“…Yes, Teacher Choi, have a safe trip home.”
Seongjo quietly watched Yujeong conversing with a fellow faculty member. It was a conversation with a slightly awkward distance. Though Yujeong didn’t openly show reluctance as he did when dealing with Seongjo himself, the fact that he maintained a somewhat awkward attitude toward everyone was somehow pleasing.
The brief greeting ended and the colleague got into their car. Yujeong’s gaze returned to Seongjo.
Making it seem pointless that he’d been pondering what to say, Seongjo opened his mouth as soon as their eyes met again.
“You could say it’s not an important matter…”
Vroom, vroooom.
“But it’s okay to talk for a bit, isn’t it? It’ll take some time for the kids to come out anyway—”
Vrooooom.
“…”
Seriously, why is he starting the engine so loudly?
The sound of Teacher Choi starting the engine after getting in the car just moments ago sounded like an explosion, constantly interrupting Seongjo’s voice. Seongjo had been continuing to speak with patience, but finally turned his head to look that way.
VRAAAAAANG!
A rough sound that might come from F1 racing was heard.
The car Teacher Choi was in was charging toward them.
In that brief moment, his vision became terribly acute. Acute enough to clearly see even the panicked expression of Teacher Choi sitting in the driver’s seat.
His head knew he had to dodge, but his body wouldn’t follow. It was as if his feet were bound to the concrete floor. The moment he thought ‘I’m going to get hit,’ Seongjo squeezed his eyes shut.
At the same time, his body swayed and tilted.
BANG!
“…”
Even though enough time had passed for the car rushing before his eyes to crash into and cover Seongjo’s body and more, he didn’t feel any impact. Enough to make him wonder if that tremendous bursting sound he’d just heard was actually a hallucination.
It was excessively comfortable. As if buried and protected by something…
The moment he became aware of that, Seongjo’s eyes snapped open. Only then could he understand. The reason his body had tilted was because Yujeong had pulled Seongjo toward him, and he was now embraced in his arms.
It seemed Yujeong, who had wrapped around Seongjo, had quickly stepped back and fallen backward. It looked like Seongjo had mounted on top of the fallen Yujeong. He wanted to check what happened to the car, but buried in Yujeong’s embrace, he couldn’t figure it out. When he silently twisted his body slightly, the arms that had been firmly wrapped around his back and waist obediently fell away.
Though it wasn’t properly visible, hidden by the car body, the debris from the accident was scattered here and there through the gap between the car and the ground. It seemed Yujeong’s car wouldn’t function properly. If it could be considered fortunate at all, it was fortunate that the driver’s side where they had been standing had no damage since Teacher Choi had turned the wheel in time.
After confirming just that situation, Seongjo imagined what expression Yujeong must be making while still in a daze. Though he must have reflexively wrapped around Seongjo in the sudden situation, wouldn’t he be making a displeased, frowning expression by now? Thinking of how he’d tried to hit the wall, it seemed like he’d be uncomfortable with this current situation. He might be in a bad mood because his car got wrecked. Either way, he couldn’t imagine Yujeong barely managing to calm his startled heart from the accident.
“…Uh.”
However, what Seongjo faced was an expression completely opposite to his imagination. Yujeong’s gaze was fixed on Seongjo, not straying even slightly.
That face was far paler than Seongjo’s, who had nearly been hit head-on by the car just now. Distorted as if facing the most terrifying thing in the world. A face with all the color completely drained from it. Only after a moment did Seongjo realize that his hand pressing on his arm was trembling finely.
It was really… a strange thing. The only faces he’d seen from him until now were cold expressionlessness and expressions that openly showed his dislike. Yet now he was trembling as if he’d held something truly precious in his hands, as if he were someone who had nearly lost something very important.
“Are you okay…”
Yujeong opened his mouth in a half-dazed voice. Seongjo unconsciously raised his hand and grasped his hand as if wrapping it. Yujeong, who had been blankly staring at the warmth that had quietly covered the back of his hand, seemed to suddenly come to his senses and immediately became stiff-faced. It looked as if reason had been injected into him. It was also like a large balloon had burst in an instant.
Yujeong, who had returned to an expressionless face in a flash, shook off Seongjo’s hand and abruptly stood up. Seongjo, who had been lying on top of him, also straightened his body and rose from his spot. Since he didn’t continue the question of whether he was okay, Seongjo answered on his own.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“…”
“You saved my life.”
Yujeong turned his gaze away as if nothing had happened. His eyes fixed on his half-destroyed car.
Then Teacher Choi, who had urgently gotten out of the car, came running over.
“Are you both okay? You’re not hurt? Oh my, the car…! Ah, I’m so sorry. The car suddenly went out of control on its own…”
“It must have been sudden acceleration. Teacher Choi, are you injured anywhere?”
While they were assessing the situation, Seongjo was staring intently at Yujeong.
So he can make that kind of expression too.
There was something else that bothered Seongjo more than that fact itself.
The expression that came out when he was most flustered was the sincere one. That pale face was his true feelings, and the cold expressionlessness he’d thought was the default value was actually the surface covering his real self.
Even if it was someone whose first impression was bad or someone he didn’t like, he could save them. If it was said that he was a person with a good nature so his body moved reflexively, that would have been convincing. Even the pale, worry-filled expression he’d made right after could have been that.
However, if he deliberately tried to hide it, wouldn’t that be a different story?
Why would he want to hide his natural expression?
When Yujeong, who had finished the conversation, approached this way again, Seongjo stood blocking his path. Looking at his face that was frowning as if asking what just happened, Seongjo smiled.
“You’ll have to receive compensation from me.”
* * *
— Seongjo oppa! I got out a little early because homeroom ended early… But you really came?
“Yeah, I’m at the parking lot now. Come this way.”
Yujeong glared at Seongjo with a heavily furrowed brow. But that wasn’t going to work. His car was wrecked, and he’d even saved Seongjo’s life, so what could be done? Now it was a situation where Seongjo had to show his sincerity. If he wiped his mouth clean after owing a life debt, that would be more trashy.
Before long, Yeongeun appeared at the parking lot entrance. Thanks to that, the meaningless staring contest between Yujeong and Seongjo also ended.
“I’m here, Seongjo op… Kyaaa!”
Yeongeun, who had been running over urgently, stopped with a scream. It was because she discovered Yujeong’s car in complete disarray.
Amidst the commotion of Seongjo’s secretary, the insurance company, and the tow truck all arriving to handle the accident, Seongjo leisurely got into the driver’s seat of his intact car. Yeongeun couldn’t compose her shocked face, but for now, she perceptively got into Seongjo’s car. Seongjo rolled down the driver’s window and said,
“Teacher, you should get in too.”
“I’m fine. I need to handle the insurance too.”
“My secretary will do it.”
“That’s my job…”
“I’m in debt to you, so I should do at least this much.”
In Seongjo’s view, Yujeong was quite a smart person. Because he seemed to know well that there was no point in talking further, he kept his mouth shut. Seongjo didn’t hide his smile and invited him again.
“Let me take you home.”
“I can get there on my own.”
“How can you? Your car is gone.”
“…”
Yujeong didn’t even think to hide his irritated expression. Seongjo likewise didn’t back down. He stared directly at him as if applying silent pressure. However, the person who actually made Yujeong get in the car wasn’t Seongjo but Yeongeun.
“Yu, Yujeong saem, please get in… What if you collapse while taking the bus?”
“…”
Yujeong didn’t seem to be a person heartless enough to ignore a young student’s concern. Should it be called teacher-like? Or perhaps he was just tired of further quarreling. In the end, he reluctantly brought his hand to the back seat door.
“Hm? Not there.”
“…The passenger seat is uncomfortable.”
“Does that mean you’ll sit in the honored seat?”
It probably didn’t mean the chair was uncomfortable, but rather that he didn’t want to sit next to Seongjo. When he nitpicked about it being the honored seat, Yujeong’s expression became even more irritated. Yeongeun, who was already sitting in the honored seat, looked around her seat in confusion.
“What’s the honored seat…?”
In the end, Yujeong, who sat in the passenger seat, quietly closed the door. Judging by his expression, it seemed like he would make a banging sound like a rebellious student, but he was very docile. Seongjo smiled and answered ‘It’s nothing,’ then smoothly started the car.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Should we stop by a hospital?”
“No need. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Then shall we have a meal before you go home?”
It was something he said while he’d already set the navigation destination to a restaurant. Yujeong, who clearly saw that, replied firmly.
“No, I’m not hungry.”
Grumble.
The belly clock rang at an exquisite timing. Of course, it wasn’t Yujeong’s but Yeongeun’s. Yeongeun, her face heating up, made an excuse while shrinking back.
“…This is just because we talked about food.”
Seongjo glanced and turned his head to check Yujeong’s expression. It was a face where the words ‘really don’t want to’ were plainly revealed, but he felt like he could predict what would come out of his mouth. From Seongjo’s perspective, he wondered if Yeongeun was deliberately helping him. Yujeong finally opened his mouth with a reluctant face.
“Let’s have a meal before we go…”
