Staring into those dark eyes that resembled the black night, Ji Hyun blinked a few times as if she couldn’t believe Seung Ho was right in front of her. His eyes curved slightly in amusement as he looked down at her leisurely.

At that moment, as if submerged in water, her ears felt muffled and the noisy sounds around her disappeared. The moment their eyes met felt long, as if time had stopped.

‘Why is Shin Seung Ho here?’

The moment her dazed mind snapped back to reality, Ji Hyun’s startled body took a step back.

Ji Hyun’s lips quivered as she tried to ask what he was doing here, but the words didn’t come out easily amidst the rushing noise. The person who spoke before her was Ha Jun, who had been watching from behind.

“Shin Seung Ho.”

His voice filled with displeasure and his displeased gaze were directed at Seung Ho as they were. Seung Ho, who had been looking at Ji Hyun, rolled his eyes to look at him.

‘Kim Ha Jun, wasn’t it.’

The airhead who was particularly annoying next to Choi Ji Hyun.

“Oh? Ha Jun was here too. Long time no see.”

Min Woo, who had hurriedly entered late after sending a message to his friends that the meeting was cancelled, greeted Ha Jun cheerfully as if he knew him.

“Yeah. I guess.”

He also reluctantly greeted him, but the furrowed brow from the unwelcome guest’s appearance did not easily unfold.

“Guys, over here.”

Soon, the drinks they ordered came out, and Mi Ri, who had secured seats first, stretched out her arm and called them over. Ji Hyun and Ha Jun turned their bodies and moved their steps towards where Mi Ri was.

Seeing the person who followed behind the two, Mi Ri’s eyes widened. It was Seung Ho, who she thought would naturally go to another table, but followed them.

“The Northern Duke.”

Mi Ri couldn’t take her eyes off him and observed his movements, as if the image of the duke she had always dreamed of perfectly matched Seung Ho’s appearance as rumored. Seung Ho sat at the same table as Ji Hyun as if it was the most natural thing.

The expressions of the three people looking at him hardened at once.

Min Woo, who knew well what the gazes directed at the two meant, looked around awkwardly with a forced smile.

“Haha, Seung Ho, there are plenty of empty seats, so should we sit somewhere else?”

“What are you talking about? The coffee we ordered is here…”

Seung Ho, who cleanly ignored his opinion, pointed to the two cups of coffee with a calm nod of his head. His attitude seemed to not care at all about the glares from the three people looking at him, making Min Woo constantly wipe his hands on his pants.

‘Why is he doing things he didn’t usually do?’

“Still…”

“Sit down.”

His effort to speak up once more with courage was in vain with Seung Ho’s one word. Min Woo sat down heavily in his seat with a sense of giving up. Ha Jun, who had been glaring at the coffee in discontent, opened his mouth.

“I never imagined I would run into Shin Seung Ho by chance. Is there some kind of meeting here?”

Seung Ho answered brightly with an indifferent face.

“There’s nothing like that…”

He took a sip of coffee with an elegant motion and lifted the corners of his mouth as he looked at Ha Jun.

“Of course, it’s not by chance either…”

Min Woo, who had been watching their inexplicable confrontation, gulped down the hot Americano like cold water. His throat felt like it was burning, but it was better than his insides burning up.

Ji Hyun quietly picked up her glass of pink lemonade. Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t understand what was happening. It was a combination that made no sense.

Min Woo was staring into the void with a troubled expression, and Mi Ri was staring at Seung Ho with a dazed look.

The strangest of them were Ha Jun and Seung Ho. Ha Jun’s stiff attitude, who was kind to everyone, felt unfamiliar, but even stranger was Shin Seung Ho sitting next to her.

Anyone could see it was an uninvited seat, but he occupied the seat as if it was a given.

Ji Hyun swallowed a sigh invisibly. The discomfort caused by this unwelcome guest was left to her and her friends.

The gazes of the people in the cafe lingered on Seung Ho, who was sitting elegantly. The part-time workers and the customers all glanced at him and whispered to their companions. Ji Hyun could fully understand their reactions.

Despite his attire being similar to others, his refreshing boyish looks combined with a maturity and dignity unusual for his age made him seem even more out of place.

Sitting with his long legs crossed and drinking coffee elegantly, he somehow didn’t fit in here. No, to be precise, he didn’t fit sitting here with her.

Even her friend Mi Ri was looking at him like a male lead who had popped out of a web novel, so how much more so for other people.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

When she heard his answer that there was no such meeting to the question about meeting plans, she almost spat out the lemonade she was drinking.

‘I’m pretty sure I heard there was a meeting today…’

Manager Kim had pushed Ji Hyun out of the mansion, saying Shin Seung Ho had an important matter to attend to. Thanks to that, she was able to meet her friends, but she never imagined she would run into him here when he was supposed to be at the mansion by now.

“You eat terribly sweet stuff well.”

At the familiar tone stabbing down at her, Ji Hyun finally broke out of her thoughts. As expected, Seung Ho’s gaze was directed at her. Ji Hyun looked at the pink drink in her hand with an embarrassed face at the unwelcome attention.

“This isn’t very sweet though…”

“…Is that so?”

Along with the slow words, his stretched out fingers touched Ji Hyun’s glass.

“Huh?”

Before she could stop him, Seung Ho brought Ji Hyun’s drink to his mouth, took a sip of the pink lemonade, and immediately frowned.

“Sweet. Very much so.”

But he smiled as if he didn’t dislike it, and he looked so pretty that Ji Hyun couldn’t even ask for her drink back and just stared blankly. Her face flushed red.

To think that face that kept making sarcastic remarks was pretty – there was no way, she told herself this was just her face heating up from anger.

Ha Jun’s wary gaze as he watched Seung Ho slowly shifted to Ji Hyun. Seeing her rubbing her flushed cheeks mercilessly, light gathered in Ha Jun’s eyes.

“Do you still collect or make butterfly specimens these days?”

Ha Jun opened the discussion. Seung Ho put down the lemonade and nodded his head with a relaxed face.

“Of course.”

“Then have you ever tried raising butterflies yourself, apart from ones for specimens?”

“I have.”

“What did you do with those butterflies?”

The meaning of the question was clear. Whether he released them into the sky or made them into specimens, the sharp-edged content had a cruel ending no matter what he chose. As if realizing the answer that would come from Seung Ho, Min Woo quickly intervened in their conversation.

“Hey, hey, Kim Ha Jun, why are you suddenly talking about that? Let’s talk about something else. Okay?”

Despite Min Woo’s efforts, he did not hesitate to answer.

“I made them into specimens.”

Seung Ho tilted his head as if asking why he was being asked the obvious, and the corners of his mouth curved gently. Ha Jun shuddered. His eyes that weren’t smiling at all were chillingly cold.

“I never let what’s mine be taken away. No matter what it is…”

It was a clear warning. Telling him not to dare to covet what wasn’t his…

Reading Seung Ho’s gaze, Ha Jun looked at Ji Hyun with a distant feeling. Not having heard their conversation, she was laughing with Mi Ri. Her innocent and unknowing bright face felt overwhelming.

Ji Hyun glared with all her might at Seung Ho’s broad back walking ahead of her. She had been looking forward to spending a pleasant time with her friends, but Shin Seung Ho, who suddenly appeared, had caused a disruption.

“Let’s go now.”

Of course, she thought he was talking to his friend Min Woo.

“Choi Ji Hyun, what are you doing? Are you not going to get up?”

Until he specifically said her name…

She was so startled when her name came out of his mouth that she almost jumped.

‘Why are you pretending to know me here? If you’re going to go, go by yourself.’

Ji Hyun tried hard to convey her refusal to go with him through her eyes, but to no avail.

“Wait, you two know each other?”

Mi Ri even carefully asked, looking at the two alternately with questioning eyes, making Ji Hyun’s head spin. Not knowing how to explain, Ha Jun saved the situation just before it collapsed.

“They got to know each other because of me. You don’t need to know the details…”

Ha Jun continued in a subdued voice.

“Ji Hyun, go home quickly. It would be better to do that today.”

However, he was looking at Seung Ho, not Ji Hyun.

Seung Ho chuckled as if it was ridiculous, meeting his firm gaze filled with resolute will. He cracked his neck and chanted ominously.

“That’s right. Why don’t you try and see…”

‘I wish we would arrive home quickly…’

White breath escaped from Ji Hyun’s mouth. It was a sigh.

Although it was Seung Ho who had practically dragged her out to start this walk together, Ji Hyun found walking with him extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

She wished he would stride ahead with his long legs as usual, but spitefully, his pace was way too slow today.

How long had they been walking…

When she was tired of glaring at him with resentful eyes and freely criticizing his arbitrary behavior in her mind, something cold settled on her eyelashes. Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Ji Hyun lifted her head and looked at the sky.

“…It’s snowing.”