After telling the news that he has found a new place, Jeong-won's friends and his mother have expressed their desires to visit his place – in all honesty, he doesn't think that they should see it yet given than the apartment is still bare and the only furniture he has is a brand new mattress and an odd coffee table – but after their insistence, he has decided to invite them over for a pseudo-housewarming party.
Even though Gyeo-ul has told him that he wanted to move in with him, he can't find the strength to confirm if she actually meant it. The thought just makes him nervous – one part of him worries that she might change her mind and he needs to lower his expectations; as excited as he was about her moving in, he knows that there's a possibility that she only got carried away in the moment when they first saw the place. Again, there's a gray area that he just can't put colors to.
Sometimes, his inability to talk to her frustrates him. How come it was easier to tell dreadful diagnoses to patients' guardians than to fully lay all his feelings to the table? How can she easily tell what she wants and he can't?
It's just that whenever he tries to open his mouth, his voice gets caught in his throat like it could set off a time bomb. His hands sweat and his toes go cold; his emotions get the better of him and he's tongue tied. Whenever Gyeo-ul decides to be the first to take the next step into their relationship, he feels guilty that he was making her feel alone and solely responsible for them; he wants her to depend on him and to have a great sense of trust in him.
His mother is their first guest to arrive and, not only did she bring a wonderful plot of purple orchids, she has made the chairman come with her. Unknowledgeable to events like this, Gyeo-ul has tried her best to turn the house's appearance into somehow a cozy environment that his family and his friends can approve on. Jeong-won, who is as clueless as she is, is quite embarrassed with how empty the house is.
But Ahn Ro-sa, upon crossing the threshold, smirks at the warmth coming from the kitchen. Her smile widens as she sees the snacks laid out on the one furniture in the living room. She notices Gyeo-ul flustering by the cupboards, trying to find for a spatula that is clearly not in any of the empty drawers. The doctor makes an apologetic bow towards her and calls for Jeong-won to come out of the bedroom. Seeing the chairman surprises her, but she formally addresses him.
With shame, he goes out to greet his mother and takes the pot of flower from her. He smiles at the Ju Jong-su as he momentarily puts the plant outside in the balcony. He hesitantly makes them sit on the floor. "I'm so sorry, Chairman Jong-su. I haven't found the time yet to fix the place."
He laughs and waves his hand. "Oh, please. You are so busy at the hospital you can't even move in properly. If only we have more doctors, you can finally have the break that you deserve."
Ro-sa nibbles on the macarons on the pearly china and looks around. "This is such a nice place, Jeong-won. It's small, but it's very nice." She hits Jong-su's arm. "Don't you think so too?"
He glares at her for a second but smiles at Jeong-won in agreement. "Yes, it really is. And the view is nice as well – you rarely get an apartment overlooking a park like this in Seoul. The rent must be expensive."
"Well, they are both doctors, so they can afford it." Ro-sa looks over to Jeong-won, but his scrunched up face indicates something bad. "Why?"
Jeong-won peeks to the kitchen and, when he notices that she is busy making drinks, he lowers his voice, "I don't really know if she really intends on moving in with me."
Ro-sa snarls at him and begins slapping his arm. "You are such an idiot! You didn't ask her?"
Jong-su steps in and restrains his mother. "Your son is almost 40. Stop punching him like that!"
"He's 40, but he doesn't even think! And you call yourself a doctor!" But even the chairman couldn't stop her. She continued on fuming on her son until Gyeo-ul approaches them for drinks. Ro-sa happily thanks her as she takes a cup of tea from the tray that Gyeo-ul held. "Oh, this is nice, Gyeo-ul," she complimented after she has taken a sip.
Ro-sa and Jong-su didn't stay for long; soon, as Jeong-won's friends started appearing one by one, they took their leave.
Song-hwa, Ik-jun, Seok-hyeong, and Jun-wan have discussed about staying for dinner, prompting Gyeo-ul to order some grilled meat and several side dishes. When she leaves to grab their food from downstair despite Jeong-won's insistence of helping her out, Ik-jun starts the topic that they have been avoiding.
"Jeong-won." He stares at his friend without a hint of humor. "Are you guys really going through with this?"
Jeong-won closes his eyes in resignation. He, himself, wonders about that. His reaction irritates Jun-wan. "Hey, I didn't kick you out just for you continue your ways of brooding over something, jerk."
Jeong-won searches for Song-hwa's eyes, hoping that she will defend him, but she, too, is irked by him. "You can't do this to her, Jeong-won. I know that you've never had any experience with this, but so is she and she's much better at it than you are."
"If you were my boyfriend, I would've broken up with you already." Everybody around the table scowls at Seok-hyeong after his statement. He shrugs nonchalantly. "What? Jeong-won's being too complicated."
Their discussion is cut short when Gyeo-ul arrives. The smell of grilled pork fills all the corners of the room, making all of them salivate.
"Jeong-won," Jun-wan calls, his mouth filled and could barely move. Still, he manages to talk. "You better treat her right, you hear me? You can't mooch off of her like you do with us."
Gyeo-ul stares at Jeong-won's humiliated face and answers collectedly. "But he can't afford it, Professor."
Jun-wan nearly chokes on his food as he fights his laughter. Song-hwa joins in with a high-pitched giggle. "Hey. Gyeo-ul, he's made of money, did you know that?" She points at Jeong-won's blush. "Don't let this pitiful person fool you."