Eager to finish as fast as possible, Uncle Seok suggested working a little more after dinner, but the others’ faces fell at the idea. The moment his difficult side was about to flare up, Yunjoo stepped in.

“Alright, anyone who wants to keep going is welcome to stay. Everyone else is free to go.”

“You……!”

It was only natural they didn’t want to. She and Uncle Seok might be the ones crazy enough to want more, but everyone else had every right to want to go home when their hours were done.

“Uncle, looks like it’ll just be the two of us left, nice and cozy. Are you planning to do my share today too?”

“I take your point.”

Uncle Seok looked at her with exasperation but gave a nod of agreement. She flashed him a winning smile. Everyone else headed out, and Yunjoo and Uncle Seok sat facing each other.

“Why did you come back to this line of work? You love the grind that much?”

“Because it’s what I want to do.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

“I just found life hard and dull.”

“Is that something that should be coming out of a young person’s mouth?”

“I know, right? But when I’m here, my heart races and I think, I’m alive. I’m doing something someone needs. And I just feel this rush of energy.”

She knew what he was really asking, but she couldn’t give him the real answer and was reaching for other reasons instead. He wondered what was going on inside her, and a sigh rose from somewhere deep.

“Really, hah…….”

“Don’t sigh. I’m fine. I’m not dead yet.”

“You call this fine?”

“Yes. I don’t want to die. I’m going to live. Hard.”

Yunjoo meant every word, and she meant it desperately. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live, and live well. A life that was hers, lived brilliantly.

“I’d like to see the face of whatever fool couldn’t see someone like you.”

“Hahaha, a fool! If he heard you, Uncle, you might have to book yourself a spot at the gates of the afterlife.”

She laughed out loud even though she knew it was only because he didn’t know who it was. Would the word fool suit Choi Kangwook? Someone that capable, that sharp.

“I’ve already got my spot booked. Didn’t you know?”

“Haha! Uncle, honestly.”

“While we’re at it. What happened with that fool who couldn’t see what he had?”

“Later. I’ll tell you later.”

Later, when she was ready to leave, she planned to say a proper goodbye to Uncle Seok before she went.

“If you ever need to cry, come find me. Nothing expensive, but I’ll buy you makgeolli.”

“Spend a little more. You earn way more than I do.”

“If I’d had one more son, I would have carried you off and made you my daughter-in-law.”

“No thank you. I’ll pass on a difficult father-in-law like you.”

“What did you say?”

Their laughter rang out through the empty worksite. On paper, they were a combination that should never have worked, yet the two of them fit together remarkably well. They laughed until they were breathless, then got up and began putting the equipment away.

“Let’s call it a day.”

“Yes.”

The light teasing that morning had left Kangwook more stirred up and restless than he had any right to be, and Yunjoo had been filling his head all day at the office, making it nearly impossible to get any work done. He had been worried about her going out with that face of hers, and in the end he had found himself heading here.

Yunjoo at the worksite was a different person entirely. She traded easy jokes with the seasoned older workers, kept the atmosphere smooth so things moved the way she wanted, and got her own hands into everything, hammering and sawing without exception. Kangwook stood rooted in place for a long while, watching this unfamiliar version of her.

The woman who baked bread at home and smiled at parties was nowhere to be found. There was only a woman alive with a brilliant light. Not a smile worn on the mouth alone, but one that came from her whole body. Kangwook had been about to approach when he noticed her deep in conversation with an older man, and he waited at a distance.

The noise had cleared out as everyone left, leaving just the two of them, and their voices carried better than expected. Kangwook had been walking over when the seriousness of their conversation stopped him, and he ended up hiding and listening without meaning to. What he heard made his blood rise.

‘What is that old man saying? What! A fool, a dim-witted fool!’

The anger surged up in an instant. He thought the man was out of his mind, and he clenched his fist and was about to march out and call for Yunjoo when the old man went further and said he had wanted her for a daughter-in-law. He couldn’t understand why she was talking to someone like that, and on top of it, watching the woman laugh so freely at something that was apparently that funny made something burn inside him.

But the old man knew Yunjoo far too well. And Yunjoo’s face looked far too at ease. That meant he was someone she trusted, and it was enough to hold Kangwook back. Then the words Yunjoo had said that morning came back to him, and they ached in his chest.

She had said thank you for having someone in her corner, for someone believing in her. Even if it wasn’t sincere, she had thanked him for trying to protect her at that moment. Hearing it that morning had made him angry, but listening now and watching her smile, he felt a different kind of pain. Lately, Kangwook’s every thought turned toward Yunjoo, and when a report came in that she had come home early, he would clear his schedule as much as possible and head home too. He let out a quiet sigh at himself.

‘Have I come too late? Have I gone too far down the wrong road?’

“Cha Yunjoo.”

Her name left his mouth like a breath he had been holding. Just saying it sent a quiet ache through him. Kangwook couldn’t bring himself to call out to her while she was laughing so freely, and he turned and walked back to where his car was parked.

He didn’t want to interrupt her time, and he didn’t want to embarrass her in front of someone who didn’t know their situation. Kangwook sat in the car waiting for her, and then he saw Yunjoo walking toward the parking lot.

He got out of the car and was about to call her name when someone else called out to her first. He turned to look. It was the male actor he had been briefly introduced to before. In an instant, Kangwook’s eyes darkened. Yunjoo, unaware that Kangwook was watching, broke into a wide smile and waved at Sihyeong.

“Oh, Mr. Sihyeong, you came. I thought you’d be buried in final rehearsals lately.”

“That’s exactly why I escaped. Give me a break and hang out with me.”

“What? I’m going to tell Mr. Sangyun to come drag you back.”

“That’s low.”

Kangwook watched the two of them laugh and talk for a moment, then walked toward the smiling woman.

“Ms. Cha Yunjoo!”

“Oh!”

“President.”

Kangwook’s sudden appearance left the woman standing there with her mouth open. Then she looked at him with eyes she couldn’t quite hide the unease in. Her visible flustering stung a little, and he stepped forward, partly to tease her and partly to show the man whose face had turned curious.

“Ms. Cha Yunjoo, why are you so surprised? You might want to close your mouth.”

“Pre…… sident, what are you…… doing here…….”

“Mr. Sihyeong, wasn’t it? Good to see you again.”

She was so startled she was stumbling over her words. But Kangwook turned to address Sihyeong without answering her question, and Yunjoo felt something start to burn inside her. 

She had no idea what Kangwook was thinking by showing up here, and caught between Kangwook, who she couldn’t read, and Sihyeong, who knew nothing of her situation, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

Kangwook was holding back a laugh watching Yunjoo’s expression shift by the second. With nerves like that, could she even manage to act like a stranger?

“Yes. But what brings you here, President?”

“I came to see Ms. Cha Yunjoo. And what brings Mr. Lee Sihyeong here?”

“I came to see Ms. Yunjoo too. But why would the President need to see her?”

“Do I need to explain that to Mr. Lee Sihyeong?”

“Not exactly, but…….”

Yunjoo’s expression, caught between the two men and their quiet standoff, needed no explanation. She couldn’t hide her unease as she watched them. More than anything, she had no idea what might come out of Kangwook’s mouth, and she wanted to get the two of them away from each other as fast as she possibly could. She stepped between them as they held each other’s gaze, sparks flying.

“President, you said you had something to see me about?”

“Yes. Ms. Cha Yunjoo, could you spare some time?”

Watching Kangwook ask Yunjoo so boldly for her time, Sihyeong had no desire to let Yunjoo be taken from this spot. He wanted to stand between Yunjoo and Kangwook, who was now facing her directly.

“President Choi Kangwook, I don’t think it’s quite right to show up without a prior arrangement and do this.”

“And I don’t believe Mr. Lee Sihyeong made a prior arrangement either. Did he?”

Kangwook’s tone shifted in an instant, turning cold and hard at Sihyeong’s challenge. Facing a man who was telling him he had no claim over Yunjoo, Kangwook brought out his particular brand of presence. His eyes, cool and sharp, turned toward Yunjoo.

“Ms. Cha Yunjoo, just one question. Does Mr. Lee Sihyeong manage who Ms. Cha Yunjoo sees?”