—Woo Jin’s POV—

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The first thing I felt when I woke up was warmth. It wasn’t the warmth of a blanket or sunlight. It was something softer. Something strangely comforting.

For several moments, I remained half asleep while my mind slowly surfaced from the darkness.

My body felt heavy and every muscle ached. The pain wasn’t as intense as before, but it still lingered deep within my bones like a reminder of what had happened.

Just remembering it made my face twitch slightly. Slowly opening my eyes, I was greeted by the familiar ceiling of Viora’s room.

"Did I fall asleep here?"

Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains and painted the room in a soft glow.

For a moment, I simply stared upward and a small sigh escaped my lips. Then I noticed something; my right arm felt unusually heavy.

Confused, I lowered my gaze and a figure came into view.

"..."

Viora was asleep. Or at least she looked asleep.

Her head was resting against my shoulder while both of her hands were wrapped around my arm.

The faint light illuminated her purple hair while her slow and steady breath was hitting the fabric of my shirt.

Honestly, I should have moved. My shoulder was sore because of staying in the same position and because Viora’s head was resting on it.

And yet... I didn’t. For some unknown reason, I simply sat there and watched her.

Her mouth was slightly agape, which looked cute, so I closed it with my hand. But after a few seconds, it opened again.

Once more, I closed it, but it didn’t stay like that for long and her jaw dropped again.

So, I just left it alone.

Then, a few minutes later, her eyes gradually opened and the first thing she said was my name.

"Woo Jin?"

Her voice sounded sleepy and subconsciously I also let out, "Hmmm."

Hearing me, she slowly sat upright. But she didn’t let go of my arm. Normally, she would after falling asleep or realizing that she was touching me, but this time she didn’t.

Instead, her fingers remained loosely wrapped around my arm as if she didn’t even realize it.

"Good morning," I said and she didn’t say anything in return. Rather, she moved her hand to her head and rubbed it slightly.

"What happened?" I asked. "Do you have a headache?"

"No." Her expression remained calm, just like her voice. "Just a bit of uneasiness."

After rubbing her forehead a few times, she stopped and turned her face toward me.

"You slept here?"

When she asked that, I laughed softly. Last night, I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep, but I don’t regret that.

"That is because I was tired."

"Mhm."

That was all she said. Usually, she would’ve asked me what I did yesterday. Or said something just to keep the conversation going. But now she simply nodded.

Then her hand slowly moved and landed on my sleeve.

Specifically, on the area covering the dried blood.

I nearly flinched. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice it. Or maybe she did. Either way, her fingers lingered there for a second before pulling away.

"I shall go back to my room."

I immediately stood up. Mostly because I wanted to escape before she noticed anything else.

However, the moment I stood, pain shot through my ankle.

"Urrgh."

The sound escaped before I could stop it and Viora instantly turned her head toward me.

"..."

Other than the movement of her head, she didn’t say or ask anything.

So, I forced a smile and said, "I am fine."

Still, she remained silent.

The strange thing was that she didn’t argue or question me. Nor did she ask if I was hurt.

Instead, she nodded and turned her face away from me.

Her not questioning or worrying about me was okay to some extent, but this was just too much. It was as if she didn’t even care about me.

And somehow, that felt worse.

But I didn’t waste any more time and after leaving the room, I immediately released a long breath.

....

Now, more than half an hour had passed.

First, I took a shower and then after changing my clothes, I looked for Elena, but she wasn’t in her room nor was she in the villa.

"I guess she didn’t return last night."

After confirming that, I went to the kitchen and began making breakfast. Well, I can’t make many things. I mean, I can only make an omelet and tea, nothing else.

So, I made them and after adding a few slices of bread, I went into Viora’s room.

The moment I entered the room, I noticed her sitting exactly where I had left her.

However, something felt strange again.

Her head slowly turned toward me, but then it moved away just as quickly.

I couldn’t explain why that bothered me.

’It felt like Viora was angry with me.’

However, I ignored it and walked up to her, then placed the breakfast tray on the side table.

"Did you not wash your face yet?"

I asked while looking at her disheveled hair.

But she didn’t answer me immediately and only shook her head, indicating that she hadn’t done that yet.

"Alright, come. Wash your face and then we will eat."

I grabbed her arm and helped her get off the bed. After helping her wash her face and dry it with a towel, I led her to the sofa that was in her room.

Surprisingly, with all that happening, she didn’t say a single word and there wasn’t even a slight change in her expression.

I also sat beside her after bringing the tray and placing it on the table in front of the sofa.

Then, the two of us ate breakfast quietly.

Or at least I tried to.

Every time I helped her eat, I caught her subtly leaning in my direction.

It wasn’t like before where she made it obvious that she was getting close to me.

Every time I looked away, she moved slightly closer.

Every time I looked back, she pretended nothing happened.

It was subtle and small enough that most people wouldn’t notice.

But I did.

And for some reason... it made a thought appear in my mind.

’What has happened to her?’