It was a Friday night and he was picking a movie for them to watch together, remote control in hand. Seol Hee’s heart grew impatient for some reason, so she jokingly interrupted him at an opportune moment.

“Sunbae, at this rate the night will pass us by. Can’t you see your wife giving you the side-eye next to you? Let’s continue our conversation another time and take a break for now.”

“Should we? Jae Eun has already laid out the drinks and she keeps glaring at me. We were going to have a drink, just the two of us.”

“Yes. Enjoy some intimate time together, it’s been a while.”

As soon as Seol Hee put down the phone after finally ending the call, Kang Mo spoke up as if he had been waiting.

“Is it all done now?”

“Yes. Sorry, did you wait long?”

“That was the sunbae you mentioned before? What kind of man talks so much, and it sounded like his wife was right there next to him.”

“Ah, sunbae doesn’t usually do that, I think he was just excited today.”

“Did you agree to go to the interview?”

“Yes. I’ll at least go and see.”

“I keep telling you to just come to our company, do you not like our company?”

Seol Hee smiled at Kang Mo’s disappointed tone that was evident in his words.

“If I fail the interview, I’ll think about it. By the way, did you pick a movie?”

Kang Mo shook his head side to side and cautiously asked.

“Is there anything you want to watch? What genre of movies do you like?”

“Me? Well, I don’t particularly avoid any, but I do especially like disaster movies or action films.”

Kang Mo’s gaze shifted from the screen listing the movies to Seol Hee. Tilting his head, Kang Mo recalled a memory from long ago.

A few years ago, when Seol Hee briefly frequented his house, she would sometimes wait for him while watching a movie.

After she went back home, Kang Mo would open the viewing history to rewatch the movies she had seen, and the films she watched back then were primarily bright and cheerful comedies or romance movies that were easy to watch.

Had her taste changed in the past few years?

“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d prefer comedies, romance, or maybe musical films.”

“Well, I like those too. But right now, I’m in the mood for something big in scale and exciting like a disaster movie or action film. If you haven’t picked one yet, can I choose?”

Kang Mo nodded and handed the remote to Seol Hee, then chuckled knowingly as he watched her quickly flip past the screen whenever a romance or melodrama movie popped up among the various content options.

“Why are you suddenly laughing?”

“Nothing. It’s just… cute, the way Baek Seo Hee is acting.”

“What? Cute, my foot.”

Seo Hee pouted her lips and the movie she finally selected was one Kang Mo had already seen before.

It was an action movie where you really couldn’t find a single romantic scene even if you looked hard for it, and the only skinship between a man and woman was a heartfelt hug scene between father and daughter.

Baek Seo Hee, you’re really trying, aren’t you.

Her strong determination to prevent any ambiguous or sensual atmosphere from forming was palpable.

Although Kang Mo could have been disappointed, the fact that Seo Hee was so conscious of him and putting in effort to the point of feeling embarrassed to watch even a simple love scene together, he saw it as a good sign.

That’s right, keep being conscious of me like that. Keep thinking of me that way.

Leaning back comfortably on the sofa, Kang Mo pretended not to notice Seo Hee’s occasional glances his way and focused on the movie that didn’t really catch his interest. Then, as the movie progressed past the beginning and into the middle, he smiled slightly seeing Seo Hee immerse herself as if absorbed in the film.

Seo Hee’s expressions were so varied as she concentrated on watching. When suspense built up, when bloody fights broke out, when the protagonist and antagonist confronted each other, and when the father and daughter tightly embraced each other after resolving the incident, Seo Hee’s diverse facial expressions delighted Kang Mo’s eyes.

Kang Mo didn’t find rewatching a movie he had already seen boring at all. No, there was no room for boredom. Watching Baek Seo Hee seemed a hundred times more entertaining than watching the movie.

After the movie that lasted over two hours finally ended, Seo Hee rubbed the back of her neck and hesitantly spoke as she stood up from her seat.

“I’m tired from focusing too much. I’ll go in first.”

“Okay. I’ll head in soon too. You go ahead.”

“Ah, yeah. But, Kang Mo, you… still have insomnia… right?”

Kang Mo smirked, immediately grasping the intent behind the question.

“Why, did you get tired of me already? Trying to kick me out?”

“Hey, no matter what I say, you always… No, that’s not it, it’s just that you seem to fall asleep while closing your eyes…”

“So?”

“So I thought… maybe you could do that lying down in the room you’re sleeping in now…”

“I see. You’re trying to chase me out from beside you.”

“I said that’s not it. I’m just worried it’ll be uncomfortable for you. I’m fine as long as I have space to lie down, but you have a big build so won’t you be uncomfortable in a half-sized space? I’m just saying that if your insomnia has gotten a bit better, you can sleep comfortably in your own bed.”

Kang Mo pursed his lips and let out a snort.

“Baek Seo Hee, I appreciate your concern for me, but it’s only possible because I’m next to you. It’s because I close my eyes while looking at you sleeping and use your breathing as a lullaby that I can do it. At least that way, I can fall asleep even if it’s at dawn. Should I still go back to my room?”

“No. Just… do what you’ve been doing. I’ll go in first.”

Leaving behind an awkward answer, Seo Hee hurriedly disappeared into the room.

Kang Mo sighed deeply as he watched her flee as if running away after fumbling with her forehead.

Even the sight of her running away to avoid him felt cute and lovable. It seemed like it would be another very long night.

“What’s so pretty about a woman who’s always in a hurry to run off. Hah…”

Moonlight softly filtered through the thin lace curtains.

Unable to fall asleep even past midnight again, Seo Hee carefully sat up from her spot without making a sound.

Kang Mo lay straight with his hands clasped behind his head, looking quite comfortable. To check if he was really asleep, Seo Hee waved her open palm in front of his face. Still not satisfied, she slightly brought her index finger near his nose.

Warm breaths escaped rhythmically and his firm chest rose and fell naturally as if keeping time with it. They were definitely signals sent by a sleeping person.

Seo Hee, who usually fell into deep sleep as long as her head hit a surface, and Kang Mo, who was sensitive and had trouble sleeping with even slight changes in atmosphere or environment, seemed to have completely swapped places these past few days.

Since sharing a bed with Kang Mo, Seo Hee had to toss and turn holding her breath for a while, unable to fall asleep quickly as usual. On the other hand, Kang Mo seemed to sink into sound sleep, exhaling such rhythmic breaths not long after laying his body on the bed.

Seo Hee, not knowing even in her dreams that Kang Mo was pretending to be asleep, could only lament to herself.

I can’t wake him now that he’s finally asleep to send him away.

“You’re the sensitive one, right? Do you really have insomnia? I can’t fall asleep at all because I’m conscious of you, but how can you come by sleep so peacefully?”

Seo Hee felt wronged. Who was it that made the person who sleeps well unable to sleep, yet they alone seemed carefree. She unreasonably pursed her lips feeling mistreated.

“You’re a bit hateful.”

Despite saying he was hateful, her eyes showed no sign of leaving Kang Mo’s sleeping face. The strong impression from his deep eyes when he usually looked at her was nowhere to be found. Kang Mo’s expression while asleep looked somewhat soft and gentle, even surprising.

“Our Kang Mo has many faces.”

After gazing down at him for a while, a tender smile spread across Seo Hee’s lips.

Seo Hee suddenly wanted to see Kang Mo’s straight forehead hidden by his tousled hair. That was probably just an excuse she found for wanting to touch him.

In her heart, she may have wanted to touch his softened eyes, straight nose bridge, sharp jawline, or sensual lips. However, all Seo Hee’s cautious heart permitted was merely his hair. Even that took tremendous courage.

Recalling her own case when she fell asleep, she was certain he wouldn’t wake up from that level of contact. That made this act of transgression possible.

Firmly propping the bed with her left hand, she raised her right hand toward Kang Mo’s face, her fingertips trembling slightly.

It’s just hair, what’s the big deal. It’ll be fine.

Soothing her shaking heart, she gently brushed aside the hair drooping over Kang Mo’s forehead with her index finger as if parting a curtain. As half of his straight forehead was revealed, a soft arc formed on Seo Hee’s lips.

As expected, he’s handsome.

Having done it once, it was no big deal. Seeing Kang Mo’s face remaining still as if a dead mouse, she reached out her hand again holding her breath. Brushing aside the rest of his hair to the opposite side, his handsome forehead was fully exposed. A silent bright smile spread in a moment of some inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

Surprisingly, Kang Mo’s eyes flew wide open. Seo Hee froze on the spot.

Seo Hee’s lips that held a smile just moments ago were entangled with startled breaths. Captivated by Kang Mo’s gaze boring straight into her, she couldn’t move a muscle.

His eyes were too lucid to be called drowsy from sleep.

“Kang… Mo.”

Kang Mo’s lips curling up on one side, her wrist being grabbed by him, her back touching the bed, and her letting out a short scream from being crushed by Kang Mo’s weight all happened simultaneously in the blink of an eye.

Shocked by his swift and powerful movements, Seo Hee lost her words.

“Baek Seo Hee.”

Her body trembled at Kang Mo’s heavy voice so different from usual.

“I’m sorry for waking you, Kang Mo. I didn’t mean to, so…”

“No. You don’t need to be sorry. I was never asleep to begin with, so what is there to wake.”

“…What? You said you weren’t asleep?”

Kang Mo’s eyes that stared intently at Seo Hee quietly blazed.

“How can I sleep when you’re next to me. Just looking at you makes me tremble like this, just smelling your scent makes me feel like my heart will burst and I’ll die. Someone like you, someone like you who just needs to reach out a hand to touch me, is lying down right next to me like this. How can I sleep, I ask you.”

“…”

Not easily understanding Kang Mo’s words, Seo Hee’s eyes filled with confusion trembled finely.