Yeonha, still stunned by what she had heard, was mortified on the spot, not even hearing Theo's whisper, she just stared at the back of the girl who said it was okay for other women to be "fascinated" by her boyfriend.
Yeonha's mind was spinning in frantic loops. What kind of girlfriend says those words? What kind of woman sees another woman looking at her man with the same gaze as hers and simply... smiles? Pats them on the back and leaves them alone?
'Wasn't that the same as saying that she didn't care about other women, getting involved with Theo?'
Yeonha couldn't understand. It was something that just... didn't make sense at all.
Theo cleared his throat, breaking the thick silence.
"Apparently my girlfriend just lent me to you."
Yeonha choked, as if Theo's words had physically blocked her throat.
"N-don't be ridiculous!"
Her whisper was more a hiss of panic than protest. Even more so with that damned feeling of happiness that briefly seemed to want to overwhelm her.
"Nayun doesn't... She doesn't... That's not... She didn't know what she was saying, that's what."
Theo tilted his head, studying her with an indecipherable expression.
Theo tilted his head, his dark eyes studying her with an expression she couldn't decipher, something between exasperation and a tenderness that made her want to run away.
"Do you really think Nayun is like that?"
He stepped forward, the woody scent enveloping Yeonha like an invitation.
"Sure, she can be headstrong and impulsive at times..."
Theo continued, with a brief but affectionate smile, something that made Yeonha feel a little uncomfortable.
"But if there's one thing I know more about than anyone..."
Now she could count her eyelashes and look directly into those mesmerizing eyes.
"...It's that she's absolutely resolute in what she says."
Yeonha felt the cold marble of the column against her back as Theo closed the distance between them. Her heart was pounding so hard that she feared he might hear it.
Theo's finger traced an imaginary line in the air between them.
"And that maybe... just maybe... you should stop pretending you don't see what's right in front of you and be a little more assertive."
Assertive? Yeonha didn't understand. Her intelligence, which was usually her great friend, was now no help at all.
She repeated in a lower voice than she had intended.
Theo looked at her with an intensity that made her feel naked. His red eyes, so strangely hypnotic in the light from the balcony, seemed to see through all her masks.
"You spend your life calculating every move, every word, every look in order to be perfect. But look, you don't know something you should know about yourself."
Theo got out of her way, walked over and stood next to her.
"Answer me, Yoo, how do you feel about me?"
"What?! What kind of question is that?"
Asking someone about their feelings wasn't a very convenient thing to do. But Theo didn't seem to mind, as his next words quickly broke any chance of Yeonha getting away.
"Yoo, I may be a man, but I'm not so stupid as not to notice your actions when you're with me. I'm sure that if it were any other boy doing what I do to you, he'd already have a red mark on his face."
Yeonha opened her mouth to reply, but the words died in her throat. Because it was true.
She didn't know when she'd stopped just watching Theo with caution and curiosity... To seeing him as a man, someone who made her "interested", ashamed and comfortable enough not to react negatively to his flirtations.
She finally admitted, her voice barely above her throat.
"It's as if... the more I try to understand, the more I feel confused."
Like? Love? No, it wasn't that, at least not yet. Because in her heart, there was still someone else.
"Mn! That's not good enough."
Theo muttered, turning sideways towards her.
"That means I'll have to try harder..."
Yeonha's eyes widened at his words.
Theo just smiled, that crooked, confident smile that always made a vein want to pop out of his forehead.
"Are you telling me you're going to try to make me like you?"
He shook his head, but didn't deny her words.
"No. What I mean is: I'm going to make you forget your platonic love. And like someone who wants you too."
Yeonha felt her stomach turn.
"That's... crazy... You and Nayun are dating."
"And you're telling me it's okay? Us, in a relationship?"
Theo turned fully towards her now. His red eyes met hers without hesitation.
"Yes. She's already accepted that I have other girls by my side. So from now on, I'll be honest about what I want... And I want you Yoo."
She felt the air disappear from her lungs. Her eyes searched his, trying to find some lie, some joke, anything that would make her think it was a joke.
Theo leaned towards her.
"Because it doesn't fit in with your vision of how things should be?"
Yeonha nodded, because like it or not, this shouldn't happen.
"Because it's... it's..."
Theo leaned towards her.
"Unusual? Outside the norms you're in? Outside the rules of society?"
She didn't answer. She couldn't. Because he was right, it went against everything she knew, everything she had been taught.
Polygamy was something that not only Korean law wouldn't approve of, but society itself. If society discovered something , they would judge them and stone them as if they were monsters.
Even more so for someone like her, the daughter of Yoo Jinwoong and Jin Yeojung, heiress to one of Korea's most influential corporations. Someone who was molded from a young age to fit perfectly into a rigid mold of behavior, honor and tradition.
Someone who has always sought to be perfect and never make mistakes for outsiders.
And yet... There was Theo. Speaking it to her, playing out his true feelings with total sincerity.
Defying all the rules. Throwing out any pre-written script of how a relationship "should" work. And what was worse, or perhaps more dangerous, was that he did it with a conviction so natural, so unshakeable, that it was hard to dismiss it as the daydreaming of a young man chasing a crazy dream.
Yeonha found herself thinking that if it had been any other man, she would have already cut off any chance of continuing. She would have said a resounding "no" and ended it.
But with Theo, things were different.
His strange abilities, his supernatural confidence, everything about him was different. So different, in fact, that she made a point of listening to his every word, one by one.
"That's still crazy..."
She murmured, not to him, but to herself.
What he was saying was tantamount to declaring his desire to have a "harem", and the craziest thing? He wanted her to be one of the members.
Theo replied with a serenity that surprised her a little.
She opened her mouth to say something, but a sudden movement from Theo stopped her.
He put his finger to her lips, preventing her from speaking.
"...My desire, my will, my desire to have you by my side, is for real, Yeonha."