Elaine was startled and looked back.
She’d been so focused on the front that she didn’t realize someone was approaching from her rear. She spun around and blinked in confusion.
‘Huh, Ash?’
The face staring back at her was unexpected.
Why would Ash be here…?
A strange light appeared in his eyes as he saw Elaine looking visibly surprised. Ash withdrew his hand from her shoulder and tilted his head to the side.
“El…”
His lips parted slowly.
At that moment, she recalled the presence of the man and woman making passionate love behind her.
If he spoke up here, they would surely hear him. For now, they were so engrossed in their intimate affair that they didn’t seem to notice anyone else, but it was only a matter of time before they noticed them. It was clear that this was going to be a very embarrassing encounter.
Perhaps that’s why she did what she did.
Before the word could escape Ash’s lips, Elaine clamped both hands over his mouth.
And pushed him back.
There was a thud.
“Mmm…? What was that?”
The woman who had her arms wrapped around her lover’s neck, kissing him, slowly lifted her eyelids.
“Is something wrong, baby?”
“No, I just thought I heard something…”
At her words, the man held her in his arms and moved his lax eyes to scan the area around him.
All he could see were long rows of storage crates and empty aisles.
Then there was a rattling sound from somewhere.
” Ah… What the hell, it was the window.”
“It must be windy outside.”
The small window diagonally above their heads shook, letting in the faint sound of the wind.
“It didn’t seem that windy earlier…”
“Focus on me instead.”
The man pulled the woman closer. Soon the conversation died down and the sounds of the two people making love resumed. And…
“…”
“…”
There was an ambiguous silence between the two other people in the same room. Elaine and Ash stood facing each other between storage shelves not far from the aisle where the lovers were discovered.
This was the result of Elaine grabbing him and hiding quickly.
He looked a little surprised at her behavior. Elaine didn’t know what to say.
‘I reflexively…’
From Ash’s perspective, this was probably bewildering. She’d suddenly pulled him in here. It was almost reflexive on her part, but it wasn’t easy to explain things now.
If they spoke out, the knights who were sensitive to presence would hear them. Meanwhile, Elaine unconsciously held onto Ash’s sleeve in case he tried to leave.
Elaine covered her mouth, and he seemed to understand. Apparently, he hadn’t seen what was happening behind her. Elaine pursed her lips.
“Haah…”
As silence fell, an odd sound drifted through the still air.
Ash’s eyes widened slightly as he tilted his head.
“…Ah.
He blinked slowly. It finally dawned on him what was going on.
Elaine dropped her gaze in embarrassment.
Slowly, she let go of him and backed away slightly. Even so, her back ended up hitting the crates that were stacked like a wall. His gaze lingered on her hand as it fell away.
“…”
She wondered why she felt the need to hide when she hadn’t actually done anything wrong, but it was hard to go back out after she’d already hidden. Ash must’ve felt the same way because he didn’t move.
Fortunately, the lovers still didn’t seem to have noticed. The high storage shelves prevented them from seeing each other, they’d also relaxed their guard and Elaine and Ash had deliberately hidden their presence.
However, if there was a problem…
“Uhhh…”
That was the sound they heard repeatedly across the shelves.
She could practically picture them, calling each other sweetly, breathing heavily, and making out. The sound was even clearer in her ears because she was holding her breath.
She could feel the heat rising in her face.
Neither Elaine nor Ash could meet each other’s gaze. Standing in the narrow aisle, they were close enough to touch toes with a single move.
‘What are we going to do…’
Elaine’s heart was pounding harder and harder in her chest.
They weren’t close enough to touch, but just being face to face made her nervous and itchy.
Perhaps it was natural.
Because it’s Ash. He said he liked her, she liked him. She’d rarely gotten nervous before, but how could she not be nervous at this moment?
Elaine looked up absentmindedly, her gaze locking with Ash’s as if making a promise.
“…”
For a moment, even their breathing slowed, and the air between them became charged.
Her heart was pounding in her ears.
She couldn’t tell if it was her own or someone else’s.
All she knew was that their gazes lingered, then his eyes slid from her eyes to the bridge of her nose, then to her lips.
Was it an illusion that his eyes seemed to darken?
He gradually narrowed the distance, approaching her, walking at a pace that was neither slow nor fast, and slowly lowered his head towards her face.
A thought crossed Elaine’s mind as she looked at that scene blankly. What was the meaning of his actions now? Her pulse was racing with vague assumptions.
When his face finally drew closer, she closed her eyes subconsciously.
Soon, his breath touched her, and she got a faint whiff of his cologne.
“…Here.”
The words, barely above a whisper, landed in her ear.
A voice so quiet and low that it only reached her. At that voice, Elaine reflexively opened her eyes.
‘Ah…’
Ash’s face was right in front of hers, causing her shoulders to stiffen slightly, but his gaze wasn’t on her face, just a little further down.
Slowly, his hand reached out and gently cupped the back of her head. He whispered in her ear again.
“I thought you might be hurt.”
As she followed his gaze and could see something jutting out from the side of her head, a tool from the shelf she was leaning against, its pointed tip quite sharp.
Only then did Elaine realize why he’d approached her. He’d leaned in close to whisper in her ear so the others wouldn’t hear him.
That was all it was.
Her cheeks instantly heated as she realized her mistake.
She thought Ash was going to kiss her.
What on earth was she thinking? She wondered if he’d noticed. Elaine lowered her head to hide her red face.
‘I feel stupid…’
She felt like the only one who was weird. She shouldn’t have thought of anything else.
‘So, did I really want him to kiss me?’
The question popped up out of nowhere. And the answer to that question had already been revealed by her own behavior a moment ago.
Elaine hadn’t avoided him when she thought he was going to kiss her. Even if she was mistaken, she hadn’t even considered pushing him away.
What does that mean?
For a moment, she felt like she’d been struck with cold water.
She was the one who’d rejected him… What did she expect?
How shameless could she be?
Elaine’s words, asking him to pretend it never happened, were nothing short of blatantly denying and trampling on his feelings. If he knew what she was thinking, he would despise her for saying such cruel things.
His feelings for her might grow cold in an instant. No, perhaps they already had.
She recalled the moment when she’d slapped his hand away when he confessed to her, and the moment when she’d avoided him like a coward and hurt him even more.
‘That’s enough.’
He spoke with a faint smile, a sign that he was making peace.
He doesn’t look so bad now.
“There you go.”
He simply pushed in the protruding tool and withdrew his hand. His face was calm as he backed away, distancing himself.
She was the only one who was nervous, expecting something.
‘Ash is now…’
Elaine’s face clouded.
“…They’re finally gone.”
Not seeing her expression, Ash ran a hand through his hair and stared at the empty aisle. He didn’t lower his voice anymore or hide his presence.
Meanwhile, the couple who’d been making passionate love had left. Their presence completely gone.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Elaine straightened her disheveled expression and replied awkwardly. The two of them quickly exited the narrow passage. With an air of embarrassment hovering for a moment, Elaine hesitated before speaking first.
“I, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
Ash roughly understood the situation and had adjusted to it quickly, but it was true that she’d dragged him in as well. Moreover, she even covered his mouth. When she apologized, Ash shook his head, saying it was fine.
“So, what brings you here?”
Elaine asked, trying to change the subject, and Ash paused.
“I came… because there was something I needed.”
“What are you here for? Tell me and I’ll help you look for it.”
“No, now that I think about it, I don’t really need it.”
“Uh… really?”
“Yeah.”
There was nothing he needed in the first place. As he walked by, he happened to see Elaine entering the warehouse, and the next thing he knew, he was heading in the same direction.
But Ash didn’t say that out loud.
Instead, he said something else.
