MERRY 24

I offered Liam the coffee the waiter had just brought. He took the cup, brushing his hand against his profile—his expression relaxed and loose. Since he didn’t seem to be in need of any comfort, we had a wordless tea time.

The nutty aroma of coffee mingled with the chatter of people at nearby tables, and the sun was still shining brightly. Behind my sunglasses, I let my eyes roll a few times, but I didn’t let my gaze land on the black sedan.

Lately, I’ve been treating Ethan as just another part of the scenery. Until the wound I received from the trap I set myself healed, I didn’t want to run into him or exchange words. The wound was quite deep, so it was far from being fully mended.

Memories of that day began to surface vividly, making me frown. I massaged my tensed eyebrows, pressing down on them, and leaned forward. Just as I decided to disturb Liam’s deep thought, he happened to set his cup down. I didn’t miss the gap and spoke up.

“I have something I’m curious about.”

“If it’s about me, I’ll pass.”

“I politely decline your passing.”

“Acting selfish again. Just because you say you’re being polite doesn’t actually make it polite.”

Liam tutted and pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Unless it’s an urgent contact, my question first.”

“I’m not in a rush, but it might be urgent for the person receiving the message.”

“Then send it quickly and focus on me.”

I waited for him to set his phone down before asking.

“How did you know your heart had been filtered clean? Did you suddenly realize that love and friendship had separated—that they weren’t mixed anymore? Was a period finally placed at the end of the sentence?”

As someone who doesn’t know love, it was a state of being I could hardly even imagine.

“Did he just start feeling like a friend? Did that special affection just vanish one day?”

Can love be sliced apart with a knife? Does it evaporate if you boil it hot enough? Are the roots easily pulled out?

“When it disappears, can you actually detect it?”

Does the head empty out, or the heart? Or both? Or does it even matter if they don’t empty?

“Does a red light turn on or something?”

Under the barrage of questions, Liam lost his escape route.

“You really make it impossible to ignore you,” he complained first before giving an answer. “There’s no need for a long explanation. You just know when you think about it. It’s my heart, so how could I not know? If I don’t know, who would?”

“Thinking…”

“Yeah, thinking.”

“Does it help to think a lot usually? Like a form of training?”

“Why make it a whole training session? Are you in need of an epiphany?”

I paused and shifted my leaning body back into place.

“No.”

My knowledge regarding love was so pathetically meager that discussing epiphanies was embarrassing. What use was it to learn how to stop when I didn’t even know how to start the car?

Without knowing love, it was difficult to understand the point where love fades away. Since I couldn’t even take one step forward, I couldn’t reach something a hundred steps away. There must be a beginning for there to be an end. For someone like me who has nothing, there is no such thing as a breakup.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I swept away the slip-of-the-tongue questions and changed the subject.

“I’m going to show my face at the racer’s party. Want me to give you any updates?”

“No. I’m not even that close with that guy.”

“You think you’re close with me, though, right? Don’t tell me when other people ask, you say, ‘I’m not even that close with that guy Somerset’?”

When I interrogated him while mimicking his indifferent tone, Liam reacted nonchalantly.

“No way. I tell them we’re very close. It’s helpful to pretend to be close with the model Somerset Quinn.”

“You are so annoying.”

I grumbled and pressed my back against the chair. The backrest was low, and my head almost tipped backward. I supported the back of my neck with my hand to steady it and looked up at the sky. Using the function of my sunglasses, I had a staring contest with the sun.

I offered a defense of sorts to the sun, which seemed to be scolding my eyes for trying to roll toward the roadside every chance they got during the meal. It was just an attempt. I didn’t actually reach Ethan. Just consider it eye exercises.

Liam woke me from my stillness.

“Somerset. Didn’t your phone vibrate?”

“No.”

“I’m pretty sure it did, just now.”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m certain.”

Unable to win against his persistent nudging, I checked my phone. There was a message from Liam from about ten minutes ago. He had sent it himself and was now feigning ignorance while giving me a hint. It was quite absurd. We were sitting right across from each other; he could have just told me. I didn’t see the reason for sending a message…

Liam Dalton The guy sitting behind you looks like that manager I saw back then.

I turned my head, and there was Ethan. Sitting with his chin propped in his hand, he looked languid. Even though he’d been caught being there, he wasn’t flustered at all; he was perfectly composed. Only his tousled, swept-back hair fluttered slightly in the breeze; he remained still, watching me.

The black-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose felt like iron bars. A device to control his emerald eyes so they wouldn’t waver violently. If I took those glasses off, other emotions might be revealed, but for now, what was in front of me was a calm gaze.

I pushed my sunglasses up like a headband and took in Ethan with my bare eyes. I hadn’t followed him on purpose; he had simply entered my field of vision, so I felt a bit caught off guard. Unlike his composed self, I was actually quite surprised by this situation.

If this were a sporting match, Ethan Reed would have lost by disqualification. After ruining a person’s mood and making them unable to sleep, isn’t it far too cheap and underhanded to just come stepping up like this? He was sure to pull back again the moment I actually showed interest after he gave me an opening.

My wound throbbed too much to endure that sense of futility. I put my sunglasses back on and turned my head away.

“Whoops!”

Liam froze awkwardly with my coffee cup in his hand. He had been caught trying to steal a sip of my coffee while I was distracted.

“You drink it. I’ve lost my appetite anyway.”

“No. It was a joke.”

The cup he set down in refusal was already empty.

“I guess a ghost drank my coffee then.”

“Maybe. Anyway, that is the manager from before, right?”

Liam’s gaze drifted over my shoulder. Ethan isn’t my manager, but I didn’t correct the misunderstanding. It wasn’t like I could introduce him as a stalker. I just gave a vague, non-committal nod.

“Since when did you recognize him?”

“Since he started walking this way.”

Meaning he knew from the very beginning.

“If you knew, you should have told me soon…”

“I did tell you soon. You’re the one who didn’t check your phone.”

“If you sent a message, you should have said you sent a…”

“Don’t turn the arrows on me after I even went so far as to worry that it might be an urgent situation for the recipient.”

Since Liam kept speaking nothing but the truth, I had to shut my mouth. Giving a cheeky smile, he gathered his jacket and stood up.

“Doesn’t look like a place for me to butt in. I’m heading out first.”

I replaced a goodbye with a small wave and slowly turned my head following him. While watching Liam, Ethan came back into my view as a bonus. It was a kind of accident, independent of my intention.

Ethan had lowered the hand that was propping up his chin and sat with good posture. His neatly draped tie and his spine were perfectly parallel. At a glance, he looked like a Wall Street stockbroker, but his lean, efficient movements gave off an extraordinary vibe. If it were a movie, the action genre would suit him, with the role of an intelligence agent. In reality, he’s just a stalker, though.

“Manager.”

Liam stopped and faced Ethan.

“Yes, Mr. Dalton.”

Ethan accepted the words while still keeping his gaze on me. Liam, having his name called by someone he’d never introduced himself to, turned the arrow back toward me.

Stop talking about other people behind their backs. Giving me a sidelong glance with eyes that seemed to be coaxing a child, he focused back on Ethan.

“You should look for a different career if you can. It doesn’t seem like the manager life is quite your calling.”

Faced with the somewhat rude advice, Ethan didn’t get offended, nor did he offer a polite response. With a face that looked devoid of emotion, he was staring only at me.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re listening closely to me, but I’ll say one more thing.”

Liam continued, following Ethan’s fixed gaze on me.

“He’s surprisingly a good kid.”

Only then did a reaction that actually looked like a reaction come from Ethan. Slowly lifting his gaze, he looked up at Liam and gave a smirk.

“Is that surprising?”