. The other two are a dressing room and a study.”

Listening to the landlord’s words about the location of his room while letting it go in one ear, Eun-seo thought. Clearly, the living room is here, so what does it mean that there’s another living room inside?

She climbed the luxurious staircase that she saw at the department store and headed to the second floor.

“You can use this room.”

Kwon Seung-joo gave her a small bedroom on the second floor. It seemed to be a room set up for guests. For reference, “small” was only in the context of this house; this room was easily three times the size of the main bedroom Eun-seo used in her original house.

After estimating the distance between the location Kwon Seung-joo had pointed out for his room and this room, Eun-seo secretly sighed with relief. At this point, it seemed like it could just be considered the neighbor’s house. In fact, in terms of distance alone, it was much farther than most neighboring houses.

It was a strange situation. She came here almost involuntarily, and now, she felt uneasy about how she would live with this uncomfortable man in the future. However, she felt a sense of relief that her anxious heart throughout the day was gradually easing. It seemed better to be with an uncomfortable man without a place to go than to be in an unfamiliar situation.

“What do you want for dinner?”

Upon hearing the question, Eun-seo suddenly felt hungry. Come to think of it, she had hardly eaten anything since yesterday’s accident. She couldn’t afford to miss a meal when she had nowhere to go. She hadn’t even eaten dinner at Suna’s house, and she had been going from store to store shopping in that state, so she couldn’t help but feel hungry.

But what’s this? Her mouth moved on its own.

“I don’t have any preferences.”

Having shown a strong aversion to being in this house all along, she hadn’t made any comments about what to eat. She regretted her answer immediately, but the ruthless Kwon Seung-joo didn’t ask again.

“Then, rest.”

He said that and left.

In the end, Eun-seo went to bed on an empty stomach.
Habit was truly frightening. In the past, she used to skip a few meals and still managed well, but Seung-joo took care of her so diligently that she seemed to have become accustomed to it. Her stomach was growling.

‘Just ask one more time.’

Eun-seo irrationally blamed the innocent landlord.

‘No, Seung-joo wouldn’t have asked in the first place. He would have set the table and called me.’

The affectionate voice lingered in her ears, and tears welled up.

Maybe she’ll forget she’s hungry when she sleeps, she thought, so she forcibly tried to get some sleep, but her eyes only became more watery. Trying to endure, she eventually got up. Stealthily leaving her room, she headed to the kitchen she briefly glimpsed earlier.

‘Nevertheless, it’s a house where people live. There should at least be instant noodles.’

Undoubtedly, there would be nothing in the fridge other than bottled water or beer. That was the image of the landlord. So, she didn’t even bother opening the fridge and targeted the kitchen cabinets. Fortunately, in the corner of the cabinet, she discovered several instant noodles. At that moment, she was so delighted that she almost screamed.

‘There it is!’

Eun-seo’s face brightened.

The kitchen and Seung-joo’s bedroom were far away. It took at least two minutes, including the time it took to navigate from the kitchen to the 2nd floor earlier. If she quietly boiled and ate, ventilated the area, and did a bit of dishwashing, it could be a perfect crime. Could it be that Seung-joo checks every day how many instant noodles are left in the cabinet?

Eun-seo found a pot and filled it with water. Because it was her first time using an induction range, she struggled for a while before finally managing to boil the water.

With the pre-opened packet in her hand, while waiting, just as she was about to throw the ramen into the boiling water.

Someone swiftly snatched the ramen packet from her hand.

“…!”

Eun-seo froze, unable to even lift her head. In her mind, for a moment, she imagined jumping out of the window into that dazzling night view beyond the glass.

“Sit down.”

Seung-joo took out an apron and said, “I’ll cook, so sit tight.”