ABM CH25

Chapter 25. There’s too much time left until meeting you

By the time we finished shopping and returned home, it was well past dinnertime. It took even longer because we visited my second older sister’s regular salon to trim my hair and learn styling techniques. We bought clothes after visiting eight more stores, returning to the fifth store we had visited.

I hung the clothes my sister had coordinated and bought today on hangers, and after roughly organizing my room that I had completely wrecked before going out, the view outside the window had turned completely dark.

Maybe because I had eaten hamburgers with my sister earlier outside, I wasn’t hungry, so I decided to skip dinner. Dad said he would cook tonight, and I got scolded while trying to explain that I absolutely wasn’t skipping dinner because of that.

‘I wonder what Woo Yeonho is doing now? Is he choosing what clothes to wear tomorrow or wondering what to do, like me?’

No, Yeonho wouldn’t be worrying about such things. He just wants to watch a movie. That damn movie.

Using my phone, I checked what movies were playing at theaters, then searched for nearby restaurants and cafes, and if there was anything else to see. 

Then, as if flowing with the current, I entered the chat room with Yeonho, read through it from beginning to end, looked at Yeonho’s photos in the album, and even checked the call log.

Apart from the missed call Yeonho had left previously, we had never talked on the phone, so the recent log only showed family numbers.

‘I want to hear his voice.’

That voice that sweetly calls me “Seungwoo.”

Why hasn’t he contacted me at all today? 

It’s the day before our appointment, and he hasn’t even asked if I might have forgotten. 

Could Yeonho have forgotten? That’s possible. Yeonho is so popular that there must be many guys trying to monopolize his weekend time.

Thinking about that suddenly made me anxious.

Should I message him first? Should I call him? What if he gets upset that I called him on my own? But I need to check that he hasn’t forgotten our appointment tomorrow… 

If he asks why I called, couldn’t I just say I wanted to double-check the time and place?

‘Yeonho was the one who suggested we go first.’

After deliberating for a long time with my finger hovering over Yeonho’s number, I finally made the call. Whatever happens, happens. If he gets angry or upset, there’s nothing I can do about it. 

But still feeling scared, I couldn’t pretend otherwise, so I hugged my white bear doll named Yeonho and pulled the blanket over my head.

The ringback tone, which didn’t have any custom music, rang a few times before it abruptly stopped.

Yeonho had answered the call!

I was so nervous that my stomach felt ticklish and my body trembled involuntarily. Yeonho’s low voice flowed from the phone. It seemed a bit noisy in the background, so he was probably outside.

“Hello, Seungwoo.”

“Ah, um, I… um…”

“What is it?”

Yeonho laughed into the phone. Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t upset that I had called. I pressed the phone closer to my ear, wanting to hear his laughter a bit more. His short breathing sounds stopped, and then he spoke in a voice slightly lower than his usual tone.

“What were you doing, Seungwoo?”

My heart fluttered completely. How can someone’s voice be this attractive? Every time my name came out of Yeonho’s mouth, I felt grateful to my grandfather who had given me this name.

‘Thank you, Grandfather. Next time I visit, I’ll give you lots of shoulder massages.’

In response to Yeonho’s question about what I was doing, various thoughts ran through my mind.

I went shopping and got my hair trimmed because I didn’t have clothes to wear when meeting you. The salon director said my hair was quite damaged, so they did some kind of treatment, and now my hair is super soft. 

And my second older sister said she’d put a little makeup on me tomorrow, even though I don’t want to.

I think it’s a bit strange for a guy to wear makeup, but she says it’s an era where men wear makeup too. Oh, and I also met Yoon Heureum today. She was talking about you with her friend. She said that even though you told her you wanted to be friends after she confessed, there’s still a chance. 

Is that true? Yeonho, are you really going to date Yoon Heureum?

“I’m, I’m lying down to sleep…”

“Already?”

Looking at the clock after Yeonho’s question, it was only 9 PM. While I was thinking about what else to say, Yeonho spoke first.

“Go to sleep in a bit, and talk with me now.”

“Um… aren’t you, outside…?”

“It’s fine, I can hear your voice clearly.”

“You, you don’t seem to be, a-alone…”

“Why does that matter?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I just thought you might be, waiting for someone…”

“I was waiting for your call too.”

“…”

Even though I knew I shouldn’t take Yeonho’s words at face value, I almost fell for it again.

He can manipulate others’ feelings as he pleases, so I need to stay alert to avoid being deceived, but even knowing this, it’s difficult to do.

‘Is this what happens when you like someone?’

For a while, my stomach felt ticklish, and I curled my toes, then pulled on the nose of the bear doll named Yeonho instead of Yeonho’s mouth.

I wish Yeonho would feel some pain. Then he wouldn’t say such things so carelessly.

‘…But still being outside at this hour, is hanging out with Yoon Heureum that much fun? Playing so enjoyably that you lose track of time, and yet you say you were waiting for a call…’

I wonder if he’s just lying through his teeth.

“Worry about me too, not just other people.”

From Yeonho’s side, I could hear cars passing by and the voices of bustling people nearby. I listened carefully in case I might hear Yoon Heureum’s voice, but no female voice could be heard.

‘Did she go to the bathroom or something?’

My response to Yeonho’s words came out somewhat curt.

“I… I didn’t say I’d, c-call…”

“Yeah, I waited on my own accord. But today it was worth the wait.”

Yeonho really is good at acting. Even when saying something like a drama line, it seemed natural. If it had been someone else listening instead of me, they would have really believed Yeonho was waiting for their call.

‘…But why is it so hot?’

I muttered while rolling up the blanket that had been covering my head and pushing it to the side.

“You’re lying…”

“I’m not lying.”

I was just talking to myself, but it seems he heard that too.

‘Ah, why did I say that of all things?’

I hurriedly moved the phone away from my ear and tried to cover my mouth, but it was meaningless since Yeonho had already heard everything.

‘Park Seungwoo, you idiot, what must Yeonho be thinking?’

“Uh, no… It’s not, not about you…”

“Then who’s the liar?”

“…I didn’t say, l-liar…”

“Okay, then who’s the terrible liar in the world?”

“…”

“Tell me quickly. So I can scold them.”

It seemed like Yeonho wouldn’t stop until his name came out of my mouth. My hand holding the phone became damp with sweat. 

While thinking about how to respond, I decided to try the conversational technique Yeonho uses when he finds a question difficult or bothersome to answer. Though I’m not sure if it will work since the other person is Yeonho.

“What, what were you doing…? It’s already n-night… Have you… eaten dinner…?”

“Hmm…”

…Is this not working?

“Um… And… When, are you going home…? If it’s too late… it could be dangerous… It’s, it’s better to go home, early…”

“Ah.”

“Um… Sorry… If I’m, being too nosy…”

“No, that’s not it, Seungwoo.”

Yeonho’s laughter briefly became distant, then returned. 

“This is driving me crazy.” 

He muttered, then spoke again in a calm voice.

“There’s a family event, so I came to a relative’s house. I haven’t eaten dinner yet, and someone just told me to come in quickly, so I’m heading home now.”

That earlier laughter must not have stopped, as his voice answering each of my questions was full of amusement. I wished he would keep laughing like that because his warm voice pouring from the phone into my ears sounded so nice.

I see, so today there was a family event…

“Seungwoo.”

“Uh, yes?”

“Are you feeling good today?”

“Huh…? Why, why?”

“You sound like you’re smiling.”

“I’m, not smiling…”

“What were you thinking about?”

How could I possibly explain that I’m this happy just because he wasn’t with Yoon Heureum? He would definitely think I’m strange. 

Yeonho would probably never understand in his lifetime. He couldn’t possibly know these feelings. I hope Yeonho never finds out. I hope he doesn’t like anyone. That way, he would distribute his warmth equally to everyone, and I could be included in that too.

“…Thinking about… what to eat, for lunch tomorrow…”

“Sigh…”

Yeonho let out something like a sigh. After staying silent for a moment, he finally continued after exhaling deeply.

“That’s all you were thinking about?”

“Yes. You, you told me to decide… the menu…”

“What are you going to eat?”

“I, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Then shall we decide together? Until I get home. I just got in a taxi.”

“…Can we, keep talking, on the phone?”

“Yes. I’m bored, so let’s keep talking.”

How long would it take from his relative’s house to Yeonho’s home? I hope it’s as far as possible. About 10 minutes. No, 20 minutes. It would be nice if they stopped at every traffic light and it took even longer.

“Seungwoo, you like meat, right?”

“…I don’t… like it that much…”

“You only ate meat on your birthday.”

I don’t know why he remembers such things. Yeonho, with his unnecessarily good memory, nagged me about not being a picky eater, something even my mom doesn’t do. I was about to say that he doesn’t eat hamburgers either, but that didn’t seem right, so I stopped.

‘What would Yeonho like? Seeing how he eats everything well during lunch at school without being picky, it seems like anything except fast food would be fine.’

I switched the call to speaker mode and shared links to well-reviewed restaurants near the movie theater we planned to visit tomorrow in our chat room. I meant to narrow it down to three or four options, but everything looked good, making it hard to choose precisely. 

After I shared more than ten links, Yeonho said.

“Seungwoo, we can go to all the places you want, so take your time choosing.”

“…Ah…”

But I can’t do that because tomorrow is the only day I can go with you. Did I send too many? He might find it annoying to check each one, which I hadn’t considered.

I skimmed through the links I had sent to Yeonho while calming my briefly excited mood. Then I made a final decision on a restaurant that was the most reasonable with a moderate price range and sent it to Yeonho. 

It was a brunch café with many reviews and located in the movie theater building, which seemed convenient for moving around. Yeonho was silent for a moment, probably looking at the restaurant information in the link I sent.

“After all that deliberation, this is where you wanted to go?”

“Um… yes… they, they say it’s delicious…”

“Who says?”

“The, the reviews… Is it bad…?”

“No, it’s fine. So, Seungwoo, we’ll have lunch there, and then where should we go next?”

The restaurant I chose fortunately seemed to be okay with Yeonho too. Just as I was feeling relieved, Yeonho gave me another assignment. 

‘Didn’t he say he was bored on the way home? Was he trying to pass time by teasing me?’ 

About 30 minutes into our phone call with Yeonho, several things had been decided. 

Not just the restaurant for lunch, but also a famous dessert café, and we even planned to go to an exhibition in the evening. It seemed like too much to handle in one day, but Yeonho didn’t seem to mind. 

I talked with Yeonho for about 10 more minutes after that. His relative’s house must have been really far. It was good for me, but I was a bit worried that Yeonho might be tired. 

Yeonho, who said he finally arrived home at almost 10 o’clock, hung up saying we’d see each other tomorrow. I was disappointed at his abrupt goodbye, but I tried not to show it, though I’m not sure if I succeeded. 

Since I barely slept yesterday, I planned to go to bed early today. After checking once more on the clothes I had hung up to wear tomorrow, I lay down in bed when a text came from Yeonho. 

[Sleep well, Seungwoo.] 

I kept that message open and replied. “You too, sleep well, Yeonho.” 

My heart was fluttering so much I thought I might go crazy.