ABM CH15

Chapter 15: Yeonho yah

“You’ll catch a cold.”

Woo Yeonho said, tilting the umbrella handle closer toward me. He added, asking if I wasn’t cold, his voice filled with concern as if I’d been the one who’d run through the rain.

‘You’re the one who’s soaked…’ 

I pulled some tissues from the bag I was wearing in front and handed them to him. Instead, he took hold of the umbrella handle and leaned his head down toward me.

“Wipe it off for me. My hands are full.”

“…”

What a ridiculous thing to say. He was obviously doing this to tease me, but he didn’t seem inclined to back off. I quickly glanced around. We hadn’t left the school gate yet, so there were still a lot of students around. With the umbrella above us, I couldn’t quite tell where their gazes were directed.

‘Maybe that’s a good thing…?’

I let out a tiny sigh of relief, but Woo Yeonho, still leaning down, asked in a whiny voice.

“Aren’t you going to wipe it for me?”

‘Is he actually whining? Oh, good grief…’

Woo Yeonho made the saddest face he could, just like the last time. He looked like a puppy soaked in the rain. Normally, I wouldn’t be too concerned about such things, but the puppy-like Woo Yeonho had me feeling nervous.

‘Why am I so tense over something like this?’

I held my bag tightly and carefully wiped his face. As I did, I remembered what my second sister had told me about drying my face: don’t rub, just dab gently. So, I tried to press as softly as I could.

‘Tap, tap… Is this how it’s done?’

Throughout the whole process, Woo Yeonho smiled brightly as I wiped his face. If he were really a puppy, I would have squeezed those soft, chubby cheeks and showered him with kisses on his forehead, cheeks, or even his little nose.

When I wiped around his eyes, he briefly closed them and then opened them again, grinning without saying a word. 

Finally, as I wiped under his chin, Woo Yeonho whispered softly.

“Seungwoo really likes my face, huh?”

“…Huh?”

“You’re so focused, it’s cute.”

“…”

That’s not it at all! I was so nervous that I hadn’t thought about anything at all.

‘…Or was I? Was I focused? How many eyelashes does Woo Yeonho have? What color are his irises? Were his lips cracked?’

I couldn’t tell if I had been concentrating or if I simply had no thoughts in my head. The only thing I could think about was… 

‘No, was that also because I was focused?’

As my legs grew stiff and my pace slowed, Woo Yeonho pushed my back to urge me to walk faster. We had already passed the school gate, and it wasn’t long before we passed the bus stop. I noticed the bus I needed to take just leaving as we walked by. After a while, I realized we were still walking and turned to look at Woo Yeonho.

“I, I need to take the bus…”

“Let’s catch the next one.”

“…..Why?”

“Because I want to walk with you more.”

‘Woo Yeonho’s eyes crinkle up like that whenever he smiles. It’s cute…’

Every breath he let out while smiling felt good. I enjoyed the sound of the rain hitting the umbrella, the splashes made by stepping into shallow puddles, and even the hurried sounds of a bike passing by. I loved everything about being here with Woo Yeonho. Instead of saying what was on the tip of my tongue, I hesitated and mumbled.

“…We could… keep going…”

The sound of the rain was so loud that I wasn’t sure if he heard me. As I watched our shoes hitting the pavement alternately, I hugged my bag tightly with both arms. Woo Yeonho asked if I would like that, but he didn’t specify where we should go.

‘So does that mean even if the next bus stop comes up, he wants to keep walking? That it’s okay for us to stay together? After all, if the rain doesn’t stop, Woo Yeonho will need the umbrella too. Getting rained on could lead to hair loss and skin issues, not to mention catching a cold…’

Honestly, I just wanted to keep walking together, no matter where we ended up.

While I was thinking up excuses, Woo Yeonho’s phone rang. It was a message notification, and it seemed urgent since it rang consecutively. As he continued to ignore it, he released the arm that had been wrapped around my shoulder and adjusted his grip on the umbrella. The warm spot where he had held me quickly cooled down, making me feel a little chilly.

‘The umbrella…..Should I just hold it myself…?’

As I thought that, I glanced at Woo Yeonho and saw the name I had heard earlier on his phone screen. It was the name that had been bothering me all day. 

“Uh, Yoon Heerum…”

“……You know her?”

I had inadvertently spoken the girl’s name. Woo Yeonho stopped walking and stared down at me.

‘Uh… Should I say I do know her?’

I had seen Woo Yeonho getting confessed to today, and the girl who confessed to him was Yoon Heerum. I had also heard Kim Jungwoo talking about Yoon Heerum. 

“Today, our Yeonho received a love confession from the goddess Yoon Heerum, everyone!”

I had heard him asking Woo Yeonho to share what happened, but I hadn’t caught his answer due to the noise from the other kids. 

Among all of them, Kim Jungwoo was the loudest. That annoying guy didn’t hold back on praising Yoon Heerum, saying she was the prettiest girl in the second year with a great personality. He also mentioned that among the girls who liked Woo Yeonho, if it was Yoon Heerum, they could accept it, and some even cried.

Anyway, since I knew her indirectly, I nodded, and Woo Yeonho gave me a look I was used to seeing.

“How do you know her, Seungwoo?”

I felt like my heart was dropping. Although I couldn’t know what Woo Yeonho was thinking when we were so close, it was clear he seemed displeased at that moment. 

‘Why is he suddenly acting like this? Is it really that upsetting for me to know Yoon Heerum? The other kids in class all know her too.’

I averted my gaze and looked down at the ground. 

So it seemed that girl had become Woo Yeonho’s girlfriend. That’s why he felt uncomfortable with me knowing about her. I hadn’t realized he was so possessive. 

‘He never showed it that much…’

Then why did he share an umbrella with me? Why did he say he wanted to walk together? Why did he ask me to wipe his face? 

I crushed a small stone on the ground with my toes. Woo Yeonho had stopped using his phone and didn’t say anything more. The silence was becoming more frightening, so I decided to share what I thought he wanted to know.

“Earlier… I saw you and Yoon Heerum in the hallway… and I heard about it in class too…”

“…….Ah.”

“So, I just know her name. I didn’t see her face in detail…”

Even if she passed right in front of me, I wouldn’t know if it was Yoon Heerum for sure. I was desperately trying to defend myself regarding how I knew that girl, and I noticed Woo Yeonho’s expression beginning to soften a bit.

He was usually good at managing his emotions, but it seemed he struggled with anything related to a girlfriend. It felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

‘Wait, am I hurt?’

The prickling sensation in my nose felt strangely familiar. If I stayed like this, I might end up crying in front of Woo Yeonho, so I tried to cover my eyes with my bangs. Meanwhile, I searched my mind for something else to say in defense, and I heard Woo Yeonho let out a small sigh. 

I was afraid of what he might say. I clutched my already crumpled bag tighter. The textbooks and notebooks inside didn’t seem safe, but this was all I had to hold onto, so I couldn’t help it.

Woo Yeonho tilted his body towards me with the umbrella, and I noticed its edge brushing against his hair. Ah, his back would get soaked at this rate.

“Seongwoo, you must’ve started overthinking on your own again.”

“N-no, I didn’t… not at all…”

“I turned her down.”

“……Huh?”

As I stammered back dumbly, Woo Yeonho chuckled and gently brushed aside the bangs covering my eyes. His touch was so careful that my heart, despite itself, began to race, foolishly ignoring the situation.

“You were curious, weren’t you? About what I did.”

“…”

“If I hadn’t turned her down, would you have wanted me to?”

How could I even think about something like that? I was only just promoted from being just another kid in his class to the coveted “Contact #1” in Woo Yeonho’s phone.

Even though Woo Yeonho didn’t like me that way, the way he acted was so gentle, and his words seemed wrapped in a warmth that tricked me into thinking there was affection. He treated not only me this way but others too.

It was clear to me that his kindness was an act, void of any real feeling, but the kids around him mistook it as his special interest in them. 

The only difference between me and those others was that I could tell the real Woo Yeonho from his performance. Because I knew the truth, I was determined to stay on the safe side of the line he had drawn—never even stepping a toe across it.

‘…But sometimes, I just don’t know how to answer when Woo Yeon-ho does this…’

If I said yes to Woo Yeonho, I worried he’d laugh at me inside but if I said no, this conversation might never end.

‘And maybe, he’d feel bad if I gave the wrong answer.’

So I hesitated, thinking hard about what kind of reply Woo Yeonho might want to hear.

“Next time, don’t keep it all in. Just ask me, Seongwoo.” 

He said, his fingers moving from my bangs to lightly brush my earlobe. The touch stayed there for a moment, then moved down to cover my entire ear and slowly down again. Woo Yeonho’s fingers stroked the back of my neck, and my shoulders, which had been so cold, were now burning with heat. It should’ve tickled, but it didn’t.

‘Is it because I’ve gotten used to Woo Yeonho’s touch?’

He lingered at the nape of my neck as if searching for a spot, then reached down to cover my hand, which had been clutching my bag. The warmth that spread from my neck now filled our clasped hands.

“Everything you’re curious or unhappy about. Okay?”

But how am I supposed to deal with this…when you’re being so gentle?

Why do you keep making me confused like this? When you get tired of the game, what’ll I do? Even after it’s over, will I still be able to ask if we can grab a meal, text, or call once in a while? Even if it’s too much every week, would once a month be okay? If I say it now, while you’re pretending to be kind, would you say yes?

“…call… Yeon…?”

“Hm?”

“C-Can I… call you… Yeon-Yeonho?”

“Say it again?”

“Is it… okay if I call you Yeonho?”

‘I said it. I can’t believe I actually said it…’

The moment I called him by his name, Yeonho, my hands curled up instinctively, flustered. But Woo Yeonho only held them tighter, anchoring me there. Finally, I moved my gaze to meet his. His lips, slightly parted with a faint smile, and his eyes, gleaming with that beautiful look, were all so familiar.

‘Right… this expression… where have I seen it before?’

“Say it again.”

“Y-Yeon-ho…”

“Hmm?”

“Yeonho yah…”

The sound of his name tumbled out of my mouth, quivering. Come to think of it, I’d never actually called him by his name until now. And it was such a beautiful name…

‘Woo Yeonho. Yeonho…’

Then it clicked—he looked just like the male lead from a drama, gazing at the heroine with that soft, warm smile.

“Yeah. And?”

Woo Yeonho’s bright eyes seeming to twinkle, impossibly so, even in the gloomy light.

‘How can his eyes sparkle like that in such dark weather?’

Lost in those thoughts, I murmured something that just slipped out.

“My hand… it hurts.”

“……Ha.”

Woo Yeonho lowered his head and let out a quiet laugh, muttering, “Sorry, sorry.” I’d seen him smile beautifully countless times, but this laugh was new. 

He loosened his grip, gently brushing his palm against mine, and the tickling sensation traveled up my arm, sending a tingly warmth all the way to my chest. The rain seemed to be easing up, the sound against the umbrella growing softer.

‘Good. At least Yeonho won’t get any more soaked.’

“Seungwoo yah.”

“…Huh?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Ah… that… um…”

My words stumbled out like a murmur, caught off guard by the question. Suddenly? Here? With him? We’d kissed before, but it was always in a playful way. Did he really want to now, right here?

Was my reaction amusing him that much?

‘Not that I don’t want to… but…’

Would it be better to say yes when he asked so naturally? The rain had left the streets empty, we were alone under the umbrella…

“If you’re not into it, I’ll just kiss your cheek. No one can see under the umbrella. It’s okay.”

His gentle voice drifted over me, just as sweet as the time he’d asked if I really didn’t like chocolate. Before I knew it, I found myself nodding.

“Y-yeah.”

Woo Yeonho handed me the umbrella handle, then took my face in his hands and softly kissed my cheek. The touch was so slow and careful that it made me feel like I was something precious to him, something he didn’t want to rush or break.

Just as he’d promised, he only kissed my cheek. He pulled back to look at me, a soft, pure smile lighting up his face like he was the most harmless, innocent person in the world.

‘…He could kiss me more. Not just on my cheek, but on my lips too.’

The thought made me blush, heat creeping over my face as I realized how much I wanted more.