As Ji Hyun stepped out of the entrance to go to school, she blew out a ‘hoo’ into the air. The piercingly cold air made her nose, which she couldn’t cover with her scarf in time, sting.

The sky was filled with grey clouds that looked like they would pour down snow at any moment. Mi Ri once again suggested to Ji Hyun that they take the winter break special lectures together.

She said it was a class they must take before going up to their third year of high school, and that they should attend and study together.

She also didn’t forget to sweetly tempt Ji Hyun, saying they should go to the same university and enjoy a beautiful campus life together. As always, Ji Hyun brushed it off with an ambiguous smile.

‘Can I really go to university?’

She lacked confidence. Thanks to her aunt Hyun Sook, she somehow attended high school, but university was different starting from the costs. The starting point where she had to begin empty-handed and run with just her body weighed heavily on Ji Hyun.

“Ji Hyun!”

At the sound of her name being called, Ji Hyun, who had been walking with her eyes on her toes, reflexively raised her head. Ha Jun was brightly smiling and waving his hand right in front of her. Ji Hyun also waved her hand and tried to pull up the corners of her lips.

After meeting at the mansion last fall, she had consciously avoided Ha Jun. Whenever she saw him, the uncomfortable and difficult things would come to mind, making it hard for her to treat him familiarly like before.

However, Ha Jun treated Ji Hyun as if nothing had happened. It was the same on the day she went to school after a long time.

Behind Mi Ri, who was extremely happy to see her and interrogating her about whether she had gone somewhere nice alone, Ha Jun just smiled without a word. And like before, he stayed by Ji Hyun’s side.

“Did you eat breakfast?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Ey, you’re lying.”

“I really did.”

“Ji Hyun, you know your ears turn red when you’re hungry? They’re like that now.”

“That’s because it’s cold.”

Ji Hyun bristled at the nonsensical theory, but Ha Jun took out a soy milk from his pocket and placed it in her hand. The bottled soy milk was still warm.

It was always like this. To be exact, ever since seeing Ji Hyun at Seung Ho’s house, he had nonchalantly and cleverly taken care of her circumstances that no one else noticed.

No matter how many times she coldly pushed him away saying she didn’t need it, each time Ha Jun would just give her a smirk.

Ha Jun, who blew out white breath towards the hazy sky, turned his head to look at Ji Hyun.

“The winter break is coming soon, what are you going to do?”

“Well, I have to study. We’re going up to our third year.”

“Then do you want to go to the library together?”

Ji Hyun knew well what kind of extracurricular education Ha Jun’s friends received. Special lectures were a given, and for subjects they thought they lacked skills in, they got tutoring to raise their scores.

Going to the library might help her, but it would undoubtedly be a waste of time for Ha Jun. Ji Hyun shook her head.

“No. I don’t want to go.”

Ha Jun, who was flatly rejected, drooped his shoulders.

“You’re so cold.”

The frustrated one was Ji Hyun. She couldn’t understand at all why Ha Jun, who could study in the best environment, was trying to match her pace.

Just as she opened her mouth to tell him he didn’t need to do this much for her, an arm suddenly went over her shoulder. It was Mi Ri.

“What are you two talking about so happily?”

“We were talking about what to do during the break.”

At Ji Hyun’s answer, Mi Ri’s eyes shone.

“Oh, if you’re talking about how to have fun, I’d love that.”

“Get your head straight. You’re an exam student now.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Haha.”

At the words coldly reminding her of reality, Mi Ri laughed bitterly and stretched out both arms to link arms with Ji Hyun and Ha Jun.

“But guys, let’s not just study without any affection and meet up to hang out from time to time. Okay?”

Ha Jun heartlessly shook off Mi Ri’s arm.

“You can repeat the year by yourself.”

“Hey! Kim Ha Jun!”

Ji Hyun, who burst into laughter at Mi Ri’s shout, looked up at the sky. White snow was falling.

“It’s snowing a lot, why don’t you leave a bit later?”

Manager Kim looked at Seung Ho, who was stepping out of the entrance, with worried eyes. Seung Ho, wearing a black mustang, flicked the white snow that had fallen on his shoulders with his hand.

“It’s fine.”

With the start of the break, Seung Ho decided to leave for Switzerland. Hyun Sook told her that he would stay in Europe throughout the break. She said he would ski until he got sick of it, travel around Europe, and visit the universities he would attend in the future while he was at it.

Hearing the plans that had nothing to do with her, Ji Hyun was relieved. Seung Ho’s tightly scheduled itinerary meant the end of the one-sided harassment she had been subjected to.

At Manager Kim’s call, the mansion’s staff lined up in front of the main gate to see Seung Ho off. Among them was Ji Hyun.

While killing time staring at the white snow falling thicker and thicker, the chauffeur appeared and put a large silver suitcase in the trunk of the car.

Now it was time to leave. Along with the sound of Manager Kim’s dissuading voice, Seung Ho appeared at the main gate. Ji Hyun looked at him, holding her breath. Perhaps because he was wearing black clothes from top to bottom, his usually white skin stood out even more.

His bare neck looked long and cold, but he himself didn’t seem to care.

“The roads are slippery too……”

Manager Kim, who failed to persuade him, trailed off, unable to give up. As Seung Ho took a step forward, the chauffeur quickly got out of the car and opened the back seat door.

Breaking the expectation that he would get in the car right away, he turned around towards where the staff were. As if searching for something, his gaze finally stopped on Ji Hyun after scanning them one by one.

The moment she met his deep, black eyes, Ji Hyun was reminded of last fall. That afternoon when Ha Jun had visited, she blankly stared at his right hand that he had moved as if it was nothing.

It was the hand he had clearly said was still not in good condition. The hand he couldn’t guarantee when it would heal, saying he couldn’t promise a time frame, was unbelievably clean.

Ji Hyun was furious. She couldn’t go to school, had to run his errands without rest, and faced Ha Jun in a shabby state. It could have not happened.

But Shin Seung Ho did not do that. She didn’t know the reason, but one thing was certain. He was serious about tormenting Ji Hyun, and thanks to that, she had been thoroughly deceived.

“Did you…deceive me?”

She wanted to shout in anger that rose to the top of her head, but the voice that actually came out of her mouth trembled weakly.

As if using her feeble and trembling voice as music, Seung Ho, who had been ostentatiously clenching and unclenching his right hand to check its movement, turned his head. It was a face that didn’t care about Ji Hyun’s anger at all.

“Ah, I didn’t intend to deceive you outright, it just ended up like that.”

It was an unacceptable remark, but ironically, it was understandable. To the great Shin Seung Ho, it really was nothing. From the beginning, there was no way he would be interested in the position or feelings of others……

“You’re not thinking of spitting out the cliché drama line of ‘I can’t forgive you for deceiving me, just you wait’, are you?”

Even now, he was ridiculing the angry Ji Hyun with a pretty smile.

“We’re not even anything to each other……”

In the end, Ji Hyun’s patience, which she had scraped together, ran out and her true feelings that she had been suppressing came out.

“You’re really mean.”

“……What?”

Seung Ho’s eyebrows rose at the unexpected counterattack.

“What’s the reason for harassing me to this extent? Just what did I do wrong to you?”

She should have stopped thinking about the future, but once her mouth opened, she couldn’t close it.

“Is it so wrong that I came to work at your house? Why are you doing this to me! Why are you making me so miserable!”

Having said everything she wanted to say, Ji Hyun tried not to cry while catching her breath. Seung Ho, who had put away his smile at some point, stared at her and slowly opened his mouth.

“……Because I don’t like it.”

Ji Hyun’s body trembled as she felt a chill at the low and ominous voice. The deep eyes directed at her, filled with sincerity, were fierce and cruel.

“That’s the reason. I can’t stand you to death.”

A single teardrop fell from the surprised Ji Hyun’s eyes with a plop.