“How did you know I was feeling down?”

“I could tell from your back.”

“From my back? Oh.”

Hye-joo’s spot was directly visible when Joo-won opened the door to his office.

Thinking about how her back might have looked when he left early for their evening appointment, Hye-joo felt a bit embarrassed.

“He probably saw me slouched over. The weight of the world, carried alone.”

Joo-won, using his long fingers, lightly brushed over Hye-joo’s eyes and calmly said, “The time we spent together was long, but it doesn’t make us just friends.”

“Did you hear about it? Well, considering the rumors, the commotion in the meeting room would have been heard even in the dark. After all, it’s led by the CEO.”

“I listened closely to your story.”

Team Leader Wook had pressured Hye-joo due to the Great Award incident, and the rumor that Da-hee was involved had quickly spread throughout the company. It wasn’t a small incident that happened between one or two people but unfolded during a meeting where all the members of the business team were present. It was strange that the rumor didn’t spread, considering the circumstances.

The only thing Joo-won was curious about when he first heard the news was, “Are you okay?”
Others might dismiss the incident as a mere workplace mishap related to greetings and evaluations, but he knew that the issue, involving intentionally exposing Hye-joo to Team Leader Wook through Da-hee, was not at all light for her. This was because he knew about the long-standing friendship between Da-hee and Hye-joo.

Considering how much Hye-joo must have been hurt by Da-hee, who intentionally informed Team Leader Wook of facts that would harm her, he wanted to cut ties with Da-hee right away. Despite being able to do so if he set his mind to it, Joo-won was struggling with this matter in a different sense.

“I’m not okay. I don’t have a single friend now.”

Hye-joo stabbed Joo-won’s chest with her elbow while smiling. Pinching her forced cheerful cheeks tightly, Joo-won played along.

“Welcome to freedom. Now, I can take up all of Oh Hye-joo’s time.”

“Pfft, usually, in situations like this, don’t people give standard comfort? Like, ‘I’ll be your closest friend’ or something?”

“I’m not going to be your friend.”

Joo-won laughed playfully and then pursed his lips.

“Ugh…”

The lower lip was sucked into the red lips. The hand holding the bouquet involuntarily tightened.

Joo-won took the bouquet from her hand, placed it on the sofa, and took a step closer. Hye-joo’s body twisted as she hesitated, and then she sat on the sofa.

Joo-won lifted Hye-joo’s chin with one hand and kissed her deeply.

“If friends do this, we might get reported.”

He laughed teasingly and then lowered his lips.

“Oppa…”

“This won’t just end with this.”

His smooth intrusion filled Hye-joo’s mouth. It was soft yet sticky and overwhelmingly intense, making it difficult to suppress a moan.

Like a comforting touch passing over neatly threaded complexities, his hands entwined. In his firm grip and gentle loosening, his whispers were audible.

“It’s okay, Hye-joo. I’m right here beside you.”

As if asking when she was sad, Hye-joo’s heart swelled. Just a while ago, it felt like the whole world was cloudy, but now everything around was turning red.

[Star Icon]

The nightmare was finally over.

It couldn’t be confirmed whether it had completely disappeared, but at least it hadn’t appeared once when he was with Hye-joo.

Could it be considered a rough closure?

Joo-won, who had suffered from insomnia for weeks, now felt like he might finally be okay. How long had it been since he felt the refreshing sensation when he woke up after a good sleep? Rising from the bed, squinting at the sunlight streaming in through the window, his mood was indescribably refreshing.

Though there was a fear that the nightmare might return once he fell asleep, hugging Hye-joo tightly in his arms made him feel peaceful.

He was deeply grateful for the fact that all of this was thanks to Hye-joo.

‘I’m already in trouble because I don’t want to let her go.’

The promised week was almost over.

Even if he used the excuse of nightmares to stick around, he had to consider Hye-joo’s perspective. Hye-joo visited his place every other day, bringing clothes and underwear.
I just told her to bring a bunch of laundry and do it here, but she doesn’t want to hang her underwear where it’s visible to Oppa.

‘Why is it uncomfortable to see the underwear you see every day?’

Joo-won couldn’t understand it at all.

Just look at it? She bites, tears, and does everything else, so what’s the reason for not letting it be seen?

[Dash] When you can’t understand no matter how much you think, you just think, ‘Maybe it’s because she’s a woman!’ Anyway, living with three common guys isn’t an ordinary thing.

If Seon Woo-yeon-nim hadn’t given such advice before, Joo-won would have questioned Hye-joo about the ‘reason she doesn’t want her underwear to be seen’ based on the six principles. Of course, that wouldn’t have gotten him an answer.

Anyway, it was difficult to keep Hye-joo attached for a long time with such circumstances. But he wasn’t the kind of Kang Joo-won to let her go gently.

As her time to leave approached, his mind began to work cleverly.

‘Asking her to stay a few more days is just a temporary solution. How about legally bringing her here?’

Of course, here, legality refers to something stamped on documents recognized by the state.

‘Is it a good idea the more I think about it?’

Of course, proposing marriage so hastily when they haven’t been dating for long won’t be well received by many women. There might be anxiety about looking light when mentioning marriage so soon after only a few seasons have passed.

However, Joo-won was more certain of his feelings than ever before. To him, Hye-joo was an amulet and salvation, an irreplaceable bond.

Above all, he loved her.

For someone with a nearly obsessive cleanliness that no one wanted to bring into their house, the thought of wanting to live with someone was a first. The food on her lips stuck to her mouth looked delicious, her sleeping figure without holding onto her body looked cute, and her swollen face in the morning was lovely.

He was afraid of losing her, and the thought of it ending scared him.

At that time, when he thought he might be devoured by a vengeful spirit, if today was the last day, the most regrettable thing would be her.

Oh Hye-joo.

It couldn’t be said that she was the entirety of Kang Joo-won’s life, but she was undoubtedly the only one. Perhaps Kang Joo-won was like a lid that fits perfectly on a water bottle. The water bottle doesn’t disappear just because the lid is gone, but the moment it disappears, the sense of existence disappears.

Emotions became reasons, and situations became opportunities.

He needed her. He wanted her. He wanted to be with her.

As Joo-won, who was contemplating how to bring Hye-joo next to him, suddenly realized that today marked the 31st day since they started dating, he burst into laughter.

“You’re seriously crazy, Kang Joo-won. If you’re lucky, you might get slapped by Hye-joo.”

If she hits, she hits. There’s nothing he can do even if he scolds her hastily.

Already, Kang Joo-won’s world had begun to revolve around Oh Hye-joo.