Chapter 67
"...Why did you come?"
Suzy tilted her head slightly. "Did I come at a bad time? Did I interrupt something between you two?"
Thomas pressed his lips together. "That’s not what I meant."
"I brought you some iced coffee," Suzy said. "It’s so hot outside—this should help cool you down."
Thomas’s gaze dropped to the big thermos in her hands.
"Thank you."
Suzy smiled faintly. "So... aren’t you going to invite me in to chat for a while? This is what people do when someone brings them a gift."
"...Come in."
Thomas stepped back and opened the door wider. Suzy walked inside carrying the thermos and let out a quiet sigh.
Thomas really was like a block of wood.
When it came to someone this dense, she’d have to take the initiative herself.
Suzy decided she might as well go all in. But the moment she stepped into his apartment, the cool relief she expected never came.
The heat still hung heavy in the air.
Suzy quickly noticed the open windows in the distance. Hot wind was pouring into the room.
She had just walked over in the heat, and now the stifling temperature hit her all at once.
She froze on the spot.
Thomas closed the door and stopped beside her. Seeing her standing there motionless, he asked, puzzled, "What’s wrong?"
Suzy turned to look at him, her face filled with despair.
"Is your air conditioner broken?"
If his AC really was broken, she had no intention of staying longer than necessary. She’d drop off the drink and leave immediately.
It was way too hot.
Staying here felt like being slowly roasted alive. As for trying to get closer to him—well, that could wait for another day.
"Um... I’ll just leave the coffee here and—"
"It’s not broken. Wait a second."
Thomas cut her off and quickly moved deeper into the apartment. He shut all the windows and then turned on the air conditioner.
Gradually, cool air began to circulate. The urge Suzy had felt to escape subsided slightly. She slipped into a pair of clean indoor slippers and walked into the living room.
Thomas finished closing the remaining doors and switched on a fan.
"Is that better?" he asked.
Suzy found a seat and collapsed into it with a long sigh of relief. "Much better. But why weren’t you using the AC before?"
She genuinely couldn’t understand how anyone could endure this kind of heat without air conditioning.
What kind of superhuman tolerance was that?
"I thought the temperature was fine," Thomas said calmly.
Suzy pulled out her phone and glanced at the weather display. "It’s 45 degrees right now."
Not only that—there wasn’t even a breeze outside. Just sitting still was enough to make sweat cling to her skin.
"I’m used to it," Thomas replied.
During missions, they often worked in desert environments under blazing sun. Compared to those conditions—without shade or shelter—this wasn’t much different.
"...Impressive."
Suzy raised a thumb in admiration.
Thomas glanced at her briefly, pressed his lips together, and then turned his head away again.
Suzy slid the thermos filled with iced coffee toward him. "Here. Try some—it’s still cold."
Thomas opened the thermos, his voice quiet. "Thank you. You didn’t have to bring it all the way here, though."
Suzy shook her head with a smile. "No need to be so polite."
Thomas took a sip, and his eyes brightened slightly.
The drink was icy, sweet, and soothing. There was a hint of vanilla and condensed milk, too, making it a smooth and comforting drink.
Meanwhile, Suzy sat beside him, watching intently.
"So... who was that woman just now?" she asked casually. "Do you know her?"
Thomas paused mid-motion and shook his head calmly. "I don’t."
Seeing Suzy still looking at him, he added, "She’s a neighbor from downstairs. She wanted me to help assemble a chair."
"...Oh."
"I refused," Thomas continued.
"I know," Suzy said.
Thomas lowered his head and continued drinking his coffee.
After a moment, he looked up again.
Suzy had shifted her posture. Now she was leaning on one hand, her chin resting in her palm as she watched him.
Thomas suddenly felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "There’s nothing between her and me."
The moment the words left his mouth, even he was startled.
Suzy’s eyes curved into a smile. "You don’t have to explain that to me."
Thomas fell silent again.
...She was right. Why had he felt the need to explain at all? There had been no reason for him to clarify anything.
The smile on Suzy’s lips deepened slightly.
Still, the fact that he had explained made her secretly happy.
She looked away and began casually surveying his apartment.
Nothing had changed since the last time she had visited.
The living room still held only the basic furniture that came with the rental. Not a single personal belonging of Thomas’s could be seen.
Her eyes soon landed on the trash bin—where several empty instant noodle cups had been tossed.
"You eat instant noodles at home every day?" she asked.
Thomas nodded. "Mm."
Since moving in, instant noodles had been his regular meals.
He wasn’t picky about food. As long as it provided energy, that was enough for him.
During field missions, he had survived half a month straight on protein bars and compressed biscuits. Compared to that, instant noodles were practically a luxury.
Suzy looked at him with newfound admiration.
Impressive.
"Why not order takeout?" she asked. "Or go out and eat?"
At this stage of the disaster, most businesses were still operating normally—just with adjusted hours at night.
Delivery drivers were still working too, even receiving extra heat allowances.
Surely Thomas didn’t have to live this frugally.
"There’s food at home," he said simply. "So I eat what’s here."
Leonard had stocked two entire rooms full of supplies for him. Letting it go to waste didn’t feel right.
Suzy’s lips twitched.
If she hadn’t come over today, she would never have known Thomas was surviving entirely on instant noodles.
How exactly had he built that muscular physique?
"In that case," she suggested, "why don’t you come over to my place for dinner later?"
Thomas hesitated. "That might not be appropriate."
"Then let’s go out and eat," Suzy said quickly. "Plenty of restaurants are still open tonight."
Thomas still looked uncertain.
Suzy tilted her head slightly. "Or... do you not want to have dinner with me?"
Thomas immediately shook his head. "That’s not what I meant."
Suzy laughed. "Then it’s settled. We’ll go eat later. I’ll message you when it’s time."
She waved her phone in the air—then suddenly realized something.
She didn’t actually have his contact information yet.
"Can I have your number?" she said.
Moments later, she successfully added Thomas’s contact. Satisfied, Suzy stood up to leave.
"Thanks for the coffee," Thomas said. "Wait a moment," he then added.
He took her thermos into the kitchen to wash it.
Suzy followed him in.
The kitchen looked almost untouched—spotlessly clean, as if it had never been used for cooking.
However, many of the containers were filled with water.
There was even a huge plastic water tank sitting in the corner.
"You’ve stored quite a lot of water," Suzy observed.
Thomas flicked the water droplets from his hands.
"Yes. If the temperatures keep rising like this, the water supply will probably stop before long. You should prepare more, too."
After wiping the thermos dry with a paper towel, he handed it back to her.
"All done."
"Thanks."
"I’ll walk you back," Thomas said.
Opportunities like this didn’t come often, and Suzy certainly wasn’t going to refuse.
"Sure. Thanks."
The two of them took the elevator down to the underground parking garage.
They had just started walking toward Suzy’s building when a nearby conversation caught her attention.
"Richard Stone, want to grab dinner together tonight?"