Gaeul touched the part of her face that touched her phone. She felt as though she felt his breath. Maru’s voice hadn’t changed at all. It neither became higher nor lower. The only thing she could feel in the word ‘come’ was a sense of welcome. She thought about what sense of welcome that was; as a friend? Or as a former lover?

She dried her hair with the hairdryer and chucked the towel into the laundry basket. A bottle of facial essence caught her eyes, but she lacked time. She sat in front of the makeup desk and moved around busily. She had to admit it. She was in a hurry right now.

She put on her clothes and got in her car. She started driving towards the place that Heewon told her about. She felt like she had ignored some traffic lights on her way there, but she couldn’t remember clearly. Only when she parked in front of the restaurant did she realize that she had been speeding. Before she got off, she saw the reflection of her lips through the rearview mirror. It looked paler than usual. She hurriedly took out some lipstick and applied it to her lips. This time, it looked too thick. She sighed and got out of the car. She realized that nothing she did would satisfy her.

She could feel her heartbeat...