Mira returned home after the coffee.
The rain hadn't stopped, but her mind felt heavier than the downpour outside. She tossed her damp blazer on the couch, kicked off her shoes, and stood in the quiet of her apartment.
For a moment, she did nothing.
She simply sat still in her rain soaked clothes on the edge of her bed, staring into space.
Her fingers moved almost on their own, reaching for her phone. The screen lit up, and there it was Ares's name, still at the top of her recent calls list.
She didn't call.
Just stared.
The silence was thick. She eventually pulled herself to the bathroom, letting the water from the shower soak her hair again. This time, the heat helped. At least a little.
When she stepped out, wrapped in a towel, the screen of her phone lit up again.
Ares.
Text message: "Can we meet? I'll send the location. It's quiet there."
She stared at it for a second, chest tight.
Then, slowly, she typed back.
"Yes."
Not even a minute later, her phone rang. Ares.
She picked up.
"Are you okay?" His voice was low, careful.
"I will be."
"I just.... wanted to talk. Nothing heavy. Just "He paused. "Just see you. I'm already there."
"Okay. I'll come."
Mira arrived twenty minutes later.
Her hair was still damp, pulled into a loose braid over one shoulder. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and jeans, no makeup, no pretence just Mira as she was.
She spotted Ares outside the small restaurant, standing near the entrance with one hand in his coat pocket, the other holding his phone.
When he saw her, something softened in his face. He opened the door for her without a word.
The inside of the restaurant was warm, cozy. Dim lights, quiet music, the soft murmur of voices.
As they stepped in, Ares suddenly paused.
A few tables away, Jae Min sat with a friend probably someone from university or one of the company teams. They were laughing, mid-conversation.
Jae Min looked up, saw them, and raised an eyebrow then stood to greet them.
"Hey," he said, voice casual. "Didn't expect to see you two here."
Ares gave a half nod. "Come sit with us, if you're free."
Jae Min looked at his friend, exchanged a word, then turned back to them. "Sure. I'll join you."
As they settled at a corner table, Ares pulled out a chair for Mira. She sat quietly, tucking her damp braid over her shoulder.
Without hesitation, Jae Min shrugged off his coat and placed it gently over Mira's shoulders. "You'll catch a cold," he said, tone low.
Mira looked up, surprised but didn't refuse. She nodded once, silently grateful.
They ordered food. Nothing fancy. Just comfort dishes ramen, dumplings, warm tea.
The silence between them wasn't tense. It was reflective. Like they all knew something unspoken had changed.
After a while, Ares cleared his throat.
"I wanted to say something to both of you."
Mira looked up. Jae Min leaned back slightly, listening.
"I'm sorry," Ares said, voice more vulnerable than either of them had heard before. "For being distant. For snapping. For dragging both of you into things I should have handled better."
His hands were clasped loosely on the table.
"I have.… a lot to bear. Being my father's son, running his empire, fulfilling his twisted expectations...." He paused. "It's not just exhausting. It's suffocating. And for a while, I thought I had no choice but to follow."
Mira said nothing. But her eyes softened.
"I'm realizing now," Ares continued, "that I don't want to be him. That I can't be him. And maybe it'll ruin everything he built. But I think I'm ready to stop trying to live by the rules of a man I no longer respect."
The table was quiet for a moment.
Then the waiter arrived, placing bowls and plates gently between them.
Mira reached out instinctively, serving food onto Ares's plate first. Her movements were gentle, deliberate.
"You don't have to carry it all alone," she said, not looking at him directly. "You can talk. You should talk. Because that's what makes you stronger. Not silence."
Ares stared at her.
Then, to his surprise, Jae Min chimed in, tone lighter but sincere. "She's right. You're allowed to rewrite the path, hyung. Even if it pisses off every ancestor in your family tree."
Ares actually gave a short laugh.
Not much. But enough.
And in that small, warm restaurant, with wet hair, shared meals, and unspoken wounds something real settled between the three of them.
Not peace, exactly.
But something close.