After the dishes were done, they dried their hands and walked toward the hallway. The apartment was quiet except for the soft hum of the fridge and their footsteps padding against the floor. Their rooms stood across from each other.
Just after entering his room, Sunwoo pulled out his phone and quietly dialed a number and shut the door behind him.
"Soojin," he said, sitting on the edge of his bed, rubbing the back of his neck.
She picked up with a bright, teasing tone. "Well, well. Look who remembered I exist."
"I need a favor," he said, getting straight to it. "A small fund. Just enough to float me through a few things. I'll pay you back, soon as—"
She cut in playfully. "I'll give it. But only if you agree to be my boyfriend."
There was a beat of silence. Sunwoo exhaled. "Soojin… it's not the time for jokes. Seriously can you arrange it or not?"
She sighed on the other end, quieter now. "You never let me have any fun. Fine. I'm transferring it right now."
Sunwoo blinked at the screen as the notification came in a moment later. "Thanks. I'll get it back to you."
"Don't worry about it," she said. "Just… don't drown."
He didn't answer. Just a quiet "Mm" and the call ended.
The next morning, sunlight crept through the half-drawn curtains. The apartment was still, and the scribbled note left on the dining table in Haeun's handwriting:
Went to the grocery shift. Breakfast is in the freezer. Heat it before you eat. Don't skip it.The rice and egg rolls she'd left were still warm enough after a quick reheat.
He ate alone, the table unusually large for one.
By 9 AM, he was on his way out, clutching the folder of documents like it was his mission. The sky was clear, the heat already rising, and the buildings stood in stone-faced silence.
Time to start claiming back what was theirs.
Later as dark night of dusk spilled over the city skyline as Sunwoo leaned against the silver railing outside the fashion company's office. The building was sleek and glass-paneled, nestled between a high-end café and a flower shop that had already started packing up for the day.
He checked his phone. 6:58 PM.
A few designers in chic casuals stepped out, chatting and laughing, some giving him curious glances. He straightened up and slid his hands into his coat pocket, scanning the door.
At exactly 7:03, Haeun stepped out.
He saw her with a tiny tired smile she gave when she saw him. She was holding a rolled-up sketch sheet and a cloth tote bag.
"It's not necessary for you to pick me up" she said, walking up beside him.
Sunwoo shook his head. "I don't mind, and this job ends at late."
"How was it?" he asked.
"They liked the fabric ideas I brought," she said. "The lead designer said I have an 'untrained but rawly elegant eye.' Whatever that means."
"It means good," Sunwoo said.
She laughed. "Yeah, well, they told I was hired but in a temporary contract for now. They said they'll consider me as designer after 6 months by my work."
"Cool," Sunwoo said.
There was a small silence as they walked down the street toward the subway. The crowd was thinning. A busker strummed an acoustic guitar under a nearby streetlamp. City had that quiet hum at night alive but calmer.
Haeun asked, "What about the land? The registration stuff?"
Sunwoo nodded. "It worked. They verified the documents, legalized everything. But they said they need to remeasure the dimensions. Something about protocol. And..."
"And?"
"They will also have to update your husband name from Sungwin Han(dad) to Sunwoo Han(me) in order to get you back the ownership as we discussed. They'll update the records based on that. Could take a few days. Once they do, we're legally the owners again."
She listened quietly and gave a slight nod. "Ok."
He glanced sideways.
"Can we really get through this?" she murmured. "Everything's so tightly packed right now… every step has to go perfectly."
He didn't answer right away. They stopped at a crosswalk, waiting. The walk signal hadn't turned green yet. Neon reflections danced on the damp pavement from an earlier drizzle.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "We can. But only if we do it together."
He exhaled, then added, "Once the land documents and our details are updated, we'll go straight to the bank. We don't have time to waste, the debt's piling up. We already asked for time extensions so many times, we are running on deadline so, If even one of the loan sharks my dad borrowed from decides to go legal… things could get really bad for us. But don't worry I'll take care of it."
"You're right," Haeun said after a moment.
She glanced at him, a quiet thought crossing her mind. Sunwoo's thinking ahead… He's grown. This kid's becoming the kind of man I can actually rely on.
She almost said it out loud, and then, the crosswalk sign beeped.
Sunwoo continued, "They said they'll call us once they finish the remeasurements and update the entries. So… I'm thinking of going back to university tomorrow. I've got stuff to take care of, its final year, after all."
Haeun nodded, wrapping her arms around herself as a cool breeze brushed past. "Makes sense. You can't drop everything for this. I'll keep an eye on things from here."
The wind picked up again, brushing past them with a bite. That's when she noticed, Sunwoo wasn't wearing a jacket. His arms were tucked in, and he gave a subtle shiver, pretending it wasn't there.
Without a word, she slipped off her jacket and placed it gently on his shoulders. He looked at her, caught off guard, a bit embarrassed but didn't protest.
"You'll catch a cold," she said, avoiding eye contact.
But now she was the one shivering.
He sighed, then stepped closer with quiet resolve. With a single, fluid motion, he drew her into his side and wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders, the jacket now stretched around them.
"Now you are shivering," he said, voice low but steady. "so lets share."
There was no hesitation. No awkward pause.
Just Sunwoo solid, warm, dependable pulling her close like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he'd done it a hundred times before and would do it a hundred more if she needed.
She could feel his steady warmth under the cold weather with small drizzles of rain in the night under the street lights and she noticed the faint tension in his muscles solid. He, in turn, noticed how smooth her body felt against his, light but firm. Neither said anything.
There was no rush in their steps, no need for words.
Just the sound of two people walking through a quiet street, sharing the weight of the night and a jacket on them.
The apartment building finally came into view.