We walked along the alleyway.
The warmth of Lee Jian’s body, leaning against my back and sound asleep, felt strangely comforting.
When we arrived at the front door and knocked, sounds of movement came from inside.
A moment later, the door opened, and a gentle flow of indoor air streamed out.
And beyond the door, a strange woman appeared.
She had eyes similar to Jian’s, but instead of mischief, they held a warmth that seemed to linger.
Our eyes met for an instant.
“…Mom?”
She seemed surprised by the unexpected visitor.
“Is… Jian’s friend?”
A brief silence, then her gaze shifted to Lee Jian.
I slightly bowed my head and said, “Hello. I’m Jian’s friend, Kim Dohyun. Jian seemed tired, so she fell asleep.”
Upon hearing this, the woman’s eyes widened.
She quickly waved her hands in front of her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to go through so much trouble. Please, come in.”
She hastily opened the door wide and guided me in.
The living room was warm.
Unlike the dimness outside, the indoor lighting softly embraced the space.
Tension slightly eased within me.
I cautiously stepped inside the house.
“Jian, Jian.”
Jian’s mother gently shook her, but Jian didn’t stir.
She remained deeply asleep, mumbling as she buried herself deeper.
“Look at her. She must’ve been exhausted,” Jian’s mother sighed.
“Would you mind carrying her to her room?”
I nodded quietly and lifted Jian once again.
“Not too heavy, is she?”
“Uh… rather…”
Too light, actually.
“Rather?”
“Uh, never mind.”
As we entered the room, faint light from outside shone through the window.
It softly illuminated her sleeping face.
I carefully laid her down on the bed.
She mumbled again.
“…Urrgh.”
Even while burying herself deeper into the soft blanket, a faint sound escaped her lips.
“Let’s change her clothes so she can sleep better.”
Her mother spoke softly.
At that moment,
“Uh… huh?”
Her bleary eyes opened slightly.
Still groggy, her hand moved instinctively toward her waist.
I sensed danger instinctively.
…Impossible.
“Hey.”
I called out softly.
She didn’t respond.
Very slowly, she seemed intent on undressing.
My mind went blank.
A chill ran down my spine, and instinctively my heart raised an alarm.
“…Uh, I’ll take my leave.”
I quickly turned around.
As I opened the door and stepped out of the room, I heard her mother’s bewildered voice from behind.
“Dear, look at you. Do-Hyun, are you alright?”
“Yes…”
I quietly pressed my forehead.
This house was more dangerous than I thought.
When I returned to the living room, Jian’s mother served me a gentle cup of tea.
I carefully lifted the cup.
A soft fragrance wafted up from the tea.
“It seems she’s experienced mana exhaustion.”
Jian’s mother spoke quietly.
She set down the cup and looked up.
“Mana exhaustion?”
“Yes. Even without casting spells, sometimes focusing can unconsciously drain one’s mana.”
She sighed softly.
“Ever since she’s been doing all this study she never used to.”
I silently took a sip.
‘Could it be because she wanted to win that bet? What’s so important about that wish coupon…’
I didn’t fully understand.
And then, the sound of the door opening caught my attention.
“I’m home.”
A strange voice.
Strange, but familiar.
This woman resembled Jian but had sharper features.
She glanced around the living room as she took off her coat.
Then her eyes met mine, and she paused.
“…Huh?”
After staring at me for a moment, she narrowed her eyes and spoke.
“Who are you?”
“Oh, Jian’s friend. She fell asleep, so I brought her home.”
“She could’ve been heavy. You carried her?”
The woman paused as if remembering something, then pointed to herself and said,
“Ah, I’m Jian’s sister. Just call me Ji-hye.”
“I’m Kim Do-Hyun.”
I bowed slightly to greet her, and she frowned, tilting her head.
“Kim Do-Hyun? That name sounds really familiar for some reason…”
She seemed to be deep in thought before suddenly exclaiming,
“Oh, the gym clothes. So you’re the one she wears them for.”
For a moment, I lost for words.
She chuckled and sat down.
Jian’s mother naturally handed her a cup of tea and said,
“Enjoy some tea while you take a short break.”
“Hmm…”
Ji-hye scanned my face again, then nodded in apparent acknowledgment.
‘What is it?’
And before long, I found myself naturally integrated into their family conversation.
The smell of food wafting from the kitchen gently spread.
On the table sat freshly steamed rice, and next to it, a pot of steaming soup.
“Have dinner with us.”
Jian’s mother said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, guiding me to the table.
On the table were ordinary side dishes.
A warm bowl of rice, a deeply savory soybean paste soup, well-seasoned grilled fish, and some freshly hand-picked vegetables.
I carefully picked up my chopsticks.
The first bite.
And then the second.
The fluffy grains of rice touched my tongue.
The more I chewed, the richer the aroma spread throughout my mouth.
I took a sip of the soup, and the perfectly seasoned broth embraced my insides softly.
Picking up the freshly cooked vegetables, the fresh scent kissed my tongue.
I suddenly realized.
How long… had it been since I ate a meal prepared by someone else?
I’d been living alone for so long.
Bento boxes, instant meals, delivery food…
All of it was “eating alone”.
However, now I was seated at the table.
Soft conversations flowed back and forth, laughter occasionally mingling, and people ensuring to eat their soup while it was hot.
It was a sense of normalcy I had long forgotten.
This house was… strangely warm.
“Is everything alright? Does it taste good?”
“Yes, it’s really delicious.”
The meal was so delicious, the warmth of the house so comforting, and the exchanges so gentle…
And yet, the fact that I would soon return to an empty home pressed down on me.
Just as I’d begun to get used to it everything, it felt as if the house would soon feel foreign again.
“Please eat slower. You’ll upset your stomach like that.”
A glass of water gently extended toward me.
I slowly sipped it.
After finishing the meal, I helped with the dishes.
Clonk.
The delicate sound of plates lightly clinking together felt pleasant.
After that, we sat together on the sofa watching a drama.
The melodrama had us muttering complaints, and time flew by.
I stood up.
“I’ll be going now.”
At that, Jian’s mother glanced at the clock and said,
“At this hour? Isn’t it dangerous?”
I slightly panicked and checked the time.
“…It is late, but I’ll be fine.”
She spoke gently.
“Stay for the night.”
At hearing this, Ji-hye immediately chimed in.
“That’s right. It’s dangerous at this hour. Things aren’t safe these days.”
“…”
“I mean, just because you’re a guy doesn’t mean it’s safe, right? Forget it and just stay. It’s perfectly fine.”
I attempted to refuse once more.
I knew it – if I denied again, they wouldn’t press further.
“…”
Returning home would mean a dark room.
A quiet space with no lights.
A kitchen without a dinner set.
This place was completely different.
It’s…
“…Then, I’ll impose on your kindness.”
I quietly responded.
“Alright. Let me contact your parents. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can handle the call for you.”
“Ah, that’s not necessary. I live alone.”
I casually mentioned it,
But the weight of those words seemed heavier than I’d thought.
There was no more conversation. It seemed everyone had understood from those brief words.
The warmth that softly touched my head.
I slowly raised my head and saw Jian’s mother smiling gently.
“Rest well.”
It should have been natural, normal by now.
Why did those words sound so pleasant?
A strange house, unfamiliar air, yet somehow comforting.
Moonlight was seeping through the window.
A quiet night.
A cozy home.
A table not with cold leftovers but with lingering warmth.
This place was strangely warm.
*
As I shifted my body slightly, the residual warmth within the blanket was noticeable.
For sleeping on a sofa, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
I strongly refused the offer to sleep in the bed. It felt too burdensome to go that far.
The loosely tucked-in blanket felt gentle.
The air was comforting.
An unfamiliar smell filled the nostrils.
—The scent of a home.
The smell that arose from a place where people lived.
I instinctively listened, my eyes closed, to the familiar sounds coming from outside.
The sound of someone tidying up in the kitchen.
The soft hum of the fridge.
Footsteps from somewhere.
The faint sounds reminded me that this space was alive.
I lay there for a moment.
Could I sleep a bit longer?
But—
“Hey, wake up.”
At the sudden voice, my eyebrows instinctively twitched.
I felt the morning sunlight.
Even inside the blanket, the warmth was spreading.
My eyelids involuntarily furrowed.
“Wake up already.”
The voice came again.
A voice I didn’t find strange.
I knew who it was even before I opened my eyes.
“…”
But then, right at that moment.
The blanket was suddenly pulled off.
A sudden cold draft rushed in.
Instinctively, I frowned.
Before I could move,
“Did you drink that much last night, sister?”
Simultaneously,
She was there, right in front of me.
With the still half-closed eyes, I slowly began to take in reality.
The morning light streamed through the glass.
The cozy warmth lingering under the blanket.
The gentle temperature that filled the living room.
And…
right there in front of me…
Lee Jian.
Through my still half-open eyelids, I gazed at her.
Her tousled hair,
Her loose shirt,
Her eyes, still heavy with sleep,
And one of her shoulders seemed slightly exposed as her PE uniform top felt overly large.
Slowly, I raised my hand from under the blanket to tousle my hair.
The texture was much rougher than usual.
The sunlight was too intense.
Nonchalantly, I turned my head to glance out the window.
“…What. Is this?”
I looked at her through half-closed eyes.
Her face was gradually stiffening.
Her gaze was flickering subtly.
At the end of that gaze—
A mirror.
I blinked slowly.
She was looking at the mirror.
Her expression crumpled.
“…Wha?”
Her lips trembled.
Hastily raising a hand to adjust her strap,
she vigorously combed through her tousled hair.
Her face was rapidly contorting.
She desperately mumbled,
“Is… this a dream?”
I blinked slowly.
A dream?
I was still leisurely coming to terms with reality.
However, Lee Jian’s reaction was much faster than mine.
She turned back to me.
And the moment our eyes met—
“…”
I forced myself to speak calmly.
A brief silence.
In an instant, the air froze.
Her pupils twitched slightly.
—Puff!
Her face flushed as—
“HYYYYYAAAHHH!”
Jian screamed and stumbled backward.
Her startled body lost balance, tripped over the edge of a table behind her.
Instantly, a teeter—
“Hey!”
I reflexively extended my hand.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her forcefully toward me.
And—
Crash!
The two of us collapsed onto the sofa simultaneously.
Though cushions cushioned our fall, the impact was still noticeable.
And, we were too close.
Soft textures.
My hair tangled as warm breath grazed my nose.
Before me, her wide eyes.
Her flushed face, startled.
Her pupils quivered from our meeting gaze.
Her face completely tensed, as if holding her breath.
Her trembling lips.
I blinked.
…I almost stopped breathing.
We were far too close.
Close enough for our breaths to mingle.
My throat moved lightly.
The warmth transmitted through her slightly disheveled clothes was distinct.
What do I do?
My heart was
…too loud.
“…”
Her voice barely escaped.
The closeness of her breathing.
—Crash.
My whole body tensed slightly.
Was this her heartbeat?
Crashcrash.
…Or, mine?
Why does it sound so clear?
Even without our chests touching,
the heartbeat resounded.
Crash.
Crashcrash.
Crashcrashcrash.
…Whose is this?
This,
is my heartbeat or hers?
I can’t tell.
I inhaled deeply.
I lowered my gaze.
My fingertips tingled.
I was still holding her wrist.
I should let go,
…but.
Why isn’t my hand obeying?
It would have been easy to just say ‘move,’
but no sound came.
We were just too close.
Oddly, too close.
Crash. Crashcrash.
It’s accelerating.
Is it my heartbeat? Or,
is it hers from the shock?
Does she hear it too?
This sound.
Each heartbeat intertwines with the other’s,
beating fast, rough,
mixing within each other.
“Ah?”
A familiar voice came.
I froze instinctively.
Slowly, I turned my head.
…Ah.
It’s Ji-hye.
Though she covered her mouth, the upward tilt of her lips was unmistakable.
A face that clearly said she’d seen everything.
Slightly raised eyebrows,
and there was no doubt that her mind was spinning with misunderstandings.
I couldn’t move.
Crash.
Crashcrash.
My heart was still pounding.
I still couldn’t regain my breath.
However, on the other hand—
Jian sprung away instantly.
“Ah, a, a… that, it’s not that!”
She hastily tried to blurt out an excuse,
but her face was already blazing red.
She flailed her hands, clearly at a loss,
while Ji-hye’s smile only grew wider.
“Is that so?”
She smirked and crossed her arms.
Her tone was as if saying, ‘I haven’t said anything, have I?’
I couldn’t handle this situation any longer.
And just like that—
I pulled the blanket over myself.
Under the blanket,
a dark and quiet space.
But,
my heart wasn’t quiet.
Crash.
Crashcrash.
Under the blanket it seemed even clearer.
I took a deep breath.
And let it out slowly.
I need to calm down.
This is,
just an accident.
Still—
My fingertips tingled.
The sensation of holding her wrist lingered.
The heartbeat ringing in my ears.
Mine?
Hers?
The indistinguishable beats that blended together.
…Why
does it still echo in my mind?
Crash.
Crashcrash.
I closed my eyes under the blanket.
Is she also,
feeling the same emotions as me right now?
…No,
even if she is,
she can’t possibly—
feel it like I am.
To this extent.
It’s suffocating, overwhelming.
I quietly clenched and unclenched my hands.
It felt like a hole had been punched through my heart.
And the wind rushing through it kept me unsettled.
It’s fine.
I just need to be myself.
Yet,
my heart is still racing.
