Chapter 15 (Part 1)

A few days later.  

In-ah visited Jinwon’s house after work to show him a revised design proposal.  

Jinwon carefully examined the proposal In-ah had brought. In-ah, unable to take her eyes off Jinwon’s face, anxiously waited for his reaction.  

“How is it? Is it outdated? Or too obvious? Does it look tacky?”  

She bombarded Jinwon with questions, but he remained silent.  

Finally, Jinwon raised his head slowly and called her name softly.  

“In-ah.”  

“Yes?”  

“I’m looking at it now. I’ll tell you once I’m done.”  

Hearing Jinwon’s calm voice, In-ah nodded repeatedly.  

“Okay, okay. Look at it. You have to look to give your opinion, right? Of course.”  

Despite her words, she kept fidgeting nervously.  

When Jinwon looked up at her again, she gave an awkward laugh as if embarrassed by her own behavior.  

“Sorry. I’ll stop being distracting.”  

Watching her wave her hands in apology, Jinwon chuckled and finally gave her the answer she was waiting for.  

“It’s good.”  

“Really?”  

Joy spread across In-ah’s face.  

“Yes, it’s good.”  

“Are there any parts that need improvement?”  

In-ah asked seriously, staring at Jinwon. Jinwon straightened up and replied,  

“I said it’s good. Have some confidence. This isn’t like you, Seo In-ah.”  

At his words, In-ah sighed and nodded.  

“It’s just that whenever I stand in front of the Chairwoman, whatever confidence I had disappears completely. I don’t even know where it goes. Isn’t that strange?”  

“It’s not strange.”  

Jinwon’s immediate response was enough to reassure her.  

“Have you ever met the Chairwoman?”  

Jinwon hesitated briefly before answering.  

“No.”  

In-ah waved her hands dramatically, shivering as if on cue.  

“Then you wouldn’t know. That charisma is just—ugh!”  

Jinwon chuckled and patted her head.  

“You’ve got charisma too, you know.”  

“Me? Don’t lie. You’re just saying that to cheer me up.”  

Seeing her shoulders slump, Jinwon protested.  

“I was captivated by your charisma once.”  

In-ah immediately perked up.  

“Really? You’ve never said that before.”  

“Didn’t I?”  

In-ah leaned in, resting her chin on her hand, and stared at Jinwon.  

“Tell me more about it.”  

Jinwon looked up at the ceiling, recalling his memories of her.  

“When you wiped your tears with your sleeve, that was peak charisma. And when you shoved the popsicle you were eating into my mouth—”

“Oh, sorry. It wasn’t a new one, w

Jinwon closed his mouth and gave her a sideways glance.  

“No, no. Keep going.”  

“Your charisma back then was unmatched. I doubt there was another five-year-old as charismatic as you.”  

In-ah suddenly puffed up with pride, her lips curling into a smile.  

“What’s this? So you liked girls who could boss you around? That was your type? You should’ve told me. I can do that anytime.”  

“No thanks, In-ah. I’ll pass.”  

As Jinwon tried to get up, In-ah stopped him with her hand and warned,  

“Hey, are you rejecting me? I reject your rejection. Come here.”

Jinwon shrugged off her hand and stepped back.  

“Enough. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”  

“Hey—”  

Jinwon laughed, finding her antics amusing.  

“Is that supposed to be charisma?”

As In-ah tried to grab him again, Jinwon suddenly stopped moving.  

Startled, In-ah asked,  

“What’s wrong?”  

“I was just wondering why I’m running away. If you’re trying to overpower me with your charisma, I might as well let you.”

Surprised by his unexpected challenge, In-ah instinctively took a step back.  

“What?”  

“Go ahead, try to charm me.”  

Jinwon stepped closer to her, and In-ah, flustered, found herself retreating.  

He continued speaking in a relaxed tone.  

“I can’t quite remember, but…”  

“But what?”  

In-ah swallowed nervously, her eyes fixed on him.  

Jinwon took another step toward her, closing the distance.  

“When we used to date, I don’t think our roles were like this… or were they?”  

“Roles? What roles are you suddenly talking about?”  

At that moment, Jinwon grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.  

In-ah gasped as she found herself inches away from his face.  

“Oppa, aren’t you thirsty? I’ll get you some water—”  

As she tried to turn away, Jinwon pulled her back and seated her on his lap.  

With a sly smile, he fixed his gaze on her lips and said,  

“No, I’m not thirsty. So just stay here. Like this, with me.”  

In-ah, unable to turn her head, laughed awkwardly.  

If she moved her head even slightly, their faces would touch.  

“Ha-ha… If we stay like this, your legs will start hurting.”  

“They don’t hurt.”  

At this point, there was no escaping. Staring straight ahead, In-ah muttered,  

“I’m heavier than I look, you know.”  

“You’re not heavy at all.”  

Jinwon’s voice had taken on a playful tone.  

After a moment of rapid thinking, In-ah clapped her hands as if struck by an idea.  

“I remember! Our old roles!”  

She suddenly stood up from his lap and turned Jinwon sideways on the sofa.  

Then she straddled him, wrapping her legs around his waist.  

Now they were chest to chest. In-ah buried her face in his chest.  

Jinwon’s face flushed with heat.  

With her entire body pressed against him, In-ah whispered softly,  

“This feels nice.”  

When Jinwon tried to move, she tightened her grip and warned,  

“Hey—where do you think you’re going? Who was it that wanted to go back to our old dynamic?”

Jinwon let out a helpless laugh.  

“Fine, In-ah. If you say so, then so be it.”  

He hugged her even tighter.  

The warmth of her happiness made his chest feel even hotter.  

***

Jeong-ho kept glancing at In-kyung, who had come to the store alone.  

She was sipping her drink and nibbling on some snacks.  

After sneaking glances for a while, Jeong-ho brought her a glass of water and casually asked,  

“Why are you alone today?”  

“Pardon?”  

Jeong-ho, avoiding her gaze, repeated the question while looking into the air.  

“You know, that guy with lots of girlfriends—why didn’t he come with you?”  

“Pardon?”  

Feeling frustrated, Jeong-ho raised his voice slightly as he looked directly at her.  

“You know, the guy who always drank in your place… no, I mean, the guy who drank so well.”  

“Oh~ The snacks here are really delicious.”  

What a way to dodge the question. Was she ignoring me on purpose?  

Jeong-ho shook his head in disbelief.  

“Enjoy your meal.”  

He was about to leave after the polite exchange when In-kyung asked,  

“Are all the snacks here made by the owner himself?”  

“Yes, they are.”  

Despite grumbling, Jeong-ho answered her questions without fail.  

The next moment, he was startled.  

“You’re amazing!”  

In-kyung exclaimed loudly in admiration, making the corners of Jeong-ho’s lips twitch.  

“There aren’t that many items, really.”  

“I’m absolutely hopeless when it comes to cooking.”  

Hearing this, Jeong-ho replied confidently,  

“You don’t need talent to cook.”  

“Right? Even if you’re not talented, you can learn, right? With a good teacher.”  

Her eyes sparkled as she sought his agreement.  

Almost as if hypnotized, Jeong-ho answered,  

“Right.”  

“So… could you teach me how to cook?”  

“No, I can’t.”  

Jeong-ho firmly refused and immediately turned away.  

In response, In-kyung jumped up from her seat and blocked his path.  

“Why not? Why can’t you?”  

“Go to a cooking school to learn how to cook. Why are you asking someone at a bar to teach you?”  

As Jeong-ho tried to leave again, In-kyung shouted indignantly,  

“It’s because the food here suits my taste the best!”  

Jeong-ho turned back. In-kyung looked at him with a pleading expression, as if appealing to his compassion.  

“His birthday is coming up soon. I want to cook for him myself. Please help me, just this once. Please?”  

Jeong-ho stared at her as she clasped her hands together with a desperate look on her face.  

***

In-ah encountered Seong-jun in the hallway and gave him a cold nod before walking past him.  

“In-ah.”  

At his call, she stopped and turned around, but her eyes avoided his.  

Seong-jun approached her, studying her face with concern.  

“Is something wrong?”  

“No, nothing’s wrong.”  

Despite her curt response, Seong-jun’s concern didn’t fade.  

“You don’t look well.”  

To be precise, her expression was entirely different from usual.  

It felt as though she had reverted to the days before they had become close—when she was endlessly wary and guarded.  

And Seong-jun wasn’t wrong.  

“There’s nothing for me to look unwell about. Even if there were, it’s not something you, Director, should worry about.”  

Her dry response left a heavy silence between them.  

Seong-jun broke the silence with some effort.  

“Thank you for accompanying me to the arboretum last time. I don’t think I properly thanked you.”  

“It’s nothing. As an employee, it’s only natural to assist the Director.”  

Her overly formal tone left Seong-jun at a loss for words again.  

“Well…”  

“If you’re done, I’ll be going now.”  

As she turned to leave, Seong-jun’s face filled with bitterness.  

Something was definitely wrong. His mind raced, trying to figure out where to start and how to resolve things.  

“By the way.”  

She stopped in her tracks and turned back to him.  

“If you had just asked me to accompany you, I would have gone. There was no need to bring up things like an incurable illness.”  

Seong-jun couldn’t find the words to respond.  

As she turned to leave again, he finally managed to speak.  

“No, you wouldn’t have come. You probably would’ve politely declined.”  

She didn’t turn back this time, but she was listening.  

“That doesn’t mean I’m not sorry for misleading you. I didn’t intend to lie to you. Please believe me.”  

Slowly, she turned to face him.  

“How many people who commit bad deeds actually have bad intentions?”

Watching In-ah criticize the lie itself, Seong-jun found himself lost in thought.