“Wake up.”
A gentle voice accompanied the soft touch against my cheek. As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw him standing with the warm sunlight at his back. His lips, curled into a lovely smile, moved closer and pressed against my forehead.
“It’s time to wake up.”
Was it already that late? My drowsy gaze shifted toward the window. The sunlight streaming in was far from the early morning glow.
“…I want to sleep more.”
“No, you can’t. You need to eat.”
When I sluggishly tried to burrow back under the blankets, he let out a small laugh before effortlessly scooping me up, blankets and all. In the end, I had no choice but to drag myself to the bathroom, shower, and emerge fully awake.
The cascading water chased away the remnants of sleep, and by the time I stepped out, drying my damp hair, a table full of food was already waiting.
“Hurry over here.”
He took my hand, leading me to the table brimming with dishes. Maybe it was because all I had eaten last night was some bread, but the moment I saw the food, my stomach let out a loud grumble.
‘The soup tastes different.’
As expected, Choi Yeo-min must have left this place. I had no idea where he had gone, which meant we likely wouldn’t cross paths again. A sense of unease settled in me, but it was quickly overtaken by hunger.
It was unfortunate, but that was all Choi Yeo-min was to me. Someone I was grateful for but wouldn’t long for. Just another bond that had already passed.
I finished my soup first, then moved on to the bread and fruit. As I ate in silence, focused solely on filling my stomach, I felt his gaze on me. Eventually, he let out a laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You’re just cute, that’s all.”
No matter what, wasn’t I too old to be called cute? I frowned, glaring at him in protest.
But my attempt at an intimidating look only made his laughter deepen. Reaching out, he playfully tapped my cheek, which was stuffed full of bread, and spoke in an amused tone.
“You look like a squirrel hoarding food in both cheeks.”
What squirrel? More like someone just eating ravenously. Feeling offended, I set my spoon down and pouted.
“You’re not eating anymore?”
“I’m full.”
I said that, but in reality, I had eaten nearly everything on the table by myself. It was like I had been absolutely starving.
There were only a handful of times I’d eaten this much, but it made sense. I barely ate anything yesterday, and on top of that, I was tormented all night.
‘My stomach’s huge right now.’
I pulled my chair in closer, trying to hide my bloated stomach. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice. He finished eating a little later than me and got up to clear the table. I offered to help, but, as expected, he refused.
“You take coffee, right, Seo-yul hyung?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Just wait a little bit.”
He left with the empty dishes and returned a little while later, carrying two white mugs. One was my coffee, and the other was the hot cocoa he was drinking.
“How do you even enjoy drinking coffee?”
“Then how do you enjoy drinking cocoa?”
At my counter-question, he took a sip of his cocoa before answering.
“Because it’s sweet.”
So I answered, “Because it’s bitter.”
His face scrunched up at that.
“Why would you drink something bitter on purpose?”
“Because I don’t like sweet things. Besides, coffee isn’t just bitter—it has a nice aroma too.”
I held out my mug, asking if he wanted to try a sip. He hesitated for a moment before taking a small taste. The moment the bitterness hit his tongue, he winced and quickly chased it down with his cocoa.
“Not my thing.”
Even after growing this much, his taste hadn’t changed from when he was a kid. I guess the cocoa he drank that first time, back when he came to my room from the warehouse, must have been unforgettable. The fact that he still craved that same taste even now…
Maybe, if we were always going to end up back here, it would have been better if we hadn’t wandered so much in the first place. The time we spent apart had left nothing but scars—for both of us. It felt like such a waste.
‘No, we would have ended up circling back anyway.’
The guilt lingering inside me wasn’t something that would disappear so easily. Even if I had no choice, it was still my decision to send you to District 1.
I was the one who decided not to listen to any news about how you were surviving there. Because it was too painful for me, I chose to turn my back on you. I forced myself to believe you were doing fine.
But that wasn’t the truth.
“I’ll be the pitiful one. I’ll be weak. So please… just don’t leave me again.”
The man who was endlessly strong in front of others shattered completely when he was in front of me. Kneeling, begging, pleading—swearing he would be weak, he would be pathetic, if it meant I wouldn’t abandon him again.
Maybe that was why.
I could never truly turn my back on you. I hated you, but I pitied you at the same time. I despised you, yet I still cared.
Maybe that’s why the bond was carved into me in the end.
‘I still haven’t told him about the imprint.’
Helen, who harbored deep hostility toward the vividly marked Shining, wouldn’t have kindly informed him about it. That meant I had to tell him myself. But the words wouldn’t come out easily.
“I think I need to go to the mansion.”
He was the one to break the long silence. I hesitated for a moment before taking a sip of my coffee and asking,
“Why do you have to go?”
“There’s something I haven’t finished yet.”
I wanted to ask what unfinished business he meant, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t answer. I took another sip of coffee, trying to speak, but my throat tightened.
He once told me that if I wanted, he would abandon everything. So why was he going back to that place? I wanted to press him for an answer, but if I spoke now, my voice would come out sharp and harsh.
It hadn’t been an easy choice for me either…
“Seo-yul hyung.”
Hearing him call me, I lifted my head, which had been hanging low. He placed his mug down on the table and moved toward me. Then, kneeling in front of me, he looked up into my eyes.
“I’m just going for a little while.”
“…How long is ‘a little while’?”
That word, a little while, stretched endlessly in my mind, feeding my unease. Because of the imprint, we couldn’t afford to be apart for too long, yet I still hadn’t told him that. The weight of it pressed down on me.
“It won’t take too long. I promise.”
His fingers intertwined with mine, and his lips softly brushed against my ring finger. Then, resting his cheek against my knee, he smiled. His reassurance, though small, loosened the tension that had been tightening inside me.
“Are you… going alone?”
“Yeah. Seo-yul hyung, I need you to stay here.”
I never wanted to go back to that place. But the thought of sending him alone made me uneasy. The Shining couldn’t leave the mansion without the District Leader’s orders, so how exactly was he planning to return here? My mind swirled with questions, but none of them made it past my lips.
He stayed there, silently leaning against me, absentmindedly fidgeting with our intertwined fingers. His gaze was fixed on our empty ring fingers when he murmured under his breath,
“When this is all over… will you marry me?”
“…What?”
Unlike me, who was startled by the sudden proposal, his eyes were unwavering, full of quiet determination. He straightened up, pulling me to my feet. Before I knew it, I was in his arms.
“When everything is settled, when I come back… marry me. I want to spend my whole life with you, Seo-yul hyung. I want us to grow old together, just like any ordinary couple.”
His confession was clumsy, unpolished. But it struck me deeper than any words I had ever heard. Maybe it was because the word ordinary felt so impossibly distant from him.
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the “ordinary” life he spoke of. A life where we abandoned District 1, District 5, the Shining—everything. A life where we had only each other.
It would be… breathtakingly beautiful.
“Let’s go somewhere no one knows us and live like that, just the two of us.”
He whispered the words as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
***
A few days later, he left with the men from District 1 who had been guarding the mansion.
I stood there, staring endlessly at the car disappearing beyond the horizon as the early morning sun began to rise. That’s when it hit me—I still hadn’t told him about the imprint.
‘But he promised he’d be back soon.’
Before leaving, he had hooked his pinky with mine, making me swear over and over that this was a promise we could never break. Because of that, I was able to push away some of the sinking heaviness inside me.
Before I knew it, the car carrying him had completely vanished from sight. And as the sun rose higher, its light illuminated the world, washing away the lingering moon in the sky.
Even though we had only just parted, my chest felt unbearably tight. But I could endure it. His scent still lingered in the room, thick in the air. Taking a deep breath, I let it steady my racing heart.
“Hurry back.”
With my gaze on the last faint traces of the disappearing moon, I murmured my farewell.
