SMW 72

“Wha—what is it?”

“Stay still if you don’t want your head smashed against the sink.”

Only then did I freeze and lift my head, finding the white underside of the glossy sink shoved right in front of my eyes. If I had stood up right then, I would have been headed straight for an ambulance.

“Seriously, you need to pay more attention to your surroundings before you move.”

“……Thanks.”

Only after I cautiously avoided the sink and pushed myself up was the hand above my head removed.

“By the way, why do you just barge in when there’s someone in the bathroom?”

“I came back and couldn’t find you anywhere, so I looked for you and ended up here. I knocked on the bathroom door several times, but since there was no sign of life, I opened it.”

“You knocked?”

Why didn’t I hear it? I must have been too deep in thought. I glanced at Choi Seol.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering.”

I brushed it off, avoiding his suspicious gaze. Choi Seol’s lips were perfectly fine. While mine were so swollen. Moreover, the fact that Choi Seol’s expression as he looked at me was no different from usual was quite irritating.

Since that incident, I had spent my nights tossing and turning in my room, yet he, without fail, woke up in the early hours to go exercise. I had listened to the sound of the front gate closing, kicked my blankets in frustration several times, and then fled to the bathroom.

The fact that he was here meant that an hour had already passed since then.

“Use the bathroom if you need to. I’m leaving.”

Feeling somehow cheated, I tried to walk out, but a wall suddenly rose before me. My path was blocked by a muscular chest—one I had secretly touched just last night. When I looked up, Choi Seol was staring down at me.

“Move. I said I’m leaving.”

“My ears aren’t blocked.”

Then, he suddenly leaned in. My body froze instinctively as his face was thrust right in front of mine.

“Wha—what are you doing?”

“Your lips are swollen.”

It was only after I reflexively covered my lips with my hand that I realized my mistake.

“Th-this is… ah, it’s just because it’s morning.”

“Do lips swell in the morning?”

Bad bastard.

“Fuck. It’s because of you.”

I had tried to pretend not to notice to avoid mutual embarrassment, but seeing him shamelessly ask back made me lose my temper. Since it had come to this, we might as well both be ruined.

“Isn’t it like this because you pushed through with nothing but brute force at first?”

“Being seventeen, I definitely have a lot of strength. But for someone who thought that, you seemed to fall for it completely.”

Wow. Look at him talk. I let out a hollow laugh, utterly speechless.

“Fall for it my ass. Though, because of you, my breath almost completely left me. Because of that, my mind went, uh, totally blank. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to put up with your clumsiness?”

“Let’s say the first time was like that. But wasn’t the second time good?”

“What do you mean, good…!”

It was good. So good it made me want to swear. I really thought I was going to melt. Honestly, the first time wasn’t [stolen content]bad either. In fact, I wondered if he was some kind of natural since that was visit our sitehis first [stolen content]time. If he was that good at kissing, he’d probably be good at other things too…

Shoo! Get out of here, you lewd demon!

“Ahem. Well, for a first timer, you did alright. Of course, a large part of that was because I led you well.”

Regardless, I felt like I shouldn’t discourage him too much, so I played along. Choi Seol gave a thin smile.

“Right. Then it’ll get even better if we do it a few more times.”

“Well, that would be… huh?”

“Aren’t you curious? How much more I’ll improve.”

His languid voice carried a subtle eroticism, just like yesterday. Unconsciously, I gulped. I mean, he’s already good, so if he improves further, it’ll be absolutely killer…

No. Get a grip. If I fall for this honey trap, it’ll be true ruin.

“D-don’t make me laugh. I clearly said this was a one-time thing.”

“Is that really all?”

“Of course it’s only…!”

“Han Yeo-reum. Is that really all you have to say to me?”

The sudden seriousness of the question left me speechless.

Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Surely he doesn’t know something? No matter how perceptive he is, there’s no way Choi Seol could know the feelings I never spoke aloud. He might be able to guess, but no matter how he guessed, he couldn’t possibly dig up my feelings from ten years ago. Because I never let them out.

Have I really… never shown it to Choi Seol?

“I…”

I opened my mouth, but no words came easily. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t answer; I couldn’t. Putting out feelings that I wasn’t even sure of myself was nothing short of a gamble.

When I finally chose silence, Choi Seol let me go easily, without rushing or forcing me this time.

“Let’s eat first. You’re hungry, right? I’ll go set the table.”

Staring blankly at him as he turned toward the kitchen, I felt like I had made another mistake. I felt as if I had become a bad guy who toys with someone’s heart and only takes what he wants.

He isn’t hurt, is he?

By the time Choi Seol was out of sight, I sank to the floor once more. At this point, I think I realize that my ambiguous attitude is the problem. Should I have pushed him away more firmly from the start? But if I did that, it would inevitably become awkward to be together. I didn’t want to make a guy with nowhere to go feel like he had to walk on eggshells.

No, that’s not it. I can’t say I did it for Choi Seol’s sake anymore. Didn’t I realize it last night? That I didn’t have zero feelings for him either. Now that it’s come to this, I shouldn’t just tell Choi Seol to get over it; I need to sort out my own emotions clearly.

I should have just said it from the [visit our site]beginning. That [Read on Read BL Novels]I liked you ten years ago. That you were my first love.

“But the question is, is that even easy?”

It was even harder now. Bringing that up at a point where he had said he liked me felt somewhat opportunistic. Then what should I do? Suddenly, I felt so pathetic.

Just as I was groaning and clutching my hair in self-loathing, a phone ringtone echoed from the room.

“Wow. The soundproofing is really terrible.”

The bathroom isn’t that far from the room, but the phone was located two rooms away. Was it supposed to be this clear? I sighed and stood up. The only person who would call at this hour was Hae-sook Noona. I thought she’d been quiet lately, but she must have discovered some new side of the “flower bachelor.”

I entered the room through the veranda and searched for the persistently ringing phone. Just as I was about to press the call button, I paused upon seeing the number on the screen. It wasn’t Noona. I wondered if it was spam, but the number looked familiar. Ah, is it a delivery? Remembering that the weather was getting colder and Choi Seol didn’t have proper winter clothes, I had secretly ordered a cardigan. I answered the phone quickly before it cut off.

“Hello?”

• Yeo-reum.

“…….”

My face contorted at the sound of the voice calling my name so affectionately. Just as I moved my finger to the end-call button without answering, the words Vice Chairman Baek Han had said suddenly came to mind. I brought the phone back to my ear and replied coldly.

“Yes, this is he. Director Nam.”

As I intentionally emphasized the title, I could hear the sound of flusteredness from the other end.

• Did Vice Chairman Baek Han happen to stop by?

As expected. My face twisted.

“So it was you, Sunbae, who told him Choi Seol was here.”

• Yeo-reum, just listen to me.

“Are you insane? Why the hell are you going around blabbing about someone else’s family business to your boss?”

• That… I had no choice. I’ll explain everything when I see you later. That’s not the issue right now, there’s something I really need to tell you…

“I don’t need it. I’ll never have a reason to meet you again, so don’t ever contact me.”

I wanted to pour out a stream of curses, but I felt it would only be a waste of my breath at this point. I intended to hang up for good this time.

• Baek Seol-ha, no. That person, Choi Seol, knew.

My hand, about to press the end-call button, paused at the urgent voice. I brought the phone back to my ear.

“Knew… what?”

• I’m saying he knew that his first love was you.

What on earth is this human talking about?

“What kind of nonsense are you… Did you tell him, Sunbae?”

The moment I heard the sound of a breath being swallowed instead of an answer, I lost it.

“Fuck! Are you crazy?!”

• Yeo-reum, it’s a misunderstanding. It definitely wasn’t me.

“What do you mean it wasn’t? Otherwise, how would Choi Seol know that?”

• He could just know. He might have overheard us, or even if not, your emotions show completely on your face.

What is this bastard talking about?

“You’re calling that an excuse?”

• Honestly, Yeo-reum, even in front of me, you only looked at that guy. Anyone could see that was how you treat someone you like.

“Listen here, Nam Seo-woo.”

• Be honest. Yeo-reum, you still like that guy, don’t you?

While the words of the Sunbae, who talked too much, were absurd, I felt as if he had hit the nail on the head. Just as I was unable to even refute words I would have dismissed as nonsense in the past…

“Han Yeo-reum?”

Suddenly, my heart trembled. Turning around with the phone still in my hand, I saw Choi Seol standing there.

“You were on the phone.”

Choi Seol spoke as if he had only then noticed the phone in my hand. Sunbae was rambling inside the phone, but fortunately, it wasn’t loud enough to be heard outside. I pressed the end-call button immediately.

“It was a call from Sunbae.”

The words that came out of my mouth were honest to a degree that surprised even me. I didn’t believe everything Sunbae said, but I was curious about how Choi Seol would react. Would he ask what Sunbae said? Would he frown? Or… would he be flustered?

Eventually, Choi Seol spoke.

“I finished setting the table and came to call you. Let’s go quickly, the food will get cold.”

The answer and the expression were no different from usual. If I just nodded and followed Choi stolen contentSeol, our day would flow [Read on Read BL Novels]no differently than any [Read on Read BL Novels]other. Tomorrow, and the day after, would be the same. That would be enough. Choi Seol is going to leave anyway, right? I told him he could come back anytime, but I couldn’t guarantee he actually would.

Perhaps our connection was truly over now. I wanted to end it with good memories of each other. So, all I had to do was swallow the words that had risen to my throat.

“Did you know that I liked you?”

And yet, why was I unable to resist asking this question?