I love you. 

Kangwook’s words came in through her ears and shook her chest and seized her heart. She had never intended to hand her heart over to any man. She had only meant to give it a try, and yet this man was slowly consuming her, bit by bit. Unease lifted its head in the trembling center of her heart, and then his voice reached her again.

“I love you, Cha Yunjoo.”

Clever. His confession landed at an infuriatingly well-timed moment, and she felt the cold draft that had been blowing in and out through an open hole inside her suddenly stop. Yunjoo had always carried the cold chill of winter within her. 

Like a little snowman made of snow. People looked at her white, round shape and assumed her insides were just as warm and lovely, but she was a snowman through and through, nothing but snow on the inside too. That was what she felt like.

Her place had always been outside the front door, looking in, watching the warmth of the people inside. And now Kangwook was sending spring sunlight her way.

A birthday neither of them had ever acknowledged for the other now caught her eye. It had always been a day they each handled on their own, but now it felt like a day she couldn’t simply let pass. Yunjoo was still wrestling with what to get Kangwook, but no matter what she thought of, nothing felt right.

‘What does Choi Kangwook not have?’

No matter how hard she thought, nothing came to her. First she needed to check his schedule for that day. If he had a business trip or something already planned, there would be nothing she could do. Then a question suddenly struck her. How had he been spending his birthdays all this time? She had never given her own birthday much thought.

At most, there would be a call from her mother or a message from her sister. But she was genuinely curious now. What did Choi Kangwook do on his birthday? Had he ever stayed out overnight around his birthday? Had he been out somewhere enjoying a grand party? Even as she left the house, the question and the gift, the gift, refused to leave her mind.

* * *

She walked into the theater company and called out a cheerful greeting.

“Good morning, everyone!”

“Welcome, Ms. Yunjoo.”

Sihyeong was happy to see her trading bright hellos with everyone as she headed into the office, so he followed her in.

“Ms. Yunjoo, have you been well? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, Mr. Sihyeong, you’re here early.”

“A little early, yes. There was someone I wanted to see.”

“Hehe, is that so?”

“Do you have a lunch plan with the director?”

“Yes.”

“Can I come along?”

“Sure. I was planning to go to Mr. Sihyeong’s noona’s place.”

“My noona’s restaurant?”

“Yes, let’s all go together. Even with more reservations coming in, I think she’d still make room for Mr. Sihyeong.”

Yunjoo told Jeongeun to meet them there and headed to the restaurant with Sangyun. Sihyeong decided to come separately since there were eyes around. Yunjoo’s real intention was to quietly set Sangyun and Jeongeun up. The birthday lunch was just a pretext.

Ugh. She wasn’t thrilled that Sihyeong had wedged himself in, but she couldn’t exactly tell him to leave, so she let out a quiet sigh where no one could notice. The four of them sat across from each other at the small restaurant Label and exchanged introductions.

True to her easygoing nature, Jeongeun joked with Sihyeong that she ought to get his autograph, and Sihyeong played along with her greeting, so the gathering turned out to be more relaxed than expected. Once the atmosphere settled into something comfortable, Yunjoo, who had initially been annoyed that Sihyeong had tagged along, found herself thinking it was actually a good thing, and she glanced over at him.

And above all, they had theater as a shared topic, so the conversation never ran dry. Whether or not Sihyeong had caught on to what Yunjoo was trying to do, he shot her a playful wink and actively stepped in to help draw the two of them together.

Either way, thanks to him, the two of them ate and talked in a natural, easy atmosphere. Yunjoo hoped the two people she cared about would grow into something good together. She had been watching them warmly when she slipped in.

“Jeongeun, it sounds like you and Mr. Sangyun are really hitting it off.”

“We are, aren’t we? Right, Mr. Sangyun?”

“Haha, Ms. Jeongeun is the one making it easy.”

“Oh my! Compliments going back and forth already.”

They all laughed at Yunjoo’s comment and enjoyed a comfortable lunch. Sihyeong was watching Yunjoo as she watched the two of them, and Jeongeun was watching Sihyeong. Sihyeong had been quietly looking at Yunjoo when his eyes met Jeongeun’s, and he smiled and held her gaze without looking away. Neither of them looked away.

But Yunjoo had no interest in the way those two were looking at each other. She saw this as an opportunity and wanted to sort out the question she had been turning over on her own.

“Oh! I have something I want to ask.”

“What is it, Ms. Yunjoo?”

“What do men like as birthday gifts?”

“Depends on the man. Who is it for?”

Sihyeong asked, Sangyun looked on curiously, and only Jeongeun let out a smile that held some private meaning. The two men were naturally curious when Yunjoo suddenly asked about a birthday gift for a man. 

From what Jeongeun could see, neither of the two men seemed to know about Yunjoo’s marriage. Sihyeong in particular made it quite obvious, both in the way he looked at Yunjoo from time to time and in the way he acted. Jeongeun was not the type to stay quiet. She shot Yunjoo a look.

‘Hey, what’s going on? Mr. Sihyeong.’

She guessed there were probably circumstances Yunjoo couldn’t speak to, but Sihyeong struck her as something more than ordinary. The way Sihyeong looked at Yunjoo was not the look of someone who just liked her as a friend. Unaware that Jeongeun was watching, Yunjoo was busy trying to get her question answered.

“I just have someone I need to get a gift for.”

“It really depends on who it is. What age range are we talking?”

“About the same age as Mr. Sangyun.”

“A young man, then.”

“Yes.”

The moment Yunjoo said he was around the same age as Sangyun, Sihyeong’s expression shifted, but Yunjoo didn’t notice. Her mind held nothing but Kangwook’s gift.

“It sounds like someone you care a great deal about, Ms. Yunjoo. It would be easier if I knew his job or what kind of person he is.”

“That makes it tricky.”

Sihyeong said that because he was trying to figure out who Yunjoo was talking about, but Yunjoo said nothing more, and Sihyeong couldn’t press further.

When the meal was over and Yunjoo finally revealed why she had really arranged the gathering, everyone laughed. She told them it wasn’t a birthday meal in that sense, but asked them to look after Jeongeun, then got up and left. 

When she rose, Sihyeong naturally walked out with her, and the two ended up walking together. Having Sihyeong beside her still felt like a weight on her shoulders, so she tried to send him on his way.

“Mr. Sihyeong, you must be busy. Go on ahead.”

“Ms. Yunjoo, if you have a moment, could we talk?”

“Do you have time?”

“I only have the evening performance, so I’m fine.”

“This week is the last one, isn’t it.”

“Yes. Hamlet will probably be a production I never forget.”

“It was your first stage play, wasn’t it?”

“That too, but it’s also where I met Ms. Yunjoo.”

Yunjoo didn’t respond to Sihyeong’s words and instead walked into the teahouse the theater company people frequented and took a seat. It was a place the theater crowd came and went from so often that nothing unusual would be said about it. Yunjoo had decided it was time to make things clear to Sihyeong. But she was still working out how much to tell him.

‘If I bring up the marriage, I’d have to bring up Kangwook, and that would make things awkward at the company.’

Sihyeong watched her, seemingly forgotten, as she sat lost in thought, and spoke up first.

“Ms. Yunjoo, you haven’t forgotten there’s someone sitting in front of you, have you?”

“Oh, sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Ms. Yunjoo, please take seriously what I said at the arboretum.”

“Mr. Sihyeong, I…”

“Ms. Yunjoo, I know I’m in the entertainment industry and that being with me means a lot of eyes following you around. But I’m not someone who says things lightly. And I’m someone who wants to make sure Ms. Yunjoo doesn’t get hurt because of me.”

“Mr. Sihyeong, I can’t accept your feelings.”

“Why not?”

“Mr. Sihyeong.”

“You said you wanted to go abroad to study, didn’t you? I’ll come see you. That way there’s no problem. We can date while living apart.”

“Mr. Sihyeong, I have someone I like.”

“Would that happen to be President Choi Kangwook?”

The directness of Sihyeong’s words caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to say Kangwook’s name so plainly, just like that.

“Yes!”

“He’s a married man, Ms. Yunjoo. It’s not like that, is it?”

“Mr. Sihyeong.”

“Ms. Yunjoo, please reconsider.”