SUGAR

E | ●

It was Yang Ahjussi from the villa.

An old servant of the Bae family. Lisa had been introduced to him on the first day that she had started staying by Irene's side; she had learned the rules from Yang Ahjussi. In the beginning, the other had only been a strict and harsh teacher. After becoming familiar with him, though, Lisa discovered that he was actually a friendly and caring elder. He took care of Lisa like he was taking care of his own granddaughter.

At the time, she had left in a rush. She hadn't even had time to pack up the miscellaneous items still at the villa: clothes, daily goods, and a few sketchbooks. These sketchbooks were all filled with drawings of Irene. They were also technically the best works she had created to date. She had always found it quite a pity that she hadn't brought them back with her.

However, she was already an expired lover, after all. It felt inappropriate to go back and ask for these things. Additionally, she didn't have the courage to do so either, so could only forget about them.

Unexpectedly, after brief small talk, Yang Ahjussi actually asked, "Uri Lisa-ssi, did you get into an argument with Young Miss?"

How was Lisa supposed to respond to this? She had never dared to assume, not even for a second, that she was qualified to argue with Irene.

She could only vaguely deny this. She couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

Yang Ahjussi fell silent for a moment before responding, "Recently, Young Miss......hasn't been in a great mood."

Lisa's heart twinged with pain. Her hands uncontrollably tightened into fists. She quieted for a moment, "She's probably......been busy with work, I guess. They're recently signing the renewal contract for her company, right?"

Even though she was no longer by Irene's side, Lisa still kept the habit of watching the entertainment news. This was the only way she could see Irene now. Recently, Irene's contract renewal case had picked up great momentum. Even while eating at the cafeteria, she could hear trainee friends discussing it. At such a time, it felt even more like her experiences had merely been part of an extravagant dream.

Yang Ahjussi didn't respond to this.

As usual, he asked a few questions about Lisa's current situation before hesitantly hanging up.

Lisa blanked out for a long time while staring at the dull, black screen of her phone. She incessantly thought of the scratch marks on Irene's arm. Did the girls back home touch you like I did? Lisa thought. She was a bit worried that the person by Irene's side now wasn't that obedient— But upon second thought, she also felt like she wasn't in a position to worry.

They had just reached one week of separation. Lisa frequently dreamed of Irene. Almost every night, she jolted awake, startled.

Sometimes, they were sorrowful dreams. Other times, they were wet dreams. They were so realistic that Lisa often felt shocked and embarrassed by her own memories.

She also felt a bit of hidden delight that she didn't dare to share with others. After all, being able to see Irene, even though it was only in her dreams, was still nice.

The time she spent missing Irene was just as much as before.

But she wasn't depressed. She was so determined and hardworking that even she herself felt a bit surprised. Probably because in her subconscious, she believed that she didn't have the spare time or energy to waste on meaninglessly moping.