SELA - Extra 2

At her words, everyone’s gaze turned to him. Lee Seo-won, whose baby fat had disappeared and whose features had sharpened compared to before, stared silently at Sa-hee.

“Of course. I almost regretted it.”

His expression was strangely colder, but his smiling face still held his former appearance.

“It’s nice to see you again, Doctor.”

The kind and innocent tutoring student, Lee Seo-won.

________________________________________

The atmosphere quickly warmed up. President Lee Gun-tae and his wife led the conversation. Ji-hyuk maintained his usual smiling face like a mask, continuing the smooth talk, while Sa-hee and Seo-won occasionally chimed in agreement.

“What was he like as a student?”

Then, Ji-hyuk suddenly threw out a different topic. As his story came up, Sa-hee, who was sipping her wine, quickly opened her mouth.

With a worried heart, she looked back at Ji-hyuk, but he still wore a relaxed and handsome smile. Then it must be alright. It will be alright.

Remembering that he especially didn’t like Seo-won made her unnecessarily more nervous.

“Ah, how should I put it...? I’m not sure if young people use this expression these days, but he was very well-behaved. He spoke kindly, led Seo-won well, and acted in a way that adults could trust and leave things to him.”

“Well-behaved, you say. I see.”

Hearing those words, Ji-hyuk looked down at his plate and smiled faintly. It was as if he was picturing her from a time he didn’t know. Sa-hee somehow felt awkward and fiddled with her innocent water glass.

“Doctor.”

“Huh?”

Whether he knew she kept glancing at only Ji-hyuk or not, Seo-won, who seemed to notice her unease, called out to Sa-hee. Sa-hee flinched even at the small sound and turned to look at Seo-won. He smiled.

“It’s been a long time. You haven’t changed at all.”

“You too... I should say, but Seo-won, you have changed. The atmosphere is very different. You seem to have lost some weight too.”

“Is that so? Have I changed?”

Seo-won rubbed his cheek and took a sip of water. He seemed thirsty.

“Are you back for good?”

“Yes. I’m about to go back to school.”

“You’ll have some time until the next semester.”

“I’m planning to just relax and have fun until then.”

“Didn’t you already have plenty of fun while you were away?”

“What do you take me for? I was buried in studying diligently. My head was about to explode.”

The two looked at each other and laughed silently. Ji-hyuk and President Lee Gun-tae and his wife continued their conversation beside them.

“Are you happy?”

“Huh?”

“Are you happy?”

It was a sudden, direct question. Sa-hee was momentarily dazed but immediately nodded. Because it was the truth. Besides, now there was not only Ji-hyuk but also another being who brought her happiness.

“I have a daughter.”

“......”

“Fortunately, she looks a lot like her dad, so she’s very pretty. Cute. I can’t even describe how lovely she is.”

“......”

“Just... I wanted to tell you.”

“I see.”

“Thanks to her, I’m happy every day.”

“Is that so.”

“Did I say something unnecessary?”

“No. It was a story I needed to hear.”

“......”

“I should understand by now, shouldn’t I? Actually, I should have done so a long time ago.”

Sa-hee, who had been quietly tracing the stem of her wine glass with her finger, held out the glass to him. Seo-won silently watched her fingertips. Then, he picked up his own glass and mimed clinking it in the air.

The two, having clinked their glasses without a sound, each took a sip of the wine, not knowing what they were toasting. Perhaps it could be said that it was the last drink for a boy as he 정리ed the feelings he had for a woman. The two smiled for different reasons.

“What’s so amusing?”

At the soft voice suddenly whispering in her ear, Sa-hee flinched. It was Ji-hyuk. When she turned around, his lowered gaze held a subtle curiosity.

“Nothing much. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Ji-hyuk, who had been staring intently at Sa-hee, leaned back as if he understood. His gaze, resting his arm on the back of her chair, met Seo-won’s, who was diagonally across from them. Ji-hyuk looked at him steadily, then tilted his head and asked Sa-hee, “Do you want another glass?”

Sa-hee, who had just emptied her wine glass, looked at Ji-hyuk at his timely question. Only then did Ji-hyuk also look at Sa-hee.

“What’s the matter?”

“What is it.”

“If you give it to me, I’ll drink it again. Don’t keep offering.”

“That’s why I’m asking. Do as you please.”

Sa-hee slightly frowned and then narrowed her eyes.

“You’re acting suspicious. What are you plotting?”

“You’re talking strangely. I asked because you seemed out of it, and what?”

“No, it’s just... it’s not like you.”

Usually, Ji-hyuk didn’t forbid her from drinking, but he wasn’t the type to actively offer her drinks either. Of course, since he had brought it up first, it was a good offer from Sa-hee’s perspective.

Sa-hee, who had been tapping the table with her fingers, nodded.

“Okay. I’ll have another glass.”

At her reply, Ji-hyuk’s expression subtly changed. It seemed to have cooled down a bit, or perhaps he was rather questioning something. Just as Sa-hee, who noticed this, was about to say something, Ji-hyuk moved first and called the waiter.

Soon, the waiter arrived. Ji-hyuk immediately ordered the wine that Sa-hee usually enjoyed, instead of the one they had just tasted. He turned his gaze away as if he had finished his task and began to converse with President Lee Gun-tae and his wife.

“Oh, right, speaking of which, I heard it’s been quite noisy lately because of that issue.”

“What issue are you referring to?”

“The conflict between the headquarters and the labor union. I’m not sure if I should even bring it up... but the truth is, I’m also having a bit of trouble with the same issue.”

“I see.”

Ji-hyuk received President Lee Gun-tae’s topic with a composed attitude. Watching this, Sa-hee aimlessly poked at her own plate with her fork.

It’s strange. Something feels uneasy. She couldn’t figure out what was causing it.

“Doctor.”

“Huh?”

In front of Sa-hee, who was engrossed in digging into the source of her emotions, a phone was thrust onto the table. Only then did Sa-hee raise her head.

“Please tell me your number.”

“Number?”

“Your phone number. That much is okay, right?”

There was a hint of caution on Seo-won’s face as he asked. He was probably worried if asking a married person for their number was impolite. But before that, he and Sa-hee had been teacher and student. Even before he left for his studies abroad, he had said that he would stay by her side as a good person after he returned.

Sa-hee made up her mind and smiled.

“I don’t think I need to tell you.”

“Yes?”

“It’s still the same number. You didn’t delete my number, did you?”

“Ahahaha. Of course not.”

Seo-won laughed, taking back the phone he had offered.

“Excuse me.”

In the meantime, the waiter returned. The waiter, approaching Sa-hee directly, tilted the bottle to fill her glass with wine. At that moment.

“I’ll do it.”

Along with the voice, she felt someone getting up beside her. Turning her head, as expected, Ji-hyuk had stood up and taken the wine from the waiter. Meeting Sa-hee’s gaze, he raised the corners of his lips as if he had never had a stern face, and began to fill her glass.

The wine flowed, chul chul chul, into the glass shaped like a budding flower. A little more than a sip, a little more...

Sa-hee had sensed something was wrong when the tilted bottle didn’t right itself even after the wine had filled more than half the glass. The stream of wine continued to flow, just like his unchanging smile.

“Ji-hyuk-ssi.”

“......”

“Honey.”

The pouring wine finally stopped. The glass was just before overflowing. Thunk, the wine bottle stood upright on the table.

A brief silence flowed through the room. A look of bewilderment crossed Sa-hee’s eyes as she looked up at him, but Ji-hyuk’s face as he looked down at her was relaxed.

The waiter, who had been standing beside them watching, picked up the bottle and left the room.

“Ahahaha. As expected, Managing Director, you are very generous.”

“......”

“You followed your wife’s wishes as much as you cherish her, didn’t you?”

President Lee Gun-tae’s loud voice tried to liven up the subdued atmosphere. Whether it was effective or not was another matter.

Ji-hyuk sat down again. Letting out a long breath, he wore his usual smile and laughed as if joking, saying that it was only natural. The atmosphere livened up in an instant.

“Ah. My son, you see...”

After that, the conversation continued incessantly, but to Sa-hee’s ears, it just sounded like a buzzing noise. Her attention was entirely focused on the wine glass in front of her. On the full glass that looked almost black.

That wasn’t just simple alcohol; it must be Shin Ji-hyuk’s unease.

Sa-hee let out a hollow laugh like a sigh. She couldn’t figure out why he was acting like that, what was going on.

Sa-hee, who had been repeatedly pressing down on the innocent fork, finally let it go. She reached out her hand straight towards the wine glass. What the heck, if it was something he gave her, there was nothing she couldn’t swallow sweetly.