Chapter 13

Rough breaths grazed Bo Bae’s neck. Ho Rang, his waist bent nearly at a ninety-degree angle, buried his face sideways against Bo Bae’s shoulder and exhaled like a storm before drawing in the faintest of breaths.

His body, leaning heavily against her, was trembling ever so slightly. Bo Bae lowered her gaze to check his wrist. 3%. The battery sustaining his heart was at a mere 3%. To make matters worse, he had climbed countless stairs in the sweltering heat of over thirty degrees. She couldn't even fathom how much he must have suffered.

Bo Bae felt a surge of resentment towards herself for completely forgetting their appointment. While she wasn't obligated to go out of her way to help this man, seeing him in such agony, as if he were on the verge of death right before her eyes, made her heart ache.

"…I almost died."

After some time had passed, Ho Rang, still leaning on Bo Bae’s shoulder, managed to force the words out. Hearing his voice, so devoid of energy compared to his usual self, she could truly sense the extent of his exhaustion.

"Are you okay? Look at me."

"Not yet. Just a little longer."

When Bo Bae tried to step back to see his face, Ho Dang tightened his grip on her shoulders. In that moment, the vibration of his heart pressed firmly against her chest.

Cradling a man so tall that she had to tilt her neck back felt strange. The fact that someone so large and solid was leaning on her, the reality that she had to be the one to support him, it felt unfamiliar, yet not at all unpleasant.

No, if anything, she wanted to hold him tighter. She wanted to tell him she was sorry for hurting him through her mistake. She wanted to say that he could come and embrace her whenever things got hard.

Bo Bae raised her awkwardly hovering hands and began to gently stroke and pat his back. Slowly, his wildly racing heart began to find its rhythm.

As his heart stabilized, hers began to race, and she couldn't understand why. It was the first time she had been in a man’s arms, an embrace that felt large, wide, and dependable, yet cozy and warm. When her palms felt the hardness of his back, she thought for a moment that it would be painful to sleep on, and she let out a small chuckle.

'Baek Ho Rang’s embrace is actually quite nice!'

Just as she was thinking it wouldn't be bad to stay like this all night, Ho Rang lifted his head and stepped away from her. Seeing him move out of her arms, Bo Bae felt a pang of regret.

He could have stayed a bit longer…

"What were you thinking, not getting in touch? If you were taking the day off, you should have said something."

"I forgot. My day off was changed suddenly."

"What about your phone? Why didn't you pick up?"

Bo Bae pointed to the washbasins spread across the rooftop with an embarrassed expression.

"I didn't hear it because I was doing laundry."

"Haa."

Speechless, Ho Rang sat on the wooden bench and ruffled his hair.

It wasn't Bo Bae’s fault. Since she was doing her best to help him anyway, he couldn't blindly blame her. He was simply flabbergasted and frustrated by the situation he found himself in.

Ho Rang didn't know how today had even passed. In fact, since his surgery, his life had been a complete mess. He would go to work at dawn to process backlogged tasks, and even when he buried himself in work without lunch, he couldn't handle it all.

All because of this woman. Because he had to meet her to recharge, he was completely throwing away his afternoon hours, the time when he should be at his busiest.

The problem was that this life would continue. For the three months leading up to his re-operation, he would have to seek out Bo Bae to recharge while being overwhelmed by company work. Then, like yesterday, if it seemed Bo Bae was in danger, he would stay up all night by her side, and on days like today, when the Chairman might drop in unexpectedly, he would tremble with anxiety, not knowing when he might drop dead.

He couldn't live like this. He felt like he would die from stress before his heart gave out. He had to find a way.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Ho Rang looked at Bo Bae.

["Let’s do it. Dating."]

When he first heard those words from her, he had been so bewildered taht he was speechless, but now, it was the only solution he could think of. The safest way for him was to stay as close to this woman as possible.

"Hey."

When Ho Rang called out, Bo Bae came out of the room with a bottle of water and handed it to him.

"Drink."

"..."

"I didn't poison it, so just drink."

As Bo Bae made the silly joke, Ho Rang looked up at her.

Behind her, looking fresh and damp from the water, a beautiful purple sky stretched out. The aura Bo Bae emitted and the dreamlike atmosphere of the sky seemed to blend into one.

Ho Rang felt a strange sensation, as if drinking the water she gave him would suck him into her world, into the world of this woman who possessed nothing, yet was more confident than anyone else.

After a moment's hesitation, Ho Rang took the water. Then, he gulped it down. He emptied the bottle until not a single drop remained.

Now, it was time to enter her world.

Having made up his mind, Ho Rang spoke the words he had prepared.

"Let's go out."

Bo Bae’s eyebrows twitched for a moment. Then, silence followed.

Bo Bae only stared intensely at Ho Rang with her eyes slightly narrowed, saying nothing. Her reaction made Ho Rang anxious.

"Let's do it, the contract relationship."

As the desperate Ho Rang spoke again, Bo Bae let out a breath she had been holding.

Bo Bae had been momentarily flustered when the words "let's go out" came out of Ho Rang’s mouth because they sounded sincere. No, it would be more accurate to say her heart fluttered. However, she had only paused to catch her breath as she recalled the things he had put her through, and as expected, he was talking about a contract relationship.

Phew. I thought he was asking for real.

Swallowing those words, she asked.

"Why so sudden?"

"There’s not enough time."

"It’s not like you hadn't thought about that before."

When Bo Bae had swallowed her pride and approached him to suggest a contract relationship for just three months, Ho Rang had rejected her with full confidence. Surely, he must have calculated the time before refusing. So, why was he saying this now?

"Unexpected things kept happening."

"Ah…."

Only then did Bo Bae recall the events of the day. Because she had forgotten the fact that she got a day off from the café and hadn't contacted him, Ho Rang’s battery had drained to 3%. A single mistake could have cost him his life. That seemed to be why he was saying this, to prevent such a critical situation from happening again.

However, Bo Bae had already cleanly given up on the idea of a contract relationship. There was a limit to pestering someone who didn't want it, and her heart had already been bruised enough.

And above all, she was scared. She was terrified of herself for constantly wanting something from this man.

"A mistake like today won't happen again. So there's no need for a contract relationship."

"No, I think I need to do it."

"...?"

"It’s not just because of today. I’m doing this because I don't know what will happen or how in the future."

"If it’s because you're anxious, you don't have to have a contract relationship. I’ll help you."

"How?"

Ho Rang asked with a fairly provocative gaze, as if challenging her to explain how she would soothe his anxiety.

Thinking about it, Bo Bae didn't have a clear solution either. Even though they met every day after she finished work at the café, he often went back without being 100% charged. She couldn't stay with him until dawn either. She had her own life to live.

"If there’s no other way, then do it. The contract relationship."

"..."

"I’m going to ask for even more, are you just going to keep your mouth shut like that?"

Even more? What kind of request?

Bo Bae looked up at him with wide eyes, but Ho Rang didn't say what the request was. Instead, he asked with total sincerity.

"I’m sorry for telling you to stay 10m away. I was wrong to ignore your suggestion for a contract relationship. I’ve only just realized that it’s the safest way to protect my heart."

If he had listened to Bo Bae from the start, he wouldn't be playing out this pathetic scene of begging. But right now, Ho Rang was the one who was desperate and burning with anxiety. So, he had no choice but to beg.

"I can only feel at ease if you are by my side."

It wasn't just for his own safety. Living alongside Bo Bae these past few days, he had worried about her safety as much as his own. The pervert wandering the dark streets bothered him, and this damn rooftop room that seemed unable to protect her weighed on his mind.

Ho Rang never imagined a day would come when he would worry about someone else, or stay awake all night not because of work, but because of a woman.

"So please, do it with me. The relationship."

Bo Bae was a bit confused by his words. She knew there wasn't an ounce of actual feeling for her in his words, so why did they make her heart flutter so much? It even felt like she was receiving a real proposal, even though it was just about a contract relationship.

Perhaps if Ho Rang had accepted immediately when she first suggested it, she wouldn't have felt this way. The feeling of finally holding something you wanted, something you thought you could never have.

She should be happy, so why wasn't she entirely? It felt as if the moon were granting her wish, yet why did one corner of her heart feel so heavy?

"Okay. Let's do it."

Bo Bae answered after much thought. Even though she knew this relationship wouldn't have a happy ending, but just an ending, she wanted to try. With this man.

At Bo Bae’s answer, the corners of Ho Rang’s mouth lifted slightly. It was a smile rarely seen on his face, which usually showed little emotion. Seeing him like that wasn't bad either.

"What is this request that's 'even more' than a contract relationship?"

"Ah, that."

Bo Bae stared intently at his lips, wondering what he would say next.

His lips were redder than usual. His lower lip, which he had bitten and released, was moist, and his lips twitched as if hesitating to speak, looking strangely erotic.

"I’d like the two of us to live together."

"Yes. Live togeth... What did you say?"

Bo Bae, who had been staring at Ho Rang’s lips, looked at him in total shock. But Ho Rang repeated himself as if it were no big deal.

"Since we're dating anyway, how about moving in together?"