Sharti not seeing him as a man or as a romantic interest was already a known fact.

However, there was a big difference between vaguely sensing it and having a clear line drawn to his face.

“Right?”

“……”

Ren couldn’t answer right away.

The feeling of being rejected without even having a chance to try was quite complex and subtle.

“Did I… do something wrong?”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing. Yeah.”

As if suddenly shocked, Ren rubbed his face with a gloomy expression.

‘Not seeing me as a romantic interest, does that mean she’s not even aware of me?’

But hadn’t Sharti stopped the palm-writing conversations and tried to maintain a certain distance at some point?

It was clearly different from her initial demeanor when she treated Ren without hesitation for medical purposes, even though he was bare-chested and barely clothed from the waist down at their first meeting.

‘What is it?’

Could it be a kind of promise to be careful from now on because of people’s eyes?

Or it could be Sharti’s own way of being considerate.

‘She’s unexpectedly odd after all.’

Breathing in the increasingly cold mountain air, Ren calmed his momentarily upset feelings.

Ren glanced at Sharti.

Sharti was looking around at the darkness surrounding them. As her robe fluttered in the wind, her wheat-colored hair flowed out from under her hood.

Even in the darkness that spread out like a black and white world, Sharti’s white hands and wheat-colored hair stood out distinctly.

‘…There’s no need to make things awkward.’

Ren turned his gaze away from Sharti.

He didn’t want to deny Sharti’s certainty here and now, making her flustered.

He couldn’t let the distance that had barely been closed grow wider again.

‘…Hmm?’

Just as he finished his rational judgment, Ren’s eyebrows twitched at the sudden feeling of frustration that welled up.

There was an unpleasant feeling, like a subtle aftertaste clinging to him.

Ren clicked his tongue inwardly and shook his wind-tousled hair vigorously.

“Looks like winter is coming early this year.”

Sharti, who had crouched down at some point, blew on her hands.

In the moment he had looked away, she seemed to have picked some herbs, as there was dirt on her fingertips.

“……”

Birena’s worry was natural.

Living together with a man in the same house. And it was cohabitation that started out of sympathy.

Ren understood.

Even to his eyes, Sharti’s innocence was apparent, so how much more so to her friend? So Sharti must have wanted to reassure her friend more firmly.

“We should head back…”

But apart from that, Ren felt a slight rebellious spirit.

“I suppose we should.”

“…!”

As Sharti was about to stand up, Ren crouched in front of her and wrapped her hands with both of his.

Ren, who had been staring at Sharti’s hands as she flinched, raised his gaze.

“Your hands are cold.”

Ren blew warm breath onto her hands.

As Sharti froze stiffly at the sudden action, Ren chuckled.

“Let’s go back, Sha.”

As Ren stood up still holding her hand, Sharti stood up in a daze as well.

When Sharti, who had come to her senses belatedly, tried to wiggle her hand free, Ren stopped walking.

Ren turned to look at Sharti with his characteristically calm face.

“I’m holding your hand so you don’t fall in the dark. Is it uncomfortable?”

“Oh, I think it would be better to walk holding onto your sleeve.”

“Why?”

Ren swung their joined hands.

“I thought this much would be fine between people who absolutely don’t see each other romantically. We held hands during the day too.”

“No, that’s…”

Watching Sharti fumble for words, Ren let go of her hand.

“I was joking.”

“…?”

“Let’s just go.”

And then, as Sharti had said, Ren took the lead, holding onto her robe sleeve.

His eyes, unusually accustomed to the darkness, held a determined gaze.

‘Step by step.’

As Ren made what might be a childish vow, Sharti repeatedly clenched and unclenched the hand that he had held.

The spot where Ren’s breath had touched tingled.

[This is the timeline separator]

As soon as they returned home, Sharti tilted her head at the warm air inside the house.

It felt as if the cold clinging to her body was melting away, like the surface of ice thawing.

‘Come to think of it, when we came back from the village too…’

Sharti looked around the interior of the house.

It wasn’t as warm as in the evening, but the air inside was still warm.

‘As if a stove had been lit…’

At the thought that entered her subconscious, Sharti quickly turned her head to check the fireplace.

However, contrary to her expectation, the fireplace remained blocked off as Ren had left it last time.

Still, just in case, as Sharti was about to examine the fireplace area with suspicious eyes, it happened.

“Sha-.”

“…?”

Sharti, who had reflexively turned her head at Ren’s call, held her breath.

“Can I wash up first?”

Ren was unbuttoning his top shirt without hesitation in front of her.

Sharti nodded, trying to avert her gaze as naturally as possible.

“I’ll be quick.”

Fortunately, Ren entered the bathroom without completely taking off his top.

Along with the sound of the door closing, Sharti hurriedly entered the bedroom.

‘Why, why is he acting like this?!’

Sharti, who had bumped her head against the still flimsy door, was confused.

Then, glancing at the hand Ren had held, Sharti slammed that hand against the door.

‘Am I being too sensitive?’

She had held his hand during the day too, and hadn’t she frequently seen his body?

She had seen Ren’s rare smile quite often. His calm attitude hadn’t particularly changed either.

But strangely, something was different.

‘…Is it because I keep thinking about the conversation I had with Birena?’

Was it because the remnants of her inner feelings that had burst out like a flood were still lingering somewhere in her mind?

Unexpectedly, she was paying more attention to Ren than usual.

Sharti, with her eyes wide open, slapped both her cheeks hard.

Feeling the tingling pain spread, Sharti raised her head.

‘Step by step.’

Let’s distance ourselves again little by little.

Having learned that openly avoiding him was useless last time, Sharti decided to act composed for now.

And Sharti’s resolution faced a crisis as soon as she finished washing up in the bathroom.

“…?”

“If you sleep with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold.”

As if he had been waiting, Ren was standing in front of the bathroom holding a towel.

Ren glanced at Sharti’s hood, which was getting damp from her still-wet hair.

“I’ll dry it in the room before sleeping.”

Sharti shook her head in surprise.

As a result, water droplets from her hair fell onto her face and outside her hood.

“I see.”

Ren placed the towel in Sharti’s hand and immediately went into the utility room.

His attitude was clean and straightforward, as if he had just been standing there to give her the towel.

Left alone, Sharti buried her face in the towel.

‘…I must have been mistaken!’

Sharti deeply regretted misunderstanding Ren due to a momentary embarrassing misconception.

Stumbling back to the bedroom, Sharti took off her robe and hood and sat on the bed.

‘Let’s go to sleep quickly.’

Shaking off the burning shame, Sharti enthusiastically dried her hair.

Then her eyes fell on the bouquet of blue-purple flowers placed on the dresser.

This time too, the vase was just a humble medicine bottle.

‘Should I buy a vase…’

Now that she had earned some money, maybe a small expenditure like that would be okay.

‘I might receive more…’

Sharti buried her face in the pillow. She also kicked the blanket hard with her feet.

When did she become so brazen? Where did this confidence come from?

[When a man gives flowers, it has meaning.]

Sharti burrowed into the blanket like a caterpillar.

Then she stroked her curly hair.

“……”

With a heavy sigh, Sharti tightly closed her eyes.

Sleep was the best way to organize and drive away distracting thoughts.

Hoping to wake up feeling refreshed, Sharti slowly let go of her consciousness.

However, for the next five days, Sharti did not feel refreshed.

It was because of the subtle distance that continued between her and Ren.

‘It’s strange. It’s definitely strange.’

There wasn’t much change in Ren’s attitude.

As he had always done, he looked for ways to help, took over strenuous tasks, and was considerate of her when she was tired.

The problem was that the number of times she made eye contact with Ren decreased, while the instances of physical contact with his body increased.

‘Ren always averts his eyes first.’

It was so natural, as if his gaze accidentally strayed, that it wasn’t enough to upset her.

What Sharti was most concerned about now was the increased amount of physical contact with Ren over the past five days.

‘He only asked for help that was awkward to refuse, so I couldn’t help it.’

[Wasn’t it medicine good for scars? If it’s alright, I’d like to apply it to my back too. It’s impossible to do it alone though. I was hoping you could apply it for me. It’s just a simple ointment, so I’m asking for just a moment, Sha.] [Sha, just a moment. …Since I’ve been careful about moving too much after getting injured, I think my arm muscles are shocked just now. It seems I need to loosen them up… No, I’m afraid they’ll get more tense while I’m out gathering herbs.]

It wasn’t the tone of someone being considerate like before. It was an extremely calm and businesslike tone.

His attitude suggested that if Sharti refused, he would immediately accept and back off.

The clean and straightforward attitude felt distant.

‘He’s not even wearing the clothes I made for him.’

[Ah, you mean the clothes? Sha, the clothes you made with such care are too precious. I’m planning to wear them only when I go out. I’ll wear something light when I’m at home.] [The weather is hot. The sunlight isn’t that strong, but… I guess I naturally have a lot of body heat.]

Ren was carefully storing the clothes Sharti had made, and instead wearing pajamas that were worn out, burst, and torn here and there.

Since the clothes were made for him to wear, it was hard to tell him to wear them comfortably as the weather had suddenly become warm.

The clothes she made had thick fabric, so Ren would immediately unbutton and roll up his sleeves at the slightest rise in temperature. Following the design of mercenary clothes, even with minimal exposure, Ren’s tanned skin and muscles stood out.

So she couldn’t stop him.

‘It seems like he’s checking my reaction once in a while…’

At the sudden hypothesis that came to mind, Sharti tilted her head this way and that.

And soon, Sharti sighed and made a troubled expression.

‘Until now, I’ve been constantly avoiding Ren, rejecting him, and keeping my distance, so Ren must be anxious. He must still be misunderstanding that he’ll be kicked out.’

Feeling that she hadn’t given him enough trust, Sharti regretted her mistake.

It seemed it was time for a conversation with Ren.

Intending to clear up the misunderstanding of the past five days, Sharti sat across from Ren at the table. Sharti opened her mouth with a serious air.

“I’ve been thoughtless.”

At the sudden opening, Ren raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“I’m sorry. I should have considered Ren’s feelings. I should have been more attentive.”

“…Wait, Sha. I don’t know what this is about, but-”

As Ren, sensing Sharti’s misunderstanding, tried to interrupt the flow of the conversation, there was a knock first.

Knock knock. Knock. Knock knock.

“…Are we expecting someone?”

Ren approached the window, warily eyeing the door. He held up one index finger.

It meant there was only one person at the door.

Sharti immediately pointed Ren towards the bedroom.

“Ren, go inside.”

“……”

Ren, who was naturally reaching for the bandages first, nodded, hiding his dissatisfaction.

As soon as Ren entered the room, Sharti carefully moved to open the door.

“…Teacher!”

“…!”

At the door stood a bespectacled young man with faded pink hair.

The young man who faced Sharti smiled in relief, as if tension had drained from him. It was a clear and innocent smile.

“Th-thank goodness. I found you safely.”

The tall, thin young man clasped his hands as if in prayer, rejoicing.

Sharti was silently surprised by the young man’s visit.

“Do you remember me, teacher?”

Sharti nodded slowly.

‘The mountain village beyond the four big peaks…’

Although she visited many villages for medical treatment, there was one mountain village that particularly stood out in her memory.

It was a village that rejected outsiders and foreigners more severely than other villages and strictly controlled entry and exit to the village. And the young man before her was certainly from that village…

“Teacher-”

The young man grabbed Sharti’s hand.

Unlike Sharti’s, his hand was soft and plump.

“Please help us.”

The young man’s face contorted as if crumbling, desperately clinging to Sharti.

His hand, which desperately grasped Sharti’s hand as she was taken aback, trembled.

“An unknown disease has spread in the village.”

“…!”

At the same time, a large back blocked Sharti’s front.