Chapter 1.5

“What if I actually ask to borrow it? What would you do then?” 

She tried to dismiss his words with a light laugh, but his voice followed her, clear and resolute. 

“I’d let you.” 

“…Why? We’ve only just met today.” 

“Because you’re beautiful.” 

His answer, as light as it was, caused a faint crack to form in Seo-hwa’s expression. 

“You’d feel better venting your anger, and I’d enjoy kissing a pretty girl. What’s the problem?” 

“…There are plenty of problems. And who gets revenge by kissing a stranger?” 

“Would it be possible if it weren’t a stranger?” 

“No. Whether it’s revenge or venting, I don’t plan on doing anything like that. It doesn’t matter who Seo Young-hoon kisses or what he does—it has nothing to do with me.” 

It didn’t matter what kind of debauchery Seo Young-hoon indulged in with other women, as long as he didn’t tell her father. 

Seo-hwa swallowed the rest of her thoughts. 

“You should find another pretty girl.” 

The odd direction their conversation had taken left her feeling embarrassed. The talk of lending lips, calling her pretty, and his light flirtations made her think she understood what kind of person he was. If he was someone who only cared about appearances, she would have had enough men like him. 

“…And I’m sorry for what I said earlier. Here, take this.”  

Seo-hwa swallowed her exhaustion and held out the wet gift box she had been clutching all along. 

“It’s not trash; it’s an expensive watch. If you don’t like it, you can sell it.” 

“Isn’t this supposed to be Seo Young-hoon’s birthday present?” 

“I don’t want to give it to him anymore. You take it.” 

Seo Young-hoon had never cared about presents from Seo-hwa in the first place. There were far more valuable things surrounding him, after all. 

This gift box, abandoned amidst the trash scattered around the pool, would undoubtedly end up in the hands of the villa’s cleaning staff the next day and head straight to the trash bin. Rather than letting such a luxurious watch rot in a trash can, it seemed better to give it a new owner. 

Without much thought, she changed the recipient of the gift. She wanted to escape this headache-inducing situation as quickly as possible, placing the crumpled gift box in his palm before hurriedly passing by him. 

It was just as she took a few steps forward, brushing against the humid breeze, that she felt someone’s presence behind her. 

The moment she sensed movement, her wrist was lightly grabbed. Seo-hwa turned her head, startled, and widened her eyes at the face that had come so close. She instinctively took a step back. 

“You said you wanted to enjoy the breeze alone here.” 

The fresh scent that brushed past her nose was enough to blow away the damp humidity. She was startled by the proximity between them, her gaze locking with his. 

The man’s eyes slowly scanned Seo-hwa’s face. His gaze, holding a peculiar depth that couldn’t be described in a single word, felt as if it pierced through her, heavy and profound. Seo-hwa couldn’t easily turn her head away from his penetrating stare. 

His sharply defined features, shaded by the dim light, were striking enough to make her lose herself in thought. Up close, they were even more so. For a moment, Seo-hwa found it difficult to breathe. 

“I’ll leave now.” 

“……” 

“In return for the gift.” 

With those words, the man released her wrist and turned to leave, placing a handkerchief on her palm as he did so. 

‘Why a handkerchief…?’ 

It felt as though he had noticed she had been holding back tears, and Seo-hwa felt a pang of embarrassment. Yet, strangely, the small warmth conveyed through the handkerchief began to slowly melt the hard knot in her chest. 

Perhaps it was because she had let some of her emotions spill out after always trying to hide them. Her tightly blocked chest seemed to open up, and dampness spread through the cracks. 

All because of a single handkerchief. 

Maybe she was drunk. Seo-hwa brushed her flushed cheeks with her palm, lowering her gaze. A single droplet fell onto the handkerchief she held. 

The droplet formed a dark pool on the gray fabric, slowly expanding its boundaries. Seo-hwa wiped away her streaming tears with the back of her hand, but eventually, she had no choice but to lift the handkerchief the man had given her and cover her face completely. 

The handkerchief carried the same pleasant scent she had noticed earlier. Its subtle fragrance, so out of place in this alcohol-saturated atmosphere, tickled her nose. 

Seo-hwa cried until the fabric was soaked through. She wasn’t sure why she felt so sorrowful, but tears continued to roll down her cheeks. 

The warmth and scent the man had left lingered for a long time. Seo-hwa stood there, savoring the breeze, letting his traces remain until they disappeared completely. She stared blankly into the distance, lost in thought. 

As she sniffled and reflected on the man, a fragment of memory suddenly flashed across her mind. The scattered remnants of recollection began to form outlines and overlap all at once. 

The sense of déjà vu that had been building reached its peak, and a vivid scene pierced through her thoughts. 

“Ah…” 

Finally, Seo-hwa unearthed a memory of the man, and her eyes wavered with unease. By now, her tears had long since stopped. 

This isn’t our first meeting. 

What? 

We lived in the same house.

Fully understanding the meaning behind his words, Seo-hwa ran after him, following the path he had taken. But by the time she reached the spot, he was already gone. 

A wave of tangled emotions surged like the tide, making her heart pound loudly. The sorrow that had weighed heavily on her chest had sunk to the very bottom. 

Seo-hwa clenched the damp handkerchief tightly and spent a long time revisiting old memory. 

Let’s… escape well, together.

The buried memories of her sixteenth winter came back, cold and vivid. 

* * *

At the end of her sixteenth year, a chill seeped into her skin during that freezing season. 

Her father had brought home a boy. 

A shadow-like boy, black from his hair to his eyes, and even the atmosphere surrounding him. 

“…Who is he?” 

“He’ll be staying on the second floor for a while.” 

Her father explained vaguely that the boy was a patient he had no choice but to bring home while closing down a hospital located in Su-myeong City. He said a friend had entrusted him with the patient, and he had decided to care for him at home temporarily, instead of at the hospital. 

Care for a patient at home? 

There were many things that didn’t make sense, but Seo-hwa couldn’t ask any questions. Her curiosity was swallowed by her father’s piercing gaze. She had no right to question anything. After all, she was no different from an unwelcome guest living under his watchful eye. 

Following her father’s orders, Seo-hwa delivered medicine and meals to the boy every day. It was a simple task, but for Seo-hwa, those moments felt unbearably difficult. 

Whenever she opened the attic door, 

“……” 

“……”

The moment their eyes met directly, it was as if he had been waiting for her. 

Behind the locked gazes, silence stretched out. From the first time she had seen him, Seo-hwa had felt it—his presence was unsettling enough to make her flinch. If she were to describe him with a color, black would come to mind immediately. 

Even the color of his eyes, faintly visible beneath the hair covering his brow, was dark. The dimly lit room, where sunlight barely reached, only deepened the heavy atmosphere surrounding him. 

Whenever he stared at her without a word, Seo-hwa tensed up, her body instinctively shrinking. 

“Eat, eat this.” 

When his gaze lingered on her face longer than usual that day, Seo-hwa hastily placed the tray on the nightstand and pushed it toward him. 

Even as she left the room, she felt as though his gaze clung persistently to the back of her neck, making her shiver. That piercing stare always felt burdensome, so she would deliver the medicine and food as quickly as possible and rush out of the room. But that day, an unnecessary curiosity arose within her. 

“What’s wrong with you? Can I ask?” 

Even though she knew there was no benefit in knowing, the question she had been holding back slipped out. 

“……” 

As expected, the man didn’t answer. He simply stared blankly in her direction. 

This time, Seo-hwa didn’t avoid his gaze and looked straight into his eyes. As always, his expression was devoid of any emotion, like a robot—dry and indifferent. 

In the dim room, it felt almost like a staring contest. The man won. Once again, Seo-hwa was the first to look away. 

Even as she closed the door and turned around, the man’s unwavering gaze seemed to burn into her back.