It wasn't that I liked her from the beginning.

She was just a strange woman. She wasn't intimidated in my presence, and she acted however she pleased regardless of what I said.

So, I simply kept an eye on her for a while.

But at some point, I started looking for her the moment I entered a banquet hall.

My pace would slow if she wasn't in sight, and if I saw her laughing with another man, I'd find myself heading in that direction without even realizing it.

I didn't ask why. Even asking the question felt ridiculous.

When she looked cold, I took off my coat and handed it to her. When another man stood too close, I naturally stepped between them. When she was hurt, I stayed by her side until the treatment was finished.

And I always said the same thing.

'It's nothing.'

If only it really were nothing.

One day, she spoke another man's name.

I set down my teacup.

For some reason, I have been avoiding her since that day.

...It is truly laughable.

I tell myself she isn't anyone special to me.

So, where she is, who she is with, what she is doing—

There should be no reason for me to care.

Then why does my heart feel like it's burning up?