Page 185 of Scarbound

Noeul frowned.

“We’ll continue at my place,” Chung-Hee said. “I’ll help you finish it.”

“No.” The answer came before Noeul could think about it.

Chung-Hee went still. Noeul’s heart began to beat faster, but he held his gaze. “I’ll stay here and finish it,” he said. “Or I’ll come in early tomorrow. I’m not going to your apartment.”

“Why?”

Noeul almost laughed. “You really need to ask?”

Neither spoke.

Then Chung-Hee exhaled. “Noeul, I have no intention of arguing with you tonight. I’m exhausted too.” His voice had softened. “We need to finish the analysis. That’s all.”

“I can finish it here.”

“You just told me you can’t do it alone.”

Noeul looked away.

“I’ll order whatever you want,” Chung-Hee continued. “We’ll eat, finish the work together, and you can sleep on the sofa if it gets too late. I’ll drive you back in the morning.”

Noeul remained silent. Every instinct told him to refuse again. Yesterday, he had told Duri he couldn’t keep letting Chung-Hee hurt him.

Then don’t.

And he had meant it. But saying no to Chung-Hee had never been as simple as saying the word.

Noeul glanced around the empty office. No coworkers. No San. No one left but the two of them. If Chung-Hee wanted to turn this into another confrontation, Noeul wasn’t sure the office would protect him any better than the penthouse.

He hated that his mind still worked this way: measuring his words, predicting Chung-Hee’s temper, calculating which choice was least likely to end badly. But surviving someone taught you their weather.

Noeul forced some lightness into his voice. “Do I actually get the option to say no?”

Chung-Hee regarded him for a moment. “No, unless you intend to leave the analysis unfinished.”

Noeul sighed. “Then I want steak.”

The tension in Chung-Hee’s face eased slightly.

“And matcha boba tea.”

A faint smile appeared. “Anything else?”

“My freedom?”

The smile disappeared.

Then Chung-Hee shook his head and reached for his coat. “Steak and boba. I can manage those.”

After a twenty-minute drive, the familiar building in Cheongdam-dong rose into view. Noeul stared at it through the car window. It had been a while since he had been here. For one brief second, he considered telling Chung-Hee he had changed his mind.

Then the car descended into the underground parking garage. Too late.

The apartment felt warmer than Noeul remembered. New furniture had appeared, along with small pieces of décor that made the enormous space seem less sterile. Noeul stepped inside and waited.

Chung-Hee removed his coat and blazer and disappeared toward his bedroom. “Don’t just stand there. You’ve been here before. Go take a shower. I’ll bring you clean clothes. There are fresh towels in the drawer.”