The boy in my arms had clearly fallen asleep. After carefully putting him to bed, I made my way to Sooho's house, feeling a mix of annoyance and concern. Upon arriving, I greeted his grandma, who was preoccupied with her television show. She pointed toward his room, a clear indication of where he was.
With a tight smile, I headed to his room and found him sleeping soundly, blissfully unaware of my frustration. First, I grabbed the pillow he was resting on and gently let his head fall onto the bed, which, of course, woke him up with a startled jerk.
"You piece of shit! Don't you have the decency to inform me about your little fight?" I exclaimed, smacking him lightly with the pillow as he blinked at me, confusion painted on his face.
He groaned, pushing the pillow away. "What fight?"
I crossed my arms, my irritation bubbling over. "The one where you decided to take on six guys! Seriously, Sooho? You could've at least sent me a text to let me know you weren't dead!"
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and shot me a sheepish look. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I was fine."
That only fueled my anger further. I lifted the pillow again, ready to hit him harder. "You blockhead!" I exclaimed, giving him a few playful whacks. "You think getting into fights with six guys is no big deal? What if something happened to you?"
He held up his hands in surrender, a grin creeping onto his face despite my fury. "Okay, okay! I get it! I should have told you, but I didn't want to worry you."
'Beaides I did it to save your boyfriend' he joked. Earning a galre from me I hit him again with each word I said. 'He. Is. Not . My. Boyfriend '
His grandma was kind enough to let me stay the night. After a filling dinner, I headed to the guest room. Lying on the bed, I opened my phone and, after a lot of internal debating, typed out a message to Sieun.
"Hey, good morning. I left last night."
I immediately deleted it with a groan. Ugh, what am I even supposed to say?
I spent a good while overthinking that message, and before I knew it, I had dozed off. The next morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of my phone ringing. Groggily, I glanced at the caller ID and blinked in disbelief. Sieun? Calling me? In the morning? I must be dreaming.
But as reality set in, I quickly snatched the phone and accepted the call, my heart racing.
"Hello?" I answered, trying to sound as normal as possible despite my racing heart.
"You left without saying anything." His voice was low, almost like he had just woken up too.
I bit my lip, unsure how to respond. "Uh, yeah... I didn't want to disturb you since you were asleep," I said, sitting up and running a hand through my messy hair.
There was a brief silence on the other end before he spoke again. "You could've at least left a note, you know."
I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or just being his usual self, but I felt a small smile tug at my lips. "Well, you're talking to me now, aren't you?"
He huffed quietly, and I could almost picture him rolling his eyes. "Next time, don't just disappear."
I blinked. Next time?
Later that evening, Sooho had called, asking me to join him for dinner at some restaurant. Let me tell you, I did everything in my power to avoid running into Sieun. After last night, I was ridiculously embarrassed. But, of course, he caught me slipping-using the early bus to get to the library.
Great. Now he definitely knows I'm avoiding him.
I groaned internally, feeling my cheeks flush just at the thought of seeing him.
I quit overthinking and made my way to the stall, spotting the boy in the red jacket. Without a second thought, I headed straight for him. What I hadn't noticed were the two other boys already there. I awkwardly greeted them, refusing to make eye contact with Sieun.
Unfortunately, I ended up sitting right beside him, feeling his eyes on me the entire time, with Sooho on my other side. Sooho, fully aware of the situation, nudged me playfully when the other two weren't looking.
This morning, after that nerve-wracking call, I had spilled everything to Sooho, and we ended up squealing like schoolgirls, jumping around excitedly. Now, the embarrassment was sinking in.
I kept my eyes glued to the argument between Boemseok and Sooho, feigning interest and refusing to even glance at the boy beside me.
Then, I felt the faintest whisper in my ear, "Why are you avoiding me?"
A shiver ran down my spine, and I bit my lip,fuck.
My face instantly heated up, and I could feel my cheeks burning. I opened my mouth to respond, but all that came out was a jumble of stuttered words. "I-I'm not... avoiding you," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.
I finally risked a glance at him, only to find him still staring. "Really?" he asked, raising a brow. His voice was calm.
"Y-Yeah, really," I stammered, my eyes darting everywhere but at him. His voice dropped a little lower, casual but knowing. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"
My breath hitched.. "I'm not lying," I muttered, still avoiding his gaze, fiddling with the napkin in front of me.
He let out a low scoff. "Sure," he said, dragging out the word as if he knew exactly what effect he was having on me. "So, what's got you all flustered, then?"
I swallowed hard, struggling to find a response that wouldn't give me away. "I'm just... I'm just tired, that's all."
His voice dropped again, dangerously close to my ear. "Tired, huh? You weren't tired when you were taking care of me last night." His words made my heart skip a beat, and I finally turned to look at him, caught completely off guard.
I shifted in my seat, trying to ignore the way his presence seemed to fill the space between us. Just as I thought the awkward tension might ease, he leaned in closer, his voice low enough that only I could hear. "You never answered my question," he said, his tone calm but somehow more intense now. "Why are you avoiding me?"
I felt a flush rise to my cheeks again. "I'm not... I just-"
"You just what?" he pressed, cutting me.
Just as I was about to respond, Sooho suddenly shouted, "The food is here!" Boemseok clapped excitedly, cutting through the tension between me and Sieun. I glanced around the table, relieved for the distraction.
