Every time they met, there was an impulse to hold her firmly and deny that. Of course, he never acted on it. Although it was undoubtedly a wrong statement, fixing it was difficult when it came to choosing the right words.

I was greedy. I wanted her more than anything else.

But the reason it was a person, the reason was love, was because it was the first time.

For things like desired scores, desired universities, and desired jobs, he would tenaciously seize them with confidence. But for people, hearts, relationships, there was no guarantee that once you held onto them, they would be yours forever.

Eunsoo stored the words crowded in her mind for now.

There were only about five days left for the shooting of “Day by Day.” Juhan planned to talk about it after he returned from his business trip to Denmark on the last day of shooting.
This time, too, it seemed like it would take about 2 to 3 weeks, so Suzy thought that it would be fine even if things got sorted out in that time.

Ding, a sound notifying a message arrival, rang. Eunsoo picked up the mobile phone that had been placed on the desk.

[Bokdol is recovering well!]

In the group chat created by the four female participants of “Day by Day,” a picture of a puppy with gentle eyes was posted. Unconsciously, a sound of admiration like “aww” escaped from Eunsoo’s lips.

Two days ago, veterinarian couple Yeonseop and Jena, who operate an animal hospital, hosted the third group date. They spent time volunteering at an animal shelter.

Including Yeonseop and Jena, about six veterinarians provided vaccinations or simple treatments, while the other participants were responsible for cleaning or walking.

The puppy named Bokdol, whom Jena sent a picture of, was the one who received the most significant treatment on the day they volunteered.

Since it was rescued not long ago, its health was extremely poor. It was said to be a Siberian Husky, quite large but still less than a year old. Eunsoo was particularly concerned, and everyone seemed to feel the same.

[Thank goodness… Thanks for letting us know, Jena. I was already worried.] [Me too! It’s the first time I’ve played with so many dogs, but I keep thinking about it. I guess I got attached.] [My brother and I decided to go separately next time.]

After various chatter, Mira spoke up.

“Anyway, let’s all have a meal together after our recording is done! If it’s difficult for all eight to gather, just the women. What do you think?”

“Okay. Or should we gather in our first room to watch together?”

“That sounds fun!”

“No, that might be a bit awkward lol.”

While looking at the steadily rising chat window, Eunsoo suddenly felt a strange sensation.

It felt unfamiliar to be participating in this group chat where meaningless but friendly words were exchanged. The time when it was natural to belong to some group seemed too long ago, and the memories of being pushed away in a moment from such relationships were still vivid, making her hesitate.

[Looks like Eunsoo unni is quite busy. Let’s proceed if unni replies!] [Sure. Eunsoo-ssi, reply when you have time~] [Sorry for the late confirmation. I’m okay for that day too. Let’s have a meal together.]

“Great! Then I’ll check the place. See you at Eunsoo unni’s store the day after tomorrow, everyone!”

As Eunsoo cheerfully sent a response and saved a picture of Bokdol, she tried to get up. Suddenly, a large hand touched her shoulder, and from behind, a familiar weight settled.

“Who are you contacting that you didn’t even realize someone is coming?”
Just below her ear, Joo-han’s voice reached Eun-soo. If it were a prelude, it would have been treated as a back hug conscious of the camera, but now the personal feelings using the camera were clearly felt.

Eun-soo, trying to calm her pounding heart, showed the photo she just saved.

“Oh, it’s Bokdol.”

“Yeah. Jena sent me the picture. Bokdol is recovering well.”

Eun-soo glanced at Joo-han’s side, almost resting his chin on her shoulder. While looking at the smoothly rising corners of his mouth, she inadvertently muttered.

“He looks a bit like you.”

“What?”

“Bokdol and you.”

It was a thoughtless remark, but after saying it, it really seemed so. Joo-han straightened up, and as Eun-soo turned her body, she brought the phone screen showing the photo closer to Joo-han.

“Look at this. It looks big and intimidating, but it’s gentle and loyal when you get to know it.”

“That might be a compliment for Bokdol, but not for me.”

“Why isn’t it a compliment? It’s a compliment, isn’t it?”

“How is saying that I look like a dog a compliment?”

“Is the translator broken or something? How did it turn out like that? If someone hears it, they might think it’s a compliment, saying you look good at pulling a sled.”

They’re fighting again today. I should just cut it off after the back hug scene from earlier.

Park PD, who had been watching from a distance, muttered to himself.

Two days later, there was the final group date at “Bida.”

The item that Joo-han and Eun-soo, who became the hosts, carefully chose was woodworking experience. Joo-han had invested in some machines for woodworking as a hobby, and they could also bring wooden materials from Somin’s father’s woodworking shop.

And thanks to this shoot, the staff got a day off.

“You’re late. It seems like there are already a lot of people.”

At a similar time as when they commuted to “Bida,” Jaerim was walking quickly through unfamiliar alleys.

He was on his way to find a cafe he recently found on the internet. It was said to be a hot place where you had to stand in line even if you went well before opening hours.

So he tried to go early, but he overslept. He even had to wander around because the location was somewhere in the middle of a neighborhood market.

“Ah, as expected.”

In front of a small sign he barely found, Jaerim sighed as he saw people lined up. Although he stood at the end of the line, it didn’t seem promising.

How many people were there roughly, and how many hours should he be prepared to wait? Jaerim stretched his neck to estimate. While scanning the line with his eyes, thinking about how many hours it would take, he widened his eyes when he found a familiar side profile.

“Huh?”

In plain T-shirt, loose pants, and short hair. The person standing in the front row, who looked like it was about the tenth time, was unmistakably Somin. Jaerim immediately called Somin.

“What’s this? Are you hesitating whether to answer when you see my name pop up?”

Staring at Somin, who was just looking down at her phone, Jaerim shot a laser beam with his eyes. Whether it had an effect or not, Somin pressed the call button.

“Hello……”

“Somin-ssi, where are you?”
“Me? I came to the neighborhood’s regular cafe to have coffee.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I got it.”

Somin frowned at the abruptly ended call.

“What, is he crazy?”

At that moment, someone approached unexpectedly from the side and responded.

“You’re too harsh. What did I do?”

Seeing Jaerim, who appeared out of the blue, Somin blinked in bewilderment. Jaerim lightly tapped Somin’s arm and narrowed his eyes.

“Sorry for being late.”