It was early April, right after corporate tax filing season ended—a time that should have been leisurely. 

For the past nine years, she’d spent early April vacationing at her family home or traveling. But this year, she postponed her vacation due to the office relocation.

“Can’t that company function without Min Yeo-jin?”

That was what her boyfriend Yoon-woo grumbled about frequently.

Yeo-jin had been working at a branch office of an accounting firm for nine years. The head accountant dumped nearly all the office’s big and small tasks on her. Today, she was visiting because the interior design company’s CEO said he needed to discuss something.

Whirr, whirr, rattle, clatter.

The moment she entered the office, the sounds of drills and hammers and the floating dust made her frown instinctively. The demolition work seemed to be in its final stages.

She’d brought plenty of bread and coffee for the workers. Yeo-jin greeted the interior designer she’d met last week and handed over the shopping bags and coffee.

“Thank you for your hard work. Here are some snacks.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

He shouted loudly to his staff to take a snack break, then launched into a lengthy explanation.

“Like I mentioned on the phone…”

Workers throughout the gutted space stopped what they were doing and turned their heads toward Yeo-jin. Among them, she witnessed one man stiffen completely when he saw her, startled.

It didn’t take long to recognize who this man was—his face very familiar, though his appearance completely foreign. The boy she’d occasionally wondered about, how he was doing—it was Han Ji-hoo.

The last time she’d seen his face was nearly ten years ago. He’d changed as much as the weight of those years. 

Now he exuded the aura of a proper young man, making it awkward to call him a boy anymore. He was five years younger than her, which made him twenty-eight already.

Ji-hoo seemed flustered and turned his back, dropping his head sharply. Yeo-jin also hesitated, unsure what to do. She was so glad to see Ji-hoo that she wanted to run over and grab his hands immediately.

But he didn’t seem pleased with this situation. His avoidant attitude told her that much.

The boss continued talking about how the building’s aging meant the plumbing was such-and-such, and the total power capacity was woefully insufficient. The boss’s voice scattered before reaching her ears, and her gaze remained fixed on Ji-hoo, unmoving.

“…Office manager?”

“Ah, sorry. Let’s talk in a moment.”

Yeo-jin took steps toward Ji-hoo. Her heart pounded—perhaps from worrying how he’d react—and both her steps and expression were incredibly awkward.

Even though she’d been a tutor paid to teach him, she’d taught him for three years. Just because he turned his head didn’t mean she could ignore him too.

Around the summer vacation of Ji-hoo’s second year of high school, she’d received a sudden call from his mother saying they were stopping the tutoring.

Until shortly before that, his mother had told Yeo-jin she hoped she’d continue teaching Ji-hoo even after getting a job. Given that context, the abrupt dismissal left Yeo-jin bewildered.

His mother didn’t mention the detailed circumstances, only repeated apologies. Yeo-jin figured his anxious mother had switched to a famous professional instructor before the college entrance exams. It was an understandable situation.

Yeo-jin said it was fine and thanked her. She sincerely told her she wouldn’t forget the kindness she’d shown. When she spoke with Ji-hoo, she told him to contact her anytime if studying got tough.

The tutoring fee she’d received for teaching Ji-hoo had been high, so conversely, after being let go, things became even more difficult. 

She had to take whatever work came her way until she found another tutoring job. She was too busy with her own life to have time to think about Ji-hoo.

A few weeks after their last call, Ji-hoo phoned her. Yeo-jin happened to be heading home after finishing a serving job.

“Ji-hoo, is it already too hard? Is that why you called?”

—Yes.

Ji-hoo lacked his usual energy. When Yeo-jin tried to end the call, he kept the conversation going with trivial remarks. Then he asked if they could meet briefly right away.

Ji-hoo said he was near Yeo-jin’s studio apartment. His house was nearly an hour away from her place, which seemed a bit strange. Plus, it was late at night.

She hesitated for a moment, but she couldn’t just send him away.

The two sat on a bench in front of a convenience store, eating ice cream and talking. From the start, Ji-hoo said he’d go home once he finished his ice cream.

They chatted about ordinary things like usual, then parted. Nothing seemed strange except that Ji-hoo stared at Yeo-jin unusually intently.

On the phone he’d seemed weak, but once they met, he appeared fine. Yeo-jin felt relieved and parted after encouraging him. Watching his spirited figure walking away, she turned around too.

However, starting a few days later, Yeo-jin felt vaguely worried about Ji-hoo. When she finally contacted him after hesitating and putting it off for days, both Ji-hoo’s and his mother’s phones were disconnected.

Alarmed, she finally went to Ji-hoo’s house, but no one was there. After she rang the bell in front of the house for a while, a passing resident told her. No one lived in that house anymore.

She searched the news and learned that Ji-hoo’s father had stepped down from his company. 

Later, she heard from So-mi, who’d introduced her to the tutoring job, that Ji-hoo’s father had lost his company and gone completely bankrupt.

Even though So-mi’s mother and his mother were close friends, they had no idea where Ji-hoo’s family had gone.

Yeo-jin snapped out of the memories flashing through her mind. Seemingly noticing Yeo-jin approaching, Ji-hoo turned around and bowed his head. His flushed face clearly revealed his embarrassment.

“Ji-hoo!”

“Hello.”

“It’s been so long. Are you…”

Yeo-jin swallowed the words “doing well.” The thought crossed her mind that if he were doing well, he wouldn’t have turned his head in embarrassment upon seeing her.

“I really, really missed you.”

“…Really?”

Ji-hoo asked back with an expressionless face. It sounded like he thought she was just being polite, which hurt Yeo-jin’s feelings.

“Of course it’s real. Didn’t you miss me even sometimes?”

“…”

“Wow, that’s disappointing.”

Yeo-jin spoke in a deliberately playful tone. In contrast, Ji-hoo just stood there with his eyes downcast. Yeo-jin carefully observed Ji-hoo’s appearance.

The face of the beautiful boy who always wore a brilliant smile had disappeared. Was it the passage of time, or had he gotten thinner? 

Ji-hoo looked taller than before, and his strong jawline and nose bridge stood out sharply. The eyes once full of mischief now held an unfamiliar melancholy and fatigue.

Only the curly, lush black hair sticking out from under his hard hat remained the same, which was comforting.

After a moment, Ji-hoo raised his eyes to look at Yeo-jin, but stubbornly kept his mouth shut. 

Given the ten-year gap, awkwardness was natural. Even though the awkwardness suffocated her, Yeo-jin couldn’t just say “Nice seeing you. Goodbye” and leave it at that.

“Even if you didn’t want to see me, what can you do? We met again like fate. They say people meant to meet will meet.”

Yeo-jin continued chattering to break the awkward atmosphere, and a bitter smile crossed Ji-hoo’s face. She pretended not to notice his reaction and pushed forward unilaterally.

“Ji-hoo, want to have dinner together?”

“…”

“Am I making you uncomfortable by meeting you?”

“…”

Ji-hoo slowly shook his head, and a faint smile finally appeared on Yeo-jin’s anxious face.

“Let’s have dinner today. Okay?”

“…”

“Ji-hoo, isn’t it miraculous that we met like this? What time do you finish?”

“…Not today. Let’s eat after ten days.”

“You’re busy.”

The two exchanged phone numbers and set a date to meet.

A few years after his family went bankrupt, she heard the news that Ji-hoo’s mother had passed away. Yeo-jin heard the news belatedly from So-mi and cried for a long time.

His mother had been a grateful adult who’d generously given to Yeo-jin when she was a struggling student. 

She’d introduced her to other tutoring jobs and fussed over her, bringing not just side dishes but anything she could. Sometimes it was burdensome, but knowing his mother’s pure heart, she accepted gratefully.

She’d lived with the intention of repaying her someday, but that someday never came.

Though it was awkward and difficult, Yeo-jin wanted to express her regret about his mother. But she only broke into a cold sweat, not knowing how to express her feelings or offer comfort.

“I must have aged in vain. I want to offer condolences about your mother, but I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you.”

Ji-hoo’s gaze seemed uneasy, directed elsewhere. When Yeo-jin followed his line of sight, six or seven men were eating snacks while observing the two of them.

“Go eat your snack.”

He bowed his head and passed by Yeo-jin. Her heart sank heavily, matching his expression and eyes.

* * *

Yeo-jin had majored in mathematics and, when entering university, thought she’d become a teacher. However, after finishing her first year, she changed her career path to accountant. 

Teaching was a profession her parents wanted, and she judged it didn’t suit her aptitude.

During her studies, she passed the first round of the CPA exam twice. She failed the second round four times. Juggling part-time work, grades, and exams left her desperately short on time.

The last exam she took the year she graduated, she failed by a very narrow margin, which made it even more regrettable. However, she couldn’t afford to keep studying.

Kim Yong-nam, the CEO of Yeo-jin’s current company, was the husband of a senior she was close with. He’d generously advised Yeo-jin when she was preparing for the CPA exam, and when she decided to get a job, he invited her to work at his office.

He’d suggested she gain practical experience while preparing for the CPA exam. But once she actually joined the company, she had no time to prepare for the exam, and as days passed, more work was assigned to Yeo-jin.

She reviewed all documents going out from the office, handled employee recruitment and training, and managed the overall office operations.

Yeo-jin worked silently. In return, the CEO compensated her with sufficient salary, and since the work suited her aptitude, she was reasonably satisfied.

Park Yoon-woo had been an office client for three years. Initially, Yeo-jin wasn’t his assigned person. One day, he stopped by the office for a separate gift tax consultation. Yong-nam’s work outside was delayed and he hadn’t returned, so he assigned the consultation to Yeo-jin.

Yoon-woo, two years younger than Yeo-jin, gave the first impression of just a spoiled rich kid.

Yoon-woo’s family was wealthy, starting as so-called real estate nouveaux riches. His grandfather’s enormous water parsley field was supposedly the starting point of their wealth. 

Based on that capital, his father jumped into the construction business in earnest and multiplied their fortune.

On the day they first met, he revealed he managed five buildings belonging to his father and himself.

“I have a contract with a property management company, so there’s not much I actually do. I just go check occasionally to see if the buildings are doing well?”

“Officially I’m a graduate student, but it’s a cover identity.”

His two older brothers joined their father’s company and diligently took over the business, but construction didn’t suit him at all. That’s why he needed a cover identity.

“Mom convinced Dad that at least the youngest could live without working.”

He made bland jokes and spilled stories no one asked about. All while constantly smiling with his eyes.

Yeo-jin laughed along out of courtesy. She thought listening to clients’ money-bragging and other useless stories was also part of the job.

Yoon-woo’s appearance was neat, and he seemed friendly and fun. His chatter—which seemed part money-bragging, part background explanation about inheritance and gifts—wasn’t particularly annoying.

When the head accountant returned during the consultation, they hadn’t even started the actual consultation yet. Yeo-jin greeted him and left the consultation room.

That day, as Yoon-woo left the office, he said “Please take care of me” to Yeo-jin before leaving. Thinking it was a standard greeting, Yeo-jin bowed her head too.

After Yoon-woo left, the CEO immediately instructed Yeo-jin to take charge of Yoon-woo’s business. The CEO’s tone was a request, but from Yeo-jin’s position, it was a superior’s order.

“I know you have a lot of work, but what can I do when a client begs?”

Yeo-jin protested to the CEO that her workload was excessive, but she ended up taking on the client.

From then on, his persistent and subtle courtship began. Yeo-jin rejected his date proposals for over half a year. It made her even more uncomfortable since he was a client she had to keep dealing with.

Yoon-woo had excellent looks and didn’t seem to have a bad personality. True to someone raised wealthy, he was relaxed and bright. Actually, Yeo-jin secretly harbored favorable feelings toward him too.

On the other hand, Yeo-jin had reached thirty without ever having a proper romance due to living on a tight budget. She thought if she dated, it should be with marriage in mind. 

For this reason, he couldn’t be an option for her from the start. Whatever else, the gap in their wealth was too large.

But eventually, Yeo-jin surrendered to his affection. It seemed unlikely anyone would ever like her so blindly again.

After just three dates, he proposed. Yeo-jin was flabbergasted and immediately refused.

Dating was better than she’d thought. In her exhausting and lonely daily life, the man’s affection and devotion became a great comfort.

The wealthy lifestyle she enjoyed with him was also tempting. Since she’d always considered herself someone without materialistic tendencies, she was surprised by her own attitude toward wealth.

About half a year into their relationship, the two went on a trip and spent the night together. Right after that, he proposed again, and Yeo-jin, who lacked certainty, didn’t answer.