TPWA 21⚽

Chapter 21

Yoon-ah had done this before—after Lee Sung-hee’s visits, she would often treat Young-won to an expensive meal. Because of the café she couldn’t leave to dine out properly, so she usually ordered in—but always from the priciest places she could find.

Thinking back to the faint conversations she had overheard from the storage room, it seemed Sung-hee only showed up whenever alimony was due. So this time, it must have been the same.

Young-won, for his part, rather liked the idea that Yoon-ah was spending that bastard’s money on meals with him. Some people might scoff and call it shameless, but what was so wrong about it? Whenever Yoon-ah celebrated her successful divorce, the one beside her was him. The strange sense of triumph he felt must have been because she had won.

Satisfied as always, his chest quietly full, Young-won turned to watch Yoon-ah. She was happily snapping a picture of the next course being served. She looked radiant.

He wondered if part of that joy was because her dining companion was him. The thought was just beginning to take root in his mind when Yoon-ah set her phone down and spoke with a shy little smile.

“Young-won… you realized, didn’t you?”

“Realized what?”

“Why I suddenly insisted on treating you to such an expensive meal.”

Caught off guard, Young-won froze. She had brought up the very thing he’d deliberately pretended not to notice. Unable to find the right answer, he simply looked away.

Yoon-ah chuckled softly, grateful for his silence.

“That’s why I chose this place. I figured you’d already guessed, but since you pretended not to see, I wanted to say thank you.”

Of course, the truth was that this high-end restaurant had been the only place with seats left. But still—she hadn’t canceled the reservation or changed the date, because she had decided she wanted to treat him properly someday. To express her gratitude.

“You probably didn’t know, but I leaned on you a lot… emotionally, I mean. Not just for café work. Just knowing you understood my situation, and yet stayed by my side without judgment—it made me think of you as being on my side. Everyone else who knew the truth only blamed me.”

Her in-laws had, naturally. Even her own family had. The divorce settlement included a clause of silence that bound her adoptive mother and brother too, so she couldn’t confide the real reasons. Instead she claimed vague “differences in personality,” only to be scolded: If you had been a better wife, none of this would’ve happened. Especially from her brother.

The only people who hadn’t condemned her were her lawyer—and Young-won.

“So even when my ex showed up, I found courage because I knew you were in the storage room. Thanks to you, I even managed to yell at him for the first time.”

At long last, she had the clean break she had craved. Words she had kept locked inside came spilling out in honesty. Her mentoring sessions had brought her closer to him than ever—closer than an employer and employee should be.

“But now, it’s all really over.”

Yoon-ah tilted her face toward the ceiling, looking more refreshed than ever. Young-won raised his eyes to her again, just as she lowered hers—so their gazes collided. She softened her eyes and smiled.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Seoyeon might have found out by accident, but the only person she could really open up to was Young-won. She trusted him.

She picked up one of the champagne flutes before her and offered it back across the table.

“Come on! You don’t even have to drink, just clink glasses with me. I really, really want to celebrate this!”

“…All right.”

Seeing her face so full of happiness finally brought a smile to his lips as well. He lifted his glass and gently tapped hers. The clear chime rang out, and golden bubbles danced upward as though to toast her victory too.

Watching Yoon-ah down her champagne in one breath, Young-won murmured quietly:

“……You did well.”

It was all he could manage after biting back the bitter words that had threatened to slip out.

But then Yoon-ah’s movements stopped dead. For a moment, he regretted it, thinking he had said the wrong thing. And then—thick tears began to fall from her eyes.

“Snf….”

“S-sorry, boss. I should’ve just kept quiet—”

“No, it’s not that…! I’m crying because I’m grateful. Because you’re on my side… suddenly… ugh….”

“I… I didn’t mean to make you cry…”

“I know that… but still… sniff….”

Setting down her glass, Yoon-ah buried her face in the linen napkin on her lap. The moment the words I’m on your side left his lips, all the years of pent-up feelings burst free.

Embarrassing, really—she was older than him, a whole boss, and here she was bawling at one simple reassurance. But once the dam of tears broke, there was no holding it back. It was like the last fragments of lingering sorrow were being washed away—liberating, and humiliating all at once.

“…Uh, boss?”

“Sob… snf…”

Young-won had no idea what to do. When his older sister cried, he had just refilled her glass. But Yoon-ah surely deserved something more thoughtful than that.

Should he summon a server for fresh linen? Should he say something comforting? What words were right in moments like this?

He suddenly remembered something Kim Ki-tae had once told him: When someone’s crying, just tell a funny story. Works every time. The advice was questionable, but what else could he do?

He didn’t know any real jokes, so he settled on something others had always found oddly amusing about him.

“Um… boss. Want to hear something strange about me?”

“…Snf. What is it?”

Even through her tears, she perked up at once. That little reaction was cute, and it gave him the courage to continue.

“I’m a lot shorter than my older brother.”

“…Excuse me?”

Her tear-stained eyes went wide in surprise. A few drops fell, but the steady stream had stopped. It seemed to have worked.

She dropped the crumpled napkin onto her lap and asked in astonishment:

“You… had a brother?”

“….”

Ah. So he had to start from there. He realized he had never once spoken about his family to her. He nodded.

“I’ve got both an older sister and a brother. I’m the youngest. They’re all tall.”

“Your sister too? How tall are they?”

“Brother’s 192 centimeters. Sister’s 177.”

“…What?”

Her jaw fell open. Imagining those towering heights, she covered her mouth with her hand. The tears had completely vanished, leaving only stunned curiosity.

“Are your parents tall too…?”

“Pretty much. Dad’s over 180, and Mom’s close to 170, I think. At least compared to my sister.”

“….”

Yoon-ah, far smaller than his mother, pictured herself among such giants. She’d look like a cicada clinging to a tree.

It struck her that she had known him for over half a year, yet had never once heard about his family. Fascinated, she pressed further.

“And the age difference? You don’t really seem like the youngest.”

“My sister’s twelve years older, my brother’s nine years older.”

“…So you’re the late baby?”

“…Yeah.”

The word late baby clearly embarrassed him; he scratched his neck awkwardly. Truthfully, he had never willingly shared his family background before—Ki-tae was always the one to blurt it out.

His discomfort made Yoon-ah laugh softly.

“Haha, late babies are supposed to be doted-on cuties full of charm… I guess it’s different for everyone.”

“…Everyone in my family’s stiff as boards. Except my sister.”

“Really? That’s so new to me.”

Her face was bright again, free of all tears. Young-won, seeing her finally calm, allowed himself the faintest of smiles. As she returned to eating with a lighter heart, he asked a question of his own.

“What about you, boss…? Do you have siblings?”

Aside from Sung-hee, he realized, he had never once heard about her real family.