Chapter 4
* * *
The fact that he had spent the first night completely awake became meaningless.
Once he relaxed, Leandros slept like a baby the moment his head touched the pillow.
Yeorae only realized this on the second night.
At 9 a.m. on a bright, sunny morning, Yeorae dried her wet hair with a towel and sat down at the kitchen table with her laptop open.
She had to go to her part-time job in the afternoon, so she planned to finish her school assignment in the morning.
It was a simple research assignment.
While searching for information, Yeorae suddenly lowered her laptop screen slightly with a meaningful look on her face.
The blond handsome man sitting across from her widened his eyes and smiled.
“…”
He had been doing that ever since he sat down.
“Is there something you want to say to me?” she asked.
“I was just curious about what you’re doing.”
“It’s an assignment for a general education class. I’m learning about Western art. I’m not drawing anything, just studying the theory.”
Right now, she was learning about Renaissance art history.
She had only chosen the class because she needed the credits, but it was actually quite interesting.
“Are you good at drawing?” she asked.
“No. I learned because it was considered a basic skill for nobles, but compared to my classmates, I had no talent, so I quit early. What about you?”
“I went to piano lessons instead of art classes. But I quit when I got to Czerny. It’s been so long that I don’t even remember how to play anymore.”
“I don’t remember how to hold a paintbrush either.”
Leandros rested his chin on his hand and smiled politely.
Even after that, he sat across from her and waited like a puppy.
Judging by the amount of work she had, it would not be finished anytime soon.
As his gaze started making her uncomfortable, Yeorae stood up and picked up something from a corner of the room.
“W-What is that?”
“Just stay still. I’ll show you… no, let you hear something interesting.”
The sunlight pouring through the window was warm.
White dust floated behind Yeorae like feathers dancing in the air.
She placed a pair of noise-canceling headphones over Leandros’s head.
When she played a song by a British band she liked, Leandros jumped in surprise and quickly grabbed the headphones.
“W-What is this thing? The sound… M-magic?!”
“It’s just a machine that plays music.”
“Huh?”
Leandros frowned and stared at her lips.
Yeorae laughed softly and held his hand.
“You have to take these off. Like this.”
She removed the headphones from his head.
“It’s just a machine that plays music.”
His gaze slowly moved from her lips to her eyes.
Leandros stared blankly for a long moment before suddenly pulling his hand away as if he had been pricked by a thorn.
He leaned over the table and whispered,
“T-This place feels exactly like the magical worlds I only read about in books. I even keep seeing strange things that look like wings.”
“I think your world is closer to a magical world than this one. The way you talk and those fancy clothes. When I first saw you, I really…”
Remembering that moment, Yeorae shook her head as she sat down.
Leandros frowned.
“What’s wrong with the way I talk?”
“Even old people don’t talk like that here. And then there was that ‘Noona’ thing you called me last night.”
The moment she said the word, goosebumps ran down her back.
Good grief.
When she first heard him say it yesterday…
But strangely, he didn’t answer.
Wondering what was wrong, Yeorae lowered her laptop screen a little.
Leandros had his lips tightly pressed together while staring at the corner of the table.
“It’s okay. You can call me whatever you want.”
Feeling a little guilty, Yeorae added gently while typing on her keyboard.
Leandros remained silent and seemed to think deeply about something.
Then he lowered his long eyelashes and quietly moved his lips.
“Noona.”
…Oh, my God.
A powerful and sharp feeling suddenly rose inside her like a fire.
Yeorae covered her face with both hands.
Her head felt hot, and her ears were burning.
W-What’s wrong with me?
Before her face could become even redder, she quickly stood up.
But on her way back after opening the window, she accidentally tripped over Leandros’s foot.
“Ah…!”
Fortunately, before she could fall face-first into the table, Leandros caught her around the waist.
Without thinking, Yeorae grabbed his head.
“A-Are you okay?”
But she completely lost her ability to speak.
W-What is this?
Yeorae narrowed her eyes seriously and let Leandros’s blond hair slide through her fingers.
Goodness.
His hair was unbelievably soft.
The golden strands flowed smoothly through her fingers without catching once.
It felt just like silk.
Meanwhile, my hair…
She touched her own hair.
No matter how much treatment and hair essence she used, her stubborn curly hair never behaved.
“…Is there something on my head?”
“I don’t know whether you came from a movie or a drama, but one thing is certain.”
Yeorae gently patted his blond hair again.
“You were definitely the male lead. And not just any male lead. One who was loved very, very much by the author.”
Otherwise, there was no way even his hair could be this perfect.
After petting his soft blond hair a little longer, Yeorae stepped away.
“W-Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“To show you a movie.”
She turned on the television.
“A handsome guy like you keeps staring at me, so I can’t concentrate at all.”
After opening an OTT channel, she gestured for him to choose something.
But instead of an answer, only the sharp sound of wind passing between the buildings came through the open window.
Yeorae turned around.
“…”
Leandros’s ears and face were completely red.
* * *
Since entering university and starting to live alone, Yeorae had never stopped working part-time.
She had even taken a year off from school just to earn money.
All of it was part of her struggle to become independent.
By the time her shift ended, the sky was already dark.
When she opened the apartment door, warm air greeted her.
The apartment was quiet, which surprised her.
Then she noticed a large figure on the bed and let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, Leandros had fallen asleep while sitting on the bed.
His quiet, peaceful breathing filled the room.
The city lights coming through the slightly open window fell softly across his face, making him look like a painting.
“…”
Yeorae carefully sat beside him and lightly touched his long eyelashes with her fingertip.
Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her wrist.
Yeorae gasped.
Leandros opened his eyes a moment later and released her.
“Sorry. I fell asleep while waiting for you.”
His low voice sounded like part of the darkness itself.
Yeorae quietly lay down beside him.
Her tired body felt like it was melting away like ice cream.
For a long time, they remained silent, watching the moving shadows on the ceiling as if they were stars in the night sky.
Then Leandros spoke first.
“By the way, is there a reason you live alone? I was curious, but I didn’t ask because I thought it might be rude.”
“Why? Are women living alone uncommon in your world?”
“There are quite a few in the cities. But at twenty-four, most women are already married and living with their husbands. Many of them have children.”
“It was like that here too, about fifty years ago.”
Yeorae laughed quietly before suddenly frowning.
“Wait. Then don’t tell me you also…”
“M-Me? Not yet. Though I was engaged once. It was more like a contract between our families after calculating their benefits. But it didn’t last long, and the engagement was broken.”
“Why?”
“Because our feelings never became deeper. Even so, I still want to marry someone I truly love.”
Yeorae turned her head slightly.
Then she immediately looked back at the ceiling in shock.
At some point, Leandros had turned onto his side and was facing her.
His breath brushed against the curve of her ear.
Suddenly, Yeorae wanted to hold his hand.
She clenched her fist instead.
“Do you have someone you love? Or someone you loved before…?”
“No. Nothing like that. I liked a few boys when I was in school, but I don’t know if that was really love. Looking back, I think I just wanted to become friends with them. Then after I entered university, I completely lost interest in dating. There weren’t any decent men around me.”
“Really?”
His voice was so gentle that it sounded like a whisper from an angel.
Gathering her courage, Yeorae glanced at him.
Leandros was smiling at her.
For some reason, he looked very happy.
“A-Anyway, to go back to your original question, the reason I live alone is because my family home is too far from my university. I couldn’t spend six hours commuting every day.”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
“And also, in my family…”
At that moment, a strong vibration came from the phone in her pocket, interrupting the conversation.
“One moment.”
As Yeorae got up, Leandros let out a small sigh for some reason.
…What was that?
Yeorae frowned at the unfamiliar number on the screen.
The number wasn’t saved, but she had a feeling she knew who it was.
She quickly opened the window and looked down at the street below.
Then she spotted a passerby.
Her whole body stiffened.
Why is he here?
