This is bad.
There were less than twelve hours left until the semester started.
The original plan had been to map out an airtight schedule starting a full week before classes, to squeeze out every last minute of free time.
But the days since the manifestation had been nothing but chaos. Between the regular hospital visits and all the examinations and checkups, the time had just disappeared.
Regular checkups were set to continue going forward. Cha Hyunwoo had already booked the appointment a month out, which meant skipping one on a lazy whim was completely off the table.
And with our schedules this semester being almost identical — no, practically carbon copies of each other — slipping away with some made-up excuse wasn’t going to be possible either.
On the bright side, I hadn’t had a single moment to sink into post-breakup misery, which I supposed was something to be grateful for — and yet somehow it still felt unfair.
To think my precious free time would be swallowed up by hospital appointments. So I made a firm resolution.
“I’m gaming all night tonight!”
With only a few hours left before the semester started, there was absolutely no way I could waste them sleeping. I was firing myself up on my own when Cha Hyunwoo came out to the living room.
He’d said he was going to work out after dinner and had been shut in his room all this time — and now he finally showed his face.
Honestly, who works out right after eating? I’d nearly died of boredom alone out here. I immediately made a beeline for Cha Hyunwoo.
“Cha Hyunwoo, do you actually think this makes any sense?”
I could see him take a slight step back at my energy, but I didn’t care and launched right into my grievances.
“Tomorrow is the first day of classes. Is this real life?”
“…….”
“This is what life is….”
Overcome by a sense of futile helplessness, I leaned my forehead limply against his chest. I needed something to lean on right now.
And I didn’t stop there — I grabbed both his forearms and shook them like a child throwing a fit. I needed something to be angry at, too.
“Does this make any sense?!”
I knew he was the wrong target for this, obviously, but as a university student on the eve of a new semester, I felt this level of behavior was entirely justified.
Well — apparently I was the only one willing to look the other way on that. Cha Hyunwoo tried to lightly take hold of my shoulders and peel me off.
“It’s all fine, but—”
“……?”
“Take a step back when you talk.”
For a moment, I thought I’d misheard him. All fine? How on earth was any of this fine? Cha Hyunwoo must have had his head scrambled by the fact that tomorrow was the first day of classes too.
When I didn’t move back, he practically lifted me off the ground and set me down a step away, and I only understood then.
“Wait — am I leaking pheromones?”
So that’s why he was pushing me away. Alarmed, I frantically flapped the hem of my shirt and sniffed at myself.
But even pulling the collar of my T-shirt all the way down past my collarbone to smell myself, there wasn’t a trace of pheromone to be found. Cha Hyunwoo confirmed the same.
“It’s not that.”
Then why tell me to step back? I was about to demand an explanation when Cha Hyunwoo retreated to the kitchen as if making an escape.
Curious as to what was going on, I followed — and found him stopped in front of the table, pouring a full glass of cold water and drinking it down in big gulps.
Oh, must be thirsty from working out. I quickly settled on that explanation and pulled out a chair to sit down.
He set the glass down on the table with a clunk, and the sight of it suddenly made me thirsty too. There was about a sip left — he wouldn’t mind if I had it.
My hand moved faster than my brain. Before I’d even thought it through, I’d picked up the glass and brought it to my lips without hesitation.
There was only a little water left, so I drained it in one go and set it straight back down.
“Why did you drink that?”
Cha Hyunwoo asked sharply, in a tone like he was demanding an answer.
“What? Wasn’t that a leftover?”
I shot back, equally caught off guard.
“That’s my cup.”
An utterly baffling answer, all things considered.
“Since when did we ever make a fuss about that sort of thing?”
If anything, it would’ve made more sense if he was sulking because I’d stolen his water. Arriving at my own conclusion, I got up from my seat and filled the now-empty glass to the brim with fresh water.
“There. Happy? Sorry for stealing your water.”
This time I made my own escape from the kitchen — but a question occurred to me on the way out. I was going to game all night, but what was Cha Hyunwoo planning to do? Without hesitating, I turned around.
“Ah, it’s cold!”
He must have been right on my heels, because I walked straight into the glass in his hand. The water sloshing inside it soaked his hand and the front of my shirt completely.
My white T-shirt, thoroughly drenched, clung cold and heavy against my chest.
Cha Hyunwoo looked frozen in surprise, but I couldn’t stay still and made a whole scene of it.
The cold was sharp enough to make me shudder, and I frantically tried to peel the clinging fabric away from my skin. But the chill had already seeped in and wouldn’t let go.
This won’t do. Off it comes. Almost on pure instinct, I stripped the ice-cold shirt off in one motion.
“Ugh, it’s freezing. I’m going to change.”
Cha Hyunwoo still hadn’t moved. What — why is he just standing there without apologizing? Though granted, it was mostly my fault for turning around so suddenly.
Still, I shot him one look out of spite. The moment our eyes met, Cha Hyunwoo snapped his gaze away and turned his head to the side.
Not an apology — just an immediate look away. So it’s entirely my fault, is it?
A petty defiance stirred in me and I narrowed my eyes at him. So that’s how it’s going to be. Fine — I’d deal with this after changing. Ugh, it’s cold.
I steeled myself, changed clothes quickly, and came back out to find Cha Hyunwoo holding a hair dryer.
“Sorry. I panicked earlier.”
…So now he apologizes.
“I’ll dry it for you.”
Right, well. It wasn’t that big a deal to begin with, so magnanimous as I was, I’d let it slide. And part of it was my fault anyway. With the chill gone, warmth and ease came flooding back.
“I already toweled off and changed, so I’m fine now.”
I waved my hand to tell him not to worry about it — and noticed Cha Hyunwoo’s still-damp hair.
“Wait, you didn’t dry your hair?”
The shoulders of the black loungewear he was wearing were dotted with wet patches, the color deepened where the moisture had soaked in. Must have skipped the hair dryer out of laziness.
“Come here, then. I’ll dry it for you.”
That too came out of the easy generosity that had settled back into me — a small kindness offered without much thought.
I reached out without hesitation toward the hair dryer in Cha Hyunwoo’s hand. In that same moment, his large hand shot out as if to block me, and my wrist was caught in a firm grip.
“It’s fine.”
It wasn’t his refusal that startled me — it was the burning warmth that seeped through where his hand held my wrist. Cha Hyunwoo, just as startled, released my wrist almost like he was throwing it aside.
“Hey, what’s with your hand… why is it so hot? I thought I’d get burned….”
It had only been a moment, but the heat of it lingered on my skin as if it hadn’t left at all.
Even with the hair dryer running, somehow I think his body heat would still feel hotter.
I was absently rubbing the wrist he’d held when a low voice came from in front of me.
“Sorry.”
“No, that’s not really something to apologize for….”
In an instant, the air between us went awkward. What is this atmosphere? I couldn’t quite name why, but something felt off, and I started rambling to try to fill it.
“So — tomorrow’s the first day of classes, but what are you doing tonight? You must have some kind of goal, right? Doesn’t it feel like a waste to just let tonight pass like this?”
Even to my own ears it sounded like I’d suddenly started chattering away for no reason, but thankfully Cha Hyunwoo responded.
“Yeah, I’ve got a goal. And something I need to say.”
“Great, so you’ve got a goal too. I’m gaming all night tonight.”
He really does feel the same way — it’s too sad to just let the night before classes slip by. We really are alike.
“With that in mind, I am absolutely not sleeping tonight. Or rather, I can’t.”
I rambled on by myself and dropped down onto the sofa. Now it was time to enjoy the night. I pulled out my phone in a hurry, and Cha Hyunwoo walked up to me.
“I have something to say.”
Oh right, he did say that. I patted the spot beside me on the sofa without a care.
“Come sit and say whatever you want to say. This hyung is going to game.”
I launched the app right away, and the game logo appeared on the screen in a blaze of flashy effects. I waited with a flutter of anticipation for the game to load, and Cha Hyunwoo sat down beside me.
Without a second thought, I flopped over and used Cha Hyunwoo’s thigh as a pillow. I’d always thought this — how does Cha Hyunwoo manage to sit on the sofa with perfect posture every single time?
Whether watching TV or scrolling on his phone, wasn’t it completely natural to gradually slouch until you ended up lying flat?
Cha Hyunwoo had watched me do exactly that one too many times, offered his thigh a few times without complaint, and I’d taken him up on it without a second thought — until it became a habit.
So really, most of the blame for my shameless behavior lay with him. But he was my childhood friend, not some elder, so it was fine.
I lay with my head on Cha Hyunwoo’s thigh and started my game. Wow, this is comfortable enough to game forever. I’d be good at it too, if anyone wanted to test that.
I was drifting along with those ridiculous thoughts, deep in focus on the game on my screen — when a low voice spoke to me.
“I have a chance now. I’m not letting it slip away again.”
“What’s that out of nowhere?”
Even as I said it, my eyes stayed glued to the character on my phone screen.
“I like you.”
“Mm-hm. Same.”
I should not have answered so carelessly while lost in a game. If I had known what was coming next—
“You make me hard.”
The hands busily working the screen went dead still. …What did he just say. Did I hear that wrong?
“Are you out of your mind?”
I never even got to ask.
Because the phone I’d dropped in shock fell and hit me right in the head.
Well — that’s my personal interpretation. More precisely: I was writhing from what felt like a skull-splitting pain in my forehead when I jolted to a realization. The right thigh pressed against my cheek was unmistakably, undeniably hard.
The truth behind what he’d said had been confirmed firsthand.
