“Given this mess, I thought it would be better not to show it, so I made up some excuse and told him that we were going to a hotel, but that there was a guest room or something at home. What should I have done? Should we have just come here? Huh?”
At Daeun’s words, the image of Ha Joon’s living room, which didn’t have a speck of dust, came to mind, and a cold sweat trickled down her spine.

“No, thank you, friend. Your wise judgment saved a friend’s life.”
With a quick change of attitude, Su Ah bowed her head.

“This isn’t friendship, it’s enmity.”
Daeun, who was sighing deeply, continued speaking.

“So, nothing unusual happened last night?”
“Unusual? What kind of unusual?”
“Well, when a man and a woman are in the same house…”
“Oh my! Hey! Ha Joon isn’t that kind of person!”
Su Ah, who interrupted Daeun’s sentence, blushed.

“Not Ha Joon. You. You!”
“Me? Why me?”
“Because there’s no way the drunken Su Ah just slept quietly.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t have any drunken habits. If sleeping quietly is a drunken habit, then I have a drunken habit… Oh!”
Su Ah covered her mouth with her hand without finishing her sentence.

[I want to see Ha Joon every single day.] No.

[If I can’t see him, it’s too sad.] It won’t be.

[I like Ha Joon, so I have to be by his side.] That’s impossible. This must be a dream.

The color drained from Su Ah’s face as a sudden memory surfaced.

“What? What? Do you remember something?”
“I… confessed.”
“Confession? What kind of confession?”
“I said I want to see him every day. And…”
“And?”
“… that I like him.”
“…”
“Oh my. I’m crazy. I’m crazy. Ah! I really am crazy!”
Su Ah let out a cry close to a scream and immediately began tearing at her hair.

“How can I face Ha Joon now? It’s over! Over! It’s over!”
A drunken confession. What a disgrace!

Overwhelmed by the wave of embarrassment, she kicked the floor of the living room where she lay down, and Daeun who was watching her, narrowed her eyes.

“Ah! Be quiet! Since it’s come to this, just pretend you don’t know to the end. There’s no other way.”
Su Ah’s head shot up.

“Right? That’s the only way, isn’t it?”

“You should have stopped when I told you to stop drinking. You troublemaker!”
Daeun, as if she couldn’t stand the sight anymore, clicked her tongue and lightly hit Su Ah’s back before going back home.

[I like Ha Joon.] Even after arriving at the office, Ha Joon’s smile didn’t fade as Su Ah’s voice still lingered in his ears.

For a while, he chewed over her words in a daze, then he seemed to remember something and began to type into the search bar.

[How to confess to a woman you like.]

Just as he was about to hit the enter key, Ha Joon’s hand paused.

A confession.

It was Su Ah’s impulsive bravery in confessing last night.

“I decided not to rush…”
Ha Joon removed his hand from the keyboard and recalled the promise he made to himself the day he first met Su Ah.

‘Don’t be impatient. Don’t rush. Wait silently until Su Ah remembers me.’
He had waited for 20 years, and he was certain that he could do it again.

That was definitely the case that day.

But now.

Seeing Su Ah, who seemed within reach, smiling at him and saying that she liked him, Ha Joon’s resolve seemed like it could crumble at any moment.

‘Should I pretend not to know and wait a little longer?’
‘No, she confessed that she liked me first.’
‘She might have said it because she was drunk, confessing in a way that suggests I waited could make her feel burdened.’
With these unresolved thoughts, Ha Joon furrowed his brows and leaned back deep into his chair.

How much time had passed?

Ha Joon, who seemed to have made some decision, stood up and pressed the enter key.

“I can’t just wait and miss my chance.”
If she looks so pretty and adorable to my eyes, what about to other men’s eyes?

In the end, Ha Joon decided to keep his promise not to rush, but he decided to forget his promise to wait silently.

‘Don’t be impatient. Don’t rush. Approach Su Ah slowly so she doesn’t feel burdened.’
Ha Joon, satisfied with his new resolution, looked at the computer monitor.

[Before confessing, it’s first to become closer to the other person by having a light conversation at a place they might like.]

“So, getting closer comes first… Then I should meet her first.”
Ha Joon hurriedly grabbed his phone, found Su Ah’s number, and pressed the call button.

“Haa….”
When was the last time she blacked out from drinking?

At that time, when regret and lament for her actions yesterday filled the living room.

“Oh! That surprised me!”
Startled by the loud ringing of the phone on the glass table, Su Ah jumped.

[Ha Joon]

Heck. It’s Ha Joon.

The moment she confirmed the name on the screen, her mouth went dry and her lips tightened.

“Hhello.”
[Su Ah, did you get home safely?] “Yyes. Did you get to work okay, Ha Joon?”
[Yes. I did. Are you feeling okay? Daeun said you were going to eat hangover soup, did you eat it?] “No, I’m about to go out to eat now.”
What should I eat? After pouring a bowl of insults, she had already gone home.

[Oh, really? I’m going out for work, and the world is small, so we might meet again in front of some restaurant. By. Coin. Cidence.] Huh? Did he just emphasize the word ‘coincidence’?

Ah! This sneaky jerk!

“Well, that could happen.”
Unable to ask anything, she just let out an awkward laugh, and then she heard Ha Joon’s voice from the other end.

[Do you have time tomorrow evening?]

“Why, why?”
Tomorrow? Why? I wasn’t ready to see your face yet.

Her voice, cracked in surprise, sprung out immediately.

[You said you wanted to touch every day.] “What? What do you mean?”
Surprised by his words, Su Ah asked back, her eyes wide open.

[You said it last night, Su Ah. That you wanted to touch every day. You touched yesterday, and today you’re probably suffering from a hangover, so maybe tomorrow…] “When did I say I want to touch every day! I said I want to see you every day!”
She raised her voice, cutting him off in indignation for accusing her of saying something she didn’t.

[I remember. Yesterday’s events.] His slow voice pierced directly into her eardrums.