CGC 32

Chapter 32

At Ji-hyuk’s firm, weighty call of her name, Yool straightened up nervously.

Then she nodded and replied.

“Yes, Director.”

“You want to always be with Doha, right?”

“Of course!”

Yool’s eyes sparkled the moment he brought up Doha again.

“Then how would you feel about coming over to my place for a while to help take care of her?”

Yool tilted her head, as if she’d misheard.

“Think of it like commuting to my house. You’d ‘clock in’ between 5 and 7 p.m., and ‘clock out’ at five in the morning.”

Seeing Yool too shocked to speak, Ji-hyuk continued explaining.

“While I’m at work, the housekeeper looks after her. But once I get home, I have to take full responsibility for Doha. That’s the condition my father placed on me.”

“Oh… I see.”

“I don’t know if you’ll understand, but this is already a time I need to really focus on the company. And ever since my brother passed… I’ve had to care about it even more.”

“I’m fine with it, Director. But… wouldn’t what I’m doing still count as being a sitter anyway? If your father finds out…”

“That brings me to the next condition.”

Yool swallowed.

“I want you to come as my pretend girlfriend and take care of Doha.”

“What?!”

Yool’s eyes widened to an unbelievable size.

“Next week, the housekeeper who originally watched over Doha, Madam Shim, will be back. That’s when you’ll start. I’ll tell her you’re my girlfriend. Just like I said to Madam Kim today.”

“Ah…”

“Who’s going to complain if a girlfriend is helping take care of her boyfriend’s niece? I can also ask Madam Shim to overlook it. So all you need to do is fool the people my father occasionally sends to check on me from outside.”

Yool nodded quickly.

“If anyone suspicious approaches you and asks what your relationship to me is, assume they’re my father’s people. Tell them you’re Seo Ji-hyuk’s woman. Then they won’t think you’re a sitter.”

Yool stayed silent for a while.

But strength gathered in her gaze, as if she was organizing her thoughts quickly.

And it didn’t take long.

“I’ll do it. Thank you for the offer.”

She clenched her jaw, as if suppressing her excitement to speak calmly.

But she couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from rising.

Seeing how happy she was made Ji-hyuk’s chest ticklish and lifted his mood.

“When does Madam Shim return next week?”

“Probably Monday.”

“So I start at five on Monday and leave at five in the morning, right? And I watch Doha during that time?”

When Ji-hyuk nodded, Yool muttered to herself that she’d be busy.

“If it’s too much—”

“No!”

When he cautiously asked, Yool raised her hand and firmly refused.

“I normally go to work at dawn to bake bread and sell everything before lunchtime! Even if sales drop a little, I can just change the shop hours for a while. I’ll bake in the morning and sell in the afternoon.”

Ji-hyuk felt uneasy that his proposal might interfere with her business.

He hadn’t imagined she baked from dawn, so he was thinking he should change the conditions when—

“This timing is actually perfect for me. A lot of customers have complained that lining up early in the morning is too hard.”

Ji-hyuk folded his arms and sank into thought.

Even so, if she bakes in the morning, sells in the afternoon, and then immediately comes to his house to watch Doha… she’d have no time to rest or sleep.

“No, this won’t do. You won’t have time to rest.”

“No.”

Yool firmly waved her finger side to side.

“There is one thing I’m better at than you, Director.”

“And what’s that?”

“Youth.”

“What?”

“Well, I’m only a bit younger, but I’ve still got stamina. And strangely, taking care of Doha doesn’t tire me out. And this is temporary, anyway.”

“…”

“Doha will grow up in the blink of an eye. I want to be part of at least a little of her childhood. I’ll handle the shop so I don’t ruin my health, so please don’t take back your offer.”

Ji-hyuk let out a low laugh.

He knew Yool would accept happily, but he hadn’t expected her to do so this confidently.

Finding her admirable, he sweetened the deal more than he’d planned.

“Considering you’re a busy business owner, let’s set your childcare pay at 500,000 won per day.”

Of course, he’d planned to pay even more.

But Yool shook her head again.

“I’m taking care of my own niece. Why would I take pay? You don’t have to give me anything.”

“…”

“And like I said before, it may not compare to you, Director, but I earn good money too. I’ll refuse.”

Her firm and lively attitude made him fall for her again.

Wait—fall?

Since when?

When did I ever fall for Han Yool?

Let’s just call it being fond of a younger, admirable woman.

He pressed down the sudden, confusing feelings.

“Honestly, I was really down today.”

Yool broke the brief silence.

“But… they say it’s clearest after the storm, right? I guess something bad happened just so I could hear such a great offer.”

Seeing her endless positivity made Ji-hyuk keep smiling.

“So, about what you said earlier… in the bedroom…”

Yool trailed off.

Bedroom?

The strange feelings from when he’d applied ointment to her earlier suddenly resurfaced, and his lower body started reacting.

Embarrassed, he coughed lightly and crossed one leg over the other.

“When I asked if I could see Doha for just ten minutes, you said—”

“Oh.”

He finally remembered what she meant.

“I told you to see her as much as you want before leaving. And you said you’d just go today and see her on the weekend.”

“When… did I say that?”

She played dumb.

“I don’t remember what I said at the gate… but I remember everything we talked about in the bedroom very clearly.”

Oh, look at her.

Playing innocent.

But even that seemed cute to him, so he let it slide.

“Your shop is nearby, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

“Give me a cup of tea there, and I’ll let you stay and see Doha as much as you want today.”

“Deal!”

Yool sprang up.

Then, noticing he still had sushi left, she sat again.

“Oh, you haven’t eaten yet.”

“No, I’m done.”

“What, you call that done?”

It wasn’t like Ji-hyuk couldn’t eat.

But strangely, after watching Yool enjoy her food earlier, he felt full himself.

He stood up first.

Following behind him, Yool kept mumbling complaints, probably about reheating leftover bread for him later.

Yool’s shop was on the first floor of a building, just three minutes’ walk from the sushi place.

The big glass windows and soft sky-blue door reminded him of a European bakery.

It felt bright and cute, just like Yool.

She beckoned him inside eagerly and opened the door.

The lights turned on the moment he stepped in.

Inside, it was just as charming as it looked from outside. The blend of wood, yellow, and white created a warm, bright atmosphere perfect for a bakery.

And it clearly reflected her personality.

The windows were spotless, the floors gleamed, and the display shelves and counter were tidy without a single unnecessary item.

Just seeing the shop made it obvious how talented and diligent she was at running a business.

Keeping the store this orderly with that level of sales…

With only one part-timer.

Without realizing it, Ji-hyuk placed his hand on her head as she bustled around proudly introducing the shop.

The moment his hand gently stroked down, Yool froze mid-speech and slowly lifted her gaze to him.

An awkward silence fell over the cozy bakery.