Chapter 79

The tension that had briefly flowed soon disappeared, and a peaceful atmosphere ensued. Seeing the cat purring peacefully while rubbing her head against Dane's chest, Greyson suddenly thought.

I should have been born a cat.

As if he couldn't care less about Greyson's thoughts, Dane kissed the cat's head once more before placing her back in her original spot. He then pointed lightly at Greyson, who had been standing there blankly until then, and said.

"Come, I'll give you some coffee."

Whether it was because a guest was still a guest, Dane walked ahead, pulled out a dining table chair with one hand, and went straight into the kitchen. Greyson hesitantly sat on the crooked chair and stretched his neck to look toward the kitchen. Dane boiled water in an electric kettle and took out instant coffee from the cupboard. As if he had never measured quantities with a spoon in his life, he tilted the large coffee container and poured coffee into a mug, then added hot water, and again, without stirring, roughly shook the cup before bringing it to Greyson.

"Here."

"Uh... thanks."

Though he said the polite, perfunctory words, Greyson couldn't hide his dubious expression. He had never seen someone make coffee like this before. But Dane wasn't particularly mistreating Greyson. Seeing Dane casually drinking his own coffee made in the same way, Greyson had to keep his mouth shut.

Surprisingly, the taste...?

Perhaps because making coffee this way was ingrained in him, the taste wasn't too bad. Considering it was cheap instant coffee, it was moderately drinkable, leading to the unexpected admiration that somehow it worked out despite being so carelessly made.

"You can't touch Darling, but I'll let you take pictures later."

Dane suddenly blurted out. When Greyson, who had been thinking of something else, hesitated and looked at him, Dane, perhaps misunderstanding his reaction, added in a flat tone.

"Since she's blind and deaf, she's that much more sensitive. She gets startled when touched by unfamiliar people, so just take pictures."

"Ah, um. That's right."

Greyson nodded as if he understood and hid his expression by pretending to drink coffee. Since the cat was just an excuse and his true intention was to visit Dane's house, he kept forgetting about Darling. Anyway, he had achieved his primary goal, but he wasn't satisfied with just that. Now that he was finally alone with Dane, he intended to find out as much about him as possible. What should he say first? Starting with the topic of the cat would be good...

As he was thinking that far, Greyson felt something strange. Why did the living room look particularly empty? After wondering for a moment, he soon realized.

"Is there no sofa?"

Come to think of it, it was also strange that he had been guided to the dining table instead of a sofa. The living room seemed to have enough space. To Greyson's question, Dane answered indifferently.

"I sold it. To make room for the cat tower you gave."

"I see...?"

He unconsciously agreed but then hesitated.

"What about the cat tower I sent? I thought it included assembly service."

The cat tower where Darling was resting looked quite old, even to Greyson who didn't know much about them. When he questioned the fact that the elaborate cat tower he had seen was nowhere to be found, Dane opened his mouth with the same indifferent expression.

"I can do it myself. Having someone else do it is just a hassle."

"You'll do it yourself?"

It looked quite complicated. Greyson was surprised, but Dane was just calm, as if he was used to such things.

...Come to think of it.

Looking around the house anew, he could feel a peculiar touch of use everywhere. The old house, which seemed to be at least 100 years old, would certainly have many areas that needed attention. Greyson, who could easily imagine Dane climbing onto the roof to make repairs, came up with a suitable topic.

"Isn't it hard to maintain the house?"

"It is."

Dane readily agreed. After that, the conversation flowed naturally. Things like how the garage floor had cracked due to an earthquake and needed new cement, how there was a small garden in the back but he had removed all the grass because the water bill was too high, how he had connected gas to the grill but it wasn't working properly and was giving him a headache.

Greyson had quite a lot of small talk with Dane about various things. This was what he had wanted, but the problem was that the content was empty. Who would come all the way to someone's house just to have such trivial conversations about house repairs?

It's about time to get to the main point.

Greyson found the right timing and opened his mouth.

"By the way, I don't see anyone else. Are your family members all out?"

He asked as if it were nothing. Though it was a question he was genuinely curious about, he brought it up casually, as if mentioning the weather, and as expected, Dane readily answered.

"I don't have any, such things."

Then he stared at Greyson with a cold gaze.

"Didn't I tell you before? I'm alone."

The atmosphere, which had been relaxed until now, subtly became tense. Greyson could immediately feel Dane putting up a defensive wall. He quickly smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"Did you? I must have forgotten."

Greyson deliberately glanced at Darling and then looked back at Dane.

"But isn't it wrong to say you're alone? You have Darling."

At those words, Dane turned his gaze to Darling. Emotion suddenly filled his expression, which had seemed indifferent until now.

"Ah... well, that's true."

Dane said that, but Greyson somehow felt a chill. What is this? He felt something unsettling, but it was difficult to identify what it was. Why was he feeling this way?

...Ah.

Suddenly, Greyson realized. Could it be that even Darling couldn't hold onto this man?

Just as he felt a sense of emptiness and void as if the ground beneath his feet was collapsing.

Ding-dong...

At the sudden sound of the doorbell, Greyson snapped back to his senses. Dane also hesitated. Seeing him frown, it was clearly an unexpected visitor.

Dane clicked his tongue briefly, "Tsk," then readily got up and headed for the front door. In the meantime, the visitor rang the bell once more. The bell sound, which strangely lingered, somehow sounded ominous.

Greyson, who had half-risen, was looking at the door when Dane opened it. Beyond the open door, he saw a brown-haired woman he had never seen before. The moment he realized that her face, half-hidden by Dane, was covered with anxiety, Dane opened his mouth.

"Who...?"

Though Dane had his back turned, Greyson could tell that he was frowning. Slowly rising, he moved his steps toward Dane. With each step closer, the woman's face came more clearly into view. Confirming that she was a lovely woman with a slender figure that could be encircled with one arm, he felt a twist in his gut for some reason.

"Um, Dane. Don't you remember me? We met at a club about 3 months ago..."

At her stammering words, Dane scratched his head as if trying to recall. Judging by the fact that she had come all the way here, it was clear that Dane had brought her home for sex, but he couldn't remember at all. The woman, seeming anxious, hurriedly continued.

"You bought me a Cinderella that day. When I said I couldn't drink well, you said, 'How about this?'"

"Ah..."

He vaguely remembered. He had found it interesting that she couldn't drink despite being good at partying. He had bought her a non-alcoholic cocktail, exchanged a few meaningless jokes, brought her home, and spent the night. It had been a fairly enjoyable relationship, and because he was satisfied, he had made her breakfast in the morning, called a taxi for her, and hadn't seen her again...

"Right? You remember?"

She asked again, brightening up. "Yes," Dane nodded.

"But what brings you here suddenly?"

To Dane, who still didn't understand why she had come here, the woman took a deep breath and then opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

"I'm pregnant."