"It's cold. Just get in."

I tried to pull away, but Cha Seonwoo was gripping my hand tightly, and there was nothing I could do.

"I said I'm fine..."

I frowned and looked at Cha Seonwoo. But unlike what I expected, unlike the smug look I thought he'd have at my sorry state, there was no smile on his face. That only made me more flustered. After hesitating for a moment, I finally got into the car. Inside, it was so warm it couldn't even compare to the cold outside.

After closing the passenger door and getting into the driver's seat himself, Cha Seonwoo glanced down at my wrist.

"I'll take you to the hospital first."

"What hospital are you talking about for a fall? Just take me home."

"What if it gets worse?"

"I know my own body better than anyone."

Cha Seonwoo tapped the steering wheel a few times as if thinking, then sighed and started the car again.

"The more I look at you, the more stubborn you are."

Who was he to talk...? I was the one who had to put up with him moving rooms just to bother me.

"It's dangerous. Don't go out so late. A student should come home early."

I let out a snort. Without thinking, I turned to look at Cha Seonwoo.

"You're the one saying that to me?"

I'd seen him come home after pulling all-nighters, reeking of alcohol, more times than I could count. I was so dumbfounded to hear him say that now, after he had apparently come home earlier lately.

Even now, Cha Seonwoo had his hair brushed all the way back, a watch that looked expensive on his wrist, and a leather jacket on. He already had a rough, flashy vibe, and the jacket only made him look even more delinquent.

Had he been drinking? It was too early for that, and I couldn't smell anything, but it still annoyed me.

Cha Seonwoo flicked his eyes over my clearly sour expression and gave a small laugh.

"I'm saying it because I'm worried."

"I don't need it."

"Then don't do things that make me worry."

What had I even done? I sighed and turned to look out the window. Maybe I should've just insisted on walking.

Still, driving covered a distance that would've taken me a long time on foot, and it didn't even take a few minutes before the mansion came into view. I looked at the estate appearing in the distance and asked, "...Is the room okay? It must be a lot less comfortable than the annex."

"Do you want me to go back to the annex?"

Cha Seonwoo said it as if he could see right through me. For a moment I forgot I was dealing with Cha Seonwoo. I was at a loss for words, but only for a moment, and then I nodded honestly.

"Yeah. It's uncomfortable."

I was still looking out the window, but I could feel his sharp gaze landing on my cheek.

"I've done nothing to you yet."

Even if he did nothing at all, just being in the same space made me feel too conscious and uncomfortable. His very existence was unsettling. Maybe it was because I kept noticing him.

I kept my mouth shut and glared out the window until the car window suddenly rolled down, and cold air rushed into the car. Startled, I turned toward Cha Seonwoo, only to see the corner of his mouth crooked up as if he had done it on purpose.

"What are you doing, acting like a child?"

"You weren't answering, so I thought you had fallen asleep after saying I made you uncomfortable."

"...I wasn't asleep."

I frowned and closed the window again.

"Then that's a relief. We're here."

Just as he said, the car had arrived in front of the mansion. It was a relief not to have to stay in the same space as Cha Seonwoo anymore, but when I looked up at the huge wall, my breath caught in my throat. Luckily, Cha Seonwoo didn't say anything else.

Maybe because of the unexpected accident, or maybe because I had run into Cha Seonwoo, by the time I parked in the garage and came into the main house, I was already drained.

I opened the front door with a tired face and ran into Cha Taewoo, who had been heading toward the living room.

Cha Taewoo looked back and forth between me and Cha Seonwoo behind me, then twitched his brows and asked, "...You came together?"

"Looks like it."

Cha Seonwoo stepped up beside me. He stood so close our shoulders almost touched.

"We ran into each other on the way."

Cha Taewoo still looked unconvinced, but there was nothing more to say to that. It would have been ridiculous to make excuses anyway.

"Then rest up."

I left Cha Seonwoo and Cha Taewoo behind and went down the hall to my room. Not long after I closed the door, I heard footsteps, probably Cha Seonwoo's, draw near and stop in front of the room next door.

"..."

For some reason, Cha Seonwoo didn't go straight into his room. Only after a few minutes did he open the door and go inside. Only then did I let out the breath I had been holding. My body, stiff with tension, sagged all at once.

When I realized how I was acting, I let out a bitter laugh. Even though there was no need, I was paying far too much attention to Cha Seonwoo. Was it because I hadn't slept properly for nearly half a month, and my nerves were frayed?

After showering and changing into something comfortable, I went to Mother's room. I was desperate to rest, but I couldn't. When I saw my younger sibling sleeping alone in the dark, I couldn't help sighing.

I wanted to believe Mother had just stepped away for a little while after putting my younger sibling to bed.

I wanted to take them back to my room, but if I carried them from here, I felt like they would wake up, so I decided to leave them there.

I watched over my sleeping younger sibling for a long time, and only after Mother returned did I go back to my room. I sat at my desk to prepare for tutoring, but I couldn't focus. On top of that, the moment I picked up my pen, my wrist started aching.

Of all things, it had to be my right wrist...

I was trying to ignore the throbbing in my wrist and prepare for tutoring when I heard a knock at the door. Before I could even answer, the door swung open.

Thinking it might be Cha Taewoo, I turned around, pale as paper, only to find Cha Seonwoo leaning against the door in comfortable clothes.

"Give me a minute."

I looked at Cha Seonwoo with suspicion. I was relieved it wasn't Cha Taewoo, but I still couldn't relax. Not knowing what he wanted, I stayed where I was. Cha Seonwoo looked at me as if I were a nuisance, sighed, then strode over. Before I knew it, he was standing right in front of me, and I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you doing?"

I glared at Cha Seonwoo on purpose, trying not to show how tense I was, but he looked completely at ease, as if he were mocking me.

"How's your wrist?"

"Fine."

Cha Seonwoo held out his hand. Not understanding what he meant, I just stared. Then he took my wrist himself and gave it a light squeeze, as if massaging it. Pain shot through me, and I frowned without meaning to. He let go and sneered, "Fine, you say?"

"It is fine. As long as you don't grab it like an idiot."

"Get up."

"Why?"

Was he going to put on a patch or something? I waved my hand dismissively, annoyed. It felt awkward, the way he was acting like he cared, unlike Cha Seonwoo.

But even though I clearly looked uncomfortable, Cha Seonwoo didn't let go.

"I said I'm fine. I'm grateful you're worried, but I don't need it."

"Can you listen for once?"

His tone, like he was talking to someone beneath him, only made me more resistant. No matter how good his intentions were, hearing him talk like that only made me want to rebel.

"No."

Cha Seonwoo must've known I wasn't going to go quietly, because he gave up trying to persuade me and grabbed my shoulder to haul me to my feet.

"I said no!"

I tried to resist, tensing my body so I wouldn't be dragged away, but before I knew it, I was being pulled out of the room. The difference in our strength was painfully obvious, and it only made me angrier.

Worse, Cha Seonwoo dragged me into his room.

Why? I grabbed his arm, glaring at him irritably. Only then did Cha Seonwoo look down at me.

"Why are you going to your room? Was the wrist just an excuse?"

Without saying a word, Cha Seonwoo opened the door and shoved the struggling me inside. Only after I stepped into the room did I realize I had been thinking about it all wrong.

"Let me see your hand."

The moment I walked in, I was startled by Cha Seonwoo's scent, and then I flinched when I spotted a middle-aged man I had never seen before. He introduced himself as a doctor.

"Would it be all right to look at someone with such suspicious eyes just because they're worried about you with pure intentions?"

My cheeks burned red.

I couldn't say anything else and kept my mouth shut, holding out my wrist. The doctor took my wrist without a fuss, examined it, and asked how I had fallen, whether it hurt, and so on.

"I'll need to examine you at the hospital to know for sure, but it looks like you've stretched the ligaments."

Up until then, I had only answered the questions I was asked and hadn't even been able to look at Cha Seonwoo properly.

"You'll need a half cast for a while, and even after that, you should be careful. Since you say it hurts, I'll prescribe some medicine."

The half cast wasn't as inconvenient as I had expected, but since it was my right hand, it was still frustrating. I had to take care of my younger sibling, and tutoring, too...

The doctor disinfected the cut on my palm from the fall, applied ointment, and then, as if his work was done, he said goodbye to Cha Seonwoo and left. By then I had been staring only at the floor.

Separate from the fact that I didn't like Cha Seonwoo, I should have thanked him, but I couldn't get the words out easily.

Cha Seonwoo, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed watching me, nodded toward the medicine beside him.

"Eat well and take your medicine."

"...Okay."

"But do you even eat? I've never once seen you eating."

"I take care of it myself."