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Chapter 19
When Heejae clasped her hand, Yujin was suddenly reminded of the night before—of staggering drunkenly beside him, their fingers laced together.
He’s letting me touch him. He doesn’t mind.
Why was her head suddenly brimming with indecent thoughts like this?
“……”
Maybe it was because his large hand was stroking hers so gently, so sensually, that she swallowed hard. Even the veins that ran along the back of his hand were sexy—too sexy. Heat flared across her cheeks, and Yujin turned her head quickly toward the window. She didn’t pull her hand away, though. She liked holding it too much.
“I read through today’s interview outline,” Heejae said first. “Where should we do it?”
It wasn’t supposed to be a stiff, formal interview. The PR team had already planned to film that kind. Her assignment was simpler—capture snippets of his daily life, vlog-style.
Still, she couldn’t help thinking, He’s not even a celebrity. Why all this fuss?
“Oh… um.”
She needed to answer, but with his hand still holding hers, she couldn’t focus. Inevitably, her eyes dropped back down to his hand again. It was big, with long fingers and neatly kept nails.
“Oppa.”
“What.”
“Do you… go to a nail salon?”
“…What?”
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud until it was too late.
“I mean, how does a guy keep his nails this neat?”
“Unbelievable.”
He gave a short laugh, as if to say, Only Lim Yujin could come up with something like this.
“Face it. You’re just crazy about me, aren’t you?”
His sudden, piercing remark startled her, and she glared at him.
“That’s not it!”
“Then stop showing it. It’s written all over your face.”
“What—what’s written on my face?”
“That you like—”
“Nope. Don’t even say it.”
Yujin cut him off sharply. She’d never confessed outright, but she had a feeling he already knew. After all, they’d studied the same major, ended up at the same company, and thanks to her brother Yoo-hyun constantly blurting nonsense like ‘Yujin likes you’, the truth had probably gotten around anyway.
“Did you eat breakfast?” he asked.
“As if. I barely had time to run out of the house this morning because of Yoo-hyun.”
She hadn’t even managed a sip of water. And right on cue, her stomach growled loudly. Mortified, she clutched at her belly.
“Our little bean must be starving.” Heejae chuckled. “Let’s get you fed.”
Her face burned crimson, and she refused to reply.
“Come on. Let’s go eat.”
He smiled at her, fond and amused.
He drove them to an Italian restaurant in Gapyeong. Even after they got out of the car, he didn’t let go of her hand, and when she sat down, he pulled out her chair for her.
Before joining the company, Yujin had seen Heejae around a handful of times. But sitting across from him like this, somewhere quiet and intimate—it felt unmistakably like a date.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just picked this place,” he admitted, looking over the menu.
“I eat everything.”
“There’s got to be something you like best.”
“Anything’s fine.”
Food hardly mattered.
Across from her first love, on what felt like a date, even stones would taste delicious.
“Then let’s go with this course meal. Seems safe enough.”
She smiled and nodded, then pulled out her camera.
“You’re starting now?”
“Of course. I was asked to, so I have to film something.”
“Unbelievable. Eating while being filmed—why do they even want this?”
He looked baffled.
“You don’t get it, Oppa. Everyone’s been waiting for this.”
“Waiting for what?”
Company accounts weren’t run stiffly anymore; the trend was to keep them casual and approachable. Management-level employees had been rotating through interviews, and now it was his turn. The idea this time was to post something with a little more charm—to boost views and engagement.
“People are just curious about your personal life,” Yujin explained.
What he did day-to-day, how he worked from home, how he commuted. Mundane things.
“I turned down every interview until now,” he muttered.
“Why?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
But he couldn’t refuse forever. All his higher-ups had already participated, and eventually he’d been cornered. What he hadn’t expected was this format.
“They want some ‘cool city guy’ concept.”
“Ugh.”
He made a face, clearly disgusted.
“It’s not a big deal. Just quick clips of you eating, driving, working. Nothing heavy.”
Yujin positioned the camera at an angle where his face was clearly visible.
“This is so much pressure.”
“Think of it as… girlfriend’s point of view.”
“They really thought of everything, huh.”
Through her friend Bogyung, Yujin had already learned how wildly popular he was within the company. People were waiting for his vlog like fans awaiting a drama release.
She glanced up at him. Maybe it was the sunlight spilling through the window, or maybe it was Heejae himself—but he looked like he was glowing.
The waiter arrived with bread.
“You must be starving. Let’s eat.”
And so began her first date with Kang Heejae—disguised as work.
They ate, drank coffee, strolled through a nearby arboretum, and filmed short interview clips. Yujin spent the entire day by his side.
By evening, they ended up at his place. The final interview was to be filmed in his study.
“Make yourself at home. Want something to drink?”
“Uh—anything’s fine.”
“Got it.”
Like a proper host, he went into the kitchen. Left alone, Yujin wandered slowly around the house.
That morning, she hadn’t had time to look around properly. But now, in the quiet of evening, she could.
“Wow. It’s beautiful.”
She’d imagined what his house might look like. He was always so well put-together, always carried a faint scent of something clean and expensive. Of course she had pictured a home that matched.
“A guy’s place, but so spotless.”
The atmosphere was sleek and modern—just like him—and his scent filled every corner. Drawn in, she stepped into the next room.
“Whoa… your study’s amazing.”
Her lips parted in a small sigh of awe. One wall was lined with shelves stacked with neatly arranged books of every kind. Beside it stood a simple, elegant desk.
“This’ll be perfect for the interview.”
All she needed was this last bit of footage, and the day’s work would be done.
As she studied the desk, her gaze snagged on something. She froze.
Graduation photos. Elementary school. Middle school. High school. University.
Her breath hitched. That was when she had first realized she liked him—back when he was in middle school, and she was still just a little girl of eight.
And with the memory came another.
‘Oppa, really? Is it because of me? Even now? You still… can’t? It doesn’t work?’
The words echoed in her mind, dragging that unforgettable incident back with them.
“Was he really okay back then?”
But there was no way to know.
A troubled expression clouded her face as the past threatened to swallow her whole.
