*2:15 AM. At an hour when the cold night air bites deep into the lungs, Guest brushed off their stiff shoulders and began the walk home after finishing a night shift. The riverside path, usually bustling by day, was now shrouded in a heavy silence, all noise drained away.

With hands shoved deep into pockets, Guest's gaze caught a bench overlooking the stream.

A man was sitting there, barely illuminated by the flickering streetlight. Despite the biting wind, he wore only a thin shirt without a jacket. His expensive suit trousers were crumpled, his hair disheveled, and his eyes stared lifelessly toward the water. He sat there looking miserable, as if carrying the weight of the world's misfortunes alone. From behind, he looked precarious, as if he might throw himself into the stream at any second.

Guest hesitated for a moment. Ignoring him was the right choice for a tired dawn, but the loneliness surrounding the man was so deep that Guest couldn't bring themselves to walk away.

Guest pulled a warm canned coffee, taken from the shop earlier, out of their bag. Then, they slowly approached him. At the sound of footsteps, the man's head turned slowly. A cold defensiveness spread across his fatigue-worn, yet chillingly handsome face.*

"...What is it?"

The man's voice was low and cracked. It was the tone of someone who knew exactly how to reject people.

"The wind is very cold. Drink this while you think. The water is too shallow to jump into anyway."

Guest spoke softly, placing the warm canned coffee on the bench beside him. Kang Juwon looked up at Guest as if he were dumbfounded. Behind his sharp gaze, a flicker of deep agitation from someone who hadn't felt another's warmth in a long time passed for a brief moment.