The rooftop was quiet, blanketed in the fading hues of twilight. The city stretched far beneath them, muted and peaceful from this height. A soft breeze swept past, tugging at Mira's hospital sweater as she leaned against the railing, arms crossed loosely in front of her.
Footsteps approached calm, steady, familiar.
She didn't need to look to know it was Ares.
He came to stand beside her, saying nothing at first. The silence between them wasn't awkward it never was. It was filled with things they both understood but didn't rush to speak.
"You shouldn't be up here," Ares said softly, eyes on her face.
Mira gave a small smile, eyes still on the horizon. "I needed air. The room felt too loud."
Ares nodded once. "You scared us."
"I know."
She finally turned to face him, her eyes dark and tired. "But I'm okay now. Really."
His gaze stayed on her. Not sharp like usual but searching. Gentle. Careful.
"You're not okay," he said. "You're just used to pretending you are."
Mira blinked.
Ares stepped a little closer. "You don't have to pretend with me, Mira. Not anymore."
She looked down. Her hand over the railing. "It's not easy. Some things.... I buried them for a reason."
He hesitated, then said, "Was that call.... about your father?"
Mira stiffened. She didn't reply, but her silence was enough.
Ares nodded slowly, accepting it for now. He glanced toward the clouds tinged orange by the setting sun. "You once said I was stubborn."
"You are," she whispered.
He smiled faintly. "Then let me be stubborn about this too. I want you to talk to me. When you're ready."
Mira turned back toward the view, lips pressed tight. "And if I never am?"
"Then I'll wait," he said simply. "But I'll never stop asking, I'll be stubborn"
Something cracked inside her chest. Not painfully but like a door slowly opening.
Ares leaned closer, his voice quieter now. "Come with me. Just for a little while."
She glanced at him. "Where?"
He reached out his hand. "Somewhere I think you need to see."
They walked in silence down the hall, then turned into a quiet wing of the hospital rarely used anymore. Ares led her to a door with a frosted glass nameplate: Dr. Han Ji-Won.
His father's office.
Mira paused.
Ares pushed the door open. The room was dimly lit, but warm. Wood shelves lined the walls, stacked with files and books. A small cactus potted plant that looked barely alive. There was a photo on the desk a younger Han Ji-Won with two smiling boys standing beside him.
"I used to come here when I was a kid," Ares said. "Just like you with your father."
Mira stepped inside slowly. The scent books, leather, old cologne wrapped around her like a ghost of the past. She touched the back of the old chair. "He kept it just like this?"
Ares nodded. "He says he hates this place now. But he never changed it."
Mira sat on the couch tucked in the corner. Ares joined her a moment later, close but not too close.
He looked at her again, quieter this time.
"There's something you're not telling me."
Mira tensed, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.
"I'm not pushing you," he continued. "But.... it's like you're always carrying a second world on your shoulders."
She looked at him.
He didn't look suspicious. Just honest. Worried.
"I am," she whispered.
He waited....
"But I can't give you that part of me. Ares."
He nodded slowly. "Okay."
Mira stared at the photo on the desk. "I don't know what you're expecting from me, Ares."
"I'm not expecting anything." His voice was soft. "I just want you to let me in. Even a little piece."
Their eyes met.
In the silence that followed, something shifted between them.
Ares leaned forward just enough to rest his forehead against hers.
The touch was brief tender. But it held more than any kiss.
"I'm here, Mira always for you!" he whispered.
Mira closed her eyes.
And for the first time in a long time.… she believed him.