# Chapter 14. A Smaller Umbrella Would Be Better
‘Good grief. Why is he saying that with such a cute face?’
Something inside me, whether it was my stomach or my heart, felt unbearably ticklish. The tip of my chin, which I unconsciously wiped with the back of my hand, felt hot—my face must have turned red again. Yeonho was staring intently at my face.
If this wasn’t a classroom, if it was somewhere with just Yeonho and me, or if this were my dream, I might have pulled Yeonho’s face close and kissed him.
That’s exactly how I felt right now. I wanted to answer that Yeonho was always pretty even when he wasn’t doing anything special.
Anyway, I needed to cool my head. Because of Yeonho, who kept saying strange things without caring about our surroundings, my senses were becoming strange too.
But I had to be the rational one so Yeonho wouldn’t receive unnecessary misunderstandings…
“J-just stop and hurry back to your seat…”
“Are you kicking me out?”
“I-I’m not k-kicking you out… it’s just…”
“But you said you missed me.”
“…!”
“You said you missed me, didn’t you?”
Yeonho added spitefully. I immediately glanced at the person sitting in front of me and my face flushed crimson.
‘I shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have said it. Why did I send that!’
I knew all of Yeonho’s lover-like words weighed less than a floating balloon, so why had I forgotten that then?
The ticklish feeling inside tightened as if someone was squeezing it hard. I guess that message must have been some sort of penalty after all. Seeing how openly he was announcing that I’d said such things, it was probably some kind of bet. I was a complete idiot for floundering happily over words that didn’t contain even a grain of Yeonho’s sincerity.
“Thanks for the food.”
As my mood was plummeting helplessly, the student in front of me spoke while making a noisy rustling sound with the wrapper.
“As thanks, should I buy you something at the store later?”
“N-no… it’s f-fine.”
“Okay then.”
The student in front answered simply and immediately turned back around. Despite seeing all the conversations and actions between Yeonho and me, he didn’t ask anything or mock us like Kim Jungwoo.
Was he always like this? Well, he never said much even when he’d come back from the store to find Yeonho sitting in his seat every day.
Right now, I was very grateful for his nonchalance. It was obvious what state my face must be in without even looking.
Perhaps some of his calmness had transferred to me, or maybe my vanishing rationality had partially returned. I grabbed all the remaining snacks in my drawer with both hands and held them out to Yeonho. When he took them reflexively, I snapped at him:
“If you d-don’t want to e-eat things like this… j-just throw them in the t-trash.”
“…Seungwoo.”
“And the t-teacher’s here, so hurry back to your… seat.”
“Why are you mad? What did I do wrong?”
Yeonho didn’t budge from where he stood, regardless of the teacher coming in. Fortunately, it was still before the bell rang and the classroom was in disarray.
‘What did you do wrong? How can you call that a question?’
Not knowing what you did wrong is what’s wrong. Looking at things rationally without my heart fluttering, I could clearly see Yeonho’s emotional performance. Even now, he was pretending to be hurt with a pitiful face, but inside he might be disappointed that he couldn’t tease me more.
Dealing with emotions around Yeonho was truly exhausting. Because even after being completely worn out, I’d fall in love again with his feigned affection.
But if I kept repeating this, would I eventually be able to look at Yeonho as indifferently as that guy? Could I just go back to being a third party, merely observing Yeonho?
“…I wonder why our Seungwoo is angry.”
I truly wish that would happen. Or that he’d lose interest in teasing me. I want to stop this overwhelming, difficult situation.
“I’m sorry, Seungwoo. Okay?”
‘Oh, please. Just stay still, heart. I told you I don’t want to flutter anymore.’
My heart, which had been quiet, started beating twice as fast at Yeonho’s sweet voice. Yeonho didn’t stop there—he knelt down from where he was standing, rested his arm on the desk, and looked up at me. It was exactly like the photo I’d received the day before. His face was innocent even when he wasn’t trying, but when he deliberately made such a pitiful expression, my heart softened so much I couldn’t help but give in.
With Yeonho like that, I soon heard the classroom stirring. I felt like my heart sank to my feet. He’d done this occasionally before, but only when other students weren’t around.
I listened carefully for anyone saying things like “those two are weird” or Kim Jungwoo saying something like “are they really gay?” while trying to dissuade Yeonho in a small voice.
“I-I’m not mad… Q-quickly get up… everyone’s watching.”
Yeonho then whispered in a low voice like mine.
“Will you forgive me?”
I nodded my head vigorously. After nodding back and forth so many times that Yeonho had to reach out and stop me, I felt dizzy and had to cover my mouth for a moment. Having gotten the answer he wanted, Yeonho stood up and returned to his seat. As Yeonho moved away, the gazes concentrated on us dispersed.
Only then did the tension leave my stiff shoulders and neck. It felt like too many things had happened in just 10 minutes.
I ran my hands over my face several times and then glanced toward the window where Yeonho sat.
Unlike me, who was still unsettled, Yeonho was smiling prettily with a pleased expression, as if nothing had happened.
***
A week had passed since the day I fell for Yeonho’s act. Every morning I checked my drawer and locker, but there was nothing inside—Yeonho was someone who kept his word well.
Who was he throwing things away for now? Was he feeding them to that person too?
‘…I hope they bite your hand.’
While packing my bag waiting for the homeroom teacher during the last period, rain that hadn’t been in the forecast started pouring. At first I thought it was just a shower, but seeing that it didn’t stop after a few minutes, it seemed like it would continue.
Ah, things had seemed off since third period PE class. When I was paired with Yeonho for volleyball pass practice before our performance assessment, I hadn’t even noticed the weather. But after Yeonho was called away by the teacher for a moment, I not only got hit in the face by an incoming ball but stupidly fell backward too—everything had gone wrong since then.
At lunch, the most delicious side dish, stir-fried sausage, was gone right before my turn, leaving me with just a bunch of vegetable sides. And when I went to the bathroom and ran into the homeroom teacher, I had to run an errand to the administration office. On my way there, passing through the hallway, I saw Yeonho outside the window being confessed to by a girl.
Though it wasn’t my fault that I happened to see it while passing by, I fled in a hurry for fear of being caught by Yeonho.
‘Why did I do that? And why confess there so obviously for everyone to see in the first place?’
That hallway was a place where many students came and went, so apart from me, several others might have witnessed the scene. If someone like Kim Jungwoo had seen it, rumors would have already spread about how many confessions Yeonho had received this month, who the girl was, and who her previous boyfriends had been. What a pity for Yeonho to have such a gossip following him around.
Since I wasn’t a gossip and didn’t enjoy peeping, on my way back to the classroom, I deliberately went outside and took the long way around to the new building where our classroom was, afraid of running into Yeonho and the girl.
The girl seemed pretty, I think. Even though I only saw them standing together for that brief moment, I thought they looked good together. The window was like a frame, and they were like a painting. Outside the hallway between the new and old buildings, there was a small garden-like area with flowers that complemented them well. Maybe because our school was famous for spending money on unnecessary things, even to my eyes, the flowers looked quite pretty.
‘What did he answer?’
In such a beautiful setting, seeing such a beautiful girl, he’d naturally think she was pretty.
‘Did Yeonho blush and smile shyly like that girl?’
…Ah, I really can’t imagine that. Yeonho being shy? Blushing? …Well, looking at how Yeonho has been acting lately, it might be possible in front of someone he likes.
In front of someone he truly likes, that is. In front of someone he doesn’t need to lie to or pretend for, Yeonho might be just an ordinary boy. He already smiles beautifully, but in front of such a person, he’d smile even more beautifully. He wouldn’t force something unwanted, wouldn’t throw away what he received, and would often say things like “I miss you” and “I love you.” For that girl, that would be natural.
She could freely take his hand first or hug Yeonho…
‘A-and she might even beg for a k-kiss…’
I alternately looked at the compact three-fold umbrella in my bag and at Yeonho. My mom had put it in three days ago, saying weather forecasts were often wrong these days. Dad was right when he said if you listen well to your mother, rice cakes will appear even while you’re sleeping.
‘I wonder if Yeonho has an umbrella in his bag too? Should I ask? If he says no, maybe we could share…’
But the umbrella I had was terribly small.
‘And… Yeonho might think it’s strange.’
Even if I asked, and Yeonho said he didn’t have one, his followers would swarm in instantly.
‘They’d probably suggest playing rock-paper-scissors again.’
I had no desire to join in treating Yeonho like a prize. In the end, I quietly took out my umbrella and closed my bag.
As soon as the homeroom teacher finished telling us to go straight home without wandering elsewhere because of the rain, the students scattered in all directions out of the classroom. I was mixed in with them. I wasn’t in the mood to see Yeonho sharing an umbrella intimately with someone else like last time.
It seemed better to get home quickly before more unlucky things happened, so even though no one was chasing me, I practically bounded down the numerous stairs and opened my umbrella.
While walking down the slope to the main gate, I naturally slowed my steps, concerned about my bag getting wet due to the umbrella that barely covered just my body.
‘Ah… I brought textbooks and notebooks for today’s assignment too.’
I didn’t want to have to dry soaked paper with a hair dryer when I got home. I looked back once to check if Yeonho had already come out, then moved close under a tree by the flower bed. I turned my bag to the front and checked if the notebooks were already wet. The inside was fine, so I just shook off some of the moisture on the outside and started walking again when someone pulled at the nape of my neck.
“…Huh?”
“Hah… why are you walking so fast?”
That someone was none other than Yeonho. Yeonho put his head under my umbrella. His skin felt damp where it touched me, probably from running in the pouring rain. The three-fold umbrella was so small that it barely covered his head, with one shoulder still getting soaked by the rain. I instinctively pushed the umbrella more toward Yeonho.
My heart was pounding so hard that I couldn’t even think about my shoulder getting wet from the raindrops, which were heavy for spring rain.
While Yeonho was asking why I left first, our eyes met, and I could see the raindrops that had fallen from his wet hair clinging to his eyelashes in little beads. When Yeonho smiled brightly, the droplets fell, wetting somewhere on my face.
Yeonho took the bag he’d been carrying on his back and hung it on his opposite arm, then with his freed arm, he pulled my shoulder closer. Then, with a small smile, he whispered:
“The umbrella’s so small, we have no choice.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
