Chapter 22 : A Ride Too Fast

“You’re the young master’s friend, right? Please, ride with us. We’ll give you a lift.”

“Huh? Oh… you really don’t have to…”

Just as Iris, startled, gave a half-hearted refusal, the bus she was about to board whooshed past her.

Missing that one meant she’d have to wait a long time.

Besides, truthfully, she did want to ride in a foreign luxury car at least once.

After thanking them, Iris quickly climbed into the car.

Johannes, who had gotten in first, was stuck to the far opposite side, staring out the window.

He was practically squished into the corner.

Since the inside of the car was very spacious, Iris was able to sit far from Johannes.

As the car started moving, Iris marveled silently at how smooth the ride was.

In both her past and present lives, this was the first time she’d ever ridden in such an expensive car.

She glanced at Johannes, whose gaze remained fixed outside the window.

As shallow as it was, once she thought of him as the rich heir of a wealthy family, his awkwardness felt less pathetic and more like simple shyness.

‘It’s not a crime to be raised delicately.’

Realizing she hadn’t properly thanked him, she scratched her chin and opened her mouth.

“Thanks, Johannes.”

“Uh… it’s my fault, so…”

“Ah, yeah. Still, thanks for giving me a ride.”

No reply came, and silence fell again.

Since they weren’t close and Johannes was so stiff, Iris didn’t really have a choice.

She had thought about maybe getting friendly with the rich kid, but his frustrating attitude made her lose interest quickly.

‘Forget it. It’s too late to try becoming friends now anyway.’

After driving for a while, the car arrived in Iris’s neighborhood.

She thought it would’ve been a nightmare if she had walked.

The car stopped in front of her home.

As the driver opened the door for her, Iris stepped out shyly.

It was her first time being escorted like this.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned back and gave a polite goodbye to Johannes, who was still staring out the window.

“Thanks. Let’s have a meal together sometime.”

“..Sure.”

Just as she was about to close the door after getting no answer, a low voice barely audible came from inside.

Looking back, she saw Johannes still staring outside.

‘He probably took that as just being polite. Not like we’re close enough to have a meal anyway.’

Still, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

Was it because she now knew he was a rich kid?

Iris glanced at his profile, which wasn’t even looking at her, then fully closed the door.

But moments later, as she was walking toward her home, she turned around at the sound of someone calling her.

“Miss Iris!”

“Yes?”

“Could I please get your number? I heard you got hurt because of Young Master Johannes. He wants to treat you to a meal as an apology.”

“Huh? Uh…”

“Here, please enter it.”

After a moment of hesitation, Iris nodded and entered her number into the driver’s phone.

The suggestion of grabbing a meal was just a common courtesy.

She and Johannes didn’t even know each other’s numbers.

She hadn’t expected the driver to come running and ask for it.

The driver saved the number and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He was clearly out of breath from running.

“Thank you. I’ll pass this along to the young master. Please, have a good rest.”

Before Iris could even reply, the driver ran off in a hurry.

Left standing there, Iris was dazed by how fast everything had happened.

She resumed walking to her house.

When she reached her door, her hand paused over the digital lock.

‘Wait… did I ever tell them I live in this building?’

Meanwhile, the car carrying Johannes entered the highway.

It was heading in the opposite direction of where Iris lived, toward his own home.

In the back seat, Johannes anxiously bit his nail, then spoke to the driver who had known him since he was a child.

“Why did you do that? I told you… it’s too… too fast! It’s too fast!”

“Well, sigh… I overstepped. But you’ve had a one-sided crush for fourteen years, haven’t you? Isn’t it time to at least exchange numbers—”

“No! It’s too fast! Way too fast!”

Johannes bent forward, then leaned his head back, sobbing in despair.

To anyone else, it would look like he was mourning a dead family member.

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror, then stayed silent and focused on driving.

Even though he was always frustrated by the master’s constant emotional turmoil, this was something he couldn’t fix.

He had already told the young master countless times—hundreds of times—that he was handsome, cool, and that someone like Iris would definitely like him.

But Johannes remained trapped in a pit of self-loathing from who knows where.

Yes, Johannes had fallen in love at first sight with Iris on the day of their elementary school entrance ceremony, and this was now the fourteenth year of his hopeless crush.

But due to various circumstances, including his extremely shy personality, his power that activated through eye contact, and the resulting mistrust in people and deep cynicism, he had never been able to approach her and only hovered nearby.

He feared that if he accidentally read Iris’s true thoughts and found out she hated him, he wouldn’t want to live anymore.

And he was right.

In reality, Iris thought of him as a pathetic, useless loser.

Even without reading her mind, her behavior made it clear—she had zero interest in him.

So exchanging numbers was way too fast.

Technically, it wasn’t even an exchange—the driver had just gotten it from her—but still, way too fast.

Still, Johannes saved the number immediately.

It was the only link to the girl he’d dreamed of for 14 years.

Of course, he had to save it.

But he couldn’t muster the courage to contact her.

He imagined all sorts of scenarios: she’d read the message and ignore it, or reply with contempt, or laugh at him, or say “Who do you think you are?”—the mere thought made his hands sweat profusely.

Staring blankly ahead with vacant eyes, he muttered under his breath.

His voice was so gloomy, it sent chills down the driver’s spine.

“Too fast… It’s too fast…”

“Sigh… Yes, you’re right. It was my mistake, young master. I should’ve waited another ten years before asking for her number…”

A tear silently rolled down Johannes’s cheek.

Startled, the driver focused harder on the road.

Young Master Johannes’s emotional ups and downs were growing more intense lately.

Even when he started to feel better, it always got worse after seeing Iris again.

Just then, the phone rang.

It was a call from Johannes’s father.

The driver quickly answered on speakerphone.

Without greeting, Raynus, Johannes’s father, spoke immediately.

Send Johannes here.

A very important guest has arrived.

Very important.

Make sure he comes.

“Yes, understood, Mr. Raynus.”

The call ended without even a goodbye.

A suffocating silence filled the car.

Soon, Johannes muttered gloomily.

“I don’t want to go… I don’t want to go…”

“Sigh… Young master. If he’s saying it that firmly, the guest must be extremely important. I feel the same way, but…”

As the driver spoke in sympathy, Johannes suddenly fell silent.

Then, in the rearview mirror, his red eyes glowed darkly.

“I heard you. Why are you reminding me of something I already know?”

“Ah… I’m sorry, young master. Ugh, please—”

The driver gasped as an invisible force tightened around his neck.

Johannes quickly released his power, and the driver took a deep breath.

Having watched over him his whole life, the driver knew this was Johannes’s version of a timid rebellion.

Even this tiny pushback only came out toward him, and it always ended as soon as he protested.

That’s why he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“Huff… haah.”

“Yeah… I’ll go. Let’s go.”

“…Yes, sir.”

His voice was heavy with gloom. With deep despair.

The driver turned the steering wheel with a troubled expression.

They were now heading to the place Raynus had mentioned.