I had a nightmare again.


    It was still Scar Man''s hideous face haunting me. I was curled up in a corner, calling out ude''s name over and over again.


    "Save me, ude."


    But the dream was a never-ending darkness. No matter how loud I shouted, there was no response.Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    My tears wouldn''t stop flowing, and even when they dried up, ude never came.


    "ude, why didn''t youe?"


    Crying myself awake, I realized my eyes were wet, and my pillow was soaked through with tears.


    Those dreams, even though they''re relics from a past life, still bring me sorrow just by surfacing in my sleep.


    Back then, ude never came to save me, leaving asting pain in my heart that I couldn''t get rid of.


    "Awake?" A deep, cold voice snapped me back to reality, reminding me that I had fainted right as the elevator doors opened.


    Am I in Max''s apartment? Lying on his couch?


    His ce has a vibepletely different from mine. While mine is all standard-issue decor, his is custom-designed, dominated by dark colors, simple yetfortable.


    And it''s spotless. Every single item is neatly arranged, often at perfect angles-just like Max, meticulous and immacte.


    The couch is white, now stained with the imprint of my tears.


    Embarrassed, I tried to clean the tears and saliva.


    "I''ll get it cleaned up," I mumbled, looking up in the direction of the voice. Max, dressed casually, held out a ss of warm water to me, saying, "Drink."


    He didn''t seem to mind the mess I made on his couch. Instead, he offered me water.


    Holding the ss, I felt the warmth from Max, realizing he might be warmer than his icy exterior suggests.


    "Finished?" he asked after I drank.


    I nodded hastily.


    He then got up and opened the front door, saying, "Time for you to leave."


    So, he was kicking me out.


    I carefully ced the ss back on his table, thanked him, and prepared to leave his apartment.


    Then I heard a familiar voice: "Max, can I borrow a shirt?"


    It was Ronald.


    Ronald appeared from another room, a towel draped over his head, his hair dripping wet.


    Embarrassed, I covered my face,


    "Sorry, to


    intrude," and quick my leaving now. I don''t want


    exit.


    They were living together!


    But as Max closed the door, I heard Ronald say, "Did that youngdy misunderstand something about us?"


    Misunderstand what? A doctor and a detective living together seemed like a perfect match.


    As I thought about it, a thunderp sounded, signaling the start of rain.


    The next morning, as I was leaving


    for


    mouth with a piece of toast in


    my


    Max also stepped out of his


    ment


    He was dressed in a suit, every detail immacte.


    Me, in contrast, was all casual in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, looking quite the mess.


    I instinctively took the toast out of my mouth and hid it behind me, offering him a polite greeting and craning my neck to see if Ronald would appear behind him.


    But Max just closed his door and headed to the elevator ahead of me.


    Once we were both in the elevator, I kept ncing at his door, wondering where Ronald was. He probably sensed my confusion.