“Okay, then take it off quickly.”

Jeho spoke as he covered her front with a large towel. Yuri’s trembling fingers slowly undid the buttons. But unfortunately, she couldn’t manage a single one. Her fingers wouldn’t move properly, perhaps numb from the cold.

“Damn it.”

When there was no progress, Jeho brushed Yuri’s hands aside. Then he started undressing her himself. This time, Yuri had no choice but to stay still. He was right. The wet clothes were rapidly stealing her body heat.

As Yuri’s lips turned blue, Jeho clenched his jaw rigidly, his mouth forming a straight line in apparent anger. When all the buttons were undone, he hastily pulled the blouse open from both sides. The wet blouse clung to her body and wouldn’t come off easily, so he forcefully tugged at it. Yuri was about to tell him to be careful with Hyunkyung’s clothes, but then she heard the sound of fabric tearing.

“…Oh.”

Although her body clad only in underwear was exposed, Jeho had no time to be embarrassed as he wrapped the towel snugly around Yuri and had her remove her pants herself inside the towel. He held Yuri and rubbed her body with his palms as if creating friction. But still, the shivering showed no signs of stopping.

“This isn’t going to work.”

Jeho muttered under his breath, then swiftly lifted Yuri into his arms and strode towards the master bedroom. The door was definitely locked before, but when he pushed it with his shoulder, it opened automatically. Heading straight to the bathroom, Jeho set Yuri down in the shower stall and turned on the water.

“Ahhh!”

The moment the water cascaded down from the ceiling like a waterfall, a scream escaped Yuri’s lips. As the hot water suddenly poured over her cold body, a tingling pain shot through her entire being, as if electricity was flowing. Jeho embraced the staggering Yuri and ran his palms down her back.

“Shh, it’s okay now.”

He whispered softly as if comforting her, brushing her wet hair behind her ears.

How long did they stand under the stream of water? The sensation in her body, previously numb from the cold, slowly started to revive. Her hazy mind also cleared, and she realized she was hugging him chest-to-chest. Her face instantly flushed hot. She couldn’t tell if it was from the cascading hot water or something else.

As her shivering gradually subsided, Jeho reached out to turn off the water and led Yuri to the bathtub, having her sit on the edge. They were both completely drenched, water dripping from their heads.

Yuri had wrapped herself in a towel, but Jeho hadn’t. His wet shirt and pants clung tightly to his body, revealing his sleek muscular physique. The sight was so dizzying that Yuri unconsciously lowered her gaze.

With her seated on the edge of the tub, Jeho dried the moisture from her hair with a dry towel. Once he removed most of the water, he then ruffled his own hair with the towel and took off his wet shirt.

Although she had already seen his bare body, seeing him undress in the bathroom made her feel as if something exploded in her head. But for some reason, she couldn’t turn her head away as if frozen.

Maintaining eye contact with Yuri, Jeho slowly started to wipe the water from his body.

His touch moved leisurely from his head to his neck and down to his chest. He stared intently at Yuri, not taking his eyes off her face for a single moment. He was the one drying his body, but it felt like she was the one meticulously wiping him down.

A breath filled with moisture automatically escaped, and Yuri had to hastily inhale.

After drying all the moisture from his body, Jeho turned his back to the bathroom and entered the connected dressing room. A moment later, he returned wearing a knit sweater and dry pants, holding a large dress shirt in his hand.

“Put this on for now.”

“…Umm.”

When Yuri hesitated without accepting the shirt, Jeho flashed a relaxed smile.

“If you’re more comfortable staying undressed, go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“No, that’s not it.”

As he made an absurd misunderstanding, Yuri blushed and glared at him with a pout.

“Is it okay for me to borrow and wear this without the owner’s permission?”

“Owner’s permission?”

“The client. The person who hired you to build this house.”

“Ah.”

Jeho then briefly nodded as if understanding her words.

“These are my clothes. Everything here is mine, so don’t feel burdened and use them. I’ve been staying here recently after moving out of my friend’s place.”

“What?”

“I’m pretty close with the owner, so…”

Who on earth was the owner to provide such unrestrained convenience?

“I’ll dry your clothes, so in the meantime, change into this.”

After finishing his words, Jeho walked out of the bathroom, and Yuri unwrapped the towel from her body and put on the dress shirt he had handed her. Wearing Jeho’s clothes felt strange, but she had no other choice.

But why did he only give her a shirt? What about pants?

Of course, the dress shirt was big enough to cover past her knees. There seemed to be no need to bother with pants. The problem lay elsewhere. Lost in thought, Yuri walked out of the bathroom and was startled by her own reflection in the full-length mirror.

Yikes!

The outline of her body without underwear faintly showed through the white shirt. Especially her chest area was noticeable. Flustered, Yuri hurriedly put on the bathrobe lying nearby. She even tied the robe’s belt tightly just in case.

“I put your clothes in the dryer, so if you wait about an hour, they should be done.”

When Yuri came out of the bathroom, Jeho led her to the powder room.

“Come and sit here.”

He spoke while holding a hairdryer. Was he going to dry her hair for her? Yuri was about to say she could do it herself but quietly sat in the chair as he instructed. Honestly, she was so drained of energy that she didn’t have the strength to hold a hairdryer.

As the gentle wind from the hairdryer and his long fingers pleasantly entangled in her hair, her eyes automatically closed. Although her limbs felt heavy from exhaustion, her heart felt light enough to fly away thanks to finding the necklace. Perhaps because of that, Yuri unconsciously smiled and let out a long sigh of relief.

A moment later, the wind from the hairdryer stopped, and her body was turned around. Opening her eyes, her gaze met Jeho’s, who had knelt down to be at eye level with her.

“Okay, now that your hair is dry, it’s time for a scolding.”

He spoke while glaring at her with stern eyes.

A scolding? For what?

Yuri’s surprised eyes widened.

“Are you stupid? What if you went into cardiac arrest? The pool heater wasn’t even on…”

His voice slightly trembled at the end as if he was extremely angry.

It probably wasn’t cold enough to cause cardiac arrest, but it was true that it felt like thin ice. However, even if she had known, she would have still jumped into the water. Still, he had sufficient reason to be upset. If an unexpected accident had occurred, all responsibility would have fallen on him.

“I’m sorry.”

Yuri apologized sincerely, lowering her head.

“I had no intention of causing trouble for you, Jeho.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about right now! Do you know how I felt when I saw you shivering in the water? You looked like a soaked puppy.”

He was speaking as if he had gone back 10 years. Back to the days when he treated her like a child. Instead of arguing back, Yuri laughed. She thought, what’s wrong with getting scolded a bit after finding the necklace?

“But I found this.”

Yuri waved the necklace she was holding in front of Jeho’s eyes. The necklace sparkled beautifully, reflecting the light.

“I thought I had lost it forever. Anyway, I’m so glad I found it.”

Seeing Yuri gleefully shaking the necklace, Jeho let out a scoff as if dumbfounded.

“Are you laughing now?”

She also felt like she had returned to 10 years ago. Words she couldn’t say back then to him, who had found the necklace even while getting hurt, naturally flowed out.

“Thank you so much. Oppa Jeho.”

It was a title she couldn’t bring herself to call him back then. But today, carried away by the joy of finding the necklace, she mustered the courage to say it. Oppa, Oppa Jeho.

Yuri shyly smiled at Jeho, who was frowning. Unaware that those small words had shattered the emotions he had been painfully suppressing…

“Damn it.”

A moment later, Jeho, who had muttered a curse under his breath, gazed at her with passion-filled eyes.

“If it’s a show of gratitude, I should receive it properly.”

His large hand cupped the back of Yuri’s head and pulled her forward. At the same time, a refreshing citrus scent invaded the tip of her nose. Thump, thump, her heartbeat started to quicken.

She thought he would roughly kiss her, but his lips only touched hers briefly before pulling away. But even that fleeting touch was unbearably stimulating. Her vision blurred and her head spun, so Yuri had to tightly grip Jeho’s shoulders.

“Haa, you…”

Letting out a short gasp, Jeho cupped Yuri’s cheeks with both hands and whispered as if sighing. He softly kissed her lips once more, then stood up and walked out of the bedroom.

Left alone, Yuri placed a hand on her chest and caught her rough breath. Turning her head to the side, she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Disheveled hair, a face flushed with heat, eyes sparkling with life. It was like seeing herself from 10 years ago, filled with love.

Her younger self who would wear a skirt and climb over walls to meet him, and him who would bluntly speak informally and treat her like a child at their first meeting.

Yuri carefully caressed her lips with her fingertips. Jeho’s heat still vividly lingered. Recalling the sensation of his lips touching hers, a shiver ran through her body once more.

She knew it was an action that shouldn’t have been done. But she didn’t want to regret it. She doubted she could avoid it even if he tried to kiss her again. Because…

Yuri bit her lower lip and clutched her aching chest. Her foolish heart was beating like crazy for him.

Drawn out by the savory smell, Yuri went outside and saw Jeho cooking. Come to think of it, she had been so preoccupied with finding the necklace that she hadn’t eaten anything until now. Smelling the food, hunger suddenly hit her. As Yuri approached, Jeho gestured towards the dining table with a nod.

“You haven’t eaten anything yet, right? Have something to eat. I haven’t had my meal yet either.”

His way of speaking had returned to polite speech. It was no longer the tone of Kwon Jeho from 10 years ago. It felt somewhat distant, but Yuri sat in the seat he pointed to without showing it.

“Since it’s late, I prepared something that won’t burden your stomach.”

Jeho spoke as he set down a bowl of soup in front of Yuri. She silently stared at the mild chicken noodle soup.

What should I do?

She still couldn’t eat hot food. Jeho gave Yuri a puzzled look as she just kept staring at the soup without eating it.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like chicken noodle soup? Should I make you something else?”

“No, no, it’s fine.”

Yuri hastily scooped up the soup with a spoon. Thinking she could manage if she cooled it down as much as possible.

She blew on the spoonful of soup, then carefully put it in her mouth. But as soon as she did, a pain like being pricked by needles rushed in. Frowning, she set the spoon down, and Jeho got up from his seat and approached her.

“What’s the matter?”

He held her chin with a worried face.

“…Well.”

“Could it be?”

When Yuri didn’t answer right away, his face darkened.

“Were you hit again?”