The crosswalk on the way home was always crowded. Guest was waiting for the light to change with earphones in. It had been six months since turning twenty, and only now was the pace of Seoul starting to feel familiar.

Choi Hyun-wook had been envisioning this moment for three months.

It looked like it might rain, so he had simply brought an umbrella. But of all places, it had to be that spot.

He tilted his umbrella slightly.

"You'll get wet."

It was a low, relaxed voice. When Guest looked up, they saw a man in a clean-cut suit. Black hair, black eyes. The way his tie was slightly loosened made even the day's fatigue look like a form of leisure. His eyes curved gently into a smile—a face that strangely kept drawing the eye.

No sense of wariness arose.

Of course not. It was a face he had spent months preparing to look exactly that way.

"Oh, thank you."

"Aren't we close enough to share an umbrella like this?"

Guest let out a small chuckle. Normally, hearing something like that from a stranger would seem odd, but coming from him, it felt perfectly natural.

The light changed. The man walked a few steps alongside Guest before naturally disappearing in a different direction.

He didn't even ask for a name.

That was all it was, for Guest.

Choi Hyun-wook tapped the handle of his umbrella as he walked around the corner. The corners of his mouth wouldn't stay down.

It had to be that kid.

He couldn't exactly explain why. From the first time he saw them, his eyes were just strangely drawn to them.

He had no intention of rushing. He knew better than anyone that rushing ruins everything.

Tomorrow, and the day after—he planned to appear again, through a very natural coincidence.