For a moment, heavy silence descended upon the space where only the two of them were.

Na Eun, who had suddenly kissed him and pulled away, was staring blankly at Hee Won, and Hee Won remained frozen like a stone statue, unmoving from where he was sitting.

Before Hee Won could ask what it meant, Na Eun spoke first.

“Thanks for finding my hair tie.”

It was really precious to me. At the belated words of gratitude, Hee Won smiled bitterly, trying hard to hide his trembling lips.

He tightly gripped the outer garment he had picked up to leave.

“…Glad the hard work of finding it paid off. Even got thanked like this.”

No matter how much he tried to pretend like it was nothing, all his agitation was showing.

Hating to show an even more pathetic side of himself, he said he would really get going now and got up, but even that was stopped by Na Eun hugging him.

Why are you doing this to me today.

Hee Won was startled but unable to push her away, so he flailed his arms foolishly.

Eventually sighing and patting her back again, he soon widened his eyes upon hearing Na Eun’s pleading words at a distance where their breaths touched.

“Kiss me.”

“……”

Huh? Hee Won looked down in disbelief at Na Eun, who was clinging to his collar and acting like a child begging for candy.

After a moment of breathless silence passed, he asked nonchalantly, trying his best to act like it was nothing in order to avoid getting hurt.

“Is this an experiment too?”

Being so close, their breaths touched each other whenever they spoke.

Na Eun gazed directly into his eyes full of affection for her as she meticulously took in his distinct features and replied.

“No. I just want to.”

Someone who doesn’t love me can be this lovely too.

She thought as she stared blankly at Hee Won’s face that seemed a bit startled.

She knew he didn’t truly like her.

The reason Hee Won was being so good to her was probably due to his sense of debt as a hero who couldn’t perfectly protect a civilian like herself in the incident 3 years ago, and some sympathy towards her.

But she didn’t care what his kindness was based on.

She felt endless affection for the person who showed her the same love as her late father, and in her current hardship, she desperately needed that person’s warmth.

It’s okay if it’s you.

She thought as she intently met Hee Won’s confused eyes.

No, it’s okay because it’s you.

You, who are kind, lovely, and yet not sincere to me at all.

So no matter how I cling to you, you won’t get hurt by it.

…I wish you would keep staying by my side.

Hee Won squeezed his eyes shut. As if enduring something, and as if giving up, Na Eun didn’t know what the desperate look meant.

She just didn’t want to let go of this warmth that was embracing her, and only wanted to be close.

It’s okay even if it’s not exactly love. You can easily do this kind of thing.

Hee Won bit his lip in agony upon hearing Na Eun’s hidden voice that couldn’t be heard, with his exceptional mind that would never misunderstand such things.

He must have lost control of his strength because it was the first time he felt so miserable.

Just as blood was about to seep from his lip, delicate fingers covered his mouth.

Na Eun was gently caressing and lightly tapping his lip with her index finger.

“You’re bleeding. Stop biting it.”

“……”

This irresponsible tenderness was so frightening. Hee Won closed his eyes for a moment.

“I’ll do it.”

Whatever you want, all of it.

If he had to grovel anyway in front of Yoon Na Eun, he wanted to fulfill it in the way she wanted, no matter what it was.

He held the back of Na Eun’s head and brought his lips close. Their faces that were already close soon overlapped.

Breaths intertwined and heat rose quickly.

They kissed for a long time, receiving and drinking each other’s saliva without knowing whose it was.

Embracing her slender waist with one hand, he tried not to show his growing sadness the whole time they were kissing.

Even though he was doing it because she wanted to, being close to the person he liked inevitably aroused an excitement he couldn’t resist.

The saliva he drank was all sweet, and every breath he swallowed was thirsty.

Her soft skin clinging to him was unbearably painful for him.

Wanting to touch, wanting to caress, wanting to lick. He wanted to devour everything and make it his own.

It was an act he had done countless times, but Hee Won also momentarily lost his senses to a feeling he had never experienced before.

He tightened his arm around Na Eun’s waist.

A feeble moan escaped from between their joined lips at the stronger than expected power, but he ignored it.

He indulged in her like a thirsty man, and Na Eun simply complied, enjoying his arms tightly embracing her.

In a way, it was an act where what they each wanted aligned.

Similar to the relationships he had formed countless times, and yet as different as heaven and earth.

How long were they attached like that?

Hee Won, who was almost forcefully laying Na Eun’s upper body back on the bed and was absorbed in kissing, suddenly came to his senses and pulled his lips away from her with a start.

It was the last moment he realized he was losing control.

Lying on the bed, she grabbed his collar to stop him from getting off her.

Scanning his stiffening shoulders with her gaze, Na Eun sobbed.

“Don’t get off.”

“……”

“Hm? Don’t get off me.”

I need you right now. Hee Won couldn’t ignore the voice conveyed even without continuing further.

After looking down at her blankly for a moment, he roughly kissed her again.

Gladly accepting him, Na Eun clumsily ran her fingers through Hee Won’s damp hair.

Feeling his lips that seemed to devour her go down to her cheek, chin, and neck, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

Nothing else mattered.

As long as this tender warmth embracing her stayed by her side all night, she didn’t care about anything else.

Na Eun, today is the last day. Since it’s a shame, we decided to have a meal together later. Jae Kyung, do you want to come too? Jae Kyung smiled brightly and said he would at the counseling director’s words, and as soon as he left the faculty room, he went up to the rooftop.

He could figure out where Na Eun was without having to look for her.

A place people didn’t frequently go to, where they could have a leisurely conversation, and where the two of them could be alone.

She wouldn’t quit the academy without any thought, and she would surely go there to settle things with him before leaving, so the rooftop was the only answer.

Barely holding back his crumpling expression, what awaited him at the end of opening the iron door was Na Eun standing amidst the biting wind.

As if she would fall at any moment with her waist leaning against the rooftop railing.

“What are you doing!”

The expression he had tried his best to keep composed shattered in an instant.

As Jae Kyung tried to run to her with a fiercely angry face, Na Eun calmly said.

Don’t come.

“If you do, I’ll jump.”

“……”

At that trivial threat, Jae Kyung’s legs stopped as if frozen.

Na Eun glanced back at Jae Kyung who had stopped in place and couldn’t do anything as soon as she spoke.

Even amidst the white puffs of breath exhaled in the cold winter, his pale complexion was clearly visible.

And she only now noticed the distinct fear in his eyes staring at her, sighing at that realization.

It was real.

After a few seconds that were no more than a few hours to Jae Kyung, Na Eun closed her eyes as if enjoying the cold night air seeping through her hair, then slowly detached her waist from the railing and came down.

After confirming that she had safely set foot inside the rooftop, Jae Kyung covered his face with one hand and bowed his head as if collapsing from the sense of relief rushing in even though he hadn’t done anything.

Calmly watching him seek comfort by supporting his knee with the opposite hand, Na Eun slowly walked towards him.

“You heard? I decided to only work until today.”

“……”

Unable to answer for a while as he calmed himself, Jae Kyung swallowed a groan.

She had approached him before he knew it and looked up at him with serene eyes, saying:

“I thought I should say my last goodbye so there would be no regrets later.”

“…I guess you’ve decided not to care about other people’s lives now.”

After quieting his heart with silence for a while, Jae Kyung straightened his back and looked down at her with a cold smile.

“It’s a good choice. You were wise for once, Na Eun.”

“…Your threats don’t work on me anymore, Jae Kyung.”

Jae Kyung’s mouth closed at the clear eyes that seemed to see through him.

Gradually furrowing his brows, he soon glared at her with a scornful laugh.

“Why. Now that you’ve heard everything from Seol Ah, you think you’ve found my weakness?”

Jae Kyung didn’t even get angry at the story Seol Ah, who had come to his room crying two days ago, had laid out one after another.

It had already happened, and there was no point in venting if he couldn’t take it back.

He wondered how Na Eun, who had discovered his weakness, would take revenge, but Yoon Na Eun was always beyond his expectations.

She didn’t get angry at him, cry, or even resent him for not protecting her sooner.

Na Eun was as calm as a tranquil sea.

There wasn’t even a hint of emotion towards him to be found in it. …It was scary that there wasn’t even hatred.

“You’re still too naive, Yoon Na Eun, just like 3 years ago.”

When cornered by fear, people become desperate.

He twisted his lips and deliberately taunted her with words he knew would hurt her.

“What, now that you know everything, you think I’ll only lose to you one-sidedly? That I’ll do everything you say and let you jerk me around?”

Na Eun replied without even furrowing her brows at his blatantly mocking tone.

“Yes.”

“……”

“To the point of not just being jerked around, but crumbling.”

The corner of Jae Kyung’s mouth turned down. Staring blankly at his instantly hardened face, Na Eun said:

“But I won’t do that, Jae Kyung.”

You did that to me because you’re a bad guy, but even if you were at least sincere, I won’t destroy you the same way.

“Because I’m not a bad person like you.”

“……”

“Since when was it real?”

She suddenly asked. It wasn’t that she was really curious.

In any case, if it had been fake from the start, it was useless to her whether it had turned real at some point.

The loss was so great that even if she belatedly found the value of it being real, she wouldn’t be able to embrace it, so it was right not to look for it.

Still, the reason she asked might have been out of a shred of sympathy.

For the person she had once loved with all her heart.

“2nd year of high school? Or 3rd year?”

Jae Kyung glared at Na Eun, who was cocking her head and calmly asking as if gauging, with resentment.

“How would I know that. You’re the one who did this to me.”