Gray reached out and pinched the cheek of the deeply sleeping Debbie. She didn’t open her eyes.

He gently brushed her disheveled hair behind her ear and gazed at her intently. Then he brought his face close to her sleeping face, almost about to kiss her, but ultimately straightened up before their lips touched and leaned back against the sofa.

“Haa. What am I doing?”

He rubbed his face with one hand like he was washing it dry.

Sigh…

Despite having been intimate twice, looking at her defenseless sleeping face for the first time stirred strange emotions in him. She was like a blank canvas with nothing drawn on it. Yet he was the one who had added color to that canvas.

The colors he had chosen without much thought had somehow become her identity. A woman with infinite possibilities who could have become any kind of picture had different colors been applied. He felt guilty for possibly binding her completely to the magazine “Troublesome.”

‘Why did I impulsively draw her in?’

When she learned it was an adult magazine and her face contorted, she looked so cute that he pulled her in half-jokingly. But now she was working so seriously—what was he supposed to do?

After briefly resting his hand on his head in contemplation, he waved his palm in front of Debbie’s eyes to confirm she was completely asleep, then pinched her nose again.

“Mmm…”

Debbie smacked her soft lips and turned her head to the opposite side. She had fallen into such a deep sleep she might as well have been unconscious.

Gray propped his elbow on his knee and gave a hollow laugh.

“Why don’t you quit even though I gave you money…”

He muttered, not entirely sure who he was speaking to.

“If you took the job for money, you could move to another publishing house by now. Why do you stay? Is it pride?”

He tasted bitterness in his mouth. Debbie’s sleeping face looked perfectly peaceful. Her steady, soft breathing made his heart feel even heavier.

“If you’re staying out of pride, I wish you’d work in a more comfortable and safer way. Don’t throw yourself into interviews just to find material.”

His voice trembled slightly.

“If you actually experience everything I tell you to write about in your column, how can I not feel sorry? Though I pushed you into those situations, so I have no right to say anything…”

He interlocked his fingers, rested his chin on them, and let out a deep sigh.

“So the only option now is to go with you and stop you. I’ll protect you while you do your research, young lady. Stop being so stubborn.”

While Gray was seriously worrying, Debbie’s foot suddenly landed on his thigh. Startled, he jerked back against the sofa.

“Mmm… yum.”

Debbie smacked her lips and twisted her body.

It wasn’t an intentional kick. Her foot had simply sought warmth, perhaps feeling cold, and targeted Gray’s thigh.

Looking at Debbie with a bewildered expression, unable to do anything about her rudely placed foot, Gray flinched again.

Her remaining foot joined the first one on his knee. With both legs now boldly resting on Gray’s thighs, Debbie smiled lightly, seemingly having a good dream, and fell back into deep sleep.

“Ha…”

Gray glared at Debbie.

Not that his glaring would wake the sleeping Debbie. Instead, his movements became even more cautious. He contemplated getting up for a long time.

The herbal tea on the table cooled quietly, untouched. Gray, who had been staring at Debbie’s feet, frowned and removed her socks.

“The one who likes someone is always at a disadvantage, damn it.”

He looked at the sock left in his fingertips and tossed it away with an expression suggesting he’d touched something he shouldn’t have. Debbie’s feet were swollen, showing how much she had walked.

No one in the world had ever dared to place their feet on his lap. In fact, he had never had such prolonged physical contact with anyone.

Even when entangled with women in bed, he hadn’t particularly enjoyed it, and he always sent his partners away immediately after finishing, so he rarely had reason to touch anyone.

Yet here was Debbie Jones, boldly placing her smelly feet on his knee.

But it was strange.

Could the warmth of touching someone else’s body really feel this pleasant?

In the dark, gloomy publishing house on this somewhat chilly early winter day, Gray sat still, feeling a warmth similar to holding a cup of hot tea in his hands.

In the tranquil nighttime publishing house, only the ticking of the clock echoed loudly. That lonely sound, which he would have covered his ears against if he were alone, created a strange harmony when intertwined with someone else’s thin breath.

‘…Why don’t you bother me?’

Feeling the warmth spreading throughout his body, Gray looked at the feet resting on his thighs.

Though swollen, they were small and pretty. Imagining her busy day running around on these little feet, he couldn’t help but smile.

Her neatly placed shoes also caught his eye. They were smaller than average size, appearing even smaller compared to his feet.

Cute.

Looking at her worn but well-maintained shiny shoes, he smiled softly. Though far from fashionable, they matched Debbie’s vibe perfectly.

Very Debbie-like. She must have enough money, yet she insisted on keeping these old shoes.

‘If I offered to buy her new ones, would she refuse?’

He usually disliked physical contact with others, finding the clammy feeling of touching hands unpleasant. The situation struck him as funny—here he was, carefully cradling the feet of a woman who was peacefully sleeping and lightly snoring.

Yet he didn’t dislike it.

Gray unconsciously sighed. Why was he sighing if he didn’t dislike it? And why was he sitting so uncomfortably, afraid to move lest she wake up?

Gray leaned his head back against the sofa and looked at the ceiling.

It wasn’t bad. This trivial contact that might be everyday life for some people.

Breathing in the scent of the calming herbal tea, Gray unconsciously closed his eyes.

* * *

“Good morning!”

The publishing house employees arrived one by one.

“Oh, the office is already open?”

Black, the photographer, muttered to himself as he was about to open the door.

Team Leader Louis, arriving behind him, gave a puzzled look when he noticed people hesitating at the door.

The editorial department was on the third floor and the prop shooting room on the second, but everyone was lingering on the stairs leading to the third floor, peeking through the door crack.

Louis lightly pushed aside editorial assistant Ashley and proofreader Emil, who were whispering while peering through the gap, and entered the editorial department.

“Good morn…”

Louis’s feet stopped.

Two people were visible on the sofa. Gray sleeping in a relatively neat posture, leaning against the sofa backrest, was one thing. But the sight of Debbie using his thigh as a pillow, her hands resting on his knee, sleeping peacefully, was quite unfamiliar.

“Ugh…”

As Louis stood there speechless, Ashley and Emil approached behind him, using his body as a shield, their eyes sparkling as they whispered.

“I didn’t see Debbie that way, but she’s quite skilled. How did she manage to claim the editor-in-chief’s lap? Didn’t he hate physical contact with anyone?”

“What do you think they were doing alone in the office after everyone left?”

“Let’s wake her up and directly ask what kind of relationship they have…”

Louis quickly grabbed the ears of the two employees who were trying to approach them.

“Everyone pretend you didn’t see anything and go to the second floor. Unless you want to be tormented by the editor-in-chief for a whole month.”

“Ow! What’s the big deal! It might be nothing! We can just ask directly…”

Proofreader Emil was screaming but suddenly shut his mouth. Gray had slightly opened his eyes and stood up, acting completely normal.

“Hahaha… It’s a bright day, Editor-in-Chief. Did you sleep well?”

Louis smiled awkwardly while greeting him. Meanwhile, Ashley pushed away the hand holding her ear.

Under everyone’s gaze, Gray calmly buttoned up his loosened shirt and abruptly pushed Debbie aside as he stood up, regardless of whether she woke up or not.

“He… he buttoned up his shirt.”

Benjamin muttered in disbelief. Though it must have been embarrassing to open his eyes and find employees staring at him, Gray’s expression remained unchanged.

Instead, with a cold face, he finished buttoning his cuffs, glanced at his watch, and said as he walked to the editor’s office:

“It’s past reporting time. Everyone go to your seats.”

Benjamin, who had just walked into the office, asked Gray with a sly smile:

“Didn’t you go home? Were you working overtime? Why would you stay with a junior reporter instead of going to your comfortable home…”

Louis tried urgently to stop him, but Benjamin, with a smirking smile, openly revealed what he wanted to ask Gray.

Gray, receiving the question, sat at the editor’s desk and looked at the schedule.

“Debbie worked overtime yesterday researching the parade follow-up article. I accompanied her because I was concerned drunk festival-goers might be rude to her alone. She seemed to struggle on her own.”

“Come on, isn’t that normal for newcomers? When I was new, you told me to figure everything out by myself.”

“I somewhat regret not paying attention to junior reporters before. You know how this industry has many taboos and is difficult to navigate.”

Though he had such an excellent memory that he could memorize the schedule with just one look, he spoke to the employees with a contemplative expression:

“For a while, I plan to accompany Debbie when she goes out for research. People might ignore a junior reporter, but they won’t ignore the editor-in-chief.”

Benjamin responded with a chuckle:

“It’s not because you’re willing to offer your lap as a pillow, is it?”

At that moment, a vein bulged on Gray’s forehead. Louis poked Benjamin’s side repeatedly, telling him to stop.

But once Benjamin got started, there was no stopping him.

“Be honest. Last night, you two…”

Hearing this, the corner of Gray’s mouth curved upward. However, his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“Reporter Benjamin Pellet. Have you resolved the prop issue for last month’s postponed project? Have you replaced the stolen shoes? Do you remember those shoes weren’t sponsored but rented? Those handcrafted shoes with diamonds embedded by a master shoemaker have no replacements. Have you obtained understanding from the concerned parties?”

At that moment, Benjamin’s face turned pale.

“That… that…”

“I don’t know which pathetic person has such a f*tish, but I wish they would at least distinguish between sponsored and rented items before giving in to greed. Resolve this before I call the police to find those shoes. Immediately.”

Benjamin rushed out urgently.

Seeing this, other employees tried to quietly return to their seats, but Gray’s scolding poured down like a storm.

“Emil, did you fix the incorrect footnotes in the photo layout? There was quite a lot. Christine, have you prepared the color samples? You’ll need to specify each changed printing method—have you coordinated with the printing house? Black, what about the photoshoot schedule that fell through last time? Is it all arranged?”

Everyone scrambled to avoid becoming his target. Throughout all this, Debbie continued to sleep soundly on the sofa.