He remembered now, Suzy’s junior was that young fella with fair hair and a bright smile. They had met him before. From the very beginning, he did not like the way he looked at her.

Leonard continued, feeling a little awkward, "So what does your junior want? Is he okay?"

Suzy thought for a moment, then answered honestly, "He is alright, but... He said he wants to come see me."

The room fell silent.

Leonard stared, slightly surprised. "And you agreed?"

"...Yeah." Suzy paused briefly, then added, "It’ll be safer if we look out for each other. I don’t feel comfortable leaving my friend behind."

Leonard did not respond right away. Instead, he shot her a knowing look, signaling for her to step aside.

Once they were inside her room and the door closed, his expression changed instantly.

"Suzy, what exactly are you doing? Aren’t you and Thomas... you know. So why are you letting your junior come over, too? That will make things weird for us all."

He genuinely could not make sense of it.

"I can’t just leave him on his own. It’s dangerous out there. If he comes here, we can take care of each other. I am just trying to do a good deed."

Suzy delivered the most composed, unapologetic version of a perfectly questionable argument.

Leonard sucked in a sharp breath. "And what about Thomas? How do you think he’ll feel?"

Suzy fell quiet for a moment. That was a reasonable concern. "I’ll talk to him."

Leonard’s expression turned darker.

He had no intention of getting too involved in their relationship. "Fine. Just make sure you know what you’re doing. I don’t want anyone to get... hurt."

The two of them soon stepped back out.

Suzy did not bring it up with Thomas right away. Instead, she shifted the topic to the post she had just read online.

"The rain’s about to stop," she said.

"That’s good. Finally. I’m sick of it," Leonard replied.

Under normal circumstances, he quite liked rainy days. Staying indoors could be comforting.

But after days and days of relentless storms, even he had reached his limit.

Suzy went on to explain her plan.

Once the rain stopped, she intended to head out and gather construction materials for upgrading the apartment.

She also made it clear that they should not break into the unit across the hall just yet.

For the time being, Thomas would stay here, and she would handle the other apartment herself.

Leonard and Thomas both agreed.

By the time they finished discussing everything, it was already late. Leonard yawned and said he was heading back to his room to read.

Suzy and Thomas also returned to their respective rooms.

Standing by the window, Suzy pulled the curtain aside. Her room was unlit, leaving everything cloaked in dim shadows.

Rain lashed violently against the glass, the relentless sound stirring unease in her chest.

Her thoughts drifted back to Derek.

She needed to figure out how to explain things to Thomas. She had agreed too quickly, without thinking it through. What if Thomas did not accept it?

She clicked her tongue softly.

But she could not refuse Derek just because Thomas might object.

No. That was not an option.

Since she had already bound herself to this system, there was no way she was tying herself down to just one person.

If she was going to play the part, she might as well do it properly. If she was going to be the villain, then she would follow through to the end.

Thick skin. That was the answer.

Suzy gave herself a quick mental pep talk.

Then she pulled open her door and walked down the hall to Thomas’ room.

She took a deep breath and knocked.

Then waited.

There was no response.

Just as she raised her hand to knock again, the door opened from the inside.

Thomas stood there. "What is it?"

They were close, and he was tall, forcing her to tilt her head up to meet his gaze.

Her pale face lifted, eyes blinking once. "I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

Thomas was silent for a moment, then stepped aside.

She slipped into the room right away.

After closing the door, he turned back to her. "What is it?"

"It’s about my junior."

The moment she said the words, she felt it––a brief, subtle tension in his body. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was so slight, but she still noticed. And somehow, her heart tightened along with it.

"...Go on," he said.

"If he comes here... would you mind?"

Even as she spoke, her confidence wavered.

Thomas met her gaze. "What do you think?"

Suzy bit her lip. He had thrown the question back at her again.

"I don’t know." She slowly backed toward the bed and sat down.

Thomas walked closer. "Do you think I wouldn’t mind?"

She said nothing, only shook her head. She could not tell anymore.

By all logic, his favorability toward her had already reached the maximum. He liked her. Of course he would mind something like this.

And yet his behavior, his attitude... he seemed completely unaffected.

It made him impossible to read.

Before she realized it, he was already standing in front of her.

His presence loomed over her, like a wall, heavy with quiet pressure. Then his hand came down, resting lightly on her head, ruffling her hair.

She heard him sigh.

"Of course I mind."

In that instant, it felt like something had gently tapped against her heart.

"Then... why aren’t you angry?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

Was his temper really that good? Almost unnervingly so.

Thomas sat down beside her, his tone tinged with quiet helplessness.

"If I were angry... would it change your mind?"

"...."

The question struck deeper than she expected.

Of course it would not. She was not the kind of person who would give up an entire forest for a single tree.

But saying that out loud was something she simply could not do.

Thomas watched her, then suddenly let out a soft laugh.

And there was bitterness in it.