Chapter 52
Now that I was actually out on the street, walking toward downtown instead of the river, everything felt fresh and new.
The sight of the streets, which I hadn’t seen in such a long time.
Though it was a weekday afternoon, it wasn’t exactly bustling with people.
Still, this was a side of the city I hadn’t been able to see before, too, because I’d been buried in work.
"Don’t let go of my hand."
Since Hyunwoo had been so adamant about stopping me from going out, he kept glancing over at me and nervously scanning our surroundings.
Somehow, that just makes him look even more suspicious...
"Okay. But could you stop looking around like that while we walk? You look really suspicious..."
From the perspective of a bystander—or the police—his behavior was more than enough to seem suspicious.
Because I knew exactly what I looked like right now...
A 180-centimeter-tall adult man was walking along with a 130-centimeter-tall girl in a rather revealing maid outfit, gripping her hand tightly and looking nervous.
There was no way I could cover for him, even if I wanted to.
"Still, I heard child abductions have been a serious problem lately... We have to be careful."
"...Criminals aren’t stupid, you know? With such a reliable guardian right by my side, what could they possibly do?"
I wondered if Hyunwoo knew about the kinds of incidents they kept talking about on the news.
But I don’t think anything like that has happened in our neighborhood...
I heard there’d been an incident nearby, across the river over there, though...
Anyway, as long as I kept hold of his hand, there was no chance I’d suddenly disappear, so Hyunwoo’s overprotectiveness was starting to feel a little burdensome.
"You never know, Minseo. The hand I thought I’d been holding this whole time might suddenly turn out to be a kidnapper’s hand..."
"Is that even possible...?"
"We live in a world where a man can turn into a woman. You never know."
My attempt to reassure Hyunwoo and get him to act naturally was countered with ease.
If he used me as an example, I couldn’t help accepting even the most unrealistic worries...
Of course, I knew you could never be too prepared...
"...I’d really been looking forward to going out."
If Hyunwoo kept acting in such a way that killed the mood, it wouldn’t feel like we’d gone out to have fun at all.
Even though Hyunwoo was holding my hand so tenderly, the thought that his attention was focused elsewhere made me feel a little hurt.
Since he’d come out with me, I wanted him to put his other worries aside, at least for a while.
"Hm?"
Hyunwoo turned to look at me, apparently not understanding what I meant.
His oblivious expression, as if to ask what I was talking about, annoyed me enough that I wanted to flick him on the forehead.
"It was nice just to get outside after so long, but I’ve never gone out and had fun with you, Hyunwoo..."
"What do you mean?"
"You’re not really looking forward to being out with me...?"
Since I felt like he wouldn’t understand even if I spent all day hinting at it, I voiced my dissatisfaction without hiding how I felt.
Kidnappers weren’t going to suddenly spring up out of the ground. What was the harm in putting everything else aside and enjoying ourselves?
Like I’d said before, what I felt for him now wasn’t just the kind of affection you felt for an ordinary friend...
It was something special. Hard to explain, but we were already as close as family, and I was still drawn to him...
"......"
Hyunwoo stared at me for a moment, then stopped right there on the sidewalk.
Had I said something that strange...?
"Phew. All right..."
He must have been holding his breath as he looked at me. He let out a deep breath and said he understood.
He must have been thinking about something during that brief moment, because he continued right away.
"I love you, Minseo. I didn’t realize how you were feeling."
"......"
"I get it. We’re out on a date right now, so you want me to focus on having fun, right?"
Hyunwoo suddenly rushed over, knelt on the sidewalk, and hugged me tight.
I was honestly taken aback by him suddenly kneeling on the sidewalk—and by his use of the word 'date'—but...
Before I could voice my surprise, he buried my face against his chest, and I missed my chance to say anything.
My 'I love you' is only meant as an apology... So why does Hyunwoo’s 'I love you' always come with an action attached?
It feels really unfair.
This is why I always end up letting things slide so naturally...
He’s so warm and cozy that I’m already starting to forget what I was angry about.
"Th-that... It sounds a little strange, but... yeah..."
Well, if you think about it, people use the word 'date' even when they aren’t dating or in a romantic relationship, right?
I’ve never heard men use it with each other, though...
But people do say things like 'a sibling date' now and then...
Besides, pretending to be family would be more convenient as a cover, so it wouldn’t be wrong to call what Hyunwoo and I were doing a date, would it?
"But, Hyunwoo. Isn’t it awkward to insist we’re friends when we’re out in public?"
"Yeah, it is."
"So I was thinking... What if we pretended to be siblings when we’re outside...?"
"Hadn’t we already decided on that? We never made it official, though."
"I guess so..."
Now that we’d clarified what our relationship would be outside, I felt a little more at ease.
Right. Hyunwoo had already thought of us that way, which was why he’d called it a date.
...Come to think of it, should I call Hyunwoo Oppa in front of other people...?
I had a feeling it might take a toll on my sanity.
"Oppa..."
I tried saying it out loud once.
It would be a problem if I actually called him that later and ended up throwing up or having some sort of fit.
Fortunately, my heart didn’t seem to reject it that violently.
"...What did you say?"
"Oh, I was just practicing. I can’t call you Hyunwoo in front of other people..."
"I asked what you said...?"
The problem was that the side effect seemed to have hit Hyunwoo, not me...
Hyunwoo kept leaning his face closer, fixated on that one word I’d said, and it was getting a little overwhelming.
"O-Oppa... I said Oppa..."
His somewhat frightening insistence scared me.
Even though I’d gotten used to Hyunwoo coming close to me, it was still scary to have him right in my face like this...
The difference in size between us was obvious.
Compared to my old body, it was like a giant almost 230 centimeters tall was standing right in front of me...
Besides, I’m more sensitive now, too...
"Ugh..."
"Minseo...?"
In the end, I couldn’t hold back and a few tears slipped out.
Hyunwoo panicked and hugged me even tighter.
Once I started crying, an inexplicable sadness and the happiness I felt from Hyunwoo’s warm embrace got all mixed together, and I didn’t know what to do.
My heart felt sad, but tears kept trickling down as the corners of my mouth slowly lifted, twisting my expression into something strange.
...What is this, seriously?
"Minseo... I’m sorry... I’m sorry...! It was my fault... I’m sorry...!"
Watching my reaction, Hyunwoo panicked and even broke the rule he’d made for himself.
Why was he so worried over a few drops of tears...?
"I’m okay. It’s all right now..."
Though the sudden fear had made me cry, I wasn’t consumed by fear. I wiped away my tears and wrapped both arms tightly around the back of Hyunwoo’s neck.
I really didn’t get it... What was it that triggered Hyunwoo’s episodes?
I’d been trembling on the stairs earlier, but he’d been fine then.
Could it be because he saw me crying...?
Thinking about it, whenever Hyunwoo had gotten overly possessive and tried to keep me trapped, had I been crying?
"I’m not crying, Hyunwoo."
"...Really? You really aren’t...?"
"Yeah. And weren’t you the one who said I should say 'I love you' instead of 'I’m sorry'? You made that rule, so now you’re breaking it?"
"...I’m sorry. Ah, no... I love you."
In moments like this, he seemed even more like a baby than I did.
Hyunwoo didn’t scare easily, but once he got like this, he seemed to grow endlessly fragile.
The huge Hyunwoo was on his knees, clinging to me and refusing to let go, like a child throwing a tantrum...
"I love you too, Hyunwoo."
I slipped in words that weren’t an apology, but were half playful and half affectionate.
I hugged him as warmly as I could, gently stroking his hand as I spoke softly to him.
I wondered if this was what it would feel like to have a young son.
Usually, Hyunwoo would be embarrassed to say something like this, let alone say 'I love you' in place of an apology, but...
Right now, Hyunwoo looked so slight and fragile that it seemed like he could easily crumble if I squeezed him with my frail hands, and that made him seem precious to me.
Considering our respective sizes and strengths, that was complete nonsense. It was absolutely impossible for the words to make sense.
But Hyunwoo was so clingy and demanding that he seemed cute.
Even to me, a man.
...Though maybe my view of our relationship was a little—just a little—idealized.
"I love you... I was just startled when you suddenly called me Oppa, so I wanted to make sure. I wasn’t trying to scare you..."
"I know. It’s not like you’d ever be someone who wanted to scare me anyway."
I still didn’t really know why he was acting like that, though.
I just knew Hyunwoo had some kind of line, and whatever it was, if he crossed it, he would either lose control or panic.
Should I ask him about it sometime and try to figure it out?
"Minseo..."
"What?"
"Can I ask you for just one thing?"
"What is it? A favor?"
"Well... I need to get used to the way you address me, too, right? So could you say it one more time?"
"Oppa!"
Maybe it was because Hyunwoo was all crumpled up like this, but his reaction was so cute that I didn’t feel any resistance to saying it.
No, I’m not kidding. Isn’t he actually kind of cute? If you set his size aside.