Minra had never been more grateful for first-class seating.

  Because it meant she had space.

  Distance.

  Enough to pretend to be asleep.

  Enough to avoid looking at him.

  Enough to ignore the tension pressing against her chest.

  But no matter how much she tried—

  No matter how many times she looked out the window, sipped her water, kept her head turned away—

  She felt him.

  HyunSeong, sitting just one seat away.

  Unmoving.

  Unbothered.

  And yet—

  Yet, she could feel his gaze.

  Feel the weight of his unspoken words.

  And it was too much.

  .

  HyunSeong wasn’t stupid.

  He could see what she was doing.

  Could see how hard she was trying to avoid him.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Could see how she refused to acknowledge what happened last night.

  And he could have pushed.

  Could have confronted her right there, asked why she was pretending nothing changed.

  But he didn’t.

  Because she wasn’t ready yet.

  And if there was one thing he learned about Minra,

  It was that pushing too hard would only make her retreat further.

  So instead—

  Instead, he let her run.

  For now.

  .

  It wasn’t until they landed, until they were finally back in their city, that HyunSeong decided.

  If she wouldn’t talk to him directly—

  Then he’d find another way.

  And so.

  So, he picked up his phone.

  And for the first time in days—

  He messaged her.

  Not as Hwa HyunSeong.

  But as Shuun.

  .

  [Shuun]: "Sorry, I’ve been busy these past few days. How have you been?"

  Minra stared at the screen.

  Her fingers hovered.

  Her heart clenched.

  Because.

  Because he was back.

  Because Shuun was talking to her again.

  And she needed this.

  Needed something familiar.

  Something that wasn’t her boss, wasn’t the hotel, wasn’t the overwhelming weight of what happened.

  So she replied.

  And somehow, the conversation flowed naturally again.

  Until—

  Until she hesitated.

  Until she typed, deleted, typed again—

  And finally, sent the message.

  [Minra]: "I need some advice. It’s about a… friend."

  HyunSeong smirked.

  Because he already knew where this was going.

  [Shuun]: "I’m listening."

  And then.

  Then, she said it.

  [Minra]: "What would you do if two people crossed the line… and one looked like he’s ready to take responsibility for everything, while the other one wasn’t ready for this? Because she didn’t expect that he’d share mutual feelings and return them so sincerely?"

  HyunSeong, reading the message, chuckled.

  Because wasn’t that exactly what he felt too?

  And so.

  So, he answered honestly.

  The way he wanted her to see it.

  [Shuun]: "Why not return the sincerity if he’s already guaranteed to be responsible for it?"

  .

  Minra stared at his message.

  Her chest tightened.

  Because that was the exact answer she was avoiding.

  She didn’t expect him to say that.

  Didn’t expect it to be so simple.

  And yet—

  Yet, wasn’t it the truth?

  If he was already taking responsibility—

  If he was already being sincere—

  Then why was she hesitating?

  Her fingers hovered.

  Typing. Deleting. Typing.

  Until finally, she sent a short reply.

  [Minra]: "It’s complicated."

  And on the other side of the screen—

  HyunSeong smirked.

  Because he knew.

  Knew she was already thinking about it.

  Knew she was already slowly coming to terms with her feelings.

  Knew that now—

  Now, it was only a matter of time.

  Because no matter how much she tried to fight it—

  She was already falling.

  And this time, he wasn’t going to let her run.

  .

  Chapter 34: "The Shift That Everyone Noticed"