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I thought it would shatter completely if it broke at all.
But thanks to Minhyuk catching the bowl behind her, the accident was averted.
“Phew… Thank goodness.”
Joo-eun cautiously opened her tightly shut eyes one by one and sighed deeply in relief when she saw the bowl intact.
“Are you sure you only had a little to drink?”
The low voice from behind made her body tense up again.
“No, it’s not because I’m drunk. My hand didn’t reach, so I made a mistake... Anyway, thanks to you, it didn’t break. Thank you.”
She meant for him to step back now. Why…
After placing the bowl on her right side, he showed no intention of moving an inch.
She pressed herself as close as possible to the sink, trying hard not to brush against him.
Though she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was there—or maybe not.
“In this situation, if I said I wanted to kiss you, would I get slapped?”
Startled by his soft question, Joo-eun answered without a second’s hesitation.
“Yes.”
He chuckled softly, amused.
“I must be crazy. Even if I get slapped, I still want to do it.”
“That wasn’t a choice I was offering.”
With another firm rejection, he nodded resignedly.
“Alright. I promised to restrain myself, so I’ll try. Let’s just focus on benefits—compound interest.”
She wished he’d stop talking about compound interest. It wasn’t like she owed him anything, so why did he keep insisting?
Imagining it made her cringe.
“Hmm. Sit down. Since it’s still warm, I’ll transfer it to the bowl and bring it to you.”
“Thank you.”
Only after he responded with deliberate spacing did Joo-eun finally feel like she could breathe again.
As she felt him move toward the dining table, a chill swept over her back, which had felt unbearably hot just moments ago.
Her hands trembled strangely as she transferred the porridge into the bowl.
Ha. I’ll just watch him take one spoonful and leave quickly.
This house, this man—everything about them felt dangerous.
Joo-eun handed him the jade-green bowl filled with porridge, unbroken and surviving.
“Eat up. I should go now.”
“You’re leaving already?”
Holding the spoon mid-air, Minhyuk froze and looked up at her.
“Yes. I just came to give you this. Plus, it’s getting late.”
“Aren’t you the type who stays up late? I remember you drinking with your old classmates until dawn without any issues.”
She had been trying not to think about Park Jae-hoon. Why did he keep bringing him up?
Joo-eun furrowed her brow.
“I don’t want to talk about my classmates.”
“Oh. Sorry. Forget I said that.”
Clearly, he didn’t want to discuss it either, so he quickly apologized.
Since he backed off, she couldn’t scold him further.
The memory of him appearing like Superman to save her crossed her mind.
After hesitating for a moment, she pulled out a chair, making a slight sound.
“Eat quickly. I’ll just watch you eat and then leave.”
Only then did Minhyuk pick up the spoon.
“My appetite is finally returning. Hmm. It’s delicious.”
He savored each grain of rice slowly, as though tasting every bite.
At this rate, he’d be eating until next year.
“Ten minutes.”
Her decisive time limit made him pause mid-chew.
“Are you setting a time limit for a sick person to finish their porridge?”
“It’s a test to see if you’re really Korean.”
“What nonsense.”
“Ten minutes is enough to finish this and even have dessert.”
“Wow. You’re unbelievable. But if you order me, I’m the kind of man who’d even eat the bowl. Let’s do it. Ten minutes.”
She hadn’t expected him to actually agree.
Watching him ambitiously scoop another spoonful made her smile involuntarily.
“Finish it all. Scrape the bowl clean.”
Okay. He gestured with his index and thumb curled together, then started wolfing it down rapidly.
Was his mouth always this big? Watching the entire spoon disappear into his mouth made her feel full just by looking.
It felt like being a mother watching her son eat well.
When Joo-eun smiled faintly, Minhyuk followed suit.
“Did you enjoy giving me this mission?”
“Hmm? Time’s passing.”
“Don’t count the time I spend drinking water.”
“No way. Do we exclude water-drinking time when calculating lunch breaks at work?”
“As I’ve noticed before, you’re quite ruthless.”
“As I’ve told you before, it’s not ruthlessness—it’s precision.”
Joo-eun teasingly smirked, causing Minhyuk’s eyes to narrow.
Though it was just a simple bowl of porridge with no side dishes, sharing this meal while meeting his gaze felt more precious and satisfying than any multi-course dinner.
Before they knew it, ten minutes had passed.
Neither mentioned the exceeded time.
“I’m sorry I came home early today despite promising to leave with you.”
“It’s okay. Even if you hadn’t left first, I would’ve refused. You looked that unwell.”
“For your information, you don’t need to worry about my health. Ever since meeting Song Joo-eun, my shoulders have been broadening day by day, so you can rest assured I’m not frail.”
It was a relief to hear he was healthy, but what did he mean about his shoulders broadening since meeting her?
“You’ve been meeting me, and your shoulders are broadening?”
“Whenever I think of you, my blood boils, but there’s nowhere to release it. So I’ve been working out every night. Honestly, even I think my body is at its peak.”
Ah… That’s what he meant…
Earlier, she had noticed his physique had become even more impressive…
Wh-what am I thinking?
Joo-eun frantically ruffled her hair to shake off the image of his bronze-toned figure that had popped into her mind.
“Hmm. You’re saying all sorts of things while eating porridge.”
“This is how I am all the time. Just letting you know.”
Even though it was his blood boiling, Joo-eun’s face grew redder and redder.
“Just hurry up and eat. Hmm.”
“Sometimes I dream the same dream. After dreaming it, my body feels wrecked.”
Was this the nightmare he didn’t want to call a nightmare?
Joo-eun’s previously flustered expression calmed as he brought up the topic she had been curious about but hesitant to ask. She felt grateful.
“There was an accident when I was young.”
“…”
“The day I want to forget most in my life—but it seems heaven doesn’t want me to forget, because I dream about it whenever the time comes.”
“I see…”
“I didn’t realize it until today, but after dreaming it, I noticed how much you resemble the child who saved me that day.”
Minhyuk’s deep gaze fixed on her intently.
“By any chance, was the pension your parents ran somewhere in Gangwon-do…?”
Before Minhyuk could finish, Joo-eun shook her head.
“I’m not sure, but I’m definitely not her. Someone who can’t even save herself—how could I save anyone else?”
Her firm response relaxed Minhyuk’s previously tense expression slightly.
Right. It’s not her. It shouldn’t be her.
His mother had caused harm to that family, and it couldn’t be Joo-eun’s family.
Staring at her, Minhyuk muttered like a mantra.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m wondering how you don’t realize you’ve already saved me. You breathed warmth into someone whose heart felt so brittle it might crumble. You’ve already saved me.”
“That’s quite the goosebump-inducing line, even though this isn’t chicken porridge.”
Pretending to be unaffected, Joo-eun retorted lightly.
“Oh. I thought that one was good, but it didn’t land. Too powerful, maybe.”
After a brief moment of seriousness, playful banter resumed.
“If you’re done eating, you should get up.”
“One spoonful remains.”
“I’ve known for five minutes that you’ve been stalling.”
“Caught red-handed.”
“Brush your teeth quickly, lie down, and I’ll watch you fall asleep before I leave.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the last spoonful, which he had been dragging out, disappeared in an instant.
“I’m done.”
Joo-eun was speechless at how he swallowed it without chewing, staring innocently as he smacked his lips cutely.
It was dangerous when she was alert, but when he showed these different sides, it became hard for her to maintain her composure.
Smiling cheekily, he showed her the empty bowl, and Joo-eun looked at him helplessly.
________________________________________
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“I’m ready.”
Worried she might leave, Minhyuk rushed out of the bathroom, exuding a fresh minty scent.
“For your information, I showered as soon as I got home. I didn’t want you to think I’m the type of guy who sleeps without showering.”
Who would misunderstand that?
Joo-eun laughed as she looked at him.
But the strange atmosphere made her smile gradually stiffen.
The awkwardness of putting a grown man to bed and leaving hit her belatedly.
There was no taking back her words, and tension rose.
“Hmm. Lie down quickly. I’ll give you ten minutes.”
“Another ten minutes?”
“When you’re sick, lying down usually makes you sleepy. Are you sure you’re not pretending?”
She had been suspicious for a while now.
“Of course I’m sick, but sleep doesn’t come to me like pressing a button. So don’t set such strict time limits, alright?”
“Just lie down.”
“Then… should we lie down together…?”
“Director Min!”
Joo-eun raised her voice, and he held up his index finger.
“Oh. Just checking. I meant to say I don’t want that either.”
You probably wouldn’t dislike it, though.
Maybe she should just leave. Joo-eun glared at him.
“Alright. I’m lying down.”
Like an obedient elementary school student, he stretched out flat on the bed.
Joo-eun gently pulled the soft blanket up to his neck.
But as she brushed against his neck, she felt an unexpectedly high fever. Lowering the blanket, she asked,
“Where’s the thermometer? You seem to have a fever.”
“It’s probably time for it to spike again. I took medicine, so it’ll go down.”
Joo-eun gazed at him worriedly as he spoke casually.
So he had been joking around and devouring that bowl of porridge despite being this sick.
She felt guilty for doubting earlier that he might be faking his condition when he seemed to be improving.
“Keep the blanket slightly lowered until the fever goes down.”
“That sounds good.”
“Rest quickly. You’ll feel better after some rest.”
“I’ll close my eyes, so don’t do anything strange.”
His playful joke, delivered with closed eyes, didn’t bother her.
She understood it was his way of telling her not to worry too much.
“I’ll read a bit of this book here and then leave. Go to sleep.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s just… The image of you struggling because of that dream kept lingering in my mind.”
“You’re kind. But don’t ever do this for anyone else. Even if they’re dying, ignore them.”
When Joo-eun didn’t respond, he cracked open one eye.
“You tend not to answer when I really want to hear a response.”
“And you tend to point out things that make no sense.”
Amused by her reply, Minhyuk closed his eyes and smiled.
Time passed quietly.
Only the sound of flipping pages filled the space.
“Hmm… This is tough.”
Startled by his soft sigh with closed eyes, Joo-eun turned to him.
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
He slowly opened his eyes, as if her question were naively innocent.
“How could I possibly fall asleep with you sitting on my bed?”
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