"Why is he smoking in the middle of the night, does he also have trouble sleeping?" Ji Eun pondered, lost in thought. Ji Eun's irritation surged again, immediate and fierce. Of course he was here and even the garden couldn't be hers tonight. She took a step forward, then another—silent, deliberate. The gravel barely shifted beneath her feet. Still, without turning, Hyun Woo spoke. "You walk like you're about to hunt an animal," he said calmly. Ji Eun froze.
His voice was low, unbothered—like he'd been aware of her from the moment she stepped outside. "This is my house and I can walk however I like," Ji Eun replied coldly while snorting. Hyun Woo finally turned his head slightly, the ember of the cigarette lighting the sharp line of his profile. "Yes, you're right" he said. Ji Eun's eyes narrowed. "Why are you suddenly so complacent?." Hyun Woo took a slow breath, exhaling smoke into the night. "I don't disagree all the time, you're just too stubborn and close off to reason," he said quietly.
Then he shifted—just enough for moonlight to catch the faint bruise-colored mark on his cheekbone from her earlier slap. The sight of it sent an unexpected jolt through her—anger, guilt, defiance all tangled together. Ji Eun hated that she noticed. Hated that her gaze lingered.
"So," she said, forcing her voice back into steel, "you smoke now?" Hyun Woo's lips curved faintly. "Only when I'm… restraining myself." Ji Eun's chest tightened. "From what?" she asked, sharp. Hyun Woo's gaze lifted fully to hers at that moment. The night seemed to carry a charged energy. The garden's vastness suddenly felt intimate. Dangerously so.
"From you," he answered simply. The words landed quiet and heavy. Ji Eun's breath caught—just for a second—before she recovered, lifting her chin. "Then keep restraining yourself," she said coldly. "Because I'm not interested in whatever game you think you're playing." Hyun Woo stubbed the cigarette out against the stone with slow precision, eyes never leaving hers. "This isn't a game," he said. Ji Eun's smile was sharp. "Everything is a game to men like you."
Hyun Woo took one step forward. Not close enough to touch. But close enough to make the air change. "Then why," he asked softly, "are you the one who can't sleep?" Ji Eun's eyes flashed—caught, exposed. She took a step forward too, refusing to be the only one pushed. "Because you're in my house," she snapped.