Please, Confess to Me

Chapter 24 : Steps of Understanding

When the song ended, Minji half-hugged Hanni and carefully guided her wife off the dance floor. She gently set Hanni down on the sofa. "Are your feet alright?"

"It's fine," Hanni reassured her. "Your foot barely touched mine."

Initially, Hanni thought Minji had almost mastered the dance, especially when she stopped giving hints during the latter half of the song. However, as the music came to an end and Minji ceased her instructions, she accidentally stepped on Hanni's foot again in the chaos.

Minji was aware of how heavy her steps could be; after all, she had accidentally trampled five dancing assistants before. Frustrated, she pursed her lips and stared down at the hem of Hanni's long dress. She wanted to lift it to check for any marks but hesitated at the thought of upsetting Hanni.

"My feet are fine. Really. Here, take a look." Anticipating her wife's concern, Hanni slightly lifted her dress, revealing a pair of silver high heels.

"It's red." Minji's heart sank at the sight of the mark, and she instinctively reached out to touch it.

Hanni quickly dropped her dress back down, her cheeks flushing. "You... don't you..." Embarrassed, she averted her gaze, feeling the weight of the attention around them.

Minji was at a loss, unsure of how to respond to her wife's sudden shyness.

"What are you doing?" Danielle, who had been nearby, sensed the unusual atmosphere surrounding the couple.

"No... it's nothing," Hanni quickly replied, eager to shift the focus. "What's up?"

Danielle considered her objective, glancing at the still-crouching Minji, a smile tugging at her lips. "President Kim, can you please lend me your wife for ten minutes?"

Minji's ears immediately turned red at the title. She stood up and said to Hanni, "You two talk, I'll go get something for you to eat." Without waiting for a reply, she turned away and hurried toward the buffet table.

"What do you need?" Hanni asked, confused as she looked at Danielle.

Danielle didn't answer directly, instead offering an enigmatic smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Hanni found the smile strange.

"I've been watching you," Danielle said. "From the moment you stepped onto the red carpet."

"So? What are you trying to say?" Hanni couldn't tolerate the cryptic talk.

"I discovered that you and Minji get along more deeply than I expected," Danielle replied.

"How did you think we would act?" Hanni asked, intrigued.

"I figured you'd treat each other courteously at best. I never expected you two to be so lovey-dovey," Danielle said.

"What? When did we act lovey-dovey?" Hanni asked incredulously.

"Don't think I didn't see. She wanted to touch your feet just now," Danielle teased.

"You..." Hanni immediately turned red. "You saw."

Seeing the shy expression on her friend's face, Danielle thought she looked exactly like a girl in love. There was no trace of embarrassment or evasion in Hanni's eyes, instead, she seemed genuinely happy.

Danielle was almost certain, "Hanni, do you like Minji?"

This was the second time Hanni had been asked this question that night, but this time, she didn't give Danielle the definitive answer she had given her mother. She thought for a moment before replying, "I don't know if I like her or not."