Nara hadn't expected him to walk toward her so directly. Not with all these people watching, his family hovering and definitely not with rumors of an arrangement hanging over the night like a chandelier ready to fall.
But he didn't hesitate.
Not once.
The crowd parted around him instinctively, as if they sensed he wasn't stopping for anything or anyone. When he finally reached her, he exhaled quietly, like he'd been holding his breath until that moment.
"Nara," he said, voice low, steady.
She swallowed.
"Keigh."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The noise of the party faded behind a strange, intimate silence, too intimate for a room filled with watching eyes.
He kept his posture composed, but he subtly angled his body, shielding her from the main view of the hall. It was deliberate and protective.
"You look…"
He paused, struggling.
She raised a brow. "Is that your compliment? 'You look…'?"
He let out a real laugh, small, unguarded, the kind he rarely showed in public.
"You look like it just got harder for me to focus on anything else tonight," he murmured.
Her breath caught.
There it was, that shift. The undercurrent she'd been trying to ignore.
She looked away, grounding herself. "This isn't exactly my usual crowd."
"It's not mine either," he said, eyes never leaving her. "Not when you're here."
She frowned. "Keigh… don't say things like that. Not here."
"Why not?"
"Because people are watching."
He glanced around assessing, calculating then took a subtle half-step closer, positioning himself so no one behind him had a clear view of her face.
"I don't care."
But his tone wasn't reckless, it was controlled and measured.
She realized then, he wasn't being careless.
He was being careful with her.
She took a small step back. "You shouldn't be with me right now."
His jaw tightened.
"You think I'm going to let them pull you into this mess?" he asked quietly. "No."
"Keigh....."
"I mean it," he said, softer this time. "I don't want you dragged into any of this."
She blinked, surprised by the seriousness in his voice.
But she still lowered hers.
"I heard something today. About… a marriage arrangement."
His expression darkened instantly not with embarrassment nor guilt, but with anger, the controlled kind.
"So it's true," she whispered.
"It's not happening," he replied immediately.
"Keigh, you don't get to decide that alo.....
"
"Yes," he cut in quietly but firmly, "I do."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp enough to slice through the noise around them.
He leaned closer without touching her, just enough so only she could hear.
"I'm turning it down."
Her breath faltered.
"Keigh…"
But he shook his head gently.
"Nara… this has nothing to do with you."
A beat.
"And I'm not letting them drag you into it. Not tonight. Not ever."
She stared at him, stunned by the conviction in his tone. He wasn't trying to pull her closer.
He was trying to shield her. He stepped in a fraction more, voice low enough that no one else could catch a single word.
"I'm not marrying Fiona."
A pause.
"Not today. Not ever."
Her heart stumbled.
"…Why?"
He held her gaze unwavering, unflinching.
"You know why."
She didn't answer.
Couldn't.
And for a moment, they simply stood there suspended between what was allowed and what was inevitable.
Then a soft voice cut in behind them.
"Keigh?"
They both turned.
But instead of stepping away from Nara, he straightened… and subtly shifted again, placing himself just slightly in front of her, not hiding her, but blocking the spotlight from touching her at all.
Because whatever was coming next…
he wasn't letting her take the hit.