When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 17

I bite back a smile.

Han Wool exhales sharply, rubbing his temple. “Let’s go,” he mutters, not even looking at me.

I grab my bag, stepping past Harin. I can feel her glare burning into the side of my head.

I simply smile.

Step two—complete.

The moment I step into the car, the air changes.

Han Wool doesn’t speak.

He grips the wheel tightly, his jaw locked as he starts the engine. The car rumbles to life, and we pull onto the road in silence.

The tension between us is thick, almost suffocating.

I steal a glance at him.

He looks calm. Too calm. Like he’s trying to suppress something.

I let out a slow breath and rest my elbow against the window, tilting my head slightly. “Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

Han Wool doesn’t react at first, but then he blinks, his fingers flexing slightly. “I’m not.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

Silence.

“You haven’t looked at me properly once since we got into the car,” I point out. “Not even when I got in. Not even when I buckled my seatbelt. Not even now.”

Han Wool sighs, as if exhausted already. “I’m driving.”

I let out a short laugh. “Right. Driving. Because, of course, if you look at me for one second, we’ll crash into a tree.”

Still, he doesn’t turn his head.

I lean in slightly, my voice quieter now. “Do you feel uncomfortable?”

His fingers tighten on the wheel again. “No.”

I study his profile, the sharp line of his jaw, the way his lips press together.

“Is it because I’m your fiancée’s cousin?” I ask.

His throat bobs.

I don’t stop. “Or is it because I told you I love you?”

This time, he exhales through his nose, slow and measured, like he’s forcing himself to stay calm.

“Both.” His voice is steady, but I catch the slight hesitance before he says it. “I don’t feel uncomfortable… I just…” He exhales again, searching for words. “I don’t know.”

I tilt my head. “You don’t know?”

Han Wool runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I don’t want to be harsh, Ye Na. But I hope you get it.”

Something stings in my chest.

Ah.

There it is.

I swallow, curling my fingers into my lap, forcing a smile. “I get it.” My voice is light, too light. “You love her that much.”

Han Wool lets out a sharp breath, shaking his head slightly, but doesn’t say anything. He looks like he wants to—like words are forming in his throat—but in the end, he just exhales and gives up.

For a moment, the silence stretches again, pressing against my skin like a second layer of suffocating air.

But then, I do what I do best.

I push through it.

I smile, straightening in my seat. “Did you know that I used to hate night shifts?” I say suddenly, my voice bright. “But then, I got assigned to an emergency surgery one time, and the adrenaline was so crazy that I actually started to enjoy it.”

Han Wool doesn’t respond, but I see his eyebrows twitch slightly, like he’s listening.

Encouraged, I continue. “And one time, I accidentally fell asleep in the break room, and when I woke up, someone had put a blanket over me. Guess what? Turns out it was the strictest doctor in the department. Can you believe that?”

Han Wool remains silent, but I see the way his grip on the wheel relaxes just slightly.

I press on. “Oh, and then there was this one time I got locked inside a storage closet for two hours because I was trying to grab some supplies and the door handle broke. I literally thought I was going to die in there.”

Han Wool exhales, shaking his head slightly.

A tiny, tiny part of me wonders if he’s actually holding back a smile.

I grin, tapping my fingers against my thigh. “So, technically, I almost died not because of an actual medical emergency, but because of a storage closet. Imagine the irony. A doctor, dying inside a hospital, not outside.”

Still, he doesn’t speak.

But I can feel it—the air inside the car is lighter now. The tension isn’t as suffocating as before.

I turn to him, resting my cheek against my hand. “Hey.”

Han Wool finally flicks his gaze toward me, just for a second, before turning back to the road.

Success.

I smile, tilting my head. “Are you sure you’re not just a little entertained by me?”

Han Wool exhales, shaking his head again, but this time, I catch it.

The tiniest twitch of his lips.

It disappears as fast as it came, but I saw it.

And for now… that’s enough.