After finalizing for the day, A-RA’s stiletto heels echo against the polished concrete as she walks briskly toward her car. She’s halfway through unlocking the door when she senses someone approaching. 

YU-JUN steps out from the shadows with a file in hand, his steps firm, his expression unreadable. He says nothing. Just extends the file to her like it’s a peace offering… or a confession.

A-RA eyes it with suspicion, then him.

“You’re just full of gifts today…” she says dryly, taking the file without urgency. “Still doesn’t look like food. Can’t you take a hint?”

YU-JUN doesn't bite. His silence is steady. Serious.

“You deserve to know that much,” he says quietly, eyes locked on hers. “Considering the help you’ve been giving me.”

She shrugs, opens the car door, and tosses the file onto the passenger seat like it's yesterday’s news.

“Okay.”

But he lingers. Doesn’t turn away. After a pause that stretches a beat too long—

“Would... you like to get a drink sometime?”

“No,” she snaps, without even looking at him.

The blow lands. His posture sags “...ooh... okay…”

She sighs and leans against the car, folding her arms, expression softening but only a touch.

“I told you not to catch feelings, didn’t I?” she says, her tone low but pointed. “Did you catch some?”

He opens his mouth to deny it, but she doesn’t give him time.

“One-sided love is like a disease,” she continues, eyes narrowing slightly. “Kills you slow. Don’t look at me like that. I’ve seen how you look at me when you think I’m not looking.”

YU-JUN scoffs, jaw tightening, trying to mask the sting.

“I just asked for a drink,” he snaps. “Am I not allowed to look at you when we’re together?”

“YU-JUN…” she says, studying his face, “are you sure you have no feelings for me?”

His voice goes sharp, quick, defensive. “Never! None whatsoever!”

She smiles. It’s sly and knowing.

“You see… your over-justification tells me otherwise.”

He lets out another scoff and shakes his head. Her smile only widens.

“If you’re so sure you don’t have feelings,” she says, stepping forward, her voice laced with mischief, “kiss me.”

He freezes .

“WHAT?!”

“You see?” she says, triumphant.

But he squares his shoulders now, something defiant igniting in him.

“Well then,” he says with a breathy scoff, “if you have no feelings for me, then you kiss me.”

Without blinking, A-RA closes the distance. She steps into his space, boldly. The playful spark in her eyes dares him to move.

“Sure,” she whispers.

She grabs his face gently, pulling him in just enough to make him forget how to breathe. Her gaze never wavers.

His voice trembles. “W-What are you doing…?”

“Earlier, they said we were making out,” she whispers, her breath brushing his lips. “Let’s at least be accused of something we’ve actually done. Now close your eyes… and open your mouth slightly.”

He panics, bolts back like a startled animal. His face burns red, and he stumbles over his own feet.

“I… I... believe you!” he blurts.

A-RA smirks, the predator satisfied. She turns, unlocking the car again.

But YU-JUN, now fired up, calls after her with sudden, foolish pride.

“Wait! I too have no feelings for you! I will prove it!”

She turns slowly, eyebrow raised. “Okay,” she says with a teasing lilt. “Let’s get it on with... and make it intense.”

She closes her eyes, tilts her head up, puckers her lips—taunting him.

But then—

He steps forward.

Deliberate.

Bold.

His hands cradle her face and he kisses her. Deeply. Slowly. Like he’s savoring a moment he’s imagined far too often. There’s no hesitation. No second-guessing. Just heat and silence and the echo of her stunned heartbeat.

She pulls away, stunned—eyes wide, breath hitched, lips parted in disbelief.

For the first time in years, she’s the one caught off guard.

Without a word, she yanks open the door, throws herself into the driver’s seat, and speeds off, tires screeching faintly.

YU-JUN stands alone, brow furrowed, slightly panicked. “Wait… am… sigh…”

Inside the car, A-RA exhales shakily, both hands gripping the wheel. Her eyes are wide. Her lips still tingling.

Then—

A small, amused smile curls across her face.

“That bold, rabid dog…” she mutters, almost laughing at herself.

The engine hums into the night.

A-RA’S APARTMENT – NIGHT

Steam clings to the bathroom mirror as A-RA steps out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body like a weary soldier returning from battle. 

The water has done little to wash away the day’s chaos—her mind remains unsettled. She pulls on a loose shirt and shorts, then stares into her dimly lit kitchen before finally grabbing a cup of instant noodles.

She settles into her chair, curling her legs beneath her, chopsticks in hand. 

The first bite is comforting, almost enough to dull the lingering sensation on her lips—that kiss.

A-RA’s brow twitches. She shoves the thought away like an unwelcome guest.

With a sigh, she grabs the file YU-JUN handed her and flips it open. Her eyes skim over the pages, unimpressed.

“Let’s see… Nothing new,” she mutters, setting the cup of noodles down. “I thought he had given me something new…”

Frustration tightens her jaw. She strides across the room to a drawer, yanks it open, and pulls out her own copy of the file. Side by side, the pages are nearly identical. She frowns, then sighs louder this time.

“Nothing new… seriously?”

She stuffs both files back into the drawer with unnecessary force, then drops onto the couch like a sack of discontent. 

Her chopsticks dig back into the noodles as the TV drones on in the background, ignored.

“Only one link remains…” she thinks aloud between slurps. “Should I get him drunk? He lets his guard down when he’s drunk… But... he holds his liquor just as well as I do... Noo… I’ll wear out my liver before I get anything out of him.”

The doorbell interrupts her scheming.

She blinks, frozen in place. Then, with the groan of someone already regretting their life choices, she trudges to the door. The intercom camera shows him—of course it’s him.

She opens the door halfway, not bothering to mask her exhaustion.

“At this rate, I should just tell you my lock password,” she says dryly. “What brings you here? You look fine.”

YU-JUN shifts sheepishly, a bottle of gin hidden behind his back like a guilty schoolboy. He presents it with a small smile.

“I came to apologize…”

A-RA eyes the bottle, takes it silently, then—slam—closes the door in his face.

She leans against the other side, looking at the bottle in her hand.

“Well, I get free alcohol,” she murmurs with a crooked smirk. “Who am I to complain? But why is he apologizing...? I dared him to do it…”

Ding-dong.

Another sigh. She opens the door again.

“Am I forgiven?” he asks, hopeful.

“No! Where’s the food?”

YU-JUN chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay, let me order some food…”

He hesitates. She stares him down like a lioness daring a cub to test her patience.

“Order the food,” she says firmly. “Wait outside.”

BAM. The door slams shut again.

YU-JUN stares at the closed door, defeated. “I guess I’m only welcome inside when I’m about to die,” he mutters.

Minutes later, the door creaks open once more. A-RA emerges, wrapped in a thick blanket like a queen draped in furs. Two mismatched mugs dangle from her fingers. She doesn’t speak—just gestures with her chin.

He follows.

They walk to an outdoor sitting area, quiet except for the hum of city noise in the distance. Above them, the stars blink indifferently.

The night air nips at their skin, sharp with the early whisper of autumn. A-RA pulls the blanket tighter around herself like a fortress, her smirk lit faintly by the nearby balcony light.

“What?” she says, catching the look YU-JUN gives her. “Don’t look at me like that… No blanket for you. Remember the freezing sea?”

YU-JUN huffs, rubbing his arms, already shivering. “I was drunk then… Alcohol warms the blood, you know.”

A-RA holds up the gin bottle with a teasing smile, the glass glinting.

“Well…”

She pats the seat beside her with mock generosity, then dramatically tucks the blanket under herself like a queen hoarding her throne. 

She pours two mugs, the rich smell of gin mingling with the night air just as the sound of footsteps approaches.

The delivery guy hands over the bag. YU-JUN pays, nodding politely. But the moment the chicken touches the table, A-RA grabs the bucket like it’s a treasure chest, dragging it toward her with a possessive glare.

“Really?!” YU-JUN throws his hands up in disbelief.

She grins smugly, already chewing. “You want to share your apology with me? Are you apologizing to yourself or to me? You bring me alcohol just to drink it yourself. You buy apology food just to eat it. Seriously, are you even sorry?”

She shoves a single piece of chicken in his direction while hugging the rest like it’s her inheritance.

With a mouth full of food, she narrows her eyes. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

YU-JUN chuckles, sipping his gin. Then, without a word, he slides a little closer.

She immediately shifts away, eyes narrowing. “I swear to god, if you try to kiss me… I will bite you!”

“I know…”

But he keeps moving anyway, slow and calm.

She keeps scooting, her chair screeching slightly—until the back legs teeter over

“Whoa—!” he grabs her by the arm, steadying her.

She clutches the chicken bucket tighter than ever.

YU-JUN laughs into his mug, shaking his head. “You’re all bark and no bite… Relax… You’ve got some sauce on—”

His hand rises toward her face.

SLAP.

She swats his hand away with venom in her eyes.

“If that hand lands on my face,” she growls, “you’ll leave here with nine fingers… maybe eight.”

She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and keeps chewing like nothing happened.

Then, in the middle of a bite, she suddenly goes still. Her eyes drift off toward the city lights.

“There’s one link I’m missing…” she says quietly. “In the file you gave me.”

YU-JUN doesn’t move. He just watches her with that same unreadable calm.

“I know,” he says. “I intentionally left it out.”

Her head snaps toward him. “Why?”

He exhales slowly, his fingers tightening slightly around his mug.

“I didn’t want you to pity me.”

She scoffs. “Why do you care whether I pity you or not?”

He looks down, his voice almost too low to hear. “No man wants to be pitied by a beautiful woman.”

A beat passes.

Without missing a chew, A-RA mutters, “YU-JUN, I already told you—compliments don’t work on me.”

He smiles.

“Well,” he murmurs, meeting her eyes, “whether you believe in them or not… it doesn’t change the fact that you’re beautiful.”

A-RA scoffs, her eyes sharp with mischief as she pulls the chicken bucket tighter into her lap like a dragon guarding gold.

“What do you want?” she asks, voice dripping with sarcasm, already suspecting whatever he's about to say is going to amuse her.

YU-JUN leans forward, elbow on his knee, trying to look casual.

He opens his mouth to say something but changes his mind.Then he asks

“How many collections do I owe you? You know you said...you will come to collect with interest”

A-RA’s smile unfurls slowly, her classic, textbook evil grin—a grin that usually means trouble, or at the very least, some level of psychological warfare.

“Five,” she replies with a wicked grin, licking her fingers clean.

His eyes widen. “FIVE?!”

“I know,” A-RA says, mocking sympathy. “Too little, right? I thought so too. No one can really put a price on their life, but infinity felt too dramatic. So I thought, why not nine—like a cat’s life? But then I realized I like the number five more. It’s neater. Simpler.”

She pauses for effect, watching his dismay with delight.

YU-JUN throws his hands up. “Really?! That’s alot”

“It can’t be compared to saving your life multiple times, can it?” she cuts in, head tilting with faux innocence

“ Think about that. Here you are, sipping gin and stuffing your face with fried chicken. By now, your ghost would be wandering the earth...... unfinished business and all."

Another bite,then she continues,

“So, any time I come to collect,” she finishes, voice dipping into a dangerously soft warning, “it’s a no-questions-asked situation. You just oblige.”

YU-JUN groans, dragging a hand over his face as he shakes his head.

A-RA shifts slightly, her tone turning deceptively light. “Also, you can’t tell the boys you kissed me.”

He perks up, grin returning like a spark. “Or what?”

Without even looking at him, she takes another bite of chicken, speaking around it with practiced ease.

“Or tell them. Either way, it doesn’t affect me in any way…”

Her eyes flick toward him, impassive. Chewing. Cool.

YU-JUN sighs heavily.