When she looked back on her childhood, there were only painful memories.

Hope Orphanage itself had been in terrible condition, and she had lost count of how many times she had been excluded simply for being an orphan without parents.

‘How could a life become so stained like this?’

If there were some way to erase it all, she would have wiped every bit of it away without hesitation.

“Ina.”

“I even hated my name. I thought about changing it.”

Abandoning a child and still giving them a name.

It was almost laughable.

Ina let out a bitter smile and gazed quietly at him.

“Sometimes I think it would’ve been better if I’d never been born. I don’t even want to be reborn. But if I were, I feel like I’d end up being born as a stone.”

“Do you even know how hard a stone’s life is before saying something like that?”

The sudden, absurd remark made Ina frown.

She blinked at him, confused, and Taeyun continued with a serious expression.

“A stone only becomes a stone after enduring wind, pressure, and all kinds of harsh storms. The life of a stone is incredibly difficult too.”

“What kind of nonsense is that…?”

The ridiculousness of it made her burst into laughter.

It seemed he had said it on purpose, just to lift the heavy mood.

“So next time, make sure you’re born as a person again. And when that happens, I’ll recognize you a little sooner.”

How could even a single sentence from him be so gentle?

His warm eyes.

His calm, low voice.

There truly wasn’t a single sharp edge to him.

‘Do people who grow up in good families always turn out this upright?’

Living beside him had made Ina realize for the first time just how full of inferiority she was.

No matter how sharply she lashed out, Taeyun was the kind of person who could grind those blades down until they became dull.

“Of course, it would be even better if you were born without going through so much hardship. And from now on, I’ll celebrate your birthday every year. I’ll make sure you only have good memories of it.”

His sincere words made her chest tighten again. Ina swallowed her tears and turned her gaze toward the television.

“Tell me just one thing you want to do. Just one.”

He was a man who never gave up.

After quietly thinking for a moment while steadying her breathing, Ina rested her chin on her raised knee and spoke as memories from the past surfaced.

“When I was in my second year of high school, our class went on a school trip to Gyeongju. Of course… I didn’t go.”

Just remembering it again brought back the sadness she had felt then.

She had never shown it outwardly, but it had hurt a lot.

It had been lonely, too.

Ina’s voice sank low as she continued.

“Our town was small, so no one could really afford a trip to Jeju Island. After thinking it over again and again, the school finally chose Gyeongju. But even that money felt like such a burden.”

Yeonsuk had offered to get the money ready for her, but Ina stubbornly refused. She made excuses, saying that she didn’t want to go, and eventually returned the money to her in person.

When Yeonsuk saw this, she looked heartbroken.

Even if Ina had kept the money, though, she had never truly planned to go.

She didn’t have any friends who would have spent time with her anyway. Even if she had joined the trip, she would have been on her own.

Still…

She was curious about what it would be like to go on a school trip.

She wanted to experience it.

And what Gyeongju was like.

“I didn’t have any friends, and money was tight. Everyone else was so excited about the trip. They went shopping in the city center to buy clothes for it, and I was so jealous. I sat at my desk, pretending that everything was fine, and studied as usual, but the tears just kept coming.”

As Taeyun listened, his expression gradually darkened.

The sadness in her eyes as she spoke was too painful to look at.

Seeing the tears welling in her large eyes made his chest ache.

“But I still had my pride. If I cried in the classroom, it would have been too embarrassing. So I skipped sixth period, went to the incinerator area behind the school, and cried my heart out.”

Ina quickly wiped at the corner of her eyes.

She had never told anyone this before.

Nor had she ever planned to. Yet somehow, in front of Taeyun, all the thoughts she had kept buried inside came spilling out.

Forcing a faint smile, Ina looked at him.

“But my birthday happened during the days of the school trip. So whenever my birthday comes around, I always remember that time.”

That sorrowful, lonely memory from back then was something she would probably never forget for the rest of her life.

The rims of Ina’s eyes turned red.

“Let’s go to Gyeongju.”

Taeyun, who had been listening quietly, gently took her hand as he spoke.

His expression was much the same as hers.

It was clear how deeply he felt for her.

Ina looked down at the hand holding hers.

“If you couldn’t go on your school trip back then, we’ll just go now. I’ll plan the whole itinerary. It’ll be even more fun than a real school trip — it’ll be something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”

“Brother.”

“For transportation, we can just take my car. And I’ll book a really nice place to stay. After all, it’s your first school trip, right?”

Taeyun’s eyes sparkled.

Seeing how earnestly he was trying just to celebrate her birthday made her eyes sting again.

Still holding her hand tightly, he continued talking.

“I think two nights would be perfect. We’ll leave right after our classes end on Friday. On the way, we can stop at famous restaurants and eat good food, and grab snacks at rest stops too.”

Listening to him list the plans so smoothly, Ina suddenly felt her heart pounding.

It was because she was so excited.

‘Han Taeyun.’

If it was with him, she felt like anywhere would be wonderful.

“That sounds amazing.”

“Good. I’ll take care of all the reservations, so you just have to follow me. Oh—and before we go, we should buy you some clothes too.”

Looking at her, Taeyun smiled brightly.

Ina tightened her grip on his hand just a little more.

***

“Ah.”

As Taeyun opened his mouth while driving, Ina speared a potato with a toothpick and placed it into his mouth.

“This is good. The sotteok-sotteok is tasty too.”

Ina murmured as she ate one herself.

A little earlier, they had stopped at a rest area and bought a whole pile of snacks, along with two cups of coffee. Since Taeyun was driving, Ina was feeding him from the passenger seat.

“But are we eating too many snacks? I heard there are tons of famous restaurants where we’re going.”

“We can eat it all. It’s plenty manageable.”

At Ina’s confident remark, Taeyun chuckled.

Normally, Ina didn’t eat very much. She had no particular greed for food—in fact, she tended to eat less than most people.

So seeing her eagerly declare that she could eat everything was so cute that it made him laugh.

“What’s gotten into Yoon Ina?”

“Nothing. I just want to try everything.”

The things her classmates had chatted about after the school trip were still on her mind.

What they had eaten at the rest stops.

What they had eaten in Gyeongju.

They all agreed that they wanted to go back and eat it again someday.

In truth, the food probably hadn’t been anything special. But to her younger self, it was something she deeply envied.

“Then brother will buy it all for you.”

“It’s okay. I worked a lot of part-time jobs too. I’m going to buy things for you as well.”

Her declaration that she would treat him made him laugh again.

The day before, after their classes had finished, they went shopping together.

They bought matching T-shirts.

Matching trainers.

As it was their first trip together, both Taeyun and Ina were brimming with excitement.

“First, let me tell you today’s schedule.”

“I’m listening.”

As Ina leaned in closer, Taeyun smiled.

He was usually very methodical — with school, at least.

At least with school.

With studying.

And with planning trips like this one, too.

As he began listing the itinerary in precise time blocks, Ina shook her head.

“What is this? You even made plans B and C…”

“Why? Isn’t that normal? What if the restaurant has a long wait, or it’s closed when we get there?”

“Still… how many restaurants did you look up?”

“That’s the bare minimum.”

Taeyun shrugged, looking immensely pleased with himself.

‘That wasn’t meant as praise…’

Ina glanced at him as he continued driving.

In the middle of their conversation, his phone began to ring.

After checking the caller ID, both of them fell silent for a moment.

“Sorry. Just a second.”

After a brief hesitation, Taeyun apologized and answered the call.

“Yes, Mother.”

“What have you been up to? You never come home.”

The elegant voice of a middle-aged woman filled the car.

Ina’s eyes darted nervously as she held her breath, quietly listening to the conversation between mother and son.

“Ah, well… I’ve just been busy with school. I have a lot of responsibilities there.”

“You should still come see your father sometimes and call us once in a while. We didn’t let you live on your own so you could disappear without contact.”

“I understand.”

“Come by this weekend. Let’s have a meal together.”

“Ah… this week might be difficult. I’ll come next week instead. I’m sorry.”

“Then stop by sometime during the week.”

“Alright.”

The short call ended.

Taeyun glanced at Ina sideways, gauging her reaction.

No one knew yet that she was living with him.

Namhee rarely came to his house anyway.

She was always busy with work, so they only spoke occasionally.

This was why he had been able to start living with Ina without any problems.

But what if Namhee were to find out?

‘I don’t even want to imagine it.’

“Brother.”

“Once we arrive, we’ll unpack and look around a bit. Since we already had snacks, we can explore first and then have dinner later.”

Seeing the color drain from Ina’s face, Taeyun quickly changed the subject.