“…What’s this?”

Kang Bada’s brain completely froze.

She hadn’t even imagined Ha-neul would prepare a gift, but more than that—the thing inside was way too special.

“A bracelet?”

It was a bracelet.

She’d seen plenty of jewelry in her life and felt pretty confident about it, but she swore this design was completely new to her. Her gut feeling screamed it.

“Did you… make this yourself?”

“Just the design part. I thought and thought, but nothing ready-made felt right for you, Bada-ssi. So I gave it a shot with my limited skills.”

Oh my god.

Bada knew perfectly well she was malfunctioning right now, but she was so thrown off she couldn’t even fix her expression.

The fact that Ha-neul personally designed it for her was incredibly touching, but the pure shock hit even harder.

‘He actually designed this?’

Jewelry’s whole point is to make the person wearing it shine. Too flashy and it overpowers the wearer.

Too plain and it’s not worth calling an accessory. The real skill is nailing that perfect balance.

‘…I want it so bad.’

The feeling was strange to her. Even setting aside that it came from Ha-neul, this was the first time in forever something actually sparked her collector instinct again.

Overall it had this subtle, easy vibe. It’d probably go with anything she wore without losing its own quiet presence.

If he hadn’t said he designed it, she’d have sworn some world-famous artist collaborated on it.

“It might not be enough to really match your taste, but please take it as a token of—”

“I love it.”

“Huh?”

“I really, really love it.”

Honestly, it was way beyond that.

It felt like someone cracked open her brain, studied every synapse, and custom-built this thing exactly to her taste. But she couldn’t find words good enough to say it.

Very carefully, she lifted the bracelet and examined every tiny detail, unable to stop the little gasps of admiration.

“There’s writing inside?”

So small you’d miss it from far away. It looked like alphabet letters, but definitely not English. Latin maybe?

“I wanted to give you something with meaning.”

“What does it say?”

“Mors sola. Literally means ‘until death do us part.’”

Uh—

For a second she almost made a dumb noise from pure shock.

Luckily Ha-neul didn’t notice her fumble. He just kept explaining the thought behind the design.

“The spiral shape here symbolizes…”

Watching his serious face, Bada unconsciously held her breath.

‘…He’s so cool.’

Can a person really be this attractive? If I keep him all to myself the whole world might hate me. But I still want him anyway—even if I have to take the hate.

“I had this idea when I made it. Studying dwarf craftsmen for an old novel actually helped a lot. Ah—I’ve been talking too much by myself…”

“Ha-neul-ssi.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to try it on.”

She raised her wrist.

Ha-neul tilted his head like he didn’t quite get it. Even that confused little gesture was cute—she almost laughed out loud.

“It’s a gift, so… you should put it on me.”

He stared blankly at her face for a second, then seemed to snap out of it and picked up the bracelet.

He clearly wasn’t used to fastening one—fumbling a bit. Even while struggling, he tried super hard not to touch her skin. It was honestly adorable.

‘Am I really his first?’

So clumsy.

Probably the first time he’d ever put jewelry on someone else. The thought made her stupidly happy.

‘It looks perfect.’

That was literally the only thing in her head.

She wished this moment could last forever.

But time doesn’t care about wishes. Despite the awkwardness, Ha-neul eventually got the bracelet fastened.

“…I made the clasp extra strong since you said you lose bracelets a lot. Might still be tricky for you to put on by yourself though.”

“Then you can just put it on me from now on.”

“Huh?”

“Kidding. I’ll ask the nanny. It’s fine.”

Ha-neul scratched his head, looking embarrassed. As his sleeve slipped down a bit, another bracelet peeked out—exact same design as hers.

“Oh!”

This time even Bada couldn’t hide her shock. The bracelet on his wrist matched hers perfectly.

“Is this… a couple bracelet?”

“Haha… yeah. I made them as a pair. We’re engaged, eventually getting married—so I figured we should have something. Rings felt too much.”

“……”

This little rascal.

Bada fought hard to keep her mouth from grinning like an idiot. How was she supposed to react to this and look normal? No idea.

‘You don’t usually go around dropping bombs like this, right?’

Wait—is he secretly a player? The thought popped up because his moves were fatally smooth. Her heart felt like it was about to explode.

“You don’t like it?”

Like hell she didn’t.

She wanted to grab his face and kiss him right there. Only years of Daehan Group self-control stopped her.

*Huu…*

She took a deep breath to calm the racing feelings. If she kept getting pulled along like this she’d lose completely.

“Is there anything you want?”

“Something I want?”

“Yeah. You gave me something I genuinely love—so I want to return the favor.”

“No, I made it because I was grateful to you. This is already enough.”

He always picks the prettiest words.

But she couldn’t back down now.

“I hate owing people.”

“Hm?”

“To be honest… I’m kind of picky. I’ve gotten tons of gifts since I was little—pretty much anything I wanted, I could buy.”

“……”

“So satisfying my standards isn’t easy. If we’re being real—you’ve already given me more than I’ve given you.”

Total nonsense.

She knew it.

But she was so mentally cornered she had to force some kind of logic—even twisted—to keep going.

If this kept up the balance would collapse completely. She needed to lighten the load on her heart—even if it meant throwing money at it.

“As someone from Daehan Group, I can’t be in anyone’s debt. So tell me what you want, Ha-neul-ssi.”

A car is fine.

A house is fine.

Anything.

She just needed something—anything—to calm this wildly pounding heart a little. She genuinely meant it.

“……”

Ha-neul stayed quiet for a long moment. He studied her with that calm, sunken gaze of his before finally speaking.

“You’ll really do anything?”

“Within reason.”

“Then…”

He raised one finger with a playful little smile. Bada flinched without meaning to.

“W-What does that mean?”

“I want to hire your labor, Bada-ssi.”

“Huh?”

“I’m short-handed today. Come work with me.”

“……”

Annoyed by his teasing tone, Bada pouted.

* * *

“Waaa! It’s Ha-neul oppa!”

“Chicken? Pizza? Toys?”

“You guys think I’m Santa or something?”

Probably heard the car—the orphanage kids came running out to greet him. The second they saw his face they grabbed his legs and started demanding things all at once.

“I brought chicken feet.”

“Chicken feet? Why would anyone eat that?”

“I can’t eat drumsticks anyway.”

“That’s totally different!”

“You’re still babies. Here.”

He handed over the bags he was carrying. The kids peeked inside, saw the pizza and chicken, and shot him thumbs-up.

“Of course only hyung can do this.”

“Only when it matters?”

“I’m just glad you’re here at all, hyung.”

“Kids these days and their mouths.”

Pfft—

He swallowed a laugh watching them talk back without missing a beat. They might be rough from their environment, but they weren’t bad kids.

“…Oppa, who’s that lady?”

The girls hid behind his legs and peeked out. Eventually even the boys turned to look at the newcomer.

“…Whoa.”

“First time seeing a celebrity.”

“Idiot, she’s an idol!”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No way!”

Kids being kids—they had zero filter. At least everything they said was pure awe and amazement.

He glanced back. Bada stood there looking a little lost, clearly unsure how to handle this situation she’d never dealt with before.

“It’s okay. They’re all nice—they don’t bite.”

“We’re not dogs!”

“Well… sometimes they bark… Ah! Why are you biting me?!”

Pfft—

Bada burst out laughing at the real-time comedy happening right in front of her. Maybe it loosened her up a bit—she waved at the kids.

“Hi~”

“…Wow.”

“Noona! How old are you?”

“Are you on TV? Are you famous?”

Just like that, the girls’ guard dropped completely. They ran over and crowded around her. Watching it, he gave a small, wry smile.

‘…Yeah, a face like that is straight-up cheating.’

How many snacks and treats did he have to bribe these kids with just to win them over? Bada did it with one smile.

“Noona, you’re so pretty.”

“Yena has clear eyes and she’s super pretty too, right?”

“The boys always tease her about her big eyes…”

“Aww, maybe that’s why. Even noona’s jealous of Yena.”

“Really?!”

And she’s got a good heart too.

He dragged her here without warning, yet she blended right in like it was nothing. Insider genes really can’t be hidden.

“Ha-neul, you’re here?”

“Ah, Director-nim. You doing okay?”

“I’m fine. But who’s this…?”

The director looked at Bada curiously. When their eyes met, Bada excused herself from the kids and walked over.

“This is Kang Bada—she’s helping out today. And this is Director Kim Seong-ryeong, who runs the orphanage. She helped me a ton back when I was doing research here.”

“Hello! I’m Kang Bada.”

“Nice to meet you. But…”

The director trailed off. Her eyes flicked back and forth between them, then a warm, knowing smile spread across her face.

“Your face looks brighter than last time. Looks like Ha-neul brought someone really special today.”

“Haha…”

Couldn’t deny it, couldn’t fully admit it—so he just laughed it off. Then Bada stepped forward.

“Director-nim, are you short on helpers today?”

“Well… we’re always short, but…”

“Then we’ll help!”

Bada’s social skills went into full gear as she spoke brightly. The director looked a little flustered and answered carefully.

“Oh no, it’s all heavy work. Next time when the college volunteers come…”

“Ah—wait just a second. Manager!”

“……!?”

The director’s eyes widened as she followed Bada’s gaze. A group of men in suits had suddenly appeared near the entrance.

“Ha-neul… who are those people?”

“You said there’s a lot of heavy lifting, right?”

He could totally understand the director’s shock. Bada was anything but ordinary.

“Let’s finish everything today.”

He gave her a light smile to reassure her. The men were Daehan Group security guards—no need to worry.