ABM CH9

Chapter 9: I’m Glad I Don’t Have A Tail

When I woke up the next morning, I was anxious to confirm whether my phone call with Woo Yeonho had been real or just a dream. I scrambled to check my call history.

My fingers were too jittery to unlock my phone with fingerprint recognition, so I ended up wrestling with the old, beat-up device’s lock screen for a while before finally getting it open with the pattern.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them to see Woo Yeonho’s name at the top of the call log.

My heart, which had been pounding irregularly, now felt like it was racing uncontrollably, as if it had caught a serious illness.

It wasn’t a dream. So, that means the cute gestures of blowing kisses into the phone, the birthday wishes, and the “good night” before hanging up were all things Woo Yeonho actually said.

Oh my God. This can’t be real.

“…Or did I imagine it all?”

Maybe that’s possible.

It would make sense for someone to wish happy birthday or good night over the phone, but Woo Yeonho actually kissing his phone seemed unlikely.

Yet, my mind couldn’t stop picturing Woo Yeonho giving his phone little kisses, which quickly transitioned to imagining him whispering in my ear and then kissing me.

Woo Yeonho’s large hands would cup my cheeks, lingering close, kissing my ear, nibbling on my earlobe, and blowing air gently. His touch on the back of my neck was neither hurried nor impatient, but relaxed and filled with soft chuckles. I rolled from one end of my narrow bed to the other, completely absorbed in these thoughts.

I spent the entire golden Sunday day in such fantasies. While eating, running errands for my sister, or being dragged to the baseball stadium by my dad, my thoughts kept drifting back to Woo Yeonho. My dad even said that we briefly appeared on the giant screen at the stadium, and my silly face made him laugh.

Anyway, I couldn’t even let go of my phone in case there was another message or call from Woo Yeonho.

I don’t even know how many times I checked the call time with him. Eventually, I came up with a reason to talk to Woo Yeonho the next day.

“Since Woo Yeonho made the call, he must have incurred a lot of charges, right?”

After all, we talked for over 30 minutes. So, it’s only reasonable that I offer to cover some of the charges this month. It’s a plausible, sensitive matter, and definitely something I need to bring up first. Woo Yeonho would surely think so too.

Ah, I hope Woo Yeonho arrives at school a little earlier tomorrow. That way, if I spot him first, I can call out, “Yeonho yah!^[1]” to him.

***

After spending the weekend dreaming about Woo Yeonho, Monday arrived, and I was finally going to see him for real. 

While my family members were complaining about not wanting to go to work, I was the first to get ready, finishing breakfast quickly and stepping out of the house with a light heart. I declined my younger sister’s offer to drive me, deciding it was better to walk in case I encountered Woo Yeonho unexpectedly.

Since it was early, the bus and the streets were quieter than usual. My anticipation of possibly running into Woo Yeonho remained just that—anticipation.

Sitting in the nearly empty classroom, I found myself getting up and sitting back down every time I heard footsteps in the hallway. Eventually, I became adept at ignoring footsteps that were too light, too fast, or too numerous.

Slowly, the classroom began to fill up. It was getting more difficult to approach Woo Yeonho.

‘It’s disappointing, but it’s not like today is the only day.’

I abandoned my determined plan to talk to Woo Yeonho and focused on preparing for the first period. I was worried about this subject because I had scored very poorly last time. The teacher was notorious for calling out the names of students who scored low on quizzes, and I dreaded the possibility of being called out in front of everyone again.

‘What if Woo Yeonho finds out?’

The thought of Woo Yeonho knowing about my terrible score made me gloomy.

Would Woo Yeonho even care about a loser like me?

“Seungwoo yah, hello.”

It was Woo Yeonho! I had my forehead resting on my textbook, but I quickly lifted my head. My voice, full of excitement, came out trembling.

“…Ah, hi.”

The sensation of an invisible tail wagging behind me was almost overwhelming. It felt like the kind of joyful welcome a dog gives to a long-absent owner. At least I was grateful that I didn’t have a tail to give me away.

‘If I had a tail, I wouldn’t have been able to hide my excitement, no matter how hard I tried.’

Woo Yeonho was leaning over my chair, his hand resting on the back as he looked down at me. I could even smell his refreshing body wash from how close he was.

‘Ah, Woo Yeonho, it’s really him.’

I kept thinking about it, but the urge to greet him with “Yeonho yah” was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t understand why I found it so hard to call out his name. He called me Seungwoo with such ease and friendliness, but I couldn’t even manage to say his name right.

It was all because Woo Yeonho looked especially radiant today.

He seemed to have been caught in a dress code check at the school gate, as he had buttoned up his shirt neatly. However, his sleeves were rolled up haphazardly, which was somehow… 

“You’ve got a mark.”

Woo Yeonho said as he brushed his fingers across my forehead. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that he mentioned it, I quickly covered my forehead with my hand, flustered.

‘A mark? Is it from leaning against the book? It should be minor and shouldn’t have lasted long…’

He was observant, but there was no sign of him pretending not to notice, which was probably just part of his playful side. It seemed like Woo Yeonho was eager to tease me today, and this was just a little part of that.

“Did you sleep from the morning?”

“Ah, no…”

His smile was so infuriatingly charming. I couldn’t believe how even his beautiful smile could look annoying. Woo Yeonho laughed out loud at my response. I couldn’t understand why he laughed so easily.

‘He must laugh like that with others too, right?’

In places I can’t see.

‘Did he smile like that at the kids who gave him gifts in the morning?’

The thought twisted my insides with a strange feeling.

‘He probably patted their heads and thanked them too, right?’

Perhaps he gave out his number or made plans to meet in return. Or maybe he had made arrangements to meet with someone else.

‘It’s his choice to smile, so why does this feeling bother me?’

I wish he wouldn’t smile at just anyone. The thought was stuck at the back of my throat, making it impossible to bring up the topic of phone bills with him.

The conversation didn’t extend further. Not only did I feel disheartened, but I was also interrupted by Kim Jungwoo, who took Woo Yeonho’s attention away.

By the time the first-period bell rang, Kim Jungwoo was trying to convince Woo Yeonho to join them for a soda betting basketball game with kids from the other class.

I wanted to hear Woo Yeonho’s response, but with almost everyone from the class chiming in, I couldn’t hear his voice.

‘Did Woo Yeon-ho agree? I’d like to watch.’

***

“Ah, it’s hot.”

Woo Yeonho sat down in front of me, shaking his wet hair. To recap, Woo Yeonho had played basketball with the kids from the next class during lunch, and they won. That’s why a chilled apple juice from the vending machine was now sitting on my desk.

‘Did Woo Yeonho give me this because he likes it? Or did he bring it for me? Why did he come to me right after the game ended?’

As I pondered, staring at the apple juice placed slightly closer to me, Woo Yeonho leaned his arms on the desk. The old desk wobbled slightly due to his unsteady balance.

“Did it do something wrong?”

Woo Yeon-ho asked in a teasing tone.

‘He can’t possibly think I’m fighting with the apple juice.’

It was a ridiculous and funny thought, but it was clear that Woo Yeonho’s way of speaking was all wrong.

He ripped open the straw attached to the apple juice and stuck it in the bottle. Then, he placed the straw in my mouth.

‘Ah, so he gave it to me to drink.’

I adjusted my grip on the juice Woo Yeonho was holding and started sipping it, enjoying the refreshing fruit flavor that brightened my mood for a moment.

While I was drinking about half of it, Woo Yeonho kept his gaze fixed on my face, never looking away. His face was filled with a big smile, clearly amused by something.

‘Should I say it’s delicious? Did I thank him?’

Though I wasn’t sure what to say, the embarrassment of being watched made me blurt out something vague.

“…Is it really hot?”

“Yeah, it’s hot and tiring.”

Woo Yeonho’s brown eyes sparkled as if he had been waiting for someone to ask. 

‘Maybe I should have asked earlier…’

However, it seemed like Woo Yeonho was genuinely overheated; his cheeks were slightly flushed. Water droplets were still dripping from his hair, which had been drenched under the faucet in the schoolyard.

Instinctively, I lifted my hand to fan his face.

Woo Yeonho smiled widely, revealing his teeth, at what must have seemed like a trivial gesture.

He was so beautiful. As I gazed at his lovely smile, Woo Yeonho took hold of my wrist and placed my hand against his cheek.

“It’s cool.”

If Woo Yeonho hadn’t been holding my hand, I might have jumped two meters into the air. I was so startled that I tried to pull my hand away, but Woo Yeonho kept rubbing his cheek against my palm. The warmth from his cheek made me feel like my entire body was melting, and I was scared.

“L-Let go…”

Like before, Woo Yeonho paid no attention to the surrounding eyes. 

He only removed his cheek from my hand when it had warmed up to the temperature of his face. It felt like my hand was still attached to him, even though it was no longer in contact.

I hid my hand under the desk and tried to wipe the sweat from my palm on my school uniform pants.

‘Did I sweat this much even when Woo Yeon-ho was holding my hand? What if he thought it was gross?’

My heart was racing so fast that it was hard to breathe, like I had just run ten laps around the track.

‘Maybe my heart is naturally weak and my parents have been hiding it from me?’

As I avoided making eye contact and remained silent, Woo Yeonho leaned in closer, making his broad shoulders seem even wider. Despite having just been sweating, he still smelled refreshingly cool. The fact that he wasn’t letting go of my hand was creating a mix of confusing thoughts in my head.

“Were you watching me closely?”