Han Tae-ryeong set a plate on the table.
After a moment’s hesitation, I moved over and sat down.
Scrambled eggs, golden and fluffy. Bread that had probably come from a convenience store, arranged on the plate as if it belonged in an expensive bakery. And two glasses of orange juice.
“No ketchup?”
[I don’t cook at home.]
“There isn’t any.”
Even as I passed along Min Yu-un’s answer, my eyes stayed fixed on the food.
Some people might have called it a poor meal. To me, it was more dazzling than any five-star hotel buffet.
It was the first time anyone had ever cooked a meal just for me.
Somehow, I could feel a faint warmth rising from it.
“That’s a shame. Scrambled eggs taste better with ketchup.”
SCREECH.
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor echoed through the room.
Han Tae-ryeong sat down first and picked up his fork. He took a bite of bread, then looked up at me.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I-I am.”
Stammering, I sat across from him.
My trembling fingers closed around the fork. It felt as if I might drop it at any second.
I scooped up a bite of eggs, brought it to my mouth, and forced myself to chew.
Soft warmth spread across my tongue.
It was delicious.
Better than any egg dish I had ever eaten.
And yet something in my chest felt unbearably tight.
“Why…”
The words came out unsteadily, as though I were choking on them.
“Why are you doing this for me?”
“Well, I did stay at your place.”
“But you hate me.”
Han Tae-ryeong stopped eating and looked at me.
I lifted my head and met his gaze with empty eyes.
“You despise me.”
He did not answer.
Instead, he simply went back to eating, as if the conversation had never happened.
“Han Tae-ryeong.”
I could not understand how he could brush me off so easily.
“Hey.”
My face slowly twisted.
“Tae-ryeong.”
Only then did he look at me again, his expression as composed as ever.
Frustration made me bite my lip.
I could not understand that shameless attitude of his.
I just—
“Why aren’t you answering me? You hate me, don’t you?”
It did not sound like a simple question.
It sounded like a plea.
A desperate appeal.
Min Yu-un had—
No.
I had committed an unforgivable sin.
That was why I believed I could never be forgiven. From the very first day I faced them, I had accepted that. I had convinced myself that nothing between us would ever change.
In fact, I had wanted it that way.
To live forever as someone they resented.
To never expect anything else.
Because hope was terrifying.
Because trust was a shackle.
Because I did not want to be hurt anymore.
Because I’m scared.
I had already given up on life.
And now that I was trapped inside someone else’s body, the last thing I wanted was to suffer an even greater pain.
Han Tae-ryeong’s hesitation made my heart pound.
A suffocating anxiety rose up as if it meant to swallow me whole.
“I hate you.”
My head snapped up.
“I hate you so much it drives me insane.”
For one brief instant, relief flickered across my face.
Perhaps he noticed that tiny reaction, because Han Tae-ryeong’s expression twisted almost imperceptibly.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang, cutting through the tense silence.
I reached out to set my fork down, but Han Tae-ryeong was already getting to his feet.
“Is someone supposed to come by on a Monday morning?”
“I don’t know.”
He brushed past me without hesitation.
“Keep eating. I’ll check.”
I did not turn to watch him head toward the entrance.
Instead, I kept shoveling scrambled eggs into my mouth.
That brief conversation must have rattled me more than I had realized. Even now, the unease in my chest refused to fade.
[Seong Yu-un, are you crying?]
Crying? Me?
“No.”
That’s ridiculous.
I was not the type to cry over something like this.
Whether I had wanted to or not, I had endured countless hardships. I had clawed my way through them and become stronger by force.
Even when people cursed me and blamed me, even when they left wounds behind, I had long since stopped feeling the pain.
And now I was crying?
I sniffled for no reason.
The scrambled eggs were still delicious.
The bread was still sweet.
I took a sip of juice.
The front door creaked open.
Heavy footsteps followed, echoing down the hallway.
Naturally, I assumed it was Han Tae-ryeong.
“Min Yu-un.”
At the sound of that familiar voice, I turned my head.
Lee Soo-hyeon stood there.
The moment his gaze locked onto mine, his face twisted with displeasure.
*****
Around 7:30 a.m., Lee Soo-hyeon stood in front of Min Yu-un’s house, hesitating.
He glanced nervously at the doorbell.
Again and again, he raised his hand to press it, only to pull back at the last second.
Is it okay to ring it?
If anyone asked why he had shown up so suddenly, he could simply say he wanted to walk to school together.
He could say it was only natural, since they were friends.
Min Yu-un was far more oblivious than Lee Soo-hyeon had expected. He could already picture Min Yu-un accepting the excuse without a shred of suspicion.
But that was not what worried him.
What if he’s still asleep?
What if Min Yu-un was sleeping soundly, and the doorbell woke him?
What if he had already left for school?
After hesitating for another ten minutes, Lee Soo-hyeon finally pressed the button.
He swallowed hard.
The door opened almost at once.
Relief began to curve his lips into a smile.
Then his expression hardened.
“Han Tae-ryeong?”
“What, Lee Soo-hyeon?”
Lee Soo-hyeon’s gaze slowly moved over Han Tae-ryeong.
He was not properly dressed. He wore only a bathrobe. His movements were sluggish, as if he had been awake all night.
And most importantly, he did not look surprised in the slightest.
A faint, nearly imperceptible chill seeped from Lee Soo-hyeon.
“I didn’t expect to see you here this early.”
That was exactly what Lee Soo-hyeon wanted to say.
He steadied his breathing and forced down the slight tremor in his chest.
Then he asked calmly, “Where’s Yu-un?”
“Inside.”
Han Tae-ryeong jerked his chin toward the interior of the house.
Expression blank, Lee Soo-hyeon took a step forward.
Han Tae-ryeong immediately blocked his path.
“He’s eating right now.”
“…What?”
“So don’t bother him. Leave.”
Ridiculous.
Han Tae-ryeong had always been eager to sneer at Min Yu-un for hanging around him. Yet now, the sharp hostility he usually directed at Min Yu-un seemed to have dulled, if only slightly.
Something feels off.
Lee Soo-hyeon knocked Han Tae-ryeong’s arm aside.
“Are you seriously stopping me from entering someone else’s house without the owner’s permission?”
Han Tae-ryeong scoffed, but he did not stop him again.
“You’re not the owner either.”
Lee Soo-hyeon kicked off his shoes and headed straight for the kitchen.
If Min Yu-un was eating, he would be at the dining table.
As he passed through the hallway, a familiar head came into view from behind.
Small.
Round.
“Min Yu-un.”
Min Yu-un, who had been absorbed in his food, lifted his head.
The first thing Lee Soo-hyeon noticed was his cheeks, puffed out and full of food.
His hair was still messy from sleep.
Then Min Yu-un looked up fully, and Lee Soo-hyeon’s expression twisted.
He strode toward him at once.
“Yu-un.”
Min Yu-un, who had been chewing absentmindedly, froze.
Lee Soo-hyeon’s fingertips brushed the corner of his eye.
“Were you crying?”
Min Yu-un’s eyes were red.
Lee Soo-hyeon rubbed the area gently with his thumb, but his voice was vicious.
Startled, Min Yu-un flinched away. He scrambled back from Lee Soo-hyeon’s touch and rubbed at his own eyes.
“C-crying? Me?”
“Don’t tell me Han Tae-ryeong made you cry.”
Lee Soo-hyeon pronounced each word slowly, with deliberate weight.
His gaze snapped to Han Tae-ryeong, who had stepped closer.
“Tell me, Yu-un. Did that bastard make you cry?”
“…Bastard?”
Han Tae-ryeong’s eyes narrowed.
The air went cold.
The tension turned suffocating.
Han Tae-ryeong was the first to break the silence. A faint smirk curled at his lips.
“Bastard, huh? I think that word suits you better.”
Lee Soo-hyeon’s expression became unreadable.
Han Tae-ryeong shrugged.
“I mean, a son of a bitch. Until recently, you were following Yoo Si-eon around like a lost puppy. Have you moved on to Min Yu-un now?”
Lee Soo-hyeon felt the blood drain from his face.
He was already at his limit trying to make sense of this twisted situation between Min Yu-un and Han Tae-ryeong. And now Han Tae-ryeong was deliberately dragging Yoo Si-eon into it.
His jaw clenched.
“If you’re that obedient, would you offer yourself up if those two asked?”
“Han Tae-ryeong!”
He could not hold himself back any longer.
Lee Soo-hyeon grabbed Han Tae-ryeong by the collar.
They were nearly the same height. Neither of them yielded.
Their glares met like clashing blades.
“Do you have to run your mouth like that?”
“So what?”
“Even if you don’t care about Yu-un, isn’t Yoo Si-eon your precious childhood friend?”
A short, bitter laugh was Han Tae-ryeong’s only answer.
He neither confirmed nor denied it.
The hostility between them only deepened.
And just as the situation was about to reach its breaking point—
CLANG.
Metal clattered against the floor.
Han Tae-ryeong and Lee Soo-hyeon both snapped their eyes toward the sound.
Caught between them, Min Yu-un flinched and looked away.