Chapter 22
“…Pardon?”
Her heart dropped. No, it felt like it was racing out of control.
Seoha clenched her hands tightly in her lap. Seeing her face go pale, Jinseong asked with concern.
“You don’t look well. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Seoha forced herself to swallow the rising anxiety and answered.
From Jinseong’s expression and tone, it didn’t seem like he knew that she was the woman Jinwoo liked.
So she thought there was no reason to feel uneasy, but her pounding heart wouldn’t calm down. Her mouth felt unbearably dry.
She sipped some cold water to steady herself and spoke to Jinseong, who still looked worried.
“I really am fine. I just ate a bit too much all of a sudden and feel slightly bloated.”
“Oh dear, should I bring you some digestive medicine?”
“No, it’s not that serious.”
Of course, it wasn’t even indigestion to begin with.
“More importantly, I don’t know who the woman Jinwoo likes is either.”
It was the first time she had ever lied to Jinseong.
“I’m sorry I can’t be of any help.”
But she simply didn’t have the courage to tell the truth, so she hid it.
“I see, you don’t know either.”
The more disappointed Jinseong looked, the more guilty she felt. Seoha bowed her head like a sinner and apologized again.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault. Why are you apologizing?”
Jinseong smiled kindly and rested his chin on his hand.
“Well then, let’s set my son’s issue aside and talk about yours, Seoha.”
My issue? Seoha looked up at him.
His soft brown eyes curved gently. With a smile even softer than his gaze, Jinseong continued.
“Seoha, it’s time for you to get married and officially become a part of the Lime family.”
So that was why he had suddenly called her back home.
Seoha cast her eyes downward. She had prepared herself for this, but now that it was happening, her chest felt suffocating. Now it really did feel like she had indigestion.
“I’ve picked out a few decent candidates from the Lime family. You can meet them and choose the one you like.”
Should I be thankful he’s at least giving me a choice?
But what if none of them are right?
…Then why was Ethan’s face suddenly coming to mind?
It was all because of the weird thing Ethan had said before she left.
That absurd statement—that he was interested in her.
“Why are you so quiet, Seoha?”
“It’s nothing.”
Her thoughts were a mess, but there was only one answer she could give right now.
“Yes, I’ll do as you say, Master.”
She couldn’t bear to disappoint Jinseong.
✽✽✽
Jinseong, wasting no time, told her to go on a marriage meeting the very next Saturday.
Dealing with Ethan and Jinwoo was already enough of a headache—and now she had to do matchmaking too?
Talk about one problem piling onto another.
“Whew…”
Seoha let out a deep sigh as she stared at the chart in front of her. Her head was too full to focus on work.
“This is driving me crazy.”
She wished at least one thing would be resolved quickly.
She set Jinseong’s matter aside—she had to get married for that one to be over.
Jinwoo’s issue would only be resolved once he sorted out his feelings—nothing she could do.
That meant the only thing she could possibly resolve now was the Ethan situation.
“It’ll get sorted out soon anyway…”
The problem was how emotionally tangled she felt right now.
The only small relief was that Ethan wasn’t bothering her at the moment.
As she left the house on Saturday evening, she read the text he had sent:
“I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other for a while.”
“If someone saw this, they’d think we were dating.”
They weren’t lovers, not even friends, so why report this?
It was ridiculous… and yet a little part of her worried that something might’ve happened.
She laughed at herself for worrying about such things.
“Ah, maybe it’s because of that meeting?”
If she remembered correctly, the summit of the Suin (beastmen) was tomorrow.
It made sense that he wouldn’t be able to see her while preparing for it.
Once the summit ended, Ethan would return to England, and with that, their connection would be over.
No more annoying texts. No more mental turmoil.
That should have made her happy. But strangely, she didn’t feel happy. In fact, she felt… heavy.
“…Could it be that I’m interested in him?”
Like he was interested in her?
“No way.”
Even thinking that gave her goosebumps. Seoha shook herself.
If—if—she really was developing feelings for Ethan, she needed to cut it off before it grew into something real.
Otherwise, only she would get hurt.
Ethan was a Suin. Seoha was a Lime.
Besides, Ethan had said firmly that he didn’t like her.
‘He just said he was interested.’
There was a clear difference between liking someone and being interested in them.
You could be “interested” in a one-night stand. That didn’t mean you liked them.
Even if you said you liked them, it was often just lip service.
“One-night stand…”
That’s what this was. Her current situation.
How did it even come to this? Seoha gave a bitter laugh and tousled her hair.
“Next time he contacts me, I’ll shut it down firmly.”
No—he was leaving soon anyway, so was there a need?
She could just keep seeing him casually and send him off coolly when the time came.
…But could she really send him off so coolly?
“Sigh.”
Her thoughts looped endlessly, making her feel like it wasn’t just interest—maybe she had already given him a piece of her heart. With a groan, she lowered her head onto her desk.
“This is seriously insane.”
Get it together, Han Seoha. You’ve made it this far without slipping—don’t mess it up now.
As she held her head and groaned, a knock came at the door.
Startled, Seoha quickly fixed her messy hair and responded calmly.
“Yes, come in.”
“Dr. Han, are you busy?”
It was a fellow doctor entering. His white coat had golden embroidery that read Kim Yeonseok, glinting elegantly.
“No, what is it?”
“Well, I’m scheduled for night duty tonight, but something urgent came up.”
There were seven veterinarians at the hospital, including the director Jin-hyuk.
The director didn’t take shifts, so the other six doctors rotated night shifts in pairs until 10 PM—one human doctor and one Lime.
Yeonseok, a Lime doctor whose mother was from the Cha clan, was one of them.
“If you don’t mind, could you take my night duty?”
“Sure, I can.”
She didn’t have any plans that evening, so Seoha nodded without resistance.
“Wow, thank you so much!”
Yeonseok looked extremely relieved.
“It’s our 1000-day anniversary today. I was panicking about how to manage with night duty. You really saved me.”
“Wow, 1000 days with your girlfriend? Congratulations.”
“Thanks! I’ll make sure to invite you to the wedding. Although… I might not be here anymore by then.”
“You’re quitting the hospital? Why?”
“My girlfriend’s an ordinary human. If we marry, I have to quit.”
“Ah.”
Unless you were an exception like Jin-hyuk, most Limes had to give up everything when marrying a human and leave entirely.
Leaving the world you’ve always known for a new one wasn’t easy.
His choice clearly meant he loved his girlfriend deeply.
“Wishing you both a beautiful love.”
“Thank you.”
Yeonseok beamed with a smile full of genuine happiness.
Seoha felt deeply envious. It was something she could never have.
“But Dr. Han, did you change your perfume?”
Perfume? Out of nowhere?
“No, why do you ask?”
“You smell really nice.”
“There’s a strange scent.”
Jinwoo’s voice echoed in her mind, and her face stiffened.
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything weird!”
Yeonseok hurried to clarify.
“I just meant it’s a scent I’d want my girlfriend to have too. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“…No, it’s okay. I didn’t misunderstand.”
No, she didn’t take it the wrong way. But it lingered in her mind.
After Yeonseok left, Seoha sniffed her arm.
“I don’t smell anything.”
With her sensitive nose, if she didn’t smell anything, it probably meant there really was no scent.
…Unless it was her own scent, and that’s why she couldn’t detect it.
She wanted to ask others, but it would’ve been embarrassing to go around asking, “Do I smell like anything?”
Since Yeonseok said it was a nice scent he’d like his girlfriend to have, maybe it wasn’t anything to worry about.
With so much else already giving her a headache, she didn’t want to add another thing to stress over.
Like brushing dust off her shoulder, Seoha shook the thoughts from her head and focused on her work.
✽✽✽
“Wow, I’m on night duty with Dr. Han tonight!”
Of all people, her partner had to be Cha Sunyong.
Seoha regretted not checking the night shift schedule ahead of time as she sipped her coffee.
“You know, about the other day…”
Apparently forgetting what happened just a few days ago, Sunyong kept chatting to her like they were close.
“How is Dr. Cha so oblivious?” whispered the staff, watching him.
“But he’s got guts. If I were in Dr. Han’s place, I’d have thrown him out by now.”
“I think Dr. Han is even more amazing. She puts up with his constant annoyance without snapping.”
“Maybe she’s just given up? There’s no getting through to someone like him.”
“True.”
I can hear everything, Seoha thought, clicking her tongue and closing the chart.
In moments like this, she hated her heightened hearing compared to humans.
Except for Sunyong’s persistent pestering and the gossip around her, the night had been peaceful. No emergency patients.
She had hoped things would stay smooth and quiet like this…
But then, something unexpected happened.
