“Misunderstood?”
“Yes. I didn’t plan to jump off.”
Ha Joon spoke calmly.

“I tend to climb high places to clear my head when I’m confused. That day, too, I went up the mountain to clear my mind.”
“No! How can you stand in such a dangerous place to clear your mind? What if you really fell off?”
Su Ah furrowed her brow and raised her voice.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped then.”
It must have been a joke, but when she looked at his face, he was serious.

“Can’t be helped? What kind of talk is that!”
In her surprise, she clenched her fist and thumped Ha Joon’s shoulder.

“Ah!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
Her senses, which had momentarily left her, returned at his exclamation.

“I’m really sorry for hitting you. But you should understand that you deserved it.”
In her embarrassment, Su Ah quickly stroked Ha Joon’s shoulder.

“Are you saying I deserved to be hit?”
He, who was facing forward, turned his head slightly.

“Of course, you deserved it. ‘It can’t be helped,’ where is such irresponsible talk! You should cherish yourself.”
“……”
“In that sense, you should get rid of such bad habits!”
“……”
At Su Ah’s firm attitude, Ha Joon was at a loss for words.

The unfamiliar road indicated by the navigation.

To Ha Joon, the current situation felt like this.

Having someone in the passenger seat.

The fact that this someone was a woman.

And being able to laugh and converse with this woman.

In the face of an unfamiliar situation he had never experienced before, his mind was in a whirl, but even that was welcome as long as he was with her.

[You have arrived at your destination.] Before he knew it, Ha Joon’s car had arrived in front of Su Ah’s apartment.

“Thank you for the ride.”
Su Ah got out of the driver’s seat and greeted Ha Joon, who had approached her.

“Please be careful going in.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be off.”
Ha Joon, who was heading for the driver’s seat, turned his body back.

“I’m Ha Joon.”
“Pardon?”
“My name. Min. Ha. Joon.”
He emphasized each syllable of his name, hoping she might remember it.

“Ah! Yes. Mr. Min Ha Joon. Thank you for the ride.”
Her cheerful greeting.

She didn’t remember him after all.

Ha Joon felt a twinge of regret, but he couldn’t blame her, as he hadn’t recognized her at their first meeting either.

“Su Ah!”
“Yes?”
“So……that is……”
Should he tell her that he was the older brother from that day 20 years ago?

Ha Joon hesitated, his lips dry.

“Yes. Please go on.”
“……never mind.”
Perhaps it was because he hoped that even if she didn’t remember now, she would remember him on her own someday.

Ha Joon couldn’t bring himself to speak, just hoping silently.

That as long as she was by his side, whenever that day came, she would remember him…..

The next morning. At the same time as always, Ha Joon showed up in the underground parking lot.

“Good……”
“Good morning.”
He suddenly greeted before Secretary Park could finish.

Huh? What did he just say……

As if they had heard something unbelievable, both Secretary Park and the chauffeur’s eyes widened in unison.

He, who had only ever received greetings and never initiated them even once, had said it.

Him initiating a greeting? And what was with that slight upturn of his lips?

Secretary Park couldn’t take her eyes off Ha Joon’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

Whether he was aware of the situation or not, he was calmly reviewing the documents.

“Vice President, did something good happen?”
Secretary Park casually asked.

“……?”
He lifted his gaze as if wondering what she was talking about.

“You seem to be in a better mood than usual.”
“Ah, no! There’s nothing like that.”
Ha Joon hastily looked away, as if he had been caught doing something.

His ears turned a bright red.

It had started on the way back from dropping off Su Ah yesterday.

For some reason, he couldn’t stop the giggles from leaking out.

He had tried to keep his facial expressions in check, but it seemed that he couldn’t fool Secretary Park’s sharp eyes.

Seeing Ha Joon bury his head in the documents as if trying to hide, Secretary Park tilted her head and began to brief him about the day’s schedule.

“There’s a team leader meeting this morning.”
“……”
“And the proposal for the competition project to report to the Chairman is……”
“……!”
Ha Joon’s eyes widened at the mention of the Chairman.

The fact that he had not been able to visit Hyun Seong’s hospital room yesterday suddenly came to mind.

This had never happened before. He had completely forgotten.

Ha Joon hurriedly called Hyun Seong.

[Hey, is that you, Ha Joon?] Hyun Seong’s voice came through after a few rings.

[What’s up? Why are you calling so early in the morning?] “No, it’s just that yesterday……”
[Didn’t you come by yesterday? Ji Hoon told me.] Hyun Seong cut off Ha Joon’s words as if he already knew.

“I apologize for not being able to visit you.”

[Sorry for what. It was nothing, so I didn’t even bother to call. Why would you do something unnecessary?] “No, I should have visited……”
[Forget that. Your mother, Hye Sun, said she would leave the side dishes for you at Ji Hoon’s convenience store. Don’t forget to pick them up.] Ha Joon’s mother, Hye Sun, always left the side dishes for Ha Joon at Ji Hoon’s convenience store.

It was a consideration for Ha Joon, who felt uncomfortable with coming to his family home and having Hye Sun visit his place.

The thought was that it would be easier for Ha Joon to pick it up or for Ji Hoon to pass it on to Ha Joon, as they were very close.

“Yes, I will stop by and pick it up today.”
[Alright. Work hard today as well.] “Yes, please take care.”
After ending the call, Ha Joon let out a short sigh with his gaze fixed outside the window.