No wonder he appeared so suddenly from the shadows. He hadn't just been passing by, he heard everything.
Yeri cleared her throat, feeling awkward. "I wasn't expecting that guy to be so shameless. But it's true, he's already dating someone else."
Shin glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "And if he wasn't dating?"
Yeri tilted her head. "I'd still reject him. I also think you were right, he was trying to guilt-trip me by making a big show, gathering a crowd, and announcing how he traveled for hours just to hand me flowers."
Besides, she knew about Marco's entanglement with Tiffany. There was no way he didn't know about her craziness.
Why should she bring that kind of drama into her life?
Just as she was about to shift the conversation and finally ask what was so important he had to deliver tonight, Shin leaned closer. His sharp eyes locked onto her face, brows knitting tightly.
"What happened to your cheek?"
She blinked. "What?"
"This one's red. Uneven… slightly swollen," he said, voice suddenly serious, almost icy.
Yeri's hand flew up instinctively to cover her cheek.
She considered saying it was an allergy, but with Shin Keir, that'd only earn her an impromptu trip to the hospital. So she settled on a lie that felt safer.
"Oh, that? It's nothing. Just an accident during PE class."
It wasn't because Yeri was scared of Tiffany Rhian that she kept everything from Shin Keir. No, that wasn't it at all. In fact, using her ability against those three earlier felt like more than enough payback.
Besides, she could handle it herself. She had no intention of dragging Shin Keir or anyone else into it.
Shin didn't blink. "Accident?"
"Yeah," she said, with a bright but obviously fake smile. "We do a lot of activities. It happens."
In reality, she hardly ever participated in PE. Her teachers knew her medical history well enough to leave her alone. Most of the time, she just helped arrange equipment or looked busy with a clipboard.
Shin, of course, wasn't buying it. His eyes narrowed further, scanning her face like he was solving a particularly offensive math problem.
The size, the pattern... that's a palm strike.
But why was she lying? Was she being bullied?
Yeri squirmed under his gaze. Why is he analyzing my face like a forensics expert?
Noticing her discomfort, Shin leaned back barely and asked in a deceptively calm voice, "Is that so? What kind of sport was it?"
Yeri panicked internally. Dodgeball? Tug of war? Arm wrestling? None of those made sense. Before she could go deeper with a bad lie, she took the smart route and change the topic.
"A-Anyway! Didn't you say you had something important to give me?" she said, seizing the chance to change the subject.
Shin sighed heavily, his expression was a mix of annoyance and reluctant patience, but he didn't press her further.
Without a word, he reached into the backseat and handed her a paper bag with a hospital logo.
"This is from Zahn," he said. "The instructions are written clearly. The rest is from the doctor who evaluated you back at the villa."
Yeri took the bag, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. She peeked inside and nearly gasped.
Capsules. Tonics. Blister packs of tablets. A few vials. Something that looked suspiciously like a vitamin injection.
"What is this… Are you selling me black market meds?" she muttered, pulling bottles out one after another.
Shin gave her a deadpan look. "They're your medication."
Yeri looked up at him, half-joking and half-panicked. "Are you trying to overdose me?"
"No. There are instructions," he said with a serious frown. "Some are just supplements. Zahn said your test results showed low iron and your blood sugar dropped last week."
He picked up a few bottles, pointing to each like a very grumpy nurse. "This is for anemia. This one's for fatigue. That one's to help with appetite. And this—" he pulled out a tiny green bottle, "—is a herbal tonic. Smells like swamp water, but it works."
"Also if you're having a sudden panic attack or nervousness, the doctor advised it might be PTSD so you can take this..." Shin pointed.
Yeri stared at him, eyes wide. "You remembered all that?"
He looked away, sulking. "Obviously."
She continued to stare. He was like a grandpa fussing over a sick grandchild. Honestly, she was starting to see him in a different light...bit by bit.
Not to mention some of this stuff wasn't cheap.
Yeri had taken enough medicine over the years to know which brands were generic, which were high-end, and which were imported.
"Thanks," she said quietly, genuinely.
She didn't believe she needed PTSD medication but still, she decided to accept it.
Shin raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to complain?"
"It's just medicine. Nothing new. I might complain later if something smells terrible," she grinned, "but not about the thought."
He let out a slow breath, relieved, though a shadow of worry still lingered in his eyes. "They're not for decoration. Remember to take them diligently. If you can't keep up, give me your phone. I'll make you a schedule."
Schedule?
Yeri wanted to refuse, but curiosity got the better of her. How exactly does the country's richest CEO organize someone's pill regimen?
While Shin fiddled with her phone, Yeri glanced at a convenience store glowing across the street.
"I want to grab a snack," she said casually.
"Convenience store food at night is unhealthy," Shin warned immediately.
"I missed dinner. I'm starving," she replied.
He gave her a long, disapproving stare. "Yeri Zhi, do you often skip meals? No wonder you get sick easily, you eat garbage."
Garbage?! She opened her mouth wanting to argue, from sounding like some grandpa and now like her mom?
"It's not like I skip meals all the time," she said, trying to defend herself. "Just sometimes. I'm a student, it can't be helped. You're a CEO. You get it, right? Always drowning in work and schedules?"
"No," Shin frowned, clearly not amused. "Where did you get that idea? Skipping meals isn't justifiable, no matter how busy you are. I have money and people to manage my schedule and my health."
Otherwise, what was the point of working if he couldn't enjoy the rewards or, worse, ended up too sick to defend himself from lurking enemies?
'Eh?' Yeri pouted. That wasn't how it went in the dramas she watched. Weren't CEOs supposed to get stomach cancer from being overworked and skipping meals?
"Okay, okay, I got it. But I still need to get something to eat," she insisted and opened the car door.
Shin immediately followed, slipping on his mask as he got out.
"You don't have to come with me. The store's literally across the street," Yeri said.
"Who knows? Maybe you've got another admirer hiding in ambush," he muttered under his breath.
But she heard it.
"You have way more admirers than I do, a thousand times more! What are you sulking about?" she asked, unsure if he was mad about her making him wait, eating late-night garbage, or maybe because Marco Fabian held her hand.
Shin glanced at her, noticing the frustration on her face. He reached out and gently pinched her nose. "I'm your boyfriend. Can't I be jealous?"
Yeri's eyes widened. Jealous? Her ears buzzed as the words echoed in her head.
Why did it feel like she was committing a sin? Making the Shin Keir—the ridiculously rich, stunningly powerful, hard-to-approach CEO feel jealous? It felt illegal.
"Why?" she asked as they crossed the street, hand in hand.
"Why not?" he replied coolly.
Yeri pouted but didn't respond further.
In truth, Yeri had misunderstood. When he answered her phone call and heard the noise on the other end, he felt anxious and uneasy. Their relationship wasn't solid yet, and hearing some guy confessing to her? Of course, he had to show up and disrupt it.
But then, he heard her reject the guy and say she already had a boyfriend. Him.
His heart soared. That one sentence meant more to him than she'd ever realize.
From the moment they met, he'd been wary of all the young, attractive, eligible men from prominent families, to him they're potential threats and rivals. But if people knew she was in a relationship, maybe his anxiety would settle, and those hopeful admirers would back off.
Inside the convenience store, Yeri tried to choose something to eat, but Shin hovered behind her like a picky food critic.
"Too salty," he murmured about the ramen.
"Too processed," he judged the snacks on display.
"Looks like plastic," he grimaced at the vegan sandwich.
"Too many additives," he frowned at the organic chips.
Yeri finally snapped and glared at him. "They're not poison, okay?"
"Hm," he replied seriously. "Just... slow-acting poison."
Yeri grabbed a yogurt cup in defiance, but he stopped her.
"Cold food at night isn't good for your stomach."
Seeing her growing frustration, he calmly handed her a banana and two boiled eggs.
Yeri stared at them. Just stared. She really wanted to crack the egg on his head.
While they were bickering like an old married couple, other customers began sneaking glances their way. One girl couldn't help but snap a photo and post it on her social feed with the caption:
"Such a good-looking couple. I want a boyfriend who cares about me like this too!"
Even with Shin's face mostly covered by a mask and cap, his tall frame, broad shoulders, and stylish aura still screamed handsome and rich. People could sense it. The mystery only made him more attractive.
Just then, a seductive-looking girl walked into the store, her figure drawing attention from even other girls. She seemed to know the effect she had, intentionally or not, circling near the two again and again, pretending to browse the shelves.