Damyeon, the Korean restaurant on the top floor of the Ilseong Hotel. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, all of downtown Seoul spread out below.

The room was stylish, softly sunlit by day, the city lights blurring across its windows at night.

Walnut and ink-dark stone kept it calm rather than flashy.

The tables were set far apart, so you could barely hear the other diners.

It was perfect for a family gathering, or for quietly hosting an important guest.

"Wow, this is seriously good."

Ha Tae-ung had come to pay his New Year's respects. He popped a piece of charcoal-grilled hanwoo rib into his mouth, marveling.

"This one's a work of art too! Khhh!"

"Again?"

Kang Junu set down his chopsticks, exasperated.

"Didn't you get any meat over the holiday?"

"I did."

"Then why are you acting like it's your first time?"

"Meat is truth. Doesn't matter how much you've had."

Ha Tae-ung casually picked up another piece of rib.

Eyes closed, savoring it, he could have given the Solitary Gourmet a run for his money.

"Especially when someone else is paying~"

"What? Hah."

Kang Junu let out a laugh of disbelief.

"Aren't you being a little too honest in front of my mom?"

"Eomeonim's treating, so what's the problem?"

"Since when is my mom your Eomeonim?"

"Since the first time I met her~ Right, Eomeonim?"

"I'm her son!"

"Uh-huh, sure. You're a son, I'm a son~ Right, Eomeonim?"

The two of them started bickering again.

"……" Go Mihui watched them from across the table and smiled quietly. It was a scene she saw often these days.

She didn't mind it. If anything, she liked the liveliness.

Until he met Ha Tae-ung, her son Kang Junu hadn't been much of a talker, even at home.

He'd understood his position far too early, maybe, and so he'd thought harder than other kids his age and weighed every move more than he needed to.

At an age when he should have been laughing and goofing around, he'd learned to read the room first.

These days, though, he had changed a lot.

He joked…