The Secrets People Keep Close

Hyeon Jaeyul didn’t seem to want to give the mirror shard back to me, but after hearing what I said, he held it out without hesitation.

“Keep it a secret from the others. It’s not like it’s anything important.”

A secret.

That word seemed to resonate deeply with Hyeon Jaeyul.

He quickly wrapped the mirror shard up again and handed it over with care.

I put it back where I’d been keeping it and asked,

“What about the sound outside? I couldn’t hear it from inside.”

“There was a siren near what looked like the center of the village. I smashed it.

Couldn’t find any control device, though….”

“Is it okay to just destroy it like that?”

“Who knows.”

Hyeon Jaeyul’s answer was far from reassuring.

It was probably a problem.

It felt like we’d gotten everything we could from the house, so it was time to look for the others again.

Holding the hand of Hyeon Jaeyul, who refused to leave my side, I stepped back outside.

The black shape that had blocked me earlier had melted away, leaving no trace.

The phenomenon where my surroundings reverted to the past had disappeared as well.

Standing in front of the broken staircase, I had no choice but to hold my hand out to Hyeon Jaeyul.

As if it were only natural, he bent down and picked me up.

Only after leaping down the ruined stairs in one motion and exiting the house did he set me down.

This time, when we headed together toward the village center where the siren had been, the others were already there, as if they’d all gathered after hearing the noise.

They stood in front of the shattered siren.

Won-gyeong had a hand pressed to the broken pillar, eyes closed, and the moment Jeong Iheon spotted me, he hurried over.

“Are your ears okay? It was insanely loud earlier.”

This man made his feelings so obvious that I could easily tell he had romantic interest in me.

I glanced up at Hyeon Jaeyul, who expressed his affection in a completely different way.

Jeong Iheon seemed to interpret my look correctly.

He alternated his gaze between the broken siren and Hyeon Jaeyul, then burst into a clear laugh.

“Haha, figures it was Hyeon Jaeyul who smashed it.”

At his laughter, Won-gyeong opened his eyes.

He gave Hyeon Jaeyul a mildly reproachful look, then seemed to accept it as inevitable and walked over to us.

“There aren’t any other notable anomalies inside the village.

No lifeforms, and no reactions no matter what we did.

Like a rift, it seems to be a simple spatial distortion.”

“Then why did the siren go off?”

Hyeon Jaeyul stepped forward as if to explain.

I tugged firmly on the back of his clothes and drew an X with my finger.

Hiding anything related to myself was an old habit of mine.

You never knew what might come back to bite you later, so anything that could become a weakness was best concealed.

The Hyeon Jaeyul I’d thought was oblivious seemed to grasp my intent from that single gesture and kept his mouth shut.

‘This guy… he’s actually insanely perceptive, isn’t he.’

The suspicion felt reasonable.

“It went off after we’d been inside for quite some time, right? It could be a system that issues warnings after a set duration.”

“What kind of warning?”

“Most likely telling us to leave this place.

I can’t explain it perfectly, but at this point, we’ve investigated enough to satisfy headquarters.

Let’s wrap things up and head back.”

As he finished speaking, Won-gyeong placed one hand on the siren and reached his other hand out to Ju Noeul.

Ju Noeul grabbed his forearm with a sulky expression.

‘Wait, grabbing his arm is allowed?

Every time he interferes with my ability, he insists on holding hands.’

Aside from what happened while I was inside the house, the siren was the only abnormality this village had shown.

Won-gyeong used it as the core for sealing the village.

Red lines spread outward like veins, enveloping the entire area.

Not long after, the world flipped over, just like when falling into a rift.

The sensation had become familiar in less than a month, and I let out a deep sigh.

How had my life, once devoted solely to comfort and ease, become this rough?

“Hey, why! I said I’m driving!”

“Get the hell away from there.”

“Whaaa—!”

Ju Noeul screamed like a kid whose candy had been stolen.

I absolutely couldn’t endure another ride with his aggressive driving and the nonstop horns blaring at us.

We’d requested a vehicle and driver from the Association, but we’d cleared the anomaly faster than expected.

We got out earlier than scheduled, and the car still hadn’t arrived.

Without thinking, I body-checked Ju Noeul as he headed for the driver’s seat and yelled at Hyeon Jaeyul.

“Hyeon Jaeyul, you drive!”

“I said I’d do it—!”

“God, you’re so loud. Seriously!”

I covered my ears at the man’s screeching voice.

He really was loud as hell.

“Do it later when you’re alone! Do you have any idea how annoying horn noises are?

My ears feel like they’re going to split!”

I wanted to shove his forehead away, but at my height, all I could manage was poking his chest.

After I snapped at him about knowing how good my hearing was and still driving like that, Ju Noeul finally lost some of his momentum.

I took the chance to turn my head.

I’d felt Hyeon Jaeyul press up close behind me.

Wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me back from Ju Noeul, he asked,

“You want me to drive?”

“Yeah. You can drive, right?”

“I can.”

“Then please.”

Whether his real goal was just to pull me away from Ju Noeul or not, Hyeon Jaeyul nodded obediently.

Ju Noeul clicked his tongue in disappointment.

I ignored him.

That guy should never be allowed behind the wheel when there are passengers.

If I still had my memories, I’d have driven myself.

“Hey, I can drive properly if you tell me to.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe you.”

“Hey!”

“Please stop yelling. My head’s ringing.”

As Ju Noeul barked beside me, Hyeon Jaeyul gently raised a hand to cover my ear.

The contrast in their reactions was extreme.

When I looked up at Hyeon Jaeyul with eyes full of gratitude, he blinked softly and curved his eyes ever so slightly.

Seeing him like this made the version I’d seen in that house feel like nothing more than an illusion.

‘This is why I never noticed.’

Hyeon Jaeyul didn’t head straight for the driver’s seat.

He guided me to the passenger side and opened the door for me.

I took one look at the three large men and shook my head.

If I sat in the passenger seat, those big bodies would be crammed together uncomfortably.

I gestured for Won-gyeong, who’d been standing there blankly, to take the passenger seat instead.

Aside from Hyeon Jaeyul, Won-gyeong was the one most likely to go along with my decisions.

This time too, he smiled with a slight squint and nodded.

Seeing Won-gyeong move for the passenger seat, Hyeon Jaeyul said,

“Doya, sitting in the middle will be uncomfortable. It’d be better if you took the passenger seat.”

“As long as Ju Noeul isn’t driving, I don’t care where I sit.”

Hyeon Jaeyul clearly didn’t like the idea of me sitting between Ju Noeul and Jeong Iheon, but when I complained while covering my ears that I absolutely couldn’t tolerate Ju Noeul driving, he gave in and got into the driver’s seat.

So with Jeong Iheon on my left and Ju Noeul on my right, the car started moving.

Hyeon Jaeyul’s driving was a work of art.

Smooth cornering, smooth acceleration, and even when stopping, the car didn’t lurch at all.

Impressed, I said to Ju Noeul,

“Ju Noeul, you should learn to drive with some consideration for others, like Jaeyul does.”

Despite my scolding, Ju Noeul only snorted.

I shot him a glare, then caught Hyeon Jaeyul’s eye in the rearview mirror and gave him a thumbs-up.

He lifted the corner of his mouth in response.

Meanwhile, because it was uncomfortable to keep my hair tied while sitting, I’d let it down.

Jeong Iheon was quietly fiddling with the ends of my loose hair.

His touch was so gentle and subtle that I only realized it after a while.

He was twining my white hair around his fingers, completely absorbed, not even noticing my gaze.

Leaving Jeong Iheon and his inexplicable behavior alone, I extended my arm toward Ju Noeul.

The curse carved into my abdomen had disappeared after waking from the dream of the eighth simulation, but I hadn’t stopped carving new pathways for my ability, just in case.

Once a day, I made a point of meeting him at the Association café to do so.

Whenever I was with Ju Noeul, Hyeon Jaeyul would trail after me, buy drinks, and always come back with only mine and his own.

I’d never once seen him buy anything for Ju Noeul.

He’d stare at us, and then Jeong Iheon would pop up from somewhere, and Won-gyeong would quietly join us at the same table.

Today, with Ju Noeul right beside me, there was no need for all that.

When I held my arm out, Ju Noeul naturally slid his hand into my palm.

He even laced our fingers together, gripping tightly.

After confirming that, I asked quietly,

“Ju Noeul.”

“What.”

“Earlier, when you used your ability with Won-gyeong, you grabbed his arm.”

“So what.”

“Then shouldn’t you grab my arm when you do it with me too?”

Ju Noeul didn’t answer.

He abruptly turned his head toward the window.

Resting his arm on the frame and propping his chin up, he radiated a clear I’m-not-looking-back attitude.

‘What is wrong with this guy….’

I narrowed my eyes and carefully observed his awkward behavior.

His ears were faintly red.

Amid the multiple heartbeats I could hear around me, I focused on Ju Noeul’s.

‘Oh wow. His heart’s racing.’

I’d been too distracted by his constant yelling to notice, but his reaction was clearly strange.

Come to think of it, he was also one of the targets designated by the romance simulation.