Page 175 of Scarbound

“Maybe.” He rubbed his thumb across his palm again. “Maybe they thought I had chosen Gong over Haneul.”

“Had you?”

“No.”

The answer came immediately. Then Noeul stopped. “I don’t know.”

Dr. Kim waited.

“I didn’t think I was choosing anyone. Gong needed me. Haneul had everyone around him.” His brow furrowed. “But maybe that’s not what it looked like.”

“To them?”

“To anyone.”

The room became quiet again.

“My friends chose Haneul,” Noeul said eventually. “I chose Gong.”

“And who chose you?”

Noeul looked at her. For a moment, he couldn’t answer. “No one.”

Dr. Kim held his gaze. “Including you?”

Noeul’s expression changed. He looked away. “No,” he said after a long silence. “I suppose not.”

CHAPTER 49

Noeul sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen without really seeing it. His thoughts kept drifting between Chung-Hee and Duri. The incident with Kija had left his interactions with Chung-Hee tense and charged with hostility. The night with Duri, on the other hand, kept returning to him in flashes: the warmth of his body, his kisses, the strange comfort of waking beside him.

He barely registered someone stopping beside his desk before a familiar voice cut through his thoughts.

“Noeul, may we talk?”

He looked up to see Minho standing there, his expression caught somewhere between uncertainty and hope. Years had passed since they had truly spoken. Even now, they rarely exchanged more than what was necessary for work. The distance between them, born from Haneul’s death and everything that followed, had once felt impossible to bridge.

Noeul sighed, a spark of old pain flickering in his chest. “Of course, Minho. Is there something I can help you with?” he asked, polite but distant.

Minho seemed to notice the coldness but pulled an empty chair closer anyway. He took a deep breath and sat down. “It’s my birthday today. Why don’t I treat you to lunch?” He offered a tentative smile. “I don’t want to eat alone on my birthday.”

“I’m sure plenty of our colleagues, especially the women, would be happy to take my place.” Noeul pretended to type a few lines on his screen. “Ask one of them.”

Minho’s smile faltered. “But they’re not my childhood friends.” He clasped his hands together as if in prayer. “So please, accept.”

“I’m not your childhood friend either,” Noeul said sharply.

Minho fell silent. For a moment, Noeul almost regretted it.

Almost.

Minho exhaled. “It really is my birthday. As a gift, let me buy you lunch.” He hesitated. “Give me the chance to apologize.”

Noeul’s fingers stopped above the keyboard.

Give me the chance to apologize.

Minho wanted something Noeul had wanted desperately himself. A chance.