Mi-jin looked incredulously at her friend.

“Apologize for the kiss! You started it, didn’t you? Without his permission!”

“But later… it seemed like we both did it…”

“Well, since you initiated it, he must have felt safe to go along. You really don’t know men, do you? Still, that man was decent. He didn’t take advantage of you sleeping.”

Mi-jin crossed her arms, stating her point. Soo-yeong was now torn about how to apologize, and whether it was even something to apologize for.

Nevertheless, she felt sorry for burdening him with her test.

“Come on, let’s eat. It’s getting cold.”

Mi-jin gently pushed the soybean paste stew and spicy pork stir-fry towards Soo-yeong, urging her to eat. But Soo-yeong couldn’t taste anything.

Soo-yeong stood silently in front of Woo-jin’s room. Unlike before, she didn’t pace back and forth.

Her reason told her to knock and apologize, but her emotions held her back.

She didn’t want to apologize. Truthfully, even though she couldn’t remember clearly, it felt good. She even wanted to experience it again, sober.

But apologizing would render that feeling meaningless, making it seem like nothing special. She didn’t want that. What to do?

As she paced unintentionally, she suddenly spotted something on the floor and froze. Why is this here, on the 10th floor?

It suddenly lunged at her.

“Aaaah!”

Soo-yeong screamed, breathless, and sprinted towards the window.

Meanwhile, Woo-jin, aware of her presence outside his door, wondered how long she would stay there.

But when he heard her piercing scream, he reflexively jumped up.

As he hurried towards the door, he briefly thought she might be acting to lure him out. She was capable of such theatrics.

Yet another noise from the living room stopped him.
“Get away, get away, get away! Aaaaah! What if it goes in there! Hey! Won’t you come out! Kyaaaah!”

Her acting was too realistic. Wondering what she was reacting to, Woo-jin hurriedly opened the door. As he did, a familiar scent rushed towards him.

Unable to withstand the weight, he stumbled backward, his entire body stiffening at the sound of her panting breath on his neck. His arms, which were now holding her, tensed.

“What’s wrong? What is it?”

“A cockroach!”

“What!”

His arms loosened suddenly. Woo-jin tried to shake her off, shouting,

“Quick! Catch it!”

He detested insects, even more so because he couldn’t see them. Their stealthy presence felt amplified. As he pushed Soo-yeong away, she clung even tighter to him.

“Quick! Close the door! Hurry, Woo-jin!”

As she frantically shouted, Woo-jin stretched his foot to close the door. Even after the door shut, she was still clinging to him, panting.

“Get down. You’re heavy.”

Worried she might notice the stiffness in his midsection, he tried to lift her higher as he spoke.

“Are you sure it didn’t come in? Did you see it?”

“How would I see it? You should look.”

“Aaaah! Then it might have come in! What do we do, what do we do!”

Hearing her words, Woo-jin felt a shiver down his spine. A cockroach in my room? He briefly thought of burning down the house.

He walked cautiously to the bed with her in his arms and forcibly threw her onto it.

Soo-yeong, who had fallen onto the bed, watched his every move, wide-eyed. Was he moving to the next step after kimbap? But instead, Woo-jin took out his phone and called Seol Ji-hyeon.

“It’s me. This woman brought a cockroach.”

“A cockroach? What kind?”

Seol Ji-hyeon seemed puzzled.

“A cockroach! Call an exterminator!”

Soo-yeong and Woo-jin sat side by side in the bathroom. Neither planned to leave until the exterminators dealt with the cockroach.

Soo-yeong grumbled at him,

“Are you even a man? Why are you scared of a cockroach?”

“What does being scared of bugs have to do with being a man or woman?”

“But shouldn’t a man just stomp and kill it if a cockroach appears?”

“A goldfish, you? I’ve told you, I can’t see.”

“Even if you can’t see, hiding in the bathroom isn’t the answer.”

“You were the one who wanted to hide here. And you usually hang around with such creatures?”

Woo-jin looked at her as if she was the cockroach, disgusted.

“Ha, what? I didn’t bring it, okay?”

“I’ve lived here for 7 years, and not once have I seen a cockroach. Why now when you come?”

“Maybe it rode the elevator up!”

“So, it followed you? Do you usually not bathe properly?”

“Ah, this guy!”

She held back from grabbing his collar, her fists trembling.

“But… why won’t you eat with me? Did I do something wrong?”

Soo-yeong asked calmly, but Woo-jin remained silent.

“Is it because I kissed you? You said not to worry about it.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then why?”

She was curious, but he didn’t know how to respond. Woo-jin huddled, arms wrapped around his knees.

“How long will you come here?”

He asked absent-mindedly.

“Me? I don’t know. Why? Are you going to kick me out because I brought a cockroach? It’s really not my fault.”

“You’re replacing your aunt, right? So, how long will you come?”

He asked again, avoiding the cockroach topic.
“I don’t know. My aunt is still in the hospital. I guess I have to come for a few more days. Why?”

There was silence again. Soo-yeong frowned, thinking he disliked her visits.

Yeah. I may not be as good as my aunt. But I’ve been trying hard… Does he even know how hard it is to prepare lunch every day?

“I’m sorry if I’m not doing well. But I’m trying my best, so please bear with me a little longer. Until my aunt recovers from her back injury…”

“I wish you would keep coming.”

“What?”

“You… I wish you would keep coming.”

Woo-jin’s voice was slightly trembling.