Meanwhile, I kept following Seol Hyorim, closing the distance as I ran after her.
"Seolhyo wait up!"
She finally stopped when I grabbed her arm. She yanked once hard but I didn't let go. She turned toward me, eyes sharp, cold… distant. A look she had never given me before.
I swallowed hard since this is the first time she gave me this kind of look.
"I'm sorry. I lied."
Seol Hyorim's expression tightened.
"Why are you even going there just to beat someone? Are you a thug now? Do you enjoy that kind of thing?"
"It's not like that-" I tried to explain.
But we both suddenly noticed whispers from people passing by:
"Are they fighting?"
"Looks like it…"
"Woah, I'm jealous. They're so good looking"
"Is this a breakup scene?"
Heat crept up my neck. I gently pulled her arm.
"Let's go. Somewhere quiet."
She didn't resist this time.
We walked until we reached a small gazebo tucked behind the park, empty and calm.
"Let's sit… just hear me out," I said.
"…Fine. Talk."
She sat down stiffly, arms crossed. I scratched the back of my head and sat beside her, keeping a bit of distance.
"I'll tell you what happened."
Seol Hyorim simply stared at me, waiting.
"So… Yang Jinsu started hanging out with Chulgyu again. Park Dong and the others got worried, but there wasn't much they could do. Jinsu wasn't even coming to school that day you remember that, right? When we were at the snack store?"
She nodded lightly and gestured for me to continue.
"And then Jinsu finally did show up. But he did something that pissed them off, and Park Dong confronted him about it. So Jisung and Daegyu planned a hangout to patch things up. They invited me too."
"What kind of hangout?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"You know… drinking and stuff."
Her eyes narrowed even more.
"You drink?"
"Of course not. I didn't drink anything that day."
She held my eyes for a moment then her shoulders loosened a bit.
"Anyway, Yang Jinsu arrived too… but he brought Chulgyu with him. And after a while of drinking, Chulgyu found out why Jinsu was fighting with everyone. Then he started talking shit."
She tilted her head slightly.
"…About what?"
I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees, expression serious.
"...you. After hearing what he said, I got angry. I couldn't just sit there and listen. I told him to never show himself to me again. But he did right near our school and he even laid his hands on the others. That's why everything happened today."
Seol Hyorim's brows knit together, confused and upset that someone had talked about her behind her back. But when she heard that I got angry because of her, a soft flush crept up her cheeks. She quickly turned her head away so I wouldn't see the smile forming at her lips.
"W-Why would you even get that mad?" she muttered. "It's not like I was there…"
I turned my head to look at her. From the side, I could see her ears were red. Without thinking, I reached out and gently held her hand.
"I don't want someone like him talking about you that way," I said quietly.
Seol Hyorim stared at our hands, then at my face, her eyes wide, her blush deepening even more. "W-Why… because we're friends?"
I didn't answer.
I just held her gaze steady, honest, scared, hopeful.
Then I slowly released her hand and lifted it to her cheek, brushing my thumb gently along her skin. She froze, breath caught in her throat. I leaned in, closing the distance between us until my lips met hers in a soft, brief kiss.
Her eyes widened, face turning red like a tomato, too stunned to move as I pulled back.
"I like you," I said, voice low but sure. My hand stayed on her cheek, warm against her flushed skin. "Will you go out with me?"
Seol Hyorim brought both hands to her mouth, eyes wide, face still burning red. She looked completely stunned like her brain was still trying to reboot after what i did and said.
"W-Who confesses in a situation like this…" she muttered behind her fingers, voice trembling.
"So… will you?" I asked quietly.
She finally lifted her gaze to me. I was trying to look calm, but she caught the faint blush on my cheeks and she let out a tiny, disbelieving chuckle.
He's pretending to be calm… in this situation? Seriously? she thought, shaking her head lightly.
Her eyes softened. She turned her face slightly away, gathering the courage, then looked back at me again.
"I… I like you too…" she whispered.
My breath caught.
Then she finally said it clearly, bravely.
"Yes. I'll go out with you."
It felt like someone had knocked a massive boulder off my chest. Every bit of tension in me instantly melted away, replaced by a wave of relief and happiness so strong it almost made me dizzy. A wide, uncontrollable smile spread across my face.
Before I could even think, I pulled her into a tight hug.
"W-Wait! H-hey!" Seol Hyorim squeaked, flustered. "Someone might see us!"
But she could feel how tightly and how genuinely I was holding her. After a moment of resisting, she sighed softly, her lips curving into a small smile.
Then she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me back, just as tightly.
After a few minutes, I finally loosened my arms around her and stepped back, still grinning like an idiot. "Let's go back. The teachers might beat us if we're late."
Seol Hyorim nodded quickly, still flustered, and the two of us walked side by side back toward school both pretending to be calm, both failing miserably.
When we reached the building, we split off toward our separate classrooms.
The moment Seol Hyorim stepped inside, she practically rushed to her seat and sat down stiffly. Irina turned in her chair and blinked at her.
"Where were you...?" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw Seolhyo's face, cheeks bright red.
"Why is your face so red? Are you sick?" Irina leaned forward, genuinely worried.
Seolhyo didn't answer. She just buried her head in her arms on her desk, ears burning, refusing to lift her face. Irina stared at her, confused. What's up with her?.
Meanwhile, I returned to my classroom. The guys weren't back yet, so it was unusually quiet. I took my seat, glanced out the window…
And the smile just appeared again uncontrollable.
So we're dating now…
"Hehehehehe…"
People nearby glanced at me, eyebrows raised, but they figured it was better not to ask.
Unable to sit still, I pulled out my flip phone and typed quickly:
"Seolhyo, let's go home together."
Her reply came almost immediately.
"Okay…"
Just that one word made my chest warm.
Night class ended, and students poured out like animals escaping a cage, shouting and shoving and laughing. I waited near the streets until Seol Hyorim appeared. When she did, she slowed down, seeing me and her face went pink again.
We started walking home together, side by side under the dim streetlights, the evening breeze brushing past us. Neither of us talked at first both too aware of each other.
Seolhyo stole a quick glance at me, then looked away, biting back a smile."You… you're acting weird," she said teasingly. "You're usually not like this."
I scratched the back of my neck."Well… we're dating now. I don't know what to say."
Hearing that were dating her face flared red, and she tucked her hair behind her ear to hide it.
We eventually reached the front of Naguk Middle School. I glanced up at the familiar gate.
"Oh Naguk Middle School," I murmured.
Seol Hyorim looked at it too."Yeah. We're about halfway to my place."
I suddenly laughed under my breath."Seeing this place again… my body still remembers your brother's punch. Hahaha"
Before I could finish, she smacked my side.
"Ow-what was that for?"
Her lips pressed into a pout."I still feel awful just thinking about it. And the atmosphere back then was just... and you even got hurt because of it...."
I stared at her for a moment… then slowly reached out my hand.
When I intertwined our fingers, she stiffened for half a second then squeezed my hand back, cheeks turning warm as she looked away.We kept walking like that, our hands linked, neither of us saying anything, just feeling the warmth between us.
But then, out of nowhere, Seol Hyorim stopped.
"You should go now," she whispered. "If my brother sees you…"
I looked around."This is where you live?"
She quickly shook her head and pointed at the three building up ahead."It's there. If he sees you walking with me at this hour, he'll go crazy again. So… you know."
I chuckled."Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
But I still didn't let go of her hand.
Seol Hyorim glanced at our joined hands and got flustered."L-let go already. It's late. You should hurry home too…"
I gave her a sly smile.
She narrowed her eyes. "What's with that sly smile"
I leaned in fast and kissed her cheek close to her lips then pulled away instantly.
"See you tomorrow."
Before she could react, I sprinted off down the street.
Behind me, she stood frozen, one hand pressed to the spot where I kissed her. Her cheeks were burning red.
"…This guy…" she muttered, trying and failing to hide the smile spreading across her face.