After pulling away from the kindergarten, Jin-woo sat in the quiet of his car, the silence amplified by the heavy thumping of his heart against his ribs.
He gripped the steering wheel, realizing that his abrupt departure might have seemed cold or even rude to Teacher Eun-soo.
He pulled out his phone and slowly typed a message, his thumb hovering over the screen as he carefully chose his words.
"I am sorry, Miss Eun-soo, for leaving so abruptly earlier," he wrote. "I thought you were with your boyfriend, and I didn't think it was appropriate for me to intrude on your time."
He set the message to send later that evening, wanting to give her space while she was likely still with Kang Min-ho.
Turning to the backseat, he caught Hajun's curious gaze in the rearview mirror. "Hajun, let's head to the office today. I have some work to finish on the new AGI models, and you can play with Auntie Ji-won while I work."
They arrived at the Parc1 building, and Jin-woo immediately headed for the heart of his company—the glass-walled server room housing the GPU cluster.
The chilled, filtered air and the mechanical hum of the servers acted as a balm for his restless mind; he sat on a low stool beside the glowing racks and lost himself in the complex architecture of the model.
Hours bled into the night as he refined the code, finding that the singular focus of logic was the only thing capable of silencing the image of Eun-soo on the playground bench.
On the other side of the city, Eun-soo sat in the passenger seat of Kang Min-ho's car, her gaze fixed on the passing streetlights of Seoul.
Min-ho was speaking about the kindergarten's impressive design, but his words felt like distant static; she found herself offering only brief, hollow replies of "Yes" and "I see."
When they finally reached Gleam Tower, she offered a polite but weary smile. "Thank you for the ride, Mr. Kang. I think the long day has finally caught up with me."
Min-ho watched her disappear into the lobby and turned to Secretary Ji-eun. "Let's head out. I think Miss Eun-soo is simply under the weather today."
Upstairs, Eun-soo shed the day's stress with a long, hot shower before changing into a soft, deep red ribbed lounge set that clung to her curves.
She collapsed onto her sofa, sprawling out as her dark, damp hair spilled across the cushions and over her flushed cheeks.
The red fabric of her top traced the graceful lines of her silhouette as she stared aimlessly at a K-drama on the television, her mind refusing to focus on the plot.
It wasn't until late at night that she finally reached for her phone and saw the notification from Jin-woo.
The weight in her chest lifted slightly as she read his apology, though the mention of a "boyfriend" made her pause, a complicated mix of frustration and relief swirling within her.
Not knowing how to explain that Min-ho wasn't what he thought, she simply typed back: "It's okay. I understand."
Jin-woo, just finishing his session in the server room, saw the reply and felt a strange sense of finality; if she didn't correct the "boyfriend" comment, then his path was clear.
He felt a sudden, bittersweet lightness, deciding then that he would bury his feelings in the AGI project and remain a professional parent to her.
Over the following days, the routine returned: Jin-woo dropped Hajun off and picked him up with polite, distant nods and brief greetings.
He became a ghost of his former warmth, his eyes always focused on his phone or the horizon, his mind entirely consumed by the "Heart" of his company.
Seeing him react so normally yet so distantly, Eun-soo mirrored his behavior, convincing herself that a clean break from these confusing emotions was best for everyone.