THICA 12

Chapter 12

In the morning, after finishing his preparations for work, Dogyeom spoke first.

“I’d like to go ahead with the outing we talked about earlier, if that’s okay with you.”

Yeseo paused for a moment.

“What outing are you talking about?”

“If you have time, let’s have a meal and watch a movie.”

Dogyeom looked at Yeseo without averting his eyes. His voice was calm, but there was something cautious in his gaze. The slight hesitation at the end of his words only made his sincerity more apparent.

Since she had no other plans, Yeseo nodded. However, she tried her best to hide her surprise at the sudden outing.

“Alright.”

She nodded as if it were no big deal, but the moment the elevator doors closed, she took out her phone and opened the camera. For some reason, her reflection on the screen looked awkward. Was her lipstick too pale? Did the shadows of fatigue still linger around her eyes? A vague sense that something was missing kept making her look at herself from different angles. Even after arriving at the office, her fingers continued to fidget with the strap of her bag.

She had come to work as usual, but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn’t stop thinking about her dinner plans with Dogyeom. It seemed that her feelings were showing through her actions. Seoyeon, who had been watching her closely, approached and whispered.

“What’s wrong with you today? You’re so distracted. You took two sips of your coffee and left it, and your report was full of mistakes.”

Seoyeon crossed her arms and glanced at Yeseo. Yeseo blinked in surprise and quickly looked away. The words Dinner plans, scribbled on a memo pad on her desk, suddenly stood out even more clearly.

After hesitating for a moment, Yeseo finally confessed.

“I’m having dinner with Mr. Dogyeom tonight… and then we’re going to watch a movie.”

“That’s a date, isn’t it? But what are you wearing?”

Seoyeon looked Yeseo up and down before immediately grabbing her wrist.

“You said it was planned in advance. Then you should’ve gotten ready before coming out! This won’t do. Sit down.”

Yeseo sat down with an awkward smile. Seoyeon hurriedly took out her makeup pouch. She even tilted her head seriously as she examined each lipstick she pulled out.

“He asks you out on a date, and you just show up like this? You’re really hopeless.”

Even as she continued to scold Yeseo, Seoyeon’s hands moved quickly. The care she put into touching up her friend’s makeup revealed her affection for her.

“If we’d had more time, I would’ve changed your clothes, too. This is the best we can do today. Next time, make sure you prepare properly.”

After finishing the makeup, Seoyeon dusted off her hands and spoke.

“Still, you look much better than before. Now you finally look like someone who’s going on a date.”

Yeseo chuckled as she looked in the mirror. The feeling was unfamiliar, but she didn’t dislike it.

When the day’s work was over, Dogyeom came to pick her up. He momentarily paused when he saw Yeseo looking brighter than she had that morning. He even wondered whether he should have paid more attention to his own appearance.

“This is a restaurant where the sunset looks beautiful from the window seats.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve watched the sunset together.”

As they made their way to the restaurant, Dogyeom and Yeseo caught each other up on what had been happening in their lives. Before long, they arrived.

Beyond the glass windows, the orange sunset flowed across the river. Watching the light spread over the water, Yeseo naturally drew in a breath. A warm feeling quietly settled in her heart. It felt as though the noise of her busy day had briefly faded away. The sunset flowed silently over the river, and their silence gently mingled with the peaceful scene.

As Yeseo gazed out the window, she suddenly felt that the quiet scenery resembled her. Beneath her calm exterior, something was just beginning to stir.

“The sunset during our honeymoon left a strong impression on me.”

“I remember it, too. We rarely get to watch the sunset together.”

For the two of them, who were always busy with their daily lives, the sunset they had watched on their honeymoon had become a special memory. It was special enough to bring them back to the same experience.

“Do you watch movies often, Mr. Dogyeom?”

“I don’t usually go out of my way to look for movies.”

“Then what about today’s plans?”

“You like movies, after all. It’s not as if I never watch them, either.”

Once again, Dogyeom was being considerate of her. Yeseo could guess that he wanted her to relax by doing something she enjoyed, especially since she had seemed so busy with the gallery lately.

“What kind of movies do you watch?”

“I tend to watch healing movies.”

“We have the same taste.”

“That’s good to hear. The movie I booked for today is that kind, too.”

After finishing their meal, they made their way out, attracting people’s attention as they went. Leaving those gazes behind, they headed to the car.

“What movie is it?”

“It’s called Love Returned That Autumn.”

When they arrived at the movie theater and followed the staff’s directions inside, they found a private room. Simple finger foods and drinks had been prepared there, along with two comfortable reclining chairs placed side by side.

The movie began with the image of a man exhausted by life in the city. One day, having finally reached his limit, he left his urban life behind and moved to the countryside in autumn.

“Hmm.”

Dogyeom and Yeseo related to the man’s exhaustion from city life, and they gradually became absorbed in the movie.

After moving to the countryside, the man struggled to adjust to his new surroundings and went through a series of trial and error. Then, with the help of a woman who lived there, he began to recover emotionally from the exhaustion of city life.

Watching the movie, Dogyeom and Yeseo found themselves going through the same process of emotional healing.

Then, a faint warmth touched the back of Yeseo’s hand. It felt as though someone had carefully placed the warmth of their fingertips against her skin. Fragments of emotion ran through her like an electric current.

She wanted to pull her hand away, but her body wouldn’t obey. If she lowered her eyes, she felt as though all her feelings would be exposed, so she kept her gaze fixed firmly on the screen.

The screen was quiet, but her heart was not.

Her heart beat quietly, yet unmistakably.

“Thanks to you, I’ve found the strength to live again.”

“You would’ve been able to overcome it on your own.”

Only after the final scene of the movie had ended did they realize that their hands were resting together.

Yeseo gently withdrew her hand, but her heart continued to race from the unexpected contact. She kept her eyes on the tip of Dogyeom’s chin, unable to look any higher. Because of that, she failed to notice that Dogyeom was just as flustered as she was.

“Shall we head home now?”

“Yes… Yes. Let’s do that.”

They returned home amid an awkward silence.

As she unpacked her things, Yeseo thought about everything that had happened that day. Then, when she went into the bedroom, she remembered holding hands with Dogyeom earlier. Her gaze naturally drifted toward his hand.

Dogyeom’s hand had been warm, firm, and surprisingly gentle.

Dogyeom, too, had realized that he was paying much more attention to Yeseo than he had during their honeymoon. He had immediately noticed how much brighter she looked than she had that morning. He also recalled that her smile earlier had been gentler than it had been during their honeymoon.

Back then… her smile seemed a little heavier.

Something about Yeseo now was different.

“Let’s go to sleep.”

Although they were thinking about different things, the two of them instinctively settled into their usual sleeping positions. After sleeping that way several times, getting into position had begun to feel quite natural.

Without realizing it, they had grown accustomed to lying down together, even when their thoughts were elsewhere.

The warmth still lingered at Yeseo’s fingertips. It was faint, but unmistakable. In the darkened room, as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, the memory of that moment became even clearer in her mind.

People’s hearts were such strange things.

They had spent the same amount of time in the same space, yet she had never imagined that a single touch of their fingertips could stir up so much.

At first, it had all been about the terms of their arrangement. Mr. Dogyeom and I, too.

So today’s dinner and movie were nothing more than an outing.

That’s all they were supposed to be.

But something was strange.

The sight of him smiling as he watched the sunset before us, the way he had nodded slightly at a line in the movie, and the warmth of his hand covering mine as if it were the most natural thing in the world—all of it kept lingering in my mind.

When the lights in the theater came on,

what truly surprised me wasn’t our hands, but my own heart.

When I pulled my hand away, I couldn’t look Mr. Dogyeom in the eyes.

I was afraid he would notice that moment. If he could read me through my eyes, would he realize that, for the first time today, I had begun to see him as someone other than a contractual partner?

Seoyeon had said it.

“It’s just a date.”

I had laughed it off then, but now those words kept weighing on my mind.

Maybe it really was.

Not a contract, but simply an ordinary evening I wanted to spend with him.

A small, warm day like that.

Familiarity was frightening.

Sleeping together and eating together had felt so unfamiliar at first. Yet now, as I lay with my back against his, the position having become second nature to us, I found comfort in Mr. Dogyeom’s warmth.

It felt a little strange.

No, a little frightening.

What if I was the only one whose feelings were changing?

Today, I had definitely become a little different.

Tomorrow, perhaps my heart would waver even more.

But for now, just for this moment, I wanted to remain immersed in this lingering feeling.

Mr. Dogyeom’s gaze, his voice,

and even the touch of his fingertips from that moment…

Even when I think about them again, my heart flutters a little.