12 P.M.

The daily meals he always prepared, the way he naturally tried to manage his relationships for him.

As if that weren’t enough, now his friend of 18 years, Ki Seoin, even wanted to pay off his debts. Feeling stifled, Woo Seungkyung asked him to keep his distance.

“Stop doing this. There are boundaries even between friends.”

“…What if I say I’ll keep doing it?

What if I say I can only survive without losing my mind by doing this?”

Seungkyung had never imagined a life without Ki Seoin either, but he thought that at this rate, they wouldn’t even be able to remain ordinary friends.

“Seungkyung, tell me. You won’t abandon me, right?”

He couldn’t bear to watch him fall apart because of someone like him who didn’t deserve it. He tried to look away from the wounds Seoin would inevitably suffer—but when he saw Ki Seoin’s back as he walked beside an unfamiliar woman, he was struck by a sense of betrayal he couldn’t understand…

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Setting: Modern Day

Keywords: Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, First Love, Pretty-Boy Gong (Gong), Lawyer Gong, Kind/Sweet Gong, Devoted Gong, Obsessive Gong, Pure Love Gong, One-sided Love Gong, Handsome Soo (Su), Kind/Sweet Soo, Poor Soo, Scarred Soo, Low Self-esteem Soo, Sucker-for-a-pretty-face Soo, Mutual Salvation, Slow Burn (Misunderstandings/Pinning), Slice of Life.

Gong: Gi Seoin (28) A lawyer born into the family of a major law firm’s founder, having walked the elite path his entire life. With his dazzling looks, he is always the center of attention, but he has absolutely no interest in anyone other than Seungkyung. He harbors a pathological obsession with Seungkyung, the first person to ever reach out to him.

Soo: Woo Seungkyung (28) Because of poverty, he entered the workforce early and has worked every job imaginable. He is a handsome man with a gentle impression; his kind and good-natured personality makes him easily liked by others. Lately, he has started to find Gi Seoin’s strange, lifelong fixation on him a bit overwhelming. In truth, he is very vulnerable to loneliness.

Quote: “I sincerely want him to be happy. I prayed that he would break his habit—the habit that is ‘me’.”