Sokcho.

Tonight, the sky was brighter than the previous nights. No snow to mask the stars and hide the moon with its white color. Thus, the dots of the stars in the dark sky were sunny as if making the moon smile cheerily.

No wind brought a storm apart from peace, but the cold air could still freeze this lonely night — freezing the remains of my feelings — eroding them slowly — and flying them somewhere.

I shook my head slowly. Seemingly, being alone in this silence was starting to get me carried away...

Looking out the window, I let out a soft sigh. January was the peak of winter in South Korea. Naturally, it snowed as often as they wanted. While it wasn't a storm, was enough to be called a fortune.

There was nothing else to do in this place other than sitting in the silence, eyeing the natural painting from morning to night until it made me feel tired.

I sighed softly. Then, slowly stood up, and walked towards the bed.

I wasn't sleepy, but it's just that I wanted to get through this solitude earlier, even though I know that the next day was no different from today.

As soon as I was about to close my eyes, the sound of the bedroom door being pushed open distracted me. I immediately turned towards the door and saw the figure of a familiar man who looked so messy.

Exhaustion was evident on his pale and languid face, showing how he had spent his three days with troubles.

However, as soon as he saw me, a smile was etched on his face, disguising the fatigue on his face.

Taking off his black gloves, he walked towards me. Once he was beside me, he sat on the bedside, took my hand, and then held it. He asked with a smile, "How are you feeling today?"

"Better than yesterday," I replied simply.

"Thank God. During these three days, I've been worried about you."

Finishing his sentence, Daehyun kissed my hand, then put it on his face.

Daehyun's hands were cold like he just came out of the freezer, so I couldn't help but say, "Your hands are so cold."

Hearing my words, he laughed hollowly, before apologizing and letting go of his hand.

I was stunned for a moment, looking at Daehyun with a frown before asking, "You look overwhelmed by something. Is there a problem in your office?"

Daehyun was silent for a moment before nodding his head slowly. He then said pitifully, "Can I hug you? Maybe with that, I will feel better."

There were a few seconds' pauses before I nodded in agreement.

As Daehyun laid on my chest, I stroked his head gently. There was a feeling of nostalgia that suddenly came to my mind when I remembered how I used to treat Donghwa like this. There was a sense of pleasure that was shortly dominated by pain.

Donghwa's words that I still remembered clearly until now were...

"I love hearing your heartbeat."

Hearing Daehyun said the words, I momentary froze in silence. I didn't expect that Daehyun would say the same line as what Donghwa had told me in the past.

It sounded like the curse that was the most painful in my entire life, where all the loveliness of those words turned into a sword that was stabbed straight into my heart. I could only grit my teeth to hold back how the pain started to creep up my bones.

Since Daehyun didn't feel a touch on his head, he lifted his head to look at me, and asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

I turned my face to the side, trying to hide how tormented I was by the words.

"Chunghee, what's wrong?" Daehyun asked once again.

Taking a silent breath, I answered in a hushed voice, "Someone once said that to me. You reminded me of him again."

Daehyun smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. He said, "I see ..., then forget about him."

Hearing his statement, I was immediately shocked. I looked at Daehyun in surprise, thinking that he was really weird today. We lived together for almost two weeks but only this time he was candid about it.

I asked curiously, "Why did you suddenly say that?"

Daehyun didn't answer, but his dark-black eyes seemed to describe the darkness in his heart, and already answering how he truly expected that.

I stared at him in silence, then suddenly remembered A Yeong's words who was saying that Donghwa came to Daehyun's company and insisted on seeing him even without making an appointment first.

That also made me wonder, 'Did Donghwa make trouble with him? Is that why Daehyun only returns after three days? And, is that why Daehyun asked me to forget about him?'

I wanted to ask that question, but seeing Daehyun's current state, made me doubt that I would get a good response from him. I had a bad feeling about it so I decided to hold my curiosity on my tongue.

Daehyun put his head back on my chest, then suddenly he spoke in a low voice that sounded a little pushy. "Chunghee, forget him and be mine. I can treat you better than him. I promise."

Daehyun's words sounded so confident, not showing him as usual who was always humble by all his words.

Not wanting to talk about this, I changed the subject shortly by saying, "I told you, don't ask anyone to come to this place just to accompany me, especially if it's a woman. I'm a man. I don't want to bother a woman. It's so embarrassing, you know."

After saying that, there was a long silence before Daehyun straightened up while staring at me for a moment. He then stood up while taking off his coat, then walked to the wardrobe, took out his shirt.

He babbled softly, "You keep changing the subject like this. You said you didn't want to be with him anymore, so you should be able to take your own words and accept my proposal."

"Daehyun?" I turned to him, staring at him coldly. As soon as he turned to me, I continued, "You're such annoying today. Go take a shower and sleep."

"I know, right?"

Daehyun threw the clothes he was just wearing nowhere, then walked towards me.

I budged. Thus, as soon as he got onto the bed and pressed me under his body firmly, I was suddenly surprised and gradually felt afraid of him.

I grimaced, "It hurts! Let go!"

He looked at me deeply without blinking. His eyes, which were as deep as the ocean, didn't give off the familiar aura he often displayed. He didn't even say anything as if he was a beast sniffing his prey.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a slightly hoarse voice.

With a pause, his hand slowly caressed my face gently, then said with a smile, "I'm exhausted. People often say that I get really annoying when I have a lot of stress." He paused for a moment before adding, "I thought, this problem is not too huge and easy to solve, but I think I was wrong. I hope you comfort me by saying 'welcome home' to me earlier. But ... heh ... I shouldn't be able to force such a thing to you, right?"

"About that ... I'm sorry. I'll do it another time."

Hearing my words, Daehyun laughed hollowly. He moved away out of above me, then got out of the bed without saying a word.

He walked to the bathroom. But, before he went inside, I asked, "We're leaving this place tomorrow, right?"

Without looking back, he replied, "Ah, yes, that's right. We're going back to your grandma's house tomorrow. I don't have any important work for the next few days, so we can be there in the morning."

I smiled in response, then got up from my position, looking at his back before he disappeared behind the door.

As soon as the "click" sound was heard, I lowered my head. The questions in my head appeared again and made the anxiety arise even more, which made me wonder, 'Have they both met? Has Donghwa been looking for me all this time?'

However, even though curiosity seemed to urge me to satisfy the questions, I still couldn't answer the questions in my head even though I knew that holding them back was such a bother.

A few moments later, Daehyun came out of the bathroom wearing his shirt and shorts while rubbing his wet hair. He walked towards the bed, then sat beside me.

"Why haven't you slept yet?" he asked.

"I am not sleepy yet." I turned to him, then continued, "Daehyun, since when have your men been here?"

"Ah, that ... since a few days ago. I felt that I needed to do that, so I ordered them. I just want to protect you, though," he replied awkwardly.

"Protect me from what? I do feel safe here without them." With a pause, I continued, "I don't like it, you know. Send them away. It feels like you're locking me up here. I don't like it."

Daehyun was silent for a moment before replying, "Tomorrow we're going to your grandma's house. I'll send them off. I won't tell them to come anymore either."