AOA 38

The lunch menu was steak at the hotel restaurant.

Choi Jaeha, who swore the meat here was excellent, looked a complete mess from a hangover.

“I feel sick…”

But instead of touching the steak he’d boasted about, he just spooned a bit of soup and wore a miserable expression. We’d had a time like this in the previous timeline too, after drinking way too much and suffering the next day. I smiled quietly. Even then, Jaeha had sipped soup and whined in a half-dead voice about how his stomach hurt.

But soup really wasn’t a good match for a hangover. Especially not one with vegetables and bacon.

I quickly looked up a nearby hangover soup spot with good reviews. Then, leaving my half-finished steak behind, I grabbed Jaeha’s hand and dragged him out.

When we stepped into a hangover soup restaurant that looked popular with office workers, Jaeha looked baffled and muttered that he’d never been to a place like this. He looked skeptical at the sight of the red broth, but in the end, he finished a whole bowl, sweating profusely.

Holding the now-cold stone bowl and drinking the last of the broth, Jaeha let out an old-man-style sigh of satisfaction.

“Whew… that hit the spot.”

He reacted exactly the same way as before my regression, I couldn’t help laughing several times. As a rich heir, Jaeha was known for being picky, but once he’d discovered hangover soup, he had gone on to try every kind of gukbap, hangover stew, gamjatang, and bone broth around.

He seemed to be on the same path again. He looked delighted, saying his queasy stomach had completely settled. During the entire meal, he didn’t mention Baek Mugyeong even once.

I thought we’d part ways after lunch, but Jaeha insisted he had something to buy and dragged me to a department store. Then, in a luxury brand shop I barely knew, he picked out a wallet, had it gift-wrapped, and handed it to me.

“I feel bad about yesterday. Mugyeong hyung wouldn’t stop nagging me. He told me to stop hanging out with you. Hmph, like I’d ever listen to that?”

I suppressed a bitter smile at Jaeha’s smug snort. If you like someone, shouldn’t you listen to them? But maybe it was just in Jaeha’s nature to do the opposite out of spite.

I didn’t refuse the wallet. I knew from experience that refusing only led to even bigger, more expensive gifts.

Next came shopping. Having conquered his hangover, Jaeha declared he needed a red scarf and dragged me around the luxury section of the department store.

His shopping pattern was simple: wander around, and if something caught his eye, buy it on the spot.

Usually, someone of Jaeha’s status would shop in VIP rooms or bring a personal shopper. But he preferred to walk around and browse things himself.

As we entered another store, Jaeha grumbling there were no nice red scarves, I suddenly froze at the sight of a familiar handkerchief. White base, with red and blue borders, it looked just like Baek Mugyeong’s.

It reminded me of that bloody nose on our honeymoon flight. Baek Mugyeong had taken the handkerchief back, saying it could be washed, but I thought maybe I could get him a new one.

“That one’s too plain. This one’s much prettier.”

Jaeha pointed at a flashy plaid one, but I waved him off. When I explained it was for Baek Mugyeong and told him about the plane incident, he snorted again.

“Mugyeong hyung has the most boring taste. Handsome face, though. But you know what? Giving someone a handkerchief means you’re breaking up. You sure you want to gift that? Actually, yeah, go with the handkerchief. It’s perfect.”

Taking his enthusiastic advice to heart, I bought the two-pack handkerchief set and even had it wrapped. If handkerchiefs meant goodbye, it really was the perfect gift.

“I had fun today. Let’s hang out again.”

After finally finding a red scarf he liked, we had a quick coffee and parted ways.

Lunch, shopping, coffee, and drinks the night before. A perfect friend-date schedule. I returned home in the late afternoon.

Baek Mugyeong wasn’t home. And he hadn’t replied to my message, either.

Standing in the hallway where we’d had sex just a few nights ago, I hesitated over how to give him the gift. Handing it over in person would be best, but I had no idea when he’d be home. He often came back late and left before dawn, catching him was like chasing a star in the sky.

After some hesitation, I finally hung the small gift bag on the door handle to his study. I wrote a short note on the store’s card, thanking him for the handkerchief, and tucked it between the ribbon strings. I figured he’d know it was from me.

And if he just threw it in the trash… well, there was nothing I could do.

I imagined the worst. Even if he did toss it, I told myself I’d be fine.

*

Who was I kidding?

I grimaced as I looked at the oversized trash bag. The luxury paper bag I had hung on Baek Mugyeong’s study door on Saturday had been tossed into a municipal trash sack bearing the district office’s logo.

“Ha, shit…”

The frustration left my mouth as a sigh.

I’d gone to work Monday morning after seeing the gift still untouched all weekend. It had been a completely ordinary Monday. At the gallery, I handled odd tasks, clocked out at 3, and went to an English conversation class with a new tutor.

It took just twenty minutes to get home despite rush hour traffic. When I arrived, the books I’d ordered last week had come.

I went to the utility room to throw away the box and packing, and that’s when I saw the trash bag.

Honestly, I had been wondering how long the gift would stay there. I’d also been curious about Baek Mugyeong’s reaction.

I thought it would disappear sometime Tuesday morning. But not even half a day had passed before the bag was unceremoniously dumped into the trash.

“You jerk…”

The curse slipped out on instinct. I wasn’t just sad, I was fuming. But since I couldn’t do anything with the anger, it bubbled up with an extra dose of gloom. Even if I’d prepared myself for the worst, having my sincerity treated like trash hurt.

“Tch.”

I told myself not to get upset over things like this. Worse would surely come, I needed to toughen up.

As I tried to shake off the anger, a voice rang out behind me.

“Oh my, Madam. What are you doing here?”

“I came to throw away some packages.”

“Is that so? If you’d left them in your room, I would’ve taken care of it.”

“Did the Executive Director come home today?”

I was curious when Baek Mugyeong had returned, since he hadn’t come home last night either.

“Yes. He stopped by this afternoon. There were quite a few clothes left out for laundry. He stayed out all weekend, right?”

“Yes.”

“But I thought you stayed home all weekend. I guess the Executive Director had work?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Kim Juhyeon’s tone felt like she was picking a fight, so I didn’t leave any openings. Whatever I said would likely get back to Baek Jaehan through her anyway. I had no reason to play nice with Kim Juhyeon.

She smoothed things over with a fake laugh, saying everyone had been busy over the weekend.

As I climbed the stairs, leaving behind her promise to serve dinner at seven, I heard the front door open. The only one who would be coming home at this time was Baek Mugyeong.

I turned around, and our eyes met the moment he stepped through the inner door. The layout of the entryway and stairs made it unavoidable.

The sight of him brought the trashed gift right back to mind, making my blood boil. I wanted to ask if he’d really thrown it away, but I knew nothing good would come from that conversation.

So I gave a slight nod and quickly climbed the stairs toward my room. I was so upset I couldn’t even sit down, I just paced in place.

“Ah, seriously…”

I wanted to ask why he said I could contact him if something was wrong, if this was how he’d act. But I held back. Fighting over a handkerchief was ridiculous.

If we were going to be a show-window couple, it was better to be cold and distant than to ruin things completely.

I wiped my face with both hands, trying to shake off the frustration, when—

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door. There were only three of us in the house. And since Kim Juhyeon was likely cooking, it had to be one person.

“I’m coming in.”

Before I could even respond, Baek Mugyeong opened the door and walked in. I was caught off guard by the sudden visit.

This was only the second time he’d entered my room, both before and after the regression. The first time had been to warn me not to do anything stupid after our honeymoon.

Striding in without hesitation, he placed a glossy, deep green gift bag on the coffee table in the sitting area.

It looked familiar. I quickly searched my memory.

“This is…”

“It’s a gift from an overseas client. A combined wedding and Christmas present.”

I glanced between him and the bag. I’d received the exact same thing in the previous timeline. It had turned out to be a hefty gold bracelet. Back then, I’d gotten it through Kim Juhyeon, not directly from him.

And now here he was, delivering it himself, after throwing my gift in the trash. The fury burned deep. What the hell was he trying to pull?