The night was silent. City lights brushed in through the windows. The bedroom was quiet; it was just Rei.
He waited so long for Minji that he fell asleep with the phone still in his hands, hugging a pillow.
Creak.
The bedroom door eased open.
Tak... tak...
The measured click of polished shoes echoed softly against the wooden floor before coming to a stop beside the bed.
The figure stood there without a word.
Moonlight spilled through the curtains, outlining only the silhouette. The rest remained hidden beneath the darkness, impossible to make out.
Rei slept soundly.
A few strands of hair had fallen across his eyes. His phone was barely hanging from his fingertips, its screen long since gone black.
A quiet sigh filled the room.
The figure leaned down, carefully easing the phone from Rei's grasp. The charging cable clicked into place with practiced ease before the device was set gently onto the bedside table.
The blanket had slipped almost entirely off the bed.
Without a sound, it was lifted and drawn back over Rei's shoulders.
Rei shifted slightly.
"...Mm..."
His fingers instinctively searched for warmth, finding only the edge of the blanket as he curled into it.
The figure froze.
For several long seconds...
Nothing moved.
Only the soft rhythm of Rei's breathing filled the room.
Then, with careful restraint, the stranger stepped back.
The bedroom door clicked shut behind them.
Silence settled once more.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, washing the bedroom in a warm golden glow.
Rei groaned quietly, rolling onto his side.
"...Mmh..."
For a moment, he simply lay there, reluctant to leave the comfort of his bed.
Then—
Clink.
A faint sound drifted through the house.
His brows twitched.
Another followed.
Thunk.
A cupboard?
Or... a pot being set on the counter?
Rei slowly opened one eye.
"...?"
He pushed himself upright, listening.
Sizzle.
The unmistakable sound of something cooking.
His sleepy expression immediately softened.
"...Minji..."
A small smile found its way onto his face.
"So you finally came back..."
Stretching lazily, Rei slipped out of bed and shuffled toward the bedroom door, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
The hallway beyond was quiet.
Only the distant sounds from downstairs echoed through the otherwise silent house.
Clink.
Tap.
The aroma of food drifted faintly upward, growing stronger with every passing second.
Rei yawned as he made his way across the hallway.
His bare feet padded softly against the wooden floor.
Reaching the staircase, he rested one hand on the railing before slowly making his way down, one step at a time.
The sounds became clearer.
A pan.
Running water.
The occasional clatter of ceramic against the countertop.
He chuckled under his breath.
"You could've at least woken me..."
His voice trailed off into another yawn.
The smell of breakfast wrapped around him as he reached the final few steps.
Still smiling to himself...
Rei rounded the corner into the kitchen.
"...Morning, Min...ji?"
A tall figure wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants was cooking in the kitchen. It was a man, a familiar one, a very familiar one.
Rei instinctively moved one step back up.
"Slept well?" the hoarse voice asked.
Rei couldn't speak anything. His eyes then drifted towards the pan in the man's hand, he was shifting eggs, sunny side up, to a plate.
"Hungry?" he turned around with a plate of eggs and bacon.
Rei's heartbeat stopped.
Kai.
The name echoed through his mind before anything else could.
"..."
Neither of them moved.
The house, moments ago filled with the gentle sounds of breakfast, had fallen eerily quiet.
Rei stared.
The black T-shirt.
The slightly damp hair, as though he'd showered not long ago.
The sleeves pushed carelessly to his forearms.
The calm expression that hadn't changed one bit.
He looked...
Like he belonged here.
"W-Where..."
Rei's voice caught in his throat.
He swallowed hard.
"...Where's Minji?"
Kai didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he set the plate on the dining table with a soft clink before returning to the stove to switch off the flame.
Only then did he glance back.
"She left."
Rei frowned.
"...Left?"
Kai nodded once.
"A business trip."
"..."
"She'll be back in a few days."
Rei blinked.
His gaze shifted from Kai... to the breakfast on the table... then back to Kai again.
"...Then why are you here?"
Kai pulled another plate from the cabinet, as though they were discussing the weather.
"Minji asked me to stay."
Silence.
Rei let out a shaky scoff.
"She wouldn't do that."
A nervous smile tugged at the corner of his lips, though it never reached his eyes.
"She doesn't even know you."
Kai didn't react.
"Well," he said evenly as he poured freshly squeezed orange juice into a glass, "now she does."
He set the glass beside the plate of eggs, bacon, and toast with deliberate precision before lifting his gaze to Rei.
"Eat."
The single word hung heavily in the air.
Rei remained rooted to the spot.
"...No."
Kai exhaled quietly.
Without a hint of irritation, he ran both hands through his still-damp hair before walking around the kitchen island. Pulling out one of the dining chairs, he rested a hand on its back.
He tilted his head toward it.
"Sit."
His voice never rose.
If anything, it had grown softer.
That only made Rei's pulse race faster.
No.
Something wasn't right.
Minji hadn't gone on a business trip.
She didn't even have a business.
"I'll eat," Rei said at last, his voice barely above a whisper.
Kai waited.
"...After you tell me where she is."
For the first time that morning, Kai didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he watched Rei.
Long enough for the silence to become unbearable.
Then, with a measured breath, he pulled the chair out a little farther.
"You'll eat first."
Rei's jaw tightened.
"I said—"
"And I heard you."
Kai's tone remained infuriatingly calm.
"But you're pale, you haven't eaten since yesterday, and you're thinking with your emotions."
His gaze flicked briefly to Rei's trembling hands before returning to his face.
"I'm not having this conversation while you're about to pass out."
"I am not—"
Rei stopped himself.
His stomach chose that exact moment to betray him with a quiet growl.
Heat rushed to his face.
Kai said nothing.
He simply slid the plate a little closer to the empty chair.
"...Sit."
This time, it didn't sound like a suggestion.
Rei reluctantly descended the remaining steps.
Only then did Kai's eyes drift toward him.
Rei had clearly dressed for bed, not company. An oversized pastel-pink hoodie hung loosely from his shoulders, the hem falling so low it almost swallowed the pair of shorts underneath. From where Kai stood, only his bare legs were visible, giving the impression that the hoodie was all he had on.
Kai's gaze lingered for a fraction too long.
Rei frowned.
"What?"
Receiving no answer, he followed Kai's line of sight.
"..."
Realization struck.
Color rushed to his cheeks.
Without a word, he walked awkwardly towards the living room, returning seconds later with one of the couch cushions hugged tightly against the front of his body.
He shot Kai a glare as he resumed walking toward the dining table.
"Pervert," he muttered.
Kai blinked once.
"I wasn't looking."
"You literally were."
"I was observing."
Rei scoffed.
"That's somehow worse."
Kai's lips twitched—barely enough to notice.
"You came downstairs dressed like that."
"I came downstairs because I thought Minji was home."
He dropped into the chair, keeping the cushion firmly in place.
"So forgive me for not expecting..." His eyes narrowed at Kai. "...this."
Kai said nothing.
He simply slid the plate of breakfast a little closer.
"Eat."
Rei looked at the food.
Then at Kai.
"...You're seriously not going to answer a single question, are you?"
Kai met his gaze.
"I will."
A pause.
"When you've had breakfast."
Rei let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"...I already hate this arrangement."
"For now," Kai replied evenly, "that's something you'll have to live with."
To Be Continued... ...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------