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Chapter 9
Ahan, who had been about to return to his room, suddenly stopped as if something had come to mind.
He turned around.
His footsteps stopped in front of Yeoreul’s room. The door was slightly open.
Leaning against the doorway, Ahan knocked.
At the sound, Yeoreul immediately stood up from her chair.
“Can I come in?”
She gave a small nod, and Ahan walked toward her with an unwavering composure.
Standing quietly across from him, Yeoreul unconsciously took a step back.
Ahan stared at her face for a moment and blinked.
Perhaps because his appearance was so perfect that it seemed unreal, Yeoreul felt embarrassed whenever she met his eyes.
Afraid that her face might turn red, she looked away first.
But when she glanced back at him, she noticed Ahan was looking at her leg.
Only then did she remember the stocking she had failed to take off completely.
Yeoreul’s face turned pale.
Her soft, smooth skin, still untouched by any roughness, was exposed.
She hurriedly hid the half-removed stocking behind her other leg.
“What brings you here…?”
But at that moment, Ahan suddenly lowered himself.
Then, with his fingers, he gently pulled down the knee-high sock covering her slender leg.
His long fingers slid down from her calf.
Yeoreul’s expression instantly stiffened.
The tension she felt from his touch sent a sharp sensation through her entire body.
Ahan looked at her clean leg, free of even a single scar, then raised his eyes.
“Aren’t you hot?”
Their eyes met for a moment.
Perhaps he was feeling the material of the knee-high sock.
Yeoreul looked slightly awkward, but Ahan remained calm.
“You were wearing it even though it’s a hot day.”
He removed his index finger from the sock and stood up.
“I… don’t really feel the heat.”
Yeoreul crossed her legs and curled her toes.
The long sock that covered her calf and ankle was almost completely removed.
“Who did you live with?”
The question came abruptly from Ahan, who had been standing still.
Yeoreul looked confused for a moment, then soon understood what he meant.
Ahan waited patiently.
“With my grandmother.”
Seeing the look in his eyes—as if he already knew everything—Yeoreul answered honestly.
“All this time?”
“Yes… since I was in the first year of middle school.”
“Ah…”
Hearing it directly from her, Ahan let out a quiet exclamation.
Their gazes tangled together in silence, and Yeoreul found herself holding her breath.
“I’m sorry. She told me that if I said it, people might look at me strangely…”
“Mm.”
Yeoreul looked at him.
“See you tomorrow.”
Ahan said his farewell.
He turned around and left the room.
Apparently, that had really been all he came to say.
The tension that had instantly disappeared left Yeoreul barely able to breathe.
She walked to the bed and collapsed onto it.
All the strength drained from her body.
Just then, another knock came from outside.
Yeoreul immediately sat up.
“Yes!”
A staff member entered and approached her.
“Would you like us to prepare your bathwater and some clothes to change into?”
“Ah? Oh, yes. Please. Thank you.”
After bathing, Yeoreul changed into the loose, flowing white pajamas the staff had prepared.
She liked the freedom of the oversized clothing.
After brushing her hair, Yeoreul sat at the desk.
Thinking of Ahan, she stared at the fresh green flowers in the vase.
The awkwardness between them—almost excessive—was unbearable.
Whenever she was with him, her heart constantly seemed unable to function properly.
Thinking that she couldn’t continue like this, Yeoreul began writing down ways to become closer to her fiancé.
1. Say good morning.
2. Say hello at lunch.
3. Say good evening.
The only things she had written were formal greetings.
Nothing else came to mind.
“What else is there?”
4. Decide how to address him.
5. Speak casually? Politely? Politely. That’s more comfortable.
The paper, which had changed from a plan into a collection of scribbles, caught a fallen flower petal.
Yeoreul picked it up.
Her first gift.
It felt as if she had been welcomed.
She plucked a few leaves from the iris and placed them between the pages of her book.
I hope it doesn’t wither for a long time in here.
She wanted to preserve today’s feelings for as long as possible.
Cold and blunt.
But…
Someone good enough.
She wrote down a few words.
Then—
Probably?
After drawing the question mark several times behind the three letters, Yeoreul closed her diary, which had turned into little more than a notebook of scribbles.
She called her grandmother and went to bed.
Moonlight slanted through the window of the large, comfortable room.
Outwardly, everything looked peaceful, but this comfort and tranquility felt fragile—as if it could break at any moment.
The sounds of the night felt unfamiliar.
Thinking of the strange atmosphere between herself and Ahan, Yeoreul pulled the blanket all the way up to cover her face.
The peacefulness of the mansion surrounded by forest calmed her heart.
She felt safer than she had expected.
