Hard yet cozy, fierce yet gentle, cold yet warm. That was Ki Yeon’s embrace.

Trapped in his arms, Yoo In could not feel even a slight breeze from the lakeside,
Immersed in a momentary fantasy where only the sound of a powerful heartbeat and steady breathing existed.

A man who built an impregnable fortress for her that no one else could enter, and herself always by his side.
A world where only the two of them lived and breathed. With Ki Yeon, she had the strange certainty that he would gladly create such a world for her.

Yoo In’s faith in Ki Yeon, who was special and extraordinary to her, was that immense and lofty.

“Abundance in tranquility.”

Yoo In said, looking out the arched window where tree branches swayed as if dancing.

The two were seated in a restaurant on a hill overlooking the lake. This log cabin, like a scene from a fairy tale, also had only Ki Yeon and Yoo In as guests.

When she entered the restaurant with Ki Yeon, she had to hurry to avoid his eyes so he wouldn’t notice her slight suspicion that there might not even be any staff.

“It suits Nam Yoo In.”

“Which part? The tranquility or the abundance?”

“Both.”

Yoo In showed a slight hint of disagreement with his words, but the man, resting his chin and staring at her intently, smiled unconcernedly.

“Still, nothing is as beautiful as you.”

An arm wrapped in a crisp shirt reached across the table to gently caress her flushed cheek.

It was a careful, polite gesture, as if afraid of marring a rare work of art.

“I’m glad I met you.”

He smiled, his eyes shining deeply. Her heart raced at his sincere, plain, yet weighty tone.

The pounding heartbeat and burning heat made her body languid.

His fingers, with a slightly lower temperature than others, were just like matches. Even the slightest touch ignites a flame. Then, was she the matchbox?

This absurd thought ended with his low voice tinged with sweetness.

“We should have a celebratory drink on a day like this.”

Ki Yeon looked regretful.

“But you have to drive.”

“It’s too disappointing to let it pass like this. Shall we go for champagne when we get back to Seoul in the evening? What do you think?”

Yoo In, looking at the man smiling pleasantly, felt an unfamiliar playfulness rise and pretended to contemplate.

As she tilted her head and went “Hmm,” Ki Yeon quietly gazed at her, like a student waiting obediently for a verdict.

Seeing this unexpected behavior, an irrepressible feeling burst forth.

“Why so serious?”

Seeing Yoo In smile with her cheeks puffed out, Ki Yeon briefly furrowed his brow before smiling.

“Are you teasing me?”

“Yes. A little.”

“It wasn’t just a little. I had all sorts of thoughts in that short moment.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

“I won’t tell you because I’m displeased.”

These small talk topics that might not be remembered tomorrow were by no means lightweight. Yoo In seemed to understand a little what it meant for such trivial things to accumulate.

Though neither of them had used language as a means to define their relationship, their form could only be explained by the word ‘lovers’.

His gentle eyes, the affection in them, his gaze that never left her, all spoke of it.

That you and I have become precious to each other.

“Yoo In.”

His husky low voice called, but Yoo In’s response was slightly delayed as she was chewing on a shrimp in her pasta.

“Yes?”

“You’re graduating soon, right? Have you decided what you’ll do after graduation?”

The unexpected question made her swallow the food she hadn’t finished chewing.

Graduation. It was one of the topics she didn’t want to think about. The turbulence she had momentarily forgotten while meeting him came rushing back.

She knew that while school was about studying and achieving results on her own, society wasn’t like that. Even if she disliked it, she had to mingle with others, say things she didn’t want to say, and get involved even when she didn’t want to.

A satellite that only orbits its own path doesn’t dream of deviation. Yoo In mashed and stirred the pasta noodles on her plate.

“Not yet.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Worried that her oddness might show, she deliberately ended with a short answer, but Ki Yeon somehow smiled cryptically.

Then, after a moment of silence as if choosing his words, he soon spoke.

“You can come work at our company.”

“…Pardon?”

“You can choose any department you want. Better yet, become my secretary.”

She barely caught the fork as it slipped from her hand. His words, as casual as a pretty classmate asking, “Want to come over to my house tomorrow?”, were too absurd.

“Are you joking?”

“No, not at all. Did it seem like a joke?”

“…”

“There’s nothing wrong with you joining as an employee. You don’t like that either?”

She nodded slightly while drinking from her water glass.

No matter how suddenly she had stepped in, and even if she had safely escaped, it wasn’t the kind of trace that could be washed away so easily. Ki Yeon’s broad, large back had only temporarily hidden the old, thickly accumulated pile. Without Ki Yeon, it wouldn’t have been possible at all.

But to get a job and go to work at such a place, it couldn’t make sense. And hadn’t Yoo In already refused something similar before?

“Is it because of Nam Yoo Jin? Or do you dislike my company that much?”

His face darkened for a moment, but he didn’t look genuinely dejected.

Perhaps Ki Yeon had known Yoo In would refuse even before he spoke.

Thanks to that, Yoo In could answer without serious consideration.

“You won’t always be by my side, will you?”

“Then, would you like to work by my side? I’ll get you an expensive desk.”

“That office? No, I’ll pass.”

“You didn’t like the office? What exactly didn’t you like about it? Tell me in detail.”

“If I tell you, will you change everything?”

“What’s so difficult about that? So tell me. Let’s change it to Nam Yoo In’s taste.”

He smiled mischievously as he insisted, but his curving eye corners were still elegant. How could a person possess such extremes simultaneously?

Ki Yeon always seemed to be like that. Even when he first forcibly sat her down in the private room, no, even before that, when he dragged her unconscious self out and put her in the car.

No matter how willful and unreasonable he acted, the irresistible nobility that enveloped him made Ki Yeon reasonable, dignified, and impossible not to acknowledge.

It’s strange. Her eyes keep being drawn to him. So, she must have grown to like him. Like this.

“My taste isn’t that refined.”

A faint smile also formed around Yoo In’s slightly reddened eyes.

“The choice of the prettiest person in the world can’t be anything but refined.”

Ki Yeon spoke as if what came out of his mouth was a universal truth.

Even when the world’s prettiest person in front of him covered her face, unable to bear the embarrassment, and cried out for him to stop, he looked ready to repeat it a hundred times more.

“My choice can’t be wrong. So it’s right that you shine the brightest in the world.”

When they came outside after the meal, they felt the heat from the ground warmed by the sun that had risen higher, and the lukewarm, humid breeze.

Yoo In took Ki Yeon’s outstretched hand and looked at the green trees and the brilliant lake spread out below the slope.

Thinking about leaving, even though the time spent wasn’t long, she already missed this scenery, this tranquility. Yoo In spoke with a hint of regret.

“Will we be able to come again?”

“Of course. If you want.”

The man’s dark eyes, mixed with a smile, were as sweet as ripe fruit.

“Will you make everyone disappear like this next time too?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“…How did you make them disappear? Surely this isn’t all your land or something, is it?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not.”

Ki Yeon gently stroked her white face full of doubt and smiled.

“But since you like it so much, I might have to consider it.”

“Ah, don’t joke like that. It’s scary because I feel like you might really do it.”

Yoo In pouted, swinging their joined hands as if complaining. Ki Yeon grinned and, as if he couldn’t resist, was about to pull Yoo In’s shoulder into his arms when—

“Just a moment,” he said, taking out his phone from inside his jacket, his lips tightening slightly.

“Yes.”

Answering the phone while firmly holding Yoo In’s hand with his other hand, Ki Yeon started walking slowly towards the parking lot.

“What did you spill? When? How much? Hah, really… Did you check the CCTV? Secure that footage and report to the police first.”

Throughout the call, Ki Yeon frowned as if displeased. Although the other person’s voice couldn’t be heard, it was clear from what came out of his mouth that it was no trivial matter.

Even when Ki Yeon unlocked the sedan and opened the passenger door for her, Yoo In hesitated and glanced up at him.

Ki Yeon met her gaze with a troubled look and added to the person on the other end:

“It’ll take about an hour. Yes, alright.”

The man’s movements as he put away his phone were not smooth. He seemed more than just irritated, but angry.

Yoo In cautiously asked.

“Did something happen?”

Ki Yeon smiled smoothly, as if he had forgotten all the intensity he had been exuding just moments ago.

“It’s nothing. Shall we have champagne tomorrow? It looks like I need to go to the company.”

“I don’t mind… but if it requires the police, isn’t it a big deal?”

At this, a brief look of displeasure crossed his well-groomed face before disappearing. Then he smiled even more deeply, making it difficult to guess his mood.

“I’m glad you’re worried, but don’t worry too much.”

The hand that gently rubbed between her furrowed brows was moderately lukewarm, like today’s weather.

Even as they returned to the city, Ki Yeon tried to reassure Yoo In whenever he had the chance. He met her eyes affectionately at intervals, held her hand, and smiled warmly.

Nevertheless, Yoo In couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling for some reason. She didn’t know if this was simple worry or a vain premonition.

Everything else was fine. She just hoped that the reason he was hiding something from her was, as he said, nothing at all. That it really was nothing.