PAID

The water on my freshly washed hands brushed against the dry towel, drying unevenly. Droplets of water still clung to my fingertips and dripped onto the sink. I stared blankly at the trace they left before leaving the bathroom.

When I returned to the room, Yohan was sprawled out on the sofa, idly tapping his stomach with a single finger. He wasn’t listening to music. He wasn’t looking at his phone.@@novelbin@@

The moment I opened the door, his head slowly turned toward me.

“See? You got lost, just like I said you would.”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t even gone that long.”

Yohan clicked his tongue and shook his head. His fine hair, pressed down against the sofa, shifted with his movements. I could have told him, I saw your family eating dinner without you, but I didn’t bother bringing it up. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to hear it. Instead, I went straight for my bag—something I had planned back in the bathroom.

“What are you doing?”

Yohan asked. I turned to glance at him before pulling a chocolate bar from the front pocket of my bag, the one I had packed in the morning.

“Just having a snack. My mouth feels bored.”

“Are you hungry?”

At the mention of hunger, Yohan immediately sat up halfway, his face suddenly serious. I guessed that expression meant worry—worry that I’d ask him to go downstairs and eat together. I shook my head.

“No, I just feel like chewing on something.”

“What kind of excuse is that?”

“You never get that feeling? Like, you’re not actually hungry, but you just want to chew on something?”

“Huh. Now that you mention it… I think I have.”

“Right? That’s exactly how I feel right now.”

As I tore open the end of the chocolate bar, I walked over to Yohan. The bar I had grabbed in the morning as a meal substitute was surprisingly thick. Holding the wrapper’s bottom, I gently pushed it up. The thick bar slowly slid out through the torn opening. I took a bite.

Honestly, it was good. I generally liked all kinds of sweet desserts. And the housekeeper would never buy a brand I disliked. But as the rich, sweet flavor filled my mouth, I scrunched up my face.

“Ugh. Why does this taste so bad?”

“What? Is it that bad?”

I licked the lingering sweetness from my tongue, frowning as I nodded.

“Let me see. What is it?”

Yohan reached out his hand. His long fingers wiggled expectantly in front of me. Smacking my lips, I placed the half-eaten bar into his palm. Yohan held it up to his eyes and read the name on the wrapper.

“Hey. Try a bite first. It’s got nuts in it. I hate this kind of stuff.”

Yohan, who had been oddly fixated on the label, suddenly went quiet. He slowly peeled back more of the wrapper and stared at the part I had bitten into.

That reaction annoyed me.