Chapter 76
* * *
“···.”
A man stood in a room with nothing left in it, staring blankly out the window.
A quiet silence filled the room.
The sound of the wind quietly stirring through the room was the only thing filling the air.
He soon walked out of the camera’s frame.
Thud—
As the door closed with a thud, the room returned to its original, empty state.
“Cut!”
I shouted and rose from my seat.
We had been filming the short film for our assignment for quite some time.
We had just finished shooting the final scene.
Since we had to show the process of clearing out the room,
the biggest challenge had been finding an empty room to rent. Fortunately, one of the school’s acting practice rooms was vacant, so we were able to film without much difficulty.
“What do you think?”
I watched the footage alongside Shin Ayoung.
“Hmm··· As expected, this one is the best.”
“You think the last one is the best, too?”
“Yeah. We should use this one, right?”
Shin Ayoung nodded as if agreeing with me.
I felt the same way, so without any further discussion, we decided to use this footage for the final scene.
Clunk—
A few seconds later, Choi Hyunwoo, who had gone outside, returned. Kim Jimin, another member of our group, was with him.
I stood up.
“Good work, everyone.”
That brought the filming to an end.
Of course, the film itself wasn’t finished—we still had to edit it. But the actors’ roles were done.
“Seungho, want to go get tteokbokki? To celebrate finishing the shoot.”
Choi Hyunwoo approached me as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
Tteokbokki. It had been a while since I’d craved some. But I couldn’t nod right away.
I said with an awkward expression,
“Sorry, I have something to do after this.”
“Huh? What do you have to do?”
“I have my part-time job, too. And I need to edit the footage.”
I wasn’t making excuses because I wanted to get out of the plans. I really did have a lot to do.
“Really? Then I guess it can’t be helped···.”
Choi Hyunwoo looked genuinely disappointed.
It wasn’t just him, either.
— “What a shameee···.”
Shin Ayoung’s Minimi felt the same way.
She didn’t show it, but she let out a sigh inwardly.
“Let’s go next time. Once exams are over, I’ll be free.”
“Sure, then let’s go after that.”
After making those plans, I said goodbye to them.
As Shin Ayoung walked away into the distance, she shaped the words with her lips as if whispering to me.
‘See you later—’
That seemed to be what she said. She meant that we would see each other later at the gym.
“···.”
I nodded appropriately and left.
“Hwaaam···.”
My mouth opened wide, and a languid yawn escaped.
My eyes blinked. Sleepiness came surging in.
But I had no time to feel sleepy. I had to go home and edit the footage now.
After that,
‘Right. I had my part-time job today, too. After that, I was supposed to work out with Shin Ayoung···.’
I also had to study for the exams with Isol.
‘Things have been pretty hectic lately···.’
I gently rubbed my eyelids.
Filming at school. Editing at home afterward. Working out after dinner.
On days when I had my part-time job, I worked and then studied for the final exams with Isol.
That was the routine I repeated every day.
I didn’t even have time to visit the club anymore.
‘Busy, busy.’
I hurried to the next place.
The time was almost up. I had no room to take it easy.
······.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
I raised my voice energetically and picked up the bag I had left outside the employee break room.
“Thank you for your hard work···.”
“Uh, uh. You worked hard, too.”
I gave Ha Seorim’s awkward greeting a cursory response, then hurried outside.
“I’ll be going first!”
“Yeah, go ahead—”
After bowing deeply to the manager, I quickened my pace even more.
‘Ah, damn··· Am I going to be late···?’
My part-time shift had ended later than I expected.
When I checked my phone, it looked like I would arrive slightly after our meeting time if I left now.
‘Good thing we decided to meet at a nearby café.’
Otherwise, it would have taken even longer.
I sent Isol a DM on the way. It was a message telling her I would probably be late.
Then I ran quickly again.
After running for a few minutes,
“···.”
I saw a café across the street. I slowed down in front of the crosswalk.
“Huff, huff···.”
Only then did I finally get a chance to catch my breath.
I passed through the café’s jingling entrance and went inside to look for Isol.
I saw Isol sitting by the window, wearing earphones and bobbing her foot.
“Phew··· Sorry. You waited long, right?”
I sat across from her and calmed my ragged breathing.
“···Did you run here?”
“I was afraid I’d be even later.”
“You could’ve taken your time···.”
Isol looked at me with wide, round eyes.
“Here.”
She held out a coffee to me.
“Café mocha, right?”
“Yeah.”
In the middle of my frantic rush, I accepted it without thinking.
It seemed she had ordered it in advance since she had arrived first.
That aside.
“···How did you know?”
I hadn’t even told her, but she had ordered it as if she knew I would want it.
“You drink that every day these days.”
“Do I?”
“You have for the past few days.”
I took a sip of the café mocha.
I didn’t usually drink much coffee.
But these days, I had been making more of an effort. I was borrowing the power of caffeine.
— “···Or I was going to drink it myself···. What a relief.”
The Minimi rubbed its forehead with a proud expression. It really had predicted it.
I looked over the workbook she had laid out.
“How far did we get last time?”
“Up to here.”
“We were reviewing what we’d already done one more time, right?”
“That’s right.”
Isol nodded slightly.
I patted the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and set down the bag I had been carrying over my shoulder.
“···Want to try solving this problem?”
Amid the bustle, I looked over Isol’s workbook.
“···.”
Isol looked at the problem sheet, then glanced over at me.
— “Look at all that sweat.”
Her attention was more focused on that than on studying for the moment.
“···.”
Was I really sweating that much?
A handkerchief would have been nice, but I didn’t carry one around. I had no choice but to wipe it off roughly with my sleeve.
— “You didn’t have to rush so much···.”
The Minimi pouted.
— “Even if I told you to take it easy, you’d obviously say it was fine···.”
I felt a little called out.
With the final exams right in front of me, I probably would have said exactly that.
“···.”
Isol rested her chin in her hand and looked down at the workbook, then
— “···That’s right.”
She raised her head again as if she had just thought of something.
With her usual languid expression, she relaxed her shoulders and slumped back into her chair.
“···I’m going to order some cake now.”
Isol asked in a dragging voice,
“Can’t we eat just that and then study···?”
There was longing in her eyes.
She looked as if she were pleading, as if she were the one who wanted to eat it.
“···.”
My eyebrows twitched. I stared at her blankly.
I knew what she was trying to do. She was deliberately trying to buy us some time to rest.
“···All right.”
I appreciated the consideration, so I pretended not to notice and nodded.
* * *
While sucking the cream off the fork from the plate where the cake had been,
Isol set her ballpoint pen down on the notebook with a tap.
“···Done.”
She felt that she had solved the problems fairly well and confidently looked for Lee Seungho.
“Seungho, I finished all the problems—”
The next moment, Isol clamped her lips shut.
“Ah···.”
She had no choice but to quiet her voice.
‘He fell asleep···.’
His eyebrows had drooped downward.
Sss— Sss—
Short breaths escaped him. His head drooped forward.
Even after drinking coffee, he ultimately couldn’t overcome the heavy sleepiness that had descended on him.
Leaning against the desk, he had fallen peacefully asleep.
‘He really does seem to have been busy lately···.’
Isol quietly watched him sleep.
He had seemed busy lately with filming and all that. Apparently, he had even started a new part-time job.
She had no intention of waking him. It should be fine to leave him like that for a little while.
‘Should I cover him with a blanket?’
Instead, that was the first thing she found herself worrying about.
Isol lifted the blanket that had been covering her lap. It was her favorite blanket, with a wonderfully soft texture.
“···.”
Isol moved as carefully as possible. She gently settled the blanket over his shoulders.
‘Phew···.’
Fortunately, he didn’t wake up.
Isol returned to her seat.
“···.”
She had nothing else to do, so she quietly watched him sleep.
Pfft—
An empty laugh escaped her before she knew it.
Seeing him sleeping so soundly felt strangely new. Come to think of it, she had never seen Lee Seungho this completely relaxed.
“···.”
The hand she had slipped into her pocket fidgeted. She toyed with her phone.
‘One picture should be okay···, right?’
Yes, this was a small punishment.
The punishment for falling asleep alone in the middle of studying.
Isol found a silent camera app and carefully switched it to selfie mode.
“···.”
She positioned them both in the frame, then made a V sign with one hand.
There was no shutter sound.
Isol looked at the one picture she had taken with satisfaction.
“Hmm-hmm···.”
A strange thrill rose within her at the impulsive act she had committed.
Even after that, Lee Seungho continued sleeping, completely unaware of the world.
“Hmm···.”
Isol leisurely observed him. She rarely had a chance to look at him so openly.
After all, wasn’t it embarrassing when their eyes met?
‘His hands are really big.’
They were bigger than hers. It was the first time she had compared them like this.
“···.”
Isol quietly watched them, then
she extended her left hand across the desk in a slow, sliding motion. An unspoken urge to hold his hand rose within her.
“···.”
Stretching her back as if she were doing a stretch, she slowly reached her hand out.
The two hands gradually drew closer.
“···.”
Isol stopped with an expression that looked ready to burst.
They had come almost close enough to touch, but she couldn’t summon the courage to make contact.
“···Hmm···.”
Just then, Lee Seungho shifted as if turning in his sleep.
Isol froze in place. She held her breath, wondering if he had woken up.
But he soon stopped moving and fell back into silence.
‘Phew···.’
The next moment, after inwardly breathing a sigh of relief,
“Eek···!”
Isol covered her mouth. Her face flushed bright red.
That was because Lee Seungho’s ring finger had come to rest over hers.
It wasn’t even much contact, just a slight brush. But that alone left Isol unable to think straight.
“···.”
The sensation felt strange.
The texture and weight of his skin came through with startling clarity.
Her heart fluttered. It was a ticklish sensation, like the thrill of riding a Viking.
Huuuu···.
That subtle tremor mixed a vibration into the breath she exhaled.
“···.”
Isol barely managed to steady her breathing. She swallowed hard.
She couldn’t move.
···Because Lee Seungho might wake up.
So just for a little while.
Let’s stay like this just a little longer.
After all, she hadn’t done anything. It had happened while Lee Seungho was falling asleep.
He would understand this much.
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(!Sign!)
(AI illustration if you scroll down!)
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(Isol discovers Lee Seungho asleep while studying)
(The background is bright, but it is a dark time of day)