Chapter 10: The Taste of Five Years Ago

“Wait!”

Go Yi-jae hurriedly cut him off. If she let him continue like this, there was no telling how far Chae Ju-han’s misunderstanding would go. She had no idea how absurd his imagination might become.

“I’m telling you, you’re mistaken. I have a reason for neither taking nor giving money when it comes to you.”

“But it already happened. You either give money or take money.”

“I did it because I wanted to!”

“What?”

“I wanted to do it with you… so why would I take money?”

“Huh?”

“You wanted to do it with me too, didn’t you? Wasn’t that the case?”

Chae Ju-han froze for a moment, looking genuinely shocked. He’d been the one who had seduced her in the first place, hadn’t he? So why was he the one acting surprised? Under his intense gaze, it felt as though her face might be pierced through.

Her already heated face grew even hotter. If this hadn’t been her own shop, she would have wanted to run away from sheer embarrassment.

“You wanted to do it with me?”

Was that really the part he was most curious about? After thinking so hard, that was the first thing he asked?

“Yes.”

“Then do you want to do it again?”

“…”

“You do, don’t you? From what you said earlier, if it’s free, you’d do it again, wouldn’t you?”

Ah.

Now she really wanted to run away.

She could never get used to such vulgar expressions. Wasn’t there a perfectly normal phrase like “making love”? Of course, it wasn’t as if they’d… made love.

“Go Yi-jae, owner.”

At some point, Chae Ju-han had picked up her business card from the worktable. He flicked it once with his finger, then tucked it into the pocket of his robe.

Would Chae Ju-han really remember her name?

“Let’s do it again. When do you want to? I’m available now.”

One night had been enough.

What good would come from getting entangled with a Chae Ju-han who had forgotten Go Yi-jae? She would only feel more miserable about having been completely forgotten. A memory that hadn’t returned in five years wasn’t going to come back now.

She would spend her life staring at Chae Ju-han as though playing tag with someone she could never catch.

Rather than walking the Möbius strip forever, it was better to cut the loop here.

Her heart had already been hurt long ago. She had cried more then than at any other point in her life. Go Yi-jae wasn’t foolish enough to throw herself into the same situation again.

She couldn’t let herself be dragged around by Chae Ju-han once more.

To do that, she couldn’t give him what he wanted.

If she disappointed his expectations again and again, Chae Ju-han would lose interest on his own. He would willingly return to the life he had lived without Go Yi-jae.

“I have a condition.”

“How much?”

“Don’t ever bring up money with me again. And don’t sleep with people so casually because of money. I mean with other people too. So… so… don’t do it with anyone else. Only do it with me.”

This was a man who had practically advertised to an entire club that he’d gotten an e*ection. Even if he only slept with the women who had been waiting around with c*ndoms ready for him, he wouldn’t spend a single night alone for months.

Could a man like Chae Ju-han really accept a condition that said he couldn’t sleep with anyone else?

Especially when there were more than a dozen half-naked dancers walking around his club?

“I like exclusive relationships. No games, no push-and-pull. I like stable relationships.”

“That’s all?”

“Did you understand what I said?”

“You mean I shouldn’t get hard in front of any other pussy, only in front of yours.”

And yet Chae Ju-han accepted the condition without hesitation.

Strange.

He looked rather pleased as he cupped the back of her neck.

“That’s an easy condition. I’m getting a great deal out of this.”

“Can you really keep it?”

“You’re the one who’s going to have a hard time. You’re saying you’ll handle all of me by yourself.”

Already, a bulge was rising beneath his pants. Even sitting still, the outline beneath the fabric was becoming more prominent.

“No.”

“What?”

He was already pressing his lips to the back of her neck, sucking at her skin.

“No, I mean it.”

Blushing furiously, Yi-jae pushed him away.

Chae Ju-han let himself be pushed back easily enough, only to lean in again and peck her lips repeatedly. The light kisses made her earlobes burn red.

“Not now.”

“Hm?”

“It hurts.”

If this condition wasn’t enough, she’d have to come up with another.

Of course, this wasn’t just an excuse.

She genuinely felt feverish and achy. Her muscles hurt terribly. Even sitting still, the soreness below was impossible to ignore. She couldn’t even imagine how swollen she was.

She was too afraid to check.

“Wait. Not now.”

“…”

Chae Ju-han frowned.

For the first time, the agreeable expression he’d worn until now crumpled.

In other words, he could accept the previous condition, but he didn’t like this one.

Maybe he’d agreed to everything else without thinking because he’d been planning to sleep with her immediately.

As the seconds passed, his expression grew darker and darker.

The atmosphere around him became so cold that it felt as though he might shove her chair away and walk out of the flower shop at any moment.

The hem of his silk robe brushed against her leg, and even the fabric seemed cold.

‘So this is as far as it goes. This is the limit of what Chae Ju-han can tolerate from me. Of course. Why would Chae Ju-han ever choose me?’

“How long?”

“What?”

“How long am I waiting?”

It was an incredibly arrogant question.

He was willing to wait, but not for very long.

In other words, he still held all the power.

Even so, if Chae Ju-han was willing to wait, then Yi-jae wanted to know.

“A month.”

“Too long.”

Chae Ju-han cut her off immediately.

Then he offered a compromise.

“…I’ll give you one day. Since you said you’re hurting.”

“Fifteen days.”

“Two.”

“That’s too little. One week.”

Chae Ju-han scowled so hard his entire face twisted.

It was an obvious rejection.

But then he bit his tongue.

He was holding back.

Choosing his words.

Trying to persuade her.

“Three days. No more than that. Three days.”

“…Fine. Seventy-two hours.”

“You want me to wait a full seventy-two hours? Damn it. That’s way too long.”

Letting out a low groan, Chae Ju-han shoved her chair backward.

The thin soles of his loafers pushed her all the way to the refrigerator.

Cold seeped into her back.

‘Of course. Chae Ju-han would never wait for me.’

He’d simply been briefly interested.

Now that his body was working again, why would he tie himself to her?

She had merely been given temporary priority.

Yi-jae lowered her head.

At least she hadn’t installed the bell on the door yet.

That way, she wouldn’t have to hear him leave.

“So I’ll come back tomorrow?”

“What?”

“Tomorrow. That’s seventy-two hours.”

He was really going to wait?

Chae Ju-han?

Her heart pounded.

He was agreeing in a way she’d never expected.

Yi-jae felt dizzy.

“N-no. We have to start counting from now. The seventy-two hours.”

“Why?”

“Because during those seventy-two hours, you have to think only about me while you’re waiting.”

“Wow. You’re pretty greedy.”

“…Do you hate that?”

“What can I do? I’ve never had a hobby of getting dumped.”

Chae Ju-han rose from the worktable and crossed the distance in a single step.

There was a marker in his hand.

He raised it above Yi-jae’s head, and she followed his movement with her eyes.

Screech.

The marker left a line on the glass.

The position of the minute hand on the wall clock was marked.

Chae Ju-han pressed the marker into Yi-jae’s hand and whispered,

“Exactly seventy-two hours. I can’t wait any longer than that.”

****

“Is our Yi-jae busy?”

Ding.

The newly installed bell rang as Madam Yoon entered the flower shop.

Yi-jae immediately offered the seat nearest the heater to her unexpected guest, who had braved the sudden subzero weather to come.

On days like this, customers hardly came at all, which made Madam Yoon’s visit all the more welcome.

“Madam, how did you come all the way here in this cold?”

“Hm? How could I not come?”

“At least have some hot coffee first.”

Yi-jae handed her a steaming cup of coffee.

Holding the warm mug, Madam Yoon extended the shopping bag she’d brought.

For a moment, Yi-jae panicked, wondering if Chae Ju-han had sent money again.

But they’d promised, hadn’t they? No more talking about money between them.

Besides, Chae Ju-han hadn’t shown his face for two whole days already.

Maybe he’d actually accepted her conditions.

‘Surely he hasn’t forgotten Go Yi-jae all over again and gone back to living his own life.’

The despair she’d once experienced rose up again and clawed at her heart.

Forcing herself to compose her expression, she pulled a small box out of the shopping bag.

At least it wasn’t a bundle of cash from Chae Ju-han.

“Is it cake?”

“Open it.”

She’d expected a slice of cake.

Instead, inside was a box of macarons.

The very snack she’d avoided ever looking at again after that day.

“Our chef used to run a macaron shop around here, you know? We’re preparing winter desserts, and he said macarons were his specialty. He was so confident about them that I brought some for you to vote.”

“Around here?”

“Yes. He closed the shop five years ago and worked in other restaurants before joining us. No wonder his hands were so skilled.”

Yi-jae picked up one of the macarons and took a bite.

The subtle sweetness spreading across her tongue was familiar.

Sweet.

Nutty.

And then that lingering sweetness at the end.

It was the exact same macaron that man had brought her back then.

The truth was, she’d known from the moment she’d opened the box.

The color of the shells.

Their size and shine.

The color and texture of the filling.

Everything was exactly as she remembered.

“…It’s delicious.”

The memories crashed into her so suddenly that her voice trembled.

“Kiddo, is it good?”

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