#76
“No.”
Saheon hyung quickly denied it and slightly changed his posture. The foreign sensation poking around my thigh disappeared, but its heat hadn’t completely vanished. I stared at hyung blankly with an even more flushed face. Hyung messed up his hair randomly while making a small, unpleasant sound.
“Ah, really…”
Hyung pressed his lips firmly against mine. After repeating this action about three times, applying pressure, Saheon hyung muttered:
“It’s because you’re too sexy. Anyway… don’t worry about it, no. Pay attention to me.”
Saheon hyung seemed not to know what he was saying. It was rare to see him this flustered. At this unusual sight, I forgot the situation and my lips twitched slightly.
“You’re laughing?”
My nose was pinched again. In the end, I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. My face was burning up, but strangely, I felt like laughing. And oddly enough, I felt like I might cry too.
I chuckled softly as hyung started kissing my neck wildly while I curled my lips inward and bit them.
“You’re laughing? Are you laughing, Lee Cheongmyeong?”
“I like you.”
Saheon hyung’s rough kisses, as if biting, gradually came to a stop. I quickly shut my mouth at my true feelings that had suddenly slipped out. Saheon hyung slowly raised his head and met my gaze.
I felt a trembling deep in my chest. Although I had whispered it thousands, tens of thousands of times in my heart, this was the second time I had formally and sincerely said it in front of hyung. I lightly bit my lip, then whispered quietly once more, as if seeking a confident answer.
“…I really like you, hyung.”
The corners of hyung’s mouth dropped. With a sigh as if he couldn’t help it, he smiled slightly and whispered softly:
“I like you too.”
As if an electric current had passed through me, a white euphoria spread through my mind. My heart, scorched by the affectionate words, ached and revealed tears. I quickly turned my head away at what would surely appear to be an overly sentimental action, but Saheon hyung had already seen the moisture gathering in my eyes.
“Ah, really, Cheongmyeong…”
With a sound like a groan, both my cheeks were grasped. With a strange expression that seemed to be holding back tears or smiling, I glared at hyung with my cheeks held. Saheon hyung looked as if he didn’t know what to do because he felt sorry for me, but I could tell he was actually smiling.
“Why are you crying, Cheongmyeong?”
“I’m not crying.”
“You’re not crying?”
“Just… because I’m so happy…”
I whispered a small, lemon peel-like poem. It was a fresh but bitter emotion. The corners of Saheon hyung’s mouth curved slightly. My heart ached at the gaze dripping with affection. It was close to an unbelievable daze.
“Oh my… What should I do, you’re so cute.”
Saheon hyung, speaking as if I was pitiful, was biting the soft flesh inside his mouth hard. Treated like a cute child even after expressing my true feelings, I grumbled with a dissatisfied feeling.
“Don’t do that.”
Instead of answering, Saheon hyung chose to give several small kisses while laughing softly. Giggling and showering my face with kisses, Saheon hyung whispered as if being coy:
“What should I do? I like Cheongmyeong so much too, but I’m sorry I can only express it by saying I like you.”
A feeling of fulfillment welled up from deep in my heart. Hyung’s thumb gently wiped the moisture gathered at the corner of my eye.
“Do you think Cheongmyeong will believe how much I like you if I show it from now on?”
“Just…”
“But even when I said I liked you so much, you couldn’t tell. You little dummy.”
“No, that’s… you didn’t tell me… No, just…”
I mumbled and then whispered timidly. Saheon hyung was quietly looking at me as if waiting for my words.
“Can’t you… say you love me?”
Saheon hyung burst out laughing. Feeling embarrassed, I looked at Saheon hyung with deliberately sulky eyes. After laughing for a while with his eyes half-closed, Saheon hyung firmly grabbed my cheeks and kissed my fish-like pursed lips repeatedly.
“You’re so cute. I haven’t lived that virtuously, where did such a gift appear from?”
Embarrassed, I opened and closed my fish-like lips. I could feel my lips gradually turning red and heating up. Saheon hyung curved his lips broadly and whispered affectionately:
“I love you. I love you, Cheongmyeong.”
It felt like thousands of butterflies were fluttering in my chest. The anxiety of looking for proof that it was okay to confess now, in other words, evidence that hyung might like me, melted away like snow.
Instead, what took its place was melted water. The dam of emotions was rippling, about to overflow at any moment. The water that had been holding the emotions of a long unrequited love appeared as tears of relief.
Tears flowed down my already flushed eyes. But only then could I smile brightly.
***
Falling in love.
No, let me correct that. Getting a definite answer to a love without promise doesn’t mean the world turns upside down overnight. There was no ringing in my ears, no blue birds flying, no pink sky like in the jokes of romantic comics.
But the sense of fulfillment rising from deep within my chest could definitely be described as rainbow-colored. The solidity of being tightly bound by an invisible trust made me smile all day long.
I’m dating Saheon hyung.
The weight of this simple but by no means light sentence was enormous. As it became more substantial, my feelings for Saheon hyung, which I thought couldn’t grow any stronger, had grown even more.
I liked hyung so much. If I could, I wanted to be with him all day. I wanted to hold hands, kiss once every minute, and see his sexy face that only I could know.
I absolutely didn’t want to lose Saheon hyung to anyone, and I wanted to keep him for myself for life. I wanted him to say he loved only me, to like only me, to kiss only me – my strong possessiveness had also grown.
Perhaps because the thing I had longed for so much had come true, all day long my mind was filled with only the one person I had loved since childhood. Even ordinary daily life like waking up and eating toast made by hyung together, meeting Choi Hyun-oh and going to school for classes, eating meals in a daze – it all felt so special.
Moreover, as the messages exchanged with Saheon hyung began to take on an even sweeter tone, my heart was already floating in the air. The already affectionate texts were now overtly dripping with honey for the absolutely ridiculous reason that I was oblivious.
“Our baby♥ Did you eat your food deliciously?♥♥♥”
“What are you looking at?”
Even though I thought it was a message full of cheesiness, I quickly put my phone away, my lips curling up despite myself. After finishing lunch, with some awkward time left, I was waiting in the lecture hall and quickly shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, why is your face red?”
Choi Hyun-oh looked at me with eyes full of suspicion. Under his sharp gaze that wouldn’t leave me, my face gradually turned red. The light vibration in my pocket was surely a text from Saheon hyung, making me heat up even more.
“You’re so oblivious, Choi Hyun-oh.”
Shin Jiyu, who had settled in the front and was talking about her new nail art, cut in. She touched the nails painted with a pretty pink color and spoke with a reproachful tone.
“Can’t you tell just by looking? It’s his girlfriend.”
It wasn’t a girlfriend but something similar, and I opened my eyes wide. I didn’t know how she could guess such a thing. But soon after, Choi Hyun-oh’s voice full of shock was heard, breaking my reverie.
“What? Girlfriend?”
It seemed to be a loud voice that came out without him realizing, and Choi Hyun-oh quickly shut his mouth, but the classmates in the lecture hall had already heard. There was a murmuring sound. I looked around restlessly.
There was still some time left before the lecture, so there weren’t many classmates, but their faces were all filled with shock. For some reason, there was also a group whispering with shocked faces.
However, Choi Hyun-oh’s expression was hardened, as if he couldn’t see the atmosphere around him. Choi Hyun-oh whispered, lowering his voice considerably.
“You got a girlfriend?”
“…Huh? Uh… yeah…”
I vaguely affirmed. Seeing my answer, Choi Hyun-oh raised his eyebrows and gave a small cough. The voice that came out next contained words of congratulation.
“Congratulations, man. That girl from before? Looks like the confession… went well?”
“…Somehow…”
“Since when… did you decide to date?”
“Since yesterday…”
Saheon hyung had said we had been dating for a while, but we agreed to officially start counting from yesterday. I blushed as I recalled yesterday’s memories. Saheon hyung was affectionate, kissing me many times saying he loved me. Choi Hyun-oh, who had momentarily turned his gaze to empty space while scratching his cheek with his long fingers, asked in a somewhat artificial voice.
“That’s good. I was worried because it seemed like you were being… Anyway, is she a good person?”
Noticing the gap in what Choi Hyun-oh wanted to say, I nodded almost imperceptibly. Shin Jiyu and Kim Seo-hee, who were watching me and Choi Hyun-oh with great interest, let out a small “Oh-” of admiration.
“Well… If you’re happy, that’s good.”
Choi Hyun-oh, who had been mumbling his words, raised one eyebrow at Shin Jiyu’s piercing gaze. Shin Jiyu muttered in a suppressed voice.
“Are you jealous?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if you’re jealous that Cheongmyeong got a girlfriend first.”
“It’s not like that.”
Choi Hyun-oh denied it seriously. Kim Seo-hee added an “Eh-” from the side. Cornered, Choi Hyun-oh frantically denied it with gestures.
“I said it’s not. Ah, really. If you don’t know anything, just be quiet.”
Grumbling in a voice full of complaints, Choi Hyun-oh wrinkled his face when our eyes met. While I was thinking that maybe Shin Jiyu’s words were right, Choi Hyun-oh lightly hit my back, not enough to hurt.
Although it was a joke, there was a slight pain as if some emotion had been put into it. After hitting my back, Choi Hyun-oh, messing up his brightly bleached blonde hair, changed the subject, perhaps to escape from the tight spot.
“Then we should tell Yoo Do-jin. That you and I can’t go.”
I could understand what Choi Hyun-oh was talking about. It seemed to be about the blind date with the dance department girls that he had mentioned before.
“You too?”
I, who had no intention of going to the blind date even before getting a definite answer about dating Saheon hyung, belatedly noticed that Choi Hyun-oh wasn’t going either. Choi Hyun-oh shrugged and said:
“Why would I go without you? Besides, I had something to do that day, but Yoo Do-jin asked me to just fill a seat, so I was only going to show my face. Anyway. It’s fine. It’s fine. That’s good. Congratulations, man.”
After finishing his disorganized words, Choi Hyun-oh wrinkled his face. The thought that maybe Shin Jiyu’s words were right continued at the sight of him furrowing his brow with all his might, but it seemed to be my misconception. Choi Hyun-oh returned to his original self.
While Choi Hyun-oh was pulling up the corners of his mouth bitterly and had become quiet, it was rather Shin Jiyu and Kim Seo-hee who were causing a commotion. The two asked about Saheon hyung with sparkling eyes.
“You said you decided to date from yesterday? So today is the second day?”
“Wow, amazing. Is she pretty?”
“Is she from our school? Or a different school?”
“She’s working.”
I answered quietly. Somehow my face felt hot. It was embarrassing and awkward to introduce Saheon hyung as my lover to classmates attending the same school.
“Gasp, amazing. She’s working. Is Cheongmyeong the capable one or is that noona the capable one…?”
“Is she pretty? How many years apart are you?”
I could now understand why Saheon hyung had lied about being nine years apart. I mumbled vaguely about the age difference.
“Just… Noo… Yeah. Noona.”
“He says noona. Oh my, that noona must be so lucky.”
Kim Seo-hee giggled. Shin Jiyu also had a mischievous smile. Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, I turned my gaze away. Kim Seo-hee muttered:
“I hope she’s good enough.”
“Hey, hey. Cheongmyeong got a girlfriend, shh. Anyway. If you started dating yesterday, you must be in the fresh and innocent stage? Where are you going to go on dates?”
“Dates…?”
At the word ‘date’, I trailed off. It was hard to imagine going on a date with Saheon hyung. As I fell into contemplation, the two started recommending various places.
“The new cockle restaurant in front of the school. I heard it’s delicious.”
“What cockles for a date? Go eat pasta. Pasta.”
“But if she’s working, does she need to come all the way to the university area? Wouldn’t it be better to date in places like Gangnam or Cheongdam-dong?”
“That’s true… Cheongmyeong, do you have anything in mind?”
“Um… I do have something…”
I blushed and lowered my head slightly. Shin Jiyu and Kim Seo-hee burst out laughing, seemingly amused by my embarrassed appearance. I pressed my lips inward and swallowed what I wanted to say.
As someone who always thought relationships should be serious, what I wanted to do first was to sit down with Saheon hyung and seriously plan our future.
In other words, the only thing left was marriage.
