Ji An’s car gradually faded into the distance.

Dan Woo found himself unable to turn away and just stared blankly at the increasingly dark road.

He had merely let go of someone who needed to leave, yet his heart felt utterly empty.

Stepping into the house alone, traces of Ji An were still scattered everywhere.

Her diligence had filled the previously empty bookshelf with books, and cushions with warm tones and cute patterns found their place on the sofa.

As Dan Woo stepped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, his eyes reflected his emotions and wavered. Curses sprung out involuntarily.

It was because of the banoffee in the airtight jar, or to be precise, the note that Ji An had attached to it.

As he read the note filled with round handwriting, deep breaths escaped from between Dan Woo’s lips.

[I followed the best recipe, but it didn’t taste like the one you made. Perhaps that night, the loneliness I felt received great comfort from you. Even though the boiler was broken and the weather was cold, my heart was warm. Thank you for going along with my crazy actions. As you said, I’ll try to become a wonderful duck leader.]

“Ahhh! I’m going crazy.”
“You can’t go crazy.”
Despite the presence of Tae Yun, Dan Woo couldn’t take his eyes off the note.

He turned his head to regain his composure, but all he saw was the yard.

Memories of his time with Ji An flooded in like a tidal wave.

The night they were isolated by a heavy snowfall and the moments they lay in the yard with the snow falling so heavily it was scary.

The omitted subject of the question and the eyes that asked how he knew his answer seemed unforgettable.

Dan Woo murmured quietly. He wished that her life would no longer be hard.

“I hope you don’t have to live trying so hard.”
Tae Yun extended his palm and shook it as if to encourage him to continue.

“Go on.”

“What are you talking about? …What happened to Woo Jung Hyun?”
“He slipped away like a rat. That country isn’t going to account for J’s situation. It was concluded as a simple robbery.”
“There should be no truth that can be buried in this world. I made it that way.”
Dan Woo brushed back his hair, which had fallen into his eyes, in annoyance.

Walking into the living room, he accepted the tablet that Tae Yun handed him. It was to hear the report from Tae Yun, who had been in Seoul for the past two days.

Dan Woo was the representative of Play Round and The Eagles.

Upon returning to Korea, he brought back with him the five members of The Eagles’ strategic team who had been helping him for a long time. They were to continue assisting him in Seoul.

J’s younger brother and grandmother also returned to Korea with them, and the reason Tae Yun had gone to Seoul was to meet them.

Dan Woo asked about J’s family.

“How is J’s family?”
“They seemed okay. J must have caused quite a stir before he met you. They seemed calm.”
Tae Yun touched the tablet in Dan Woo’s hands, displaying a photo. It was a picture of J’s younger brother and grandmother with an urn.

What J had demanded in the contract was for the three of them to return to Korea together. The promise was not to be broken, even in his absence.

Tae Yun, sitting beside Dan Woo, examined his face and asked,

“What happened? Why do you look so pale?”
Dan Woo answered with a relatively calm voice. It was about his traumainduced dream, which came earlier than other years.

“A dream. I must have been on edge because of J.”
“Weren’t there only a few days left? I was at ease. But look at this, when something’s about to go wrong, it always does this.”
“I woke up in the middle because of Ji An. She came up to say goodbye before leaving. …I fell back asleep and slept deeply.”
“Oh, right. Today’s her departure day, isn’t it?”

“She must have gone well.”
Hoping she didn’t leave any attachments here, Dan Woo turned his gaze towards the tranquil courtyard.

The nightmare did not return, and Dan Woo’s night was peaceful.

The darkness receded and the clouds floating in the blue sky were white. It was an ordinary morning with no changes.

Waking from his sleep, Dan Woo put his hand on the edge of his forehead and blinked his eyebrows.

Only when he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs did he raise his upper body.

Waiting for the bedroom door handle to go down, he got out of bed, brushed past Tae Yun’s shoulder and stepped onto the stairs.

Worried whether Tae Yun had been tormented by a nightmare, he asked.

“Did you sleep well?”
For Dan Woo, it was a morning when Tae Yun’s words wouldn’t come to his ears. His mood was foul, and he didn’t even want to find another word to describe it.

Although nothing had happened and nothing had changed in the routine, the feeling of unfairness inexplicably couldn’t be explained by words.

He didn’t want to let go of Ji An, and at this point, his resolution to calm his heart seemed ludicrous.

While leaning on the island table and drinking water, Tae Yun who approached, asked.

“For breakfast, spinach soybean paste soup.”
“I’m not eating.”
“Then, how about mackerel?”