Chapter - 6
Days passed.
The calendar moved forward without asking anyone for permission.
For Sky...
The only answer was work.
Morning meetings became afternoon meetings.
Afternoon meetings stretched into midnight.
Reports piled onto his desk.
New territories.
Business negotiations.
Endless paperwork.
His right-hand man watched him silently.
"Boss."
No response.
"You've been working for eighteen hours."
"I'm aware."
"You haven't eaten."
"I'm aware."
"You should rest."
Sky signed another document without looking up.
"I don't need rest."
He buried himself deeper in work, as if enough files, enough meetings, and enough orders could silence thoughts that had no place in his mind.
Yet every now and then...
His pen would stop.
And an image would slip into his thoughts.
Pink curtains.
A silver anklet.
Someone complaining about cotton bedsheets.
Sky frowned.
He signed another paper harder than necessary.
"This is irrelevant."
The words sounded convincing.
His mind disagreed.
---
Meanwhile...
Nani's world was becoming smaller.
Wedding outfits arrived.
Invitation cards were printed.
Jewelry boxes appeared on his dresser.
Every corner of the house reminded him of a future he had never chosen.
He stopped arguing.
Not because he had accepted it.
Because he was exhausted.
His mother noticed he barely touched his meals.
Dew noticed he laughed less.
Even his room-once filled with plushies, soft music, and sleepy afternoon naps-felt unusually quiet.
He would lie on his pink bed, staring at the ceiling for hours.
The closer the wedding date came...
The heavier his chest felt.
---
One evening...
Niran sat alone in the garden, reading through documents.
The sunset painted the sky orange.
Nani slowly walked over.
His footsteps were hesitant.
Niran looked up.
"Nani."
"Can we talk?"
"Of course."
Nani remained standing.
His hands were clasped tightly together.
For a long moment...
Neither of them spoke.
Then, quietly-
"...Why are you destroying my life?"
Niran's expression changed.
"I don't see it that way."
"But I do."
Nani's voice trembled, though he tried to keep it steady.
"Please..."
"Cancel this."
"There are so many people in the world."
"You don't need me."
He lowered his eyes.
"I understand that losing someone you loved must have been painful."
"I'm truly sorry for that."
"No one deserves that kind of grief."
He took a slow breath.
"But..."
"This isn't right either."
Silence settled between them.
Nani continued.
"I don't want to be someone's second choice."
The words were soft.
But they carried months of frustration.
"I want someone to choose me..."
"Not because they lost someone else."
"Not because my family needs money."
"Not because it's convenient."
He looked directly at Niran.
"I want to be chosen because I'm... me."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I'm tired."
"So tired."
"I'm tired of being discussed like a business deal."
"I'm tired of everyone deciding my future."
"And I'm tired of saying no..."
"...when nobody listens."
For the first time in days...
Tears gathered in his eyes.
He blinked them back before they could fall.
"I just..."
"I want my own life."
Niran remained silent for a long while.
The evening breeze stirred the leaves around them.
Neither man moved.
The weight of Nani's words lingered in the air, unanswered. Behind the house, Dew had unknowingly paused in the hallway, having overheard only the last few sentences. He looked toward the garden, his usual playful expression replaced by quiet concern.
Sometimes...
The hardest thing to hear...
Was the truth someone had been trying to say all along.
Niran slowly set the documents on the table and looked at Nani.
"I understand what you're saying."
His voice was calm.
"But..."
"I can't cancel it now."
Nani's shoulders stiffened.
"The preparations are already underway."
"Our families know."
"The guests have been invited."
"I've made commitments."
Nani let out a small, humorless laugh.
"So..."
"The invitations matter more than I do?"
Niran didn't answer immediately.
"The situation isn't that simple."
"It is to me."
Nani took a step back.
"I said no."
"I've always said no."
"You just chose not to hear it."
He looked away, trying to steady himself.
"I'm done talking."
Without waiting for another response, he turned around and walked back toward the house.
The conversation was over.
Nothing had changed.
---
Upstairs...
Nani closed the door to his pink bedroom.
The familiar room that once made him feel safe now felt strangely small.
He sat on the edge of his bed.
One plushie after another stared back at him.
Usually they made him smile.
Today...
They couldn't.
He hugged one absentmindedly and whispered,
"I'm really running out of options."
---
Miles away...
North City never slept.
Neither did Sky.
His office lights were still on long after midnight.
Another report.
Another meeting.
Another signature.
His pen stopped halfway across the page.
Again.
His thoughts wandered.
Not to business.
Not to rivals.
To Nani.
The cheerful voice.
The sarcastic comments.
The way he had called him "Cold Ice Cream" with complete confidence.
Sky shut the file.
Annoyed.
He had tried everything.
More work.
Less sleep.
Longer hours.
None of it stopped the restless feeling that had settled in his chest.
That night...
Sleep finally came.
Only to betray him.
In his dream, he saw the same pink room.
The same fluffy blankets.
Nani was laughing at something he couldn't hear.
The scene dissolved before Sky could reach him.
He woke abruptly.
The room was dark.
His breathing was uneven.
He rubbed a hand across his face.
"...Ridiculous."
The clock read 3:17 a.m.
He didn't go back to sleep.
---
The following morning...
His right-hand man entered the office and paused.
"...Boss?"
Sky looked paler than usual.
There were faint shadows beneath his eyes.
The untouched breakfast sat on the table.
"You should eat."
"I'm fine."
"You've barely slept."
"I'm working."
"And you've skipped two meals."
Sky picked up another report.
"I'm working."
The man sighed quietly.
Whatever was happening...
It wasn't something paperwork could fix.
---
Back at Nani's house...
Wedding boxes continued arriving.
Flowers.
Decorations.
Fabric samples.
Every knock on the door made Nani's mood worse.
He stood at his bedroom window, watching workers unload more decorations.
He folded his arms.
"...Enough."
He took a deep breath.
"I'm done acting like the innocent K-drama lead who just cries through everything."
His eyes became determined.
"If they force me into this wedding..."
He pointed dramatically at the window.
"I'm running."
He began pacing around his room.
"And this time..."
"I'm actually planning it properly."
"No wrong trains."
"No getting lost."
"No accidentally checking into another 'hotel.'"
He paused.
"...Definitely not."
He nodded firmly to himself.
"I'll leave for another city."
"I'll disappear before anyone can stop me."
Then he muttered under his breath,
"I'm not marrying you, you psycho old brat."
He flopped backward onto his fluffy bed.
His determination was real this time.
Whatever happened next...
He had decided one thing for himself.
His future would not be chosen by someone else.
---------
The countdown had begun.
Four days.
That was all the time left before the wedding.
To everyone else...
It was a celebration.
To Nani...
It felt like a clock counting down to a life he had never chosen.
---
The tailor arrived once again.
"Young Master, it's time for the final fitting."
Nani looked at the neatly pressed wedding suit lying across the sofa.
He didn't move.
His father spoke firmly.
"Nani."
"Just try it on."
After several long seconds...
Nani stood.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he was too tired to argue anymore.
A few minutes later...
He stepped out wearing the suit.
The tailor smiled proudly.
"Perfect."
"It fits wonderfully."
His mother wiped away a tear.
"My son looks so handsome."
Relatives complimented him.
Everyone admired the outfit.
Everyone...
Except Nani.
He stared at his own reflection in the mirror.
It didn't feel like he was looking at himself.
It felt like he was looking at someone else's future.
Quietly...
He removed the jacket.
"I'm done."
Without another word, he walked back to his room.
---
Meanwhile...
North City.
A thick envelope landed on Sky's desk.
His right-hand man hesitated.
"Boss..."
"Our people gathered information."
Sky opened the envelope.
Several photographs slid onto the desk.
Nani.
Standing inside the tailor's shop.
Trying on a wedding suit.
Looking neat.
Looking...
Unhappy.
The office became silent.
Sky stared at the photographs for a long moment.
Then...
With one sharp movement-
The papers were swept off the desk.
They scattered across the floor.
Neither anger nor panic showed on his face.
Only a deep, unreadable stillness.
His right-hand man remained frozen.
No one dared pick them up.
Sky looked away.
"...Leave."
The room emptied immediately.
---
When the door closed...
Sky leaned both hands against the desk.
His breathing remained steady.
His thoughts didn't.
I have no right.
The words echoed in his mind.
Nani wasn't part of his world.
They barely knew each other.
He had no claim over another person's life.
No reason to interfere.
That was the truth.
So why...
Did the thought of that wedding refuse to leave him alone?
He shut his eyes.
If...
A dangerous thought slipped into his mind.
If Nani cancels it himself...
The faintest spark of hope appeared.
Small.
Fragile.
Almost embarrassing.
He opened his eyes immediately.
"This is pointless."
He buried himself in work again.
One report.
Another.
Then another.
Anything...
To stop thinking.
Nothing worked.
---
Late that night...
A glass of whiskey rested on the table.
Sky rarely drank.
He preferred a clear mind.
Tonight...
The silence inside the mansion was louder than ever.
He poured another glass.
The amber liquid reflected the dim lights.
One sip.
Then another.
It dulled nothing.
His thoughts still returned to the same person.
A stubborn runaway.
A pink bedroom.
A silver anklet.
"Cold Ice Cream."
Sky let out a quiet, almost annoyed breath.
"...Ridiculous."
He set the glass down.
The restlessness refused to disappear.
---
Across the city...
Nani lay on his fluffy pink bed.
The room was quiet.
His wedding outfit hung neatly inside the wardrobe.
He didn't want to look at it.
His phone screen lit up.
A reminder.
Wedding - 4 Days
He immediately turned the screen off.
"No."
He whispered into the darkness.
"I'm still leaving."
He opened a drawer beneath his desk.
Inside was a small backpack.
He quietly began placing things inside.
A change of clothes.
His wallet.
His charger.
His skincare pouch.
The silver anklet rested around his ankle.
He glanced at it for a second before continuing.
"This time..."
He murmured to himself.
"I'm planning everything properly."
"No wrong stations."
"No wrong cities."
"And definitely..."
He zipped the bag halfway shut.
"...no mysterious hotels."
Outside his bedroom window...
The night was calm.
Inside...
Two people in different cities couldn't sleep.
One tried to forget.
The other prepared to disappear.
And with only four days left...
Time was beginning to run out.