BTNF 14🔐

Chapter 13 ….

“What… do you mean?”

Uju barely managed to move her stiff neck, as if paralyzed, and asked. Then, afraid of the answer that would come, she bit the inside of her cheek hard.

Had she made some mistake that day?

Something she didn’t remember…?

“You insisted on riding alone.”

An answer she hadn’t expected returned.

Frozen like ice, Uju’s eyes widened at his words.

“What?”

Haebum looked at her quietly from the shadows, as if he had nothing more to say.

She asked again cautiously, almost doubting her own ears.

“You… you insisted on riding alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t lie.”

“So I got the kids to call a taxi. If you don’t believe me, call them now and ask.”

Haebum gestured toward her phone, which was lying beside the keyboard.

Seeing the truth in his expression—there was not a trace of a lie—Uju’s face flushed late, deepening in embarrassment.

His neat, no-nonsense attitude made her feel an intense shame.

What had she been imagining all this time?

Seeing her blushing and washing her face dry, Haebum smiled faintly, as if he found it cute, then straightened his posture again.

“Shall we work, then? We should get this done before leaving.”

If she had known it would be like this, she would have just checked tomorrow instead.

With that regret, Uju stole a glance at Haebum’s side profile, shadowed by the monitor’s light.

Sometimes it was hard to believe such a handsome, capable man was her friend.

It had been the same during school days, and even now.

“Aren’t you worried about the rumors? Someone’s bound to misunderstand if they see us like this.”

Haebum didn’t look away from the monitor as he replied.

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing’s happened.”

Of course, nothing had happened yet, but what scared her was the thought that he might somehow get hurt because of her…

Yet she didn’t dare say it, thinking that expressing it might make things awkward for him.

Suddenly, she felt someone behind her.

She turned around absentmindedly and stood up, startled.

“Oh? Somi. Why are you back?”

Somi also looked surprised and stopped in her tracks.

With confused eyes, she glanced between Uju and Haebum, who were sitting side by side in the dark, then hesitated before barely opening her lips.

“…It’s raining outside.”

Indeed, her hair was slightly damp.

Somi bowed slightly toward Haebum, looking flustered. He acknowledged it with a small nod.

“Is it raining hard?”

“A little, but it seems like it’ll get heavier, so I came to get an umbrella.”

“Good thinking. I think there was a forecast for rain tonight anyway. Thanks to you, I’ll take an umbrella when I go out.”

“Yes… then…”

Somi hurried to grab the umbrella, still glancing at the two with confusion, before bowing her head in farewell.

“See you tomorrow.”

Her hurried exit made it seem as if she were fleeing.

“……”

Left alone in the office, an awkward tension lingered between Uju and Haebum.

Though there was a reason they were sitting together, and nothing inappropriate had happened, Uju felt strangely flushed, as if some private moment had been exposed.

This wouldn’t do.

She planned to tell him she’d just handle things herself tomorrow, but first came the clicking of the mouse.

“Let’s do it tomorrow too.”

When she turned, Haebum, who had just closed all the open documents, looked up at her casually.

“I’m hungry.”

jj0

The tteokbokki in the large pot bubbled enticingly.

“So this place is still here.”

It was the instant tteokbokki shop Haebum and Uju often visited back in school.

Technically, Haebum didn’t enjoy snacks much, but Uju had often dragged him here.

Even if other friends refused, Haebum always followed her without complaint when she wanted to eat.

“They say even when everything in the world changes, some things stay the same.”

“You remember everything I say, huh.”

“It was too memorable.”

Haebum’s answer, carrying a hint of lingering charm, made Uju chuckle as she stirred the tteokbokki with a ladle.

Haebum glanced around the cozy shop, unchanged from their school days, then pulled a soda from the fridge.

He remembered she always drank soda with the tteokbokki when they came here.

“By the way, Ji Haebum.”

As the rice cakes and ramen noodles neared completion, Uju asked, curious.

“Why me?”

“What do you mean?”

“The business trip.”

Haebum, pouring soda into a cup, raised an eyebrow as if asking what she meant.

“Who else would be suitable if not you?”

“There’s the manager and Section Chief Gu…”

“Are they the ones in charge of the new factory in Malaysia?”

Uju fell silent. They were technically responsible too, but the on-the-ground work clearly fell to her.

Seemingly aware of her thoughts, Haebum placed the soda-filled cup in front of her.

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t a personal preference that decided it.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

Uju felt a little irritated at Haebum’s calm tone, while her own voice had been rising.

“Will tteokbokki be enough? I was going to buy something better.”

“This is perfect for me.”

No hesitation—this was the place she thought of when she craved food.

Whenever stressed, the sweet-spicy instant tteokbokki from here always gave her strength.

“I still come here sometimes with Hajung. Ji Seung likes it too.”

“So you wanted to come with me too?”

“…Eat. It’s all ready.”

Uju slammed down the ladle as if to forbid idle talk, then picked up the ramen noodles first with tongs.

Next, she added rice cakes and fish cakes. The hot steam and spicy-sweet aroma made her mouth water.

“Eat slowly. You’ll burn your mouth.”

“Am I a kid? Don’t underestimate my 30 years of tteokbokki experience.”

She was claiming she wouldn’t get burned over something this small.

“Phew… ha.”

It was delicious. Only one bite, yet beads of refreshing sweat already started forming on her forehead.

She thought, “I need tteokbokki at least once a week to live,” feeling proud of her excellent choice.

“But Uju.”

Haebum, quietly watching her eat, nudged the pickled radish closer and spoke.

“I know you lost part of your memory that day.”

Uju, chewing with cheeks puffed, met his gaze.

Haebum wore an expression she hadn’t seen before.

Just meeting his eyes made her heart skip.

“Oh! Now that I think about it, I barely remember anything after karaoke that day.”

Haebum’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“I really don’t know where I left my mind while drinking that day. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“Ji Seung said you drank a shot of soju and beer.”

“That’s my limit.”

After replying, he stared at Uju’s awkward smile, then rested his chin on his hand and asked lazily,

“So you lost your memory… all after karaoke?”

“Yes.”

Uju nodded quickly.

Although she had many questions, it wasn’t the right time to ask over tteokbokki.

More importantly, she wasn’t even sure if those vague memories had really happened.

Better to ask when she was certain.

“That day.”

As Haebum’s lips parted, Uju swallowed nervously.

No matter what he said, she mustn’t be shocked or surprised.

Haebum, his eyes deep in thought, observed her tense posture, then slowly continued.

“We kissed.”