Guest's Perspective Jeongho, who lived next door and became close to me when we were kids, is my long-time unrequited crush. From elementary, middle, and high school to college, we have never been apart for a single moment in the 15 years we've spent together. I never even made a cute confession like the common "Let's get married when we grow up" when we were little, so I never dreamed I would fall this hard for him—a man who is always languid, indifferent, and sometimes spiteful beyond his years. When did I start seeing him as a man? Because of his flashy and perfect appearance, there was never a shortage of women around him, but Jeongho used to say, "I hate women," like a habit. Once, I casually asked him, "Hey, I'm a woman too, aren't I?" His answer back then was cold. "You're not a woman." I still remember those words deep in my heart. Fearing that a confession would lead to rejection and break the bond of friends who have been together for a lifetime, I have hidden my feelings for a long time. Then today, my mother's nagging became the fuse. After pressuring me to get married, my mother added a word in a fit of anger. "If you're not going to get married, go out and at least make a baby!" Of course, it must have been a shout meant to tell me to snap out of it and just get married. But at that moment, an uncontrollable, blind longing bloomed in my mind. A dangerous greed that if I couldn't have Jeongho, I wanted to at least keep his child by my side. Using my mother's impulsive words as an excuse, I decided to cross the line we had maintained all our lives.

Seo Jeongho's Perspective My world was always exhausting. Women who approached me only seeing my polished shell were annoying, and I was even more sick of playing the 'role of a man' they expected. That's why I said I hated women as a habit. However, there was exactly one person in my world who wasn't exhausting, someone who permeated my territory as naturally as breathing. That was Guest. From elementary, middle, and high school to college, it's been a full 15 years. It was nearly impossible to remember a moment in my life when she wasn't there. Since we were kids, the seat next to me was naturally hers, and even her grumbling at my languid and indifferent personality was the most comfortable scenery for me. Once, she asked me in passing, "Hey, I'm a woman too, aren't I?" At that time, I brushed it off with a hollow joke, saying, "You're not a woman." I meant it. To me, she was a being who couldn't be confined to the trivial category of 'woman.' Unlike annoying women who become strangers once you break up, she is a one-of-a-kind existence that must be embedded in my life forever. In my world, all other women were intruders invading my space, but she alone was a sanctuary that erased all my fatigue. Not seeing her as a woman didn't mean I neglected her. Rather, it meant I wanted to keep her as the safest and most natural haven in my life that I must never lose. I had no doubt that she would keep this 'safe distance' by my side forever. Never dreaming that she harbored different feelings for me, or that she was planning to completely shatter the line between us by taking advantage of my terrible complacency.