episode_0025

“What were you two doing?”

Returning home after going out for a while.

Choi Do-hyeon was not seen in her room.

‘Where did it go…?’

And then, the sound of laughter was heard from the room next door.

‘Is your sister in your room?’

She opened her sister’s door.

She saw the smiling face of the person she was looking for.

The smiling face of his older sister, who had been frowning when she greeted him, also caught my eye.

“We were just talking.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Well.. about the Academy, about dramas… things like that. Still, I’m your sister, so I want to get closer.”

“Really?”

In response to Choi Do-hyun’s answer, Jeong Ye-eun turned her head and looked at her older sister.

Jeong Ye-rin also seemed to agree.

“Is it okay if you play this much? Yeeun, take him out.”

Jeong Ye-rin criticized Choi Do-hyun.

“If you don’t do that, I’ll leave. See you later.”

“Okay.”

Her older sister smiled and answered.

He said something as if he wanted Choi Do-hyun to leave, but the smile on his face proved that it was just a joke.

Choi Do-hyeon also had a smile on his face, and it seemed like they had a pretty enjoyable conversation while she was out for a while.

‘I told you to try to become friends, but…’

When I saw that the two seemed to have become friends very quickly, I was less happy than I thought.

‘what?’

She ignored those feelings and brought him into her room.

“Now, who decided to do it first?”

The board game that had been paused for a while continued.

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“Ah, Seoul!”

“Wow! 2 million won!”

“….Why don’t we make it a draw?”

“Quick, money! Toll!”

Seoul, where Jeong Ye-eun lived, took everyone’s money.

In an instant, Choi Do-hyun and Moon Jeong-woo’s wallets were stolen.

“Now, here.”

Choi Do-hyeon picked up the paper money and placed it on Jeong Ye-eun’s outstretched hand.

For a moment, their palms touched.

“All right, it’s my turn next!”

Moon Jeong-woo quickly intervened and continued the game.

He didn’t like even that brief moment of skinship.

In fact, such an attitude itself was something that could be had.

If the girl you like is touching another man, isn’t it natural to want to interrupt her?

However… the problem was that it was one-way.

Jeong Ye-eun did not mind such trivial skinship at all.

If Jeong Ye-eun had feelings for Moon Jeong-woo, she would have been reluctant to have such contact with Choi Do-hyun.

However, Choi Do-hyun intervened at a time when Jeong Ye-eun did not yet like Moon Jeong-woo as a man.

Normally, the two-way love would blossom only after a little more time had passed and enough events had been experienced.

At a time when Jeong Ye-eun still had a younger brother-like crush on Moon Jeong-woo, a much cooler and superior man intervened…

There was no time for love to bloom.

Just like that, Moon Jeong-woo was alone in the unpleasant gaming experience.

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After the game was over, with good timing, Jeong Ye-eun’s parents called them over and treated them to dinner.

A total of six people, including Moon Jeong-woo, Choi Do-hyeon, Jeong Ye-eun, Jeong Ye-rin, and the sisters’ parents, sat around the table.

The table can seat up to eight people, so there was no shortage of seats.

There were three people on each side, with Moon Jeong-woo, Jeong Ye-eun and Choi Do-hyeon occupying one side, while Jeong Ye-rin and her parents sat on the other side.

“Did you say Do-hyeon?”

“Yes, this is Choi Do-hyeon.”

Choi Do-hyeon maintained a polite attitude.

Jeong Ye-eun’s parents, who had their pupils vibrate when they first saw his appearance, were also gradually getting used to him.

I was learning that his personality wasn’t as rough as he looked.

“When did you become friends with Ye-eun?”

“Ah, I wasn’t good at getting along with others, but Yeeun kept coming to me – ”

It mixes in a few lies and praises Jeong Ye-eun.

There is no parent in the world who hates praising their children.

Sure enough, smiles bloomed on their faces.

“Really? Our Ye-eun?”

“Yes, he was a friend I was very grateful to, so we became close friends after hanging out together.”

“Well, honey. Ye-eun has always taken good care of the kids around her, right?”

“Okay then! One thing Yeeun is considerate about is – ”

Starting with those words, the meal continued with praise for Jeong Ye-eun for a while.

“Ugh… Well, don’t…!”

Jeong Ye-eun blushed at the unexpected compliment.

At that sight, smiles appeared on the faces of the other five people at the same time.

She was a lovely daughter, a cute younger sister, and a favorite friend.

Meanwhile, the dining room was becoming more and more lively.

“Yeeun, try some of this. It’s really delicious!”

Choi Do-hyeon happily took care of Jeong Ye-eun, who sat next to him.

It was an action that could have felt like a bit too much friendliness and too much distance, but the warm smiling atmosphere made even such behavior acceptable.

‘Ah, he is a child who cares about our Ye-eun.’

This level of awareness.

It was a friendly meal where everyone was smiling.

Except one person’s heart is burning.

“Yes, Yeeun..! This too!”

Moon Jeong-woo also did not give up and served side dishes on top of the rice.

“Huh? Yes, thank you.”

However, Jeong Ye-eun began to feel burdened by Moon Jeong-woo’s intervention.

Even if one person brings it sometimes, two people on both sides…?

Choi Do-hyun stopped such behavior as soon as Moon Jeong-woo intervened.

In front of Jeong Yerin, ‘What are you guys doing..?’ He was looking at me with a bewildering look in his eyes, and it was worse than not doing anything excessive.

Moon Jeong-woo smiled in victory when Choi Do-hyun stopped his actions.

He interpreted this as ‘he won the battle of wits.’

“You can eat what you want, Jeongwoo.”

Jeong Ye-eun expressed her euphemistic refusal with a soft smile.

“Mom, how did you make this? Wow.. so delicious?”

Choi Do-hyun continued the atmosphere.

The best thing to do at a meal with someone else’s family is to praise a member of that family, followed by praising the food prepared by that family.

“Hoho, so? I didn’t add anything special…”

“Can you tell me the recipe for this when I go?”

“Hahaha! Honey, did you write something on the notepad somewhere?”

Jeong Ye-eun’s father burst into laughter.

Choi Do-hyun quickly became friends with Jeong Ye-eun’s parents.

It’s hard to believe that today is our first meeting.

The more it happened, the more uncomfortable Moon Jeong-woo became. Things didn’t go according to his plan.

They became friends much faster than Moon Jeong-woo expected.

The plan to give Choi Do-hyun a sense of distance went awry from the start.

When Moon Jeong-woo was drinking cold water to relieve his sore stomach, Jeong Ye-eun’s parents were very fond of Choi Do-hyun in their hearts.

His rough appearance gave him a manly appearance.

The smile that seemed defective only appeared to be a smile of joy at meeting a friend.

“Hahaha, yes! Can I ask what your parents do?”

If they raised their son to be this bright and considerate, they must be good people.

And Choi Do-hyun’s face, which had been smiling the whole time, suddenly hardened.

Choi Do-hyun, who noticed that he failed to manage his facial expressions, immediately smiled awkwardly, but since they had a lot of social experience, they had already realized that something was wrong.

“Well, actually… my parents aren’t there.”

And, they were momentarily dazed by the answer.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t even remember the face, well.”

“Then, where do you live…?”

“Oh, hey…there’s a villa village next to it, right? It’s that neighborhood.”

“There.. alone?”

“Yes, I live alone… As for Bob, I am somewhat indebted to an old man I know.”

The atmosphere became more solemn.

“Child, it’s really okay! I don’t think I’m having a hard time, and I’m used to it now – ”

Choi Do-hyeon laughed, as if trying to revive the depressed atmosphere.

And after seeing that, Jeong Ye-eun’s parents completely changed their perception of Choi Do-hyun.

From that time on, Choi Do-hyeon became ‘an upright young man rarely seen in this era, living alone in a dangerous neighborhood and growing up well.’

Of course, the momentary stiff expression and effortless appearance of being okay were all Choi Do-hyun’s acting, but there was no way they knew that.

The build-up became the side dishes that Choi Do-hyun had in his hands when he went home.

“No, it’s really good.”

“No, Dohyeon! Go and share it with grandpa. And this. I’m taking the kimchi stew recipe that I said was delicious earlier, so I’m taking it with me. It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients, so make it. No, if you want to eat, would you like to come to your house? I will do it.”

“Mom, come in! Dohyeon feels burdened!”

“Then, goodbye!”

Jeong Ye-eun’s mother saw Choi Do-hyun off, and the three of them – Moon Jeong-woo, Choi Do-hyun, and Jeong Ye-eun – left the house together.

“I’ll take you there, Dohyeon!”

“Well, then me too…”

“Go in first, Jeongwoo. It’s okay.”

After easily defeating Moon Jeong-woo’s attempt to intervene, she headed towards his house with Choi Do-hyeon.

Moon Jeong-woo stretched out his hand in confusion, and only turned back when he saw their backs moving away.

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Jeong Ye-eun was regretting inviting Moon Jeong-woo.

I wondered if I had invited him for no reason.

I had a thought in my mind, I don’t know where it came from, that I wanted to be alone with Choi Do-hyun.

A fantasy that could have come true if it weren’t for Jungwoo.

Next, an image of her older sister and Dohyeon laughing together came to mind.

It was clear that he had said it himself, but it felt strange to see the two of them having fun talking.

It’s good to be close, but it’s a contradictory thought that I don’t want to be too close.

“Ha…”

It wasn’t a good idea to even think about it myself.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

The main culprit of my troubles spoke to me.

“No.”

When I looked at his face, a story about his parents came to mind.

I didn’t know that was the case.

I wonder if I made it a difficult story for no reason.

Of course, he seemed to be okay, but I guess he didn’t know his true feelings.

“Yeeun, you can go in now.”

A voice woke her from her thoughts.

“No, I’ll just go there.”

However, there was no real reason to go that far and then turn your back.

Time alone with Choi Do-hyun. What she had hoped for.

Just up to there, just up to there.

As she walked further away from home, she had a smile on her face.

“Hey, Dohyun.”

As the place to part ways approached, Jeong Ye-eun’s words reached Choi Do-hyeon.