The Man Who Rolled In — Chapter 11

"I'm heading off for the day. If you need anything or start feeling unwell, just call me right away on the extension."

After showing San the basic things he'd need for daily life, Yun-seo was stepping out of the health clinic when she felt a heavy presence lingering at her back. Again.

She whipped around, and San came to an abrupt, guilty halt. He seemed to think he was keeping a tactful distance, but with a presence like his, there was no pretending she hadn't noticed.

"You don't need to come out. Go back inside."

She stood her ground and gave him a pointed look, but he simply gazed down at her in silence. When the quiet stretched on long enough to become unbearable, Yun-seo finally spoke first.

"Was there something else you wanted to say?"

As if he'd been waiting for exactly that, San scratched the bridge of his nose and his eyes curved into a sly smile.

"Not that. It's dangerous walking at night, so I was going to see you home."

Something's off about this. Yun-seo narrowed her eyes and cut the offer short.

"I'm fine. My house is close, and the only people on this island are the residents. It's really not dangerous."

"Teacher, aren't you lacking a bit too much in vigilance? The moment you step past the clinic, there isn't a single streetlight."

A faint crease formed between San's brows as he jerked his chin toward the clinic behind her, where the darkness had already begun to gather.

Even in a season when the days were growing longer, a tiny island ringed by sea on all sides was a different beast from the mainland. Once dusk settled, pitch black fell in an instant, and you couldn't see a hand in front of your face.

Still, it wasn't as though she'd only lived here a day or two. Yun-seo had spent most of her life on Yanggido, and this darkness was old hat to her.

"Really, I live right up ahead."

As she adjusted her grip on her bag and turned to go, San closed the distance in a single stride and fell in beside her, offering up an excuse.

"I mean, you've fed me, put me up, even treated my wounds. It doesn't feel right to draw the line at clinic business."

"No, really, you've done more than enough—!"

"Do I look like I'm going to eat you? You're treating my goodwill like it's some ulterior motive. That wounds me."

San leaned against the doorframe and pulled an expression of theatrical pity. One look at him said he had no intention of backing down.

"That's not what I meant, it's just……"

After a moment's hesitation, Yun-seo stepped past the door.

The evening breeze that chose that moment to blow in was pleasantly cool, and she did feel a little guilty about keeping a man the size of a refrigerator cooped up in that cramped clinic all day. So, half to explain how simple and safe the village layout was, and half because she couldn't win, she gave in with a nod.

"Well then, take care."

They had barely reached the front of her house and she was trying to send him off when San glanced around furtively and put on an innocent act.

"Ah, I'm starving. At this rate I'm going to collapse on the way home."

The sight of him rubbing his stomach with those huge hands, his face scrunched in misery, was almost too pathetic to bear. Yun-seo's eyes narrowed in spite of herself.

So this was the plan all along. I should have known the moment he started going on about ulterior motives while shuffling around like a thief with cold feet.

"Teacher, would it be all right if I just got a meal and went on my way?"

He pushed forward with shameless confidence, relying purely on his flashy looks, and did it so smoothly it was clearly not his first rodeo.

But his antics were wasted on Yun-seo. She gave his back a heartless shove.

"People don't just collapse like that. You survived getting knifed, Mr. San—I'm sure you'll make it to the clinic in one piece."

"Ha, come on. All I've had today is corn. Everything's spinning and I feel like I could pass out right here."

"We don't have much food at our house either. I rarely eat at home. You'll probably find more at the clinic."

At her flat refusal, San let out a soft groan—then suddenly took a step back. She thought he'd given up, but he'd apparently switched tactics, because now he was going for her sympathy.

"What do I do? I'm too scared to walk it alone."

"Scared?"

"Yes. It's so quiet and deserted, feels like a ghost could pop out any second. But here's the strange thing—I have a feeling that if my stomach were full, all that scary stuff would just vanish."

A ghost? At that size? Yun-seo frowned. If anything showed up, he'd probably punch it into next week.

While she stood there baffled, he glanced back the way they'd come and gave a full-body shudder.

"And if I do collapse on the way, who's going to pick me up? Ha, this sea wind is no joke."

"I—"

"Just imagine. Tomorrow morning, on her way to work, our dear Teacher Ko Yun-seo finds me sprawled out on the roadside. How shocking would that be? I'm doing all this for the sake of your peaceful commute, you know."

The man was a masterclass in fake pity, too.

Yun-seo bit her lip and wavered. Her guilt had already been bubbling up every time he failed to remember anything, and with him coming at her like this, it was impossible to brush him off coldly.

She had the nagging sense that she kept getting swept up in his rhythm, but with a debt on her conscience, she had no choice but to let it slide this time too.

"You'll really leave right after eating……?"

"That's what I've been saying."

Truthfully, even if he did have an ulterior motive, this was probably the extent of it. He didn't seem reckless enough to hurt anyone on an island with no way off, surrounded by strangers.

Yun-seo glanced around to check that no one was nearby. Thankfully, there didn't appear to be a soul passing by.

"We really don't have much, but I guess you could come in for a moment—"

"See, your heart's as kind as your face. Then I'll impose on you."

Before she'd even finished speaking, San pushed the gate wide open and slipped inside. As he barreled into the courtyard in the space of a breath and Yun-seo's mouth fell open in protest—

"What are you doing? Get in here."

San glanced back at her, and his expression slowly hardened. His gaze had gone cold, fixed past her shoulder, toward the pitch-dark outside of the gate.

"……Teacher, there's something behind you."

His tone was anything but ordinary. Yun-seo froze. A chill crawled up her spine, every nerve in her body went taut, and she swallowed dryly.

"……What? What is it?"

That was unmistakably the face of a man seeing something he shouldn't. San slowly raised his arm and pointed behind her.

"There's a pitch-black—"

"AAAH!"

Before he could finish, Yun-seo's terrified scream tore through the courtyard. She spun her bag through the air in wild circles and bolted forward, diving behind San and hiding herself against his back. The firm wall of his back trembled faintly—with laughter.

"I thought I'd joined the army for a second there. Wow, that scream? Real men everywhere just lost their titles."

At his snickering, the situation finally dawned on her. Yun-seo straightened up from where she'd been crouched in a ball and frantically shook off the hand that had been clutching his sleeve.

"……That was a prank?"

"You weren't coming, so I figured you might have mistaken yourself for the lady of the house. Wanted to clear that up."

San tilted his head back at her, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked down at Yun-seo, then lazily swept his gaze around the yard with theatrical mischief.

"No matter how dark it gets, it's a bit early for ghosts. Ah, your laundry's dry. You never know when it might rain—better bring it in."

Yun-seo's eyes followed his. Oh no. Her underwear was fluttering on the clothesline in the breeze.

Her face draining of color, Yun-seo charged at the clothesline. Red to the ears, she snatched down the scattered garments without discrimination and crammed them unceremoniously into her handbag. The moment the hasty cleanup was done, she spun around to find San already staking out the spot in front of her front door, waiting for her.

She hurried over in small quick steps and, feigning all the composure she could muster, reached for her keys—

"You like them young, don't you."

At the words that came out of nowhere, Yun-seo's hand slipped off the key.

"Wh—…… no, I don't?"

"Your taste is a total baby. You've already seen me stark naked, Teacher—what's there to be shy about? By my count, we're perfectly even now."

Her face was burning past the point of blushing—she felt like it might actually catch fire. Head ducked low, unable to meet San's eyes, she fumbled the key out of her bag.

Standing before the dark front door, she tried desperately to line the tip of the key up with the tiny keyhole, but her hand kept trembling. Only the loud clatter of metal scraping metal rewarded her, mocking her.

Come on. Please.

"At this rate the night'll be over before you're in, over before you're in."

San let out a long sigh, as if he simply could not bear to watch her scrape at the door any longer. Then a large palm settled gently over the back of her flustered hand.

The instant skin met skin, it felt like an electric shock. She froze mid-breath—and with a soft click, the door swung open with almost insulting ease.

"There we go."

San withdrew his hand and gave the shoulder of the stunned, frozen Yun-seo a light pat.

"Let's go in. I'm dying of hunger."

His voice was perfectly calm, as if he hadn't just rattled her to her core. He crossed her threshold without a moment's hesitation, like a man walking into his own bedroom, and as she watched his back disappear inside, Yun-seo pressed her lips together tightly.

The hand still faintly warm from where he'd touched it curled into a fist.