And his lips, which had been maintaining silence, slowly parted and opened.

“If I say I had someone investigate, it would seem crude, and if I say someone told me, it would be tattling.”

Investigation, tattling.

None of it was understandable or pleasant.

“Just tell me honestly. How much have you heard?”

Yeonsu’s face darkened with anxiety that was gradually rising.

In fact, she hadn’t even thought someone would have told him. It was such a private matter.

Perhaps sensing Yeonsu’s ominous expression, the smile on Seonjae’s lips gradually faded.

“That the medicine is a sedative to stop seizures, and Team Leader Seo Yeonsu has been taking antidepressants for five years.”

“……”

“And that you’ve been receiving private treatment through Dr. Cho Youngse. That’s about it.”

Yeonsu’s face, which had turned pale, immediately hardened.

Receiving treatment from Dr. Cho was confidential. Yet he even knew that.

Gradually, Yeonsu felt her heart beating faster.

Very few people knew she was taking psychiatric medication.

At most, Sukgyeong, Sehee, and Ms. Jung, the housekeeper working in Seongsu-dong.

“Who was it?”

Though she tried to maintain a calm expression, she couldn’t disguise her cracking voice.

Her heart pounded heavily.

Soon, Yeonsu’s trembling gaze became entangled with his.

Seonjae stared at Yeonsu without readily offering an answer.

She could read the truth in the long silence.

“Is that why you told me not to trust Sehee’s family too much?”

The warning in the emergency room underground parking lot was unlike him.

It was even more confusing because Moon Seonjae had no reason to create discord about Sehee, who was part of the same household.

“…Was it Sehee?”

Yeonsu’s voice trembled as she asked him.

The moment Seonjae nodded slightly instead of answering, her heart sank.

Why on earth would she say such things?

In fact, she had thought for some time that Sehee’s family might be a bit different from what she knew.

But.

‘Was it really something Sehee did?’

Even as she asked him, Yeonsu couldn’t believe it.

Why? Only questions floated in her mind.

Was it because she feared Yeonsu might have a seizure and disrupt filming, or worse, make a mistake in front of Seonjae?

Just as she was trying to understand Sehee’s intentions—

“I heard there was a man. She said that’s why you take the medication too.”

Yeonsu’s lips stuck together and wouldn’t part.

She hadn’t expected such a story to be shared.

“Even blood relatives do that in this world, so it’s possible. It probably feels more poignant to you since they seem like your only family.”

“……”

“I think it would be better to keep your distance from Managing Director Hong Sehee’s family.”

Yeonsu remained frozen where she stood.

She couldn’t comprehend his continued warning-like words.

She couldn’t understand Sehee, who had told him such things.

If it wasn’t out of concern for her, was the intention to disparage her to this man?

Just then, Seonjae, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened his body and gradually approached her.

The continuous footsteps stopped in front of her.

“Personally, there’s something I’m curious about, Team Leader.”

Yeonsu raised her head at the deep voice sinking into her ear.

Their gazes locked directly.

And at the voice that soon echoed in her ear—

“It’s not about me, is it? That man they mentioned.”

Her surprised emotion was fully revealed on her face without a chance to hide it.

She hadn’t expected him to bring up the past first.

From their first reunion until now, he had consistently pretended not to know her.

“Well, I asked a pointless question. Our story is from five years ago. It must be someone else.”

Then Seonjae mocked himself.

He had already drawn a conclusion before hearing her answer.

At his words “someone else,” Yeonsu’s brow furrowed.

Her thoughts, which had been on Sehee, now shifted to him.

As if anything in this world could be taken for granted.

When she saw Seonjae’s lips moving again, Yeonsu spoke first.

“What would you do if I said it was?”

It wasn’t a statement that had gone through deliberation or careful thought.

She just wanted to break that man’s belief that it couldn’t be her.

“What would change if that man was you, Moon Seonjae?”

The atmosphere froze.

In the gradually lengthening silence, their gazes locked.

A bit more intensely than when they had been entangled earlier.

And as Seonjae’s lips slowly opened…

“Nothing would change.”

He drew a line for Yeonsu with a voice so terribly plain.

That it couldn’t be.

In truth, Yeonsu knew too.

That discussing the past five years was meaningless now.

She didn’t want to revisit painful memories by talking about the past either.

She could just dismiss it as a joke, as one of his meaningless remarks. That would be enough.

She knew that was all she needed to do, but one corner of her heart ached.

If nothing would change, why had he come back to return her medicine? Why had he acted so kindly?

Just as inexplicable resentment began settling in her heart—

“Moon Seonjae.”

Yeonsu’s pupils widened at the quiet voice filling her ears.

“I’m Moon Seonjae, not Lee Seungjae. That’s why nothing would change.”

“……”

“Secretary Shin will drive you home. Get in.”

With those final words, Seonjae tried to leave the bedroom.

Watching this man who defined their relationship as precisely as if measured with a ruler, Yeonsu clenched both fists.

His confirmation about her medication—perhaps he had hoped he wasn’t the cause.

‘And mentioning another man too.’

He meant he had nothing to do with it, that he didn’t want to be entangled with Yeonsu anymore.

What had she expected from a man like this?

Wasn’t he the one who had told Yeonsu from the beginning that he was Moon Seonjae, not Lee Seungjae?

And now she too no longer remained in that childhood where she had loved Moon Seonjae.

“That medicine isn’t because of you, Moon Seonjae.”

Yeonsu continued speaking toward Seonjae, who had turned away.

“And I’m not the same as back then either. I’m no longer the twenty-three-year-old Seo Yeonsu.”

Seonjae’s brow twitched as he looked at Yeonsu, but she ignored it.

“I won’t ask to see you again, CEO. So don’t worry.”

He tried to add something. But Yeonsu turned away without listening.

Seonjae watched her departing figure for a long time.

※※※

“Madam, how about this outfit from this season’s lookbook?”

Sukgyeong, sitting on a sofa in one corner of the department store’s personal shopping room, turned a page.

She held catalogs of this season’s brands in her hand.

After skimming through them, she raised her head. She preferred seeing things in person rather than as images.

“Hmm, it’s nice. I really dislike how some brands have those tiny logos. If it’s going to show, it should be clearly visible.”

Sukgyeong was satisfied with the dress the personal shopper suggested.

She preferred clothing that clearly showed she was wearing luxury brands, rather than logos that were barely visible.

As she seemed to be looking over clothes, her phone rang.

“Yes, what is it?”

It was a call from the madam of Daejeong Distribution, who was at a gathering.

“Oh, today was the arranged date! How did those two get along? Did he like her?”

She immediately asked about the arranged date, cutting to the chase.

She had been waiting for Daejeong Distribution’s call.

But the call, which she had answered with joy, ended after just a few exchanges.

When Sukgyeong sat back down on the sofa with a rapidly darkening expression—

“Mom, how’s this?”

As she put down her phone on the table with a thud, the fitting room door opened and Sehee emerged.

She seemed to be looking at her reflection in the mirror, moving her body this way and that.

“I asked how this outfit looks.”

But when Sukgyeong didn’t answer, Sehee eventually turned toward her.

“Mom, why that expression? Did something happen?”

“I got a call from Daejeong Distribution.”

At the mention of Daejeong Distribution, a smile immediately spread across Sehee’s face.

“Ah, that. Did Min Jeongho like Yeonsu?”

She immediately went to the rack to look at hanging clothes while asking Sukgyeong.

Her beaming smile revealed that she had been expecting this as much as her mother was.

“I hope things work out well with Min Jeongho this time.”

“……”

“I’ve been a bit uncomfortable seeing her spending so much time with my brother-in-law lately. With her pretty face, men would…”

Before Sehee could finish her sentence, Sukgyeong’s voice echoed through the quiet PS room where only classical music played.

“Seo Yeonsu, that girl apparently has a man.”

Sehee, who had been fixed at the rack, raised her gaze.

“She has a man?”

And in her eyes, which looked back in disbelief, hostility rose prominently.

※※※

Yeonsu’s car drove along the darkening riverside.

Even the magnificent view of the bridge shining with various colored lights failed to move Yeonsu.

She could still hear their conversation ringing in her ears.

〈Nothing would change. I’m Moon Seonjae, not Lee Seungjae.〉

He had been so adamant that it wasn’t about him.

Yeonsu hadn’t brought it up with the intention of rekindling their relationship either.

But seeing him draw such a clear line made her feel a surge of emotion.

She hated herself for having her heart swayed, even momentarily, by nostalgia and his kindness.

So she had needlessly added that she had no intention of dating again.

Why had she done that? Belatedly, self-loathing washed over her.

Her car was now entering the officetel complex.

Seeing her home approaching, she felt suddenly exhausted.