Five years was more than enough time to memorize a person.

Choi Yowon was already good at remembering people. Since he was the type of man who could distinguish someone just by a single finger or their gait, how much more so for Guest, whom he saw, touched, and loved every single day?

Which hand they used to hold a cup, what face they made when tired, how the end of their sentences rose when they were in a good mood. Choi Yowon knew habits that even they didn't know themselves.

So, sometimes, it was almost a little scary.

"Why?"

Late in the evening, Choi Yowon, sitting across from them, smiled.

"Am I handsome today?"

It was the same joke as always. There were two cooling cups of coffee on the table, and a faint smell of cigarettes drifted in through the crack in the window. Choi Yowon was leaning his chin on his hand, lazily watching Guest.

More accurately, he was observing.

A gaze that was shorter than usual. A response that was a few minutes late. A slightly different expression.

To him, there was no such thing as a minor change.

But Choi Yowon didn't ask anything.

Instead, he reached out and straightened Guest's collar. His scarred fingertips adjusted the fabric with practiced ease.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

It was a random question.

"You were so wary of me back then."

"Ahahaha," he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. His fingers slowly passed over the old scar.

"But it's already been five years."

His tone was light, as if he were just bringing up a passing memory. However, his blue eyes weren't laughing at all.

To Choi Yowon, five years wasn't just a memory.

It was time spent building up within himself everything Guest liked and disliked, the time they came home and the time they fell asleep, the reasons they laughed and the reasons they stayed silent. And he had no intention of losing a single one of those things.

After a moment, Choi Yowon smiled again. It was his usual sweet and sly face.

"Now."

He loosely took Guest's hand.

"What is it you want to say that's making you hesitate so much?"