Chapter 50
When we had gotten quite far from the office, I muttered quietly,
“I don’t ever want to see her again. That grandma’s scary. I really don’t.”
It was such a natural, yet unexpected, reaction that even I was surprised.
“Didn’t think you were the type to get scared of anything.”
“I’m not exactly popular with women, you know.”
Though somehow, I didn’t think that Chairwoman Han particularly disliked me.
She brushed her chin lightly and glanced back toward the office.
“Do you think she called me in because she was just curious about my face?”
“Probably.”
“But what could she possibly need my face for?”
A weakness.
Yoonjae didn’t say what immediately came to his mind.
There was no way that sharp, snake-like old woman had missed noticing the change in him—
even if he himself didn’t seem to realize it.
“Maybe I bid on too many auction items. Should’ve stopped at a few.”
He pointed at me with a cautious, teasing gesture.
“You’re funny, you know that?”
He wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Shouldn’t have bid on that last one…”
I squinted.
“You mean my face?”
“You said it yourself, didn’t you?”
“When did I ever say—”
[I make you laugh a lot, don’t I, Yoonjae?]
The memory popped into both our heads, as if waiting for its cue.
I quickly tried to clarify the misunderstanding.
“No, that’s not what I meant! I didn’t mean my face makes you laugh—”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I just… you know…”
I wanted to say it’s not about my face, but I couldn’t think of a single other explanation.
Even I found my own confusion funny, but he was seriously egging me on.
“Go on. Do it.”
Being told to make someone laugh out of nowhere?
That puffed up my pride like a balloon ready to pop.
“And what do I get if I do?”
“Anything you want.”
The irritation deflated instantly.
Ha Yoonjae didn’t make empty promises.
If he said anything, he meant it.
How could I waste such a chance?
“Fine then. Just wait. I’ll definitely make you laugh.”
Like a would-be comedian on stage for the first time,
I frowned in concentration, racking my brain.
It turned out that trying to make someone laugh on command
was way harder than it sounded.
Even sarcastic laughter wouldn’t work on his stone face.
Hmm…
After way too much serious thinking, I narrowed my eyes.
“You said any way is fine, right?”
“What are you planning?”
“Just answer first.”
Yoonjae nodded obediently.
Then I opened my eyes, raised my hand, and said,
“Close your eyes.”
A pretty dangerous thing to say, if you thought about it—
but she said it like it was nothing.
Whatever she had in mind, he played along and closed his eyes.
The moment he did, I tiptoed toward him,
circled around his back, and reached for his unguarded side.
Tickle tickle.
“……”
Laughter is a primal reflex, after all.
This is totally cheating,
I thought, as I launched my all-out tickle attack—
my fingers wiggling furiously under his arms, across his ribs, even up his back.
But Yoonjae didn’t so much as twitch.
Panic rising, I hurried back around to check his face—
just in case he was barely holding it in.
“……”
He wasn’t.
Eyes still closed, expression perfectly blank—
if anything, he looked sad.
What am I even doing right now?
Tickling—no, feeling up—a man out in public?
If someone saw us, how would I even explain this?
I shouldn’t have done it.
Regret burned hot across my cheeks just as his eyes opened.
Silence fell.
The courtyard outside the office suddenly felt bitterly cold.
“That’s it?”
Utter defeat.
Faced with the most embarrassing moment of my life,
a stubborn little defiance flared up.
“Why aren’t you ticklish?”
“I am.”
“Then show some reaction!”
“Like what?”
“Why are you asking me that?! Just—
if you’re ticklish, act like it! Show me what you actually feel—!”
I lifted my head, cheeks burning,
and right then, Yoonjae’s arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me in.
My body was pulled tight, not even an inch of air between us,
and I barely managed to brace a hand against his chest.
Eyes wide, I met his steady gaze as he answered
the question I hadn’t asked out loud.
“You said to react honestly.”
“That’s not honesty—that’s teasing.”
I wanted to smack him,
but his arm around my waist didn’t budge.
I bit my lip and pushed at his chest—
but his low voice brushed my ear like a whisper.
“I was ticklish.”
“……”
“Everywhere you touched—from my head to my toes.”
Then, finally, the corners of his lips lifted.
“You win.”
There was unmistakable laughter in his voice.
Sincere, warm laughter that made my heart flutter.
“Tell me what you want.”
He said it like a promise he intended to keep.
I blinked, momentarily lost.
What I wanted?
A lot. So many things. Endless things.
But right then, my mind went blank.
All I could do was fidget, my hand still pressed to his chest.
And then it hit me—
Why were we doing this?
When had we gotten this close?
Why were we holding each other like this, not moving away?
It wasn’t about how we got here—
it was about why we stayed.
Why.
If I started asking that, I’d have to come up with reasons.
But if I didn’t ask, I didn’t need any.
In the dim light between the streetlamps,
standing on the boundary between dark and bright,
we simply looked at each other.
We didn’t need a reason for this moment.
So I said nothing—
and placed the present over the why.
The here and now.
“……”
His hand still around my waist.
His eyes lingering on mine.
The tingling warmth where his fingers brushed my back—
and my heavy eyelids fluttered.
What I want…
Under my palm, his heartbeat thudded steadily.
It made every second feel real, alive.
Maybe he felt the same,
because before I realized it, I rose slightly onto my toes.
And as if helping me along,
his hand pressed gently at my waist.
Slowly, our faces tilted closer—
his lips drawing near—
Bang!
A sudden explosion of fireworks shattered the moment.
The dark burst open with color,
showering our faces in brilliant light.
It was as if the world itself conspired to interrupt us.
We both gave a small, rueful laugh.
And then I lowered my heel—
retreating from the brink.
Bang!
I meant to.
But another explosion rang out—
and this time, our eyes opened at the same instant—
—and our lips met.
After so many missed chances,
so many awkward near-misses,
they finally, perfectly, touched.
His arms tightened around me,
and I let him.
I wrapped both arms around his neck,
closing my eyes.
Our tilted heads fit together,
and as our lips parted just slightly,
a soft warmth spread between us.
We had kissed before—
but never like this.
Holding each other as if afraid to let go,
we kissed deeply, breathlessly,
until the fireworks above us no longer registered at all.
Ha Yoonjae.
The heat rising from deep inside me
wanted more—wanted everything.
I wished the moment would never end.
By the time the fireworks faded
and even the wind stilled,
only our faint, uneven breaths remained.
Our lips parted slowly,
a thin, shining thread of warmth stretching—then breaking.
“……”
Our noses still touched lightly.
Neither of us moved.
We didn’t ask why.
We didn’t try to name it or explain it.
We simply wanted.
I wanted him.
He wanted me.
“…Ah.”
I was the first to speak, exhaling the breath I’d been holding.
Slowly, I lowered my arms from around his neck.
“My feet hurt.”
My voice trembled.
Rrrrr. Rrrrr.
When we reached the car, Yoonjae’s phone started ringing.
After a brief call, he turned to me, already seated in the passenger seat.
“Wait here. I’ll go check the auction items.”
“I can go.”
“Stay. I know what to look for.”
He closed the door I hadn’t shut properly and walked off.
“……”
Watching him disappear through the window,
I pressed a hand to my chest,
trying to steady the wild pounding inside.
At that moment,
as everything that had just happened replayed in my head,
I couldn’t deny the overwhelming emotion rising within me.
For two people who had started without love—
Really?
There was no need to ask again.
The answer was certain.
I love Ha Yoonjae.
I didn’t know when it had begun,
but that dizzy, undeniable feeling
now shimmered in my chest and my palms.
Really.
There was only one truth left.
I stared at my hands, then clenched them tightly.
Knock, knock.
I jumped.
Someone was knocking—
snapping me out of my daze.
When I turned, I saw a familiar face outside the window.
“Dr. Jang?”
I quickly opened the door and stepped out.
His unexpected appearance was actually… kind of welcome.
“You came here?”
“Yes. I was with another group earlier.
I saw you, but didn’t get a chance to say hello.”
“I was a bit out of it too. Oh—Yoonjae’s at the event hall right now—”
“I didn’t come for him. I came because there’s something I need to tell you, Aejeong.”
“Me?”
“I know it’s not my place, but… I have to say it.”
Was this—
a confession?
The atmosphere sure felt like it.
I froze slightly, heart skipping.
Had my mysterious charm really gotten to him too?
But his next words cut straight through my silly thought.
“Don’t give up.”
“…What?”
“I know you’ve been thinking about it a lot.
I know your last wish… is to be with Yoonjae.
And I know it’s not my place to judge that.
But things are changing.
You’re changing. He’s changing.”
His sudden encouragement left me awkward and confused.
“I’m sorry, but… what are you—”
“The time you’ve spent loving Yoonjae…”
My breath caught.
“It hasn’t been in vain.”
