By Zephyria 〈I’ve seen you often. You’re tall, so you stand out wherever you are.〉
〈Ah…….〉
〈What do you eat to get so big? Have you ever broken the ceiling while getting up?〉
〈…….〉
〈Sorry. I mean, I’m jealous.〉
He chuckled cheerfully and nudged me. The unexpected touch made me sway. It was a clumsy gesture that would have pushed me back if I hadn’t been so stiff with tension.
My lips felt parched. I had to say something. Anything……. If the conversation died here, it would only get more awkward. Of course, he didn’t seem to care. This was normal for him. I was the weird one.
〈Um……!〉
〈Huh?〉
〈I, I’ve seen you often too! Th-the…… lunch ti……me…….〉
I felt pathetic even as I spoke. If I ended it here, I’d look like an idiot who couldn’t even speak properly, but confessing that I watched him play soccer every day seemed a bit…… stalker-ish. Even though that wasn’t the case at all. I was just looking out the window during my remaining lunch break!
As I stammered, unable to get the words out, he kindly cut through my hesitation.
〈You saw me playing soccer? I’m awesome, right?〉
He suddenly leaned his face closer to mine. His handsome face still had a youthful, immature quality. Like the soft, full cheeks. A strong scent of soap wafted towards me, tickling the tip of my nose.
Aren’t we too…… close right now……? I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded vigorously.
〈Y-you’re good.〉
〈My skills are pretty good, aren’t they? What about you?〉
〈……Huh?〉
〈Are you good at soccer? Or are you just okay like me?〉
A dimple appeared on his playful face. Even though I was being annoying by asking him to repeat himself multiple times, he didn’t seem annoyed at all, but rather explained it to me in a friendly manner. My palms kept sweating, so I rubbed them frantically on my thighs.
Why aren’t the others here yet? They usually come around this time. Why are they so late today?
He was too close. Close enough that I felt like I could feel his breath. What if I smelled like sweat? I wanted to lift up my uniform and smell it right away. If I reeked of stale sweat, I was going to say that something had happened at home and run out immediately. I didn’t want him to remember me as a dirty kid.
〈Not just okay…… I, soccer…….〉
Is this what it feels like when your vision spins? I couldn’t figure out the cause of the extreme tension that was gripping me. The only thing that had changed from my usual routine was that he, who I had only seen from afar, had infiltrated my daily life.
But is that any reason to be this nervous? As soon as I thought of the person in front of me as just one of my classmates, I felt my racing heart gradually slow down.
No. I tried to act calm. I wanted to keep him by my side with a normal conversation. Even if we didn’t become close. This kind of opportunity would never come again. What fun would it be to hang out with a kid who couldn’t even respond properly? So this would be the last time.
〈I just play a little soccer. I’m a defender, so…….〉
Even this was different from you.
It seemed like we had nothing in common. I wanted to continue the conversation, but at that moment, the academy van must have arrived because the kids poured in all at once. The noisy group threw their bags on their desks and giggled among themselves. The commotion was like a marketplace.
Some of the kids who spotted him flocked towards us. He was popular, after all. Thanks to them, the conversation between us was cut short.
〈Choi Gyeoul! What are you doing here?〉
〈Oh, it turned out this way. Seeing my Hyung here makes me even happier, right?〉
〈Wow, that’s so cringe. Then you should come with us too. It’s boring to come alone.〉
〈No way. I’m allergic to Cheonggukjang.〉
〈This bastard’s talking nonsense again. What the hell is he saying? What’s so great about a guy who just spouts bullshit?〉
〈Shhh. Do you have a lot of money?〉
〈……Money? No!〉
……Cheonggukjang?
Completely buried by their presence, I pondered his words. What was he trying to say? The kid with his arm slung around his neck and a soccer ball in his other hand was lightly pushed away by Gyeoul.
The smell that I thought would come from him was wafting from the entire group. The smell of growing hormones and stale sweat. The peculiar stench completely numbed my nose. I barely managed to suppress my grimace.
Ah……. Could that be what he meant? No way. Is he criticizing them so indirectly?
I forgot that I had been looking down, embarrassed to look at him, and stared at him intently. You…… didn’t say that because they smell, did you? Gyeoul, who had been smiling casually with a wrinkle on his nose, immediately turned his gaze to me as the group left.
Our eyes met. This time, I didn’t look away.
〈Looking at me like that won’t make a hole in my face. I’ve experimented with it.〉
〈……Huh?〉
〈No, maybe it’ll wear out if you touch it with your hands.〉
He said, rubbing his cheek. He didn’t hold back, so his white cheek was pushed around like dough. He touched his crumpled cheek and asked me with a slightly puzzled look.
〈Isn’t this funny?〉
〈What’s…… funny?〉
〈That’s weird. Everyone else laughs. They say I’m saying weird things.〉
〈……You were telling them to stop staring……, criticizing them.〉
〈Oh, you understood? That’s right, I was criticizing them.〉
〈Then maybe just now, that…… allergy…….〉
I ignored the expression “criticizing,” which I had blurted out naturally. He acted kindly, but when he criticized, he faced me head-on.
It wasn’t something to be proud of, eavesdropping on other people’s conversations, but I couldn’t help but be curious. Was that really a criticism? Of course, thinking about it now, it did seem like a critical tone.
His eyes widened at my words. It seemed like the space between his eyebrows narrowed slightly. What kind of expression is that? My curiosity grew even more. I wanted to explore it further.
Yes, I was curious about him. Very much so.
Soon, he smiled slightly without answering. He brought his index finger to his lips. I felt like I was starting to understand him. Even if that wasn’t the case, what he was telling me right now was definitely conveyed. Shut up. Don’t say unnecessary things.
I nodded dumbly again. He made a fist and held it out to me. Was he suggesting we play rock-paper-scissors? Suddenly?
I naturally opened my mouth and blinked. His eyebrows narrowed even more. He grabbed my hand, which was on my lap, made me clench it into a fist, and bumped it against his.
〈Let’s do a fist bump.〉
〈Ah…….〉
I’ve never done that before.
I almost threw out a ‘paper’. How embarrassing. I unconsciously fiddled with the hand that had touched his.
He yawned widely, looking visibly displeased. It would be strange if he wasn’t sleepy. He had been running around so excitedly during lunchtime, how could he not be tired? If he was fine, he wouldn’t be human.
Watching him, I yawned along. I wasn’t tired at all, but just watching him made me imitate him. Even his expressions. It was a strange thing.
〈You’re Kwon Yi-tae, right?〉
He casually spat out my name as if it were nothing. It was just a name, but it felt strange. I nodded my head three times. He imitated me and then made a strange laughing sound, “Puh-huh.” I had no idea why he was laughing.
〈Choi, Gyeoul…… right?〉
〈Huh? You know my name. I thought you wouldn’t. No, did you just hear it and find out? Yi-tae, you always walk straight ahead with such an indifferent face. I’ve seen you often.〉
〈Oh……? Where?〉
〈I wonder? I just see you often. Where did I see you? I was worried your neck would break because your head almost touches the school ceiling, so I kept looking at you?〉
I wanted to say that I already knew……. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It was just a trivial story, but I was embarrassed to say it.
Gyeoul stared at my face as if he had forgotten to blink. His head tilted slightly to the left. His hair fluttered to the side.
Even though it was clearly noisy with the other kids, only his voice was clear. Clear enough that I could find it even if there were hundreds of people. It was as if you and I were alone in a different space.
Gyeoul’s nose twitched. He didn’t seem to realize his unconscious movement. I tried to imitate him. It wasn’t easy to imitate because it was a facial muscle that I didn’t use often. Gyeoul’s eyes seemed to be directed at my nose.
〈We could open a fish market here, right?〉
〈Huh?〉
〈Yi-tae, is it because you’re cold? Or are you allergic too?〉
〈Not that…… I was imitating you…….〉
Gyeoul pointed at himself with a puzzled look. This time, I nodded slightly. Gyeoul made a strange sound, “Hmm…….” Once again, his nose twitched.
……It was cute. He looked like a white husky sniffing for something. Considering his height, he wasn’t the small Maltese type.
〈You’re handsome, so it doesn’t matter, but I can’t get wrinkles. I’ve been making a living with my skin.〉
He took the hand he had been holding up and rubbed his nose. He didn’t have any wrinkles anyway, but I somehow wanted to tease him. The corners of my lips turned up slightly. He didn’t seem to see my face and pressed down on his nose with a serious expression.
〈Oh? You have wrinkles here…….〉
I pointed to the area around his nose. He was startled and took out his phone from his pocket. It wasn’t a phone from a domestic company, but a product from a foreign company.
He looked at his nose in the black screen. I barely managed to bite my lip to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out. Would wrinkles that weren’t there from the beginning appear just because he was looking for them?
Then, Gyeoul turned his phone towards me. Due to the reflection, we were looking at each other. Through the screen. A smile was also dangling on his lips. His lips moved. A silent conversation flowed over the screen.
S……T, U, P……?
Stupid?
The sudden criticism hit me. I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression. He put down his phone and gestured for me to come closer. I leaned towards him in a daze. He whispered softly in my ear.
〈Actually, I knew there weren’t any wrinkles on my nose, but I was acting to make you laugh. How is it, Yi-tae? Do you feel like becoming friends with me? If we’re friends, I can make it even more fun.〉
A refreshing smile spread across his face. I stared at him, forgetting to blink. The noise of the children was still loud in my ears, and my heart was pounding loudly.
It was the moment when a small sprout began to grow in my heart.