“Are you really going to sleep here?”

Tae Sung asked.

Ji Wan, lying on the sofa with a thin blanket draped over her, nodded with a determined expression.

“Yes, I’m going to sleep here.”

“The blanket doesn’t even cover your feet. And the cushion is too high.”

“What can I do? You said there are no spare blankets or pillows in this house.”

Tae Sung told Ji Wan they should share a bed, but that was absolutely out of the question.

Just coming to this house on her own had already made their relationship ambiguous. If they shared a bed too, the atmosphere would become really strange.

“It’s not like this is our first time sharing a room.”

Tae Sung casually remarked to Ji Wan who was being stubborn.

Judging by the hint of amusement in his eyes as he looked at her, he seemed to understand why she was acting this way.

But it’s better to be clear about these things, so Ji Wan looked at Tae Sung and put up her defenses once more.

“We used separate bedrooms when I stayed at our house too. Nothing should be different here.”

Hearing that, Tae Sung thought for a moment before asking.

“Are you worried?”

“About what?”

“That I might devour you or something.”

It was an accurate guess, but it was embarrassing to admit it outright.

Knowing Joo Tae Sung, who always seemed to be one step ahead, he would just make Ji Wan look foolish if she acknowledged it.

“It never went that far! I just purely want to maintain boundaries.”

“Boundaries…”

“Yes, boundaries!”

Ji Wan pretended to draw a line in front of Tae Sung, attaching some other plausible reason.

Tae Sung looked down at her amusedly, and took another step closer.

When Ji Wan gave him a look that said “What are you trying to do?”, he unhesitatingly extended his arm with its impressively defined muscles.

Then without any warning, he scooped her up in his arms in one smooth motion.

“Ah…!”

Ji Wan’s eyes widened in shock as she suddenly found herself being carried princess-style.

“W-What are you doing?”

“As you can see, I’m taking you to the bed.”

“I said we should maintain boundaries…!”

“To me, letting my wife sleep on the living room sofa is crossing a line.”

Tae Sung headed to the bedroom, ignoring Ji Wan’s flustered squirming.

His bedroom, which she had deliberately avoided looking at closely when first touring the house, was decorated in a modern and sophisticated monochrome style.

The faint scent she had detected on him before now enveloped her powerfully from all directions.

Ji Wan’s face began to flush red as she fully realized whose domain this was.

“P-Put me down!”

“I’m about to.”

Tae Sung only set her down when they reached the bed that rivaled a 5-star hotel’s.

As she settled onto the bedding permeated with his scent, an even stranger tension arose throughout her body.

That alone was already more than she could handle, but then Tae Sung’s body slowly moved over Ji Wan’s.

Trapped between Tae Sung’s arms, Ji Wan looked up at him looming above her like the sky, her gaze wavering.

“W-What are you doing…?”

She asked that meaning for him to back off, but Tae Sung just silently gazed down at her in his embrace.

That gaze was definitely persistent, and definitely heated.

Even though the room wasn’t particularly warm, she could feel his alarming temperature just from how her whole body was heating up.

“This isn’t an appropriate position for an employer-employee relationship…”

Ji Wan mumbled, covering her reddened face with both hands.

Seeing that, a smile like a soft breath escaped Tae Sung’s lips.

“Employer-employee relationship…”

Soon after, his shadow lifted from above Ji Wan.

Ji Wan only removed the hands covering her face when she felt Tae Sung completely withdraw from the bed.

As if he had never cornered her in the first place, he was now calmly arranging the bedding for her.

He really was a pro at teasing people and then acting innocent.

“It’s amazing how the employer-employee relationship prevents instincts from working.”

A very meaningful statement flowed from Tae Sung’s mouth.

Unable to just let such an incredible phrase slide, Ji Wan asked with a sharp gaze.

“Instincts? What instincts?”

“Hmm…”

“I’m asking what instincts?”

“I wonder if the temperature is right. I set it to about 24 degrees.”

“What would your instincts do?!”

“You prefer sleeping in the dark, so I’ll turn off the lights.”

But Tae Sung never answered Ji Wan’s questions.

After diligently preparing her bed, he switched off the light at the headboard with a click, as if refusing to take any more questions.

In the suddenly darkened room, they could barely make out each other’s silhouettes.

This was just like when Batman took out his enemies in movies…

“W-Well then, I’ll use the bed. Good night.”

Ji Wan entered defense mode and bid him goodnight unilaterally, without pursuing him further.

Right then.

Something soft gently pressed against her forehead.

Given how warm and large it was, it was clearly his touch.

This was an issue of invading the distance Ji Wan had spoken of, but somehow she couldn’t resist at all.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say she didn’t want to resist.

The hand that had been softly caressing her forehead began to stroke her hair, bringing an inexplicable sense of comfort that only heightened the pleasant tension.

“Did I say that?”

Tae Sung’s voice coming from the darkness was even lower and gentler.

Instead of answering, Ji Wan focused all her attention on his touch.

“Thank you.”

“…”

“I’m very grateful that you came with me.”

His following words held none of the playful or glib tone from before.

This frank and sincere confession, as unadorned as his caressing touch, sank deep into Ji Wan’s heart.

“So you should sleep well. Only have good dreams here.”

Tae Sung stroked her hair once more with his heartfelt words.

Then he slowly got up and moved away from the bed.

Ji Wan’s eyes following him as he left was closer to instinct than reason.

Soon after, Tae Sung quietly disappeared beyond the bedroom door, followed by profound silence.

Left alone in the room filled with his scent, Ji Wan couldn’t tear her gaze from the door for a long while after.

Though his touch had long since left, somehow the warmth that had touched her forehead refused to fade.

It seemed the lingering attachment she thought would be resolved by coming here still remained.

* * *

Pleasant sunlight tickled her eyes.

Ji Wan, who had been lying down comfortably, slowly opened her eyelids.

The scattering sunlight and warm temperature greeted her first.

In this happy moment that naturally brought a smile, what felt best was.

“Did you sleep well?”

Joo Tae Sung’s hand gently caressing her cheek.

His fingertips were so full of affection that a smile naturally emerged…

“Yes. I slept well. How about you…?”

Ji Wan, still not fully awake, answered with a sleepy expression.

“I couldn’t sleep at all. I was exercising my patience.”

His glib voice, tinged with laughter, came back as softly as his touch.

It was around then that she realized something was wrong.

Scattering sunlight, okay.

Warm temperature, okay.

Joo Tae Sung lovingly caressing my cheek in the same bed, not okay.

“J-Joo… Joo Tae Sung! What are you doing here?!”

Ji Wan, belatedly grasping the situation, bolted upright.

Tae Sung leisurely sat up with her and answered shamelessly.

“I’m waking up my wife.”

“That’s not what I mean! Did you sleep in this bed last night?”

“Well…”

“What do you mean, well…!”

Ji Wan quickly scanned her own condition first.

Her clothes were fine, the blanket was fine.

Thankfully, the only part she could be certain Joo Tae Sung’s hand had touched was her cheek, which she had directly witnessed.

“If you can’t properly explain why you’re in my bed, I’m going to run away right now.”

Ji Wan interrogated Tae Sung once more with eyes like an untamed cat.

Though this wouldn’t faze him at all, Tae Sung lowered his eyebrows as if disappointed and retorted.

“It hurts to be threatened with running away first thing in the morning.”

“Does a hurt person advance all the way to the bed?”

“I just came to wake you up because breakfast is ready.”

“Liar!”

“Would it still be a lie if there’s a delicious smell throughout the house?”

Tae Sung shrugged his shoulders confidently.

As if to prove his words, the familiar scent of toast was wafting in through the open bedroom door.

Looking at that, it seemed certain he hadn’t been here all night…

“Then why are you pretending you slept here? Do you want to kick me out of the house?”

Ji Wan asked with sharp eyes, genuinely curious about his intentions.

Tae Sung let out a light laugh as he looked at her, and answered as if it were obvious.

“Because you’re fun.”

“Fun?! Is it fun to see someone flailing around?!”

“It’s not fun to see just anyone flailing, but you’re fun.”

The oddly familiar answer made her think hard, and she recalled Do Hwa Young answering in a similar way.

I’m not someone who’s supposed to be fun for others, so why do people around me keep saying I’m fun and flocking to me?

Ji Wan, whose daily life had become difficult because of this “fun”, complained while lightly hitting the blanket half-covering her.

“You’re all so mean! You only find it fun when I’m going crazy!”

Hearing those words, confusion flickered in Tae Sung’s eyes.

“You all?”

Ah, Joo Tae Sung doesn’t like talking about Do Hwa Young either.

“…All of you?”

Oh no. He’s placing a lot of meaning on this.

Afraid that yesterday’s incident might happen again, Ji Wan hurriedly made excuses.

“J-Just…! I’ve heard it a lot since school days! People saying they want to tease me because my reactions are fun!”

She stumbled a bit at the start but thought the latter part came out smoothly enough.

It seemed there was nothing odd about it to Tae Sung either, as he spread his eye-smile again and said:

“Ah, I see. I guess people feel similar things.”

It was clearly a response indicating he had bought Ji Wan’s excuse, but just when she was starting to feel uneasy.

Tae Sung added one more comment, still smiling:

“If Do Hwa Young had been included in that, I might have felt a little upset.”

It seems Do Hwa Young was something he just had to address after all.

Seeing Tae Sung particularly wary of Hwa Young’s existence, Ji Wan vowed again and again that she really needed to watch her words carefully from now on.