Italic will indicate flashback.

**

The salty breeze whipped Yerim's hair around her face as she stared, jaw agape, at the building in front of her. When Yerim accepted Wendy's offer to have lunch at her house, she imagined going to a simple house with delicious home-cooked food.

However, what she saw now was a house - well, no, it was practically a luxurious villa that directly faced a beautiful beach.

The two-story building had a modern minimalist design, but there was still a traditional touch with the use of wooden windows and doors. The front yard was decorated with various ornamental plants (which Yerim believed could cost millions of won).

"Someday, if I ever win the lottery... I will buy a house like this!" Yerim exclaimed to herself, still amazed by Wendy's house.

"Unnie, are you sure this is your house? Did we get the wrong address?" Yerim asked, looking around.

"What? No way. Even though I just came back from LA, I don’t forget my own house," Wendy replied with a chuckle, failing to catch the sarcastic tone in Yerim's question.

"Tch, I mean, if your parents can afford a house like this, you must be pretty much loaded, right?"

"That's my parents, not me, Yerim-ah. I'm still broke and have to work," Wendy replied, waving a dismissive hand as if to tell the younger woman not to talk about her parents' wealth.

Irene, who was walking slowly behind the two people in front of her, just kept quiet as she listened to their conversation. She knew very well about Wendy's family background and was not surprised that Wendy's family could easily afford a luxurious villa like this.

The creative director sighed. She had not wanted to come to this lunch invitation, but hearing Wendy say that Mrs. Shon missed her made her unable to bear to refuse. And now here she was, wondering how she should act when she met Wendy's parents.

"Mom! I'm home!" Wendy called out to her mother as she opened the front door.

A middle-aged woman could be seen descending the stairs.

"Seungwan-ah! Welcome back!" The middle-aged woman hugged Wendy tightly.

Yerim was once again amazed by the sight in front of her. A woman with a strong maternal aura, the fine lines on her face showing her age, yet there was no denying that the woman looked very graceful and neat even though she was at home.

"Ah mom, stop it! I'm not a little kid anymore." Wendy felt embarrassed when her colleague, who had been standing still and silent, saw the mother and daughter's intimacy.

Irene, who had been standing behind Yerim the whole time, felt increasingly anxious. Her heart was beating fast, and the grip on her fingers was getting tighter and tighter.

"Mom, this is Yerim, my colleague." Wendy introduced Yerim to her mother.

"Hi Mrs. Shon! It's a pleasure to meet you and thank you for inviting us to lunch today." Yerim greeted politely, bowing down.

Wendy chuckled when she saw that a little devil like Yerim was actually quite polite to the elderly.

"Of course, you're a sweet young woman. No worries Yerim, I'm sorry for suddenly inviting you even though you already had your own plans."

"No no, we're more than happy to get a free lunch. Right, Ms. Bae?" The usual mischievous Yerim was back. She started to feel comfortable because Mrs. Shon was unexpectedly very friendly.

Irene, who felt called by Yerim, swallowed her anxiety. She didn't dare make a sound, or maybe her voice just wouldn't come out.

Wendy seemed to realize Irene's situation and finally spoke up.

"Mom..."

Before Wendy could finish explaining, Irene took the courage and interrupted Wendy's introduction after standing behind Yerim for several minutes.

"H..hi ahjumma? Long time no see." Irene didn't know why her voice sounded so out of tune. Her vocal cords, which always worked well when giving presentations to clients, were not cooperating with her this time.

"Ahh! Joohyun-ah! It's been a long time since we last met!" Half-shouting, Mrs. Shon approached Irene while stretching out her arms to hug her.

A look of confusion was evident on Yerim's face as she watched her boss being hugged by Wendy's mother.

Wendy seemed to have prepared an excuse since she was in the car. She quickly approached Yerim and whispered, "My mom and Ms. Bae have known each other for a long time. Actually, Ms. Bae is a friend of my neighborhood unnie, so the three of us were quite close back then."

Wendy tried to give a logical explanation, after all she was not lying. What she said was one of the facts, she just omitted some other information that she didn't feel needed to be mentioned.

Yerim, who listened to Wendy's whisper, just nodded her head, trying to understand even though there was still something that felt not quite right.

The two women in front of them were still busy chatting. Once again, Yerim found this amusing. In her eyes, Irene Bae looked more like Mrs. Shon's daughter than Wendy herself, judging from how much Mrs. Shon doted on Irene.

**

Irene looked at the various dishes in front of her with no appetite. Although she was less nervous now, she couldn't deny that she still felt very awkward in this situation.

Irene didn't hate it. In fact, after meeting her ex-girlfriend's mother again, she felt a wave of longing wash over her. She was reminded of the times when they would go over to Wendy's house, how the four of them would often spend time together, whether it was just for dinner or enjoying Mrs. Shon's beloved weekend baking sessions.

Now Irene met Wendy’s parents again, but with a different status. She wasn't Wendy's girlfriend anymore. She felt unworthy of being treated so kindly by Mrs. Shon after what she had done to her daughter.

The sound of heavy footsteps approached them from the hallway. The four women sitting at the dining table turned their heads in unison towards the source of the sound.

"Dad!" Wendy stood up from her chair to welcome Mr. Shon.

"My daughter is home, huh? You rascal! Instead of coming home right away when you arrived in Korea, you roamed around Seoul first!" Mr. Shon teased, messing up his only daughter's hair.

Irene smiled softly at the sight. She had known since long ago that Wendy and her parents were very close. Irene's smile turned bitter as she remembered how contrasting her family was compared to Wendy's. She didn't even know who her father was.

The older woman froze as such thoughts crossed her mind. Once again, she always felt inferior around Wendy. This wasn't even the first time she felt this way. She quickly shook her head, trying to banish negative thoughts from her mind.

"Oh, who is this?" Mr. Shon just noticed the presence of two other figures in the dining room.

"Joohyun? You're Bae Joohyun, right?" the middle-aged man asked Irene after his gaze fell upon her. His voice sounded calm, but his facial expression couldn't hide his surprise. Irene could sense that Mr. Shon was taken aback by her presence.

"Um, Dad...actually, Joohyun unnie is my boss at the office...and this is Yeri, she's my colleague." Wendy scratched her head while trying to explain.

"Oh really? Seungwan, you've never told me about this before?"

Mr. Shon looked at his daughter with a puzzled expression, as if trying to read her mind. Although he was half-confused, thankfully, Mr. Shon was quick-witted and acted naturally.

“Anyway, this is good news, isn't it? How are you, Joohyun?" Mr. Shon redirected his attention to Irene. His tone of voice sounded genuinely warm.

Irene winced inwardly. How could her ex-girlfriend's parents be so kind? They even tried to maintain Irene's reputation in front of Yerim at the moment.

"I... I'm good, ahjussi. I've been really busy with my work for the past few years. I also didn't expect Seung... um, Wendy to apply at my company."

From the corner of her eye, Irene could see Wendy rolling her eyes annoyed at Irene's words.

"That's wonderful, Joohyun! You've achieved your goal of being successful at a young age!" Mr. Shon's praise sounded very sincere to Irene's ears.

Not wanting this uncomfortable atmosphere to last any longer, Mr. Shon turned his attention to Yerim.

"Hi Yerim, right? Thank you for coming to our house!"

"I should be the one thanking you, ahjussi! Your house is so cool!" Yerim replied enthusiastically, raising both thumbs.

"Hahahaha... thank you for your compliment. If you want, you can stay and spend the weekend here. There's also a beach nearby, so you can play at there later," Mr. Shon made an offer that made Yerim's eyes widen.

Irene, hearing Mr. Shon's offer, was also surprised. She wanted to decline immediately, but before she could speak, Yerim held her arm and looked at Irene with puppy eyes, as if saying, "Ms. Bae, I want to stay and play at the beach."

The creative director struggled to ignore Yerim's pleading eyes. In the end, she could only say, "If Yerim wants to stay, I have no problem with it," her tone sounded half-heartedly.

"I want to! Ahjussi, I want to stay here!" Yerim exclaimed enthusiastically, making both of Wendy's parents laugh.

**

Seungwan could only shake her head at Yerim's antics. She knew her parents always had a soft spot for her friends since she was young. Perhaps it was because Seungwan was their only child, so her parents always tried to make her friends feel welcome and comfortable playing with her.

Seungwan's gaze shifted to her creative director, who looked weak. She thought Irene would refuse her father's offer to stay over, but it seemed like her boss was powerless against Yerim's pleading eyes.

The sound of her mother urging them to eat quickly brought Seungwan back to reality. The five of them quickly dug into the delicious seafood spread her mother had prepared.

After almost 40 minutes of enjoying their lunch while chatting lightly, Irene and Yerim looked like they wanted to help Seungwan's mother clean up the dishes, but as usual, her mother refused and instead told them to relax in the backyard while enjoying dessert. Her father had already gone back to his study room to do whatever he was doing.

Yerim, who seemed to have been holding back her curiosity since earlier, opened while her hands were busy scooping lemon mousse in front of her.

"So, Wendy unnie, I had no idea you and Ms. Bae were that close?"

Seungwan, caught mid-bite of her dessert, choked with surprise at Yerim's question. She thought her earlier explanation would've satisfied the little detective, but this "cute imp" was proving insatiable.

Seungwan glanced at Irene, sending a silent plea for assistance. Irene, understanding the cue, quickly jumped in.

"Actually, I did know Wendy's parents before," she began, her tone carefully neutral. "But I've been so busy the past few years that I haven't had the chance to reconnect with Wendy or her family."

Yerim looked back and forth between the two, not entirely convinced, but she didn't pursue her interrogation further. Yet, deep down, she was certain she would uncover the relationship between these two eventually.

"Hmm...can I call you Joohyun unnie too?" Yerim asked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

Seungwan winced. She hadn't intended to revert to her old pet name for Irene, but her parents had grown accustomed to hearing Seungwan refer to her ex-girlfriend as "Joohyun unnie."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Irene's irritated glare at Yerim's teasing.

"I call Ms. Bae 'Joohyun' because my parents know her by that name, Yerim-ah..." Seungwan offered an explanation. "But I'll still address her as Ms. Bae."

Irene's unreadable expression made Seungwan uneasy. When she met her gaze, Irene quickly looked away, leaving Seungwan perplexed.

"I was just joking, Ms. Bae, hehehe," Yerim quickly defused the tension after catching her boss's deadly glare.

"Anyway, Wendy unnie, what do your parents do?" The little devil continued to pry.

One of Seungwan's eyebrows arched at Yerim's question. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious. What kind of job do I need to get to afford a villa like this?" Yerim replied with a cheeky grin.

Seungwan understood Yerim's question was harmless, and she could answer it. But for some reason, she felt uncomfortable discussing her family background. Irene seemed to sense this and attempted to change the subject.

"Is this your way of asking for a raise, Yerim?" Irene asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Yerim flashed another sheepish smile at her boss's question. "Looks like even if my salary gets raised, I still won't be able to afford a place like this."

Irene's diversion tactic worked. Yerim didn't pursue her questions about Seungwan's family after that. Seungwan secretly felt grateful for Irene's help.

**

Seungwan rolled her eyes for the nth time. The last thing she wanted to do in this world was walk to the beach with Irene. Well, even though Yerim was there, the youngest had already run ahead because she was so excited to go to the beach.

A few minutes ago, her father had pushed Seungwan out of the house, telling her to take Irene and Yerim to the beach. Seungwan wanted to protest. In her opinion, it was only a 5-minute walk to the beach. There was n