Chapter 16
Among Kim Siyeon’s happy endings, there’s one called [A Love Left Unspoken].
It’s a happy ending where Han Seojin confesses to Kim Siyeon, who can’t properly express her feelings, and the two of them end up together for good.
…And the reason I’m bringing this up now is—
“…So, what are you trying to tell me, idiot?”
“You still don’t get it?”
At that moment.
Because somehow, I was feeling the same happiness now that I’d felt when I first discovered this ending.
Of course, it wasn’t exactly like back then, when the thrill of seeing my favorite get paired up coexisted with the wistful feeling that there could never be a better story—but it was very similar.
Han Seojin, holding my hand and waiting for me to give him an answer.
I stared blankly at him—and when my face grew hot, I immediately lowered my head and crossed my legs a little.
He’d grown so much without me noticing. He definitely hadn’t been this handsome when we were kids.
“Lift your head for me.”
“…No.”
When I lowered my head, I reflexively refused Han Seojin’s request to lift it.
…I-I’m not ready yet.
Han Seojin was someone I’d never thought twice about when we were little, but at some point, I started feeling embarrassed just looking at his face, and it was unfair that I could barely meet his eyes.
But what could I do now that things had turned out this way?
There were so many things I absolutely couldn’t talk about, like how my heart raced whenever I saw Han Seojin, or the shameless fantasies I sometimes had about him.
“Please, Siyeon.”
“Ngh….”
As I kept my face pointed at the floor, he whispered in my ear, asking me to look at him. The chills that ran through my whole body made my mind go hazy.
‘Th-That’s cheating….’
This idiot clearly had no idea how lethal a weapon he possessed.
If he knew, he’d never whisper in my ear like that.
I absolutely didn’t want Han Seojin to see me like this, but despite my wishes, my gaze had somehow lifted until I was looking him in the face.
As if that were the right thing to do.
As if what Han Seojin had asked of me mattered more, my body had already responded to his words.
“----”
When Han Seojin looked at me and said something—
==========
‘What kind of dream was that?’
I’d woken up, but I kept my eyes closed as I thought about the dream I’d just had.
…I definitely had something going on with Han Seojin, but I couldn’t remember any of it.
I could remember talking to Han Seojin about something, but I had no idea what I’d done or what I’d said.
As someone who prided myself on usually remembering my dreams pretty well, I couldn’t understand why I was in this state.
If I couldn’t remember it at all, that’d be one thing, but because it was coming back so vaguely, I felt so frustrated I honestly wanted to cry.
‘…Wait, cry?’
Come to think of it, I remember crying a lot when I saw Han Seojin….
Right, I woke up in a panic after having a nightmare before falling asleep again, then cried a ton because I was so relieved to see Han Seojin.
And then—
‘…….’
As the memory suddenly came back to me—hugging Han Seojin, asking him to hug me, and falling asleep in his arms—the thought of remembering the dream vanished, and I was overwhelmed by anxiety.
‘Th-That was a dream too, right?’
There was no way I’d actually done something as crazy as hugging Han Seojin and asking him to hold me.
Yeah, yeah. There’s no way. Unless I’d gone crazy after watching a horror movie for the first time in years, that couldn’t have happened.
It had to be impossible, but—
‘B-But why is it so cozy…?’
The feeling was like when Mom held me as I slept—if anything, even more comforting than that—and the nagging anxiety wouldn’t leave my mind.
…W-What if it really happened?
What if I was hugging Han Seojin in my sleep again, just like I’d done something so embarrassing six years ago?
Of course, there was no way that had really happened, but you always had to consider the what-ifs.
Especially when I could feel someone’s breath above my head and hear a heartbeat that wasn’t my own.
The pleasant scent of Han Seojin made it feel less like a what-if and more like the obvious truth—but I absolutely didn’t want to admit it.
“Mm….”
I shifted slightly and opened my eyes as if I’d just woken up. The clothes Han Seojin had worn yesterday were right in front of me.
….
…….
‘Am I crazy? Am I freaking crazy?!’
The moment I saw it with my own eyes, I could no longer deny that what I’d done yesterday was real, not a dream. I tried to vent my embarrassment by kicking the covers furiously in my mind.
In reality, I was just lying quietly with my eyes open, still hugging Han Seojin.
…H-He must be tired. I can’t wake him up.
Especially since Han Seojin had gone along with me when I did that, I absolutely didn’t want to be so shameless as to wake him just to relieve my embarrassment.
It wasn’t a very good way to deal with it, but I couldn’t help it.
‘Seriously, seriously, idiot. Stupid idiot. Stupid idiot, sea cucumber, sea squirt, sea anemone….’
As I cursed myself for all the stupid things I’d done, I closed my eyes again in case he woke up and hugged Han Seojin as if to show him I hadn’t done anything.
…It’s a little shameless to say this, but he’s more comfortable than the pillow I hug when I sleep.
“Hehe….”
Enjoying the oddly addictive feeling of Han Seojin’s embrace, I held back the smile creeping onto my face and pretended nothing was wrong.
‘…It’ll be morning soon, so I’ll have to get up.’
Normally, since I didn’t eat breakfast, I’d be thinking only about going back to sleep because I was still drowsy, but I had to feed this idiot I was hugging, didn’t I?
Thinking that, I timidly and quietly let go, inching lower and lower until I slipped out of Han Seojin’s embrace, even though I’d been hugging him while he held me.
…Even so, I couldn’t just leave like this.
“Th-Thank you, idiot.”
Since he hadn’t woken up even when I’d just slipped away, I figured there was no way Han Seojin would wake up now. I thanked him, hugged him one more time, then fled as if running away.
“U-Ugh… I-I really must be crazy.”
He had this weird smile on his face at the end. There’s no way he was awake, right…?
‘…No, there’s no way that idiot would do that.’
If that idiot had been awake, he definitely would’ve startled me with a “Wah!” or something when I hugged him.
I spent a while squirming in embarrassment over what I’d just done, then agonizing over what I should make him for breakfast.
==========
A few days after that.
After wondering again what that dream I’d had that day could’ve been, I eventually gave up for good.
I settled on the answer, ‘I must’ve just had a dream,’ then thought of the idiot who’d asked me to meet him at a café and looked at the clothes in front of me, wondering what to wear.
…Wh-What should I wear?
As I spent time weighing different combinations of coats, pants, and tops, I suddenly resented the idiot who’d put me in this situation.
‘If that idiot hadn’t asked to meet up on the same day, I wouldn’t have to rush around like this…!’
Whenever I made plans, I got my outfit ready in advance, so when plans came up suddenly like today, I ended up scrambling to put something together.
“Should I wear a shirt on top…? Give it a slightly dressier feel?”
I still wasn’t ready to wear a skirt, and my legs would get cold in one, so I didn’t even consider it. I pulled out a pair of black slacks for a slightly formal look, then gave up on that idea.
As I tried putting together another outfit, I finally managed to pick something warm and cozy with a bit of a winter feel.
…It’s mid-February, so it’s a little late to be choosing outfits like this, but it can’t be helped.
Today’s weather is colder than usual, so you could say it’s actually perfect.
With that thought, I smiled brightly, finished putting the outfit together, changed into it, and headed straight out.
‘It should be okay, right?’
When I looked in the mirror, I thought I looked really pretty, but I worried that Seojin might not like it.
I’d gone to all this trouble to get dressed for that idiot, so I’d be really sad if he said it wasn’t his style.
…Well, that idiot would definitely say I looked really pretty no matter what I wore.
“Hmm, hmm-hmm~”
Thinking that, I found myself humming.
Maybe it was because I was naturally pretty, but even my reflection in the café window looked like the very picture of a cute girl.
Feeling pleased, I opened the café door and started looking for Han Seojin.
“Um, you’re really my type, so could I get your phone number?”
“…Um, I’m in middle school.”
“I’m about to start high school, so it’s fine. Could you please give me your number?”
I immediately spotted Han Seojin getting asked for his number by a high-school-aged girl wearing a thick layer of makeup.
…Huh?