How to put it… it was perhaps the first time I had seen such disheveled appearance in this mansion.

An unexpected sight momentarily halted Eun Chae’s brain. The question that was blurted out instinctively, without going through her head, seemed to have been tinged with embarrassment upon reflection.

“Cat hair.”

“……”

“You didn’t give me time to clean it up.”

Kwon Ki Joo pushed and entered the room, speaking. The slow glance sweeping the interior casually was an added bonus.

Eun Chae tracked his audacious movements, eyeing him as if he was unbelievable, although she was the one who had summoned him. Eventually, acknowledging that the man paid no heed to her gaze, she turned her head with a resigned look on her face.

She made eye contact with an assistant who had just emerged from another room into the corridor. The guard’s gaze seemed puzzled, wondering why he was here. Eun Chae unconsciously clenched the doorknob tightly, and blocked his gaze by shutting the door as if to show him off.

That alone somehow made her feel inflated. Eun Chae took a deep breath and turned her body around.

She caught eyes with Kwon Ki Joo who halfturned his head at her movement. It didn’t feel like a question asking why she had called him.

“……You didn’t fool me.”

Raising an eyebrow as if asking what she meant.

“I didn’t even believe things like you having a cat allergy.”

Her feelings were like a chimney wanting to test him, but she couldn’t dare to test a disease. Since Kwon Ki Joo came voluntarily, it was as if she had missed the test.

“Don’t feel wronged. I couldn’t believe you even if you said the sun rose from the east.”

At those words, the corners of Kwon Ki Joo’s eyes turned a shade redder. Even though he wasn’t crying, it was as if he was. Eun Chae looked closely with her brows furrowed, but no tears were visible. All she could see were the pitchblack pupils wavering unsteadily.

“But……now it doesn’t matter.”

“……”

“You’re the only one I can rely on, Kwon Ki Joo. I don’t know if it’s still just a shell, but anyway.”

The only one offering her a hand, the only one covering her shivering body with a coat in the cold, was Kwon Ki Joo. To her, who was desperate to even grasp at straws, that was more than enough.

Eun Chae walked past him standing dumbly. She couldn’t feel the sensation on the soles of her feet very well. The sound of her footsteps seemed a bit loud too. She didn’t know.

Eun Chae picked up the gift box that was on the desk and handed it to him.

“It’s a reward for playing well today.”

Ki Joo, who had been staring at the gift box with his eyes wide open, laughed silently. If a sound had leaked from his laugh, it would have been accompanied by a vibration. It was that kind of laugh.

“……I told you.”

He mumbled lowly and snatched the box with force. In the face of his unusual grip, Eun Chae unconsciously resisted letting go.

But in front of his monstrous strength, her struggle was pathetic. He forcibly snatched the box and threw it straight into the trash can. The gift box, drawing a parabola, flew through the air and thunked into the trash can.

Chills spread throughout Eun Chae’s body. She had painstakingly watched her mother, who was completely dominated by the disease, endlessly doubting Chairman Song Myung Hwan, and longing for that damned love. It was so repulsive.

“You’ve shown me what I should give.”

At the subdued voice of Kwon Ki Joo, as if he was angry, at his eyes that seemed wrapped in flames, yet were cold and motionless, she felt relief.

In the end, she had to admit that his blood was flowing in her body too.

“Why do you act like this.”

Shaking his head as if it was ridiculous, he looked up at her. His gaze was so piercing, her cheek felt raw. Despite being just a gaze, one that could not physically harm, Eun Chae’s sensation was vivid.

She had no time to be bewildered by the unfamiliar sensation. He took long strides, closing the distance in an instant. With his strong arms, he coiled around her waist like a chain.

Eun Chae felt her heart pounding as if it would explode. Like a person drowning, she clung onto his broad shoulders. She vaguely knew that her nails were digging into his shirt, but she couldn’t stop.

Kwon Ki Joo’s chest was wide and strangely hot. Eun Chae’s breath stopped for a moment as she buried her hair in his chest, like a person possessed.

It was because he buried his face in her neck. Simultaneously, she was trapped in Kwon Ki Joo’s arms, powerless due to the intense pressure on her back.

She was out of breath.

Barely pressing against his chest, she pleaded for release.

Ki Joo did not grant her request.

How long had it been in that state? Eventually, she was pushed away from him. Eun Chae tried to look up hastily, but he turned and walked away with heavy steps.

She hadn’t done anything major, but while calming her rapid breathing, Eun Chae watched him. Kwon Ki Joo didn’t look back once, opened the door, and left.

After that, the door closed with a bang.

Eun Chae’s cheeks were hot with confusion and shame.