* * *

“You’ve all worked hard. Was it tough?”

“No, it was fine.”

Wonjin waved off the comment, saying it wasn’t a big deal. Yeongdeok just gave a slight nod.

“Before you go, make sure to say goodbye to the elderly.”

“We will.”

Following the care worker’s lead, the two went to greet the elderly they had helped over the past two days.

As they did, one elderly man, the one who resembled Cha Heeseok, suddenly grabbed Yeongdeok’s hand.

“Excuse me, sir…! Please don’t grab him like that!”

Wonjin, flustered like a character in ‘The Scream’, tried to calm the old man down, worried that Yeongdeok would get angry.

But the old man only motioned for Yeongdeok to come closer, his gaze fixed on him.

Wonjin expected Yeongdeok to coldly ignore the old man, with an attitude as icy as a winter wind.

But to his surprise, Yeongdeok quietly obeyed.

When he bent down to meet the old man at eye level, the elderly man placed his hand on Yeongdeok’s head.

Wonjin’s eyes widened in disbelief, expecting chaos to break out.

Yet, instead of a furious outburst, there was only a calm, silent Yeongdeok receiving the old man’s gentle pats.

“You’ve worked hard. You did well.”

Hearing this, Yeongdeok felt a strange sensation he couldn’t quite define.

He knew that this old man wasn’t seeing him for who he was, and that neither of them was Cha Heeseok.

He was aware of all that, knew it was illogical. And yet…

Yeongdeok closed his eyes, as if willingly accepting the old man’s touch.

Wonjin watched the scene unfold from the closest distance possible.

After bidding farewell to the elderly, the two left the care center.

When Yeongdeok checked the time, he said he needed to head to the store and called a taxi on his phone.

“Yeongdeok.”

“What is it?”

As if possessed, Wonjin reached out and placed his hand on top of Yeongdeok’s head.

He gently stroked the black hair, as dark as his eyes, and tucked the short strands behind his ear.

In an instant, Yeongdeok’s face turned menacing.

“What do you think you’re doing? Have you lost your mind?”

“No, I just… Sorry.”

As quickly as it had happened, Yeongdeok’s expression returned to normal, leaving Wonjin wondering if he had just imagined it.

He awkwardly lowered his guilty hand.

Just then, the taxi Yeongdeok had called arrived.

He got into the back seat without another word.

“You’ve worked hard, Yeongdeok.”

Without responding, Yeongdeok closed the door.

As the taxi sped away, Wonjin reflected on what had just happened.

It was really strange. Wonjin tilted his head in confusion before finally turning to leave.

It was the weekend, after all, and he wanted to spend the rest of his free time relaxing.

ꔚ

Beyond the care center, Wonjin dragged Yeongdeok into other volunteer activities every weekend.

As a result, after delivering briquettes and working at a library, they now found themselves deep in the mountains, holding 50-liter trash bags and tongs for a clean-up campaign.

At least it wasn’t something an obsessive person would do, so Yeongdeok didn’t mind too much.

After all, what obsessive character in a novel goes around cleaning mountains with a trash bag?

Still, with each piece of trash he picked up, Yeongdeok began to wonder.

He had started all this to make friends, but…

“Is this really related to making friends?”

“Well, doing volunteer work helps you find inner peace, right? Your sharp personality will soften, and people will start to feel more comfortable around you…”

As Wonjin continued his rambling, he noticed the icy look in Yeongdeok’s eyes.

Volunteering… doesn’t seem to lead to inner peace, after all.

He wisely stopped talking and focused on picking up trash.

Without another word, Yeongdeok also continued picking up litter, all the while thinking this would be the last time he’d accept Wonjin’s help.

As he poked around fallen leaves with his tongs, Yeongdeok stepped on a particularly slippery patch of ground and nearly tumbled down the slope.

Just before he could fall, Wonjin grabbed his arm and steadied him.

Once he regained his balance, Yeongdeok looked at him intently.

He had been thinking this for a while, but this guy…

“Are you okay?”

Wonjin blinked up at him with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

“You’re stronger than you look.”

“Huh? Oh, I get that a lot.”

“Are you exercising or something?”

“Yes. When I was younger, I used to get bullied because I looked weak. So, I started working out after that….”

This was a story Yeongdeok had never heard back when Wonjin was his secretary.

Yeongdeok continued up the mountain, appearing as composed as ever, as if nothing had happened.

He was stuffing trash into a bag when he suddenly heard a faint chuckle from Wonjin.

Yeongdeok turned his head toward him.

“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”

Yeongdeok asked warily, wondering if Wonjin was plotting something, but Wonjin responded with a simple, honest answer.

“It’s just… It feels surreal to be doing this with you, Yeongdeok.”

Yeongdeok thought he found the oddest things fascinating.

But given how things had ended between them, he had to admit it was strange.

“You find the strangest things amusing.”

“But hiking up a mountain and having casual conversations with you like this… I would never have dreamed of this in the past.”

“Enough with the pointless talk. Let’s just pick up the trash.”

Yeongdeok noticed a spot worthy of being called a trash hotspot and approached it.

It seemed like a place where hikers had rested for a while, leaving behind plastic bottles and chocolate wrappers strewn everywhere.

As he diligently picked up every piece, Wonjin joined him and started helping.

With the two of them working together, the once trash-filled area quickly became clean.

Just as they were about to move on, Wonjin suddenly grabbed Yeongdeok’s sleeve.

“Yeongdeok.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you have… something you want to say to me?”

Wonjin added as if pressing for an answer, implying that there were surely many things Yeongdeok wanted to say.

Behind his glasses, his clear, intelligent eyes were filled with curiosity aimed directly at Yeongdeok.

“There’s nothing.”

Wonjin couldn’t remember anything from before the timeline reset.

Because of that, there was nothing Yeongdeok wanted to say to him.

The person who needed to hear it no longer existed before his eyes.

He looked around again for more trash when he suddenly heard Wonjin’s resolute voice.

It carried a determination that conveyed he wouldn’t leave without an answer.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you about what you said that day at the mall.”

Yeongdeok thought he had buried that day long ago, but apparently not. He tightened his grip on the tongs.

“When you said that I betrayed you—what did you mean by that?”

Wonjin’s memory was unnecessarily sharp.

‘Annoying.’

Refusing to answer, Yeongdeok briskly walked ahead, but Wonjin quickly caught up with faster strides and blocked his path.

“You said you trusted me the most after Eungyeol, and you asked if I hated you that much.”

“…….”

“And your face… it looked like you were hurt.”

Wonjin pleaded, saying he wanted to know what Yeongdeok was thinking.

He grabbed both of Yeongdeok’s hands, his voice earnest.

The once-clear sky began to turn cloudy.

What Yeongdeok had said to Wonjin back then was almost impulsive.

But why had he felt such an emotional urge?

As he pondered, his chest churned as if something were spinning inside him.

There was an odd heat in the hands Wonjin held.

Emotions and pain—things he hadn’t known—began surfacing one by one, becoming unfamiliar.

A memory from the past flickered in Yeongdeok’s mind.

‘Director Cha, you stayed up all night again. At this rate, you’re going to harm your health.’

‘That’s none of your business.’

The sound of Wonjin sighing was vivid. He had seemed to leave for a moment, only to return and hand Yeongdeok a fatigue relief tonic.

‘Work is good, but make sure you get some sleep.’

Yeongdeok’s gaze, which had been fixed on the tonic, shifted back to Wonjin.

But now, it wasn’t the Wonjin of the past—it was the present-day Wonjin filling his view.

“I…”

As Yeongdeok started sorting out each reason for why he had trusted Ha Wonjin, and the emotions he felt when he thought he had been betrayed, something that had been obscuring his eyes began to lift.

When he glimpsed the faint light through that small gap, Yeongdeok finally understood.

The emotions I had for Ha Wonjin were—

Just as Yeongdeok was defining his feelings for Wonjin, a strange sound, accompanied by thunder, struck not just his ears, but his very mind.

‘Begone, evil spirit….’

* * *