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Chapter 36
The next day.
When Yoo-eul came to work, her mind felt blank.
That was because she hadn’t slept a wink from the time she got home yesterday until it was time to come in.
It was all Ji-hyeok’s fault.
Every time she closed her eyes, Ji-hyeok kept appearing in her head. His face when they sat across from each other drinking tea at the shop, his expressions, even his hand gestures—all of it flickered before her eyes, making her heart race.
So how could she possibly fall asleep?
It was just about the time she had finally finished baking bread and was about to put it out on display.
Jingle—
The door opened, and Ji-eun came in.
“Good morning, boss!”
“You’re here?”
“Of course~”
Ji-eun immediately took off her outerwear and tied her hair back.
She went into the kitchen, washed her hands, then came back, tying on her apron as she called Yoo-eul.
“Han Yoo-eul.”
Yoo-eul, who was setting a tray of freshly baked bread onto the display, lifted her head slightly.
“Huh?”
“Hehe.”
Ji-eun made a mischievous face and let out a teasing grin.
“…Why?”
“Don’t you have something to say to me?”
Ji-eun scurried over, bent down sharply, and locked eyes with her so closely it was almost overwhelming.
Yoo-eul leaned back and frowned.
“Ah, what are you doing?”
“Hurry up and say it yourself first, huh?!”
“Say what!”
“Wow. I’m hurt. You’re really not going to tell me?”
Yoo-eul felt stifled because she had no idea what Ji-eun was demanding she say.
“What do you want from me?”
“I ran into an ajumma from our neighborhood on my way to work. You know, the one who’s always saying she wants to try our bread at least once.”
A wave of anxiety hit her.
Surely the woman who had briefly come by the shop yesterday wasn’t Ji-eun’s neighbor… right?
“She always couldn’t make it because the timing didn’t work out, but she saw the lights on last night and stopped by the shop.”
Yoo-eul despaired inwardly.
Then that ajumma must have mentioned that she’d been there with a man.
“You brought Director Seo here yesterday!”
Yoo-eul hesitated about denying it, then nodded right away.
After all, once the shop opened, Ji-eun could always check the CCTV. Getting caught was only a matter of time.
“Oh my, oh my! Look at you! Huh?! You said before you weren’t interested in Director Seo at all!”
“No, I mean… even if I’m not interested, I can still bring him to the shop…”
“Who are you trying to fool! She said it totally felt like a date, you know?! And just now, the moment I said ‘Director Seo,’ your face turned super red?!”
Flustered, Yoo-eul ran over to the counter.
She checked the mirror.
Her face wasn’t that red.
“Ugh! Kye Ji-eun!”
Ji-eun burst into laughter.
“See? You got that startled just because I said your face turned red. That means something’s going on. Tell me—how much progress, and what kind?”
Yoo-eul didn’t answer and went into the kitchen to bring out another tray.
She meant it as a refusal to respond, but Ji-eun kept pestering her relentlessly while helping with the work.
Unable to stop Ji-eun’s curiosity—and wanting to understand her own feelings toward Ji-hyeok—Yoo-eul finally confessed.
“It’s not like there’s been any progress… Actually, yesterday I didn’t go straight home. I went to see Do-ha.”
Ji-eun smacked Yoo-eul on the back.
“Then that text saying you got home was a lie?!”
“I’m sorry about that. But I was feeling so depressed, I really didn’t want to go home.”
“Oh yeah? So you went to Seongbuk-dong, saw Do-ha, and got all ‘there, there’ from Director Seo?”
Biting her lip, Yoo-eul nodded.
“No way, really? Director Seo actually went all ‘there, there,’ asking where you got hurt?”
“Yeah. He put medicine on my injury, and since I looked like I was in a bad mood, he told me to at least spend as much time as I wanted with Do-ha before leaving.”
“That’s insane! He even put medicine on you? He just didn’t say ‘let’s date,’ but aren’t you already basically dating? Ah—no, wait. Then what was him coming to the shop about?”
“Oh, that was because the madam watched Do-ha for a bit, and the director and I came near the shop to have dinner. After we ate, we stopped by the shop and just had tea for a while. That’s all.”
“My goodness. You even went on a date. Huh?!”
Ji-eun raised her thumb with a proud look on her face.
“It’s not like that…!”
“Not like that, my foot! So? What did you talk about while having tea? Tell me!”
“We didn’t really talk about anything special, but… haa, Ji-eun.”
Yoo-eul let out a deep sigh and pushed her lips out.
“What is it? Is there a problem? Tell your unni everything.”
Ji-eun nodded and gestured for her to spill it all.
“The director seems like an even better person the more I get to know him…”
“Oho. And?”
“I’ve known for a while that he’s handsome, but… at some point, facing that face started to feel embarrassing? Or burdensome, I guess?”
“That handsome face keeps looking at you, so you feel shy?”
After thinking it over, Yoo-eul nodded.
“Uh… I think so…”
“Go on.”
Ji-eun grabbed Yoo-eul by the wrist, dragged her to the counter, and made her sit on a chair.
Seated, Yoo-eul took a deep breath and continued.
“And I can’t even make eye contact. I don’t know. When I see him, I feel embarrassed for no reason, and my heart races. But it also feels like the kind of flutter you get when you see a celebrity you like.”
“……”
“Because these days, the director feels like my benefactor. He also feels like an adult. So maybe my heart is fluttering because I kind of see him like an idol?”
Ji-eun shook her head and wagged her index finger from side to side.
“An idol, my ass. Don’t be ridiculous! You’re in love, you girl!”
Yoo-eul narrowed her eyes and shot back.
“What? Love? Hey, Kye Ji-eun. Even if I’m a lifelong single with zero dating skills, I still know what love is!”
With a sigh that sounded almost pitying, Ji-eun said,
“Let’s say you end up being able to raise Do-ha yourself. Would you stop seeing Director Seo?”
“I’d still see him. Do-ha’s… uncle, after all.”
“See? You’re not being honest! Look—people like Director Seo often have arranged marriages with families of similar status. If Director Seo were set up with another woman or got married, how would you feel?”
Yoo-eul couldn’t answer right away and sank into deeper thought.
If Ji-hyeok married another woman, she wouldn’t be able to see Do-ha anymore.
That woman would become Do-ha’s aunt, and it was obvious she wouldn’t welcome Yoo-eul.
“I think I’d hate it… because I wouldn’t get to see Do-ha…”
“Ugh, hey. We’re assuming you have Do-ha with you! Forget Do-ha and think only about Director Seo. How would you feel if Director Seo went on a blind date or married another woman?!”
At Ji-eun’s words, something throbbed painfully in the corner of her heart.
If she had Do-ha, but Ji-hyeok met another woman and got married?
If he had children with another woman and didn’t even look for Do-ha anymore?
No—forget Do-ha. If the chance for her to ever see him completely disappeared?
Thinking that way made her feel desolate.
She had never even dated him, yet an odd feeling of being left all alone washed over her.
What was this ridiculous sense of loneliness?
“How do you feel?”
Ji-eun asked again.
“…I don’t know. I think I’d feel lonely, like I was left alone in the world. Like my chest would ache.”
Ji-eun clapped her hands together.
Then she poked Yoo-eul’s left chest with her index finger.
“It means Director Seo has come this much into your heart! You said you were just going to see Do-ha—how could you end up carrying Director Seo in your heart instead?”
Ji-eun said everything she wanted, giggling as if it were all great fun.
That only made Yoo-eul more troubled.
I’ve carried Director Seo in my heart?
Then did I run home yesterday, even giving up the chance to see Do-ha, because I was embarrassed to see Director Seo? Because I like him?
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Yoo-eul muttered to herself.
“What’s crazy about it? If things go well, it might even be mutual.”
“What?”
“You said Director Seo put ointment on you and even came all the way near the shop to feed you. And that you two drank tea alone in an empty shop. Who does that kind of thing just for their nephew’s aunt? If he didn’t have feelings, he’d never do that.”
Yoo-eul found it hard to believe Ji-eun’s words.
Not only did she have no dating experience, she couldn’t imagine that Ji-hyeok might feel the same way she did.
She thought he was just a surprisingly warm person, judging by how he treated Do-ha, and that he was simply being kind to her too.
When Yoo-eul shook her head, Ji-eun thumped her own chest in frustration—then suddenly grabbed Yoo-eul’s phone.
“Hey, Kye Ji-eun!”
Ji-eun ran toward the hall with the phone, furiously tapping the screen.
By the time Yoo-eul hurriedly caught up and grabbed her arm, it was already too late.
The call-connecting tone began to ring, and on the phone screen was written:
[Director Seo Ji-hyeok].
