The Temperature Difference with Him (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
Dan Woo recalled Ji An’s image that had held his gaze.
Her lips, bitten tight to hold back tears, and the sound of her laughter when she took back the handkerchief.
Her face, scolding him half-asleep after he’d opened the door—Did you really think you’d come in?
Her footsteps walking past the gray wall over winter grass.
The spoon stuck in her hair and her voice reciting a ramen recipe as snow fell.
Even their trivial exchanges and the long stories she told about herself weren’t unpleasant.
Maybe it’d be fine to become friends.
Like that guy who kept calling her name out of the blue—or even closer than that.
“A friend closer than Ha Jun.”
“That somehow feels like you’re crossing a line.”
“Our relationship could become even more special because of chance. Why not?”
“And yet you casually drop lines like that.”
Dan Woo’s soft words turned lazy.
“Because we’re friends.”
Ji An’s heart fluttered.
She nearly thanked him for becoming her friend.
Was the phrase “because we’re friends” really this heart-racing?
Must be his lazy voice. Or maybe it’s because we’re in Jeju. Or perhaps the strange weather.
Ji An nodded in agreement, then pretended calmness as she slipped under the covers and opened a book.
[The Ugly Duckling]Dan Woo’s eyes landed on the book’s cover.
“Going to sleep?”
“Yeah. I’ll read a bit before bed.”
“You’re using informal speech now.”
Since we’re friends. If we’re friends, your speech should sound like one. It’d be silly to keep using honorifics now.
Ji An, looking at Dan Woo, shrugged after mulling over her thoughts.
“If you can do it, I can too.”
Dan Woo’s gaze didn’t return from Ji An.
This had to be real madness.
Why couldn’t he take his eyes off her just reading a fairy tale?
This night was utterly unpredictable for Dan Woo.
Watching Ji An, Dan Woo smiled faintly.
“You read fairy tales to fall asleep?”
“When I read the part where the duckling realizes it’s a swan, it lifts my mood. I read it often.”
Dan Woo reached out his hand to Ji An.
“Hand me the book.”
“Why?”
“I want to read it.”
When she passed it to him, Dan Woo flipped to the passage Ji An had mentioned.
His head tilted slightly—it was in English.
Ji An sat up, pulling back the blanket.
“I have translations of my favorite book in every language. I feel like that duck who can never become a swan, so I live vicariously through it.”
Dan Woo leaned forward, close enough for his breath to be felt, and looked into Ji An’s eyes.
“What’s wrong with being a duck who can’t become a swan?”
“It’s not bad—just ordinary.”
“Listen carefully. A mother and child were strolling through a park with a lake. Mother duck and her ducklings were playing in the pond too.”
Dan Woo narrowed the distance as Ji An leaned back, adding with a gentle smile,
“The moment the child saw the ducks, they said, ‘Mom! I love ducks!’”
“Kids love ducks—that’s natural.”
“See? So live as a duck who’s loved. Better yet, the strongest duck leader of them all.”
“That’s oddly convincing.”
“If you’re convinced just because I offered to make you leader, you must really crave power.”
Ji An dropped her shoulders and pursed her lips like a duck’s beak.
Her lips, stained with Baccarat rouge, looked strikingly red.
Hearing his own heartbeat quicken, Dan Woo swiftly straightened up and urged Ji An,
“The duck leader should probably go to sleep now.”
“Quack quack.”
“Huh.”
“Quuuaaack.”
Dan Woo’s eyes curved deeply, and his laughter stretched on.
Ji An narrowed her eyes and called his name seriously.
“Mr. Woo Dan Woo.”
“Hm? What?”
Dan Woo just laughed.
Because everything Ji An did left him defenselessly amused.
Unable to bear her strangely racing heart, Ji An blurted out the truth.
“Don’t laugh like that. I have this condition—voluntary affection deficiency—and there’s no cure for it.”
“Out of nowhere?”
Ji An sat up properly and spoke earnestly.
“I’m the only patient. Symptom: whenever someone shows vulnerability, I crave affection. And right now—you smiled exactly like that. Made me want to lean in.”
Dan Woo’s face, still smiling gently, drew closer. His voice was deep and husky.
“I hope it’s severe. Your condition.”
For a fleeting moment, strange emotions swept through him.
Would it be okay to get just a little closer—to you? The thought churned in Dan Woo’s mind.
Though he suppressed the rising intensity, he felt himself losing control over this night.
Losing confidence in winning against the desire to make you his.
As the mood turned strange, Ji An shoved Dan Woo hard.
“What’s with that look? Seriously, that’s cheesy, you know?”
“Was I cheesy?”
“Yeah.”
For Dan Woo, whose heart was already intoxicated by tender feelings, this indulgence was a luxury. It was time to stop here.
Straightening his back with an awkward smile, Dan Woo said,
“You can’t be leader yet. Cancel the duck leader title. Kim Ji An is just Quack Quack.”
Ji An spread the blanket wide and exaggerated dramatically,
“I totally panicked thinking you’d kiss me for the first time.”
“Ugh. Gulp.”
Dan Woo choked into a cough and stared at Ji An, dumbfounded.
Picking up the mug that left a red stain on the floor, he headed to the sink and asked,
“How can you be so fearless?”
“To hear that here too…”
“If something like this ever happens again, be suspicious first. What makes you think you can live for a whole month in the same house with a stranger?”
Maybe it had been reckless.
Because of that day’s weather, that day’s air—and you, Woo Dan Woo, and me on that day.
Ji An pulled the pillow over her head and mumbled,
“You be careful too. If you have valuables, hide them now. For all you know, I’m a habitual midnight runner.”
She tugged the blanket and added,
“Let’s sleep now. You should have sweet dreams.”
Don’t people usually say, “Have sweet dreams”?
Such an unexpectedly perfect line—just missing the mark of predictability.
Pretending indifference, Dan Woo checked the fireplace embers and sat on the chilly floor.
He held a tablet, but the report on Japan’s major bookstore wouldn’t sink in.
His gaze drifted toward Ji An as if pulled by an invisible thread.
Her back was already rising and falling steadily—she’d fallen asleep.
Leaning against the wall, Dan Woo murmured softly,
“Don’t push yourself so hard.”
His voice scattered above Ji An’s head.
The snow-covered road had been restored overnight by snow removal crews.
Tae Yoon returned home the moment the roads opened, accompanied by a boiler repair specialist.
Treading through the softly piled snow across the yard, he entered the door code.
Pulling the handle, he bowed slightly to the repairman, signaling him to wait.
“Dan Woo…”
His voice trailed off at the sight of his boss, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, fast asleep.
He shook Dan Woo’s shoulder, glancing at Ji An sleeping on the mattress.
“Mr. Woo Dan Woo.”
Dan Woo lifted his eyelids.
Part of his consciousness had remained alert, so his expression was composed and unruffled.
“Where’s the technician?”
“He came with me.”
He could’ve gone upstairs to the second-floor bedroom the moment Ji An’s breathing evened out.
But why?
Of all places—
Why did he choose to stay right where he could see her face and battle through the long night?
Tae Yoon glanced briefly at Ji An before shifting his gaze to the entrance.
“The technician’s waiting outside.”
“Tell him to come in. I’ll wake her.”
Dan Woo placed a hand on Ji An’s small shoulder and gently shook her.
“Kim Ji An.”
“…….”
“Ji An-ah.”
“……Ha Jun-ah… Why so early?”
“Go find Ha Jun in Seoul. The landlord brought a boiler repairman. Time to get up.”
“Oh! Right.”
Recognizing Dan Woo’s presence, Ji An pushed open her eyes.
Habits truly were fearsome—even half-asleep.
She sat up and combed her tangled hair with her fingers.
Gathering the strands between her fingers, she coiled them into a bun atop her head and fastened it with a hair tie.
When her white nape was exposed, Dan Woo chuckled softly.
“In a flash.”
“Piece of cake.”
Whether it was the spoon stuck in her hair or the way she instantly coiled her hair into a neat bun—it tickled him just the same.
Dan Woo’s head tilted slightly.
As he leaned closer, Ji An pressed her palm to his forehead and pushed him back.
Every time Dan Woo drew near, she’d push him away—only for him to approach again.
Finally snapping, Ji An demanded,
“What?”
“Weren’t you cold?”
Ji An looked at the bare mattress where Dan Woo had slept—no blanket, no pillow.
She nearly asked but answered instead,
“I was warm thanks to the mat.”
Patting the carbon-heated mat with his palm, Dan Woo asked.
It was clear this item, useless to him, seemed essential to Ji An.
“Take this. You use it.”
“It’s not yours—it belongs to the landlord.”
“Then I’ll have to ask him to buy me a new one.”
Standing before the utility room, Tae Yoon muttered quietly, watching Dan Woo’s antics.
“What are you doing with someone else’s stuff?”
Seeing Dan Woo playfully interact with Ji An left Tae Yoon with a strange feeling.
After the night their house burned down, Dan Woo hadn’t returned. When they reunited in America with a single call, he was already no longer the Woo Dan Woo Tae Yoon knew. Yet today, something about him seemed different.
Dan Woo approached Tae Yoon and asked in a low voice,
“Why are you looking at me so wistfully? Missed me all night?”
“Feels like I’m seeing the old you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. The kind, thoughtful Woo Dan Woo.”
Tae Yoon smiled toward Ji An in the living room and continued,
“I arranged to meet the previous owner today.”
“Of course! Manager Woo’s a pro.”
“What should I do?”
“Let me talk to him briefly somewhere private, then head straight to the police station.”
Dan Woo draped an arm over Tae Yoon’s shoulder and glanced into the utility room.
“Don’t worry. I just need to say a few words.”
Ji An entered the bedroom and turned on her phone—her mom’s missed calls filled the screen.
Avoiding her mom’s calls had been the main reason she’d turned her phone off.
She searched real estate listings and pressed the call button.
‘Now that things are like this, maybe it’s okay to live apart from Ha Jun.’
She wasn’t a swan dropped among ducks—but it didn’t matter.
It was true she’d burdened Ha Jun by saying she was alone in Korea.
Only now did everything become crystal clear to Ji An.
Her excuses had been so petty and shallow.
A click came through the phone, followed by a polite voice.
– Happy Real Estate, how may I help you?
After hanging up, Ji An stared at the black screen, replaying the conversation in her head.
– Really? A tenant’s been waiting—this is rare. Perfect timing.
‘Really?’
She hadn’t expected it to be this easy.
Still, Ji An soothed her conflicted feelings.
It’s okay. Actually, this works out well.
Happy Office-Tel Unit 902 would soon have a new owner. Since the place was already emptied out, the process would likely move smoothly.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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