Lost memories: A mafia romance

Jiwoo adjusted the collar of her blouse as she stepped into the airy hallway of her gallery office. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she lifted her phone and called out, "Hello, Manager-nim?"

The man on the other end sounded relieved. "Ah, hello, ma'am! How are you feeling now? You gave us quite the scare at the exhibition."

Jiwoo offered a small laugh. "I'm fine now, no need to worry. Just a minor spell, nothing too serious. Now, about the exhibition,can you send me the final details?"

"Yes, of course," Manager-nim said promptly. "Though... the file you need is with Mr. Park."

Jiwoo raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly is Mr. Park?"

"I called him. He said he'd be here in two minutes."

Almost on cue, the glass door swung open.

"And I am here!" Jimin announced dramatically, striding in with his usual smug grin.

Jiwoo rolled her eyes, arms crossing over her chest. "You shorty. Can you ever be on time? I have a mountain of work to finish!"

Jimin clutched his chest with mock offense. "Shorty? Again? I'm literally taller than you!"

"Yeah, but I've got more personality," Jiwoo quipped with a grin. "Now hurry up, Park. Let's get inside."

"Yes, ma'am." He gave a joking salute, and together they stepped into her office, the door shutting behind them with a soft thud.

They settled into the cozy velvet sofa across from her desk, coffee mugs in hand, steam curling up between them.

"So," Jimin started, swirling his coffee, "Miss Kang... where exactly were you yesterday?"

Jiwoo leaned back, tilting her head curiously. "I was with Taehyun."

"Taehyun?" Jimin paused, his brow furrowing. "Who's that?"

"Seojun's son," she replied casually, sipping her coffee.

Jimin blinked once. Twice. Then practically spat his coffee. "Wait—Seojun?! You were with that Seojun yesterday?!"

Jiwoo scrunched her nose at his reaction. "Why are you yelling like I just said I dated a mob boss? Calm down."

"CALM DOWN?!" Jimin's voice shot an octave higher as he leaned forward. "Why were you with him? You barely met the guy!"

"Well," Jiwoo said, trying to hold back a smile, "that little boy seems to have taken a liking to me. So we went to Disneyland together."

"Disneyland." Jimin narrowed his eyes. "Together. You and Mr. Greek Sculpture? With his adorable child? Oh no no no, Jiwoo. You're smiling. Why are you smiling?"

Jiwoo touched her cheek, suddenly self-conscious. "I'm not smiling!"

"Yes, you are. And your ears are turning pink. Don't lie."

"Ugh, stop your nonsense, Jimin." She turned away, sipping her coffee faster to mask her flustered expression.

"Oh please," he said, rolling his eyes dramatically. "You're literally blushing. And might I say, you look like someone who's definitely falling into a slow-burn, emotionally complex rom-com with a hot single dad and his cinnamon roll of a son."

Jiwoo nearly choked. "You read way too many romance books."

"And you don't read enough," he shot back, grinning. "You two look good together, by the way."

"I am not blushing!" she said again, but her voice cracked mid-sentence, completely ruining her protest.

Jimin raised his hands. "I believe you. You're definitely not blushing. Not at all. Your cheeks are just red because... it's warm in here."

Jiwoo groaned and buried her face in her hands. "You're so annoying!"

Jimin laughed, leaning back with his arms behind his head. "So... what time is it now?"

She peeked from the pillow and checked her phone. "Almost 4 p.m. Why?"

He wiggled his eyebrows. "No reason. Just wondering if maybe... you're meeting a certain father-son duo again today?"

Jiwoo froze for half a second, then looked at him wide-eyed. "How do you know?!"

He smirked. "Your face says it all, sweetheart."

"Ughhh," she groaned again. "Don't act smart, you pocket-sized devil."

"You're the pocket-sized one! I'm taller than you!"

Jiwoo was about to release her superpowers on jimin when her phone buzzed. She instinctively smiled and picked it up without checking the screen.

"Hello baby!" she said sweetly, her entire face lighting up like a sunflower basking in the sun. Her heart was already fluttering, convinced it was Taehyun again with one of his calls.

But the voice that came through the receiver wasn't the one she expected.

"Umm… it's me, Seojun."

Jiwoo froze.

Her hand jerked slightly and her phone nearly slipped from her fingers. Fumbling, she caught it just in time and pressed it back to her ear, cheeks now burning red.

"I-I thought it was… I mean, Taehyun always calls me from this number, so I assumed—" she stammered.

Across from her, Jimin was watching the scene unfold with smug delight. He sipped his coffee like it was popcorn, clearly enjoying the show.

Seojun chuckled gently on the line. "I figured. Your voice sounded so… warm when you answered."

Jiwoo mentally cursed herself. Why did she answer like that? Her voice practically dripped with affection.

"It's okay," Seojun continued. "Actually, I was wondering… are you free right now? Should I come pick you up?"

Jiwoo's mind blanked for a second. Was she free? Yes. Should she say yes? Probably not. But her mouth answered before her brain could weigh in.

"Ye–Yeah. I'm free."

"Alright then. I'll be there soon."

Before she could even respond, the line disconnected.

"G-goodbye…" she whispered into the dead call.

Across the room, Jimin practically burst into laughter.

"Oh my god, Jiwoo," he grinned. "You roasted me the other day for saying you liked Seojun, and now look at you! I've never seen your ears turn this red before!"

Jiwoo avoided eye contact, pretending to be interested in a spot on her sleeve. "Jimin. Shut. Up."

"I mean, the way you answered that call!" he mimicked her sweet voice. "'Hello, baby~!' Honestly, I got secondhand butterflies."

"I thought it was Taehyun!" she snapped, flustered. "He always calls me from this number."

"Oh right," Jimin said, smugness rolling off him in waves. "Your son calls you every day now, huh?"

"He is not my son," she hissed, glancing at the door nervously. "He just… likes me."

"I wonder why," Jimin said, mock-thinking.

Before she could fire back, the office door swung open with a loud creak.

"Mommaaaa!" Taehyun came barreling in, arms wide open and eyes gleaming. He threw himself at Jiwoo with so much force that she almost fell off her chair.