Chapter 2.1

In the middle of the living room, where an awkward atmosphere lingered, it was In-wook who spoke first. 

“It’s been a while, Yoon Hae-soo.” 

In-wook smirked as he looked at Hae-soo. Perhaps unbothered by the training clothes he had hurriedly thrown back on, he appeared annoyingly bright and composed. 

But Hae-soo couldn’t bring herself to smile at the sight of him. How could she? The man standing before her was none other than Baek In-wook. 

She had done everything in her power to avoid him all this time, so how could they possibly cross paths here? 

Not even in Korea. Not even in Seoul, where they had never run into each other. How could it be in this faraway land of Austria? 

It was utterly bewildering. 

“……Yeah. How did we end up meeting here?” 

“Guess we were bound to meet somehow, you and I.” 

In-wook’s lighthearted response felt incredibly grating. His presence seemed to make Hae-soo so uncomfortable that she fidgeted restlessly. 

Yet In-wook didn’t seem to care in the slightest. On the contrary, he casually crossed his legs and faced Hae-soo with even more ease. 

Truth be told, In-wook had no intention of going easy on Hae-soo. How many missed calls had she ignored from him? With a bit of exaggeration, it could easily surpass three digits. 

That irritated him, and for that reason alone, he wanted to leave this level of discomfort for Hae-soo to deal with. 

Even if it would only be temporary. 

“…….” 

In-wook habitually tapped his index finger on the armrest of the sofa. A quick glance at his watch showed that the time for his appointment with Chief Kim was approaching. 

He wanted to enjoy a bit more time with Hae-soo, but his mind wasn’t at ease. As unfortunate as it was, this dramatic reunion had to be put on hold for now. 

“There’s probably a lot we need to talk about, but sadly, I’m a bit busy right now.” 

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” 

Hae-soo’s eyes darted around as she muttered something snarky. Not that it would do her any good. 

In-wook raised an eyebrow and pulled up all the bits of information he had tucked away in the back of his mind. 

He didn’t have time at the moment. But he couldn’t let Yoon Hae-soo slip away or escape either. Even if he had to wrap things up for now, he needed to ensure a way to keep her tied to this place until he returned. 

“I heard you quit your job, so you’re not here for work. A trip for relaxation, then? Planning to use this place as your lodging while staying in Hallstatt?” 

In-wook pieced together Hae-soo’s situation using the limited information he had. With each word he added, Hae-soo’s expression visibly hardened. It seemed his rough guess was spot on. 

Her thoughts were so transparent. 

Letting out a short chuckle, In-wook stood up as if there was nothing more to say. Just before leaving, he looked down at Hae-soo and spoke. 

“I’m using the first floor, so it’ll be more convenient for you to take a room on the second floor. There are bathrooms on each floor, so that’s not an issue, and we’ll probably share the kitchen. Though, since I usually eat out, you can use it freely.” 

“Uh……?” 

“I’ve got a packed schedule today, so I’ll only be back late in the evening. Until then, don’t worry about me and just relax. I’m going to finish washing up now.” 

In-wook turned around without hesitation. From delivering his not-so-short speech to showing his back, everything felt so natural and routine. It wasn’t even far from his usual demeanor. 

Because of that, Hae-soo almost fell for it. If it weren’t for the still-unfamiliar European-style house in the background, she might have absentmindedly nodded along to his absurd suggestion of sharing the house. 

“Wait a minute!!” 

Hae-soo hurriedly grabbed In-wook. He had already stepped into the bathroom and was just about to close the door and disappear. 

She rushed over and quickly wedged her foot between the bathroom door. Then, she poked her head through the narrow gap she had managed to secure. 

“You’re coming back late in the evening? Here? You’re saying you’ll return to this house?” 

Hae-soo blurted out her thoughts without even taking a moment to assess the situation inside the bathroom. At that, In-wook, who had just taken off the top of his training clothes, slightly furrowed his brow before fully pulling his arm out of the sleeve. 

“Of course, I’m coming back to this house. Where else would I go?” 

“That’s ridiculous. Are you saying we should share this house?” 

“What’s so ridiculous about it? It’s not like I’m suggesting we share a room.” 

Hae-soo let out a hollow laugh. The audacity of suggesting they live under the same roof out of the blue was already maddening, and now he was saying it’s not like they’d share a room—as if that made any sense. 

But even as she thought this, she couldn’t come up with the right words to argue back. 

Where was this place, after all? It was a house owned by Taeseon Group. And the person standing before her was none other than a member of the Taeseon family, Baek In-wook. 

And the utterly foolish Yoon Hae-soo had made the absurd mistake of spending a drunken night with this very Baek In-wook. 

“Ha…….” 

Hae-soo let out a shallow sigh. She had been pretending to be fine while exchanging words with him, but in truth, even at this very moment, she felt so uncomfortable with In-wook that it was driving her up the wall. 

How could she not feel this way? 

Ever since they were introduced and got to know each other, to Yoon Hae-soo, Baek In-wook had been nothing more or less than the only sibling of her closest friend. 

And yet, less than a month ago, on that problematic night, she had rolled around in bed with this man in a half-crazed state. 

Even if she made a hundred concessions and chalked up a one-night stand to a mistake one might make once in a lifetime due to alcohol, it shouldn’t have been with Baek In-wook. 

No matter how drunk she was, no matter how out of her mind she was with nothing in sight, she shouldn’t have ended up in bed with the only sibling of her best friend. 

Hae-soo let out another shallow sigh. Just recalling the past made her chest feel tight, as if it were completely blocked. 

But Baek In-wook, the other party involved, didn’t seem to feel that way at all. Far from feeling stifled, he didn’t even appear uncomfortable or troubled by facing her. 

What on earth was he thinking? 

She couldn’t fathom his thoughts, but that wasn’t the important part. 

First, she had to claim this house from him. If she hadn’t seen it, it might have been different, but now that she had seen not only this house but also the breathtaking scenery of this village, there was no way she could give it up. 

“How could we…… share a house, huh?”

Hae-soo lowered the corners of her eyes as much as possible to look pitiful and gazed up at In-wook. The man’s eyes, meeting hers directly, were quite arrogant. The corner of his mouth, tilted upward on one side, seemed to carry a message daring her to try something. 

Hae-soo discreetly clenched her teeth. For some reason, irritation slowly crept up within her. If he was going to act like that, she had no choice but to meet his expectations. 

“Even so, for grown adults, a man and a woman, to live under the same roof is a bit……” 

“I’m on the first floor, you’re on the second. What’s the problem?” 

“Even then, for a man and a woman to be so distinct yet wash and sleep in the same house feels a bit…… off, don’t you think?” 

Hae-soo glanced at In-wook cautiously as she trailed off. Given the limited personas she could adopt in this situation, she had no real choice, but saying it out loud made her feel incredibly embarrassed. 

It was a line utterly unfitting for someone who had a one-night stand with him not long ago. It seemed he thought the same. 

A snicker escaped through his teeth. 

Ugh, how embarrassing. 

“That’s unexpected.” 

“……What is?” 

“I didn’t know your thinking was so old-fashioned.” 

“What, what??” 

“Whether in Korea or abroad, aren’t guesthouses pretty common these days? I heard a lot of people use them. But I guess with your values, you’re not quite there yet, huh?” 

For a moment, Hae-soo was at a loss for words and couldn’t close her gaping mouth. It was an attack from a completely unexpected angle. 

She had thought at most he’d bring up that night and lecture her about inconsistency in her words and actions, but what was this treatment as if she were some Stone Age relic? 

The back of her head, which had been perfectly fine until now, felt as though it had been struck hard, leaving it tingling. Appealing to his sympathy clearly wasn’t going to work. 

If that’s the case! 

“I came here after openly getting permission from In-ah and receiving the key.” 

Changing her expression completely, Hae-soo looked up at In-wook shamelessly. 

Thinking about it belatedly, that was true. She hadn’t sneaked into this house; she had rightfully obtained permission from the owner and even received the key. 

So why was she acting so timid and subservient, constantly gauging his reactions?