Chapter 8: Unexpected Kindness and Dinner Preparations

Lee Dohwa found herself in an awkward predicament, her body already on the stairs but her hands failing to hoist the heavy carrier. She glanced up at Kang Hae-il.

Slowly, she released the handle she had been gripping.

“…Please.”

He effortlessly lifted the carrier, then moved past Dohwa and ascended the stairs.

Though she had been racking her brain for a solution, it hadn’t even occurred to her to ask for assistance.

Watching his nonchalant ascent, carrying the heavy luggage with a single hand, she followed him up to the second floor.

His posture remained perfectly steady, as if he weren’t burdened at all, making her question if he was truly carrying the same heavy bag.

“Thank you for carrying it.”

Even after they reached the second floor, Kang Hae-il continued to hold the carrier.

“Which room is yours?”

“Oh, ours is that way.”

Still burdened by the carrier, he strode purposefully towards the room at the end of the stairs, precisely where Dohwa had pointed. She trailed behind him, and only when they reached the door did he finally set the luggage down.

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

As they exchanged thanks once more, their gazes met for the fourth time since their introduction.

His initial impression had been so striking, with his distinctively cool demeanor and aloof presence, that she had presumed he would be the most difficult person to befriend.

‘They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,’ she mused.

Swayed by his unexpected kindness, Dohwa’s perception shifted. She pulled her carrier into the room, and after some effort, positioned it next to the spot she’d won in their earlier game of rock-paper-scissors. Then, she stepped back out.

“Are you heading downstairs?”

“…Yes. This house is truly lovely.”

Startled by a sudden, unexpected sound, she flinched, having failed to notice Kang Hae-il standing discreetly by the door.

Though it made her stammer slightly, it was undeniable that the house was indeed beautiful.

“Hae-il, have you had a chance to look around?”

“Yes, I’ve already seen it. And you may speak informally to me.”

“Ah, yes… I tend to be a bit reserved… My apologies. You, however, may speak informally to me.”

For reasons unknown, she had instinctively added the honorific ‘nim’ to his name.

While simply addressing him as ‘Hae-il-ssi’ would have been perfectly normal, she found herself unable to speak to him informally at this moment.

“Understood.”

“…Shall we head downstairs now?”

“Yes.”

‘He’s not speaking informally either, after all,’ she thought.

She spoke cautiously, gazing up at Kang Hae-il, who maintained a neutral expression while using polite speech. Unlike the serene quiet of the second floor, faint murmurs of conversation seemed to drift up from downstairs.

‘If there are more people, I won’t have to carry the conversation,’ she reasoned, ‘so joining them seems like the best option.’

Silently, they descended the stairs and made their way towards the others gathered in the kitchen.

“Where did you two go?”

“Oh, I just went up to the second floor for a moment to put away the carrier.”

“And Hae-il?”

“He assisted me.”

It was entirely unexpected when the attention of four pairs of eyes suddenly converged on them. While it was true that Hae-il had helped, the sudden shift in atmosphere made Dohwa subtly assess the others’ reactions.

“Am I the only one who hasn’t brought their carrier up yet?”

At that moment, Woo Sori tentatively raised his hand.

When Dohwa had been struggling with her own luggage, two more carriers had remained downstairs.

“I haven’t either. I’ll help you later, so let’s go move them together.”

“Really? Thank you!”

As Ma Won-ho spoke from his seat at the dining table, Woo Sori beamed brightly.

The others remained quiet, observing the two. As Dohwa casually scanned the room, her eyes inadvertently met with Joo Jae-hyun, who was standing nearby.

“Before you two arrived, we were just deciding what to have for dinner.”

“Pasta is simple enough, so I thought I’d try making it!”

It seemed to be their original topic of discussion, as they immediately turned to the evening menu.

‘Pasta is indeed relatively simple to prepare,’ she mused.

When Chaeyeon-woo, standing nearby, boldly declared that they should simply state their preferred pasta, Dohwa subtly revealed her own taste.

“I only avoid rosé; everything else is perfectly fine.”

She knew that in a large group, it was always more efficient to mention what one disliked or couldn’t eat, rather than listing preferences.

Just as the dinner menu began to lean decisively towards Western fare, a sound echoed through the house.

Jingle-jingle—

“Oh, isn’t that the bell?”

The distinct chime, signaling the arrival of a new directive, resonated throughout the mansion.

The moment the bell chimed, Chaeyeon-woo and Ma Won-ho reacted instantly, returning with a small wooden box that had been left by the front door.

Though she was inwardly curious about the directive, her feet remained rooted to the spot.

‘How convenient,’ she thought.

Everyone settled onto the living room sofas, their eyes fixed on the box in Ma Won-ho’s hands.

“I want to open it!”

“No, you don’t.”

Chaeyeon-woo, seated beside him, spoke with a bright, innocent voice, but was dismissed by Ma Won-ho in a mere second.

“It’s a joke, just a joke. Go ahead and open it.”

In contrast to Ma Won-ho, who spoke with a calm smile, Chaeyeon-woo’s face initially showed disbelief before her eyes narrowed into angry slits as she glared at him, then opened the box.

Inside lay a single sheet of white paper.

“It says: ‘For a successful first dinner party, please grocery shop in pairs. Partners will be determined after secret discussions held in separate rooms for each designated part!’”

She circulated the paper so everyone could read it, revealing three distinct parts.

1) Meal Ingredients 2) Alcoholic Beverages 3) Dessert

‘Since it mentioned pairs, it likely means three individuals will be assigned to each part,’ she surmised.

“If we’re only shopping for ingredients, it sounds like we’ll be cooking dinner ourselves. We should probably head out soon.”

“In that case, let’s each go to our rooms, decide on our partners, and then reconvene!”

It was already past seven o’clock; if they had to shop and then cook, dinner would undoubtedly be served much later.

‘I’m not particularly hungry yet, so I think I’ll be fine,’ she thought.

The others, however, had seemed to mention feeling hungry as they passed by earlier.

Rising from her seat, she entered the room with Chaeyeon-woo and Woo Sori. The moment the door closed, Woo Sori, his eyes wide with excitement, turned to them and began to speak.

“What does everyone want to do? Personally, I’d really like to go for the alcoholic beverages, the drinks.”

“You like alcohol, hyung?”

“I don’t know much about other types of alcohol, but I’m quite fond of wine. We could even choose it to perfectly complement our dinner menu.”

Dohwa, in any case, had neither much interest nor knowledge when it came to alcohol itself.

She often drank it to suit the atmosphere, but she certainly disliked anything bitter.

“I completely agree with Sori-hyung getting the alcohol! Sounds great!”

“I’m also quite clueless about alcohol, so it would be perfect if you handled the beverages.”

“Thanks so much! I’ll make sure to bring back only the most exquisite drinks! So, what part do you two want to do?”

Evidently thrilled by the prospect of buying alcohol, Woo Sori’s excitement surged as he looked between the two of them.

From the moment the different parts were revealed, she had already run through every possible eating scenario in her mind.

Perhaps because she wasn’t particularly hungry, the main course didn’t hold much appeal.

‘Honestly, the dessert option is far more appealing,’ she thought.

Unable to voice her preference, she glanced at Chaeyeon-woo, only to find their eyes already fixed on her, resulting in an immediate connection.

“I’m going to be making pasta later anyway, so shouldn’t I be the one to go for the meal ingredients?”

Chaeyeon-woo tilted their head, their voice laced with a hint of aegyo.

‘That leaves dessert as the automatic choice,’ she realized.

“I actually wanted to go for dessert too. Thank you.”

“Really? Wow, then it seems we all got exactly what we wanted!”

“Since we’ve decided, shall we go out now? I wonder if the others have made their choices?”

‘She had managed to get her way without lifting a finger,’ she mused, a small victory.

‘I’m craving something sweet,’ she thought. ‘For everyone to share, cake would probably be easiest, but I also want some bread.’

‘I’ll buy everything I want, and save the leftovers for later.’

With delightful desserts already dancing in her mind, she followed the other two out of the room.

As she carefully closed the door, the other two had already moved on to the communal area on the second floor. When she finally arrived, all five participants were already seated.

‘Where have I seen this scene before?’ she wondered.

As Dohwa swiftly settled into an empty seat, Ma Won-ho’s voice cut through the air.

“It seems we’ve made our choices, so let’s move in pairs. I’m going for the main course ingredients.”

“Oh, me too!”

Chaeyeon-woo, who had been leaning back comfortably, now leaned forward, eyes fixed on Ma Won-ho, and enthusiastically raised their hand.

While the others remained silent, Ma Won-ho instructed them to inform him if there were any specific ingredients they needed.

“I enjoy alcohol, so I’ve chosen the alcoholic beverages.”

“What kind of alcohol do you prefer? I’m quite fond of wine.”

“I don’t particularly have a favorite type; I simply enjoy alcohol but rarely get the chance to drink it, so I thought I’d explore some options this time.”

“Perfect! Let’s go together.”

Woo Sori enthusiastically responded to Joo Jae-hyun’s casual declaration of choosing alcohol, thus forming another pair.

Woo Sori added that he would even buy some low-alcohol options, considering those who weren’t heavy drinkers.

That meant the remaining two were automatically paired.

“We’re on dessert duty.”

Despite looking as if he wouldn’t touch a single dessert, Kang Hae-il was her partner.

Dohwa subtly glanced at Kang Hae-il, and though she felt his gaze in return, she tried her best not to meet his eyes.

‘One shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance,’ she reminded herself.

Once again, she shattered a prejudice she held against him, then focused her gaze on her toes.

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