“Why are you so surprised? As if you’ve seen a ghost.”

From the moment I realized it was real, my chest area strangely stirred.

Behind the throbbing heartbeat, the lingering regret that remained like a remnant was being swept away. In its place came joy and surprise.

I couldn’t deny that I was a little excited to see this man who appeared like magic.

“……What brings you here without any notice?”

I uttered dry words, afraid he might notice my inner feelings.

The revived emotions were dancing and swaying so much that I felt they might burst out if I wasn’t careful.

Jae Hee had told me the same thing. To be careful because it shows on my face.

However, unlike the emotionless words, the blushing color on Yoo In’s face was beyond her control.

Ki Yeon stared at Yoo In’s reddened cheeks and smiled.

“I thought Nam Yoo In might miss me.”

“……Me?”

“You wouldn’t call even if you thought of me, so I had to come.”

Though it was clearly an absurd reason, somehow Yoo In couldn’t think of any words to refute and just bit her lip.

“I missed Nam Yoo In.”

Ki Yeon gently grasped Yoo In’s wrist, adding “too much” with a grin.

Holding her wrist instead of her hand, Ki Yeon started walking somewhere, leading Yoo In.

Passing the apartment entrance and onto the road in front of the house, Yoo In silently followed along the walk, and Ki Yeon shortened his stride to walk shoulder to shoulder with Yoo In.

Under the sunset sky dyed in warm colors, with the necktie fluttering gently in the light breeze, Yoo In lowered her head and said softly while staring at it.

“Director, you say such things so easily.”

“Such things?”

“Things like missing someone… and stuff.”

Ki Yeon chuckled, having keenly heard the barely audible words.

“Why. Don’t you like it?”

“……It’s not that I don’t like it.”

“Don’t women like these kinds of words?”

Yoo In stopped abruptly. With the emotion that had been swelling up excitedly suddenly cooling down.

While her body stopped, her mind was spinning. Did ‘women’ refer to people he had met before, or was it just based on social statistics?

While Yoo In was lost in serious contemplation, Ki Yeon, who had been examining her pondering fair face, couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

When Yoo In asked grumpily, Ki Yeon, with joy clearly spreading across his face, grabbed Yoo In’s cheeks with both hands.

“Ah, Nam Yoo In. What should I do with you?”

“What do you mean, what should you do?”

“You, I mean you.”

When did he say such unpleasant things, and now what does he mean by what should he do?

The large hands pressing her cheeks made her pink lips pout involuntarily.

Yoo In, who had become like a gaping fish, immediately frowned.

“Let, let go of this!”

“You’re pretty even like this. This is serious, really.”

“Stop saying weird things!”

After struggling for a while, Yoo In finally broke free and stepped away from Ki Yeon, breathing heavily.

Watching Yoo In’s retreating back as she walked away quickly, Ki Yeon smirked and caught up in one stride, snatching her hand.

“Where do you think you’re running off to.”

“Who’s running away? This is the way to my house, you know?”

“I can’t tie you up to keep you from going.”

“……Wh-what, you’re joking, right?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

The face of the man looking down at her with a subtle smile didn’t seem to be joking.

As Yoo In stammered, unable to say anything in her bewilderment, Ki Yeon’s long eyes, which had been quietly observing her, curved into a pleasant arc.

“If you’re done being surprised, shall we go home now, Ms. Nam Yoo In?”

Ki Yeon said in a gentle voice, naturally putting his arm around her shoulder.

Like changing masks, his expression was quite different from the person who had said he would tie her up.

Yoo In, who had gained confusion on top of bewilderment, swallowed a dry gulp and opened her mouth.

“Director. You’re joking, right?”

“Hmm.”

Ki Yeon lowered his gaze, glancing at Yoo In with a mysterious light in his eyes.

“Think about it carefully, Nam Yoo In.”

And then he smiled brightly, but for some reason that smile looked so impudent that Yoo In quickly averted her eyes, feeling quite uneasy.

Because of this man who suddenly appeared and made her feel perplexed in many ways, Yoo In’s mind was in complete disarray with no room left.

****

A few days after the confusing walk.

The festive spirit that hadn’t yet faded seemed to have spread beyond the school gates to the university street, as even the restaurant they entered for lunch after class had a strangely bustling atmosphere.

Amidst the busy atmosphere, they were having various conversations when the food arrived, and after a few spoonfuls…

“……”

Ah, again.

This was already the umpteenth time Yoo In’s eyes met with the women sitting diagonally across from her who kept glancing over.

To be precise, they were sneaking peeks at Yoon Ji Han, who had become a celebrity-level figure in the past few days.

The background for this was the festival performance that had ended successfully. Ji Han, who was already famous, had reached the peak of explosive interest and popularity with the one-time play.

To the extent that everyone in the restaurant was looking at him like this.

The gazes were so blatant that Ji Han, with his quick perception, must have noticed, but he was calmly eating his meal.

Yoo In, who had been breathing uncomfortably, finally put down her chopsticks, and her two friends’ gazes immediately fixed on her.

The friend sitting across from Yoo In spoke first.

“Are you done eating?”

“Yeah. You guys eat slowly.”

The one sitting next to her quickly looked away, but the one across with pale, gentle eyes didn’t back down and looked at Yoo In as if examining her.

When she quietly asked “Why?”, after a long moment, the neat face that shook its head looked a bit gloomy.

Not knowing why her friend had such an expression, Yoo In looked at Ji Han, who was eating reluctantly, for a moment before turning her head towards the window.

The air in the restaurant felt too stuffy and oppressive, and she wanted to leave quickly.

Fortunately, her friends finished their meals quickly, and after a brief discussion, the three of them left the university area altogether and entered a famous franchise cafe in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

While Ji Han briefly left his seat to pick up the ordered coffee, Jae Hee whispered.

“Are you going to talk about the director today?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“So I can prepare my heart a little.”

“Prepare? What preparation?”

Before she could hear anything, Jae Hee straightened up from her leaning position and sat upright, making Yoo In wonder why, when she saw Ji Han approaching with the cafe tray.

Ji Han, who had been quietly subdued with little to say during the meal and the trip to the cafe, sat down and dropped a statement-like sentence on the table.

“Don’t whisper between yourselves, tell me too, Nam Yoo In.”

Here it comes. Actually, it might not be a big deal, but why does it make me so nervous?

“Um… Ji Han.”

Yoo In called him quietly. In response, brown eyes closely followed her, waiting.

Ji Han looked particularly heavy and depressed today. That dark weight seemed to cross over to the other side, pressing down on the weight in her heart even more.

Enduring the suffocating feeling as if her solar plexus was blocked, Yoo In glanced at Jae Hee.

Jae Hee’s cat-like eyes closed and opened. It seemed to mean don’t mind and just do it.

“Well……”

The story that began hesitantly flowed out almost the same as what she had told Jae Hee.

The first meeting, several coincidental encounters that overlapped, and even the fact that they had become quite close.

After revealing everything, the only thing Ji Han asked Yoo In was:

“Why… didn’t you tell me earlier?”

It was a painful, desolate face that clearly looked hurt.

“No, I’m the fool. You were definitely acting strange. Even though you said it was nothing, I should have kept asking until the end. But… I’m an idiot. Why did I do that, why didn’t I ask……”

Unlike Jae Hee, who had calmly and naturally accepted everything, Ji Han seemed to have received a great shock, and Yoo In couldn’t say anything more to him.

She couldn’t gauge whether the shock was due to the lie or the unfamiliar fact that Yoo In might start dating.

Only the words he muttered as if talking to himself clearly stung a corner of her heart.

The pain of unknown reason continued even after returning home, and kept faintly aching Yoo In until her late-night call with Ki Yeon.

−You did well.

When she told him the news that she had told everything to her friends who weren’t even that close, Ki Yeon’s response was a clean compliment saying she did well.

−The pretty one only does pretty things.

The additional comment made her get goosebumps to the point where even her scalp tingled. When Yoo In made a groaning sound, Ki Yeon laughed softly.

At the same time, a messy sound came from the other side of the phone, and Yoo In, who had been shuddering, opened her eyes wide.

“Shouldn’t you hang up now? I think your friend said something.”

−He’s drunk and talking nonsense. Don’t mind it.

Then, another very faint sound came through.

It didn’t sound like drunken speech. Her head, lying on the bed, tilted in confusion.

Ki Yeon, who said he was having a drink with a friend at a bar, had been on the phone with Yoo In for over 10 minutes now. And right next to his friend.

Feeling unnecessarily uncomfortable, Yoo In tried to hang up several times, but each time she was dissuaded and interrogated in order about who she met today, what she had for lunch, and what she talked about.

−Since you did well, I should give you a present.

“What. It sounds like I told you for the sake of getting a present from you, Director. That’s not it.”

−What does it matter. You can receive anything I give.

Even Ki Yeon’s usually concise voice gained a lilt, showing signs of drinking.

Whenever Yoo In discovered these loosened aspects of Ki Yeon, it reminded her of the treasure hunts she used to do on childhood field trips.

Hard to find, but when you do, it’s satisfying and feels like a gift, mysterious and such.

−Yoo In.

“Yes?”

Sometimes “Ms. Yoo In,” and sometimes just “Yoo In.” The way he mixed it up as he pleased was so like this man that a smile escaped her lips.

−Did that friend not say anything else?

“Umm……”

The slight smile that had formed quickly faded.

Ki Yeon occasionally threw questions with unclear intentions, and this was one of those moments.

Such questions were usually like the bottom crust of a pizza, a side dish, and even if she asked why he was curious, he would give an indifferent answer like “just because.”

Setting aside the pointless question, Yoo In stood at a crossroads, wondering whether to honestly reveal the pain that still lingered faintly, or if she should self-edit.

“No. He didn’t say much else.”

−……Really? Are you sure?

“Yes.”

−Hmm. Well, okay.

The choice was instinctive and without reason. It was just as Ki Yeon had said, “just because.”

Ki Yeon distrusted her result. He clearly didn’t believe it. Also, it had the nuance that it wasn’t a question asked to hear any particular answer.

Finally, the question Yoo In had been holding back burst out.

“Why are you curious about my friend’s reaction?”

−Me? That can’t be. What I’m really curious about is Nam Yoo In. I’m waiting patiently, I wonder if you’ve forgotten.

His low voice, tinged with playfulness, laughed.

Forgotten? She hadn’t forgotten for a moment. Rather, thinking too much was the problem. While she was agonizing to the point of groaning, this man who didn’t even know her feelings was only saying hurtful things.

“……I’m going to sleep.”

−Already?

“Yes. Drink moderately and go home.”

The man who received the grumpy concern laughed pleasantly as if he liked that too.

The gentle and low laughter was enough to make Yoo In’s lowered corners of her mouth shoot up as she burrowed into her blanket.