“Yi Soo, let’s go to my house now.”

“Huh?”

Yi Soo asked again, wondering if she had heard wrong.

They had dinner together, watched a movie while drinking, and booked plane tickets, so it was time for Ji Ho to go home now.

“…Why?”

“We agreed to spend the whole weekend together after your exams ended. There’s only an hour left until the weekend. You didn’t forget our promise, did you?”

Looking up at the wall clock, it was 11 PM.

Ji Ho spoke casually, as if he had thought about this in advance.

Did spending the whole weekend together mean being together for 24 hours, no, 48 hours?

At Ji Ho’s very confident words, Yi Soo blinked with a bewildered expression.

‘Did I really promise that?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t remember making such a promise.

Logically, there’s no way she could have forgotten making such an extraordinary promise to stay at her boyfriend’s house for two full days.

“I think you’ve misunderstood something. I never made such a promise.”

Yi Soo spoke bluntly, saying what she remembered.

And then immediately regretted it.

Ji Ho’s expression as his shoulders suddenly drooped did not look good.

Ji Ho wasn’t lying either.

Whether he had heard what he wanted to hear, he clearly thought Yi Soo had agreed when he suggested spending the whole weekend together.

He felt hurt that Yi Soo was now flatly denying it, insisting on remembering it clearly.

He had suggested going together because he didn’t want to part again after just a few hours with Yi Soo, whom he had missed all week.

It seemed only Ji Ho didn’t want to separate.

Ji Ho asked in a deflated voice.

“So, you’re telling me to go home alone now?”

Yi Soo was also flustered by this situation.

She felt like she had done something wrong even though she hadn’t.

“We didn’t even see each other’s faces for a week because you were studying. Before that, we only saw each other briefly for a few minutes at night… Now your exams are over and it’s the weekend tomorrow, so I thought we could stay together. You don’t want to?”

How could he say so naturally to come to his house at this late hour?

He said it so casually that it created the illusion that it really was nothing unusual.

“It would be inconvenient to part now and meet again tomorrow, going back and forth. I don’t want to waste that time.”

A long silence followed as Ji Ho waited for Yi Soo’s answer.

Yi Soo also wanted to be with Ji Ho and sleep in his arms, but would it really end just there, as she wished?

Though she couldn’t claim to know men well, an ominous feeling came over her that if she went along with this, she would be eaten by the wolf.

“What’s the problem?”

Ji Ho asked in a frustrated voice, seeing Yi Soo hesitate.

“Ji Ho, I…”

“I’ll play the piano for you. And sing too!”

He vividly remembered Yi Soo’s eyes as she stared at him in a daze.

At those words, Yi Soo burst out laughing in disbelief and gave Ji Ho a sidelong glance.

Yi Soo’s eyes wavered slightly, attacked at her weakest point.

“What are you going to do at home…?”

“Whatever you want to do.”

Ji Ho read in Yi Soo’s eyes what answer she wanted to hear.

“If you don’t want to do anything, I won’t do anything… So you don’t need to worry unnecessarily.”

Ji Ho exuded confidence as he spoke without avoiding Yi Soo’s gaze.

“…Don’t you trust me? I won’t eat you up.”

Ji Ho said with a playful smile mixed in.

He truly had no such intention when asking Yi Soo to come home with him.

“I really just want to be with you innocently. If you misunderstand, I’ll feel really wronged.”

If he could take out his heart and show it to her, he wanted to do even that.

“So I just need to trust you?”

Her wavering heart, which had already tipped over halfway at Ji Ho’s sincere persuasion, was now even more swayed.

What would happen if she went to Ji Ho’s house on this night?

“Then just trust me.”

Ji Ho looked at Yi Soo with a confident expression and raised the corners of his mouth.

‘As long as I can have you by my side, I can endure anything.’

**

It was close to midnight when Yi Soo arrived at Ji Ho’s house.

“Want something to drink?”

“No, I already ate and drank.”

“Then…”

Ji Ho hesitated a little.

“I’m going to shower…”

Perhaps due to the late hour and being in her boyfriend’s house, those words sounded strangely suggestive.

“I took a half-bath earlier… I just need to wash my hands. You go ahead and shower.”

“Oh, okay. Then you use the bathroom in the bedroom.”

Ji Ho went into the living room bathroom, while Yi Soo slowly turned the doorknob to the bedroom and entered.

Even though it wasn’t her first time, entering Ji Ho’s bedroom felt somehow strange.

Ji Ho’s bedroom was so neat and tidy it gave the illusion of being in a hotel room.

The crisply made bed, well-organized room, wall-mounted TV, and half-drawn curtains.

Even the TV remote was placed neatly on the nightstand as if in its designated spot.

The scene was no different from that day.

As Yi Soo looked around Ji Ho’s room, it suddenly occurred to her what her own place must have looked like today.

She hadn’t even thought about how messy her place must have been after not sleeping for days, too busy to care.

She had given her boyfriend her door code but hadn’t even thought to clean up her place.

While she was surprised looking at Ji Ho’s immaculately clean bedroom, bordering on obsessive, she heard movement behind her.

“…What are you doing?”

Yi Soo’s head whipped around.

“You’re done showering already?”

Ji Ho nodded, his hair wet and wearing a bathrobe.

His damp hair fell over his eyebrows, and glimpses of skin peeked through the slightly open bathrobe.

Yi Soo’s flustered gaze darted around, not knowing where to look.

“Yeah. Did you wash your hands?”

“Ah, no. Not yet.”

“Then wash up and come out to the living room. I’ll dry my hair and be out.”

Ji Ho opened the master bathroom door for her and left the room again.

After washing her hands and coming out, Yi Soo looked at Ji Ho’s bed and suddenly recalled the night she had fled her home after being slapped by Soo Min.

The night she had lain in that bed, delirious with fever.

‘Back then, I never imagined I’d come to this room again.’

Remembering how Ji Ho had come looking for her and reached out his hand in her most terrible moment made her heart swell.

Yi Soo smiled nostalgically, recalling her gratitude towards Ji Ho.

**

Listening to the loud sound of the hair dryer, Yi Soo went closer to the living room window.

The glittering night view of Seoul was mesmerizingly beautiful.

‘Would even this view become tiresome if I saw it every day?’

A contented smile spread across her face without her realizing.

Yi Soo fell into a daze, staring at the Han River sparkling with reflected lights.

Just as she belatedly noticed the hair dryer noise had suddenly stopped and was about to turn around.

Ji Ho approached silently from behind and hugged Yi Soo tightly.

“Ah! You startled me.”

“Why are you so surprised.”

“Because you suddenly hugged me.”

“There’s only you and me here.”

Ji Ho held Yi Soo in his arms, interlocking his elbows.

A fresh scent wafted from Ji Ho’s freshly showered body.

Did he have any idea how much Yi Soo’s heart raced every time he hugged her from behind?

“Hmm… I love the smell of your body.”

Ji Ho buried his face deeply in the nape of Yi Soo’s neck.

He took a deep breath as if to inhale all of Yi Soo’s scent, his eyes closed.

‘That’s what I want to say…’

Ji Ho’s broad, firm chest pressed against her back without any gaps.

“It tickles.”

Ji Ho playfully hugged Yi Soo even tighter, squeezing her, then loosened his grip.

“…Alright. I’ll let you go now.”

Ji Ho’s low voice resonated sweetly in Yi Soo’s ear.

Just being hugged from behind like this, just Ji Ho whispering a few words in her ear, was enough to make Yi Soo feel hypersensitive, as if all the hair on her body was standing on end.

Her heart always pounded as if it would burst, and heat rose to her face, even at Ji Ho’s casual, habitual touches.

While she loved this fluttering excitement she had never felt before, she also felt frustrated that it seemed only she got nervous every time.

‘When will I be able to feel calm and nonchalant?’

As she was lost in thought, trying to calm her pounding heart, Ji Ho asked,

“Aren’t you going to change clothes?”

“Huh? Oh, clothes…”

“Change into something comfortable and come out.”

“Okay.”

As Yi Soo headed to the bedroom to change clothes, Ji Ho walked towards the dining room.

“Yi Soo, shall we have a glass of wine before bed? We couldn’t go to the end-of-semester party, so let’s have a quick drink before sleeping.”

Ji Ho was already taking wine out of the wine cellar.

Yi Soo hesitated, worried about getting drunk.

She didn’t want to spend her first night with Ji Ho intoxicated…

She was also concerned about making some mistake while drunk.

Moreover, drinking with Ji Ho, who could drink seemingly endlessly, was an unfair game from the start.

“…What? You don’t want to?”

Ji Ho asked, seeing Yi Soo not responding.

“Oh, I’m afraid of getting drunk. Maybe because it’s been a while since I drank, even one can of beer earlier today made me feel tipsy.”

“So what if you get drunk? You’re with me.”

Ji Ho smiled as he inserted the corkscrew and opened the wine.

‘That’s exactly the problem.’

Yi Soo nodded awkwardly and went into the room.

Outside, Ji Ho who had just finished showering would be preparing wine for them to drink together.

The time was already past midnight.

Yi Soo was already breathless just from the atmosphere created by the time and space.

Yi Soo, changed into pajamas, opened the door and went out with her heart pounding as if everything was a first.

Her eyes widened at the living room atmosphere, quite different from when she had entered.

The bright lights in the living room were off, replaced by warm mood lighting, and wine that Ji Ho had prepared was placed on the table by the window.

“Yi Soo, come here.”

“Okay.”

Everything was beautiful to the point of perfection.

Soft lighting and a spectacular night view. Emotional music and red wine in elegant glasses. And Ji Ho and Yi Soo were there.

“The atmosphere is so amazing.”

Yi Soo, thoroughly intoxicated by the dreamlike, enchanting atmosphere, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“I wanted to do this with you when you came. This kind of atmosphere only comes at this hour.”

Ji Ho smiled with satisfaction, seeing Yi Soo moved, and raised his glass.

“Let’s drink.”

The wine’s aroma, reflecting Ji Ho’s refined taste, filled Yi Soo’s mouth.

It felt like she could do anything in this mood.

Her heart had already melted from the atmosphere that drew exclamations even before drinking the wine.

It seemed like she could agree to anything Ji Ho suggested, could accept everything.

Because it was truly such a beautiful night.

Before they knew it, caught up in the atmosphere, they had finished a whole bottle of wine.

“…Want to drink more?”

Ji Ho looked at Yi Soo affectionately.

Yi Soo cupped her face with her palms, feeling the warm flush.

“No.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Yes.”

Yi Soo looked at Ji Ho with relaxed eyes and smiled brightly.

It was Yi Soo’s face that could only be seen when drunk.

“Don’t drink with other guys when I’m not around.”

“Okay.”

“Yi Soo. Are you sleepy?”

“Yeah.”

Yi Soo nodded slowly, leaning on Ji Ho’s shoulder.

Her eyelids felt heavy.

Getting drunk made her racing heart calm down.

She felt peaceful even though she was alone with Ji Ho on this night.

Ji Ho gently lifted Yi Soo, putting his arms under her back and knees.

“…Let’s go to bed.”