# Chapter 1. That Guy Is Acting Strange Toward Me
Woo Yeonho was a strange guy. His behavior was always full of discomfort, and everything down to his every word was fake. The problem was that I was the only one who knew this.
Handsome appearance, excellent grades, born into a good family without any hardships, possessing the ability to get along with people of all ages, and also excelling in the arts, sweeping up awards in competitions both in and outside of school—in a word, a genius.
That was the minimum impression people had when evaluating Woo Yeonho.
As people said, there was nothing Yeonho couldn’t do. If he set his mind to something, he could reach the top, and so he was always there.
Such a Yeonho was out of place everywhere. He was always surrounded by people, but he alone was a different color. Even wearing the same uniform, sitting in the same classroom, only he stood out like red ink dropped on a white background.
Those who admired Yeonho attached all kinds of flowery words to him, and Yeonho carried them around like tags.
“You really are different from us, amazing.”
What was so different? How is that guy who doesn’t even try to hide his unpleasant emotions and expresses them as they are any different from us?
I knew the Yeonho that he tried to hide, or rather, the Yeonho that others couldn’t see. He smiled while feeling disgusted and cursed at people while speaking kindly. Stupid kids didn’t even realize Yeonho was insulting them and just laughed along with him.
That’s not to say Yeonho forced himself to do things he didn’t want to do because of public attention. Sometimes Yeonho would transform into an almost obnoxiously selfish guy, but most of the time, his likable face seemed to offset that obnoxiousness.
Anyway, I knew. Only I knew.
Woo Yeonho, his true self was…
***
“Seungwoo-ya.”
A sweet voice that seemed like it would emit a sugary scent came from above my head. It was Woo Yeonho. Having arrived who knows when, he was standing behind me, leaning on my desk as if embracing me while I sat in my chair, calling my name.
‘He called me Seungwoo. Seungwoo-ya.’
I never thought the day would come when my name would come out of Woo Yeonho’s mouth.
‘How did he know my name?’
We’ve never even spoken once. My ears feel too ticklish. No… more than that, isn’t this posture too strange? If he has something to say, he could just call me normally.
Thankfully it was early morning with no one around. If anyone had seen this, it would have undoubtedly reached the ears of the girls who liked Yeonho, causing all kinds of jealousy.
I had no desire to be the subject of such girls’ gossip, so I pulled my arms close to my body and hunched my shoulders to avoid touching his arm that was braced on my desk.
…Despite going to such lengths, I couldn’t help my back touching Yeonho’s upper body.
Whether he knew of my efforts or not, Yeonho leaned in even closer.
“Do you like it?”
“…Huh? W-what… what, what?”
At Yeonho’s abrupt question that cut off both context and conclusion, I stammered like an idiot.
‘Did I look stupid just now?’
Although the one at fault was Yeonho, that was my first worry.
Fortunately, Yeonho neither sneered nor mocked me. Instead, his finger touched my lips, along with a voice as sweet as that word.
“Chocolate.”
The chocolate entering my mouth had a slightly bitter taste. Following that was a sweetness that seemed like it could melt my tongue, making the inside of my mouth sticky.
Yeonho’s finger stayed on my lips for just a moment before falling away, but the lingering sensation emptied my mind completely, making me unable to remember what his finger felt like.
‘Was it warm, or cold? Did it have calluses? It might have been soft.’
Yeonho said with a laugh in his voice.
“Seems like you like it.”
“Uh, umm, th-thank you.”
“Cute.”
“…?”
“Want more?”
While I was momentarily stupefied by his comment about me being cute, another piece of chocolate entered my mouth. Yeonho sat right in front of me, holding a plate of chocolate in one hand and a piece of chocolate from it in the other, waiting.
‘I ended up eating it without thinking, but why is he giving this to me? Do I look hungry?’
It’s strange. I ate breakfast before coming, so I’m full. Does he think I was looking at it because I wanted it? I was looking at Yeonho’s face, not what was in his hand. Ah, it’s delicious. There are almonds in it too. Does Yeonho like chocolate as well? The packaging looks expensive; is it okay to just eat it like this?
While I was contemplating these things, by the time I came to my senses, I had already received and eaten all the chocolate Yeonho had been holding.
While placing it all in my mouth, Yeonho enjoyed himself saying things like, you eat well, is it that delicious?, the way you munch is cute, you’re like a rabbit.
Those were the kind of things that would be too much to say to another guy, but since Yeonho was so good at making such superficial remarks, I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard.
“I’m glad I brought it.”
“Ah… b-but if you received it, shouldn’t you… eat it yourself…?”
“It’s okay. I don’t like sweet things, so I was wondering what to do with it. I’m glad Seungwoo ate it so deliciously.”
“Ah… I… see. Um… thank you… it was good….”
Yeonho’s light brown eyes stared at me intently. They were so clear that my stupid face was reflected in them. Somehow it felt like my reflection was entering his eyes, making me feel strange. Did everyone who faced Yeonho feel this way?
From that day on, Yeonho often brought me food in the mornings when we were alone. He didn’t just bring it; he put it directly in my mouth. Some days it was candy, other days a slice of cake, cookies…
The variety was quite diverse. Apparently, he received these gifts on his way to school, and Yeonho seemed to dislike sweet things to the point of aversion. If that’s the case, he could just not accept them. The Yeonho I knew wasn’t the type to do things he disliked. Despite not being the type to accept troublesome gifts that only created the hassle of disposal, Yeonho consistently brought them and fed them to me.
It was behavior I couldn’t understand. Why is he suddenly doing this to me when we’ve never even exchanged words? Did he find it fun after trying it once? Is this kind of thing fun?
As is often the case, the inferiority that the have-nots feel toward those who have everything is an ugly emotion. I also had that ugliness in me.
Whether Yeonho’s behavior stemmed from goodwill or amusement, I didn’t know, but I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his actions. I was still confused when his fingertips touched my lips or when his hands stroked my hair, but that confusion was only momentary, leaving behind just an unpleasant feeling afterward.
So today, when Yeonho brought a soft jelly and pressed it against my lips as usual, I brushed away his hand for the first time.
The bear-shaped jelly that had been pressed between Yeonho’s fingertips and my lips bounced off the desk onto the floor. It was too elastic. Not intending to throw it away, I quickly bent down to pick up the fallen jelly, only to immediately regret it.
What was I going to do with it? I wasn’t going to eat it now. It would be ridiculous to give it back to Yeonho and ask him to throw it away. As I straightened my bent waist, I glanced at Yeonho sitting across from me. There was no expression on his face. Just a smiling face.
When seen from a distance, I could immediately tell if there was any displeasure in his expressions, if he was in a good mood, or if he was angry. But up close, I couldn’t read such things from Yeonho’s face. I squeezed the jelly in my palm. More than feeling sorry, I was overwhelmed by embarrassment. What was this even about?
“…I… don’t like jelly….”
Oh, stupid Park Seungwoo, what kind of statement is “I don’t like jelly”? It’s not like I’m throwing a tantrum!
“Is that so?”
Yeonho said with a smile in his eyes. If girls had seen it, they would have made a fuss about how pretty it was. Come to think of it, Yeonho was a guy with a loose smile. Yeonho was handsome, and when he smiled, he was even more handsome. They say a smiling face is best for appearing kind, but the problem is that it’s all fake. Even now, although he’s smiling, he’s surely cursing inside about someone like me rejecting him. As if to prove that, the packet containing a few more jellies was crumpled randomly in Yeonho’s hand.
“Then I won’t bring these anymore.”
It sounded as if he wouldn’t accept them because I wouldn’t eat them.
‘Wait, is that right?’
What he just said was a bit open to misinterpretation. If I were a girl instead of a guy, I might have fantasized that he could like me.
That would truly be the worst fantasy.
While I was thinking about that, Yeonho fiddled with my stiff, dry hair. The way he slowly rubbed with his fingertips made it feel like my whole body was ticklish, starting from my head. I just wished someone would come quickly. Yeonho only acted like this when we were alone.
“Seungwoo-ya.”
“Uh, yeah?”
Yeonho, who had been playing with my hair, now tickled my earlobe with the same hand. I was so startled that my shoulders rose involuntarily. It was already hard enough to understand what he was thinking when he touched my hair, causing me to worry until my head hurt, but how should I interpret this more obvious touching behavior? If the target had been someone other than me, I would surely have thought, ah, Yeonho likes that person.
“How do you dry your hair?”
“…Huh?”
“It’s all damaged. Such a waste.”
Not realizing that I was making a stupid expression, I just blinked a few times before hurriedly brushing my bangs. For a moment, I imagined Yeonho liking someone. If Yeonho got a girlfriend, he would probably act just like this. So my heart raced a bit. If Yeonho hadn’t cut me off, I would have fallen into serious delusions, which made me feel so embarrassed and awkward when I thought about it.
From the next day, I started leaving home a little later. I had always left early to avoid the crowded bus, but I decided it was better than being alone with Yeonho in an empty classroom.
When too close to him, I couldn’t see his emotions. I didn’t want to be swayed by Yeonho’s outward appearance like the other idiots.
Yeonho didn’t say much about my change. What did he do with the snacks he received every day? It would be better to just refuse them or share them with hungry classmates. Feeding someone like that could lead to misunderstandings.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
