Min-woo moved first.
He pulled out a chair and sat down calmly, his movements unhurried, his posture straight. His expression gave nothing away. If his heart was racing or his thoughts were tangled, none of it showed on his face.
At the head of the table, Mr. Park glanced sharply at his wife.
It was a clear warning.
Mrs. Park caught the look and pressed her lips together. She said nothing this time. Probing further now would only create damage that couldn't be repaired—and even she knew it. The wedding date had already been set. There was no turning back.
So she stayed silent.
Still, the atmosphere remained awkward for a while.
The weight of her earlier words lingered in the room, making every movement feel slightly forced, every breath a little too loud. No one quite knew where to look or what to say.
Sensing this, Tae-sung leaned forward, determined to ease the tension.
"I heard you're a webtoon artist," he said, smiling genuinely at Min-woo. "That's really cool. I've never met a webtoon artist before."
Min-woo turned his head slightly toward him, surprised but appreciative of the effort.
Before he could respond, Tae-won spoke up, offering a small smile of his own.
"It's pretty common these days," he said lightly, clearly trying to help normalize the situation, to make it feel less heavy.
Min-woo's eyes flicked toward Tae-won.
Just briefly.
A subtle, restrained glare—barely noticeable to anyone else, but sharp enough to be felt.
Then his expression smoothed over again.
Quiet control, once more.
Tae-sung turned toward his father, clearly trying to keep the conversation flowing and the mood light.
"The webtoon he's publishing right now is very popular," he said with quiet pride. "He's actually one of the popular artists these days."
Mr. Park nodded thoughtfully, genuine interest lighting his face.
"Is that so?" he said. "Then I'd like to read it sometime."
Tae-sung laughed softly.
"Well… it's not really for older people."
Mr. Park raised an eyebrow immediately.
"Why not?" he asked, half-amused, half-curious. "Back in our day, we had comics too. And we loved them."
Mr. Kim nodded in agreement, smiling.
"That's true. We used to wait eagerly for the next issue."
Mrs. Kim joined in warmly.
"That era really was the best," she said, her tone nostalgic.
Soon, everyone at the table was talking at once—sharing memories, smiling, laughing lightly. The earlier tension seemed to loosen, replaced by something almost comfortable. The voices blended together, filling the private room with a gentle hum of conversation.
But Tae-won was not part of it.
He sat quietly, hands resting stiffly on his lap, his head lowered. Anxiety crept through him slowly, tightening his chest. For one second, he couldn't bring himself to meet Min-woo's eyes—afraid of what he might feel, of what might be revealed if their gazes met.
And the next second—
He couldn't stop himself.
His eyes lifted again and again, drawn irresistibly toward Min-woo, as if pulled by something stronger than reason. He watched the way Min-woo listened, the calm set of his shoulders, the controlled expression that gave nothing away.
Tae-won's heart raced.
One moment, he avoided him completely.
The next, he couldn't look away.