“Uh, it’s cold.”

A barely audible small voice murmured. Before Ji-ho could even extend his arm, the sensation of something burrowing in felt like the cat he had raised as a child.

The cat, Butterfly, who went to the stars, used to curl up on the bed in the wee hours of the morning. It had been a long time since he felt such warmth and softness.

So comforting that he never wanted to wake up.

Ji-ho hadn’t slept more than four hours a day since he took on the special investigation.

Days of crashing from exhaustion without even a moment for dreams.

Perhaps dreaming like today was a luxury, considering how he used to work himself to exhaustion and then fall asleep.

Even though he was sure he was sleeping, his thoughts kept flowing. He thought he should get up, but his damned body wouldn’t move. Teetering on the edge of reality and dreams, Ji-ho found himself sinking into a strange feeling.

“It smells… nice.”

A phrase piercing through his groggy consciousness, the round, soft sensation wriggling. The scent of roses brushing past his nose, the weight on his waist, and the touch on his palm…!

Suddenly, Ji-ho’s eyes snapped open.

Unable to lower his head, he only glanced downward to assess the situation.

‘Why the…’

He had been looking at documents on his phone. When did he fall asleep? He found himself lying straight on the floor.

And there, motionless until now, Ra-jin was nestled against Ji-ho’s chest, her arm wrapped tightly around his waist.

‘Sigh.’

If he had been half-asleep, he wouldn’t have been this flustered. His clear mind and vivid senses made him bite his lips in agitation.

How was he going to handle this?

If he moved carelessly, she would wake up, but he couldn’t just pretend to sleep until she awoke.

It didn’t seem long since it was still dark outside. How long had they slept? He remembered Ha-eun’s plea for a safe return home and regretted not asking the crucial question.

‘This is insane.’

Moreover, her breath tickling his heart was very troublesome. If they stayed like this, they might never be able to face each other again.

Ji-ho leaned his head back and began to move slowly, holding his breath. Just as he was about to disentangle her arm from around his waist.

“Uh-uhm.”

‘!’

Just when he thought he had accomplished it, she magnetically moved closer again, right back to the original position, but even closer.

Struggling to maintain his composure, Ji-ho was about to distance himself when Ra-jin raised her hand to scratch the scab.

“Miss Park Ra-jin.”

Unable to watch any longer, Ji-ho caught her hand mid-air.

“Let’s wake up now.”

Her forehead, pressed against his chest, twitched. Was she awake now?

“I understand it’s embarrassing.”

“……”

“I feel the same.”

Ji-ho gently laid her hand down and moved back, then sat up abruptly.

A cute pink mark on her puffy forehead, her eyelids fluttering beneath her thin eyebrows. Knowing how mortified she must be feeling, Ji-ho smirked slightly.

“If you want to lie down more, feel free.”

“……”

“I was late because I went to the pharmacy to get something for the wound.”

He rustled the medicine bag on the sofa to avoid startling her.

Taking out the alcohol swab, ointment, and moist bandage, he set everything up. Ra-jin didn’t move an inch until then.

“Let me see the wound.”

Finally, she slowly nodded her round head. Ji-ho’s eyes softened at her gesture.

“Let’s pretend this accident didn’t happen since we were both tired.”

Adding that it should be thoroughly cleaned, he gently wiped her multicolored back of the hand. Her eyelashes fluttered with every painful touch.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Yes.”
“You should endure it a bit because it shouldn’t get infected.”

Ji-ho placed Ra-jin’s hand on his lap and carefully disinfected the area around the wound.

The wound on her cleaned hand, the size of half a thumb, seemed to have gotten bigger than before, even as he waved his hand to dissipate the alcohol.

“You should see a dermatologist. There could be a scar.”

Ji-ho carefully applied ointment to the wound and meticulously attached a moist bandage, making sure the edges didn’t curl. Was this enough?

Ji-ho carefully wiped the bloodstains off her nails, then glanced at the clock.

It was 2 a.m.

Feeling unusually light for having slept only three hours, as if he had rested all day.

“Miss Jung Ha-eun might be worried. Shouldn’t you contact her?”

“What time is it?”

Ra-jin finally opened her eyes upon hearing Ha-eun’s name. She hurriedly looked away when their eyes met, her gaze turning red like a rabbit’s.

“It’s 2 a.m. Be careful with your right hand.”

Ji-ho helped Ra-jin to stand up and handed her the phone. After tapping the screen a few times with her left hand, she flipped the phone over.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Uh…”

Ra-jin hesitated, as if she had something to say.

“Do you have something you want to say?”

“Thank you. For treating me.”

Ra-jin smiled broadly and gently lifted her right hand. She looked refreshingly bright for someone who had just woken up. It felt like witnessing a scene straight out of an advertisement.