HWAMB — Chapter 25

“I saw. But I don’t really care.”

“You really don’t care?”

“Yeah.”

At my short reply, Hyun-woo let out a derisive snort.

“You know your eyes dart around like crazy when you lie?”

“When do I ever.”

“You’re doing it right now.”

I almost retorted with “Am I?” but bit down on my tongue. Answering would’ve been the same as admitting it.

The sting of truth pricked me, but I stubbornly acted like I hadn’t heard.

“I don’t anymore.”

“Really?”

“……”

I refused to answer his doubtful tone. A silence heavier than a few seconds stretched like hours.

Seeing no point in dragging it out, I stepped past him.

“I like you.”

The words hit like a gulp of air lodged in my throat. My feet froze where I stood.

All the feelings I had been shoving down surged back, blocking my chest. Hyun-woo, his expression twisted with conflict, didn’t grab me—he only looked at me.

“I said, I like you.”

“……”

His unwavering gaze bore into me, dragging me down like I was sinking underwater.

My chest tightened painfully.

“…Why did you do it.”

“What do you mean.”

“Why did you confess to me back then?”

I wasn’t really asking out of curiosity.

With a trace of resentment, my tone must have betrayed my thoughts, because Hyun-woo answered quietly.

“……Because I thought I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t.”

“……We could’ve just stayed friends.”

“I don’t want that.”

“……”

“At least, not me.”

His firm words shook me. Lowering his eyes, Hyun-woo spoke again.

“What about you?”

“……”

“You’ve been struggling with this for a while, haven’t you? What do you really think?”

“…I like things the way they are.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I ran off toward the field, as if escaping from him.

How many times had I heard it already?

That he liked me.

Sometimes it made my heart flutter, sometimes it hurt, sometimes it even made me angry.

My dry lips trembled, as if still clinging to something unsaid.

But still, I couldn’t bring myself to give Hyun-woo an answer.

I told myself not to care.

But the words I had just thrown at Hyun-woo felt like they had turned back on me, pressing down like a curse.

* * *

The starting line was already filled with kids waiting. Like the others, I crouched down just behind the painted white line, ready to run.

All around me, cheers rang out as classmates shouted to give their team an edge in the final event.

“Get ready.”

At those words, the teacher raised the starter pistol and put the whistle to his lips.

The air felt tight, calm yet taut like a bowstring. But my head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hyun-woo.

I steadied my breathing and forced myself to focus.

The whistle shrieked, the signal shot cracked, and I sprang from the line.

I managed to push out in front. The wind smacked against my cheeks like a slap.

I like you.

Stop thinking about it.

How many times today had I already thought of Hyun-woo?

I clenched my teeth and ran harder, trying to shove away the distractions.

Guess I really do like you more than I thought.

Damn it. My head was nothing but Hyun-woo.

I’d heard his confessions so many times that I should have been used to them by now, but they still made me uncomfortable.

Every time he confessed, my heart would pound like it was sprinting on its own, flooding me with feelings I couldn’t name.

Just like right now.

I wanted to claim it was only because I was out of breath from running, but I knew better. I’d known for a while that wasn’t the reason.

See?

I knew that if I let myself hear it, I’d soften.

God, I’m such an idiot.

Sweat streamed down my forehead and splattered like raindrops.

The first time he confessed, I was only startled. My heart had been glad, yes, but I hadn’t really felt much else. I spent more time trying to think of ways to turn him down without ruining our friendship.

That was supposed to be better for both of us.

But as time passed, my feelings bled into different colors, like watercolors spreading across a page.

The way I started noticing every little thing he did, the way I found him cute, the way my chest would pound so hard.

It was all because of him.

Even when I’d gotten angry seeing someone else confess to him—it was just childish jealousy.

I didn’t want to admit it.

But the thoughts I kept trying to bury always came back to the same question.

Why did I kiss him that day?

Because I honestly wanted to know how I felt about him.

Why had I gotten so upset over misunderstanding his brother?

Because I hated losing the time we always spent together.

And when I saw someone else confessing to him?

……

At first, I thought it was fine.

Damn it, it used to be fine.

But now it wasn’t fine at all. Ever since that night after the movie and dinner, when you confessed to me in that alley, I hadn’t been fine.

I kept noticing you. I kept thinking about the little things you did, the ones I never used to care about.

Kept wondering, “Maybe…?” and realizing I was always aware of you.

And the answers I’d been too afraid to speak were always the same.

I like Hyun-woo.

More than I ever realized.

Not just as a friend, but in a different way entirely.

Strangely enough, it was while I was running that everything finally came into focus.

The heavy wind didn’t feel so heavy anymore. I shoved the tangled thoughts aside and focused on the race in front of me.

I jumped rope through hula-hoops, crawled under netting, cleared each obstacle as fast as I could.

My ragged breath was drowned out by cheers and shouts. Being in the lead meant the others were chasing me like a pack of hyenas.

Funny how I was running harder than in any sports day I could remember.

Soon, the finish line came into view. Sitting right before it was an opaque box.

It looked exactly like the one Sang-su had been working on at lunch.

I recalled what he’d said.

You had to pull a slip from the box and run with the person that fit the description.

I remembered every part of it—Yeong-ho’s pranks, Sang-su removing them one by one.

I reached in, pulled out a folded slip, and opened it.

“……?”

For a moment, I thought I’d misread it.

I closed my eyes, opened them again, and read the words once more.

Three seconds dragged on like three hours. No matter how carefully I looked, it was the same.

Then my cheeks burned hot, like boiling water had been poured over them.

Shit. Yeong-ho must’ve slipped one of his pranks in, and Sang-su forgot to take it out.

Cold sweat poured down my back.

The crowd, sensing my sudden stop, went from cheering to murmuring.

I had been far ahead, but now I stood frozen, not moving at all, and of course it looked strange to everyone.

I crushed the slip tightly in my fist and darted my eyes around, terrified anyone had seen.

Thankfully, no one had. But the runners behind me had already caught up to where I was.

While I wasted precious seconds in shock, they surged closer.

In the distance, I saw Yeong-ho waving gleefully, and Sang-su holding up his sign with his usual blank face.

There was only one culprit for this mess.

Park Yeong-ho, you bastard!

I wanted nothing more than to charge at him, grab him by the collar, and curse him out. But all I could do was stamp my feet.

At the very least, I wanted to scream his name, to shout, “Hey, you son of a bitch!” But my mouth only opened and closed like a fish.

Panicking, I searched desperately around me.

That’s when I spotted him—Hyun-woo, near the stands, recording me with his phone.

I sprinted straight toward him.

“Eun-jae…?”

Panting hard, I grabbed his arm. His startled eyes flicked to mine.

“What—”

Before he could finish, I clutched his hand tight and took off running.

“……”

Not understanding, he still ran with me. His gaze dropped to the slip crumpled in my fist.

I clenched it tighter, making sure he couldn’t read it.

To be continued in How to Win Against My Bias Volume 2.