“Yoo In.”

The dry voice pierced my ear just as the driver’s door closed. The gaze fixed straight ahead looked sharp and parched.

Was he angry after all? The fierceness shown earlier in his attitude towards Ji Han was no longer visible, but it didn’t seem to have completely dissipated either.

“Yes.”

“I’d prefer not to see you getting entangled with Yoon Ji Han anymore. What do you think?”

What do I think. The ending of the sentence in question form was too monotonous to feel like an actual inquiry.

After a slight delay, Ki Yeon turned his head, his face bearing an expression that seemed imprinted with a rigidity that made it impossible to read anything. This emotionless mask, which I had never seen before, looked surprisingly natural on him.

Having lost her cues, Yoo In was unsure whether Ki Yeon wanted an answer or an excuse right now.

“We met by chance today. You don’t need to misunderstand. There wasn’t any situation to warrant that.”

“What misunderstanding.”

“Pardon?”

“What misunderstanding did I have?”

Along with his calm voice, a small crack appeared in his seemingly solid brow. The previously emotionless gaze sank heavily, deepening the quiet ink-black color.

As Yoo In, at a loss for words, moved her lips, Ki Yeon’s gentlemanly low voice was heard first.

“I’m not misunderstanding. About you and that friend.”

The eyelids that had been quietly lowered suddenly lifted. The faintly trembling brown eyes gazed intently at Ki Yeon.

Then, Ki Yeon sighed softly and, meeting her eyes calmly, reached out to lightly touch the reddened corner of her eye.

A refreshing scent befitting his cool and soft fingertips emanated.

“Did you cry?”

“…No.”

At the quiet voice, Ki Yeon exhaled a rough, irritated breath through his nose. Then, narrowing his already slender eyes even further, he asked.

“Should I believe you or not? Nam Yoo In, you choose.”

The lie immediately exposed, her eyes lowered again, avoiding an answer as they rolled around here and there.

Though it seemed like a simple request for a choice, the true intention behind the choice he offered was consideration for Yoo In. That she didn’t have to speak if she didn’t want to.

Even though he might be curious about what happened with Ji Han, why she cried, why she didn’t avoid when her hand was held, even amidst all this, he was putting Yoo In’s wishes first.

As Yoo In silently lowered her eyes, a cool palm approached her warm cheek and gently cupped it. Though she knew it wasn’t meant to rush her, she opened her mouth right away.

“Will you believe me?”

“If that’s what you want.”

The man, whose every gesture was comforting, answers steadily and firmly as always.

As her gaze wandered aimlessly, small details that made up his being caught her eye.

The neat creases of his suit pants, the large hand with prominent knuckles resting on them, the gleaming buttons of his vest. Though they should be familiar from frequent sight, those always new aspects were touching.

Yoo In lowered her head further, leaning into his palm. As she did so, she clearly felt the firm support, as if saying it was fine to lean in even deeper.

The tender affection he showed was thus quiet and gentle, yet profound.

“I feel like I might develop a strange stubbornness. Since you always say you’ll do whatever I want.”

“That’s fine with me. So should I believe you or not? What should I do?”

His tone, tinged with urgency, gently urged Yoo In. Though he seemed to maintain his composure outwardly, he appeared quite anxious inside.

The corners of her mouth, which had momentarily tensed, softened and tried to rise slightly.

Gazing tenderly at the man who had lost his cool because of her, Yoo In impulsively laid out the circumstances with her friend that she had never mentioned before.

“Ji Han and I… haven’t been getting along well lately. For some time now, he hasn’t been in touch much, and he’s been missing meetups we had planned. Today too, I was about to go home after studying with just Jae Hee, when I really ran into him by chance in front of the library.”

“…”

“But somehow it turned into another argument… He seems to be very angry with me about something. So I was really upset.”

“Mm, I see.”

Along with the gentle response, his rough thumb moved like a feather, stroking the delicate skin under her eye.

Was it her imagination that Ki Yeon’s face, which had been hardened as if wearing a mask, seemed to slowly melt?

“I thought of you. And… I missed you.”

“So you cried? Because you missed me?”

“…Mm.”

After briefly contemplating while biting her lower lip, Yoo In playfully nodded, causing the man who had been frowning as if he couldn’t help it to laugh shortly.

“If you miss me, answer the phone, why cry? And without me there, at that.”

“You called? I didn’t know.”

“I came to surprise you after finishing some work nearby, but I didn’t expect to see such an absurd scene.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“Nam Yoo In doesn’t need to apologize.”

“Still…”

“Don’t contact Yoon Ji Han for a while and keep your distance. It’ll be uncomfortable for both of you anyway.”

His tone sounded quite breezy, but there was a certain stubbornness visible, wanting to make a definite conclusion.

“And don’t shed tears where I can’t see from now on. Especially if it’s for other reasons.”

“I didn’t cry, like, a lot.”

“Now you say that?”

“…”

At that, Ki Yeon clicked his tongue lightly and gently rubbed her eyelids before removing his hand. It meant he wasn’t pleased anyway.

Yoo In, regretting the lost touch, followed his movement and mumbled as if complaining.

“I really don’t know why he’s acting like this. He won’t tell me even when I ask. He’s doing things he never used to do, so I wonder if he’s the same person I knew.”

“If he’s not asking you to understand, does Nam Yoo In need to care? There are times when you should let things flow without holding on. That friend seems to want that too.”

“…”

“He must be lacking composure himself to make you flustered with such impulsive actions.”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course. Have I ever said anything wrong to our puppy?”

As if that could never be. Yoo In shook her head in denial.

Ki Yeon had considerable discernment and insight. He was quick to assess situations and knew how to make the best decisions.

Above all, she knew well that Ki Yeon would never come to a conclusion that could harm her even slightly.

“If you spend some time apart, things will settle one way or another. Besides, that friend must be busy looking for an agency now, and Nam Yoo In, you’re busy studying too.”

Yoo In, who had been concentrating on listening to his pleasant low voice with little fluctuation, momentarily deviated in her train of thought.

Yoon Ji Han’s agency. Would Ji Han end up going to ‘Illang’? The white face that had painfully contorted at the merciless criticism to behave properly flickered in her mind.

Yoo In raised her face to meet Ki Yeon’s eyes. Meeting her large, clear eyes, he asked with an ambiguous expression, as if about to smile or not.

“Why? Are you worried I might say something to Yoon Ji Han?”

Ah. This man never pretends not to know.

“…A little.”

“What should I do to make Nam Yoo In stop caring about that friend?”

The answer to that was already decided. Even if something unexpected happened between them, Yoo In absolutely did not want Ji Han to be unhappy or struggling.

“I want Ji Han to do well.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. If that’s your wish.”

His voice flowed out as if he had been prepared for this, sounding nonchalant.

“Then now Nam Yoo In should focus only on me. Don’t look elsewhere. Don’t think about anything else.”

“…”

“Can you do that?”

Instead of the embarrassing sentence that she was already doing so, Yoo In gently nodded her head in response.

Ki Yeon, finally removing all the indifference that had been hanging over him, smiled brightly, the corners of his eyes curving upwards.

As the tense air in the car began to flow peacefully, changing its current, Ki Yeon opened his arms towards Yoo In.

A gesture of reconciliation? Yoo In smiled, raising her delicate cheeks, and willingly entered his embrace.

Just as she was feeling the firm arms holding her tightly and the rough warmth, something soft and warm touched and left her earlobe with a ‘chu!’ sound.

It was a light but sticky and thrilling contact.

“Eek! Wh-what’s that suddenly!”

“What do you mean, what? It’s a compliment that you’re pretty.”

Along with the teasing voice mocking Yoo In’s surprised squirming, this time his lips landed repeatedly next to her temple.

At the act of touching her overly heated skin, her whole body seemed to become a heart, thumping loudly and emptying her mind.

As her mind went blank from the intimate first contact that passed so quickly without warning, the deep voice of the man responsible for all this filled her ears.

“Let’s go home now, puppy.”

****

“Today’s lecture ends here. Prepare well for next week’s exam.”

The last class wrapping up the semester came to an end. Despite being called the last, it felt no different from any other day, making it hard to realize.

Perhaps that’s why. While other students quickly packed up and left the lecture hall, Yoo In lingered a bit longer in her seat.

When almost everyone had left, Yoo In, who had been neatly putting her things in her bag, habitually glanced at her phone screen.

“…”

An empty notification screen. And no incoming messages.

Although the person who was always with her had disappeared, it didn’t mean her daily life had changed dramatically.

She still attended lectures, did assignments alone in the library, occasionally met with Jae Hee to chat if their schedules aligned, then parted ways. Going home to continue studying for exams before falling asleep, it was a repetition of monotonous days.

That was on the surface. Though she was carrying on as if nothing had changed, occasionally the empty part of her heart where Ji Han used to be ached.

“…”

Even while carefully pondering Ki Yeon’s words to give each other time, the vague fear of the summer vacation period, which would tear them apart from the same bundle of school into separate individuals, loomed.

Is it really right to let things flow like this? It was a continuous cycle of seemingly hollow concerns while being unable to do anything.

Should I send a message or not? Is it better not to after all? She stood up from her seat while contemplating. Deciding to think about it a bit more while walking to the main gate.

Just as she was passing through the classroom door, a short vibration announcing the arrival of a message sounded in her hand.

It must be Ki Yeon. Her eyes, which had been guessing, suddenly widened.

It was a short message from Ji Han.