As I slowly crossed the garden and reached the front door, I placed my hand over my heart, which was pounding like it was about to leap out of my chest, and took a deep breath before ringing the bell.
Don't panic, Duru. Just think of it as having dinner with any friend. You'll eat something simple and chat a little, that's all. If you managed to live in the same house all this time without messing things up, you can keep yourself together for one more night. Yes.
I nodded to myself decisively and rang the bell. A few seconds later, the door opened—and the moment the owner of the house appeared in front of me, every ounce of confidence I had carefully built collapsed.
At the same time, a sentence lit up my mind in giant neon letters.
You're in trouble, Sunshine.
He was wearing black, modern-cut pants and a white shirt tailored just enough to emphasize his physique, with the top two buttons left undone and the cuffs rolled up just above his wrists. His wavy hair, casually swept back and left to fall naturally around his forehead, completed his effortless, at-home look. With that relaxed style, he looked like a character straight out of a fairy tale.
"Judging by the fact that you're warning yourself instead of me, should I be worried that you've done something to make me angry, Sunshine?"
My mind was very much elsewhere, so I blinked in confusion at first. When I finally understood what he meant, my embarrassment became unbearable. I lowered my head, closed my eyes, and silently cursed myself.
Me and this damn habit of thinking out loud…
Once I managed to suppress the urge to bite my own lips off, I looked up, waved my hand with a laugh, and said,
"No, of course not. Where did you get that idea? So… are you going to invite me in or what?"
With an amused expression, he stepped aside. I went in and took off my coat. He closed the door, turned to me, took my coat from my hands, and hung it on the rack.
When I noticed him looking me over with interest, I nervously tried to smooth out imaginary wrinkles on my dress. He reached out and took my hand, and I lifted my tense gaze to his.
"You look beautiful."
The sincerity in his voice as he said it while looking straight into my eyes made it no exaggeration to say that every single cell in my body melted. I smiled shyly.
"Thank you."
Without letting go of my hand, he led me through the living room toward the kitchen. I was a little surprised by this but chose not to comment. When we reached the carefully set dining table, he released my hand and gently pulled out my chair. I smiled in thanks and sat down.
As I examined the white candles in the middle of the table, he filled our glasses. He had probably prepared the table this way simply because he was thoughtful, but I couldn't help thinking that the atmosphere felt a bit too romantic for two people who were just friends.
When he sat across from me, I looked at the variety of dishes on the table and murmured happily,
"Where should I even start? Everything looks delicious."
"You can start wherever you like, but make sure you save room for dessert."
My eyes lit up as I asked with a playful smile,
"What do you think about commemorating the end of our roommate era with a regular weekly dinner, Hotshot?"
I nodded enthusiastically, approving my own idea.
"Yes. That was a good one. I think it's a great idea."
He laughed at me and shook his head.
"No wonder you and Bora get along so well."
As I tasted everything I had put on my plate, Bora's note came to mind, and I laughed.
"Did you know he turned my fridge into something straight out of a luxury restaurant pantry just so I'd cook for him?"
"And who do you think funded that pantry?"
"So you bought all of it?"
"I didn't even know, but apparently I did. When he asked for my credit card at school for food, I had no idea he meant meals to be cooked in your kitchen. Honestly, even if he'd told me he was grocery shopping for you, I would've given him the card—that's not the issue. The issue is that the lunatic went and bought gold coins for a couple he didn't even know, for their unborn baby, 'for good karma,' on behalf of all of us."
I was laughing so hard my shoulders were shaking, while he kept ranting angrily.
"As if that wasn't enough, I have no idea how he managed to bond with the jeweler, but because he used my card, the guy thought my number was his and keeps texting me to check in. Yesterday he even sent me a 'Have a blessed Friday' message."
As he went on with more stories, my giggles turned into full-blown laughter. I couldn't even pause to comment on what he was saying. After a while, when my laughter softened into a happy smile, I noticed he had stopped talking and was leaning back, watching me with a smile.
My first instinct was to bring my hand to my eyes as I asked hurriedly,
"Why are you looking at me like that? Did my makeup smudge? Of course it would if you make me laugh this much."
"There's nothing wrong with your makeup, Sunshine. I just like watching you smile. Especially when you're smiling at me."
Caught completely off guard by his words, I wasn't sure how to respond and simply looked at him. When our eyes met, something strange stirred inside me.
I couldn't quite name the feeling, but I knew it wasn't like butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It was something much stronger than excitement.
It felt as though there was an invisible thread between us, one end tied to my heart and the other to his—and in that moment, the thread was weaving itself into something thicker, stronger.
I knew it was a far-fetched and utterly illogical thought. Still, no matter how unreasonable it was, that was the effect those caramel-colored eyes had on me.