PCL Ch 23

I walked as if I were running. Lim Dae-han was standing tall at the back gate, under a street lamp. Even at night, the air was hot. I sweated and ran out of breath despite the fact that I ran a bit.

It was difficult to deal with the sticky air of a midsummer night. I had packed my belongings for the weekend’s study ahead of time, and my bag was heavy. However, as I got closer to Lim Dae-han, my steps became lighter. I approached him, who was standing tall on the street late at night, alone.

“Did you run?”

“Yeah, it’s hot…”

I wiped the sweat on my forehead. He handed me what he was holding in his hand. It was a fan that was held in one hand. Lim Dae-han grabbed the bag that was wrapped around my back and carried it for me.

“I can carry it on my own…”

I protested a little. However, he did not even pretend to listen. There was a smell that touched my nose at the time. I took a sniff around. Lim Dae-han retreated to the side slowly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been drinking?”

“…”

This smell was clearly alcohol. Since my brother drinks alcohol often, I knew that one or two bottles didn’t smell like this. He turned his head away. There was nothing different from usual except for the smell. Lim Dae-han drinks alcohol when playing with friends… It was far more interesting than chatting with me in a cafe while looking sideways.

However, Lim Dae-han did not respond to my words. Instead, he pointed his chin at the fan in my hand.

“Turn on the fan.”

I turned on the fan. It was quite cool for a palm-sized subject. “Aaaaa…”  I made a long noise with my mouth on the fan. The sound was not as loud as it was with the large fan. I also positioned the fan behind my neck and on my face. The heat of the skin that was about to sweat dissipated. I took a deep breath and asked.

“Where did you get this?”

“I borrowed it.”

“Did you steal it?”

Lim Dae-han was upset as he looked at me. Unknowingly, a smile emerged from within me. Lim Dae-han asked what I was laughing about when I burst out laughing. The sadness melted away like snow.

“Are you taking me home?”

I looked up at Lim Dae-han and asked. Lim Dae-han stretched his neck as if the strap was too tight.

“No, we’re going to my house.”

“…”

The steps came to a halt where they were. It was on the verge of hardening. Lim Dae-han, who had been walking before, approached and grabbed my hands. His thick fingers dug in between my fingers.

“Let’s go.”

Lim Dae-han led me with a voice that did not contain any affection at all.  I was drawn to him but did not respond. I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t think of anything to say. It is now 8:30 p.m. Anyone who did not work at night had already gone home to rest. There had to be his parents, and we were walking down the alley in the back door. Jaecheon-dong was nearer to the main gate.

Are we going to go out to the main street and take a taxi?

I followed Lim Dae-han while thinking in my head to consider as many possibilities as possible. Lim Dae-han, on the other hand, was simply leading me silently with no explanation.

Lim Dae-han arrived at a villa close to the school’s back gate. This location provided an opportunity for me and Lim Dae-han to be properly intertwined. The same villa where I was panting after leaving school because the air conditioner broke down about a month ago and ran into Dae-han. Lim Dae-han was living there.

“Did you live here?”

When I asked, Lim Dae-han casually replied, “Yeah.” Then he entered the elevator by pressing the four passwords on the first floor. We stood in front of the house’s farthest corner after smoothly moving up to the third floor.

I shook my head and looked around in a hurry. Among the buildings surrounding the school, this was a new villa. I remained vigilant while being cautious until Lim Dae-han pressed the password and opened the door.

“…”

“…”

Lim Dae-han entered first. When he turned on the light, the whole house brightened up.

I took a look around. The room’s sizes were neither large nor small. The room and living room were separated through a sliding door. The air conditioner was turned on, so the inside was cool compared to the outside. It was quite neat, but there were a few round marks on the floor.

Lim Dae-han turned his head after taking off his shoes. He made eye contact with me as he stood at the front door.

“Where I live.”

“…”

“…”

My eyes widened to his words. Lim Dae-han grabbed my cheek while I was still baffled by the situation, kissed my lips, and then let go.

“Ah…”

I took off my shoes and went inside after pulling myself together after the kiss. I slowly scanned the inside with my eyes. It was perfectly normal. Lim Dae-han brought out a paper cup.

“I’ll give you a drink.”

When asked, I replied, “Yes.”

Lim Dae-han opened the refrigerator door. The refrigerator was quite large for a studio apartment. I sneaked a peek into the refrigerator through the gap. I immediately turned to the green bottle that filled inside. As soon as I saw it Dae-han was embarrassed. He slammed the door and turned his eyes toward me, and looked around. I saw all the contents of the refrigerator, but I pretended not to see it. I suppose this was a sort of hideout.

“… Let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Y-yeah…”

I dragged my heavy feet and went to the bedroom. The bedroom was also quite clean. It didn’t seem like it was wrong to say that he had cleaned up. However, there was no furniture in the house where people lived. There were only a few pieces of clothing aside from the furniture, which appeared to be mandatory to anyone looking at it.

Still, thanks to the cool air conditioner, it was relaxing. It was set to 18 degrees. It was cooler than the one at school. Except for the third grade, the rest of the grades in school were set to 26 degrees. I sat on the bed, blinked, and looked around the room. The yellow wallpaper and the scattered question books were lying on the floor. There was a desk, but a TV occupied it, and there was a veranda in front of it.

“Drink it.”

Lim Dae-han walked in with a drink and a paper cup. It was a 2 percent drink that he always bought. Actually, is this Lim Dae-han’s taste? I thought and took a drink. Lim Dae-han, who was standing in front of me, took a chair from his desk and sat down. Seeing him was amusing.

“… Are you living alone?”

I asked as I chewed the cup’s corners. Lim Dae-han substituted a nod for an answer. I had a lot of questions because it was hard to find people living alone around me.

“Why do you live alone?”

“Because it’s far away.”

“Doesn’t it take about 30 minutes by bus?”

“Do you know my neighborhood?”

“Ah…”

The relationship between Lim Dae-han and Jaecheon-dong was not certain as I had only heard of rumors. I felt bad for bringing up the rumor I had heard without realizing it.

“I’m sorry.”

When I apologized, Lim Dae-han waved his hand.

“It’s true that my parents work there, but they don’t live there.”

“Oh.”

“It’s far away, and it’s better for them not to see.”

I pouted my lips at his honest words. I was saddened to hear Lim Dae-han say that. However, I couldn’t say anything because I don’t know how Lim Dae-han lives outside.

Hmm, I took a deep breath. I drank everything in the paper cup. A sweet peach scent spread in my mouth.

“Lim Dae-han.”

“Yeah.”

“Sit next to me.”

I said it while patting the seat beside me. I smiled as if I had become the owner of the house. There was an unpleasant noise from the chair. Lim Dae-han quickly took a seat next to me. The bed was pressed on one side. There was no noise when I asked him to come, and it was just awkward.  My body was stiff and I was still, but Lim Dae-han grabbed my hand.

“…”

“…”

It was so awkward.

I bit my lip and opened my mouth carefully.

“Well, then, why did you bring me here?”

After saying that, I wanted to hit him in the head a few times. I was staring at him completely. I just asked him in a message what our relationship is, and then he brings me here so blatantly.

Lim Dae-han’s calm voice was heard from the side.

“I said I’d bring you here if you date me.”

“Ah…”

“If I bring you when we’re not dating,” 

Lim Dae-han’s grip on my hand tightened. I immediately turned my head to the side. Dae-han’s ears turned bright red. It reminded me of Rudolph’s nose on Christmas.

“…I’m afraid I’ll do something weird.”

“Are we dating?”

“…”

He stood up without responding. Lim Dae-han released the grip he had on my hand. Then he knelt in front of me and sat down, unable to raise his head. I tilted my head to look at his face, focusing on the expression on his face.

Hearing my movement, he raised his hand and widened his eyes at me. He seems to want to cover my face, but I was quicker and grabbed his arm.

“Hmm? Are we dating?”

I asked again.

“Oh.”

Lim Dae-han’s voice was heard. He tilted his head as well. Unlike his hesitant mouth, he reached out and embraced me with both hands. The posture became erratic as his body was raised up. His chin rested on my shoulder. A small breath entered my ear.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

“Yeah.”

“Go out with me.”

I remained motionless. Lim Dae-han’s arms, which were wrapped around my waist tightened.

“With me… go out with me..”

“…”

“We talked and kissed a lot.”

“I…”

“I love it so much that I don’t know what to do, with me…”

It’s all good until that point, when he has to say, “Shit, that’s so embarrassing.” as well as cursing. I didn’t want to disturb the mood, so I remained motionless. I wanted to see Lim Dae-han’s expression. Will his face turn red again? I wriggled like a caterpillar, desperate to get out of his arms. Lim Dae-han, on the other hand, tightened even more.

“Please…”

I stopped moving after I heard his blunt voice in my ears.

“Stay still. Because it’s embarrassing..”

Eventually, I burst out laughing. I’m not sure why it was so funny. Lim Dae-han drank alcohol, but it seemed that I drank it as well. I couldn’t stop laughing even after I was free of Lim Dae-han’s arms. Lim Dae-han, who was facing me, stared blankly at me while smiling. The smiling face seemed strange, but it was okay. I felt strange after a while of laughing. I used to wonder if dating was really that exciting.

“…”

“…”

I bowed my back and rested my hands on his knees. I kissed Lim Dae-han’s cheek while he was red-faced. Mwah. I was surprised because the sound was louder than I expected, but I pretended to be fine.

“Is it our first day then?”

I asked. Lim Dae-han’s face turned blue and then red. It changed like a broken traffic light. I was surprised to see his face changing vividly.

He really likes me.

***