YAIMF 12🍒

Chapter 12 – 

Misaligned Gazes

A strange tension flowed between the two of them.

They didn’t know when things had become awkward, but an unfamiliar air filled the car.

Outside the window, night was already falling. Reflected in the dark glass was Ji-woon’s cool, sharp profile.

Sae-na slowly traced that cold side of his face with her eyes.

What on earth are you hiding?

It felt almost like a sign of a breakup.

Before she lost consciousness, they had argued fiercely. So maybe they had naturally talked about separating.

But what if she had been found unconscious before her feelings were even sorted out…?

The thought made her uneasy. Something felt off, but she couldn’t tell exactly what or where. That uncertainty only frustrated her.

His face slid past the window’s reflection, and soon a brightly designed building came into view.

It seemed to be the nursing hospital where his grandmother was staying.

She stared at the hospital through the window for no reason at all.

“Wait here for a second.”

“Huh?”

“Your shoes.”

Ji-woon, who had already parked, glanced casually at Sae-na’s bare feet in thin hospital slippers.

Only then did she realize she had been barefoot this whole time.

Embarrassed for no reason, she felt her toes heat up.

Without saying anything more, Ji-woon got out of the car and jogged toward the convenience store at the hospital entrance.

Watching his broad back, she was seized by a feeling she couldn’t quite explain.

I don’t remember anything.

“What are you doing?”

Before she knew it, they had passed the hospital lobby and reached the VIP ward.

From the parking lot all the way here, she had just followed his broad back.

So she didn’t notice when he stopped and ended up bumping into him.

At his casual question, something inside her heart began to stir.

“Are you feeling unwell again? I told you to just stay in the car.”

“That’s not it.”

“…Right. I guess it’s not.”

Their words didn’t quite line up.

But Sae-na immediately understood why she felt so bad.

We could’ve walked side by side.

Instead, he quietly slipped socks onto her feet and never once turned back.

It felt like he was a stranger.

When Ji-woon’s brows creased slightly, Sae-na let out a low sigh.

“I think I’m just tired. And… I don’t really look suitable to go greet someone like this.”

A white two-piece outfit slightly stained with blood, a pale face without a trace of makeup, mismatched slippers, and white socks.

It probably looked rude, but this was the best courtesy she could manage right now.

Ji-woon studied her carefully, then took off the cardigan he was wearing and handed it to her.

“Put this on, at least.”

At least the color was similar—small mercy in an unfortunate situation.

Sae-na took the cardigan, still warm with his body heat, and tried to put it on slowly, but her arms wouldn’t move well.

“Give it to me. I’ll help you.”

His voice was gentler than before as he took the cardigan and stood behind her.

Feeling his gaze looking down at her so clearly made Sae-na tense for no reason.

Ji-woon brought one side of the cardigan close so she could slip her arm through.

His body heat rushed toward her, along with a faint woody scent.

It should have felt familiar, yet it still felt foreign.

“I’ll do it now.”

Afraid she might be swallowed by this feeling, Sae-na tried to take the cardigan back.

“You’ll hurt your arm again. Just stay still while I do it.”

The words weren’t gentle, but the way he said them was. Sae-na did as he said and offered her arm.

That made it much easier to put the cardigan on.

But he didn’t stop there. He moved to stand in front of her and fastened the buttons.

The distance between them was barely a handspan.

Sae-na slowly looked up at him.

When her eyes met his dark gaze, he looked down at her with a cold expression and said,

“It suits you.”

A line that could have been tender was spoken coolly instead.

For a moment, Sae-na didn’t know what to say. She pressed her lips together, then finally spoke.

“Thank you.”

“……”

As the silence grew awkward, a phone rang from his jacket.

Even as it buzzed, Ji-woon kept looking at Sae-na.

“Your phone.”

“I don’t need to answer it.”

“You should. It’s distracting.”

What really distracted her was the way he was looking at her.

Honestly, she didn’t care who was calling.

Still staring at her, Ji-woon pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Yeah. What is it?”

He answered with his lips tightly pressed together.

The caller was a man with a rough voice. Even from here, his loud tone carried clearly.

He rambled on about payment confirmations, debt amounts, and how the phone had been off.

Ji-woon lifted his chin slightly and looked down at Sae-na, as if to say, This is the call you told me to take, and replied,

“Handle it yourself.”

—How am I supposed to handle it myself? If the chairman’s not around, you’re the CEO.

“CEO, my ass… Not today.”

—Why not? What’s more urgent than this right now?

“My grandmother’s in the hospital.”

As if those words were magic, the line fell silent.

Ji-woon spoke arrogantly, like that was enough.

“Hang up.”

The other man didn’t get to say another word before the call ended.

To Sae-na, it felt less like a warning to that man and more like one directed at her.

Without realizing it, she pressed her lips tightly together.

“Are you going to meet my grandmother with that look on your face?”

“What kind of look?”

“You look angry.”

At least she noticed—maybe that was something to be grateful for. Sae-na didn’t want to lose her reason to this petty, childish feeling.

So she decided to be honest.

“I am.”

“…What?”

“I said I’m angry.”

Caught off guard, Ji-woon looked slightly stunned.

That was better than him looking at her with cold eyes every time.

Sae-na lifted her chin and shot back,

“Shouldn’t you at least hold my hand? Or walk kindly beside me?”

“…What?”

This time, he truly looked dumbfounded.

That reaction was so like him that Sae-na oddly felt like laughing.

She held out her hand to him.

When he just stared at it blankly, she grabbed his large hand firmly herself.

Feeling his warm body heat through her palm finally put her at ease.

It was ridiculous, and a faint, bitter smile crossed her face.

But this was the reality she had been given.

Clutching his hand tightly, Sae-na said,

“Let’s go.”

Beneath the lavishly decorated corridor stretched endless cold marble floors. Familiar masterpieces hung here and there on the walls, lingering faintly in her memory.

Strangely, it didn’t feel unfamiliar. Maybe because the paintings looked familiar?

Have I been here before?

But he said he had never brought her here.

Maybe it was just something she had seen in dramas or videos.

Still, the more she walked on the marble floor, the more her heart seemed to pound.

She even started to feel nauseous, and Sae-na staggered, grabbing the railing.

“…I told you not to push yourself.”

Ji-woon’s voice had dropped lower.

After rubbing his face once with his large hand, as if resigned, he said,

“I’ll just show my face and come back. You wait here.”

“But since I came all this way, wouldn’t it be rude not to greet an elder?”

“…Are you sure?”

His question didn’t seem to be only about her health.

It felt like he was asking whether she wanted to see his grandmother.

The vague unease lingered, but without anything clear, Sae-na couldn’t ask.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be? I’m just greeting an elder.”

She felt there was only one reason he was asking like this.

Sae-na lightly shook the hand she was holding.

Slowly, he turned around.

Or rather, he looked not at her face, but at the hand she had shaken.

Holding back the lump rising in her throat at the indifference beneath his gaze, she forced out the question she had been holding in.

“Can I ask… did your grandmother oppose us dating?”

“…What?”

“From the moment you said we were going to the hospital, the way you kept asking if I was okay—it felt like that.”

Caught off guard, Ji-woon seemed to hesitate. That hesitation only gave Sae-na certainty.

“If that’s the case, maybe meeting her right now isn’t a good idea.”

“……”

He didn’t give her a clear answer.

Did he know how miserable and lonely his expression made her feel right now?

Sae-na gently released his hand and spoke as calmly as she could.

“I’ll wait here. Go and come back.”