The space was empty, cold air pouring in through the window.

She kicked the sofa in frustration.

Damn it!

Nothing had gone right today.

She had originally planned to take Liam down tonight—just the two of them alone, the perfect opportunity right in front of her.

But instead, she had run into Suzy and the others. And Liam had refused to stay with her, choosing another room.

Her plan had fallen apart.

Unwilling to give up, she had shifted her attention to Leonard and Thomas Kim.

Such a perfect chance—and it was ruined again. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Just thinking about Suzy being alone in a room with both men made her chest tighten with resentment.

Why? Why did a mere side character get better treatment than her?

And the way Leonard had just defended Suzy...

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

She kicked the sofa again—harder this time.

Pain shot through her toes, and she winced, baring her teeth.

No. She couldn’t let Suzy have things so easy.

As Wendy silently plotted how to make things difficult for her, back in the other room, Suzy gave leonard a thumbs-up.

"Uncle, that was impressive."

She had been wondering how to refuse Wendy’s ridiculous request, and Leonard had handled it for her.

There was no way she would agree to share a room with Wendy.

They didn’t get along to begin with, and after that dream, she had seen Wendy’s true nature clearly.

Wendy had even tried to take her space.

If she still treated her like a good sister after that, then she would be the one with a problem.

Not to mention, Wendy’s intentions were far from pure. She was clearly targeting Leonard and Thomas.

There was no way Suzy would let her succeed.

If anything, she’d rather make things harder for her.

The three of them returned to the lounge.

Leonard was still irritated, completely baffled by what Wendy had said earlier.

"Is something wrong with her? Does she even hear herself? I’m your uncle. If you’re not staying with me, who are you supposed to stay with?" he said, patting Suzy’s shoulder.

Even setting aside that relationship, the three of them were a team.

In a world like this, of course teammates stayed together.

What nonsense had Wendy been spouting? Did she think this was still peaceful times?

Leonard had every reason to suspect she had said it on purpose—just to disgust him.

After all this, his impression of her had plummeted to rock bottom.

Even thinking back to that inexplicable moment earlier made him feel sick.

He dragged Thomas outside for a cigarette before he could calm down.

"Unbelievable," Leonard muttered.

But when he turned back, he caught the unmistakable hint of amusement in Thomas’ eyes.

Leonard couldn’t help but sigh.

This time, he didn’t hold back—he actually kicked him.

And this time, Thomas didn’t dodge.

"You’re enjoying the show, aren’t you?" Leonard sneered, though at the same time, it rather amused him as well.

Thomas simply nodded. "Yeah. It was a funny display."

Leonard’s irritation flared instantly.

Even though Thomas’ face remained as expressionless as ever, Leonard could swear there was blatant mockery hidden beneath it.

Damn it. So annoying. How did it all come to this?

"Wait—didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t tell Suzy? You stabbed me in the back, you traitor! What happened to brotherhood? What happened to the bro code?!"

The betrayal suddenly came rushing back to him. It stung harder than it should have.

"I won’t hide anything from Suzy," Thomas said calmly, ignoring the fire in the man’s eyes.

Leonard let out a sharp laugh. "Then why the hell did you agree to it?!"

Thomas didn’t respond; he only shrugged his broad shoulders and turned away, refusing to face him any longer.

That only made Leonard even more irritated.

"Aren’t mercenaries supposed to value trust and promises?"

"Yes." Thomas handed him a cigarette. But he had to silently admit to himself that there were always exceptions. It was always up to him to decide which secret to keep and which––to disclose.

Leonard stared at his impassive face, feeling even more stifled.

He took the cigarette, lit it, and bit down on it hard, drawing in a deep breath before exhaling a cloud of pale smoke.

"This isn’t something that should be hidden from Suzy. If she found out later, the degree of misunderstanding would only be worse," Thomas said lightly.

Leonard paused. Truthfully, there was not much room for arguing.

Thinking about it carefully... Thomas wasn’t wrong.

At the time, he had acted out of guilt. He’d thought it was better to avoid trouble, so he asked him to keep it quiet.

But that kind of thinking was even more dangerous.

If Suzy found out later, there would be no way to explain it.

"...Fine. You’re right. Should I thank you, then?" Leonard scoffed.

Thomas shook his head. "No need."

Leonard’s eye twitched. "Get lost."

The two of them stood outside, smoking in silence.

Before long, Leonard finished half his cigarette. He glanced sideways at Thomas, narrowing his eyes.

"Something’s going on between you and Suzy, isn’t it?"

There was something off about the two of them—he could feel it. But he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Thomas looked out the window, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. "If you want to know, ask Suzy. I am not that kind of man."

Leonard snorted and dropped the subject.

It wasn’t like he’d never been in a relationship before. The subtle tension between them, and Thomas’ current attitude... he could more or less guess what was going on.

He just didn’t know how far things had progressed.

At last, Leonard crushed the cigarette out. "Cradle robber."

For the first time, Thomas’ otherwise calm expression shifted slightly.

After finishing their cigarettes, the two returned to the lounge.

They would be sleeping outside tonight, leaving the bedroom for Suzy.

She had even brought out extra blankets and pillows from the bedroom for them to use.

The acid rain, it seemed, would last through the entire night.