As they walked toward Sooyaa's house, Taehyung suddenly asked in a slow, careful voice,
"Ms. Sooyaa... have you seen my conference?"
Sooyaa glanced at Taehyung, "Mr. Kim, did you just say something?"
Taehyung let out a long sigh and replied softly, "Nothing… nothing at all."
Sooyaa smiled faintly and pointed toward the familiar street, "That's my house."
Taehyung nodded, carrying a polythene bag filled with items. He handed it over to her without a word.
"Thank you for this, Mr. Kim," she said sincerely.
"It's nothing," he replied with a subtle smile.
Just as she was about to walk inside, she paused. Her eyes landed on the coat draped around her shoulders.
"Mr. Kim your coat," she said, beginning to take it off. "Take it back."
But before she could, Taehyung gently stopped her. "Keep it with you."
Sooyaa looked at him, surprised. "But it's too expensive. I can't just..
Taehyung says immediately.
"if you don't want it, give it to someone else."
Taehyung glanced at her once more and simply said, "Then, I should get going."
Without waiting for another word, he turned, walked to his car, started the engine, and drove off down the road. Sooyaa stood there, watching the tail lights disappear.
She quietly stepped inside.
"Why are you so late?" her mom asked from the kitchen.
"Ah… I was just out buying eggs," Sooyaa replied.
Her mom peeked into the grocery bag. "Sooyaa! I told you to buy eggs, not the whole convenience store!"
Hearing that, Sooyaa suddenly remembered Taehyung's teasing voice "If you want, I can buy it… and you know I can."
Snapping back to reality, she stammered, "Ahh… it was all on discount!"
"Ohh, that's why," her mom chuckled. "Come, dinner is ready. Sit at the table."
As Sooyaa was heading to her room, her mom's voice stopped her again.
"Sooyaa… wait. Whose coat is this?"
Before she could answer, Minjae, still holding a game controller, came over and touched the coat. "Whoa… it looks super expensive! And it smells amazing too!"
Sooyaa, flustered, pulled it away. "Don't touch it with your dirty hands! Minjae"
"It's from Hye-jin!" she blurted out. But Minjae kept staring.
Then, without realizing it, she added under her breath, "It's 30 million won…"
Everyone froze. "What?!"
Sooyaa blinked. "Ah no, I mean 3 million! Not 30!"
Her mom frowned. "Even 3 million is expensive!"
Sooyaa quickly grabbed the coat and dashed to her room. "Let me go change first!"
After changing into her comfortable pajamas, Sooyaa carefully took the expensive coat in her hands once again. She looked at it for a second still in disbelief. Slowly, she brought it up to her nose.
"Oh… it still smells nice," she whispered, her cheeks tinting pink without her knowing.
She held it gently, as if it were made of glass, and walked over to her cupboard. She placed it on a hanger with extra care and then hung it inside, right next to her own clothes.
Then she softly closed the cupboard door, the coat safely kept away… along with the moment.
After changing and safely hanging the coat in her cupboard, Sooyaa stepped out for dinner. She sat down at the table where her mom had already laid out the food. Minjae was playing with his phone beside her,.
Out of nowhere, her mom spoke up.
"So, marriage."
Sooyaa was in the middle of drinking water when she choked. "Akh...cough, cough! What are you saying, Mom?!"
Her mom looked calm, almost too calm. "I'm talking about your marriage. You're at the age. When will you start thinking about settling down?"
Sooyaa wiped her mouth with a napkin, frowning. "Mom, I don't even have time to breathe. Dating, marriage those things aren't on my mind right now."
Her mom clicked her tongue. "So you're planning to stay single forever?"
"Yes, Mom. I'll be single… and Minjae will be single with me too," she added, nudging her little brother with a smirk.
Minjae looked up, alarmed. "No! I'll get married!"
Sooyaa playfully smacked his arm. "What? You got a girlfriend or something?"
Minjae grinned, "Still not."
Later that night, Sooyaa walked into her room and closed the door gently behind her. She dropped onto her bed with a soft thud, lying flat on her back as she stared up at the ceiling.
Her thoughts echoed in quiet chaos.
"Why was he acting like that... that close, that
soft.."
She blinked slowly.
Does he still remember me? Or... am I just imagining it all?
END OF CHAPTER.