#49
“Why are you looking at me like that this time?”
A gentle voice awakened my dazed mind. I came to my senses a beat late and said.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s nothing, sure.”
Jin Woohyeon tapped my ear and laughed.
“Do you know that when you’re embarrassed, your ears turn red first, hyung?”
“…Me?”
It was the first time I’d heard that. I quickly raised both hands to cover my ears. In my embarrassment, a lie that wouldn’t fool anyone came tumbling out first.
“That’s not true. When did I ever!”
“Always. Every time, without exception.”
I always feel this, but why does this guy understand me so well? It’s not just that he’s quick to notice things, but if I had to say, it was surprising how he looked closely at and remembered even the smallest details that others wouldn’t need to know.
I actually know the reason. It’s because he has interest in me, or more precisely, feelings for me. That’s why he’s keeping track of even the tiniest habits that others don’t notice.
Someone was doing to me what I had done for Lee Chan my whole life. It was very strange, awkward, ticklish, and… honestly, a little happy.
Of course, I couldn’t honestly confess such things. Even though it was just us and the filming staff at this rented swimming pool, there were cameras everywhere.
Right. The cameras were the problem. The recorded and edited video would be released to the entire nation through an OTT site in a few months.
Me being swayed this way and that by Jin Woohyeon’s presence, and him looking like this.
“It’s because of you.”
I tapped his shoulder. I wanted to say it casually, but after I said it, it sounded exactly like I was whining.
“Your outfit is too indecent.”
Even if there don’t seem to be many people right now, how many cameras are watching? Are you going to show this to everyone in the world?
Jin Woohyeon was wearing simple swimwear. He was only wearing swimming trunks that covered half his thighs and felt a bit loose. That meant his upper body was completely exposed.
‘Looking at him like this, he really is big.’
Among the people at the dorm, he’d probably be the second tallest after Choi Eungi. From what I could estimate, he seemed similar to or slightly bigger than Bae Taeseong.
Even though he seemed at least 10cm taller than me, he didn’t feel particularly scary, probably because of his soft and refreshing atmosphere without any rough edges. It was also amazing that there was no stuffy or dull feeling at all, perhaps thanks to his gracefully straight lines.
“Where exactly am I indecent?”
I slapped the chest of him who had stepped closer.
“Here, you rascal. Here is improper. All I can see in my field of vision is chest.”
When I squinted my eyes, meaning to ask if this doesn’t violate broadcasting standards, Jin Woohyeon responded with a beaming smile.
“Ah. Is it too sexy from broad daylight that your gaze only goes here? What should I do? This is the only swimsuit I have.”
“There are so many layered swimsuits these days…”
“Like hyung?”
Jin Woohyeon looked at me with an obviously disappointed expression. I, who was wearing a rashguard tightly layered top and bottom, nodded confidently.
“Right. Like me.”
I thought it was an excellent choice. Since I didn’t have abs that would embarrassingly captivate people’s attention like Jin Woohyeon, if I had dressed similarly, I would have definitely looked very shabby in comparison.
“You’re too naked.”
“What can I do when the TPO here is like this? If my chest is too uncomfortable for hyung, will you take it off for me instead?”
“Are you crazy?”
When I slapped his chest harder than before, Jin Woohyeon giggled and laughed. Only then did he look like a college student his own age.
“I’m joking, joking. Who would I strip hyung for? How many eyes are watching here?”
“…And you…”
“Me? I stripped for hyung’s sake. When else would I use the muscles I worked so hard to build?”
If I got any more caught up in this strange guy’s pace, not just my ears but my neck and shoulders would turn red too.
I stuck out my lips and approached closer to the water. The moment I extended my foot toward the quietly pooled water with its faint smell of disinfectant and cool temperature.
“Whoa, wait!”
An arm urgently stretched out from behind caught my waist and pulled me firmly against him, fixing me so I couldn’t move.
“What are you doing right now? Why are you just going in there?”
“Huh?”
Going in? Me? Into the water? Right now?
“You said you know how to swim. Do you want to get in trouble by not warming up?”
“Ah…”
Such a misunderstanding. I tapped his arm that was still tightly gripping my waist with my index finger and answered.
“I was checking the water temperature.”
“…”
“Will you let me go?”
An awkward silence flowed for a moment. Jin Woohyeon, who had been staring at me blankly, soon burst into laughter.
“No way. All pool water is cold, what temperature are you checking? You know you’re unexpectedly quirky, right?”
“Were you surprised?”
“I was worried.”
His large hand pulled my hand over and gripped it tightly, then slowly pulled.
We warmed up in our own ways a few steps apart. At first we considered doing it together, but when I saw him doing push-ups saying he needed to raise his body temperature sufficiently, I quickly moved away.
“Hyung is really…”
“I’m really what? Why?”
“No. I just thought you exercise like hyung too.”
What does “like me” mean? I thought carefully while slowly and thoroughly loosening up my joints one by one.
Jin Woohyeon, who had been shaking his body in place a few times, glanced at me and asked.
“I’m just realizing, but hyung, you’re really flexible. Don’t you warm up your body?”
“It takes too long. It also puts strain on my ankles.”
Instead of climbing down the ladder, I chose the method of sitting on the edge and slowly entering the water feet first. It was a technique I had acquired after several trials and errors.
He entered the water calmly, seemed to check the depth, then came close to me and rested his arms on my knees. The water was cold but the body heat seeping from inside his skin was warm, making me feel strange.
“It’ll take me time to get all the way in. Play first.”
“I can just wait.”
Jin Woohyeon tilted his head back fully to look up at me.
“Hyung. I’m not good at swimming. Won’t you teach me?”
It was a very strange thing to say. He can’t swim? Didn’t he just warm up incredibly naturally?
“If you can’t swim, why did you suggest coming to the pool first?”
“I like moving around, but the things I usually do would obviously be too much for hyung’s body. And I was going to recommend it anyway. It’s good for rehabilitation.”
That’s right, he was like that when he bought me shoes too. Telling me to steadily take care of not just my ankle but my knee too. I had also started learning to swim for that reason.
However, “doing it often” doesn’t mean “being good at it,” so teaching someone with this skill level was a bit burdensome. If he really was a beginner, there’s nothing worse than teaching incorrectly and letting bad habits form.
“I thought you’d be good at swimming, so I told the instructor they could rest… Wait here. I’ll bring them back.”
But the moment I tried to get up, he put strength into his arms.
“No, that’s a bit… Let’s just have a date, just the two of us. Do you not want to teach me?”
“That’s not it…”
“I’m not asking for tutoring, just let’s play for a few hours. Don’t think about it so seriously.”
“This isn’t something to take lightly. Water is unexpectedly dangerous. You can’t underestimate safety accidents. You even stopped me earlier when you thought I was just going into the water.”
Moreover, I don’t know how they arranged it, but this pool was bigger than I thought. They said they even held small competitions here, so the depth was also a bit deeper than other facilities.
When I kept looking at him with suspicious eyes, Jin Woohyeon shrugged and confessed the truth.
“You’re worrying so much I can’t even tease you. I do some freediving.”
I thought so.
“I won’t die even if I sink a bit, so don’t worry.”
Instead of answering, I stretched out my foot and kicked his abdomen. Being underwater, it just felt like a light touch.
“You know freestyle, right?”
“I do. You just have to move your feet diligently, right?”
Instead of answering, I brought over a kickboard from beside me. When I sank into the cool water and held out the kickboard, he eagerly reached out his arms…
“I said grab the kickboard.”
He grabbed my arm instead.
“Hyung is my kickboard.”
“…”
“Don’t think about it so earnestly. Okay?”
“Earlier you said not to think seriously, and now you’re saying not to think earnestly.”
Why are there so many things you’re telling me not to do? I splashed a little water with my middle finger and thumb.
“Then what am I allowed to do?”
“Hmm. Think about me?”
“…”
“We came out on a date right now. Isn’t that right?”
The words I was about to say were blocked by his bright smile. In the end, I ended up smiling along with him too.
In the end, we played in the water for a long time until we were completely exhausted. After he stopped pretending, we even had a freestyle race from one end of the lane to the other.
It was fun. Really.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
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