“Liar.” My heart sank as if my hidden feelings had been exposed.

“Your eyes are curious despite your denial.”

Jae Ha, who had closed the distance between us in an instant, looked down at me gently.

Unable to move, I met his dark, shimmering eyes up close.

At some point, I had been swept up in Jae Ha’s peculiar way of speaking.

I was supposed to be the one answering the questions, but the more we talked, the more it seemed my inner feelings were being revealed.

“Or are you pretending not to know even though you understand everything?”

“No, it’s not like that. And I told you I’m not curious. I want to get up now.”

Even though I said I would stand up, he didn’t move.

As I lowered my gaze, Jae Ha’s hand, pressing me down so I couldn’t move, came into view.

“Then why are you avoiding my eyes?”

What should I do? I was in the midst of desperately sorting out my thoughts.

I flinched unknowingly at his low voice coming from above my head.

He must have felt my evasion.

Even though I wasn’t making eye contact, I could still feel his heated gaze, and I sighed.

“It was Yeo Jin who woke me up to have a conversation.”

“That’s…! I just came to apologize.”

I couldn’t deny that I had created this situation by seeking him out in his room, but it was unfair.

As I raised my head unknowingly due to my swelling emotions, I met Jae Ha’s gaze.

“You finally look at me.”

“……”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s a problem I should have paid more attention to in the first place.”

Jae Ha’s gaze shifted to the hair tangled on my cheek.

He reached out and gently touched my hair, which was still damp.

“Never mind everything else, I’m just glad you’re safe. Really.”

His hand, which had been smoothing my hair, slipped and touched my cheek.

Even though he must have felt me flinch at his touch, Jae Ha, instead, stroked my cheek.

My heart sank once more at the touch that came softly, yet without hesitation.

His gaze, which had been away from me, was once again directed at me.

Jae Ha’s eyes, warmly turned towards me, exuded a different atmosphere than before.

His deep, intense gaze, as if wanting something, entwined with me.

I wanted to avoid his gaze, but I couldn’t turn my head due to his hand on my cheek.

“It seems like something as important as getting Ho Jin back has come up for me.”

“…What do you mean?”

Speaking in a deep, low voice as if from a cave, he slowly approached me.

Every time he moved, his solid body was revealed and disappeared through the gap in his shirt.

My hand touched the edge of the bed as I gradually stepped back from Jae Ha who was approaching me.

If Jae Ha came a little closer, our lips would be close enough to touch.

Looking around sneakily, there seemed to be no place to retreat.

Jae Ha also seemed to know this fact, looking at me with eyes twinkling more than before.

I thought it would be better to fall to the ground than to suffocate in this awkward atmosphere.

It was at the moment when I was about to take another step back.

“Stop. I won’t do it anymore.”

Then Jae Ha quickly wrapped his arms around my waist.

Only after seeing me no longer moving did he loosen the grip on my waist.

Jae Ha let out a chuckle as if surprised by my desperate move.

“You’re driving me crazy. What are you going to do if you get hurt moving around like that?”

Jae Ha seemed to have returned to his original self, as if he had forgotten what had just happened.

But my heart was still pounding as if it was about to leap out.

Only after the situation had settled did my face start to heat up belatedly.

“I can’t see Mr. Jae Ha right now. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

At the sight of Jae Ha sweeping back his disheveled hair, I abruptly stood up from my seat.

It felt dangerous to be under the same roof with him.

Above all, I was afraid of becoming a stranger in front of him.

“No, I’ll go to a hotel. That would be better.”

“You’re going to a hotel at this hour?”

He frowned deeply at the mention of a hotel.

“If I stay in a hotel for a while and find a house……”

“No, you can’t. Stay here.”

Before I knew it, Jae Ha was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at me with a skewed gaze.

“I brought you here to stay. What will I do if you leave.”

At first, I thought it was impossible, but seeing his firm eyes, he seemed sincere.

“Here? But it’s your house, Jae Ha.”

My heart started to beat at a different pace under Jae Ha’s gaze, which didn’t seem to leave me.

He probably knew what that meant.

“You’re not suggesting we live together, are you……?”

Seeing Jae Ha raising the corners of his mouth without answering my question, my face turned hot.

“Actually, I’m of the opinion that cohabitation before marriage is fine.”

“I’m not okay with it.”

I couldn’t close my mouth, which had opened wide at the explicit word “cohabitation”.

Just a while ago, he had been avoiding even talking to me, but now our positions had reversed.

Seeing my changing expressions, Jae Ha wore a strange smile as if he was enjoying it.

He had returned to his previous self at some point.