The moment Hyunmi opened her eyes, she was surprised she was alive and well in her room. The sight was too surreal to take in. She tried to rub her eyes only to find her fingers hooked in Woohyun’s grip. What was he doing here, leaning over her bedside, deep asleep? Hyunmi may have survived whatever happened last night, but she wasn’t sure she could survive this.   “W-Woohyun?” She called out, lightly brushing his hair.   Being the light sleeper he was, Woohyun jolted awake immediately, his fingers only tightening around hers. He looked around momentarily before setting his gaze on her. “You awake? Are you okay? How do you feel?”   “Um, confused.” She darted her eyes to their fingers, wondering when he would let go. But then she wondered whether she really wanted him to. “What are you doing in my room?”   “Don’t you remember what happened last night?” Woohyun asked, quickly regaining his consciousness.   Hyunmi massaged her temple with her free hand. She remembered the nauseating smell of cigarettes in the cramped, closed off space. Then there was some drinking involved, and Ahreum suddenly dozed off into sleep. Jonghoon turned out to be a dangerous predator who forced the suspicious juice down , spilling all over her clothes. And then somehow, Woohyun appeared.   Woohyun saw her recalling the incident as the peaceful expression on her expression soon turned into a hard frown. “We reported those guys to the police. They’re in custody now. Did they do anything to you?”   His tone was filled with such genuine concern that washed away any sort of fear she should’ve felt. “I’m fine, but it still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” she said.   “I slept over in Dongwoo’s room, but I came here as soon as I woke up in case you’d have nightmares or panic attacks.” Woohyun scratched the back of his hair. “But I guess I fell asleep again.”   She pressed her lips together, trying her hardest not to let her galloping heart reveal itself on her face. He was making it harder and harder not to fall for him when he acted this sweet. Then again, hadn’t he always treated her with this kind of attention? It was her who began viewing him in a different light.   “Thank you, but you didn’t have to,” she said, her voice a low whisper. Hopefully, the bashful smile wasn’t taking over her face. She couldn’t admit her elation at him being here. Waking up to his presence was like waking into another beautiful dream.   “Of course I do. After what happened last night, I won’t ever take my eyes off of you again,” Woohyun said, adding what was supposed to be a threatening glare, but really looked like an adorable pout.   The statement was so surprising it made Hyunmi flinch a little, which carried through their linked fingers. To be honest, she didn’t think she would mind being the only person his eyes would settle on.   The thought itself made her gasp as she wildly shook her head. Yesterday she was still trying to prove she didn’t have feelings for him, and now her mind refused to think of anything else. The surprising desire to dwell in his presence was quite overwhelming, even for her.   “H-How did you know I was there?” Hyunmi tried to change the topic. “I mean, you were my knight in shining armor, right?”   This made Woohyun smile. “Sungyeol told me about the gathering while Kibum and I were on our way home. I immediately contacted your brother, and Sunggyu happened to be with him too.”   “Oh, were they there as well?” Hyunmi asked, having no recollection of them.   Woohyun was surprised for a moment before his lips dipped into a teasing grin. “What’s this, Hyunmi? Did you only notice me or something?”   He had only meant for it to be a jest, so he was completely caught off guard when he felt the flinch from her finger again. What happened afterwards had him even more baffled. He saw the red glow heating up her cheeks, as if admitting the truthfulness of his words. Woohyun never quite succeeded in making her blush in the past, but lately, that was no longer the case. He felt the rush in his own heart and quickly let go of her finger, needing time to calm himself down.   “Technically, you blocked my view from everyone when you held me,” Hyunmi said. It was supposed to be the usual playful jab, but it only made her remember the intimate moment more vividly. The way he had protectively cradled her close to his chest drowned her with his overwhelming presence. The memory heated up her face even more.   “R-Right.” Woohyun must’ve remembered the same thing, feeling just as embarrassed. He quickly ran a hand through his hair, making his already messy bed hair even messier. “Anyway, What were you doing at a blind date gathering?”   “Oh, um…” Hyunmi gulped. She couldn’t possibly tell him the truth, could she?   “Were you really trying to find a boyfriend?” Woohyun asked, and somehow there was an irritated edge to his voice.   “No!” The answer came too fast. She hadn’t thought things through. Actually it would’ve been a better excuse than admitting the real reason.    “Oh.” There was some relief in both his voice and face now. He absentmindedly began playing with the wrinkles in her blanket to not seem too eager. “Then, what is it?”   “I… I wanted to confirm something,” she carefully said as vague as possible.   Woohyun looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed. “Like what?”   “Um… Some things I wasn’t sure about,” Hyunmi continued, basically twisting her own words.   Woohyun frowned even more, deciding to lean closer as if he could gain a new clue from up close. “You know I can tell when you’re trying to make up excuses, right?”   “I wasn’t! I was going to try to be truthful without revealing the whole thing,” Hyunmi defended.   “Practically the same thing.”   “It’s not,” she insisted. “Don’t you have better things to do than interrogate me? Like washing up and be your usual handsome self?”   “Ah, don’t think you can get away from this just because I like hearing you call me handsome,” Woohyun said.   “Bye, handsome,” she reiterated playfully. She didn’t really think as she casually draped her hand through his hair to straighten the messy strands. But at the realization, her smile froze. The moment she retracted her hands, he pulled back as well. What used to be a normal gesture between them suddenly filled the room with unfamiliar tension.   “Right, I should wash up.” Woohyun stiffly got up on his feet, clearly trying to avoid addressing the weird air forming between them. As he grabbed the door handle, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to her. “Next time you decide to go to such an event to confirm whatever it is you needed to confirm, I’ll come with you.”   This was a good opportunity to act as if nothing had happened. She could go back to the usual teasing. “Oooh, is this an excuse to try and meet a girl?”   The firmness returned to his face. “I don’t need to meet anyone when I’m already interested in someone.”   Hyunmi’s eyes widened in shock, but Woohyun had already left before she could ask him