# Chapter 10. The Day Was Too Hot
‘Did I watch you well?’
Of course I did. Afraid I might miss a glimpse of Yeonho, I ran at my fastest speed to the basketball court in the gym, even leaving my meal unfinished.
Yeonho successfully made five two-point shots and even three three-point shots. The guys on his team were naturally good because of their build, but half of the team’s points were scored by Yeonho alone.
“You weren’t watching someone else, were you?”
“N-no…”
“Since you were watching well, you must know how hard I worked, right?”
“Uh… yeah, you worked… hard.”
“I made a lot of goals too.”
“Y-yeah, I saw… seven times, or eight times…”
“You even counted them all?”
“…”
I couldn’t make a sound out of embarrassment and just moved my lips.
‘Stupid Park Seungwoo, why did you say that!’
Now he would surely tease me about liking him too much. But Yeonho didn’t say anything and instead pushed his hand into my field of vision as I stared intently at the desk, tapping it with his fingertips. Even Yeonho’s fingernails were pretty.
‘Does he get them done somewhere? How can they be so smooth and perfectly rounded?’
When I remained silent and just stared at his hand, Yeonho said with a seemingly calm face:
“I worked really hard thinking Seungwoo might be watching, so I’m still tired.”
That was a lie. He must be using me as an excuse when he just happened to play hard.
“But why won’t you praise me?”
‘Praise? What praise?’
“I really worked hard running around to win apple juice for Seungwoo.”
Yeonho was now sighing deeply.
‘Since when did I like apple juice? Why did you work hard for me?’
After laying out a bunch of incomprehensible statements, Yeonho finally revealed what he wanted.
“You should praise me, Seungwoo.”
“…? Um… you did… well…?”
“Just with words?”
Yeonho’s words were still difficult.
They were more difficult than the first period subject. Yeonho, who had played a basketball match on a hot day to the point of sweating in order to give me apple juice that I don’t even like, and who eventually fed me that apple juice, smiled prettily and said:
“What are you going to do after school?”
***
If I were to interpret Yeonho’s way of speaking based on what I’ve learned from our conversations so far, it seemed that most of his statements ending with questions contained answers he wanted to hear. I didn’t know this until now, but earlier when I thoughtlessly answered that I was going home, I had to listen to question-form statements until the class bell rang…
“Then you’ll have time to give to me, right?”
“Since this is a reward for working hard, you can do that much, can’t you?”
Yeonho repeated these questions until I agreed to go with him.
And eventually I ended up walking home with Yeonho.
We took the bus together, got off at similar stops by coincidence, and ate ice cream at a shop on the way.
Since Yeonho kept mentioning words like “praise” and “reward,” I was going to pay, but Yeonho said he had points at this store and paid instead.
One scoop of ice cream was enough for me, but Yeonho, probably because he’s big, chose two flavors.
‘But didn’t he say he doesn’t like sweet things?’
“It’s delicious. Seungwoo, say ‘ah.'”
“…Huh?”
“This is sweet.”
“I-it’s sweet… because it’s ice cream…”
“Yeah. You like sweet things, right?”
I have no idea what he’s thinking, but Yeonho scooped up about a third of his ice cream and held it in front of my mouth. I had no choice but to open my mouth and eat it. It was so big that I had to let it melt in my mouth for a while. It was so cold that my head hurt. I barely managed to melt the last traces of it, but Yeonho was already waiting with another flavor on his spoon.
‘Is this bullying?’
That must be it. Yeonho’s face couldn’t look any more radiant.
More than half of the ice cream Yeonho had chosen eventually went into my mouth. It wasn’t that it didn’t taste good, but eating so much at once made the coldness in my stomach feel unpleasant. Unlike me, Yeonho, who seemed to be in a good mood, tried to feed me more ice cream, but this time I sincerely refused. I had to finish my own portion, so I had no choice but to be firm.
“I’ll get a stomachache… I don’t want anymore…”
“…Pfft…”
Was what I said funny?
Yeonho tried to pretend he wasn’t laughing by turning his head, but it was so obvious he was laughing that it was a meaningless action.
‘What was so funny? All I said was that I’d get a stomachache and that I wouldn’t eat anymore. Was my face funny?’
I scooped up my ice cream, which was almost all melted and slimy from eating Yeonho’s, and quickly put it in my mouth before it could drip from the spoon. The vanilla flavor felt richer as it melted.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah.”
“Was mine good too?”
Yeonho asked as smoothly as the vanilla ice cream in my mouth. It sounded unusually so, which made me look down at the ground as I walked. With each step I took, Yeonho’s shoes followed beside me.
‘What was that shoe brand again? I know it’s really expensive.’
Yeonho probably has high standards when choosing brands for clothes, accessories, and such things. Unlike me, who wears whatever my parents or sisters buy for me.
“Wait a moment, I need to check a message.”
Yeonho, who had been pestering me about whether it was delicious, stopped and said that. Since we were walking together, I also stopped beside him and scraped up the little remaining ice cream, pouring it into my mouth.
Seeing that, Yeonho took the empty cup and handed me his cup with the remaining ice cream. It was Yeonho’s, but I had eaten more than half of it, so it almost felt like mine.
Anyway, as Yeonho turned his head, his expression instantly disappeared from his face. It was amazing how he could freely create and erase expressions.
‘Did he have that face when we were exchanging messages? Was it like that when we talked on the phone? Did he say “Happy birthday” with that face?’
Ah, the coldness throughout my body is because of the ice cream. It’s absolutely not because I’m disappointed. Absolutely not. I shouldn’t have eaten the ice cream. I should have at least not eaten what Yeonho gave me.
Yeonho’s kindness is scary because I don’t understand the reason behind it. It’s scary because I feel like I could get addicted to it. That’s why I don’t know what to do, because it’s inevitable. That’s the weapon of the kind and popular Yeonho.
The Yeonho everyone likes.
‘What would those guys think if they saw this face? I want to show them. So they would all leave him.’
Being with Yeonho made my mood go up and down like riding a seesaw.
Sometimes I couldn’t keep up and did stupid things.
“Aren’t you going to eat it?”
Yeonho spoke kindly again. He had put his phone back in his pocket, apparently having finished sending his message. His face was almost 180 degrees different from when he was looking at his phone. It was still pretty, gentle, and affectionate, but somehow felt out of place. Like when I used to watch Yeonho from afar.
‘Can I ask?’
I couldn’t keep up with my own feelings at the moment. So I couldn’t think any further. It was because my mouth opened impulsively.
“W-was that someone you dislike…?”
And I immediately regretted it.
‘What if it was someone he dislikes? Yeonho probably doesn’t like me either.’
Though not liking someone doesn’t necessarily mean disliking them.
‘But does Yeonho actually have someone he likes?’
It would have seemed less stupid if I had just asked him to take back the ice cream.
‘He probably thinks it’s not worth answering, so he’ll pretend he didn’t hear or just keep his mouth shut?’
Contrary to what I thought, Yeonho immediately asked back, as if he understood my subject-less sentence.
“Why do you think that?”
Should I keep answering? The cup in my hand was damp, which made me feel bad. I should have eaten it earlier; now all the melted ice cream had mixed together, turning into a strange, unappetizing color. I mumbled while stirring it with the spoon, mixing it perfectly.
“You looked upset…”
Yeonho was silent for a moment. Maybe he would turn back, saying he needed to go home now.
‘Come to think of it, this is the way to my house, but where is Yeonho’s house?’
We were still standing in the middle of the road. It was May, so the days were longer than in winter, and it was still bright. That made Yeonho’s expression even clearer. With a face that made it hard to tell whether he was smiling or not, Yeonho said:
“Do I look upset to you?”
“Yeah…”
“…Seungwoo, how do you know so well?”
“…Just, that’s how it looked…”
Yeonho touched his face.
‘It’s not because of your face, I just know.’
I can tell because I’m always watching you. Whether you’re in a good mood or bad mood, whether you’re angry or annoyed. It’s because it’s me, only I know, Yeonho.
“Because they’re being annoying.”
Yeonho spoke with emotion for the first time. It was truly an annoyed voice. Hearing that, I was relieved it wasn’t directed at me.
Yeonho continued touching his cheeks and mouth, then said playfully:
“Seungwoo should scold them for me.”
“Me…?”
“Yeah. Hit them hard.”
Yeonho’s childish behavior looked cute, making me laugh out loud a little. I nodded. Because Yeonho’s mood seemed to have improved a bit.
As Yeonho’s mood got better, mine followed suit. It was quite simple. Then, after a moment of silence, Yeonho put his arm on my shoulder and said:
“Really? As expected, our Seungwoo is the best.”
That made me feel a bit proud. Yeonho said I was the best. The firm arm pulling me toward him also felt good. Even the swaying color of the melted ice cream seemed pretty.
‘Ah, but what if the guys I need to hit are people like Kim Jungwoo? Even if I raised my fist, I’d be sent flying with just one push from him. Should I start working out?’
I seriously considered it. As if reading my thoughts, Yeonho lowered his head and asked:
“Are you thinking about how to hit them?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that why you’re clenching your fist?”
“…N-no…”
I had unknowingly clenched my fist, still holding the spoon. This happened without me realizing it. Embarrassed, I pretended that was what I intended and eagerly scooped up the completely melted ice cream with the spoon. Because of that, I didn’t notice how close Yeonho had come.
Yeonho kissed my lips, which were coated with sweet ice cream. He licked my lips with his warm tongue, and just as I thought he was pulling away, he pressed his lips against mine again.
Yeonho’s hand rubbed my earlobe teasingly, and I could do nothing but freeze completely.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
