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They wouldn't return to their apartment that night. Go Yeongeun would make sure of it.
The surprise cake had softened her to the concept of them being in her personal space, she supposed, because when Kim Soleum had stood up to find his coat—his mouth had been cycling through customary farewell wishes for minutes at that point—, her hand had automatically latched onto the sleeve of his shirt.
It could've been that her body had instinctively sought out warmth—by removing himself from where he had been tucked into her side, courtesy of the curvature of the couch, he'd also stolen a chunk of the comfort that his body heat had generated. Her response had been natural.
If that was the case, she could've just ordered Baek Saheon to bring her a blanket before they left. It would've done a better job than them: her toes wouldn't be freezing like they were when Kim Soleum was sitting next to her. She would've been comfy and cozy.
But now that he was moving away from her, she felt unbearably exposed. This didn't seem like something that could be solved by a simple fleece throw.
"Stay."
Gravity pulled her hand down. It made her tug on Kim Soleum's sleeve until he turned to look at her.
When his eyes locked onto hers, she was abruptly, painfully, back in control of herself.
"...Yeongeun-ssi?"
"Stay the night."
"...What?" Even Baek Saheon, bullshitter extraordinaire, was baffled. She realised that jumping from nodding her head absentmindedly in goodbye to suddenly protesting their departure must have appeared strange.
And yet, the feeling that this was the correct decision continued to grow stronger within Go Yeongeun.
"There's enough space on this," she patted the couch, "for one of us. And you know my bed's queen-sized, so two of us could sleep there—"
"Wait, wait—"
"Your apartment is farther than mine from the office," she continued, building momentum. The more she spoke, the more sure she was that she was right. "And if you leave now, it's late enough that you may miss the train—"
"Yeongeun—"
"Yeongeun-ssi."
"Please stay. With me," she breathed. "Just for the night."
Kim Soleum peered at her. His eyebrows were furrowed at an angle she recognised as concern; he looked to be on the verge of opening his mouth when Baek Saheon interrupted him.
"...But why?" He squinted at her.
She could only shrug helplessly. Obviously she knew why, but wasn't it embarrassing to say something like that aloud?
"It's... my birthday, right? Give me one more gift."
Baek Saheon scoffed, but the tension in his body seemed to ease up a little. "Fine. You'll owe me one."
She nodded right away, grateful of his one-track mind for once.
"Baek Saheon."
"She—ouch! Hey, you bastard, she agreed!"
"Yeongeun-ssi, this guy isn't as brawny as he appears." Kim Soleum yanked Baek Saheon away by the back of his shirt, and then gathered the excess fabric until Go Yeongeun could see the outline of his body—she immediately averted her eyes, feeling flustered.
"Hey!!"
"He's all skin and bone. We'll all fit in the bed."
"O-oh. Is t-that so..." She couldn't look at them. Her face felt painfully warm.
"Yeah. We'll clean up here, so you can go get ready for bed if you want."
...She didn't think she'd get this far.