Chapter 14 (Part 3)

Back at home, In-ah was deeply immersed in her design work.  

“How long are you going to stay there like that?”  

Jinwon was sitting right in front of her, resting his chin on his hand, grinning as he watched her.  

“Just ignore me. Pretend I’m not here.”  

In-ah couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.  

“With you staring at me like that, how am I supposed to ignore you? Don’t you have anything to do?”  

“I do.”  

Hearing this, In-ah gestured for him to leave.  

“Then go do it. Perfect.”  

“My task is to make dinner for In-ah.”  

In-ah was so taken aback that her jaw dropped.  

“Did you even have lunch?”  

Smiling brightly, Jinwon gently closed her mouth with his fingers.  

“You don’t have to be that touched. I’ll just use whatever ingredients we have.”  

Remembering the overly spicy tteokbokki Jinwon had made before, In-ah didn’t have high hopes.  

Standing up, Jinwon raised his hand, signaling her to stay put.  

“Keep working, In-ah. I won’t bother you. I’ll quietly make dinner. You really don’t need to help.”  

As she watched Jinwon rummage through the kitchen like an excited child, In-ah couldn’t help but smile.  

Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she jumped up from her seat.  

Startled, Jinwon looked at her with wide eyes and asked,  

“What? What’s wrong?”  

Running over to him, In-ah grabbed Jinwon’s face with both hands and kissed his forehead.  

Jinwon, looking bewildered, stared at her in confusion.  

“What’s in this head of yours? It’s amazing.”  

In-ah began planting kisses all over Jinwon’s forehead and head.  

Though flustered, Jinwon’s face lit up with a happy smile.  

He didn’t know why In-ah was suddenly acting this way, but seeing her happy made him happy too.

***

As In-ah was arriving at work and stepping into the office, someone roughly grabbed her wrist and pulled her outside.  

The person who had taken her wrist and urgently dragged her out of the office was Jinwon.  

“You scared me! What’s going on? What happened?”  

Jinwon, with a dark expression, couldn’t bring himself to speak right away.  

It was obvious that something serious was happening.  

Trying to lighten the mood, In-ah observed Jinwon’s face and deliberately said something unrelated.  

“What if someone saw us in the office? You pulling me out so roughly like that…”  

“Why don’t you go out for some fieldwork today? It seems like it’s time to inspect the stores.”  

Looking straight into Jinwon’s worried eyes, In-ah spoke firmly.  

“What’s going on? You need to tell me.”  

“After you inspect the stores, just go home. You don’t need to come back to the office.”  

In-ah’s expression turned resolute.  

“Alright. If you tell me to inspect the stores, I’ll go, Team Leader.”  

Despite her repeated questions, Jinwon ignored In-ah’s words.  

This was one thing In-ah absolutely didn’t want in her relationship with Jinwon.  

After finishing her sentence, In-ah stared directly into Jinwon’s eyes with a rebellious gaze.  

Jinwon, too, met her gaze silently, his eyes leaving no room for compromise.  

Without another word, In-ah turned around and left without looking back.  

***

Out on her fieldwork, In-ah was intensely focused on reviewing sales data.  

A store employee cautiously approached her and asked,  

“Should I email you the data later?”  

Snapping out of her thoughts, In-ah replied,  

“Oh, yes. That would be great, thank you.”  

After answering, she returned her attention to the data.  

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out why Jinwon had acted the way he did.  

The only way to find out was to go against his words and return to the office.  

For a moment, she hesitated.  

Perhaps Jinwon had his reasons.  

But if that were the case, he should have told her.  

When her thoughts reached that point, In-ah stood up decisively.  

***

The moment In-ah stepped into the office, her curiosity was resolved.  

She spotted a horrifyingly familiar face coming out of the CEO’s office.  

It was Matteo.  

The man who had tried to drug and harm her in Milan.  

To think that man would show up in Korea, and at her company, with such a brazen face.  

Frozen in shock, In-ah couldn’t move.  

She needed to leave before Matteo noticed her, but her feet felt like they were nailed to the ground.  

At that moment, her vision darkened.  

When she looked up, she saw a familiar back blocking her view.  

Jinwon had approached quietly and was now standing protectively in front of her.  

Thanks to him, In-ah was now completely hidden behind Jinwon’s broad back.  

She glanced down at her trembling hands, unable to control the shaking.  

Then, she heard Matteo’s voice.  

Though she couldn’t understand Italian, his voice was unforgettable, even in her dreams.  

From behind Jinwon’s back, In-ah squeezed her eyes shut.  

Unaware of the situation behind him, Matteo greeted Seong-jun warmly, saying he had seen Jinwon in Milan.  

But just seeing Matteo’s face again had pushed Jinwon’s anger to its limit.  

Seong-jun noticed the storm brewing in Jinwon’s expression.  

“Team Leader Lee, I didn’t think you were the type to get along with someone like Matteo. Guess I was wrong.”  

Turning his gaze slowly to Seong-jun, Jinwon finally spoke.  

“You’re absolutely right. I don’t associate with trash.”  

Seong-jun looked at Jinwon in surprise before turning to Matteo.  

Matteo, clueless, demanded a translation.  

While the interpreter hesitated, Jinwon continued speaking to Seong-jun.  

“Didn’t the CEO say our company prides itself on being clean?”  

Seong-jun stared coldly at Jinwon, his lips pressed tightly together.  

Unbothered by Seong-jun’s reaction, Jinwon added,  

“Then trash like him shouldn’t be allowed into the company.”  

Seong-jun’s expression turned curious.  

Since when did this guy start speaking his mind so openly?  

Matteo, still complaining in Italian, was silenced by a gesture from Seong-jun.  

With a sharp glare at Jinwon, Seong-jun said,  

“Do you have any idea how much this deal with Matteo is worth? If you can’t give me a convincing reason, you’ll be held responsible for this. Come to my office later.”  

Seong-jun then escorted Matteo out.  

As he passed Jinwon, his gaze briefly flicked to the small feet peeking out from behind Jinwon.  

Meanwhile, Jinwon reached back and firmly held In-ah’s trembling hand.  

***

In-ah, still shaking from shock, got out of Jinwon’s car.  

Jinwon quickly ran over to support her.  

“Thanks, oppa. You can go now.” 

She said, urging him to leave as they reached her house.  

But Jinwon had no intention of leaving.  

“I’m coming in with you. I can’t leave you alone right now.”  

“I’ll be fine.”  

“I won’t.”  

Jinwon’s tone left no room for argument.  

Too tired to fight, In-ah sighed softly and opened the door.  

About an hour later, In-ah woke up from a nap, her face flushed with a fever.  

Jinwon, who had been waiting beside her, immediately placed a hand on her forehead.  

“Your fever’s gone down a bit. Let’s eat.”  

He gently helped her sit up and placed a tray of porridge in front of her.  

Scooping up a spoonful, he blew on it carefully and held it out to her.  

“Say ah.”  

Reaching for the spoon, In-ah said,  

“I can feed myself.”  

But Jinwon caught her hand and insisted,  

“Just say ah.”  

In-ah gave up and obediently opened her mouth.  

As she ate, she quietly said,  

“I’m sorry.”  

Jinwon, handing her another spoonful, replied calmly,  

“Don’t be. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”  

With a faint smile, In-ah asked,  

“Do you even know what I’m apologizing for?”  

“Doesn’t matter.”  

After a moment of hesitation, Jinwon added,  

“There’s something I want to say, but it’s so cheesy I can’t bring myself to say it.”  

Seeing Jinwon nervously clenching his fists, In-ah chuckled weakly.  

“Let me guess. Something like, ‘People in love don’t need to apologize to each other,’ right?”  

“What?”  

Jinwon looked genuinely shocked.  

“How did you know? What did you do to my brain, In-ah? Can you read my thoughts now?”  

Laughing softly, In-ah waved him off.  

“Stop making me laugh. I don’t even have the energy for that.”  

Jinwon reached out and gently brushed her hair back.  

His eyes sparkled like stars, or at least that’s how they seemed to In-ah.  

“I’m sorry for showing you this weak side of me. I’m not usually like this.”  

Jinwon took her hands in his and looked at her with those starry eyes.  

“So what if you’re weak? I don’t love you because you’re strong or because you’re weak.”  

Speechless, In-ah stared at him. Jinwon, confused, asked,  

“What?”  

“Do you love me?”  

Hearing this, Jinwon lightly tapped her head with his fist.  

“You idiot. You didn’t know that until now?”

In-ah nodded with a smile.  

Tears had already begun to form in her eyes. The tears, which had been hanging on with difficulty, soon rolled down her cheeks.  

“I thought you were just a fool, but it turns out you’re a crybaby too. Who would’ve thought I’d end up with a girlfriend who’s both a fool and a crybaby!”  

In-ah pinched Jinwon’s side in retaliation for his teasing.  

“Ow! Instead of eating the porridge I made, you’re pinching your boyfriend’s side. What am I supposed to do with this foolish crybaby?”  

When In-ah tried to sit up to punish Jinwon further, he stopped her with his hand.  

Jinwon quickly placed his palm on her forehead to hold her back. Then, in a sweet, coaxing tone, as if calming a mischievous child, he whispered,  

“First, eat this and regain your strength, okay?”  

Like an obedient child, In-ah nodded and opened her mouth wide.  

Jinwon chuckled softly and fed her the porridge.  

As she ate, a happy smile spread across In-ah’s face as she watched Jinwon.  

She felt utterly foolish for doubting and resenting him, even for a moment.  

“Why are you crying again?”  

Startled, Jinwon asked, but In-ah shook her head vigorously to reassure him that it wasn’t anything bad.  

The joy of being loved by Jinwon kept welling up as tears that refused to stay put.