1.1 Ominous Favor

The university hospital lobby was bustling with people, even at the early hour.  

There were people talking on their phones, others holding number tickets and waiting, and elderly patients repeatedly pushing and pulling their recently received registration slips, struggling to read the text before asking a young woman for help. On the benches, people sat with weary expressions, waiting for their turn, their hidden tension barely concealed.  

The empty spaces in the hospital lobby were occupied by a cleaning machine, operated by a janitor, gliding over the marble floor.  

The café on the right side of the hospital lobby was no different.  

The automatic doors of the café opened and closed repeatedly. Inside, patients in hospital gowns mingled with visitors and medical staff wearing uniforms adorned with the hospital’s logo. Despite the constant flow of people, only a few lingered at the tables for long.  

The café had a glass ceiling that allowed a full view of the outside.  

Sitting by the window, Leeseo sipped on her coffee, gazing at the flower bed at the base of the building wall beyond the glass. Short sunflowers stood proudly, their bright faces turned upward.  

The man sitting across from Leeseo adjusted the straw in his iced Americano with his fingers, skillfully gulping down both coffee and ice at once. The crunching sound of ice breaking in his mouth finally made Leeseo turn her head toward him.  

What’s his deal?

The look on the man’s face, wearing a jacket over a blue surgical gown, said exactly that. If she said anything, he might explain, but he sat there with a stern look, maintaining his silence.  

“Do you think you’re some kind of celebrity? Take those off.” 

Junmo muttered in a low voice, breaking the silence after a long pause.  

“I don’t want to.”  

Because she was seated with her back to the door, nurses and doctors passing by occasionally nodded in recognition toward Gu Junmo. He responded with polite smiles or slight bows, but his focus clearly wasn’t on the conversation. His behavior left the person sitting across from him feeling awkward.  

“Wearing sunglasses indoors—is that even reasonable?” 

Junmo said, just as he exchanged quick glances with a passing colleague.  

“Ultraviolet rays aren’t good for your eyes.”

Junmo gave her a disdainful look, his expression dripping with disbelief.  

“Take them off. It’s embarrassing.”  

Reluctantly, Leeseo removed her sunglasses.  

Junmo, having set his cup down, leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests and propping his chin on his hand. His posture suggested he was finally ready to have a proper conversation, though his sharp gaze betrayed an intent to probe her hidden thoughts.  

“Are you joking right now?”  

His stare was oddly unnerving, making it hard to relax. Leeseo, who had been about to sip from her water glass to ease her dry throat, set it back down without drinking.  

“I’m not joking.”  

“If that’s not a joke, then what is it?”  

“I meant exactly what I said.”  

Leeseo straightened her back, trying not to appear intimidated. What came naturally in front of others required twice the effort in front of this man.  

“So you’re saying that you’re about to leave for Paris. You had to move out early because you couldn’t communicate with the new tenant. You need a place to stay in the meantime, and for some reason, it just has to be my place. That’s right?”

“Yes.”  

Ha!  

Junmo let out a scoff.  

“Are you an idiot? Only an idiot would inconvenience themselves to accommodate someone else’s circumstances without considering their own.”  

Even as he said this, a fleeting thought crossed his mind—if it were Leeseo, she might actually do that. She’d always had odd moments of naivety since they were young.  

“That’s just how it turned out.”  

Unable to contain his frustration, Junmo roughly ran his hand over his forehead. 

What? That’s just how it turned out? 

They hadn’t even arranged to meet—he had simply run into her while crossing the lobby. On a whim, he had asked, ‘Want to grab a coffee?’ and now here they were. How did it come to this?  

Junmo, at a loss for what to do with Leeseo, who sat there with her clear, innocent eyes, took out his frustration on his short hair, ruffling it wildly.  

“Stop talking nonsense and just move into Hannam-dong.”  

“I don’t want to.”  

“Why don’t you go to that older brother of yours who would do anything for you?”  

“I don’t want to.”  

“This isn’t about what you want or don’t want right now. If you’re desperate enough to ask me for help, you can handle telling my mother. What’s the big deal about moving into Hannam-dong?”  

“I haven’t… spoken to Madam about it yet.”  

Junmo rubbed his eyes harshly with the palms of his hands, clearly irritated and exhausted.  

“In any case, my house is off-limits.”  

“Why not?”  

“Why are you even asking about something so obvious? You’re twenty-seven. Not seven.”  

“Twenty-eight. I’m twenty-eight.” 

Leeseo corrected.  

Junmo paused, momentarily questioning if that detail even mattered, before realizing he’d never actually kept track of her age. He couldn’t even remember if she had moved into Hannam-dong when she was eight or nine. 

It wasn’t like that detail was particularly important, but for some reason, he always got it wrong. It amused him how trivial it was, and yet, every time, Leeseo would correct him with meticulous precision.  

She rarely spoke up about anything, but when it came to her age, she was oddly sensitive. That hadn’t changed, not then, and not now.  

“And I don’t see why my age is even relevant to this.”  

“You must have a boyfriend or something.”  

“Oppa.”  

At the sound of her calling him “Oppa,” Junmo’s brows furrowed deeply.  

“What?”  

“You’re not… scared of me, are you?”  

“Ridiculous. Why would I be scared of you?”  

“Maybe… because you see me as a woman?”  

Before Leeseo could even finish her quiet sentence, Junmo burst into laughter. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in disbelief.  

His laughter was so loud that people nearby glanced over at them. But just as abruptly as it had started, his laughter stopped, and his face turned sour with irritation.  

Leeseo gripped the handbag resting on her lap tightly.  

“You’re not serious, are you?”  

“If that’s how you feel, then maybe I’m not.”  

“There it is. That’s the Leeseo I know. Always indifferent, no matter what’s said to you.”  

“Just say yes or no. I don’t repeat myself. I’ll give you two days.”  

“What’s with that attitude? That’s supposed to be my line, not yours.”  

Picking up her sunglasses from the table, Leeseo grabbed her handbag and stood up. There was no room for hurt pride or embarrassment.  

She had only taken a few steps when Junmo grabbed her hand.  

“You’re really not going to tell me the real reason? You’re not the kind of person to ask for favors.”  

Leeseo looked down at him calmly.  

Taking in his loose surgical gown, short-cropped hair, and the worn-out plastic slippers he wore, she noticed how his indifference toward his appearance seemed to radiate an arrogant confidence. Perhaps even that was something he was naturally born with—like his striking looks and exceptional physique, things others could only envy but never replicate.  

Was that a hint of concern in his eyes? 

She hoped it was. For some reason, she found herself wishing for that.  

“Did mother put you up to this? To keep an eye on me?”  

“Of course not.”  

Junmo let out a long sigh of resignation as he watched Leeseo stubbornly press her lips together.  

“Fine. Let’s see how this goes.”  

Even as he spoke, he didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, his grip tightened slightly, firmly enveloping her smaller hand in his.  

“I won’t stop you from moving into my house. But if you’re willing to endure whatever inconveniences come your way, then by all means, go ahead and stay.”  

It was a warning, clear as day.  

“I’ll move my things in today.” 

Leeseo said softly, lowering her gaze.  

“And for the living expenses, utilities, and maintenance fees—we’ll split them evenly—” 

Before she could finish, Junmo cut her off.  

“Unbelievable. You’re driving me insane.”  

Letting out a sharp breath into the air, Junmo glared at her with an intensity that could kill.  

“If you’re going to do that, just go to a hotel!”  

It was Leeseo who stood up first, but in the end, it was Junmo who left the café first.  

Leeseo watched his angry figure disappear, then slumped back into her seat, drained of energy.  

The tears she had been holding back felt like they would burst out at any moment, so she hurriedly covered her eyes with her sunglasses. The sunlight reflecting off the table, which had been bathed in the bright sun, no longer dazzled her. Instead, the uncontrollable emotions she had buried deep within her heart began to ache, like a river flowing endlessly in one direction.