A sudden pounding on the gate made Eri and Seokjin freeze on the spot.

Then a male voice called out. "Jin? Seokjin?!"

The two of them were still frozen, staring at each other with stunned expressions.

Until she wasn't, she turned her flushed face away and found herself practically airborne, almost slipping when she stood up and extended her arm to grab her robe from the rock.

He stared at her, and then he gave his head a slight shake. He was just surprised but didn't panic like she did. He dragged his hand down his face as he recognized the voice. "Wait Uncle! I'm coming!"

As Seokjin heads to the gate to open and let his uncle in, Eri sprinted to her room with all her might.

The second she closed the sliding door, her knees gave way and she fell on the floor.

What was she thinking?

She groaned and briefly closed her eyes, thinking her step-father was a blessing in disguise. She almost made a mistake, again. No matter how much her heart liked it and went along with what happened earlier, she must let her brain reign this time. Her heart already betrayed her eleven years ago, and what did she gain? A broken heart, literally. So not this time.

===

Sitting on the small dining room table, Eri had changed into her sleep wear. A decent looking one this time and not the lacey one she had last night. It's a good thing James, her second luggage, had arrived today so that she was able to have options now on what to wear since she's not staying in the inn like she initially planned. Also, thank goodness her hair was dry because she had tied it to a bun. So there was no evidence that she shared the hot tub with Seokjin. She pats herself in the back.

"I told them you were working." Seokjin said, who is sitting beside her wearing a plain white t-shirt and grey loose pants.

Opposite them were her mother and his uncle.

She finds the sitting position rather weird. But then again, Seokjin's dining table is small, and as a married couple, Sangwoo and Sunhee would naturally be sitting side by side, leaving her and Seokjin to sit beside each other opposite them. Any other setting would make conversations awkward. But why does it feel like two teenagers getting caught kissing by their parents and were about to be reprimanded, even though technically they weren't caught.

She understood the look he gave her. That was probably the best he could come up with on why it took her a while to get out of her room. Well, he didn't lie, she was indeed working earlier. "What are you doing here mom?"

Sangwoo answered before her mother could. "I mentioned to her about what you did to the crafthouse and that you were busy supervising everything that you didn't have the time to eat. You were also generous with the workers that you gave away all the food. So she immediately packed some to bring here."

Some is inaccurate based on the amount of plastic containers displayed on the table. "You didn't have to mom, Seokjin here would never let me starve."

"I was just worried because you came to me this morning asking for breakfast." Sunhee opens the plastic containers one by one.

Seokjin shot Eri a look but she ignored him. If he had food in the refrigerator, even just eggs, she could've made simple fried rice and not gone to her mom's house with a rumbling stomach. It wasn't her fault.

"It's good that you're working hard honey, but don't skip meals. It's bad for your health. And I just thought your appetite would be better if you ate all your favorites." Sunhee continued.

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