Chapter 3

With a click, Lee Byeol lit the portable gas burner.

“It’s already been brought to a boil once, so please don’t overcook it. If you need more broth, just let me know. Would you like some more corn salad?”

The fish-head soup, garnished with enoki mushrooms and crown daisy leaves, was placed on the burner. Just as she had said, it quickly began to bubble.

After collecting the empty plates, she stepped away from the table and glanced back at the men clinking their soju glasses together.

“You can head home now. Just finish that first, okay?”

As she carried a stack of dirty dishes into the kitchen, her mother, who was preparing spicy sashimi salad, spoke.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t think we’ll be getting any more orders tonight. Good work, sweetheart.”

“You’re paying me for today, right? I’ll be generous and only charge fifty thousand won.”

“Hah! They say your own children are the biggest thieves. Go ask your father!”

“Deal!”

Grinning, Byeol dumped the dishes into the sink, left the kitchen, and untied her apron.

She zipped up her unfashionable jacket all the way to her chin before heading downstairs.

Her father, Tae-geon, who had been wiping down a cutting board, held out a fifty-thousand-won bill as if he’d been expecting her.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Be careful on your way home. The roads are slippery.”

Taking one of the restaurant’s umbrellas, she stepped beneath the awning lined with enormous fish tanks.

The spring rain was surprisingly heavy.

She gazed for a moment at the distant lights of squid fishing boats floating on the dark sea before opening her umbrella and stepping into the rain.

Splash.

The instant she stepped into a shallow puddle—

Someone grabbed her shoulder.

She froze at the firm grip.

Then a broad shadow slipped beneath her umbrella.

“Let’s share it.”

Seo Woo-hyun’s voice was calm.

“Just until the parking lot.”

Goosebumps shot across her body, starting from her ears.

Startled by his voice, Byeol dropped the umbrella and spun around.

Rain immediately poured over her head.

Suppressing a laugh, Woo-hyun bent down, picked up the umbrella, and opened it again.

“Why are you so startled?”

Looking up at the umbrella now covering her once more, Byeol frowned.

“W-Well… of course I’d be startled if someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”

“Sorry for surprising you.”

Why is he so quick to apologize…?

Taking the umbrella from him, she pretended not to be flustered and started walking.

“Just to the parking lot.”

“Works for me.”

Even that brief moment in the rain left her hair damp and cold.

The parking lot was packed with black cars.

Each step she took let cold water seep through the soles of her sneakers.

She shivered.

A quiet chuckle drifted down from above her.

“So…”

His voice carried a teasing smile.

“You ran away with your tail between your legs.”

“And this is where you ended up?”

“This your hometown?”

Under the yellow glow of the streetlights, they came to a stop.

“Uh… well…”

“Do you even remember what happened that day?”

“Huh?”

As she avoided answering, his broad shadow fell over her.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“It left a scar.”

“…A scar?”

“Yes.”

He smiled brilliantly.

“A scar.”

“Have you ever seen a man whose first love wounded him?”

She stared blankly at his dazzling smile before biting her lower lip.

Five Months Earlier

It was the height of autumn.

The mountains were covered in brilliant red and gold leaves, and enormous tour buses lined up outside every hiking trail.

Ka-talk. Ka-talk. Ka-talk.

Woo-hyun’s phone buzzed endlessly.

His message window was overflowing with photos of autumn foliage sent by his mother.

Pictures of her smiling brightly in a floral hat alongside the company’s executives.

Clicking his tongue, he thought,

My mother really is a new breed of old-fashioned boss.

Every year she forces the employees on an autumn outing without caring how much they complain.

At 6:40 p.m.—ten minutes late for his appointment—Woo-hyun stepped out of his car at the hotel’s circular entrance.

He looked around.

While Namsan’s scenery wasn’t quite as spectacular as the photos his mother had sent, the view surrounding Muyoung Hotel was pleasant enough.

As he walked through the revolving door, he mentally rehearsed a few excuses for being late.

“Just meet her once. She’s exactly your type.”

His mother’s words echoed in his head.

“Do you think I have low standards? I’d never introduce just anyone to my son. Trust me. From head to toe, she’s exactly your taste.”

“She’s not ordinary at all. Smart, naturally beautiful—not a trace of cosmetic surgery—and prettier than most celebrities.”

He had already rejected five blind dates.

He had intentionally stood up three others.

His excuses varied.

One woman looked nothing like her photos.

“If you’re going to deceive people with photo-editing apps, at least make it believable,” he’d said.

“Not a single feature matches your real face.”

Another woman had been obsessed with appearances yet couldn’t even distinguish between is and was.

There had been many other excuses.

Though, in truth…

They were only excuses.

Whoever had coined the phrase “marriageable age” deserved to be blamed.

Marriage might be an important turning point in life.

But he refused to treat it as a tool for securing social status.

Finding a family of the “proper level.”

Creating connections.

Stamping everything with the seal of marriage.

He wanted none of it.

Loosening the knot of his suffocating tie, Woo-hyun entered the revolving door.

His mother had given him only one description.

Height: 167 cm. Slim build. Cream-colored tweed suit. Long black wavy hair. Carrying a copy of The New York Times.

“…What’s with the New York Times?”

Apparently, after he kept rejecting women based solely on photographs, his mother had devised a blind date where neither side would know the other’s identity.

Even the woman, she’d said, didn’t know who he was.

That intrigued him.

What kind of woman agrees to a blind date without even knowing who she’s meeting?

How confident must she be?

Rolling up his sleeves slightly, he entered the hotel lounge.

A server greeted him with a polite smile.

Remembering his mother’s remark that she’d recognize him by his watch, Woo-hyun began looking around.

A naturally beautiful woman.

A cream-colored suit.

He found her almost immediately.

Among all the chatting groups, one woman sat quietly by herself.

Her long, thick hair.

Her straight shoulders.

Even seated, her graceful proportions stood out.

He still hadn’t seen her face.

But his instincts whispered—

Mother may actually have outdone herself this time.

That annoyed him.

It felt as though she’d completely figured out his preferences.

His pride prickled.

After confirming the newspaper resting on the woman’s lap, he walked over.

“Sorry I’m late. I’m Seo Woo—”

As he unbuttoned his jacket and prepared to sit down—

His brow furrowed sharply.

“…Excuse me.”

Is she… sleeping?

The woman sat perfectly upright.

Eyes closed.

Fast asleep.

He was about to call her name.

Then he realized…

He didn’t know it.

Nothing on the table identified her.

Chuckling in disbelief, he sat down opposite her.

The server approached.

“Would you like drip coffee? I’ll make it as mild as possible.”

“Is it alright to leave her sleeping?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

He looked at the sleeping woman.

“When did she arrive?”

“About twenty minutes ago.”

“Then I suppose it’s almost time for her to wake up.”

The server smiled awkwardly before leaving.

In front of the woman sat a cup of espresso so dark it looked painfully bitter.

She hadn’t even finished half of it.

Watching her with growing curiosity, Woo-hyun examined her.

A small handbag rested on her neatly folded knees beside the New York Times.

Her casually brushed hair framed her slender jaw.

As he reached for the newspaper—

She didn’t stir.

Even with his arm passing right in front of her face.

Listening to her soft, even breathing…

He couldn’t help laughing.

His phone vibrated.

—Did you meet her?

His mother’s message.

—I met her. Is she always like this?

The reply had barely been sent before a barrage of animated stickers flooded his phone.

The last one showed a peach blowing kisses.

Then another message appeared.

—Son, that’s your future. Make it happen.

My future?

Seriously?

Ignoring her, he set his phone on the table.

He started a timer.

Then slowly sipped his deliberately weak coffee while opening the newspaper.

“…Who…”

A sleepy voice drifted over the top edge of the paper.

Woo-hyun looked up.

The woman tilted her head, still blinking away sleep.

Her long black hair.

Huge black eyes.

For some reason…

His throat suddenly felt dry.

He deliberately changed the subject.

“I’m the person you’re supposed to meet today.”

Her eyes widened.

She hurriedly checked the time.

Despite her elegant appearance, the watch on her wrist was surprisingly plain.

“Oh!”

“I’m so, so sorry!”

“How long was I asleep?”

“I only meant to nap for five minutes.”

So…

She hadn’t fallen asleep because the date was boring.

She had intentionally come here planning to sleep.

“The staff said you’ve been asleep for twenty minutes.”

“I’ve been here about ten.”

“So that’s thirty minutes altogether.”

She still looked half-asleep.

Blinking sluggishly, she rummaged through her handbag and checked the messages on her phone.

“I’m really, really sorry.”

“I’ve been pulling all-nighters for several days.”

“You came here to reject me anyway, didn’t you?”

“My mom gets obsessed with things.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ll pay for the coffee.”

Only after apologizing twice and finishing with her phone did she finally look directly at him.

What kind of conversational style is this?

She apologized.

Then somehow made him the one rejecting her.

And she didn’t seem shaken in the slightest.

Ordering espresso bitter enough to be poison.

Sleeping openly during a blind date.

Replying to messages while her date sat across from her.

Oddly…

None of it felt unfamiliar.

Watching her act like a frightened little animal with all its fur standing on end reminded him strangely of himself just a few days earlier.

Setting down his coffee cup, Woo-hyun stood.

“Then…”

He smiled faintly.

“Let’s go get something to eat.”

“We’ll need a photo together as proof.”

Her round eyes widened.

“…The two of us?”

“Aren’t you here for a blind date?”

“I am.”

“We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet.”

“I think we should at least exchange our names, ages, and the hobbies listed in our profiles before saying goodbye.”

He didn’t believe that for even a second.

He was simply being contrary.

The woman looked genuinely surprised.

The sleepy look vanished from her eyes…

Only for her to yawn widely a moment later.

Blinking away tears, she picked up her handbag and stood.

“My original plan was to go home…”

“…enjoy a drink by myself…”

“…and then sleep like the dead for forty-eight hours.”

“But since you’ve already seen me at my worst…”

“I’ll at least buy you dinner.”

“Oh—but you’re not a government employee or anything, are you?”

“I’m planning to use the company credit card.”

“The laws are pretty strict these days.”

A smile slowly spread across Woo-hyun’s face.

Not anymore.

But there had once been a time when he’d dreamed of becoming a civil servant.

“This blind date is surprisingly entertaining.”

“I’m not a government employee.”

“I’m an office worker.”

For a brief moment, confusion crossed her face.

Then, as if it didn’t matter, she calmly paid for the coffee and headed toward the elevators.

Following behind her, Woo-hyun noticed another woman entering the lounge.

Cream-colored tweed suit.

Long straight black hair.

A copy of The New York Times in her hand.

He stopped walking.

The newcomer blinked several times in confusion before blushing bright red.

Hands in his pockets, Woo-hyun looked back and forth between the woman studying the floor directory…

…and the woman frozen in place.

What… is going on?

Something had clearly gone very, very wrong.

Passing the stunned woman, he left the lounge.

Whatever the situation…

The woman his mother had described as “exactly your type from head to toe” was the one walking away.

He caught up with her from behind and pointed toward the Korean restaurant on the twenty-seventh floor.

“We should properly introduce ourselves first.”

“I’m Seo Woo-hyun.”

“And you are?”

She glanced at the restaurant name he was pointing at, quietly read it aloud, then looked up at him.

Taking the newspaper back from his hand, she stepped in front of the elevator just as the arrival light blinked on.

“I’m Lee Byeol.”

“Oh—and don’t ask whether my name makes me sad.”

“I’ve heard that joke far too many times.”