Inside Stephen Jin's workspace,

Lina's eyes fell on a certain object placed near the window which made her narrow her eyes.

'Am I hallucinating or that is what I think it is?' She wondered as she rose from her seat.

"When did you start smoking? She inquired as she stepped in the direction of the window.

Steph had just noticed his Noona's line of sight when she had already risen from her seat.

'Shit! How could I just leave it there!?' He panicked as he followed after his Noona.

Lina's eyes were focused on one object and when she was close enough, she reached out and held it in her hands.

Raising the object of her attention up, she turned around and waved it in front of the young man's face.

Noticing the object in her hand then at the remaining stuff left over at the table, Steph looked at his Noona in a weird way.

'She did not pick up the box of cigarettes or the lighter but she picked this up?' He wondered as a confused look appeared on his face.

Lina coughed when she discerned the incredulous look on his face and then turned around towards the table by the window once again.

'Now I get why he was looking at me as though I was an idiot.' She sneered at herself and then looked at what was in her hand.

A ceramic ashtray that was bigger than the size of her palm was in her hand while the main necessities for smoking, which were the cigarettes and the lighter were still on the table.

There was a reason why that ashtray had attracted her attention over the other things placed on the table but that was not so important at this moment.

"Mind explaining yourself, Stephen Jin?" She interrogated while continuing to hold the ashtray between them.

Steph's head was lowered as he bit his lip when he heard the stern tone that was used for him.

Raising his head, he shot her his most adorable look while pouting his lips.

If this had been some other day and the reason for her anger was something else then she would have melted in an instant.

However, it seemed as though Steph had no luck today as Lina's glare did not soften in the least bit.

"What's wrong, huh? No answer now?" She prodded him as she took a step forward.

This made Steph retreat as he gulped his saliva upon noticing the anger laced in her words.

'Getting mad at him is not the way to go, Nana!' She chided herself and then stopped advancing in his direction.

If she were to yell at him, she was worried that his young mind might chalk her up to be against him and hence anything she says might be rejected without a moment's thought.

Though she had been thinking too much about this, there was no way that Steph would ever reject anything that his Noona would say to him.

As she was not aware of this fact, she decided that it would be better to use a softer approach rather than just yelling at him for messing up.

"Steph, you know that this stuff is harmful to your health, right?" She sighed as she posed this question.

The young pup's imaginary ears were drooped down as he nodded to her inquiry.

"Yes, Noona…' He muttered in a low voice as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

'Dammit! Why does it look like I accused him of some major crime!?' She gulped and then held his shoulders.

Guiding him towards the couch that they had been seated at, she pressed him down so that he would take his previous seat.

Lina placed the ashtray between them and then pointed at it.

"Why would you smoke when you know that it is bad for your growth? You are still a growing child and the chemicals in this might hinder your growth." She chided him without being overly agitated about it.

Stephen was stunned when he heard her calling him a child.

'I am 19 years old! How the hell am I still a child in Noona's eyes!?' He growled yet did not utter a single word against her.

Lina continued her lecture on how smoking could be harmful to him and did not stop until she had finished whatever it was that she had to say.

'Boy, can she talk!' The young man was left wide-eyed as he witnessed her rant without taking a single break.

"So in conclusion…" Lina huffed to catch her breath once she was done listing everything wrong with smoking.

"If you want yellow teeth, bad bones, high chances of lung cancer, and a sure shot at pushing your Noona away then you can continue smoking." She concluded her rant with a nod.

Even if Steph had rejected everything she had just said, the last statement made him shake his head in ardent refusal.

"The only reason why I have those here is because I wanted to try it! I swear!" He cried out in his defense after staying silent for the entire duration of her lecture.

Lina's baffled look gave him the idea of explaining in detail.

"I heard someone saying that smoking makes you look cool so I wanted to give it a try and then I just left it thereafter the first try." He disclosed the reason why those things were in his room.

He could never try this out in his house as his family would not shy away from murdering him so the last resort was this workspace where he was given complete authority.

"Smoking looks cool?" Lina's confused and moderately disgusted voice was all he heard in response to his explanations.

"Noona, have you not seen those gangster videos? How cool do they look!" He chirped while jumping up in his seat.

Lina's heart wavered when she heard this as they did look great on screen but the same could not be said about real life.

"The closest to a weapon you have in this room is a sewing needle and that is not a gangster weapon." She deadpanned, successfully flattening his spirit.

Steph pouted when his dream of looking as cool as a gangster was thrashed with just a few simple words by this woman.

"I did not complete a single cigarette so you do not have to stay mad at me." He mumbled as he pointed towards the box.

If Lina had picked the box up instead of the ashtray then she would have known this and Stephen would not have to hear any of this.

This statement of his stunned her and she scratched her neck while chuckling sheepishly.

'Stupid ashtray attracted my attention then I went on that rant afterward!' She scowled at the hasty decision that she had made without thinking things through.

The main reason that she had even moved towards that window was the ashtray which seemed awfully familiar.

"Steph, I'm sorry for yelling at you and I am so happy that you have not taken up smoking." She apologized and then praised the young man.

The puppy's ears perked up once again as he smiled at his most favorite Noona in the world.

While he was celebrating in his heart, Lina was gazing at the ceramic bowl before her without blinking.

"Can I know where you found this ashtray?" Her inquiry made him stop his imaginary dance as he too looked at the ashtray between them.