“I’ve talked about Tae Ha countless times. I’ve known him since he was nine. I taught him his ABCs with my own hands, brushed his teeth, washed his hair, and raised him.”
“How is he a child!”
Woo Jin finally exploded, shouting.

“Open your eyes and look clearly! Where in the world do you see a child in him!”
I was about to retort that he’s a child in my eyes when Si Hyun closed her mouth.

She remembered the events of last night.

[Look carefully.] His eyes that stared provocatively.

[Whether I am a man or not.] The dazzling body of a man visible under the lap of his bathrobe.

There’s no one in the world who blushes in front of a child. Maybe I too, don’t only see Tae Ha as a child……

Feeling flustered with such thoughts, Si Hyun spoke with deliberate force.

“He’s a child, in my eyes.”
Si Hyun, while looking straight into Woo Jin’s eyes, repeated her words.

“No matter how old he gets, to me, he is just a nineyearold child.”

((()))

“So, it was like this, huh? Hmm?”
From beyond the thin wall of the studio apartment that was not soundproof at all, the sound of two people arguing could be clearly heard.

Tae Ha was listening to their conversation while getting ready for work. If it escalated to violence, he planned to rush over and knock them out immediately.

Woo Jin was quite agitated, and Si Hyun was trying to explain that everything was a coincidence.

Of course, there was no way the explanation would be satisfactory. Because it was not a coincidence. The only one who thought so was Kang Si Hyun.

“That wealthy and capable guy left his company to join your company as a department head among all the many companies out there. He moved next door to you out of all the many houses under Seoul’s sky. He even handcooked breakfast for you, and yet this isn’t considered anything special?”
Buttoning up his shirt, Tae Ha chuckled.

‘At least that guy has more sense than Kang Si Hyun.’

“Even though I was planning to take it from him, seeing Woo Jin forcefully push Si Hyun earlier only solidified my determination.

[Let go of this!] That Kim Woo Jin does not value Kang Si Hyun at all. No matter how angry he is, who in the world would dare to hit their woman like that.

So, Tae Ha wasn’t too upset about the earlier commotion. Rather, he thought it was a good thing. If his opponent had been a decent guy, he might have felt a bit sorry, but seeing him in person, he seemed even less appealing.

“How is that a child!”
Tae Ha was even enjoying hearing Woo Jin shout.

“Open your eyes and look! Where on earth does he look like a child!”
Every single word he said was completely correct.

That’s right, good job. Tae Ha nodded his head. He was even in the mood to cheer for him.

However, at the next moment when he heard Si Hyun’s words, Tae Ha stopped tying his necktie.

“To me, he’s a child.”
Si Hyun firmly stated.

“No matter how old he gets, to me, he’s just a nineyearold boy.”

((()))

“For now, I have to go to work, so let’s talk about this later. I can’t just let this go.”
Woo Jin spat out his words and stormed out of Si Hyun’s house. He wanted to get more angry, but sadly, it was time for him to go to work.

“Does that guy look like a child?”
Staring at the closed door of Tae Ha’s house, Woo Jin muttered under his breath.

Si Hyun had explained countless times. He didn’t pay much attention, but he always listened.

Among those times, what he remembered the most was the big fight they had over that guy not long after they started dating. When Si Hyun said she was worried because she hadn’t heard from him for several years since he joined the army at twenty, he responded without much thought.

[Did he die in an accident in the army? That sort of thing happens sometimes.] [Are you seriously saying that right now?] He remembered how furious Si Hyun was at the time, and how he had to work hard to calm her down.

Anyhow, since Si Hyun had said she had taken care of him since he was young, he thought of him as a naive kid.

But the actual guy he saw was completely different from what he imagined.

He was much taller than himself, and his shoulders were incomparably wide. His face looked like a model from a foreign magazine, and the fact that he was the head of the department twisted his stomach even more.

The feeling of defeat even before the fight started was unbearable. I was thirtyfive and the guy was only twentysix. That alone felt like a loss.

I knew that Si Hyun had no real feelings for that guy. She was an honest woman, incapable of deceit or suspicion. So, she probably hadn’t even noticed that I had another woman.

But it was blatantly obvious that it wasn’t the same for him. What kind of lunatic would purposely move next door to a woman he had no interest in and even prepare breakfast for her?

“So it’s true what they say, even a worm will turn, huh? Kang Si Hyun.”
Woo Jin curled his lips. Even then, he was at a loss inside.

Although he was the one having an affair, the fact that a much better man than him was interested in Si Hyun was unbearably nervewracking and upsetting.

What could he do to feel better?

After a moment of thought, Woo Jin, who had just gotten down, got into his car parked in front of the oneroom building and took out his mobile phone to make a call somewhere.

Just seeing the name on the mobile phone made his hurt pride feel like it was recovering like a lie.

“Hey, Bora.”
From the lips that had been shouting at Si Hyun just a moment ago, a sweet voice, like someone else’s, leaked out.

“How about Friday evening? Let’s go on a date at a nice place.”