PROPOSAL 1

What lingered in memory was the strikingly blue sky and the ice crystals clinging to the bare, frozen branches, glistening from the rain that had fallen the previous night.

It was an afternoon so dazzling it stung the eyes.

The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library.

Under the unusually clear sunlight, the moment I saw him standing beneath the white wall inscribed with long text, I knew.

That’s the one, I thought.

I just knew.

Even though I knew nothing of his appearance or aura, with the only clue being the “I’m sorry” he left on a phone call at dawn three months ago, I could somehow recognize him.

It was through the gaze of the familiar-faced person standing beside him that I realized.

That’s what love must be, I thought.

It was an afternoon when everything sparkled so brightly it hurt the eyes.

A perfect day to have your heart broken.

Sometimes in life, there comes a day when a person does something so out of character, it’s as if they’ve been struck by lightning. People often call such a day “cursed,” and for him, that day was exactly that.

“…My head hurts…”

Groaning, Soohyun barely woke from sleep and, without even opening his eyes, muttered that familiar phrase first.

As a child, he used to wonder why adults always whined about headaches the day after drinking, thinking they should just avoid alcohol altogether. But now, having become one of those rotten adults, he knew that drinking too much caused headaches, yet he still overdid it. The routine had become waking up with a pounding head, cursing and blaming the previous day’s self.

A headache alone would’ve been bearable, but on worse days, stomach pain piled on, and today seemed to be one of those bad days.

His back ached. His stomach felt off too.

No, his thighs and legs hurt, his shoulders ached… honestly, his entire body was in pain.

“D**n it…”

Did he drink too much and tumble down the stairs again, or maybe fall asleep at the front door after making it home?

There were too many possibilities to pinpoint, but hoping it was just muscle pain, he tried to roll over, only to find his body wouldn’t move properly.

Something heavy and solid was wrapped around his waist. Struggling against the force gripping him so tightly he could barely move, he opened his eyes and looked down, only to see, unexpectedly, a human arm.

Not a mannequin or a model, but a real person’s arm. Yet, he had no memory of whose arm it could be.

Last night, he definitely drank. Though he couldn’t recall a thing, this familiar headache was undeniable proof of overindulgence.

Just to be sure, he glanced around with his eyes alone and confirmed it was indeed his home.

The familiar white molding, blinds, and the layout with only a bed and a wall-mounted TV confirmed it was his bedroom. That meant someone had brought him home…

If he had to guess, a few friends came to mind… but those guys would just dump him inside the house, not caring whether he slept on the floor or not. They weren’t the type to stay and sleep over.

Then, the next likely suspect was his second hyung… but the thought sent a sudden chill down his spine.

His second hyung would never carry him to bed and sleep beside him so calmly. He wouldn’t even bother bringing him home in the first place. Even if he did, he’d leave Soohyun on the living room couch and take the bed for himself.

Then…

“…Uncle?”

Wondering if maybe his uncle had brought him home, he looked down again at the arm pressing firmly against his body.

His uncle was the only one who wouldn’t leave a drunk Soohyun on the floor or couch but would put him to bed…

But no, this didn’t feel like his uncle’s arm. It just felt different.

Even with a hangover clouding his mind, he could distinguish the arms of the person who’d held him since birth, and this wasn’t his uncle’s.

If his uncle’s arms were slender, full of lean muscle and gentle, this arm felt muscular and strong.

Among the people he knew, no man would hold him this tightly while sleeping.

A sudden chill ran down his spine.

Who the h**l did I bring home last night? With a mix of doubt and curiosity, he turned his head as slowly as a horror movie protagonist with a serial killer behind them.

The next moment, seeing the man’s face, he barely swallowed the scream that nearly escaped.

Whatever happened last night, it was something that absolutely should not have happened.

Even a drama this implausible wouldn’t be worth watching. The idea of this man being in his bed right now was utterly absurd.

He clearly remembered finishing work, leaving the office, and heading to the elevator.

The problem was that everything after that was a blank.

“Crazy…”

Unable to fathom why this person was in his bed, he reached out to slip out of bed.

The next moment, he let out a piercing scream and thrashed in pain.

“Argh!”

Wondering if this was what it felt like to be torn apart or dismembered, he broke out in a cold sweat, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. But moving his arm triggered another wave of pain, forcing him to clench his teeth, only to bite his tongue and end up clawing at the pillow.

He might actually die trying to get out of bed.

What the h**l did you do after drinking last night, Lee Soohyun?

This level of muscle pain suggested at least a CrossFit session, but even though he sometimes passed out anywhere after drinking when tired, he didn’t have a bizarre habit of exercising while drunk.

More importantly, considering his condition yesterday—barely able to walk ten meters—exercise was out of the question. Did he roll down the stairs again? Sweating profusely, he glanced down at his body…

“Ugh…”

He barely stifled the scream rising from his throat by covering his mouth, but the effort tensed his back, waist, and thighs, sending pain so intense it felt like he was being torn apart.

No, forget being torn apart or muscle pain—that wasn’t the issue.

Something that absolutely could not and should not have happened seemed to have occurred. He desperately wanted to believe otherwise, but the circumstantial evidence before his eyes left his mind in chaos.

His priority was to escape this place, so he gritted his teeth and tried to get out of bed, but it wasn’t working.

Trying to suppress a scream kept his body from moving, and trying to move triggered an automatic scream.

Trapped by the excruciating pain, groaning and sweating buckets, he suddenly heard movement behind him.

The sound of someone stirring made him hold his breath, and as expected, a low voice came from behind.

“If you’re going to get up, just get up. If you’re going to be quiet, be quiet. Pick one.”

The slightly irritated, groggy voice made him freeze, blinking rapidly. The presence behind him vanished.

Turning his stiff neck to look back, he saw the one person who absolutely should not be in this room, No. 1 on that list, casually walking across the room in a bathrobe.

Seeing a man who absolutely shouldn’t be here, dressed in something so out of place, made his head spin and nausea rise.

This was definitely not just a hangover.

“You should change your mattress. It’s too soft.”

The man complained about the mattress as casually as if they’d met yesterday—no, they did meet yesterday, but still, acting so familiar was jarring. As Soohyun stared blankly, the man, heading toward the door, tossed out another comment.

“I’ve got to get to work soon, so get up and make coffee. Judging by your expression, it seems like we’ve got a lot to talk about…”

Of course, he had to go to work, but telling someone who could barely get out of bed to make coffee—was this guy even human? As Soohyun thought this, the man, now at the door, shot him a pointed look.

“Well?”

The unspoken question—Are you not going to do it?—swirled in his mind with countless responses, but all that came out was a short, clipped word.

“…Yes.”

The moment the coffee pot clicked off, Soohyun poured hot water into the cup with the freshly brewed espresso, all while stealing glances at the man confidently sitting on his living room couch, checking his phone.

Unlike Soohyun, who was bewildered and flustered by the situation, the man was calm and composed. No, not just composed—shamelessly so.

If asked whether this man had any right to be so at ease in his home this early in the morning, the answer would be a resounding “Absolutely not.”

Their relationship was clear: he was his hyung’s friend, and Soohyun was the friend’s younger brother. Or perhaps schoolmates from middle and high school, with a sunbae-hoobae dynamic. And recently, they’d become colleagues.

Even that colleague status had only started a week ago.

It was exactly one week since this man had returned to Korea.

So what the h**l happened last night?

He remembered leaving the office on foot after finishing work.

No, even that wasn’t entirely clear.

He only assumed he’d left because bits and pieces of his memory were missing. He recalled standing in front of the elevator, about to press the down button…

“Coffee?”

As he frowned, trying to piece together his hazy memories, the man’s sudden call made him pick up the two cups of hot coffee.

“…It’s ready.”

Unsure whether to treat him like a colleague from work or like his hyung’s friend from the past, Soohyun replied in an awkward polite tone and headed to the living room.

Every step felt like his limbs were being torn apart, but the sheer absurdity of the situation made the pain feel almost unreal.

He was just curious.

What on earth had happened last night?

“Coffee… light.”

Saying it was for the morning, he shakily handed over the cup. The man, elegantly accepting it while sitting on the couch, glanced down with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“…I’d usually drink espresso in times like this… but given the situation, I’ll let it slide. Next time, ask about preferences before making coffee. You should at least have that much sense, right?”

Why should I? Soohyun wanted to retort, but that wasn’t the priority right now, so he clamped his mouth shut. The man gestured to the stool beside him.

“Sit.”

Sensing the conversation was about to begin, Soohyun hobbled over, barely supporting his trembling waist as he sat on the stool. Trying his best to look unfazed, he met the man’s gaze as he took a sip of coffee and got to the point.

“So, how much do you remember?”

“…Sorry?”