# Chapter 98
Flash, my eyes opened involuntarily.
I looked at the window where the morning sun was streaming in unfiltered, then turned my gaze back to the ceiling. Suddenly realizing that I was unexpectedly wide awake for someone who had just woken up, I covered my face with my hands.
“I must be crazy.”
While occasionally waking up early was certainly normal, today’s early rise had a clear reason, which made me feel pathetic.
“Going to school with Kwon Dojin isn’t such a big deal—”
Yet I’m waking up early for it?
Although this would be our first time going to school together, we often went home together, so it wasn’t particularly special. Or at least, that’s what I thought. But to wake up an hour earlier than usual?
While it was embarrassing to be so childish, I also realized just how much I liked Kwon Dojin. Once I acknowledged that, I felt a tingling in my fingers and toes, and kicked off my blanket with a thump.
Anyway, since we had agreed on a time, I wouldn’t be able to go to school too early, but thinking I should get ready in advance, I got up from bed.
Habitually rubbing my eyelids, I stepped out of my room and came face to face with Dad, who was just about to enter the kitchen.
“Why are you up so early?”
“I know, right? Why am I up so early?”
Haha, I let out an awkward laugh and headed toward the bathroom. It was obvious that the more questions continued, the less advantageous it would be for me.
“Habin.”
“Yeaaah?”
Unable to ignore his call, I half-turned to see Dad looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“…You’re going to eat breakfast before you leave, right?”
“Ye-es. I’m not leaving early today. I just woke up early.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to wash up now.”
Dad, who had been giving me a suspicious look, nodded with an unsatisfied expression. This had been happening occasionally since I brought up the topic of dating last time.
So rather than adding more words, I hurriedly moved away. Only after hearing the click of the latch as the door closed completely did I let out a sigh of relief. I was already feeling slightly tired before even heading to school.
After finishing my preparations as usual, albeit somewhat slowly, I buried my face in a towel. I was about to go out like that when I caught my reflection in the mirror and hesitated.
For some reason, my hair didn’t look right today. Even though it was neat without any sticking-out parts, just like usual, it still bothered me. So I repeatedly ran my fingers through my hair meaninglessly until I finally came to my senses.
Finding my behavior ridiculous, I sighed deeply and left the bathroom, only to find Dad standing firmly with his arms crossed.
“You’re acting strange today. You’ve seemed stressed lately, but why are you suddenly so excited today?”
Since I was well aware that I was acting strangely today, I had nothing to say, but I knew that staying silent would also seem odd.
“Please ignore it, respecting the delicate feelings of your adolescent son.”
“…Adolescence? You, Habin?”
Dad reacted as if he had heard something absurd, unable to hide his bewilderment. His reaction made me even more confused. Wasn’t being a first-year in high school old enough to be going through puberty? I thought it would be a suitable excuse, but had I been wrong?
“Puberty, yes. Being in puberty could make you act like that.”
Dad muttered seriously, patted my shoulder, and then returned to the kitchen as if nothing had happened. The shield of puberty had shown better effects than expected.
As I was about to return to my room with a sigh of relief, Yumin, leaning against her bedroom door, picked a fight.
“After everything else, now you’re using puberty as an excuse?”
Her crooked posture made me worry about her spine. So I shook my head and pointed to her puffy eyes.
“Talk to me after getting rid of that eye puffiness. You have fish eyes. Did you cry last night because your boyfriend dumped you?”
“Oh, damn! What dumping by a boyfriend! I just woke up, that’s why!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Yumin, who quickly covered her eyes with both hands.
“It’s still at the stage where you’d try to look good for your boyfriend, so work hard on getting rid of it before you go.”
“I was going to do that without you saying it. If you’re going to say things like that, put a spoon in the freezer.”
I lazily waved my arm at the grumbling Yumin, indicating that I understood. It was annoying, but I could do that much for her. I’d just have to put it in after changing into my uniform.
After various twists and turns, I returned to my room and smoothed out my uniform that I had hung on a hanger the night before, removing as many wrinkles as possible. Since I carefully checked for any stains before changing, it took a full 10 minutes before I left the room.
“Ah, Lee Habin! You said you’d put a spoon in the freezer!”
“I was just about to do it.”
Already finished washing up, Yumin checked the freezer and got annoyed. It meant I had spent quite a lot of time just changing clothes, which made me scratch my head awkwardly, but she just sighed instead of getting angrier.
“Yumin. Don’t be angry, there’s an ice pop, so use that.”
“Really? Where is it?”
“Check the top shelf.”
Yumin, who got what she wanted by stretching her arm, relaxed her furrowed brow.
“You’re only getting away with it because of Dad.”
“Who’s saying what now?”
I moved away from Yumin, who childishly stuck out her tongue, and made a face. Why does she act so childishly when she’s in middle school? I don’t think I acted like that when I was 15.
“Both of you stop and come eat breakfast.”
“Yes.”
Yumin and I quietly received our rice bowls and headed to the dining table as if we had never quarreled. Following the saying that even dogs aren’t disturbed when eating, we both became well-behaved in front of food.
Without any ordinary chitchat, we finished eating and got up. The clock hands I glanced at were pointing to 7:15.
After hurriedly finishing brushing my teeth, I did a final check of my belongings. Unlike my busy self, Yumin was leisurely using a curling iron in her room.
“What, do you want me to do yours too?”
“I have to leave. Pull hard.”
After rejecting without a moment’s hesitation to her nonchalant question, I continued my paused footsteps.
“I’m leaving now.”
“Already? It’s earlier than usual.”
“I’ve finished preparing. I’ve eaten too. By the way, Dad, can you call the elevator?”
“Sure.”
I quickly put on my shoes and grabbed the front door. In truth, despite waking up early, I had to hurry as my preparations had taken longer than usual.
As I had with Yumin, I was in a situation where Dad was vehemently opposing my dating, unbeknownst to Mom. So, to prepare for any possible situation, I had asked Kwon Dojin to meet me outside the apartment complex, which meant I couldn’t dawdle or I might be late for our appointment.
“Get there safely.”
“I’ll be back!”
After finishing my final farewell, I left. I quickly got into the elevator that had just arrived and pressed the button for the first floor. While going down, I took one last look at my appearance in the mirror, and also didn’t forget to text Kwon Dojin.
[I’ve arrived. You can take your time.]
Ding. Checking the screen at the familiar sound, I saw a message saying he had already arrived, which made me even more hurried. Once I knew the other person was already there, telling them to take their time was pointless.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I immediately ran outside. I never imagined I would voluntarily run first thing in the morning, but I had no choice.
Due to my backpack slipping down as I ran, I occasionally stopped to adjust it. My neatly arranged hair was getting disheveled as it flew around, but that was something I could fix after meeting Kwon Dojin.
“Ugh!”
Just as I was urgently trying to exit the complex, my body staggered due to a sudden hand grabbing my arm. I almost fell, but managed to support myself by grabbing a nearby tree.
“What the—?”
Since there were a few steps ahead, I could have been seriously injured if I had fallen. Realizing this, irritation surged and I frowned as I turned around.
“Hello?”
“It’s damn hard to see your face.”
The people who had grabbed me greeted me nonchalantly, ignoring my attitude. The moment I saw them, I instinctively realized: they had finished just watching me and decided to make a move.
“What do you want with my face?”
“What do we want? We just want to play.”
Their nonsensical words made me laugh inappropriately for the situation. As I cautiously backed away, I unlocked my phone. I urgently dialed Kwon Dojin. Though I kept increasing the distance, they were approaching just as quickly.
“Can you run away? Kwon Dojin isn’t here.”
“Let’s not waste each other’s energy and make this easy, okay?”
[Habi—]
“You think I’m crazy? Why would I let myself get caught knowing what will happen?”
I spoke just as the connection tone ended and Kwon Dojin’s voice came through. Had they noticed? If so, they might lose their composure and rush at me, which made me anxious.
Fortunately, Kwon Dojin didn’t say anything more, as if he had heard my voice. Instead, a sound of strong wind came through, as if he was running. Once I was certain he was coming toward me, I pressed the speaker against my thigh and lowered my voice as much as possible.
“Haah, so annoying.”
“If you come this way now, we won’t be too rough. So let’s end this quickly, okay?”
“What would make me trust you? Say something that makes sense.”
The excited feeling I had since morning had completely disappeared, leaving only anxiety and impatience. The resentment and fear I had been trying to forget for the sake of going to school with Kwon Dojin resurfaced.
However, knowing that showing such emotions would only make them more arrogant, I pretended to be calm. Suppressing my tension, I completely descended the stairs. Although it was only three steps, it felt like I had moved much further away, giving me a small sense of security.
“You sure have a foul mouth. Why can’t anything be easy?”
“Stop there and don’t go any further, okay? Anyone can see you’re at a disadvantage now.”
Although they didn’t know Kwon Dojin was secretly on his way, it was true that I was at a disadvantage. Because I didn’t know how long it would take him to get here.
Swallowing dry saliva, I focused on increasing the distance rather than speaking more. I was only thinking about which direction would bring me closer to Kwon Dojin.
Despite my actions, they seemed to think I was a fish already caught, as they remained relaxed. From their leisurely descent down the stairs, I could tell how much they were underestimating me.
I bit my lip and pressed down on my pounding heart. It’s okay, it’s okay. I repeated this, suppressing my fear. During that brief moment, as if they knew I was distracted, they suddenly closed the distance.
As the hand came closer, I unconsciously shut my eyes tightly. Will it hurt? Will I get badly injured? In that short moment, the worst scenarios flashed by, but what broke through my thoughts was the voice of someone familiar and reassuring.
“Who are you trying to touch?”
“Aagh!”
“Kwon Dojin!”
It was a low, rough voice that seemed to scratch the throat, but I could clearly tell who it was. Opening my eyes, I saw Kwon Dojin mercilessly twisting the arm that had been extended toward me.
“I’m not too late, am I?”
I nodded eagerly at him as he glanced at me.
The timing was perfect, just like in a novel.
