* * *

The moment Do Yejun arrived home, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Ugh… that was close.”

Though he had managed to escape for now, he knew he couldn’t keep running away forever.

His head was a chaotic mess.

No matter how he thought about it, he had done everything he was supposed to.

No—he had gone above and beyond.

He’d painstakingly restored the narrative that the author had mangled, steering the story back to its original trajectory.

He had ensured both Baek Kanghyuk, the main male lead candidate, and Cheon Sahyun, found someone to love.

The problem was that one of those “someones” turned out to be himself.

While it wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t technically his problem, either.

Do Yejun was planning to leave this world soon, after all.

At least he’d saved Do Yejun’s life.

If he considered it repayment for that… well, maybe it wasn’t such a steep price to pay.

Actually, no.

Attaching Cheon Sahyun, of all people, to himself was too much.

But it wasn’t like he’d done it intentionally! It had been an entirely unforeseen variable.

How could he have possibly predicted that Cheon Sahyun would end up liking men?

And that the man he’d fall for would be Do Yejun?

“Argh!”

Do Yejun screamed, clutching his head in frustration.

The memory of the kiss he’d shared with Cheon Sahyun a few days ago flashed through his mind.

What the hell had he been thinking?

Had he even been thinking?

Was there even a shred of sanity left in him?

“I kissed Cheon Sahyun? That Cheon Sahyun? That psycho stalker Cheon Sahyun?”

No matter how much he denied it, the memory remained burned into his brain.

But… back then, he’d been completely drunk, giddy at the thought of the main couple finally getting together, and… Cheon Sahyun needed to be entirely convinced his feelings for the female lead were gone.

There were endless excuses he could make.

But the undeniable truth was…

Do Yejun hadn’t rejected Cheon Sahyun’s kiss.

“No, no. I did the right thing. It was all for the best. Everything’s fine now, right?”

Do Yejun’s emotions swung wildly, oscillating between rationalization and panic.

At that moment, his phone buzzed with a text from Cheon Sahyun, asking if he’d made it home safely.

Do Yejun deliberately ignored it, turning his gaze away.

“Okay. The big fire’s been put out. For now…”

[Cheon Sahyun: Why are you ignoring my text?]

A follow-up message arrived, carrying a faint air of menace.

Panicked, Do Yejun snatched up his phone and hastily typed a reply.

[Sorry! I was taking my shoes off. I just got home!]

Even to himself, he sounded pitiful, but there was no helping it.

This had become second nature—a survival tactic born of countless threats.

The phone buzzed again. Cheon Sahyun was calling.

He wasn’t calling to check in out of kindness.

He wanted to verify that Do Yejun was actually home and not wandering somewhere else.

Having grown attuned to Cheon Sahyun’s patterns, Do Yejun could see through his intentions immediately.

“H-hello? What’s up?”

Feigning ignorance, Do Yejun answered the call.

The first thing he had learned during his three years in this body was to act clueless, even when he knew better.

“I was just worried. Wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

Yeah, right.

Worried, my ass.

You’re just suspicious.

Swallowing his thoughts, Do Yejun replied in a calm, friendly tone, “Of course I made it home. I walk this path all the time.”

In fact, he’d walked between Cheon Sahyun’s house and his own hundreds—no, thousands of times.

There were even days when he made the trip two or three times.

The memories of acting as Cheon Sahyun’s personal errand boy made Do Yejun grit his teeth.

“That’s a relief. Honestly, I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“You say that like it’s been ages. We only just saw each other.”

“Forty-seven minutes and sixteen seconds ago.”

“…What?”

“Just kidding. I made that number up.”

The word “kidding” was a lie.

Cheon Sahyun had undoubtedly been keeping track from the moment Do Yejun walked out his door.

Having memorized the average travel time between their homes, Cheon Sahyun had called at just the right moment.

Do Yejun swallowed hard.

He couldn’t afford to show any weakness.

“Well, I guess that sounds about right. Haha.”

“What are you doing now?”

“What do you mean? I told you, I just got home.”

“Yeah, but you’re not dead. You’re talking to me.”

“…I’m just sitting on the couch.”

“The one I bought for you?”

“…Yeah. Thanks for that, by the way. It’s great.”

“No need to thank me. If you need anything else, just say the word. Honestly, I’d prefer if you just moved in with me.”

“A-ah, no. My lease here isn’t up yet…”

The excuse he had been using wouldn’t last much longer.

There were only three months left until the contract expired.

Still, that should be enough time.

Before the contract for this house ended, he would return to his original body.

He had to.

“Three months… That’s a long time, but it’s fine. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives anyway, so I can handle it for now.”

Cheon Sahyun spoke as if he were doing him a favor.

Do Yejun swallowed hard.

“By the way, I want to see your face. Can we video call?”

There was no reason to feel guilty or intimidated, yet Do Yejun’s pride resisted the idea of giving in to Cheon Sahyun’s whims so easily.

With a hint of annoyance, he replied,

“I can’t right now. I’m about to shower. I’m already undressed.”

“Oh, that’s even better for me.”

“…What?”

“What’s the big deal? Couples see each other like this anyway. Why don’t we video call now?”

“Are you insane? I told you, I’m not wearing anything!”

“Oh~.”

Flustered by his own outburst, Do Yejun heard Cheon Sahyun chuckle softly on the other end of the call.

“Are you embarrassed?”

“…”

What on earth was wrong with this guy?

Do Yejun couldn’t understand Cheon Sahyun no matter how hard he tried.

“If you’re that shy, I guess I can hold back for now. For now.”

Cheon Sahyun’s tone remained composed, almost playful, as if he was completely in control.

The confidence in his voice was unmistakable.

The only one feeling anxious and uneasy was Do Yejun.

And that was why he could never beat Cheon Sahyun.

He was outmatched from the very start.

“Okay, then hang up. I’m cold.”

Though he hadn’t taken off a single piece of clothing, Do Yejun pretended to be cold, lying to end the call as quickly as possible.

His nerves were on edge; he just wanted this conversation to end.

Whether Cheon Sahyun sensed his desperation or not, he relented with surprising ease.

“Fine. Call me after you’re done. We can video call then, right?”

“Why are you so obsessed with video calls?”

Do Yejun muttered to himself, and Cheon Sahyun laughed softly, as if he found it endearing.

“Because I miss you. Why else? Don’t act like I’m the only one who misses someone here. Don’t you miss me too? Hmm?”

It was bait.

The ominous feeling creeping down his spine made Do Yejun sit up straight.

“…I do miss you.”

“See? I knew it.”

“Alright. I’ll call you later. It might take a while.”

“How long? Thirty minutes isn’t enough?”

“I… I take long showers.”

It was nonsense.

On average, Do Yejun finished his showers in 15 minutes.

Thirty minutes was more than enough.

But he needed time—to organize his thoughts and steady his heart.

He still couldn’t fully accept that Cheon Sahyun saw him as a romantic partner.

Besides, once they started talking, Cheon Sahyun never hung up until Do Yejun fell asleep.

One time, he’d left his phone behind in a rush due to an emergency, and the lecture he received afterward had been so intense that Do Yejun found himself apologizing out of pure guilt, even though he was the older one.

Ever since, he made sure to take all of Cheon Sahyun’s calls only after finishing everything else for the day.

Once a call started, he wouldn’t have the freedom to do anything else.

“Then, one hour.”

“…Fine.”

“Go shower.”

With those words of permission, the call finally ended.

As soon as it did, Do Yejun dashed to the bathroom.

He hurriedly lathered shampoo onto his hair but froze mid-motion, realizing what he was doing.

“…I must be losing my mind.”

Even when Cheon Sahyun wasn’t watching, he found himself doing exactly what Cheon Sahyun wanted.

The realization was terrifying.

Do Yejun turned the shower knob to cold, hoping the icy water would snap him out of it.

“Ah, it’s freezing!” he yelped, finishing his shower in under ten minutes.

Returning to his bedroom, he pulled out a notebook.

Inside, he had jotted down everything he remembered about ‘The Angel’s Mask Doesn’t Smile’—the novel he found himself trapped in—and the events that had unfolded so far.

The notes were chaotic, scattered across the pages without much structure.

Do Yejun began organizing the timeline and carefully piecing together the incidents.

He needed to check if he had missed anything.

* * *