Happy New Year Y’all
# Chapter 55
I was rushed along by him without a chance to protest. The driver must have seen us because he waited, allowing us to get on, but regardless, I felt like I was going to die from being out of breath.
“Are you okay?”
I tapped my card with trembling hands. Kwon Dojin held the handle with one hand while firmly supporting me with the other.
“Hey… I’m so, tired, I feel, like dying.”
“You’ll feel better soon.”
He really doesn’t understand the situation of someone with no stamina.
I glared sharply at the cause of my distress. When I clenched my fist and hit Kwon Dojin’s solar plexus, who remained nonchalant, he pretended to be in pain. So this time I hit his forearm, and he burst into clear laughter.
“Habin is really fun, I think.”
“Yeah, and I still feel like I’m dying from exhaustion.”
Even I thought my stamina was seriously concerning. For a moment, I considered exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, but realizing it would be impossible to put into practice, I gave up.
Once I caught my breath, Kwon Dojin pulled me toward the back of the bus. All the seats were already taken, so we stood side by side holding onto the handles.
“Dojin-nim. Please sit here!”
Just as I was about to part my lips to make some small talk, someone addressed Kwon Dojin. When both Kwon Dojin and I looked at the speaker at the same time, they hesitated.
“No, it’s okay. Stay seated.”
“We’re fine! Your companion seems tired, so please sit down.”
When they mentioned me, Kwon Dojin considered it seriously. Meanwhile, the person who spoke stared intently at me. Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, I grabbed Kwon Dojin’s sleeve and stepped back slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? It’s nothing.”
As soon as Kwon Dojin spoke to me, the stare was withdrawn. Although I still felt uneasy, it wasn’t really an issue, so I shook my head.
“Then we’ll be going.”
The person and their friend bowed their heads and stepped back without listening to Kwon Dojin’s words. Kwon Dojin showed a bewildered expression, but since the seats were now vacant, there was nothing he could do.
“Shall we sit?”
“Well, I guess we should?”
It would be awkward not to sit when they’d given up their seats for us. Kwon Dojin seemed to feel the same way, as he let out a shallow sigh and seated me by the window.
“This wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“Those people were probably concerned about seeing you standing.”
“You think so?”
I hugged my shoulder bag to my chest as I listened to Kwon Dojin’s complaints. Then he gently leaned down and rested his head on my shoulder. I closed my eyes at the weight that settled on my right shoulder.
The bus kept bumping along as it drove. I looked out the window at the road, then glanced at Kwon Dojin leaning on my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of his peaceful face with closed eyes.
‘Is this what he wanted to do?’
Or was there another reason? But there was no way I could know Kwon Dojin’s thoughts unless he told me, so I wouldn’t know otherwise.
I clenched and unclenched my hands without reason. My shoulder tickled, and I blinked slowly. Kwon Dojin was still breathing evenly.
Had five minutes passed? Perhaps because there had been no conversation, time seemed to flow slowly. Bright sunlight came through the window. I could clearly see dust particles floating in the air.
Since my cheek was getting hot from the sunlight, I leaned my body toward Kwon Dojin. As if he had been waiting, my fingers trembled at the arm that wrapped around my waist.
I tightly clenched the hand holding my bag. A minute that felt like a year passed. No, had a minute even passed?
My sense of time was distorted, making it difficult to judge properly. After listening to the announcement flowing through the speakers, I leaned my body a bit more against Kwon Dojin.
Even though Kwon Dojin must have felt the weight pressing against him, he didn’t move at all. The fabric of the bag in my arms creased. I felt some stares, but I ignored them and closed my eyes.
Leaning against each other on a bumpy bus was more difficult than expected, but neither Kwon Dojin nor I expressed any complaints.
For the 50 minutes it took to go from school to Kwon Dojin’s house, we leaned against each other.
* * *
On the last day of the four-day midterms, I ruminated over the confusing problems while returning the desks to their original positions. I could almost hear Kwon Dojin whispering to play now that the exams were over, but what was more important to me was whether my chosen answer was correct or not.
“Did you finish cleaning up? If you’re done, let’s go home. Don’t play too much just because exams are over!”
“Yes~!”
The most energetic response in four days echoed through the classroom. Only then did I come to my senses and face Kwon Dojin with a blank expression.
“Why that expression?”
“I spoke to you five times, and you ignored me each time.”
“…Did I?”
I didn’t know he had tried to talk to me five times. Even though it wasn’t intentional, the fact was that I had ignored him, so I scratched my cheek.
“I’m sorry. I was thinking so I didn’t realize you were talking to me.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“Korean question 17. It’s really confusing.”
Korean tormented me this time too. I clearly studied it the hardest among all subjects, but there were still confusing questions. All the other subjects were fine, but just Korean wasn’t, just Korean!
Feeling freshly annoyed, I frowned deeply, and Kwon Dojin rolled his index finger over my forehead in a circular motion.
“You’ll get wrinkles.”
“What, you don’t like me with wrinkles?”
“Habin is cute even with wrinkles.”
When I said something I wouldn’t normally say, half-crazed from the exam, Kwon Dojin calmly retorted. I had intended to leave him speechless, but instead, I was the one who shuddered.
Cute? The word that didn’t suit me at all tapped at my ears. As I shook my ears vigorously in horror, Kwon Dojin burst into laughter.
“You can check as we go. I don’t think you need to worry much.”
“It’s just one confusing question, so it’s not really a big deal, but—it still bothers me.”
With a school bag that felt light for the first time in a while, I headed toward the grade bulletin board with Kwon Dojin.
“We’ll eat together today too, right?”
“Hmm? Well, I was thinking of going home and sleeping.”
“Do you want to sleep at my house?”
“You seem to not know how to give up?”
I shook my head as he persistently proposed, as if he had been waiting for this moment, even though I had refused several times already.
“I don’t plan to give up until Habin agrees.”
“Ah, now you’re giving me a straight answer.”
Ignoring Kwon Dojin’s words lightly, I turned on my phone’s camera app. First, I checked the answer for number 17, which had bothered me, and fortunately, it was the same as the number I had marked.
“Habin is too cruel to me.”
“That’s a misconception. The person I care about the most is you. Would I be cruel to someone like that?”
Click, after taking a photo to clearly show the correct answer, I went to the gallery to check. All the numbers were clearly visible, which made me display a satisfied smile.
“Anyway, let’s each go to our own homes—what’s wrong with you?”
When I turned around to look at Kwon Dojin, his cheeks were so flushed they seemed fully cooked. Not just his face, but his neck was also tinged red. Someone who had been fine until just now had suddenly changed in a short time.
“Habin-.”
“What about me?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
His unsatisfying conclusion after calling me made my eyebrows twitch involuntarily. Although I was displeased, I was more concerned about Kwon Dojin’s condition, so I let it go.
“Did you see something strange just now? Why is your face so red?”
I stretched out both arms and cupped his heated cheeks. Kwon Dojin, who had stepped back halfway, soon bent his waist slightly.
“Rather than seeing something strange-.”
“Then?”
“Should I say I heard something cute?”
Kwon Dojin mumbled uncharacteristically. Still, because we were close, I could hear him properly. More than that, cute sound? I didn’t hear anything like that?
“What kind of sound-.”
“Don’t date in the hallway.”
Baek Han, who had approached from the side without notice, chopped both my and Kwon Dojin’s heads with the side of his hand. He must have put quite a bit of force into it because the searing pain momentarily left me speechless.
Belatedly, I held my head and groaned. Unlike me, Kwon Dojin had deflected Baek Han’s arm before being hit and took a step closer to me.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh, no I’m not…”
“What are you saying. Judging by how you’re talking, you’re fine.”
Baek Han maintained his scathing attitude. Having been hit unexpectedly, I felt wronged, and the corners of my eyes drooped.
“Why are you suddenly like this?”
“Because I don’t want to see you dating in the hallway, why?”
“Who’s dating?”
“You… please develop some awareness.”
Baek Han clicked his tongue with a sigh. As if frustrated, he roughly ran his fingers through his hair, and this time he frowned at Kwon Dojin.
“And what are you doing?”
Kwon Dojin ignored Baek Han, who was openly picking a fight by turning his head, and gently rubbed my crown instead of me.
“Instead of doing this in the middle of the hallway, shall we move along, hmm?”
Baek Han, with a tired voice, suddenly grabbed the nape of my neck and started walking. Having been caught in an unexpected place at an unexpected time, I had no choice but to follow his lead.
“I think I’m going to fall!”
“Don’t worry, I’m confident I can catch you if you fall.”
“That’s not the issue!”
It seemed even Kwon Dojin hadn’t expected this, as he reacted a beat late. Still, he quickly approached and freed me from Baek Han’s grasp, which was much better than how I had responded.
“Now I understand why they grab kittens by the nape of the neck…”
It was hard to resist the moment I was grabbed. Even though I couldn’t have overpowered Baek Han anyway, I could have struggled, but when he grabbed my nape, I lost the strength to resist.
“Are you carrying Habin like some baggage?”
Baek Han shrugged and continued walking instead of responding. I calmed down the indignant Kwon Dojin and followed behind Baek Han. Because when the two argue, it’s really annoying to listen to.
“By the way, Baek Han, did you do well on the exams?”
“It was decent.”
“Habin, aren’t you going to ask me?”
“You must have done well. You’re good at studying. Besides, we checked the answers together every day, so I know your grades better than anyone.”
For three days straight after exams, we went to Kwon Dojin’s house to grade the test papers and then study. So it would be strange if I didn’t know.
“Oh seriously. If you’re going to date, go somewhere else to do it.”
I tilted my head in confusion as Baek Han made a disgusted face and waved his hand.
There’s no one dating here, why is he reacting like that?
