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Chapter 31
Jihyeok’s car glided smoothly down the nighttime road.
Though focused on driving, he kept glancing to his side.
Yooeul was gripping her seatbelt tightly, staring straight ahead, looking extremely tense.
He recalled how earlier, after seating her in the passenger seat and closing the door for her, she had asked several times, “What is it you want to say?”, her curiosity plain.
Seeing how tense she was now, she probably assumed that whatever he intended to say was something negative.
“Um, Director.”
Yooeul, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke again.
“Could you at least give me a hint?”
Her shoulders, which had been facing forward, turned completely toward Jihyeok.
“I’m really, really curious.”
Before answering, Jihyeok checked the navigation.
“Ten minutes until we reach your shop. Hang in there a bit.”
“No. That’s ten minutes to my shop, but if we go to a restaurant nearby and eat, it’ll take even longer.”
It seemed Yooeul was the type who couldn’t stand not knowing something.
She already looked more dejected than usual after clearly having had a bad day, and unlike her normal self, she seemed especially shy.
Unable to resolve the question bothering her, her true personality appeared to be showing through.
“Not hungry?” Jihyeok asked.
“My hunger disappeared completely. Until I satisfy my curiosity, food won’t even go down.”
Jihyeok let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“Then let’s make a bet. Whether you eat before I tell you, or not.”
Realizing he had no intention of answering until after the meal, Yooeul straightened her upper body again.
From the corner of his eye, he could see her sulking.
At times she looked more mature than people her age, yet at moments like this, her honesty made her seem childlike.
If she were a candy, she’d be like a rainbow candy.
Jihyeok’s father had once called him a colorless, odorless type of person.
Someone so dull and rigid that it sometimes felt strange to even call him his son.
Perhaps that was why he found himself drawn to Yooeul—someone with such varied colors and scents, the complete opposite of himself.
Even earlier in his bedroom, she had invaded his heart with that innocent, clueless expression, leaving him flustered.
Jihyeok was curious about her.
He wanted to know more.
He wanted to ask where the wound on that pretty face of hers had come from.
And seeing that, despite everything, she had ultimately come looking for Doha, he wanted to help her.
All he could really do was make it easier for her to see Doha more often—and that was something he could manage on his end.
“What if I win the bet?”
Yooeul, whom he thought had sulked herself out of the conversation entirely, spoke up again.
“If you win, I’ll make you a good offer.”
“Is it related to Doha?”
“Wouldn’t it be?”
“Okay. Let’s go eat. There’s a really good sushi place next to my shop. Should I put it in the navigation?”
With a resolute expression, Yooeul fiddled with the navigation and changed the route.
The two arrived at the sushi restaurant and were shown to their seats by a staff member.
The place wasn’t very large, but it had an upscale atmosphere, and the tables were spaced far enough apart to make it perfect for quiet conversation.
Perhaps arriving at the restaurant made Yooeul suddenly hungry, or perhaps she was worried Jihyeok might start talking before the meal and cause her to lose the bet.
Either way, she chose the menu with enthusiasm.
She asked Jihyeok’s preferences here and there, then ordered on her own with confidence.
She really was like an onion—layer after layer of charm.
“Your sushi is ready. I’ll place it in front of you.”
Maybe because there weren’t many customers, the food arrived quickly.
“Director, dinner’s on me.”
“No.”
“I figured you’d say that. Then I’ll eat well.”
After that cute remark, Yooeul stared intently at Jihyeok.
Her eyes clearly said that she wouldn’t eat until he picked up his chopsticks.
Though he wasn’t particularly hungry, Jihyeok quickly did so.
Only then did Yooeul start eating her sushi.
It was amazing how such large pieces fit into her small mouth as she chewed happily.
She ate with such relish.
Jihyeok barely managed to stop himself from pushing his own plate toward her.
By the time half of Jihyeok’s sushi was still left, Yooeul popped her last piece into her mouth.
It was hard to tell whether she was forcing herself to eat to win the bet or genuinely enjoying it.
While Jihyeok watched in fascination, Yooeul swallowed the last piece completely and rinsed her mouth with warm tea.
Then she grinned at him.
“I won, right?”
Jihyeok smiled, conceding defeat.
“Then please tell me. What did you want to say?”
“First, there are two things I need to say.”
Yooeul nodded, locking eyes with him more firmly.
“One is something I’m curious about. The other is the offer I’ll make. Which do you want to hear first?”
“Hm. The first one is what you’re curious about me, right?”
When Jihyeok nodded, Yooeul answered decisively.
“What are you curious about?”
“Who did that to your face.”
A brief silence fell.
Yooeul hadn’t expected that question; her eyes darted around in surprise.
“You’re not going to tell me?”
She bit her lip nervously, then looked at Jihyeok.
Her eyes showed resignation, as if she knew there was no point in avoiding an answer now.
At moments like this, Han Yooeul was quick-witted.
If she didn’t answer, he clearly planned to keep pestering her until she did.
“My aunt came to my shop earlier.”
Jihyeok’s brows knit sharply.
“I talked back a bit. It wasn’t right to do that to an adult… but I guess everything she’d done to me until now just exploded at once.”
“Even if you exploded, you probably just flustered her with logic.”
Touched by how kindly Jihyeok saw her, Yooeul’s eyes briefly welled up.
But she quickly blinked and composed herself.
“She probably hated hearing the truth, that woman.”
“…How do you know I even said the right thing?”
“You’ve never said anything wrong in front of me.”
Of course, there had been moments—like when she recorded phone calls to threaten him or pestered him constantly—that annoyed him.
But aside from those, she had never said anything truly unreasonable.
Regardless of age or social standing, she knew how to read the room and converse easily.
One hundred percent—no, a thousand, ten thousand percent—
Han Yeonsuk was the one at fault.
After failing to gain anything from confronting him earlier, she must have gone to Yooeul, threatening her and trying to extort money by using Doha.
There was no way Yooeul would just take that.
For Doha’s sake, she would have snapped.
And even if Yooeul had crossed a line verbally, violence was still wrong.
You don’t lay a hand on someone.
Anger surged inside him.
Seeing the chilling expression on Jihyeok’s face, Yooeul hunched her shoulders as if she were the one at fault.
Jihyeok immediately relaxed his expression and asked,
“Did you cut her off completely?”
Yooeul shook her head.
“No. She’s demanding that I bring Doha… I don’t think she’ll give up easily. She’ll keep coming after me.”
Seeing Jihyeok’s hardened face, Yooeul gave an awkward smile.
“It’s okay. Eventually, my aunt will get tired too. And I have all the evidence that she hit me.”
At last, Jihyeok arrived at an answer to the thought he’d been turning over for some time.
Honestly, after getting off work, it had been difficult for him to look after Doha at home.
He couldn’t hire another sitter either, since his father was watching him closely.
Then earlier, when he had introduced Yooeul as his girlfriend to Mrs. Kim, a thought had crossed his mind.
What if he simply made Han Yooeul his fake girlfriend and brought her into the house?
While he worked in his study after coming home, she could watch Doha.
Wouldn’t that be a win-win?
But it wasn’t entirely appealing.
If Yooeul came to live in his house, he would end up relying on her—and in the long run, he feared it might make it harder for him to form a proper bond with Doha.
Still, that hesitation was shattered in an instant by Han Yeonsuk.
She would surely keep going to Yooeul’s shop or home, trying to take Doha and harm Yooeul in the process.
In that case, keeping Yooeul at his house, at least in the evenings, would be safer.
Having fully organized his thoughts, he finally spoke.
“Han Yooeul.”
