A few days later, Shiya searched online for new places to visit. She found a beautiful bridge that many people recommended. It was near Noel's company, but she thought,
Noel is always busy. There's no way I'll run into him.
Unfortunately… she was wrong.
When she reached the bridge, she suddenly bumped into someone.
"What are you doing here?" Noel's deep voice asked.
Shiya looked up, startled. "Oh… me?"
She was live streaming at that moment. Suddenly, comments started popping up on her screen.
"Cute girl, where is this place?"
"When will you show your face?"
Noel's eyes narrowed. "Who is this 'cute girl'?"
Shiya nervously stopped the live stream.
"Um… that's me," she said awkwardly.
"You? Cute girl?" Noel repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"It's the name of my YouTube channel," Shiya explained quickly. "I'm a blogger. My channel name is 'Cute Girl.' I don't show my face or reveal my real name, so it won't affect your reputation."
Noel looked at her silently.
"What are you doing here?" he asked again.
"I came to write a blog about this place."
"Are you done?" he asked.
"Yes… I was just leaving."
She tried to walk away, but Noel suddenly held her wrist.
"Wait. It's almost lunchtime. Let's eat."
"It's okay. I have work to do—"
His grip tightened slightly. "I said, let's eat."
She swallowed nervously and nodded.
They sat face to face in a quiet restaurant.
Noel kept staring at her while she tried to eat normally. She could feel his eyes on her, and it made her extremely nervous.
Finally, Noel spoke.
"How long have you been blogging?"
"For almost nine months," she replied softly.
"What do you write about?"
"Beautiful places, food… and life experiences."
Noel nodded. Then he asked casually, "How do you earn money?"
"I earn from YouTube, sponsorships, and freelancing at night," she answered honestly.
Noel seemed impressed, though he didn't show it clearly.
Later at the office, Noel called Kaisen again.
"I have another question about that 'friend,'" Noel said seriously.
Kaisen tried not to smile. "Yes, sir?"
"How can someone know if it's really love?"
Kaisen replied calmly, "You feel protective. You want to know where she is. You get jealous when others call her 'cute.' And you don't like the idea of her leaving."
Noel went silent.
"That's love, sir."
"Enough," Noel muttered. "Go back to work."
But even after Kaisen left, Noel couldn't focus.
That afternoon, Noel decided to go for a walk near the bridge.
At the same time, Shiya was there again, taking pictures for her blog.
Coincidentally, they bumped into each other once more.
Shiya blinked in surprise. "You again?"
Noel looked at her calmly. "This area is near my company."
There was a brief silence.
The wind blew softly, moving Shiya's hair across her face. Noel looked at her — not coldly this time, but differently.
For the first time, he didn't see a greedy girl.
He saw someone hardworking… kind… and unexpectedly beautiful.