If the Dream Continues… Eventually…
This scent…?
The exact same lemon scent she had just noticed on Minwoo.
But she wasn’t entirely sure. Perhaps it was just her mind playing tricks, thinking that the lemon scent from Minwoo was lingering. It was oddly distracting, yet Yulri said nothing and followed Minwoo into the office.
“Was this something you really had to say today?” Minwoo asked as he sat on the sofa.
“Not exactly, but I didn’t want to postpone it until tomorrow.”
Yulri sat opposite him, continuing.
“I only realized after hanging up with you… that Jeho is the one designing the newlywed house.”
“…Ah, that.”
At the mere thought, Minwoo’s face twisted in displeasure.
“If I had known beforehand, I would have opposed it. I’m uncomfortable too. So if you really don’t like it, you can speak to the Chairman yourself and refuse.”
“Huh?”
Minwoo was momentarily taken aback at her willingness to refuse. He had assumed she wouldn’t care who designed the house—or might even like it. But hearing her express discomfort suddenly made things complicated in his mind.
She didn’t want to start their newlywed life in a house designed by Jeho, but confronting Chairman Kwon directly to refuse? That was an entirely different matter. Just imagining herself standing before Chairman Kwon made her feel intimidated.
“Yulri,”
Minwoo leaned toward her cautiously.
“Jeho is such a famous architect.”
Hearing her say she didn’t want it actually reassured him. He had worried she might still be attracted to Jeho, but now, hearing her express discomfort, he realized it was just a needless concern.
“My grandfather specifically asked him to do it for us. If we refuse, it might upset him.”
“What?”
Minwoo’s tone had shifted completely. Earlier, he had sighed as if the world had ended during their phone call.
“Let’s just leave it to him. He’ll design our house beautifully.”
Minwoo smiled brightly at her, leaving Yulri with nothing to say. He had always been unpredictable. It seemed he had changed his mind for some reason. No matter how long she tried to argue, it would be a waste of time.
“Understood,” she said dryly, standing up.
What should she do?
As Yulri stepped into the elevator, she fell into thought. Visiting Chairman Kwon to refuse the house would look bad, as Councilman Chae had warned. But at the same time, she couldn’t start married life in a house designed by Jeho.
Even now, her mind was unsettled… just imagining living in a house he designed made her shiver.
The elevator stopped at a middle floor. The doors opened, and Assistant Manager Shin, whom Yulri had seen in the hallway earlier, stepped in—probably on her way home.
Though they didn’t exchange greetings, Shin smiled warmly at Yulri, who returned a faint smile.
As soon as Shin entered the elevator, a familiar scent filled the confined space. Yulri inhaled gently.
It wasn’t her imagination. The same lemon scent she had noticed on Minwoo was emanating from Shin. Glancing sideways, she noticed Shin’s hair tips were slightly damp, just like Minwoo’s. Earlier, she hadn’t realized this because they had passed quickly.
A few moments later, the elevator reached the lobby. Shin gave a slight nod to Yulri and hurried out.
Yulri silently watched Shin’s retreating figure.
Now she understood why Minwoo hadn’t answered her calls and why he had been so startled to see her at the company. If he tried to hide it, she hoped he would at least conceal it perfectly so she wouldn’t notice.
“Ha.”
Yulri chuckled softly, pressing the close button.
At that moment, the sweet and fresh scent from her dream last night returned to her mind. Musk blended with citrus—the scent unique to him… The elevator was filled with lemon now, yet she couldn’t understand why it reminded her of him.
Being in the elevator? The dream? The image of their lips touching naturally in her mind made her bite her lower lip. Even though it was just a dream, her heart began to race.
Driving home, Yulri called Hyunkyung. Even though it was late at night, Hyunkyung picked up immediately after one ring.
“Hyunkyung, it’s me.”
[Yulri!]
Hyunkyung’s voice was unusually high-spirited, as if she had been waiting for this call. Yulri had been unable to talk to her for the past few days because Hyunkyung had been visiting Singapore.
[Why do you sound like that? Is something wrong?]
Just hearing her voice, Hyunkyung could tell immediately how Yulri was feeling. Hyunkyung always had this way of offering comfort that Yulri didn’t get from her family.
“It’s not really a problem… just a bit inconvenient,” Yulri explained briefly. At first, Hyunkyung reacted similarly to Councilman Chae.
[So what? A world-renowned architect is designing it. You won’t lose anything.]
“Jeho was almost my fiancé before.”
[That’s true. He was your first love, after all.]
‘First love only’ wouldn’t be enough. He kept invading her thoughts even now. But despite being close friends, Yulri couldn’t bring herself to tell Hyunkyung about last night’s dream. Some people casually share private matters, but Yulri couldn’t.
“Anyway, it’s uncomfortable. Even if everyone says it’s fine, I don’t like it.”
[Hmm.]
Instead of arguing, Hyunkyung exhaled deeply. One of her best qualities was that she generally accepted Yulri’s refusal without fuss. She tried to resolve the matter on Yulri’s side with full respect.
[Still, it wouldn’t look good if you personally refuse Chairman Kwon. So… here’s an idea…]
Yulri held her breath, waiting for the next words.
[How about this? So…]
The next morning, Yulri resolved firmly to go to the company. Following Hyunkyung’s advice, she decided it would be better to persuade Jeho rather than confront Chairman Kwon directly.
At first, she had wondered if it was really necessary, but after having another vivid dream the previous night, her mind changed.
The second dream had escalated further, leaving her heart pounding even after waking. The moans that had echoed continuously still seemed to resonate in her mind.
She had never experienced such acts before, yet in the dream, she had performed them with startling skill, shocking herself.
After a long, cold shower, her dizzy mind cleared somewhat.
Already, imagining living in a house he designed made her expression darken rapidly.
Even if dreams were beyond rational control, she felt pathetic for giving in to desire so easily.
Today, she would confront Jeho no matter what. She would remain composed, speak sharply if needed, and endure even if he made inappropriate jokes.
Yulri bolstered her courage and entered the office.
But as luck would have it, he had not arrived even by lunchtime.
“Honestly, you’re overdoing it. You don’t have to go that far, right?”
After lunch, Sunyoung handed Yulri a takeout coffee cup, chattering.
“Who?”
“Who else? Kwon Jeho. He went to Changwon right after you, following the site manager.”
“Changwon?”
“Yes. He went for the town hall reconstruction project. It’s purely a volunteer project…”
If he went to Changwon, would he be back before work ended?
“Most likely, they’ll both leave directly from the site,” Sunyoung said, reading Yulri’s mind.
Even after the official work hours, Jeho did not appear. Yulri soothed her disappointment, though she had wanted to resolve things quickly—it had been delayed until the next day.
That night, Yulri suffered yet another nightmare.
Unfortunately, the third dream was more intense than the second. If the dreams continued, it would… eventually…
No!
Recalling the very passionate hands inside her shirt, Yulri shook her head violently. Yet she couldn’t spend the night awake. It had to be a side effect of stress from leaving matters unresolved.
She hoped that once she spoke to Jeho, the dreams would naturally cease. While negotiating, she would politely ask him to stop making strange jokes.
However, even the next day, Jeho had still not arrived. Sunyoung hinted he had spent the night in Changwon due to delayed work, and would probably return to Seoul late in the afternoon.
That meant she wouldn’t see him today either. Yulri felt a wave of frustration.
Was she upset because plans kept getting delayed? Or because she couldn’t see him?
She pressed her heated eyes with the back of her hand, glancing at the empty seat beside her.
While tidying her desk to leave, Yulri received a call from Site Manager Kim. She resisted asking if he was still in Changwon.
[Yulri, sorry to bother you at closing time. Can you print out the drawings I mentioned and leave them on the desk? It’s urgent…]
“Sure, I’ll do it.”
Yulri wrote down the drawing numbers on paper. Since Site Manager Kim asked at this hour, it meant he would return to the office late. Therefore, Jeho would likely return with him. At least she could see him tomorrow. Excited at the thought, Yulri completed the printing, which took a while due to complicated settings, and placed the drawings on Kim’s desk.
After reviewing the drawings carefully, she was about to leave the office when the door opened—Jeho entered.
Even though only a day had passed since she last saw him, her heart dropped at the sight. It felt like seeing him after a long absence, making her momentarily tear up. Embarrassed by her reaction, she quickly looked away.
Jeho nodded politely and went straight to the desk, picking up the drawings she had just placed.
“This was from your earlier call to the site manager. I caused you to stay late, sorry about that.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Yulri answered briefly, avoiding his gaze. Despite deciding to settle things quickly, words didn’t come easily.
Perhaps because of the past two nights of strange dreams, the images replayed in her mind, making her face flush just from looking at him.
Seeing him tired from arriving, she couldn’t bring herself to start the discussion yet. She made up a plausible excuse and postponed it.
“I’ll be heading in now.”
As Yulri greeted him and moved toward the door, Jeho asked instead:
“You haven’t told the Chairman yet, have you?”
Turning around, she saw Jeho setting down the drawings and walking toward her.
“The matter of the newlywed house design.”
“I couldn’t tell the Chairman immediately; he’s busy.”
“…Is that so?”
He twisted his lips as if disappointed.
“I thought you had changed your mind… I was secretly excited.”
Now. This was her chance to persuade him.
Yulri took a slow breath and blurted out:
“Could you spare some time today?”
“Time?”
“Yes. I have something to say.”
She looked straight into Jeho’s curious eyes and continued with emphasis:
“Just the two of us.”
If you want, I can combine this with the previous chapter translations into one coherent, fully polished English version with all characters and scenes aligned for continuity.
Do you want me to do that?
