“Mom, Isu must be tired. It’s already this late.”

The clock pointed to 10 o’clock at night.

Usually, it wouldn’t be considered late, but due to the time difference, drowsiness was overwhelming.

“Oh, right. I didn’t realize time was passing while looking at Isu’s face. Isu, you must be tired; go rest quickly.”

Hyekjin’s house, where the three gathered after a long time, was filled with continuous conversations. Even Grandma, who usually went to bed early, warmly welcomed her granddaughter and stayed up until late.

“Yes, Grandma, sleep well.”

Isu, feeling quite tired, didn’t insist and rose from her seat. Hyekjin followed her to Isu’s room.

“Mom, why?”

“If you lie down, I’ll turn off the lights and leave. You’ll sleep well, right?”

“Yeah.”

As Isu lay on the bed, Hyekjin neatly covered her with a blanket and sat down beside her.

“Isu, has it been a little over two months since you’ve been living alone?”

“Yeah.”

“As promised, I should have gone with you. I’m sorry for not keeping my promise. Were you very upset?”

Hyekjin held Isu’s hand tightly. She always felt sorry for Isu, who had suffered emotionally since childhood due to her parents’ fights.

“Oh, why bring up things that are already over? I’m fine. I’m doing really well.”

If not for Jiho, she might have felt lonely, but these days, she didn’t feel lonely at all. Although she always said she was fine out of habit, this time, she genuinely was.

“Why do you always say you’re fine? It’s okay to say it’s tough. You can tell Mom everything.”

“I know. If it gets tough, I’ll tell you from now on.”

Isu laughed, deliberately speaking in a cheerful tone.

“Yeah, since you’re tired today, let’s sleep early and talk again tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Mom, sleep well.”

Hyekjin hugged Isu, turned off the lights, and left the room.

Isu closed her tired eyes. Planning to sleep immediately, she grabbed her phone and sent a message to Jiho.

I’m about to fall asleep, so sending a message. You must be tired too; get some rest. I’ll contact you when I wake up tomorrow.

It was to keep the promise of keeping the phone on 24/7 without turning it off. After pressing the send button, she switched the phone to vibrate mode.

Just as she was about to lay the phone within reach on the bedside table, it vibrated.

“Yeah, Jiho.”

[Are you lying down?]

Although it had only been a few hours since they parted, the feeling of being in a different country made her strangely happier.

Jiho’s voice just before falling asleep was as sweet and comforting as a lullaby.

“Yeah. I’m going to sleep now.”

[Are you very sleepy?]

“Yeah.”

Lying straight initially, Isu turned to her side, placing the phone on her ear. It swayed a bit, but it seemed better than dropping the phone due to lack of strength.

“What were you doing?”

[I was thinking I miss you.] Upon those words, Isu closed her eyes and smiled. Happiness seemed to flow like waves.

“I miss you.”

Jiho’s sweet voice kept saying sweet words, making the ear where she had placed the phone ticklish.

“It seems like you only want to see me again.”

“I miss you too.”

Isu slowly responded with a faint smile. She preferred listening rather than talking.

“It feels like you’re lying down to receive me.”

Even so, the low laughter crossed through the phone.

‘I should tell him not to misunderstand.’

Isu blinked her eyelids, which were slowly coming down.

“I really miss you.”

Although the response was late, she said it again.

Isu’s voice gradually slowed down and lowered.

“Should I come over?”

Maybe Jiho hesitated to answer. Or maybe he thought she would come if he said yes. Either way, the answer didn’t come out immediately.

‘I should tell him not to come.’

Isu blinked her eyelids again, this time slower.

“…”

“It seems like I asked a tough question to someone sleepy.”

Her laughter mixed voice made it sound like a joke.

If she had known it was a joke, she would have just gone along with it. By now, she couldn’t care less if she fell asleep like a cut film.

“Jiho… I’ll come to see you now.”

She thought she should respond playfully to the joke.

Even if her limbs were stiff, it didn’t matter since she would fall asleep anyway.

As expected, a surprised voice came through.

“Really?”

Cute.

“Yeah. I’ll come see you in your dreams, so if you miss me, go to sleep quickly.”

One second later, Jiho burst into laughter.

Was it because it was absurd, or did he enjoy this kind of playful talk? She didn’t know.

She just wanted him to sleep quickly. She hoped he would end the call.

“Got it. I’ll sleep quickly too.”

“Yeah. Sleep well.”

“Sleep well. When you wake up, call me. Don’t care about the time. Even if you wake up in the middle of the night, it’s okay to call then.”

“Yeah.”

Jiho hung up the phone.

Shortly afterward, Isu’s phone fell from her ear with a slight sound.

“Yumi.”

Sumin gently shook Yumi’s shoulder.

Yumi, quite tired, had fallen asleep as soon as she arrived home yesterday and had been sleeping without waking up until morning.