#037
Occasionally, I’d meet Woo Dohwan’s obvious gaze in mid-air. Each time, I busily averted my eyes. I fixed my gaze entirely on the glass window, following the carp swimming around in groups, endlessly tracking their movements. Ah, damn. This is awkward as hell, when is the food coming out?
Just as I was grumbling internally, the door slid open with a creaking sound and water, cups, and utensils were set down. Thinking the food would come out soon, I straightened my slouched posture and sat properly, but there was still no sign of food.
Woo Dohwan reached out, grasped the kettle, and poured water into the cups. With a trickling sound, light brown water filled the blue-white porcelain cups. Whether it was warm water or not, thin steam rose up.
“What kind of food do you like?”
“I eat anything well.”
“You look like you have a really small appetite though.”
“That’s not true. You’d be surprised if you saw me eat.”
I shrugged my shoulders. Holding the cup filled with rippling water, I blew on it softly and sipped little by little, moistening my throat that was sticking together from nervousness. When on earth was the food I was desperately waiting for going to come out? I was at the point of going crazy from awkwardness. Being alone with Woo Dohwan at the flower shop versus being alone with him in an unfamiliar place had a definite difference. I didn’t know it would be this awkward and embarrassing. If I had known, I definitely wouldn’t have come.
“Hmm, um- the food is a bit late.”
“Right. It’s pretty late today. Maybe because we didn’t make a reservation. I ordered the course I usually eat, is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Silence again. Both Woo Dohwan and I would exchange a few words and then the conversation would cut off completely. He’s probably regretting agreeing to have dinner with me too. Just as I was thinking that and picking up my empty cup—
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“I’ll listen.”
“You’re not saying you’ll answer.”
Woo Dohwan’s lips curved in an arc.
“Do you run a flower shop because you like flowers?”
“Yes. They’re pretty.”
Fortunately, the question was the easy-to-answer kind. There wasn’t really anything to hide about it either.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-five. What about you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“Ah.”
I thought he’d be much older than me, but he was exactly one year older. I considered making a joke about how with just a one-year age difference after meeting in society, weren’t we friends, but the atmosphere wasn’t right for that so I held back. Gulp— the sound of me swallowing echoed loudly in the quiet space. I muttered a flimsy excuse about not knowing why my throat was so dry and picked up my cup.
“Ah…”
Right. I had already finished it. After confirming it was completely empty, I put it back down.
“Why are you being so awkward? It’s cute. You’re so restless.”
Woo Dohwan slowly observed my behavior and reached out his hand. Trickle— water was poured into the empty cup. Well, it would be strange if I wasn’t awkward. From the beginning, Pinwheel and I weren’t the kind of relationship to have dinner alone together. It was when I was thinking for the third, or maybe fourth time, about why the food wasn’t coming out.
“That thing I asked you before.”
“Yes? Which thing?”
The warm water had already cooled to lukewarm. It was the moment I gulped down the cooled water that no longer needed blowing on.
“I asked if you liked me back then. So I kept thinking about it and I think I was right. You do like me.”
“Pfft—”
“……”
“Huk, crazy…!”
I spat out water. The stream of water that sprayed out like a mist directly forward scattered across his handsome face. The evenly dispersed water droplets seemed to move in slow motion. Through it all, Woo Dohwan squeezed his eyes shut tight. Ah… at this very moment I sincerely wanted to become duckweed.
“S-s-sorry.”
Woo Dohwan wiped his thoroughly soaked face with his hand and lifted his closed eyelids. Water droplets I had sprayed were beaded on his long eyelashes. The droplets rolled down along his shadowed eye shape under the lighting. I stared blankly at that sight before snapping back to my senses. This is crazy. There are other things to look at.
I sat up on my knees, pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket and reached out. While roughly wiping his wet face, I kept apologizing, “Sorry, sorry.”
“No, this is fine.”
“What should I do, ah… you should go wash your face or something…”
As I was hurriedly wiping the water from his face, Woo Dohwan burst into laughter for some reason. My palm grew warm from his spreading breath.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry. It must feel gross… what should I do.”
He probably burst into laughter because it was too absurd. It might even feel worse since the water was lukewarm.
“This, the water isn’t lukewarm because I held it in my mouth for a long time, but because the water cooled down… I’m sorry. It looks like your clothes got a bit wet too.”
After wiping his face completely, I lowered my hand downward. As I was wiping the water droplets that had formed around his neck between the open collar of his shirt, my wrist was suddenly grabbed.
“Ranho.”
At the low voice calling my name, my gaze turned downward. The caught wrist felt hot. As soon as I realized that, I straightened my body that had been bent over and pulled my wrist away.
“I’m sorry. I was too flustered…”
“I can see that. It’s fine, so calm down a bit.”
Woo Dohwan, who had wiped away the moisture on his forehead with his palm, smiled gently and stood up. My stupid gaze followed him.
“I’m going to wash my face.”
“Ah, ah… oh, go ahead.”
After nodding my head up and down earnestly, as soon as Woo Dohwan left the room, I collapsed face-down on the dining table. I want to just go home like this. Why did I…! Why did I come here saying I’d have dinner with him? I wiped my parched lips and rubbed around my eyes roughly.
“Ha… damn. So embarrassing.”
Even as I shook myself from self-loathing, the back view of Woo Dohwan walking away with reddened ear tips lingered before my eyes.
***
I couldn’t remember how the food tasted or what food came out at all. The only thing I remembered was Woo Dohwan coming in while shaking off his hair that had clumped together strand by strand from being wet with his handkerchief. He sat down as if nothing had happened and began eating. He said this was delicious here and put several dishes on my plate, but less than half of those foods entered my mouth. The food in my mouth felt gritty like sand grains, making even swallowing an ordeal. In the end, the meal ended without me finishing even half my rice. Even the bill was paid by Woo Dohwan, not me.
After seating my half-absent mind in the passenger seat and fastening my seatbelt, he silently retraced the path we had come. Whether it was the food I barely ate, my solar plexus area felt stiff. Every time I made a small fist and pressed firmly on the area where the pain was slowly spreading, cold sweat formed on my forehead.
“Are you okay?”
Just then, the car that had stopped at a traffic light came to a smooth halt. Woo Dohwan’s hand that wasn’t gripping the steering wheel reached out and rubbed my dampened forehead before moving away.
“It looks like you’re in pain, I asked if you’re okay.”
“Ah… yes. I’m fine, just quickly…”
I just wanted to go home quickly and rest. Just because I thought Woo Dohwan was a bit special didn’t mean dinner with an unfamiliar person wasn’t uncomfortable.
While I was repeatedly pressing and tapping my stuffy and uncomfortable chest area, the car suddenly stopped on the shoulder. Before I could ask why he stopped out of confusion, Woo Dohwan opened the driver’s door and got out. I naturally followed him with my gaze as he walked around the hood. No, I asked you to take me home quickly…. Whether my indigestion had gotten worse, now even my vision was spinning and sour saliva pooled in my mouth. Throwing up might not be the best method, but I felt like I’d be okay after emptying my stomach. At home… quickly at home…!
“Huh…”
It was too hard to keep my eyes open, so I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes. How long did I wait? After a time too short to even call a few minutes, I drowsily opened my eyes at the sound of the driver’s door opening. Woo Dohwan’s hand held a bag with a convenience store logo.
“It would be better to drink this before going.”
The digestive medicine in his neat hands opened with a pop sound. A cold bottle was immediately placed in my hand. As I frowned at the distinctive smell of digestive medicine, his busy hands pulled out two pills from a small box and placed them on my palm. Woo Dohwan, who had carelessly put down the box, reached his hand toward my face.
His neatly groomed fingertips approached and his long fingers grasped my nostrils.
“What are you doing right now?”
With my nose held, my voice came out muffled. No, what are you doing right now? Woo Dohwan, who had looked closely at my frowning face, answered shamelessly.
“If I do this, you won’t smell it.”
“I’m not a kid.”
“I know. But this tastes disgusting. I was worried you’d throw up while drinking it.”
Woo Dohwan, who lightly shrugged his shoulders, showed no intention of letting go of his hand and urged me to hurry up and take the medicine. After turning my head several times, I put the pills from my palm into my mouth and gulped down the digestive medicine. Sharp carbonation spread down my throat. The bitter taste swirled around my mouth, naturally making me grimace.
“Let go now.”
“Should we rest for a bit before going?”
“No. I think it would be better to just go quickly.”
Woo Dohwan handed me a water bottle he had opened in advance. I swallowed water several times to get rid of the taste remaining in my mouth.
“That flower… my flower shop. The officetel above it is my home.”
“I know.”
At my words, Woo Dohwan took back the water bottle and reclined the seat. Seeing that my condition didn’t look good from indigestion, he even took off the outer coat he was wearing and covered me with it. Only after raising the heater temperature to a stuffy level did the stopped car start moving again. The coat covering my upper body smelled like Woo Dohwan’s usual scent.
The reason I had indigestion was purely psychological, but that psychological factor and the familiar fragrance of the digestive medicine he gave me and the coat he covered me with helped settle my queasy stomach a little. As I pulled up the coat and pressed my nose to the collar area, Woo Dohwan, seeing that sight, let out a deflating sound and laughed. Why are you laughing? In embarrassment, I slowly pulled up the clothes to cover even my eyes, completely blocking my vision.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
