Chapter 12.2

Chapter 12.2

It wasn’t a romantic moment. Yeon-ha stood frozen, her expression akin to seeing a monster, while the man nonchalantly took another drag from his cigarette.

Ah.

Beyond the intense first impression, Yeon-ha noticed the man was blatantly scanning her. His seemingly indifferent eyes flicked between her face and body with clear interest.

As she instinctively grasped his intentions, her chaotic mind went blank.

She had only stepped out to see her grandmother off and was dressed in a thin, short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts. Her small face flushed, betraying her agitation. Her loose hair was tied up, exposing a slender neck.

Her casual attire revealed pale, thin limbs and delicate ankles. His blatant scrutiny felt thick and sticky, like the humid air around them.

Caught in his unrelenting gaze, Yeon-ha couldn’t move. She stood frozen, unaware of how strange she must have looked.

A gentle spring breeze lazily brushed through Yeon-ha’s hair.

Laughter and chatter echoed from somewhere in the distance. The man who had been silently smoking a cigarette while watching Yeon-ha stubbed out the now-shortened butt on the ground. Only then could Yeon-ha momentarily escape the gaze that had been binding her.

‘What am I even doing right now?’

She suddenly came to her senses. Without saying a word, Yeon-ha quickly brushed past the man and entered the main gate, fearing their eyes might meet again. It was only then that she realized her heart was pounding as if it would burst. Her nape felt hot, and her face flushed. She had an unfounded certainty that he was watching her. It felt like he might call out to her, “Hey,” at any moment.

She hurriedly ran up to the second floor without looking back once. After fumbling with the keypad a few times, she finally got inside, and a heavy breath escaped her. Sitting down in the entrance without even taking off her shoes, she realized just how tense she had been.

Even after hearing the sound of the main gate closing, Yeon-ha couldn’t move for a long time. In the short time it took for him to finish a cigarette, she felt completely drained.

  *

After that, it felt odd that she had never seen him before because now she saw him almost daily. Strictly speaking, it was only once or twice a week, but each encounter was so impactful that it felt more frequent.

Yeon-ha desperately tried to avoid the man whenever possible, just as she had been doing. She had waited when she saw his back leaving the first-floor entrance, and she had detoured to a store when she spotted him heading home from the bus stop.

However, despite her secretive efforts, there were still many moments when they met head-on. Like right now, for instance.

“…!”

It was already pitch dark outside. She had just opened the main gate to greet her grandmother when she saw the man in front of her. Yeon-ha barely stifled a gasp. Unlike her wide-eyed surprise, he wore his usual indifferent expression. He looked like he was only a few years older than her, yet his face seemed as if he had seen everything in the world.

Normally, Yeon-ha would change her clothes as soon as she got home, but today, she felt too lazy and remained in her school uniform. The man, in his work clothes, seemed to narrow his eyes slightly at the contrast.

She passed by him without acknowledging him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She walked a few steps nonchalantly but when she didn’t hear the usual sound of the gate closing, she couldn’t help but glance back. The moment their eyes met the man’s, who had turned his head to look at her, her face flushed.

She regretted looking back.

Yeon-ha ignored her burning cheeks and walked quickly, staring straight ahead. She shouldn’t have looked back… It felt embarrassing, awkward, and uncomfortable. It was a complex emotion that was hard to define in one word.

‘It’s too late to start greeting him now.’

She was usually good at making friends and easily struck up conversations with new people, but this man made her uncomfortable. However, he didn’t initiate conversation either, so maybe it was for the best.

To be honest, Yeon-ha was extremely conscious of him. She couldn’t help it. To be even more honest, she couldn’t trust a man who seemed to live in a different world, even though they were only separated by one floor. She wondered if such rumors could have started without any reason.

Despite her discomfort, there wasn’t much she could do. All she could hope for was that nothing significant would happen while she lived here, just like now.