After stepping out of the Daehan Group lobby, Yuna didn't go straight back to the shop. Instead, she stopped at a coffee shop not far from the building.
A thin wisp of steam still danced above the cup of americano she hadn't touched since earlier, while Noah's contract lay open on the table. Her eyes remained fixed on page after page of the document, but her mind had drifted somewhere far away.
"Ding!"
The bell over the café door snapped her out of her daze.
Yuna lifted her head and managed a small smile when she saw a girl walk in, waving at her.
"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible."
Yerim pulled out the chair across from Yuna and sat down, then placed her purse beside the chair.
“Hey… Yuna.”
Yerim slumped into her chair with a frown. She propped her chin on one hand, then studied her friend's unusually gloomy expression.
“You look like you've lost half your life. Is this problem really that serious?”
Yuna let out a long sigh. Without saying much, she pushed the contract in front of her toward Yerim.
“Try reading it.”
Yerim took the file with a curious expression. At first, she read it casually, but the farther her eyes traveled across each page, the more slowly her smile faded. Her brows drew together, and her lips parted slightly.
Then her eyes stopped on a name.
“Yuna!” Her voice nearly echoed through the entire café. “Have you lost your mind, picking a fight with this guy?”
Her eyes widened. She lifted the contract again, as if she couldn't believe the name she was reading.
"Kim Noah?"
Yuna shot her a sharp look before lightly smacking Yerim's arm.
“Hey, keep your voice down. I'm still sane, okay? How was I supposed to know it was his car?”
She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead, which had begun to throb.
“Besides…”
The sentence died there.
Yerim stared at her without blinking.
“Besides what?”
Yuna bit her lower lip. The man's face returned to her mind—his cold, unsmiling expression and his calm voice that had still been enough to make her nervous.
She slowly shook her head.
“It's nothing.”
“Hey, don't leave me hanging like that.”
“Forget it…”
A long sigh escaped her lips. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion, and even lifting her head felt heavy.
Yerim closed the file and crossed her arms over her chest.
“So… what are you going to do?”
Yuna looked at the cup of coffee that was almost cold. Her fingers toyed with the cup for a few seconds before she raised her face.
“If you were in my position…”
She paused for a moment and drew a slow breath.
“…what would you do?”
Yerim fell silent for a moment before shaking her head.
“Honestly… I don't see any other choice for you except accepting this offer.”
That answer made Yuna's shoulders slump even more.
She looked at Yerim with a genuinely hopeful expression.
As if, if she kept staring for a few more seconds, her friend would suddenly have an extraordinary revelation and come up with a magical solution.
But…
Nothing.
Yerim only returned her gaze with a sympathetic expression.
“Babe…”
Yuna immediately raised her palm.
“Wait.”
She took a deep breath before asking in an especially serious tone,
“What if I took out a loan?”
Yerim's eyes flew wide.
“Oh my God, Yuna!”
Her voice rose before she could stop herself, making several customers at nearby tables turn toward them at the same time.
Yerim immediately offered an awkward smile.
“Hehe… sorry. Sorry…”
She raised both hands while forcing a sheepish smile. Fortunately, before long, all the eyes that had been focused on them turned back to their respective tables.
Once the atmosphere had settled down, she leaned slightly toward Yuna and spoke in a whisper.
“Babe… even if you sold a kidney right now, it still might not be enough to cover the repair costs.”
She slowly shook her head while tapping the name of the car listed in the contract.
“That belongs to a rich person. It's not an ordinary car.”
Yuna squeezed her eyes shut.
“Thanks for making me feel even more stressed.”
“I'm just telling you the truth.”
“True enough to make me feel like I'm about to pass out.”
Yerim let out a small laugh, but it quickly died when she saw Yuna genuinely massaging her temples with a troubled expression.
“Hey…”
She reached for Yuna's hand and gently clasped it.
“Don't worry. We'll think of something together. Maybe there's another way out.”
Yuna could only manage a hollow smile.
If finding a way out were as easy as saying the words, she wouldn't have been sitting there staring at the contract as if it were a time bomb that could explode at any moment.