Chapter 14 (Part 2)

At Jeong-ho’s bar, In-kyung was having a gathering with her college friends.  

During a drinking game, In-kyung ended up having to drink a penalty shot.  

One of the male friends snatched the glass from her hand.  

“Black Knight! In-kyung, you owe me for this. Got it?”  

Amidst the teasing of their friends, the male friend downed the drink in one go.  

In-kyung couldn’t take her eyes off him, her gaze filled with excitement.  

From afar, Jeong-ho, who was serving, glared disapprovingly at In-kyung.  

So it was him. The guy who liked any girl. The one who treated women’s feelings like they were nothing.  

The next round of the drinking game began, and once again, In-kyung was chosen for the penalty shot.  

As she hesitated with the glass in hand, the same male friend stepped in to take it from her again.  

When In-kyung tried to stop him, she accidentally knocked over a nearby glass.  

Crash!  

The glass shattered into pieces on the floor.  

Amid the commotion, as In-kyung reached out to pick up the broken glass, a broom suddenly blocked her hand.  

Looking up, she saw Jeong-ho standing there with the broom in hand.  

“Don’t touch it.”  

With a curt warning, Jeong-ho began sweeping up the shards.  

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”  

“Of course not. No one’s that malicious.”  

In-kyung stared blankly at Jeong-ho as he meticulously cleaned up even the smallest fragments.  

There was something irritating about his tone, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.  

Pouting, In-kyung ignored his warning and reached for a shard on the other side.  

“Ah!”  

She pricked her finger on the glass.  

“You really don’t listen, do you?”  

Jeong-ho’s words irritated In-kyung even more, and just as she was about to retort, someone grabbed her injured finger.  

Startled, she turned to see the male friend bringing her bleeding finger to his lips.  

In-kyung froze, her mouth agape in shock.  

“Woo~~~~~~”  

Their friends erupted in cheers and teasing.  

“You have to stop the bleeding, right?”  

As if it were no big deal, the male friend explained, then turned to Jeong-ho and asked,  

“Do you have a band-aid here?”  

Without even looking up, Jeong-ho replied,  

“This isn’t a pharmacy or a convenience store.”  

The male friend scoffed.  

“You could’ve just said no. Boss, you sure like to talk.”  

Then he pulled out a napkin and carefully wrapped it around In-kyung’s finger.  

In-kyung’s expression was full of admiration.  

The male friend delivered his final blow,  

“I’ll buy you a band-aid later. Don’t forget, you’re responsible for me tonight.”  

As In-kyung shyly smiled at her finger, she inadvertently turned her head and locked eyes with Jeong-ho.  

He was staring at her with a look of disdain.  

What?! What’s your problem?!  

In-kyung glared at him with her eyes.  

Jeong-ho shook his head and walked away.  

Watching him leave, In-kyung pouted in dissatisfaction.  

***

“I told you not to come to the office.”  

Seong-jun didn’t even look at Seong-tae as he spoke coldly.  

Breathing heavily, Seong-tae retorted,  

“Then why didn’t you answer your phone?! If you had, I wouldn’t have come here!”  

Finally, Seong-jun looked up.  

“What’s the matter?”  

Seong-tae, looking anxious, bit his lip before speaking.  

“That guy from Argentina.”  

Seong-jun’s expression hardened instantly.  

“He’s entered the country.”  

“Why?!”  

Seong-jun shouted, and Seong-tae, almost losing his mind, yelled back,  

“How would I know?!”  

Seong-jun’s brow furrowed deeply.  

“How did you find out he entered the country?”  

“I had someone watching him.”  

Straightening his shoulders, Seong-tae spoke with confidence.  

“I don’t know what might happen to me if he starts talking. I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”  

Seong-jun suddenly fell silent.  

Growing nervous, Seong-tae began shaking his leg.  

“Hyung! What do I do?!”  

“Be quiet. Let me think.”  

Clasping his hands together, Seong-jun closed his eyes in thought.  

“Hyung!”

***

Shin-hye was looking at photos of Jinwon and In-ah on a date when she angrily threw the pictures onto the table.  

The secretary, who had been cautiously observing Shin-hye’s mood, hesitantly spoke up.  

“Shouldn’t we stop tailing them now?”  

“No, who said you could stop?”  

At Shin-hye’s sharp tone, the secretary flinched.  

“Keep going until I say so.”  

Though reluctant, the secretary couldn’t hide their dissatisfaction. Then, as if something came to mind, they spoke again.  

“There’s something strange, though.”  

The secretary pulled out a new photo and handed it to Shin-hye.  

Taking the photo, Shin-hye asked,  

“What’s this?”  

“For the past few days, a man has been following Jinwon around.”  

“What?”  

Hearing this, Shin-hye examined the photo more closely.  

The face in the picture was unfamiliar to her.  

Feeling uneasy, Shin-hye stared intently at the man in the photo.  

The image showed a man hiding behind a pillar, watching Jinwon closely.  

***

Even though it was the weekend, In-ah was stuck at home, buried in work as she revised her designs.  

Her eyes remained fixed on her materials as she blindly reached for the tumbler beside her.  

Tilting her head back to take a sip of coffee, she realized the tumbler was empty. She was out of coffee.  

For In-ah, coffee was like lifeblood when she was working, so she decided to go out immediately to buy some.  

On her way back from the convenience store with coffee in hand, Jinwon suddenly appeared in front of her, stopping abruptly and bending over to catch his breath.  

Startled, In-ah quickly asked,  

“What’s wrong? What happened?”  

Jinwon, who seemed to have run over in a hurry, struggled to catch his breath before finally replying,  

“Nothing happened. Just came to the convenience store.”  

Feeling exasperated, In-ah waved her hand, signaling for him to go inside.  

“Alright then. Go ahead and take care of whatever you need.”  

As she was about to leave, Jinwon grabbed her.  

“You’re just leaving?”  

“Why wouldn’t I?”  

Seeing her confusion, Jinwon blurted out rapidly,  

“I’ll be quick. Let’s go together.”  

In-ah hesitated for a moment, not giving an immediate answer. Jinwon, looking surprised, asked,  

“Wait, are you actually thinking about it?”  

“No, it’s not that.”  

In-ah quickly denied it, looking a bit flustered.  

Still suspicious, Jinwon scrutinized her.  

“You’d already be back by now. Just go and come back quickly.”  

In-ah pushed Jinwon towards the convenience store, urging him on.  

With puffed-up cheeks, Jinwon reluctantly went inside.  

Even while waiting to pay, Jinwon kept glancing outside to check if In-ah was still there.  

Watching this from outside, In-ah let out a small laugh.  

How did you survive these seven years? Without me.  

Just then, Jinwon came out of the store with a bright smile, as if he had never been sulking.  

He was holding a coffee in his hand.  

Curious, In-ah asked him,  

“What’s this? You don’t usually drink coffee.”  

“Felt like having one today.”  

In-ah gave him a skeptical look.  

Pretending not to notice her gaze, Jinwon grinned and linked his arm with hers.  

“Let’s go.”  

Reluctantly, In-ah let Jinwon lead her as they began walking.  

With his large frame leaning awkwardly to match her smaller one, Jinwon suddenly asked,  

“Tomorrow’s Sunday. Aren’t we going on a date?”  

“No. Dates are off for now.”  

Jinwon stopped in his tracks, looking utterly betrayed.  

“Why?”  

Seeing his devastated expression, In-ah almost burst out laughing.  

Barely holding it in, she replied in a serious tone,  

“Why are you acting like you don’t know, Team Leader? Designer Seo In-ah needs to focus on her revisions right now.”  

Jinwon’s expression turned sulky again, much like it had been earlier outside the convenience store.  

Seeing this side of him, In-ah was both amused and exasperated.  

As Jinwon turned his back on her in a huff, a man walking towards him bumped into him rather forcefully.  

The collision caused Jinwon’s coffee to spill, staining the man’s clothes.  

Startled, Jinwon immediately apologized.  

“I’m sorry.”  

The playful tone Jinwon used with In-ah was gone, replaced by the serious voice he used at work.  

In-ah turned her attention to the man who had bumped into Jinwon, thinking it was clearly the man’s fault.  

Jinwon, finding no tissues in his pocket, tried to wipe the coffee off the man’s clothes with his sleeve.  

The man, looking annoyed, raised a hand to stop him.  

“Do you think wiping it with that will fix this?”  

It was clear the man was looking for trouble.  

Annoyed, In-ah stepped forward to confront him.  

“Hey, he already said sorry—”  

“In-ah.”  

Jinwon quickly intervened, stopping her.  

He then pulled out some cash and handed it to the man.  

“Here’s money for the cleaning. I’m really sorry.”  

The man snatched the money from Jinwon’s hand with a disgruntled expression.  

As the man walked away, In-ah, still fuming, wanted to say something, but Jinwon calmly stopped her.  

“No need to get mad. It was my fault.”  

Patting her shoulder reassuringly, Jinwon wrapped an arm around her and started walking again.  

The man, having taken a few steps, suddenly stopped and turned around.  

He stared at Jinwon as he walked away with In-ah.