At that same night, Sooyeon found herself sitting at the back porch of her family’s mansion yet again. She stared blankly at the night sky, her head full of thoughts. A certain tall and tanned young man had been roaming inside of her mind all throughout the day. She had been wondering where he had gone to as she has not even see him all throughout the day. The maids and servants only said that he entered her father’s quarters and then left upon coming out. The girl became frustrated and it was not because she wanted to know his whereabouts, it was the thought of the young man seeing that commoner again that sent her blood boiling and she could not understand why. Maybe she chose not to understand. The feeling was new to her. Sooyeon had never harbored such emotions towards a person especially the one she feels for the young man. She tried venting it out, only to aggravate her frustration. She chose to sleep on it instead and unknowingly did on the back porch. Yuri had arrived from seeing his clan brother and was surprised that he did not hear the usual high-pitched screaming coming from a certain cold girl. What was more surprising is that she was not there to meet him at the front door to rant at him like she would everytime. He ignored it and went straight to his room but as he passed by the hallways, he saw someone sleeping on the back porch. He went to check and saw that same cold girl he thought about when he arrived.

“Aigoo~. No wonder this girl has a pretty sour disposition. Sleeping here in a very uncomfortable position, outside in the cold. Aish. I better get her to her room.” The young man lifted the girl up and carried her on his back. “Ugh! She is heavier than she looks.” As he walked to the girl’s chambers, he felt a pair of arms envelope around his neck. “Hmm?”

“Yu… Ri…” Sooyeon mumbled in her sleep. Yuri was sure that he heard his name and when the girl spoke again, it was as clear as daylight. “Yu… Ri…” He slowly became confused. Not once has the girl mentioned his name but now she is doing so in her sleep. Has she been thinking about him this while time? “Oedi-yah…?”

“Is this why she was sitting outside in the cold? Was she waiting for me?”

“Is he the one carrying me? Or am I just dreaming that he is?”

Sooyeon tightened her arms around the young man, not caring if she was dreaming or not. Yuri began to puzzle but he could not find an answer to any of these questions. He laid the sleeping girl down on the bed once they reached her room and as he was placing the blanket over her, he noticed that she was shivering. The young man touched her forehead and it felt like it was on fire. Sooyeon was burning with fever because of the countless nights she had spent outside the mansion. Yuri went out to ask one of the chamber maids to get a basin filled with cold water and a small towel. She quickly returned with what he asked and went back inside the girl’s room. The young man dipped the towel in the water and wiped the sleeping girl’s face. He began to admire her and saw that she was quite beautiful under all of that coldness. Yuri then took out some warmer clothes for her but he realized that he would need to invade her privacy if he was to change her current clothing. The answer was quite obvious because he heard the girl groaning in pain. He prayed that she would not wake up as he took off each garment carefully, looking away when she was fully exposed and replaced it with a new piece of clothing.

“Finally. Thank the Gods she did not wake up or else I would have been sent to the dungeons to be tortured or worse, the gallows. Euh.” The young man plopped down on the nearest chair for some rest. “Hmm. Why does it keep bothering me? And why do I even care?” Those same thoughts ran in his mind again. Did Sooyeon really think about him and was she waiting for him? If so, why? “I should get some sleep. Taeyeon and I still have a very early day.”

Just as Yuri was about to leave for his room, he heard more groaning coming from where the sleeping girl was lying. Sooyeon shifted around her bed, feeling discomfort from her fever even in her sleep. The young man turned back and went closer to her and placed the towel that fell on the floor back on her forehead. She was still shifting in her bed, her face showing signs of slight pain. Even though he did not want to, Yuri laid beside the girl and held her in his arms in hopes of getting her to sleep comfortably. It somehow worked as Sooyeon stopped moving and to the young man’s surprise, she snuggled closer to him and tucked her head in his chest. Though it was a seemingly awkward situation, Yuri did not feel so at the slightest. Yes, he was a little bit surprised but something was telling him that this was the right thing to do. Not even the idea of her beating him to death when she wakes up would make him release his hold on her. The young man soon felt his eyes droop and slept as well. A few hours have passed. Sooyeon woke up from her slumber after a dream, or in her case, a nightmare. The person she dreamt about was the one she thought about for days and he was with a very familiar girl. They were walking along the riverside and when they reached the end, they kissed.

“Ugh. See what thinking about that girl gives you, Jung Sooyeon?” She rubbed her eyes a little bit, relieving them of their soreness. To her shock, someone’s chest greeted her when she opened them. The girl moved back a little to see who it belonged to and was even more shocked when she saw that very familiar face. “Y-yuri? What is he doing here?” She felt his strong arms enveloped around her but she did not flinch. In fact she stayed there and looked at the sleeping man’s face. “He… He is beautiful.” She touched his youthful face, going over his eye brows and his nose. She caressed his cheek and when she reached his lips, she began to move closer. Sooyeon was halted when she heard the young man mumble. The girl had to stifle her laughter when he saw him slowly stick his tongue out. “Dear lord, your sleeping habit is as weird as you are, black boy~.”

“And I hope I will be the only one who can see it everyday. What am I saying?”

Although her thoughts disturbed her quite a bit, being in the young man’s arms felt right for Sooyeon. She had never been held this way ever since her father became the family head, the last time happened back when she was still a little girl. The girl moved herself closer to the one sleeping beside her and closed her eyes, going back to sleep. It was just a few more moments before the sunrise. Yuri woke up and still saw the blonde girl still in his arms. Remembering that he was to rendezvous with Taeyeon in the forest, he slowly stood up, careful to not wake the girl and went to his room to prepare. He packed his hunter robes, some throwing daggers and other ninja tools along with his sword. Knowing that the journey he had with his clan brother would take a full day going there and returning home, the young man also packed a bit of food in case they would take long. Yuri set off to the forest to meet Taeyeon. Unbeknownst to him, someone watched and followed him as he left. Due to his heightened senses, the young man knew someone was right behind him. Right before he could leave the front gate, he jumped to the nearest tree and got out of sight. Sooyeon wondered where he could have gone to and eventually gave up in her search. Yuri waited for her to go back inside before jumping down and headed off to the forest.

“That was weird. Her actions are becoming most peculiar. Why would she follow me?”

“Look who decided to show up and not a minute too soon.” Taeyeon greeted his bestfriend with a hug as he reached their meeting place. “How did last night