The conversation from the previous evening refused to leave either of them.
It lingered like unfinished music—quiet, persistent, impossible to ignore.
Yerin barely remembered falling asleep.
After leaving the dining room, she had gone straight to her bedroom, changed into comfortable clothes, and sat beside the window for what felt like hours. The city lights had stretched endlessly beyond the glass, but she hadn't truly seen any of them. Her thoughts kept circling back to the same moment.
"We should consider their marriage."
Just one sentence.
One sentence had managed to shake years of certainty.
She wasn't angry.
She wasn't scared.
She simply... couldn't understand how something so important could be discussed so casually.
Marriage.
Her future.
Her life.
Reduced to a topic over tea between two families.
She let out a quiet sigh and closed her eyes.
Sleep had eventually come, but not peacefully.
Across the city, Do-hyun's night had been no different.
His room remained exactly as it always was.
Minimal.
Neat.
Silent.
His jacket rested over the chair. His watch lay on the desk beside a stack of untouched books.
Yet he hadn't opened a single one.
Instead, he stood by the window with both hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants, staring at the dark skyline.
His father had spoken as though the decision had already been made.
No discussion.
No question.
No room for disagreement.
That was normal in the Choi household.
What wasn't normal...
...was how naturally everyone had spoken about Yerin.
As though she were no longer just another heir from another family.
As though she already belonged beside him.
He rubbed a hand over his face.
"...Troublesome."
It was the only word that came to mind.
Not because of Yerin.
Never because of her.
Because neither of them had been given the chance to decide.
The following morning arrived far too quickly.
The university buzzed with its usual energy, students pouring through the gates in familiar waves.
Nothing had changed.
At least...
that was how it appeared.
Yerin stepped onto campus carrying a coffee she had barely touched. Emily immediately spotted her from across the courtyard and jogged over.
"Morning."
"Morning."
Emily tilted her head.
"You look tired."
"I slept."
"That's not what I asked."
Yerin offered the smallest smile.
"I know."
Emily studied her for another second before deciding not to push. She had learned that Yerin spoke when she was ready—not when someone demanded answers.
Moments later, Min-jae appeared with two sandwiches balanced in one hand.
"I bought breakfast."
Emily raised an eyebrow.
"For yourself?"
"...Mostly."
"I admire your honesty."
Before Min-jae could reply, his attention drifted toward the entrance.
"Oh."
Emily followed his gaze.
Do-hyun.
He walked across the courtyard with the same calm stride he always carried, one hand tucked into his hoodie pocket, his backpack hanging from a single shoulder.
For just a moment...
his eyes lifted.
Meeting Yerin's.
Neither smiled.
Neither looked surprised.
Neither greeted the other.
Yet something had changed.
The glance lasted barely two seconds before both looked away and continued walking.
Emily frowned.
"...That was weird."
Min-jae scratched his head.
"What was?"
"They looked at each other."
"So?"
"They never look at each other."
"They've looked before."
"Not like that."
Min-jae blinked.
"...I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
Emily sighed dramatically.
"Men."
Classes passed slower than usual.
The professors spoke.
Students answered questions.
Pens moved across paper.
Everything continued exactly as it should.
Only two people found it difficult to concentrate.
Yerin caught herself reading the same paragraph four times without remembering a single word.
Across the room, Do-hyun stared at a page of calculations he had already solved ten minutes earlier.
Neither noticed.
Neither admitted it.
When the final lecture ended, relief swept through the classroom.
Books snapped shut.
Bags were lifted onto shoulders.
Within minutes, the room emptied into the crowded hallway.
Emily stretched as they stepped outside.
"I vote we never attend another lecture again."
Min-jae nodded immediately.
"I second that."
"You second everything."
"It's called support."
"It's called enabling."
Their argument continued all the way down the corridor.
Yerin listened quietly, the corner of her lips lifting despite herself.
Then—
"Yerin."
She stopped.
The voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
Emily and Min-jae turned around at the same time.
Do-hyun stood a few steps behind them.
His expression remained as unreadable as ever, but there was an unfamiliar seriousness in his eyes.
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Then he looked only at Yerin.
"We need to talk."
The words were simple.
But they carried enough weight for Emily's eyes to widen.
Yerin understood immediately what he meant.
She gave a small nod.
A quiet silence settled between them before Do-hyun spoke again.
"After university?"
"...Alright."
Nothing more.
No explanation.
No hesitation.
Just an agreement.
Emily's eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline.
Min-jae looked back and forth between them as though he had just witnessed a secret meeting between rival governments.
Do-hyun inclined his head once before turning away.
"I'll wait outside."
He left as quietly as he had arrived.
The three remaining students stood frozen for several seconds.
Emily was the first to recover.
"...Did that just happen?"
Min-jae blinked.
"I think it did."
Emily slowly turned toward Yerin.
"You..."
Yerin calmly adjusted the strap of her bag.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"...That's not an answer."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
Without another word, she walked toward the main entrance, leaving behind two thoroughly confused friends.
Emily looked at Min-jae.
Min-jae looked at Emily.
They spoke at exactly the same time.
"What is going on?"
Yerin watched Do-hyun disappear through the crowd before letting out a slow breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Emily was still staring at her.
"No."
Yerin blinked. "No?"
"I'm not accepting that answer."
"There wasn't a question."
"There are about fifty."
Min-jae nodded in agreement. "Actually... closer to a hundred."
Emily folded her arms. "Since when does Choi Do-hyun ask people to meet him after class?"
Yerin adjusted the strap of her bag, her expression calm despite the storm in her thoughts.
"He doesn't."
Emily pointed a finger at her. "Exactly."
"So?"
"So... he just did."
Yerin remained silent.
There was nothing she could say that wouldn't lead to even more questions.
Emily sighed dramatically before throwing her hands into the air.
"Fine. Keep your secrets."
"They're not secrets."
"They're definitely secrets."
Min-jae scratched the back of his neck.
"...Should we be worried?"
Yerin looked at him.
"No."
That single word was enough to ease his concern, though not his curiosity.
Emily, however, looked anything but convinced.
"We're going shopping after this," she said, looping an arm through Yerin's. "You owe me answers."
Yerin smiled faintly.
"I owe you coffee."
"I'll accept coffee."
"And no answers."
Emily groaned.
"You drive me insane."
"I've been told."
An hour later, the afternoon rush had settled over the shopping district.
The streets buzzed with life, shop windows reflecting the golden light of the setting sun while people wandered from one store to another with paper bags swinging from their hands.
Emily stopped in front of a clothing boutique.
"We're going in."
"We don't need anything."
"Exactly."
"...That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't have to."
Yerin shook her head, following her inside anyway.
Min-jae waited outside, claiming that shopping was "psychological warfare designed by companies."
Emily called him lazy.
He accepted the title proudly.
The next forty minutes disappeared beneath a blur of clothes, shoes and Emily's endless commentary.
"You'd look good in this."
"No."
"This one?"
"No."
"This one?"
"...Emily."
"What?"
"I already own clothes."
"Barely."
Yerin couldn't help laughing.
"You are impossible."
"I've worked very hard to become this way."
By the time they stepped back outside, the sky had deepened into soft shades of orange and violet.
Emily checked her phone.
"My driver's here."
"So is mine," Min-jae added.
He looked toward Yerin.
"What about you?"
Yerin's fingers tightened slightly around the handle of her shopping bag.
"I..."
She stopped.
A familiar black sedan had pulled quietly onto the opposite side of the road.
Do-hyun stepped out.
As always, his expression revealed nothing.
He crossed the pavement with slow, measured steps until he stood in front of them.
Emily looked from him...
...to Yerin...
...then back again.
Min-jae looked equally confused.
Do-hyun spoke first.
"Ready?"
Yerin nodded once.
"Yes."
Emily blinked.
"...You're leaving together?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
Yerin finally looked at her friend.
"I'll call you tonight."
Emily opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"...Okay."
Min-jae leaned toward Emily and whispered far louder than he intended.
"I definitely missed something."
"So did I."
They watched in complete silence as Yerin walked beside Do-hyun toward the waiting car.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them looked at the other.
Yet somehow...
they walked side by side as though they had silently agreed on the pace.
Emily stood frozen until the car disappeared into traffic.
Only then did she slowly turn toward Min-jae.
"...Did we just watch Yerin and Do-hyun leave together?"
Min-jae nodded blankly.
"I think we did."
Emily frowned.
"No..."
She looked back toward the road one last time.
"Something's changed."
"And whatever it is..."
"...they're not telling us."
The evening traffic swallowed the black sedan, carrying it toward the quiet café where two people were about to have the most important conversation of their lives—one that neither of them had ever imagined they would need to have.
The drive passed in complete silence.
Not the uncomfortable kind.
Not the kind that demanded to be filled.
It was simply... quiet.
The city drifted by outside the windows, bathed in the fading glow of evening. Traffic lights blinked from red to green, people crossed busy streets, and somewhere in the distance, the skyline slowly disappeared beneath shades of blue and gold.
Yerin rested her elbow against the window, absentmindedly watching the world pass.
Do-hyun kept both hands on the steering wheel, his attention fixed on the road ahead.
Neither of them seemed to know where to begin.
After nearly fifteen minutes, the car slowed to a stop outside a small café tucked away from the crowded streets.
It wasn't fashionable.
It wasn't expensive.
It was quiet.
Exactly what they needed.
Do-hyun stepped out first and held the door open without a word.
Yerin followed him inside.
The café smelled faintly of roasted coffee beans and fresh pastries. Soft music played somewhere in the background, blending with the quiet hum of conversations from a handful of customers scattered around the room.
They chose a table near the window.
Not too close.
Not too far.
The waiter approached with a polite smile.
"Good evening. What can I get for you?"
"Black coffee," Do-hyun answered.
The waiter turned to Yerin.
"A caramel latte," she replied.
Once the waiter walked away, silence settled over the table again.
Outside, evening continued as though nothing had happened.
Inside, neither of them touched the conversation waiting between them.
Yerin traced lazy circles along the rim of the water glass placed in front of her.
Finally...
she sighed.
"So..."
Do-hyun looked up.
She met his eyes.
"I suppose congratulations are in order."
He frowned slightly.
"For what?"
She gave a dry laugh.
"For having our futures discussed without us."
For the first time that evening, something close to amusement flickered across his face.
"It doesn't feel like congratulations."
"It isn't."
Another silence settled between them.
The waiter returned with their drinks before quietly walking away again.
Neither reached for the cups.
Yerin looked down at the foam decorating her latte.
"You know..."
"I always thought if anyone ever talked about my marriage..."
"...I'd at least be in the room."
Do-hyun leaned back slightly.
"I didn't."
She looked at him.
"You expected this?"
"No."
His answer came almost immediately.
"I just never expected to be asked."
Yerin stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.
"...That's somehow worse."
"It probably is."
She wrapped both hands around the warm mug.
"My grandmother always asks what I think."
He waited.
"Then she smiles..."
"...and does whatever she planned in the first place."
For the first time that evening...
Do-hyun smiled.
Small.
Barely noticeable.
"But she asked."
Yerin narrowed her eyes.
"Whose side are you on?"
"No one's."
"Liar."
"I'm observing."
She shook her head.
"I've known you for months."
"I know."
"I've never heard you say this many words."
He looked at her without changing his expression.
"I usually don't have to."
She couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"I knew it."
"What?"
"You actually have a personality."
"I've been told otherwise."
"No."
She smiled into her coffee.
"You've just been hiding it."
He didn't answer.
But this time...
he didn't deny it either.
The conversation, which had begun awkwardly, slowly became easier.
Not because the topic had changed.
But because they had both accepted there was no point pretending it didn't exist.
Yerin rested her chin lightly against her hand.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You just did."
She rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean."
A faint hint of amusement crossed his face.
"Go ahead."
"If they really decide this..."
"...would you refuse?"
The smile disappeared.
His gaze drifted toward the window, where people continued walking through the evening as though the world was perfectly ordinary.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before.
"I don't know."
The honesty surprised her.
"I thought you'd say yes."
"So did I."
He paused for a moment.
"But refusing my father isn't simple."
Yerin lowered her eyes.
"No..."
"It isn't."
Neither of them noticed that, outside the café window, someone had paused across the street.
A man lowered his phone after glancing through the glass.
He looked at the two university students sitting together before quietly walking away.
Neither Yerin nor Do-hyun realized they had just been seen.
Yerin's gaze lingered on the steam rising from her coffee.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
It wasn't because they had nothing left to say.
It was because every answer seemed to lead to another question.
She finally broke the silence.
"Can I ask you something else?"
Do-hyun looked at her.
"You've already asked two."
"I know."
"And you're still counting?"
"I like numbers."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"I noticed."
She took a slow sip of her latte before setting the cup back down.
"If they really go through with this..."
She hesitated.
"...what do you think marriage is?"
The question hung between them.
Not light.
Not casual.
Do-hyun didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked out the café window where people passed by without a care in the world. Couples laughed. Friends argued over directions. A little girl chased after her father, giggling as he pretended to run away from her.
Normal.
Ordinary.
Something neither of them had ever truly known.
Finally, he spoke.
"I've never thought about it."
Yerin raised an eyebrow.
"Not once?"
"No."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I never had a reason to."
She studied him carefully.
His face remained calm, but there wasn't a trace of dishonesty in his eyes.
He meant it.
She leaned back in her chair.
"I used to think about it."
His attention shifted back to her.
"When I was little."
A small smile appeared on her face, touched with nostalgia.
"I thought I'd marry someone because I loved them."
She laughed quietly at herself.
"I also thought adults told each other everything."
"And?"
"I grew up."
The smile faded.
"I realized marriages are sometimes just... arrangements."
Her fingers traced the rim of the cup again.
"Business."
"Responsibility."
"Expectation."
"Everything except love."
Do-hyun listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he asked softly,
"Do you hate the idea?"
Yerin thought about it.
Longer than she expected.
"I don't know."
She looked out the same window he had moments before.
"I think..."
"...I hate not having a choice."
Those words settled heavily between them.
Do-hyun understood them better than she realized.
"My father once told me," he said quietly, "'An heir doesn't choose the road. He walks the one that's already built.'"
Yerin let out a bitter laugh.
"My grandmother says something similar."
"'Sometimes carrying the family is heavier than carrying yourself.'"
Their eyes met.
For the first time...
they weren't looking at classmates.
Or project partners.
Or competitors.
They were simply two people carrying expectations they had never asked for.
Yerin broke the eye contact first.
"If this marriage actually happens..."
She smiled awkwardly.
"...we'd probably be terrible at it."
Do-hyun surprised her.
"I agree."
"You do?"
"We barely talk."
"You hardly talk to anyone."
"Exactly."
She laughed again.
"So we'd just sit in the same house in complete silence?"
"Probably."
"What if guests came over?"
"You'd talk."
"And you?"
"I'd make coffee."
She burst into laughter.
"You really think that's enough?"
"It usually is."
She shook her head.
"No..."
"It really isn't."
For a brief moment, they both laughed.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't dramatic.
But it was genuine.
The first genuine conversation they had ever shared.
Then reality returned.
Yerin checked the time.
"We should go."
Do-hyun nodded.
They stood together, paid the bill, and stepped back into the cool evening air.
The drive home was quieter than before.
Not because they had run out of words.
But because they had said enough for one day.
Streetlights stretched across the windshield as the city slowly disappeared behind them.
Neither noticed how comfortable the silence had become.
When the familiar gates of the Hwang residence appeared, Do-hyun slowed the car to a stop.
Yerin reached for the door before pausing.
She turned toward him.
"...Thank you."
"For the coffee"
He held her gaze for a second.
"I wasn't doing much."
"You were."
A small nod was all he gave.
Yerin stepped out of the car, closing the door gently behind her.
As the gates opened, she walked toward the mansion without looking back.
She didn't notice the figure standing on the second-floor balcony.
Ji-hoon.
He had seen the entire thing.
The black sedan.
Do-hyun stepping out.
Yerin thanking him before walking inside.
Ji-hoon's playful smile had disappeared.
His arms rested against the balcony railing as his eyes followed the departing car until its taillights vanished beyond the gates.
"...So."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"It wasn't just a rumor."
Inside the mansion, Yerin climbed the staircase slowly, unaware that her brother had witnessed everything.
She entered her room, closed the door behind her, and leaned against it.
The conversation replayed in her mind.
What do you think marriage is?
I hate not having a choice.
For the first time in years...
someone had understood that feeling without needing an explanation.
She sat on the edge of her bed, staring absentmindedly at the city lights outside her window.
A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts.
Before she could answer, the door opened.
Ji-hoon walked in.
He folded his arms, a teasing smile slowly returning to his face.
"So..."
Yerin looked up.
"...Should I start asking questions now?"
Her heart skipped.
She had a feeling...
this conversation wasn't going to be easy.
...To Be Continued...