113. Who is He

That morning, the sunlight peeked shyly from behind the white curtains that were not yet fully open. The air in the apartment still felt cold, a remnant of the windy night before. Ashley had just brewed a cup of coffee when her phone rang softly, displaying a name that made her frown slightly.  

Mark.  

With a hint of hesitation, she answered.  

"Hello?”

“Hey, Ash,“ the voice sounded casual. ‘Are you at home?’

Ashley frowned, leaning her back against the kitchen counter. ‘Yeah, just relaxing. Why?’

”I just happened to be passing by your apartment area. Want to grab brunch? At that little café near the park. We can talk about work too.”

Ashley paused for a moment. She glanced toward the hallway leading to the bathroom, hearing the sound of running water, indicating Josh was still inside. “Sure. I'll get ready first, about half an hour, okay?”

“Got it. I'll wait for your call,” Mark replied before hanging up.

Ashley had just put down her phone when the bathroom door opened. Steam escaped as Josh emerged, wearing only a towel around his waist, his hair still wet and dripping water onto the shiny wooden floor.

Josh didn't speak right away. He simply walked slowly past Ashley, drying his hair with a small towel. But his gaze briefly lingered on the phone still in Ashley's hand.

“Who was that?“ he asked flatly, as if teasing.

Ashley tried to act casual. "A friend."

”You don't have any friends here, Ash.” Josh said lightly, but his words stung Ashley's heart.  

Ashley sighed irritably. ‘Mark. A friend and my boss.’ Ashley answered with a sarcastic tone.

“Oh?” Josh paused, wiping his wet hair with a towel and leaning toward Ashley. "Friend and boss." Josh repeated Ashley's words in a flat tone. "So you still won't listen to me, huh?" His gaze pierced Ashley sharply.

Ashley cleared her throat softly. ”I have the right to make decisions about my own life.”

Josh didn't nod or react. Instead, he asked for help, “Please help me get dressed.” Then he walked to the wardrobe and approached Ashley's vanity table.

While still turning his face away from Ashley, he said, “Today might be a bit tough because I have an important meeting.”

Ashley hesitated. But seeing Josh start talking to her again after last night's tension, she chose to comply. Perhaps this was a small step toward repairing their relationship again.

“Alright,” she said, following Josh toward the large wardrobe in his room.

Josh grabbed the hairdryer plugged into Ashley's vanity table. Standing there, he began drying his hair. The soft hum of the hairdryer served as background noise as Ashley opened the large wardrobe door and began selecting clothes for him.

“So,“ Josh started again, pretending to be casual, ‘What kind of friend is Mark? School? College? Neighbor?’  

Ashley paused for a moment, looking at two jacket options before answering. ‘High school friend. He was a senior, one year above me.’  

Josh nodded slowly. "No longer friends when you were in college?"

”No. He moved here right after graduation.“  

”Ah—are you two close?”

“Close enough,“ Ashley replied briefly.

Josh lowered the hairdryer, running his fingers through his hair. ‘What does ’close enough' mean?”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “We often discuss things. About homework. Sometimes we have lunch together at school. He helped me a lot with adjusting to the lessons.”

Josh tried to piece together the puzzle from Ashley's answers. “So did you know him before he moved to Korea, or after he came back to New Zealand?”

“After,” Ashley replied briefly.

Josh nodded again. “Then how did you get to know each other if you're a year apart?”

Ashley took a patient breath. “We often met at the library.”

“Are you still in touch after he moved here?“  

”No.“  

”No—not at all, no communication, or…?” Josh kept probing to satisfy his curiosity.

“No,” Ashley pushed Josh's tie drawer rather roughly that time. The longer she felt annoyed by the questions that were more like an interrogation. ”No, Josh. We lost contact after he left. I was also busy with my exams.”

Josh smiled contentedly, “So you were just friends for about a year?” Josh remembered Ashley had transferred from their school midway through second grade.

Josh stood up, walked over to Ashley, took the dark blue tie from her hand, and asked while looking at Ashley's reflection in the mirror, “So you were really just close friends, or was there ever a special relationship?”

Ashley turned quickly. “Josh…”

“It's a normal question,” Josh said calmly. ‘I just want to know. You said you were pretty close.’

Ashley held her breath. There were two possibilities if she was honest. Josh might get angry because he knew Ashley was now working at Mark's company, who was Ashley's ex-boyfriend and Josh's main competitor. Or maybe Josh would show that he truly didn't care about Ashley's past. But she couldn't be sure what was going on in his head right now.

“He's just a regular friend,” Ashley reiterated. “We've never been anything more than that.”

Josh didn't seem fully convinced. But he didn't argue.

“Then why did he ask you to go?” he asked again, now standing in front of Ashley, picking up a shirt from the table.

“He said he wanted to talk about work,” Ashley replied. "Maybe he just wanted to chat as old friends. I'm not sure."

Josh furrowed his brow. ‘What time are you meeting? Where?’  

Ashley suppressed a sarcastic smile. "Ten o'clock. At the café near the park."

Josh nodded slowly, then turned around. ”In that case, I'll drive you.”

Ashley suddenly looked at him. “No need. It's near the apartment. I can go by myself.”

Josh turned his head. “I'm free until noon. No schedule. My meeting doesn't start until one o'clock. So, I'll drive you.”

Ashley sighed. “No need, really. If you're driving me around, your work—”

“I can handle everything remotely,” Josh interrupted. "I just want to make sure you get there safely. And… not spend too much time with a stranger."

Ashley looked at Josh in disbelief. "He's not a stranger. I know him well."

Josh gave a faint smile. "That's even more dangerous."

Ashley rolled her eyes. ”It's up to you, Josh. I'm still going on my own.”

Josh didn't respond. He slowly unwrapped the towel around his waist. His body was muscular and wet, but what was most surprising was how casually he did it—without any hesitation.

Ashley, who had accidentally seen him, was startled and quickly looked away. “Oh my God, Josh!”

She turned around and left the room, her cheeks flushing.

Josh smiled slightly as he quietly put on his underwear, then donned the entire outfit Ashley had prepared. When he went downstairs, he began turning on his laptop at the living room table. He started typing while occasionally glancing toward the stairs, waiting for Ashley to be ready.

About twenty minutes later, Ashley appeared. Her hair was neatly tied back, wearing an off-white blouse with a light gray cardigan and cream-colored skirt. Simple, yet elegant.

Josh stood up. “Let’s go.”

Ashley nodded.