They say even a rich family can last for three generations when they go bankrupt, but Hee Won was angry at his own dullness for only now questioning how Na Eun’s family situation had suddenly become like that.

Na Eun tried to recall the memories of that time for a moment at the somewhat abrupt question, but it was nearly impossible to clearly remember the surrounding circumstances of that time when she was busy embracing herself, who was a mess of guilt and sadness.

Still, Na Eun gave a thoughtful answer to match Hee Won’s serious attitude.

“I don’t know exactly either. My mom didn’t tell me anything about it then, afraid I would have a harder time. Ah, she did mention once that dad seemed to have more enemies at the company than expected.”

Hee Won’s expression darkened further.

“And something about… breach of trust? He was caught for something like that. It wasn’t dad’s fault, but it was made to look like it was. And some kind of penalty fee had to be paid with our personal assets, not company money. There was some strange contract too… Still, we were able to pay it all off by selling the remaining stocks, get an apartment, and mom started a company, so that was fortunate at least.”

“…”

“But why do you ask?”

Just as Na Eun’s sharp expression was about to darken, Hee Won skillfully avoided answering.

He continued his second inference as he rubbed his face dry.

“…Have you really not been able to sleep because of studying for exams?”

“…”

“Actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t reply. I wanted you to be sleeping.”

The questions filling his mind kept growing, but even though it was urgent, he had hoped for no response while contacting her.

He had hoped she was at least sleeping peacefully.

The reply that came in 1 second was why his shoulders slumped.

“This is purely based on intuition too. I feel… you’re not yourself lately, and the reason doesn’t seem to be just stress from studying.”

Na Eun, who had been answering Hee Won’s questions slowly but willingly until just now, closed her mouth.

Hee Won’s gaze sharpened as he read the answer in her wavering eyes.

“From now on, it’s all my conjecture again. You haven’t provided any evidence.”

So everything I notice from now on is not your fault at all. Hee Won nailed that down.

“By any chance, have they been in contact with you recently? The ones we’re always fighting with?”

“…”

Na Eun’s complexion turned pale. Damn it. Hee Won inwardly cursed as the speculation he had hoped was wrong turned out to be correct.

“Is it Han Jae Kyung?”

“…”

“Alright. Don’t answer.”

Hee Won quickly added as Na Eun’s face turned pale to the point of fainting.

It was crystal clear even without seeing. They must have threatened her to keep quiet. Probably by mentioning her only remaining family.

As the cold air felt even more biting, Hee Won placed the hand warmer she had given him earlier back into Na Eun’s hand. He soothed her with calm eyes.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

After going through such an ordeal and receiving such threats, it would be strange if you were cooperative with us.

He lowered himself to meet Na Eun’s eyes.

“You didn’t say anything to me.”

Right? At Hee Won’s question that seemed to seek agreement, tears glistened in Na Eun’s eyes as she trembled, unable to say anything.

Hee Won wrapped his hands around Na Eun’s, which held the hand warmer, and spoke as if comforting her.

“You didn’t say anything. I just figured it out on my own through wild guesses. Everything that happens from now on is all my doing, and you’re not at fault for anything.”

“…”

“It’s my job to find out where and how you met that bastard, and what he said to you.”

Hee Won’s voice whispering that she didn’t need to say anything was more resolute than anyone’s.

For some reason, Na Eun was reminded of her father in Hee Won’s demeanor.

Her father who was gentle but always resolute, yet always on her side – the most reliable person in the world.

Tears welled up again as she thought of her late father.

Hee Won wiped away the tears flowing down her cheeks with familiar ease and said,

“I understand if you can’t trust us. But I promise you this time, really. Neither you nor your mother will get hurt. I swear on my life.”

“…”

“If you can’t believe me, then don’t. I’ll make the promise alone and keep it alone.”

The promise to not let her bear any more responsibility slowly melted into Na Eun’s heart, which had been as cold as midwinter until now.

It felt as if someone had pulled her up from the bottom of the deep sea and breathed life back into her, making her feel like she had died and come back to life, causing tears to keep bursting forth.

With her cheeks already soaked, Na Eun closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, then approached Hee Won, who was still wiping her tears nearby, as if clinging to him.

Hee Won stiffened in surprise at Na Eun’s sudden action of entering his embrace and wrapping her arms around his back.

As he hesitated, unsure whether to embrace the small body that still had plenty of room in his arms or to quickly soothe her and separate her, his heart racing too fast for a quick decision, it happened.

“Seo Hee Won.”

Hee Won’s eyes widened, as it was almost the first time she had properly called his name since he had known her.

Just as he was foolishly worrying about what if the excessively beating heart was transmitted directly to the person in his arms.

“If I’m held hostage and become a hindrance, you’ll kill me, right?”

Hee Won froze at Na Eun’s question, asked in a tearful voice while in his arms, as if seeking confirmation.

“If things seem to get complicated because of me, you’ll kill me, won’t you?”

“…”

His heart, which had been beating with inappropriate excitement, fell back to the ground, as if telling him to know his place.

Hee Won couldn’t carelessly answer any of Na Eun’s questions, which seemed to seek confirmation.

All of her questions were not pleas not to do so. It was as if she was certain that he would do it and wanted him to do so.

His hands, which hadn’t properly embraced Na Eun and were awkwardly holding her, began to tremble very faintly.

With Hee Won still not answering, Na Eun unwrapped her arms from his back, left his embrace, and met his eyes again.

No matter how close she was now, even though she inevitably had to look up at him due to their height difference, Na Eun, who was no longer afraid of Hee Won alone, looked up at him as if clinging and urged,

“Feeling sorry for me and me being a hindrance are different issues, right? Hm? You won’t try to save me if I’m taken hostage because you feel sorry for me, right? You’ll kill me, right?”

Three years ago on that day, you were thinking of killing me if I became a hindrance, weren’t you?

Faced with Na Eun, who had already perceived the truth he had never spoken to her directly, Hee Won couldn’t say anything with a blank expression.

Na Eun, interpreting his frozen expression differently, continued speaking, clearly conveying that she wasn’t criticizing him.

“I’m not saying anything against you. I really understand you now. You can kill me. I’ll allow it. If it looks like I’m going to be dragged away by those bastards again and suffer the same fate… then you kill me first.”

Grabbing Hee Won’s arms and looking up at him from close proximity, she sobbed.

“Make it so those bastards can’t use me for anything. Make them regret thinking a useless card was useful. Even if you have to kill me, beat all of those bastards… Make all those bad guys pay.”

Believing that if such a thing were to happen again, she could die without regret this time, Na Eun clung to the only person she could make this request to, which she had sometimes imagined but couldn’t bring herself to ask her friends out of guilt.

She revealed her anxious feelings to him, who kept not answering, shaking his sleeve.

“Hm? Seo Hee Won.”

Like a child throwing a tantrum for a toy.

“You’ll do that, right?”

It’s not even that difficult for you.

Hee Won, who could guess all of her unspoken words, silently looked down at the small face crying and shaking his clothes for a while.

He couldn’t bring himself to match her eye level as he habitually did, not at this moment.

‘I don’t particularly care if civilians die.’

‘If you spread what happened today around, I’ll kill you.’

Recalling his warning to her on the day they first met, which was sincere at the time, Hee Won’s face turned pale.

Finally, seeing a kind of trust towards him in Na Eun’s eyes looking up at him, he hid his trembling hand from her sight by pulling it back slightly.

At the same time, he imagined Na Eun dead.

Yoon Na Eun jumping from a high-rise building. Yoon Na Eun getting caught up with those guys and being murdered. Yoon Na Eun closing her eyes after being taken hostage. …Yoon Na Eun dying by Hee Won’s own hands.

In his life, since realizing his different abilities from others, he had never broken out in a cold sweat from fear, he swore.

For the first time, he trembled his lower lip at the chill running down his spine.

His heart plummeted to the basement, and he shuddered at the strange sense of despair that made him want to die just from imagining someone else’s death.

He wanted to crawl on the ground.

In the cold dawn air of the season rushing towards winter, he wanted to kneel on the cement floor and beg her not to say such things to him.

But soon realizing that it was his past self who had abandoned such an opportunity, Hee Won closed his eyes.

Therefore, instead of kneeling, he trapped Na Eun, who was still whimpering and urging in front of him, in his arms and hugged her with all his might.

Na Eun nestled into his embrace without any resistance, even in her unsound state of mind.

Na Eun’s sobbing gradually subsided.

She seemed to misunderstand Hee Won’s silent embrace and steadying breath as an affirmation of her request, and slowly began to calm down.

In contrast to her gradually calming down, Hee Won, who had to endure the feeling of falling through empty space with his whole body, held onto the small, soft body in his arms like a lifeline and didn’t let go for a while.

Unable to offer either a refusal saying he couldn’t do that or an answer promising to do so, not wanting to reveal his utterly useless self to her, he buried his face in her shoulder for a long time without getting up.

Desperately holding onto a body much smaller than his own, Hee Won completely crumbled.