When Eun Seo returned home from work, two unfamiliar women had placed a stand under the fence and were peering over into Eun Seo’s yard.

‘Could they be looking for Seung Joo?’

With a sinking feeling, Eun Seo approached quietly.

Unaware that Eun Seo was listening behind them, the two were absorbed in their conversation.

“I can’t believe a place like this exists in Seoul. It would make a great picture, don’t you think?”

“I know, right? If we capture it with a drone from above, the contrast with the surroundings would be even more stunning.”

“And that tree in the middle of the yard. It fits the concept of the song perfectly, but it’s a shame it’s so bare since it’s winter.”

“Oh come on, we can always add leaves if needed, what’s there to worry about?”

Eun Seo silently let out a sigh of relief. Though she didn’t understand what they were talking about, it seemed unrelated to Seung Joo.

“Who are you to be peering into someone else’s house like this?”

Startled by the sudden voice behind them, the two women were shocked. One of them even fell off the stand in her panic.

“We’re so sorry. Are you the homeowner?”

“Yes, I am.”

“We’re from a broadcasting station. We were scouting to see if we could shoot a music video at your house.”

“A music video? You mean for a singer?”

“They’re trainees who haven’t debuted yet. Have you heard of the Idol Project 10?”

Eun Seo’s ears perked up. Apten!

“Yes, I’ve seen it.”

The production staff brightened up. Of course, if she knew about it, the conversation would go smoother.

“You know the second round of voting is coming up, right? After that, the remaining trainees will compete in teams. We’re thinking of shooting a music video for one of those teams here.”

What a coincidence. Eun Seo asked excitedly without realizing it.

“Will Chris be coming too?”

The staff members immediately became wary. They seemed pleased earlier when she said she knew about it, but knowing too much was apparently a problem.

“No, it’s just that my friend is a fan. I don’t even know what Chris looks like.”

Eun Seo quickly waved her hands.

“We don’t know if Chris will pass the second round of voting. And there are multiple teams, so we’re not sure which team will come. Also, I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to observe the filming as you’re only providing the location.”

It seemed to be a security issue. While Eun Seo understood their concern, it felt ridiculous to put up such defenses when she hadn’t even agreed to lend the place yet.

Thinking, “So this is how broadcasting people are…”, Eun Seo retorted,

“I haven’t agreed to lend you my house yet, have I?”

The production staff hurriedly pleaded.

“If you let us use it for just one day, we’ll pay you one million won!”

Eun Seo’s ears perked up. One million won just for lending the place for a day.

Hiding her desire to immediately shout “Okay!”, Eun Seo tried to negotiate for a higher price.

“I might consider it for one million five hundred thousand won.”

Eun Seo had a plan. With one million five hundred thousand won, she could pay off the installments for Seung Joo’s suit at once, and still have enough left over to buy that.

The PlayStation 5 that Seung Joo had wanted so badly!

Seung Joo had spent the money he earned working hard for two weeks not on a gaming console, but on a coat for Eun Seo. Eun Seo wanted to buy him the gaming console too, but she could only wish, having just bought an expensive suit and shoes. Now a good opportunity had come.

When Eun Seo boldly asked for one million five hundred thousand, the production staff hesitated to answer right away.

“Well, if you don’t like it, never mind. Goodbye.”

As Eun Seo turned away without regret, the staff hastily grabbed her arm.

“We’ll pay it!”

Eun Seo smiled silently. And when she turned back, she added nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

“And there’s one more condition.”

*

“What! Apten is coming?”

Sun Ah’s outburst caused everyone eating in the company cafeteria to turn and look at them.

“Shh! I told you I signed a confidentiality agreement, didn’t I? How can you shout so loudly?”

Eun Seo put a finger to her lips and glared. Fortunately, the managers, deputy managers, and department heads dining nearby seemed to have no interest in ‘Idol Project 10’.

“Right. The production team would prioritize keeping it confidential. Of course, we can’t go watch, right?”

“Even I, the homeowner, can’t.”

Sun Ah looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“To think Apten will be filming and we can’t even watch…!”

Eun Seo casually probed.

“They said this is for a mission after the second round of voting. We don’t even know if Chris will pass the second round, do we?”

“Our Yoon Ho’s reactions have been amazing lately! He’ll definitely pass the second round!”

Sun Ah clenched her fist.

“Even if he passes, it might be another team without Chris. Do you still want to watch that badly?”

“Of course I want to see the other trainees up close too!”

Finally, Eun Seo smiled and whispered the words she had been saving for last.

“Sun Ah, actually…”

The scream that erupted the next moment once again startled the innocent diners in the cafeteria, causing them to drop their spoons.

“I love you, Yoon Eun Seo!”

*

For a while, Eun Seo had been preoccupied with various things, causing work to pile up. Although she usually insisted on leaving work on time, knowing Seung Joo would be waiting endlessly at home, the last day of November was unavoidably a day for overtime.

Still, wanting to get home quickly, she skipped dinner and worked overtime, managing to leave the office just after nine o’clock.

As she got off at the bus stop near her house with an exhausted body, someone called out to her.

“Elder sister!”

Startled, she turned her head to see Seung Joo rising from the bench at the bus stop.

No wonder she had felt uneasy. Eun Seo rushed over.

“Why did you come out in the cold? How long have you been waiting?”

“I just came out.”

Seung Joo smiled as if it was nothing, but his ears were bright red from the cold.

Eun Seo hurriedly reached out to cup his ears. Given their significant height difference, she had to stretch her arms fully to barely reach. The kind man bent down slightly towards Eun Seo.

While feeling distressed about his ice-cold ears, Seung Joo was more concerned about Eun Seo’s dinner.

“Did you eat dinner before working?”

“No, I just worked without eating to come back quickly.”

“Let’s go home quickly. I’ve prepared a meal.”

They chatted as they walked side by side towards home.

“Did you tell Sun Ah about that?”

Yesterday, Eun Seo had proposed a condition to the ‘Idol Project 10’ production team.

[My friend is an Apten fan. I don’t need to watch, but could you let my friend observe?] [That’s a bit…] [In exchange, I’ll sign a confidentiality agreement. We won’t breathe a word about it. If you don’t like it, well, I can’t lend you the house.]

The production team, who had initially shown reluctance, finally agreed when Eun Seo played hardball.

Of course, they had conditions too. The fan must not approach or speak to the performers, just quietly observe. All legal responsibility would fall on them if any content was leaked.

[I’ll even hide in a jar! As long as I can watch the filming!]

Sun Ah had happily signed the agreement containing these terms.

“Sun Ah must be thrilled, right?”

“Don’t even mention it. She tried to kiss me, it was so gross I nearly died.”

As Eun Seo chuckled, recalling the lunchtime incident, Seung Joo said with mock seriousness,

“That’s not allowed, we haven’t even done that yet.”

Eun Seo’s face turned red. After walking silently for a few steps, Seung Joo suddenly asked,

“It’s your first kiss too, right, elder sister?”

Of course, it was Eun Seo’s first. But the ‘too’ in his question was inappropriate.

“You don’t know if it’s your first kiss or not, remember?”

When Eun Seo pointed this out, Seung Joo looked apologetic.

“…Please forgive me even if it’s not.”

Those words suddenly reminded her of the conversation she had with Kwon Seung Hyun yesterday morning.

[My elder brother, he’s seeing someone.]

Your younger brother is looking for the woman you’re seeing. She hadn’t told Seung Joo that. It seemed unnecessary to worry him.

Anyway, Kwon Seung Hyun had no idea that the ‘older woman’ was actually her. Thinking about how he had told her to stop being interested in his elder brother made her want to laugh.

While the other side was barking up the wrong tree, Seung Joo would triumphantly return to his rightful place.

“How’s your studying going?”

“It’s going well. Now that I can access more advanced materials, I’m starting to understand some parts better.”

As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Due to the incident a few days ago, Seung Joo had received his original account and cloud access from the secretaries. He was like a fish in water. His acting skills were already perfect, as seen that night, so as he had predicted, he would be able to return to the company before the end of this year.

“But how did your acting improve so much?”

“Well, I watched a lot of videos. And I tried to do what you told me. To be as unlikeable and off-putting as possible!”

Seung Joo laughed, but Eun Seo couldn’t laugh along. Even though the words had come from her own mouth, they now seemed so harsh.

Living with Seung Joo had gradually changed her thoughts about ‘Kwon Seung Joo’. He wasn’t the arrogant and cold person who only knew how to look down on others, having grown up without knowing hardship, as she had vaguely thought. He too had been very lonely, hurt, and struggled.

So now, the words she had uttered before sounded painful to her ears.

“When you return to the company, you’ll have to go back to your original house, right?”

“Of course. I can’t keep commuting to work from your house.”

As she secretly sighed with regret, Seung Joo suddenly whispered in her ear.

“Then we’ll be having an office romance, right?”

Office romance. Those words immediately made her face heat up.

“I told you we’re not dating yet, didn’t I?”

Eun Seo glared at Seung Joo and quickened her pace. From behind, she heard the sound of stifled laughter.

*

The car that had been slowly following Eun Seo and Seung Joo came to a stop.

“Ha!”

Watching Eun Seo fleeing in the distance with Seung Joo following behind, Seung Hyun, sitting in the driver’s seat, let out a hollow laugh.