She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his half-open, decadent gaze.

He pulled back briefly and let out a soft laugh, seeing Yeonsu with her eyes wide open.

“Close your eyes.”

With those words, darkness descended before Yeonsu’s eyes.

His large hand had blocked her view.

His tongue, which had been freely roaming her mouth, locked with hers.

She tried to pull back from the dizzying pleasure, but her back was already blocked by the sink.

The man’s lips traced circles down from her lips, past her neck, and sucked on Yeonsu’s collarbone.

Each time his lips touched her, it felt as if her reason scattered into the air.

“Hah……”

Feeling her legs weaken, Yeonsu tried to turn her face away.

“Just a moment.”

Seonjae seemed to notice as well and pulled back briefly before lifting Yeonsu up.

Before she knew it, Yeonsu’s body was laid on the island counter next to the sink.

The moment she flinched at the cold sensation through her thin shirt was brief.

Soon the chill against her back disappeared under the cascade of kisses.

By the time she came to her senses, they were already entangled again.

Bzzzz.

Lost in the intense kiss, Yeonsu’s reason returned at the sound of a bell ringing from somewhere.

She barely managed to push him away.

Though he hadn’t budged at first, he too must have heard the ringing and was pushed back.

It was her phone on the counter.

As a small gap formed between the two, Yeonsu reached out her hand.

Just as she barely grasped the phone that had been just out of reach and checked the caller—

The phone in her hand disappeared.

When Yeonsu raised her head, she saw it was now in Seonjae’s grasp.

“Give it to me.”

The caller was the lawyer, Jaeyoung.

She recalled the missed calls and messages she’d left before coming up to Seonjae’s place.

He’d probably checked them and was calling back belatedly.

“I need to take this call.”

Seonjae frowned as he looked at Yeonsu, who was emphasizing it again.

Displeasure spread across his face. Even though he must know after checking the name on the screen, he was displeased.

“It’s the lawyer. Can’t you see the name?”

“I know. I have eyes too.”

He returned the phone to Yeonsu just before the call ended. Expressing his distaste with his entire body.

Yeonsu considered adding a word to Seonjae but hurriedly answered the call instead.

“Hello?”

Then she headed into the bathroom, avoiding him.

The call with Jaeyoung lasted about ten minutes.

She could feel the joy in his excited voice as he told her Sehee’s examination results had come in.

Her mother-in-law Insuk would request a reexamination, and once the infertility was revealed in the retest, it would be over.

If Hyunjeong’s testimony was added, Sehee would receive a sentencing.

Jaeyoung’s words about the end gradually coming into view moved Yeonsu’s heart.

The day she’d be with Siwoo wasn’t far off.

That fact alone washed away the fatigue that had accumulated today.

Perhaps from seeing hope, Yeonsu’s expression brightened more than before.

When she came out of the bathroom and entered the living room, she saw him sitting on the sofa.

Seonjae’s gaze, leaning back as he sat, moved to her.

His lips set in a straight line revealed his displeasure.

“I left a missed call with Jaeyoung before coming here. About Hong Sehee’s examination results coming in. So this was the callback.”

Why was she explaining this one by one? Looking at the rigid Seonjae, Yeonsu’s mouth moved on its own.

With this level of explanation, he should be able to understand, but his rigid expression showed no sign of softening.

He stood up and approached Yeonsu.

“Jaeyoung? So you two are on a first-name basis with your lawyer.”

Yeonsu blinked.

She wondered what he didn’t like, only to realize the issue was with the way she addressed him.

To her, calling him Jaeyoung or Attorney Lee felt the same.

“It’s not like I only call him by his name. I do that with you too, don’t I?”

“Exactly, that’s the problem. Hah……”

Seonjae sighed deeply.

Then, he shook his head at Yeonsu, who looked at him with eyes that seemed to ask what the problem was.

‘What’s wrong with calling his name.’

She just found it strange that Seonjae was making an issue out of something so trivial.

Yeonsu looked at him, then gathered her belongings that she’d placed on the sofa.

The clock that caught her eye was already approaching midnight.

“It’s getting late, so I’ll be going now. I’m sorry I was late for dinner today.”

“……”

“I should have canceled our plans if I was going to be this late. I didn’t even think about you waiting.”

Yeonsu grabbed her handbag and the jacket she’d taken off and offered her apology.

He’d said they were going to have dinner, but she hadn’t realized it meant having the meal he’d meticulously prepared.

If she had known, she would have contacted Seonjae to tell him she’d be late.

“Let’s have dinner……again next time. I’ll treat you to a delicious dinner.”

Perhaps sensing Yeonsu’s sincerity, Seonjae’s lips, which had been sullen, relaxed slightly.

Then, he unfolded his stubbornly crossed arms and approached Yeonsu.

“Then how about that meal tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“If you’re sorry, meet me tomorrow.”

Yeonsu hesitated without answering.

「Ms. Yeonsu, should we have a meal together tomorrow?」

「A meal?」

「Yes. I don’t think this is a conversation to have over the phone, and I also want to meet to discuss our plans going forward, so let’s meet up.」

As it happened, she’d already made plans to have dinner with Jaeyoung tomorrow.

Perhaps reading the troubled look on her face, Seonjae’s expression darkened.

“Why? Do you hate the idea of having dinner with me?”

“It’s not that I hate it, but I have prior plans tomorrow. With Attorney Lee Jaeyoung.”

And the moment she said she had prior plans with Jaeyoung, his face darkened instantly.

“I haven’t been able to go to the lawyer’s office because I’ve been busy. I’m planning to have dinner and discuss our future direction.”

She would postpone the appointment if it was possible, but her appointment with Jaeyoung was also important.

“How about the day after tomorrow instead? I’m free then.”

Yeonsu said, taking out her phone and checking her calendar.

She’d brought it up thinking the day after tomorrow would be a good alternative.

“What time are you meeting tomorrow?”

However, the answer that came from Seonjae was quite different.

“Why is Moon Seonjae curious about that?”

When Yeonsu raised her head, their gazes locked in the air.

He wore an expression that said it was only natural.

“I have to go. He’s the attorney who’s helping you get your child back.”

“……”

“Shouldn’t I meet him too? I’m Siwoo’s father.”

The corners of Seonjae’s lips curved as he continued.

He was answering nonchalantly with the same look he always had when he was about to joke around.

Bewilderment filled Yeonsu’s eyes.

No way, he’s really coming? It’s Moon Seonjae, of all people.

Even though she thought it wasn’t possible, her heart was strangely racing.

※※※

Inside the study, where the only sound was that of paper fluttering as it was turned. Seonjae’s hand, which had been turning the pages of a book, stopped in mid-air.

「Stop joking around. It’s not funny. Let’s have dinner the day after tomorrow. I’ll contact you.」

Yeonsu, who had said that and left, saying she had to go to work tomorrow, flickered before his eyes.

The way she’d hurried off as if running away seemed to show her flustered feelings.

In truth, when Yeonsu hadn’t contacted him, worry had taken precedence over anger.

She would jump into things related to Siwoo with fire in her eyes.

She was a woman who didn’t care about her own safety, so that was what he was worried about.

Even today, his heart had sunk when he’d checked his phone and seen it was dead.

Had she been exposed to some threat somewhere again?

Was she doing something reckless?

The anxiousness he’d felt had lifted the moment he saw Yeonsu in the elevator.

What she’d said about it being because of Sehee’s matter hadn’t eased his lingering feelings.

He understood it well enough in his head.

Seonjae wanted Yeonsu to rely on him a little more.

But she didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so…….

The walls in her heart would crumble and her innermost feelings, which she’d been carefully hiding, would seem to show, only to be hidden again in an instant.

He’d definitely seen that she was drawn to him. But that feeling would disappear when he met her eyes again.

At times like that, he resented the passage of the last five years.

“When will……”

When would she trust him?

Perhaps because he was thinking of Yeonsu, Seonjae’s eyes sank deeply.

Then, when he lowered his gaze again, the book came into view.

He’d taken it out to calm his mind. But he hadn’t been able to get past the first page.

It was still on the page with the bookmark inserted.

“Lee Jaeyoung, was it.”

He slowly repeated the attorney’s name.

In truth, when he’d first heard about the matter regarding Siwoo, he’d intended to get Yeonsu the best attorney in Korea.

He’d already been working to win them over for that purpose.

But Yeonsu had found an attorney on her own.

He’d had Secretary Shin investigate and left it alone since he was a lawyer with a decent win rate.

He was someone he had to meet at least once.

As he’d told Yeonsu, Seonjae was Siwoo’s father too.

In the end, Seonjae closed the book and rose from his seat.