“Oh! ……Are you awake?”

Startled by Ji Ho’s touch, Yi Soo opened her eyes.

“Why are you like this?”

“Ah. I guess I just dozed off while watching you.”

“When I beg you to look at me, you never do……”

“When did I ever……”

Yi Soo laughed, feeling sheepish.

Ji Ho wanted to lay Yi Soo down beside him right away and hold her tight, but this time he truly didn’t have the confidence to hold back.

The loveliness of Yi Soo falling asleep while looking at him had already exceeded the limits of what he could endure.

Patience and self-control were useless, and the only thing he could trust now was physical distance from Yi Soo.

“Let’s go out for breakfast.”

With even a shallow sigh, Ji Ho went outside first.

Yi Soo’s hangover improved considerably after eating the egg yolk soup Ji Ho made for breakfast.

“When did you get so good at cooking?”

Whenever she came over, Ji Ho personally cooked and prepared meals.

He could have ordered delivery or bought simple meal kits, but every time he put in as much effort as a mother’s home-cooked meal, starting from preparing the ingredients.

“I got better as I did it little by little while living alone. It turned out to be fun too.”

“Then I’ll do the dishes. I may not be able to cook, but I’m good at this.”

Yi Soo cleared the table and went to the sink.

Watching Yi Soo quickly put on rubber gloves and grab a sponge, Ji Ho laughed as if he couldn’t help it.

“Then let’s do it together.”

Standing side by side, Ji Ho rinsed the dishes that Yi Soo washed with detergent.

The laughter didn’t stop throughout, making them wonder if doing dishes had always been this fun.

“I wish we could be together like this every day.”

As they were almost done with the dishes, Ji Ho mumbled as if talking to himself.

“Hm?”

“If we did this every day…… I think we’d be happy.”

“Ah.”

“I guess this is why people get married.”

“……”

Yi Soo felt awkward at the mention of marriage and wanted to change the subject, but couldn’t think of anything suitable to say.

“What about you?”

Thinking of Yi Soo who had said she disliked dating, he was curious how she felt about marriage.

Since the topic came up, he wanted to know.

“Getting married. What do you think about it?”

“Why are you suddenly talking about marriage in the middle of doing dishes?”

Even though Ji Ho hadn’t proposed marriage, Yi Soo felt her face heating up for no reason.

“You’re not against it, right? I was wondering if you might be for staying single or not marrying.”

“Huh? Ah……”

“……You’re not, right?”

Ji Ho stared at Yi Soo intently as if confirming and asked again.

Yi Soo shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ve never thought about that before……”

Ji Ho’s eyebrows raised slightly, having expected her to say it definitely wasn’t the case.

It wasn’t an imminent issue, but since meeting Yi Soo, Ji Ho had occasionally thought about it.

That if he wanted to see her every day and be with her every moment like now, maybe they could get married.

“Then think about it from now on. Positively.”

Ji Ho’s tone was playful, but he sincerely hoped Yi Soo would do so.

She was still young to think about marriage, but not too young either.

“O-Okay. I will.”

Yi Soo nodded while mumbling her response.

**

Yi Soo did ordinary, mundane everyday things she used to do alone at home together with Ji Ho.

It felt like they were on a trip at a luxury hotel with an amazing view.

She slept in a cozy bed, woke up to eat meals Ji Ho prepared, drank coffee, and watched TV.

While drinking coffee, she listened to Ji Ho play the piano, and sat in the living room staring blankly at the view.

Sometimes they kissed, and she watched movies snuggled in Ji Ho’s arms.

They even took naps lying side by side on the wide sofa.

A perfectly happy day was passing by like that.

“You said you’d sing for me when we came to your place. Why didn’t you sing earlier when you played the piano?”

Yi Soo brought it up as if she just remembered, right after waking up from their nap.

Ji Ho, lying behind Yi Soo, silently sank into thought.

“Hm?”

Lately, Ji Ho had been debating whether to reveal to Yi Soo that he was J.

He didn’t want to create secrets, but not knowing what J was like in Yi Soo’s fantasy, he hesitated, wondering if it would unnecessarily shatter that fantasy.

Would she be upset if she found out later?

He thought maybe he could reveal it as a surprise gift someday, or maybe he could leave it as it was, letting Yi Soo believe what she wanted.

Thanks to his second cousin being the CEO of the agency, Ji Ho’s secret was still being maintained.

But he sensed that as public interest grew and his activities continued longer, the day would come when it would eventually be revealed.

Moreover, recently Hyung Joo had been subtly hinting that he wanted Ji Ho to engage in various activities, saying it was too much of a waste to only release digital singles.

Ji Ho was also starting to waver between the inconveniences that would arise in many ways and his desire to do things properly.

To do that, he needed to persuade his grandfather, and now he had to consider Yi Soo too.

“……Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes. You know how much I like it.”

Now that Yi Soo was right in front of him, Ji Ho hesitated to sing with his disguised voice.

“I don’t think I can sing well after just waking up from a nap.”

At his excuse-like answer, Yi Soo turned to lie on her back.

Thinking about it, singing in front of one person, even if it was his girlfriend, did seem embarrassing.

Seeing Ji Ho’s troubled expression, Yi Soo spoke in a disappointed voice.

“Okay. Then later……”

“I have something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Do you like my singing? Or J’s singing?”

Ji Ho asked with a slight smile.

“Huh? Um……”

Ji Ho thought Yi Soo would say it was him without a moment’s hesitation.

But contrary to his expectations, Yi Soo couldn’t answer readily.

“What, are you actually thinking about it?”

Was she unable to say something that wasn’t in her heart no matter what?

Ji Ho burst into laughter, feeling dumbfounded.

Although both were actually himself, the fact that Yi Soo, who didn’t know this, was contemplating made him feel slightly upset.

Shouldn’t she say her boyfriend is better, even if it’s just lip service?

“No, never mind. There’s no way I could be better than a singer. Don’t bother thinking about it.”

“Oh, that’s not it. I’ve been curious about something too. Did you intentionally sing similar to J that day? I was surprised because it was so similar.”

“……What?”

“It was just amazingly similar, that’s all.”

‘I thought I had hidden it well, but I guess not.’

Fortunately, Yi Soo, nestled in Ji Ho’s arms, couldn’t see his surprised expression.

Even if he were to reveal it, he didn’t want to do it this way.

He also couldn’t imagine how Yi Soo would react.

Ji Ho’s silence lengthened as he hesitated to answer.

Just then, Yi Soo’s phone on the table buzzed with a vibration.

“Oh my! Just a moment.”

Yi Soo suddenly got up and ran over to press the call button.

“Mom!”

[Yes, Yi Soo. I called after seeing the flight reservation you booked.]

Yi Soo had taken a picture and sent it to Hye Jin right after making the reservation yesterday.

[Are you planning to go to Paris this time?]

“Yes. Since I’m going that far, it seemed a shame to only stay in London and come back.”

[You stayed home all summer saying it was too hot, so what’s the occasion?]

“Oh. Something came up. I’ll tell you when I get there.”

Yi Soo gave a vague answer, uncomfortable talking in detail with Ji Ho next to her.

She had gotten Won Jin’s permission, but she was a bit worried about what Hye Jin would think.

[But Yi Soo, the day you’re coming happens to be when I have to take grandmother to the hospital, so I don’t think I’ll have time to go to the airport. Can you come home by yourself that day?]

“Of course. I’m not a child anymore. Don’t worry, I’ll manage on my own.”

[Okay. I understand. Let’s keep in touch and see you that day.]

“Okay. Mom.”

Yi Soo’s expression was bright as she turned around after hanging up with Hye Jin.

Just a few months ago, she had felt a lot of resentment towards Hye Jin, but these days after meeting Ji Ho and becoming independent, all those feelings had disappeared.

The longing and dependence she had felt for Hye Jin far away had now largely shifted to Ji Ho.

From now on, it seemed Ji Ho would be the first to come to mind when difficult things happened.

Yi Soo smiled softly and snuggled back into Ji Ho’s arms.

Ji Ho was puzzled, not knowing what was going on, but thanks to that, the confession he had been hesitating about was naturally postponed.

**

Before they knew it, the sun was setting, dyeing the sky red.

“What should we do tonight? Watch a movie at home?”

“Tonight? Are you saying I should sleep here tonight too?”

“Why, is my place uncomfortable?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“If that’s not it, then stay just one more day and leave tomorrow. I’ll take you home early tomorrow.”

Last night was already a precarious atmosphere, so how would tonight turn out?

Just the thought of staying one more day made Yi Soo’s heart strangely flutter.

“Hm?”

Ji Ho, who had been stuck to Yi Soo’s side like glue all day except when eating or going to the bathroom, holding her in his arms, naturally wrapped his long arm around her waist and pulled her close as soon as they sat on the sofa.

“It’s okay, isn’t it? I want to be together tonight too.”

His languid voice somehow sounded seductive.

Honestly, Yi Soo had been really happy spending the day with Ji Ho too.

She hesitated only because she felt staying at her boyfriend’s place for several days seemed somewhat embarrassing, thinking she should exercise self-restraint.

But that resolve was wavering like a reed before Ji Ho in this moment.

Two selves were silently battling in Yi Soo’s mind.

‘It’s okay to stay. I shouldn’t stay.’

As the conflict deepened, Yi Soo’s eyes shook intensely.

Ji Ho, who had been staring intently at Yi Soo, kissed her lips as if to prove a point.

“Don’t think about it. Okay?”

After his soft lips touched and parted, Ji Ho’s gaze, now deliberately sultry, completely tipped Yi Soo’s wavering heart to one side as if by magic.

“……Okay. I got it.”

Yi Soo, who had been hesitating whether to speak or not, opened her mouth hesitantly.

“Um, Ji Ho, there’s something I want…”

Ji Ho’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, having never heard Yi Soo say something like this before.

“Tell me anything. If it’s something I can buy, I’ll buy it all for you.”

“It’s not about buying something…… I want your blanket that’s in the bedroom.”

Normally, Yi Soo would have felt uncomfortable just thinking about using someone else’s blanket.

But if it was a blanket with Ji Ho’s scent, that was a different story.

Worried it might sound strange, she deliberately spoke casually.

Ji Ho’s eyes narrowed considerably as he tilted his head.

“What are you going to do with my blanket?”

Why did his heart tingle at Yi Soo asking for the blanket he had been using, not even a new one?

It could have been a laughable situation, but Ji Ho didn’t feel like laughing.

“If you don’t want to give it to me, you don’t have to.”

“When did I say I didn’t want to? I just asked why you wanted it.”

Yi Soo had a hard time speaking when Ji Ho asked for a reason, having expected him to readily agree without questioning.

‘Will I seem too perverted if I’m honest?’

But she couldn’t think of any other excuse to give.

“Well…… Your scent is on the blanket.”

Yi Soo’s face flushed as she hesitated, worried about Ji Ho’s reaction.

Ji Ho, who had been staring intently at Yi Soo, let out a low laugh and ran his hand over his face.

‘Ah. This is driving me crazy.’

In an instant, Yi Soo’s back touched the sofa and Ji Ho’s body pressed against her without any gap.

“Instead of my blanket…… How about using me as your cover?”

Ji Ho gazed at Yi Soo with eyes flickering with passion.

The distance between them was barely a hand’s width.

The man’s instincts that he had been suppressing to match Yi Soo’s pace finally pushed aside Ji Ho’s patience and burst out.