Sehee and Yeonsu’s gazes met. She was looking at Yeonsu with expectant eyes.

She seemed to hope that Yeonsu would attend.

“No. It’s a rare family dinner.”

“Are you a stranger? Siwoo is really curious about his Aunt Yeonsu.”

When Yeonsu indirectly expressed her refusal, the smile that had spread across Sehee’s face stopped.

She immediately looked disappointed.

“Ask any random Seungji—no, Taeseo Trading employee you pass by. I bet there’s someone who knows you as Hong Yeonsu.”

Finding her own joke amusing, she erased her disappointed expression as if it had never happened and started laughing.

It was difficult to refuse when she pushed this far.

But Yeonsu still wasn’t mentally prepared to face Siwoo.

Just as Yeonsu was looking at the playfully speaking Sehee with a troubled expression—

Knock knock. A knock came from beyond the office door.

“Who’s that?”

“It seems we have a visitor, so I’ll go check first. We’ll talk about this later.”

To Yeonsu, the knocking sound felt like salvation. And just as she placed her hand on the doorknob, before she could open the door, a familiar scent tickled her nose through the opening gap.

“……?”

The body scent mixed with strong musk was all too familiar.

When Yeonsu lifted her gaze, her vision filled with a navy suit jacket.

From the jacket to the white dress shirt, as her eyes traveled up along the neckline, Yeonsu suddenly drew in a sharp breath.

The man she believed she would never encounter again was standing right in front of her.

Yeonsu froze when she discovered herself reflected in his pitch-black pupils.

One second, two seconds.

In the endlessly flowing time, the clocks of these two people seemed to have stopped.

Yeonsu had forgotten how closely they were standing when the man’s smooth lips parted.

“I seem to have a bad timing.”

He slowly formed a smile—or was it a sneer?

“Oh my, brother-in-law! What brings you here?”

Despite Sehee approaching, the man’s gaze remained fixed on one spot. On the frozen Yeonsu.

It was Moon Seonjae.

“Isn’t this the first company I acquired? I was curious about the new headquarters.”

Seonjae turned his gaze from Yeonsu to meet Sehee’s eyes.

Then he slowly stretched his lips into a smile.

“Your mother sent me an expensive wine. I came to treat her to lunch as a thank you.”

Sehee opened her round eyes wide, seemingly surprised by Seonjae’s unannounced visit.

Then, at the mention of wine, she covered her mouth, understanding the situation.

Her sparkling eyes seemed touched that he had come all the way to her office.

“Lunch sounds great! You came all this way because of the wine? If I’d known you were coming, I would have greeted you properly.”

“That’s why I just showed up. I didn’t come for a grand welcome.”

Seonjae looked at Yeonsu for a moment before walking past her to the inner office.

Seeing him sit down on the sofa, Yeonsu immediately tried to leave.

From the moment Moon Seonjae entered, she instinctively knew this wasn’t her place.

She wasn’t a member of the Hong family. Therefore, she wasn’t in a position to face Seonjae in the same space like this.

But Sehee made even that difficult by pulling on her arm.

“Say hello. This is Team Leader Seo Yeonsu. She must have delivered that wine to you, but you probably didn’t see her?”

In an instant, Yeonsu was pulled in front of Seonjae.

Finally, as their gazes met in midair, Yeonsu had to bow her head.

“Hello. I’m Seo Yeonsu. Senior Team Leader of Taeseo Trading’s women’s clothing brand DINE.”

When they parted, she never thought she would meet this man again. Especially like this, at work.

What an ironic timing.

Yeonsu was trying to suppress the hollow laughter threatening to escape as she thought about how unpredictable life could be—

“Seo Yeonsu.”

His low voice flowing from his lips echoed in her ears.

Seonjae savored the three syllables of Yeonsu’s name as if they were a delicacy.

When he opened his slowly closed eyelids and his pitch-black pupils met hers, Yeonsu’s heart sank without her realizing it.

Again, he was looking at her with that indecipherable gaze.

Every day since their reunion had been torturous. That emotionless gaze kept flashing in her mind.

Looking at the man now, foolish thoughts began to surge again.

“I saw you then. You look young, but you’re a team leader.”

“Oh, you two have met?”

Sehee’s eyes narrowed as she looked back and forth between them.

“Yes. She insisted on delivering the wine personally, so she called me, Team Leader Seo Yeonsu.”

He continued speaking while maintaining steady eye contact with Yeonsu as he answered Sehee.

“Team Leader Seo did that? Please understand, sir. She can be a bit inflexible.”

Sehee’s expression brightened, finally understanding the situation.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine. I received it well, thanks to her.”

The two continued their casual conversation.

Yeonsu finally exhaled a shallow breath as Seonjae’s gaze left her.

She almost collapsed under his direct gaze, but thankfully, her legs held firm.

And as deep relief washed over her, she now had a little room to breathe.

Yeonsu glanced at Seonjae. Her chest ached as she looked at him.

His low voice flowing over his lips when he spoke.

The slight furrow of his brow when something displeased him.

Even the way he touched around his neck when discussing boring topics—all were things she knew well.

Yeonsu still remembered so much.

Every little action was imprinted in her mind and refused to leave, yet to him, she was just a woman he could forget without a second thought.

Her mouth tasted bitter.

This situation, reconfirming the painful truth like a double-tap to ensure death, made Yeonsu feel melancholic.

“I’ll be going now.”

Yeonsu, who had finally managed to speak, bowed her head.

Without looking, she could feel Seonjae’s gaze fixed on her.

She gave her greeting and was about to leave.

“Team Leader Seo Yeonsu, you should join us for the meal.”

Yeonsu looked up in surprise.

There he was, staring at her intently.

Yeonsu turned her head and gave Sehee a pleading look.

Seeing Sehee’s wide eyes, it seemed she too was taken aback by this dinner invitation.

“I’m fine. Please enjoy your meal, both of you.”

Just being in the same space with him felt like she might go crazy.

The thought of sitting between the two for lunch was overwhelming.

“I’m not fine with that.”

Despite Yeonsu’s firm refusal, the man facing her refused to yield.

“I couldn’t offer you even a cup of tea last time because I was busy. If I do the same today, I’ll feel uncomfortable. If you don’t have lunch plans, let’s go together.”

After an awkward silence, Sehee, who had been observing the two, approached Yeonsu and linked arms with her.

“Come on, Team Leader Seo. It would be impolite to refuse any further. Let’s go together.”

Then, speaking in an exceptionally friendly voice, she guided Yeonsu’s arm.

For the past five years, her heart, which had been sleeping quietly, began to beat faster and faster.

Hadn’t he wanted to pretend not to know her?

〈……What exactly are you thinking?〉

Yeonsu couldn’t take her eyes off Seonjae, who continued to stare at her.

※※※

“What’s on today’s course menu?”

The three visited an Italian restaurant near the headquarters.

It was a place where the menu varied daily depending on the ingredients that came in.

The server placed menus in front of the three and answered.

“For starters, we have butter-seared scallops with purée, and for the main course, we’ve prepared red sea bream steak. It will be served with Jeju octopus and spotted shrimp bisque linguine.”

“Lots of seafood here.”

When Yeonsu looked up, she saw Seonjae sitting across from her.

He was looking at the menu with an indifferent gaze.

“Yes. The seafood that came in from Jeju today is exceptionally fresh. The course will be excellent.”

Of course, the food was fine. It was just that they were dishes Yeonsu couldn’t eat.

With her shellfish allergy, shrimp was problematic, and she didn’t particularly like seafood like sea bream or scallops either.

Yeonsu glanced at Sehee. She seemed equally surprised by today’s seafood-heavy course menu.

However, with Moon Seonjae present, they couldn’t leave the restaurant they’d already entered, and she looked quite troubled.

‘I guess there’s no choice.’

She could eat everything except shrimp, so she’d just have to eat moderately.

“Please prepare the course. And……”

Just as Yeonsu was about to pick up the menu and add a suitable dish—

“The black pork steak looks good. Please add that too.”

Seonjae ordered before she could.

“Yes, I’ll prepare that.”

After the server left, Seonjae put down the menu and his eyes met with Yeonsu’s across the table.

Old memories flooded over his face as they gazed at each other.

〈It’s our anniversary, so I wanted to go somewhere nice, but your allergies are rejecting the expensive options.〉

〈Do you dislike that? A girlfriend who eats pork belly on anniversaries.〉

〈How could I? Seo Yeonsu, who prefers pork to expensive lobster or beef, is exactly my type.〉

Yeonsu couldn’t eat many seafood dishes and preferred pork belly to beef.