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The once-bustling customers had left, and the shop gradually grew quiet.
After finishing up in the kitchen, Se-young’s father turned off the lights and headed home, wishing them a good time.
Once Se-young untied her apron and joined the table, beer gave way to soju, and everyone except Min-hyuk quickly began to feel the effects of the alcohol.
One bottle.
Then another.
Too lazy to keep fetching bottles one by one, they brought out two at a time.
They were drinking quite well.
Min-hyuk, arms crossed, watched Joo-eun as she slowly became more intoxicated.
Her wide, startled eyes that always seemed to widen in his presence had now narrowed into thin slits, her laughter undeniably adorable.
“So this is the cute girl I saw on the first day, but only when she’s drunk. I’ve been wanting to see her like this.”
Min-hyuk found himself reminiscing about that day, which already felt like a distant memory.
When she had first asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend for just five minutes, she was nothing more than a means to separate Chae-rin from him—nothing more, nothing less.
How had he ended up losing his heart so completely?
In fact, it might not have been the kiss that first shook him—it could have been her smile.
A smile that seemed to contain all the purity and beauty in the world.
And now, she was showing that smile…
To Jang Wook, making Min-hyuk increasingly uncomfortable.
Uncrossing his arms, Min-hyuk stretched out his long arm and snatched Joo-eun’s soju glass.
“What… What are you doing?”
Joo-eun, who had been laughing heartily just moments ago, froze with wide, alarmed eyes.
Look at her. Only in front of him did she flare up like this.
“Enough drinking.”
“But I’m fine! I’m not drunk at all!”
She had no idea how flushed her cheeks were.
As Joo-eun tried to take the glass back, Min-hyuk downed its contents in one swift motion.
At that moment, Jang Wook gasped and shouted.
“Wow. Jeong Min-hyuk drank soju… This is huge.”
The two women, unaware of how monumental this was, simply furrowed their brows.
What was so impressive about drinking soju? They exchanged skeptical glances.
Min-hyuk pushed his chair back with a screech and stood up.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
This time, it was Se-young who flared up.
“What do you mean, go? No way. You can’t take my friend. If you want to take her, you’ll have to shoot me first.”
Suddenly, she clung to Joo-eun like a koala.
“Haa…”
Min-hyuk sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair, but Se-young only hugged Joo-eun tighter.
“Sighing won’t help. I don’t work for DK Media. I’m leaving. We’re going for round two. And I’m definitely going with Joo-eun.”
“Oh. Round two? Great. I know an amazing wine place. Want to go?”
“Really? That sounds perfect. Where is it?”
Jang Wook pointed his index finger straight up.
“To your house.”
Amid the deep silence, Min-hyuk glanced down at Jang Wook’s fingertip.
He might just snap that finger soon.
The sudden chill in the atmosphere made Joo-eun feel as if all the alcohol she’d consumed earlier was evaporating.
It would be best to call it a night.
Just as she was about to suggest that, Se-young shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Call! Coool!”
Se-young…
This doesn’t seem right. Round two at the director’s house? Definitely not what I had in mind.
“Se-young, grab her arm. Make sure the prisoner doesn’t escape.”
Prisoner? Just moments ago, we were all laughing and having fun!
“Got it!”
“Why are you guys doing this? Let go, Se-young…!”
An excited Jang Wook and Se-young dragged Joo-eun out by both arms, leaving behind a smirking Min-hyuk.
Since the “prisoner” was now captured here, he suggested with a smile that they should hurry to his house.
Left alone in the shop, Min-hyuk exhaled a short sigh, brushing his bangs aside to cool off.
If it were just him and Joo-eun, maybe.
But the idea of all four of them going together didn’t appeal to him, no matter how he thought about it.
As Min-hyuk had feared.
The pristine, immaculate house descended into chaos in no time.
Clang—empty wine bottles rolled across the expensive wooden table, while crushed snack crumbs scattered across the floor.
Emerging in comfortable clothes, Min-hyuk remained unfazed by the scene in the living room.
With a calm demeanor, he even took the bottle from Jang Wook, who was struggling with the cork, and effortlessly popped it open.
Of course, if Joo-eun hadn’t been there, the scene would have unfolded quite differently.
In front of the woman he liked, even he transformed into a fairly gentlemanly man.
Jang Wook looked up at him with a broad grin.
“Wow. Those bulging veins on your forearm. Even I, a man, am falling for you.”
“Cut the nonsense. When are you cleaning this up?”
Min-hyuk snapped coldly, but Jang Wook didn’t budge an inch.
“We’re just getting started. Cleaning? What cleaning! Right, Prisoner?”
Startled, Joo-eun, who had been resting her chin on her hand and fiddling with her glass, nodded hesitantly.
“Huh? Oh… Yeah. Since we just opened this bottle, let’s drink just one more…”
“Okay! One bottle becomes two, two becomes three!”
“Three bottles? What are you talking about? Hey, answer the phone.”
“The phone? It’s not mine.”
Then whose phone…
“Gah! What do I do…?”
Joo-eun sprang to her feet with her phone, and Se-young followed suit.
“What? What is it!”
“It’s my mom. What do I do?”
“Your mom? Give it to me. I’ll handle it.”
Before Joo-eun could respond, Se-young pressed the call button.
“Hello, Mother!”
Her sugary-sweet voice was unrecognizable from the slurred speech of moments ago.
“Yes, yes. Joo-eun is with me. There were so many customers today that she decided to stay and help. This friend of mine has a heart full of volunteer spirit that knows no bounds, day or night.”
The three others held their breath as they watched Se-young’s impromptu performance.
“I’ll make sure she gets home safely after closing up. Hmm? You want her to stay over because it’s dangerous? Oh, of course, Mother. I’ll make sure she sleeps soundly and even feed her hangover soup—or breakfast—before sending her home tomorrow. Yes. Goodnight!”
Such is the art of acting. With a flourish, Se-young ended the call and shrugged casually.
“There. Done. Now, let’s drink.”
“Done? How is this done? Staying over at your house is awkward.”
Friends, huh? So close that they sleep over at each other’s houses, apparently.
Min-hyuk frowned, displeased at the thought of her spending the night outside.
Does Se-young have any brothers? All sorts of worries began to creep in.
“Ahh, I said that just to ease your mom’s worries. In this big house, surely we have an empty room for us to crash in. Right, Director?”
“…”
“Director…?”
Lost in thoughts about how to manage Joo-eun’s overnight stays moving forward, Min-hyuk belatedly realized everyone was looking at him.
“Oh, I was lost in thought. What did you just say?”
“We were discussing whether this big house might have an empty room or two. Hehe.”
Thankfully, it was better for her to stay here than somewhere else.
“I’ll give you the biggest room.”
“See? Accommodations sorted.”
Half-drunk and leaning against his glass, Jang Wook finally staggered to his feet.
“In this big house… Hic! With eight spare rooms or so, surely you can spare one for us. Right, Director?”
“Shut up.”
“He says yes. Let’s drink.”
When did I say that?! A vein throbbed visibly on Min-hyuk’s forehead.
Oh well. The drinking resumed.
True to Jang Wook’s prediction, one bottle became two, then three, rolling around everywhere.
Though he didn’t join in, Min-hyuk couldn’t bring himself to leave, worried about Joo-eun.
The deeper she drank, the more radiant her smile became. She was beautiful sober, but seeing her tipsy and wobbly made him worry how charming she must appear to that drunken Jang Wook.
With a sense of duty to intervene if anything inappropriate happened, he steadfastly stayed put.
“I need to start managing her drinking and overnight stays.”
He crossed his arms and watched her with disapproval.
Yet, before he knew it, he was smiling along with her, startling himself as he quickly schooled his expression.
The mood and state of this dawn were truly unpredictable.
The seemingly endless drinking session eventually came to an end.
Min-hyuk gave Joo-eun and Se-young the largest guest room and told Jang Wook to take any room he wanted.
As Joo-eun entered the room, Min-hyuk whispered into her ear.
“Lock the door before you sleep.”
Startled by the sudden warmth of his breath, Joo-eun shivered.
“Ah… Okay.”
From inside the room, Se-young shouted that she was taking a shower first.
Joo-eun responded, but hesitated at the door, unable to enter.
“I’m sorry about how things turned out today at the orphanage… staying out this late.”
“What’s there to apologize for? I enjoyed being with you all day.”
Min-hyuk gently brushed her hair back, causing her already flushed cheeks to deepen in color.
“Still, coming here tonight feels a bit excessive.”
“Not that I wasn’t planning to talk to you about your overnight stays anyway. Se-young, do you have any brothers?”
It was a serious concern for Min-hyuk, but to Joo-eun, it felt like a random question.
Why would he suddenly ask about Se-young’s siblings?
“No… Why would you ask that?”
“If you don’t, we’ll talk about it next time.”
Confused about what exactly they’d discuss later, Joo-eun simply nodded.
“Then I’ll head in… Goodnight.”
“Sleep well.”
Thinking the farewell was over, his warm lips softly landed on her forehead.
Her unsuspecting heart dropped to the floor.
That smile of his, sexier than ever tonight, tormented her.
“G-goodnight, Director.”
She meant to say “sleep well,” but something ticklish made her add “rest,” resulting in an awkward goodbye.
Flustered, Joo-eun shuffled awkwardly before turning abruptly and disappearing into the room.
“Cute.” Min-hyuk murmured, chuckling softly.
When the sound of the lock clicking into place reached his ears, his amused smile slowly hardened.
How was he supposed to spend the rest of this long night, leaving her in that room?
True to his worries, sleep eluded him, and his mind only grew clearer as time passed, driving him nearly mad.
Min-hyuk raked his hands through his hair and sat up abruptly.
“Haa… Maybe I should’ve just drunk myself unconscious like Jang Wook. I regret it now.”
Looking down at his aroused state, he splashed water on his face, but the swelling desire showed no signs of subsiding.
It was unfair.
He hadn’t been thinking of anything in particular. Just the thought of Song Joo-eun sleeping in that room… and this happened automatically.
“Haa… I’m losing it.”
Shaking his head, he decided to take another shower.
By the time he emerged from the second shower, his damp hair still dripping, he felt slightly calmer.
“Alright. Time to sleep. There’s plenty of time ahead. Let’s take it slow.”
Respecting her pace made him feel like quite the admirable man.
Comforted by this thought, Min-hyuk collapsed onto the bed, still clad in his white bathrobe.
And there, in his bed—
Mocking his earlier efforts to suppress his desires, she lay asleep.
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