I followed Nam Kangwoo's back with small steps. To be honest, I had no idea where I was going. I fixed my gaze on the back in front of me, but at some point, it gradually lowered.
I was always low on energy, but I was especially so today. It was probably because of Mo Taehee, but I shook my head to brush off the memory of the bathroom, lest it resurface. Thanks to that, my vision swayed.
I staggered along, not even seeing someone walking towards me. The person walking towards me must have also not been looking where they were going, as we naturally bumped shoulders.
As always, I swayed and staggered like a piece of paper. My paper-light body shook violently even with the slightest bump.
Ah, I'm going to fall backward, the thought flashed through my mind. I relaxed my body to avoid falling in a ridiculous way.
“Oh…?”
A force grabbed my arm and pulled me, so instead of falling backward, I was pulled into the arms of the person who caught me. F*cking life… I was literally pulled into an embrace.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. I'm, I'm okay.”
A voice asking about my well-being came from above my head. I nodded my head, held in an awkward position. I think I'd be more okay if you let go of this, I muttered under my breath, and as I twisted my wrist, the man holding me let go with an awkward laugh.
Before I could even lift my head after being released from his grasp, Nam Kangwoo, who had been walking ahead, pulled me.
“Ha Yeoul, are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah.”
I answered with a dazed face. I was okay, but….
“Thank you.”
I remembered I had forgotten to say thank you and quickly said it. I lifted my head, which had been facing down until then, and a youthful face came into view.
He looked back and forth between Nam Kangwoo and me, then smiled shyly and said it was okay. He rubbed the back of his neck.
Their gazes met in mid-air. What's this? Do they know each other?
Nam Kangwoo glanced at him for a moment, then quickly checked on me. He pulled my arm, which he was holding, closer to him, and I swayed again, leaning against Nam Kangwoo's embrace.
“Watch where you're going.”
“Huh? Ah… yeah.”
I thought he was scolding me.
“Not you, him.”
“Yes, sunbae-nim. I'm sorry.”
The man in front of me smiled with a hint of embarrassment and bowed his head. They must know each other.
But I was sure I didn't know him, so I tilted my head, then lowered my gaze to the beautiful hand holding mine. Nam Kangwoo's hands were always pretty, even in a random moment like this. My wrist, held by his beautiful hand, felt a little awkward, and as I twisted it, his gaze, which had been on the man in front of us, turned to me.
Why, Nam Kangwoo mouthed silently, and I cleared my throat and muttered, "Your hand".
“Let's go.”
Nam Kangwoo, as if he hadn't heard my voice, started walking without letting go of my wrist. Let go, let go, I swallowed the words that rose to the tip of my tongue, as always. His stride was a bit wide, and as I tried to keep up, I fully understood the feelings of a crow-tit. It wasn't for nothing that they say their legs will rip.
This bastard personally put me inside the classroom and sat me down in the very front seat, right in the center, where no one else would sit. I looked up at Nam Kangwoo, breathing heavily, my breath not yet calm. What is this? This bastard…
“Pay attention in class. I'll come pick you up later.”
“The seat….”
“You have to listen carefully. You wanted to come to school so badly, Ha Yeoul.”
Was I that eager to learn? I thought for a moment, then decided I wasn't, and continued, stuttering, "The seat". But I quickly noticed his gaze turn cold and shut my mouth.
Right… I have to sit here. If he tells me to do it, I have to do it. What can I do?
“I'll come pick you up.”
“Yeah…….”
I didn't forget to answer like a well-behaved child, "I'll be waiting".
Nam Kangwoo, as if he was anxious about my obedient answer, kept brushing back the hair that fell over his forehead and sighed heavily. I gave him the answer he wanted, so why is he like that? I opened my eyes wide and watched him, and he let out a scoff.
“Why, why?”
“It's nothing.”
Nam Kangwoo, who had reluctantly stood up, reached out his beautiful hand and brushed my hair back. He should do this at home. The surrounding gazes seemed to be directed at us, so I slowly pulled my neck back.
“Haha… G-goodbye. S-see you later….”
I even raised my hand and waved. Go, hurry up and go. Go.
I waved my hand about ten times, hoping Nam Kangwoo would get my deep meaning, and finally, his body turned. Just like when he came in, he received everyone's attention as he left.
Nam Kangwoo smiled like a gentleman, with a face I hadn't seen before, and greeted those who recognized him from here and there.
Oh, Nam Kangwoo must be popular. Then, can I... be popular too? At the sudden thought, I took out the phone I had stuffed in my pocket and searched for things like "how to be popular." But as always, there was no way something like how to be popular would be on the internet.
With a stupid face, I deleted the search terms I had typed one by one and laid my head on the desk. I have no energy. I'm especially drowsy, so I really just want to lie down.
I was slowly closing my eyes when I noticed someone sitting next to me and only moved my pupils upwards. It was the person I had bumped into earlier. He looked even more childlike up close. I blinked my eyes and opened my mouth to say hello.
“Hello….”
Since Nam Kangwoo was his sunbae-nim, he was definitely younger than me, but I was polite.
“Ah, hello. Um… hyu… hyung…?”
Hyung? If I'm hyung, I'm hyung, why is he raising the end of the word? I gave an awkward smile to the handsome guy sitting next to me, who was blushing.
“Am I 'hyung'?”
“Yes? Yes, um… yes. Are you, uncomfortable?”
He looked anxious, as if he had made a mistake.
“No. It's just, the word hyung is unfamiliar….”
I was so used to the scary bastards calling me Yeoul, Ha Yeoul, that any other word used to address me felt strange. I smiled awkwardly and wondered if I should continue the conversation. A wave of fatigue washed over me.
“I'm Park Chanmin. I thought you might not know my name, hyung.”
“Ah… I'm—”
“Yeoul hyung.”
Speak comfortably, I was about to answer his low voice when the professor entered the classroom. I blinked my eyes and slowly lifted my body from its slumped position.
It was a drowsy, drowsy start.
* * *
Sitting in the front row, I fought sleep with all my might. A full day of classes on the first day of the semester….
Park Chanmin, who was sitting next to me, must have found my state amusing, as he kept glancing at me and laughing silently whenever our eyes met. Was I that funny?
I finally came to my senses after the professor left the classroom, and with drowsy eyes, I packed my bag. Nam Kangwoo said he would come to pick me up, but I had no intention of waiting for that bastard. I had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
“Hyung.”
After I put the cute pouch with my writing utensils in my bag, I heard Park Chanmin calling me. As I zipped up my bag and lifted my head, the guy, who seemed to have a shy personality, still had a blush on his cheeks and held something out to me.
“Huh?”
“Have this.”
I lowered my gaze to the something he shyly held out, and a chocolate bar was placed cutely on his thick palm.
I hesitated for a moment. He seems to know Nam Kangwoo… but does he just know him, or are they close? Surely he's not a character like a henchman...?
I corrected my narrowed eyes and reached out my hand.
“Th…ank you.”
“Hyung, who are you having lunch with?”
“Lunch…? Um….”
I wasn't actually hungry.
“I was going to eat alone, but do you want to… eat together?”
Out of courtesy, I asked Park Chanmin if he wanted to eat with me.
“If that's okay, then yes.”
And Park Chanmin answered without hesitation that he would. Park Chanmin seemed to have an easygoing personality, as he seemed to get along easily with people he had just met.
It wasn't the development I had expected, but I wondered if things had ever gone as I expected, so I nodded and stood up. Park Chanmin also packed his belongings. With a constant smile on his face.
My body, as always, staggered when I stood up from a sitting position, and Park Chanmin reflexively caught me. I was a body that was very used to being taken care of like this, so I naturally straightened myself and muttered thank you. F*cking life… I was used to everything.
It felt like heat was rushing to my face. It seemed like Park Chanmin was tactfully pretending not to notice. Right. He seemed to have better sense and tact than the three of them. I felt excited, as if I had made a new friend.
“Where….”
“Do you want to eat at the cafeteria, hyung?”
Park Chanmin asked with a smile that curved his eyes like a crescent moon, as if asking if it was okay.
“Yeah, anything.”
I nodded and met his eyes. Park Chanmin was very big, but his face was cute. It was like… Mo Taehee's body with Seo Jaehoon's face. He wasn't as handsome as Seo Jaehoon, but he was definitely cuter than Seo Jaehoon.
Park Chanmin shifted his large body and reached out his hand. I thought it was a gesture to go, so I moved my dazed body and followed him.
We ordered a pork cutlet and the daily special and sat facing each other, concentrating on eating without much conversation. Park Chanmin seemed to have something he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the right timing because he was constantly moving his hands to put food in his mouth.
He eats well. I learned what it means to eat heartily while eating with Park Chanmin.
I picked up a small piece of pork cutlet and put it in my mouth, chewing slowly. I didn't feel very well. I felt like I was going to get indigestion, so I ate slower than Park Chanmin.
“Hyung, does it not taste good?”
“Ah… no. It's just… it's edible.”
I poked at the salad on the side of my plate with my fork and put it in my mouth. My unappetizing eating seemed to bother him, as Park Chanmin's eating speed slowed down. It's okay, really. I felt like I was bothering him more, so I ate two more pieces of pork cutlet that I had no intention of eating.
“Actually, I was surprised when you greeted me first, hyung.”
Now what random thing was this? I slowly chewed the meat in my mouth and looked up. What? As I met his gaze with questioning eyes, Park Chanmin stretched his lips into a smile.
“You're not really the type to get along well with people. I've hardly ever seen you with the sunbae-nims.”
“Ah… my body… is a little sick.”
“This is the first time I'm seeing your face this close up, hyung.”
“…I-is that… so?”
“Hyung, you're really pretty, no, you're really handsome.”
That last comment was probably just flattery. I see my face every day without fail, so I knew that statement wasn't true. Nevertheless, I felt good. As expected, people need to live on compliments.
“Th… thank you.”
After giving a rough answer, I felt like I had to say something too.
“You're… handsome too. And you're tall.”
“I hear that a lot.”
I laughed along with Park Chanmin, who gave a slick answer and a hearty laugh.
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