No Strings Attached

CHAPTER 2: D-0

The two stationed at the gate exchanged frantic whispers, watching his retreating back like he'd just defused a bomb by accident.

"Ya... did you see that?" one hissed, eyes wide.

"He just—walked up. Like he owned the place."

"I asked for approval code—he didn't give one."

"You let him in?!"

"You let him in too!"

"I thought you were the one who cleared him!"

"No, I thought you—!"

They stopped mid-argument when the second guard gulped and whispered, "Do you... think Miss Yerin will tell the Chairman?"

A full five seconds of horrified silence.

Both shook their heads quickly, almost violently.

"No. No way."

"She didn't even look angry."

"That's even scarier!"

They straightened their backs immediately, as if correcting their posture could erase the fact that they'd just allowed a random teenage boy to step onto the most heavily monitored private estate in the district.

One guard risked another glance down the driveway.

Jaehyun didn't look back. Not even once.

She walked slowly through the quiet hallway, the soft lights glowing against polished wood. Everything here was expensive, curated, spotless. She was used to it, but tonight it felt... too bright. Too revealing.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket again, but she didn't check it yet.

Instead, she reached the base of the stairs and finally stopped. Her hand hovered over the railing, frozen in thought for a breath.

Her mind replayed the last five minutes like pieces of a puzzle.

Jaehyun calling her.

Telling her to come outside.

Actually appearing at her gate.

Security letting him through.

And the way he didn't hesitate—like none of the boundaries she was taught to expect ever applied to him.

Yerin exhaled once, long and controlled, then started up the stairs.

Her hoodie brushed the wall. The air was colder on the second floor. Quieter.

Only when she reached her room and closed the door behind her did she finally pull out her phone.

A new message lit the screen.

Kang Jaehyun:
I'm not that far. If you say so, I'll come back.

Her eyelids lowered, expression unreadable.

He was still testing her.

Still pushing.

Still... uninvited in a way that felt deliberate.

She typed slowly, precisely:

Baek Yerin:
You never answered my question.

Another message followed immediately.

Baek Yerin:
How did you get past the guards?

She didn't send anything else. She didn't explain, didn't soften her tone, didn't add punctuation for emotion.

Just the question.

Just the expectation of an answer.

She set the phone on her desk and pulled her hood down, dark hair falling over her shoulders. She touched the drawstring, absently rolling it between her fingers.