Chapter 9
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
The adorable being right before my eyes, clutching a glass of water in both tiny hands and taking little sips.
A small-animal-like girl whose mere presence somehow warmed a corner of my heart was living in my house.
Minseo pressed the glass to their mouth, covering nearly half their face, and drank it down in one long pull. Then they let out a breath—Phew!—and set the glass on the table.
"Ugh... It's still spicy..."
Their eyes brimmed with tears, and they looked close to crying, their gaze all watery.
Rather than feeling sorry for them, I wondered what on earth this creature was made of to inspire such a powerful urge to protect them.
I wanted nothing more than to throw that wicked devil's food that had hurt Minseo out of the house, but since Minseo was eating it despite the pain, I could only leave it be. That was all the more frustrating.
'...Cute.'
On top of that, every little gesture seemed insanely adorable to me, and it was agonizing having to keep a firm grip on my reason lest I make a mistake.
Though I was glad I'd gotten Minseo to live at my place with a proposal that was almost coercive, what I felt now was regret.
If I'd known they would be this bad for my heart, I was beginning to think it might have been better for me to go to Minseo's house instead.
'This is a studio apartment, so Minseo and I will be practically glued together every day... This is bad.'
Just now, Minseo's movements had been so cute and lovely that my gaze had unconsciously drifted to those reddened lips.
The feelings I had definitely weren't those of someone viewing Minseo as a sexual object.
If they were, I'd be no different from the criminals who should have been dead long ago.
It was just... that gentle smile burrowing into my heart.
I couldn't leave that little girl alone—the very essence of cuteness, whose every tiny movement made me want to protect them.
'I want to save them no matter what. Even if this is just my own selfish desire.'
Minseo saying they wanted to die was, to me, on the same level as saying they wanted to kill someone I saw as an idol.
This might sound a little embarrassing, but...
When I first stepped into that bizarre place without knowing this girl was Minseo, I'd already been captivated by their mysterious, somehow ephemeral appearance.
The blood-splattered floor. The stained white shirt. None of that even registered.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't shocked, but if I'd kept focusing on it, I wouldn't have been able to pick Minseo up and run, either.
"Hyunwoo, aren't you going to eat...? It's spicy, but it's good."
Even the way Minseo cautiously watched my reaction, fidgeting with their chopsticks...
All of it was so insanely lovable that I could hardly breathe.
Of course, by now I knew that this girl was Minseo, my close friend and classmate since middle school.
Minseo had been the one to call my name first, and they even knew a nickname only they could know.
I understood in my head that this cute, tiny creature before me was a 21-year-old adult man.
'Still... cute. What am I supposed to do?'
I'd fallen so hard that none of that mattered, and I didn't know what to do.
Minseo had already changed into this form, so wasn't clinging to the past and denying my feelings just cowardice?
"...Hyunwoo?"
I was in love.
I vowed to myself that someday I would make Minseo mine. But this wasn't the time to reveal my true feelings, so I kept the emotions about to burst out of me from spilling into words.
'For now, I'll just... be content that I have this chance, and keep watching over Minseo.'
We still had an endless amount of time left together.
As long as Minseo depended on me completely to stay alive, they wouldn't be able to leave this house, so I could take my time gradually getting them to fall for me.
Even if Minseo couldn't love me, I'd love them enough to make up for it.
This wasn't a sad, unrequited love that would never be returned.
Believing that, I shamelessly put on an act of normalcy in front of Minseo again.
"Oh. Yeah. I was just wondering if you were okay. You said it was really spicy earlier, right?"
Since I'd been staring at Minseo's lips this whole time, it was the best excuse I could come up with.
And it wasn't exactly a lie.
'Although the reason was slightly different.'
I'd said it with concern, seeing how the spice had reddened their lips, but the real reason I'd been staring was that Minseo's flushed lips looked like a very sweet apple.
I'd only wondered if I could savor those lips and tongue, filling the bitter taste in my mouth with sweetness.
"Yeah. I'm okay now. Anyway, hurry up and eat too. It's going to get cold."
"I don't have much of an appetite... You eat plenty."
Minseo looked at me and offered me some tteokbokki, but I stubbornly declined.
I didn't like tteokbokki to begin with, and I thought watching Minseo would be a far more worthwhile use of my time.
'Minseo definitely wasn't this entertaining before.'
Even the way Minseo blew on the tteokbokki, eyed it warily as if a little scared, gulped nervously, or squeezed their eyes shut and took a tiny bite was so adorable I felt like I was going crazy.
Their cuteness was so overwhelming that I'd gladly pay up to 100,000 won to watch Minseo eat like this right in front of me.
Minseo had enough power to make my heart sway like a reed, even though it had never wavered when girl groups came to perform for us during my military service.
'It's not like I like little kids...'
Watching Minseo make me happy all the way down to the depths of my heart, I couldn't decide whether to smile or cry.
"...Still, can't you eat at least a little? You bought this, too, and I feel awkward eating it alone. Here."
Minseo's eating had noticeably slowed, and they began glancing at me again before coming over.
They walked around the little round table and plopped down beside me.
Our bodies were close enough to touch, and a lovely scent began wafting from Minseo. It became hard to breathe, as if I'd taken a drug.
It was a ridiculous situation: Minseo's sudden move had given me something like shortness of breath.
Still, I kept it from showing as much as possible, parting my lips just a little and naturally steadying my breathing.
"Just one bite, at least... okay?"
Then Minseo picked up the chopsticks holding a rice cake they'd speared, stretched their arm out, and offered it to me.
How could I possibly help loving them after that?
Before, this would've been the kind of situation where I'd tease Minseo, asking why they were feeding someone else and whether they were some kind of girl.
Minseo had clearly not changed in the slightest. They were still themself.
'That kind of thing gets to me more than you'd think...'
The thought came to me unbidden.
I imagined Minseo sitting on my lap, both of us smiling in a rosy atmosphere, as they did an 'Aaah' for me just like they were doing now.
If that happened, I would surely be happy.
I was confident I could devote myself to Minseo and give them everything, so I would have no regrets for the rest of my life.
'But... that's not what this is right now.'
Minseo probably didn't have even the slightest romantic feelings for me.
Truthfully, if it was strange that I'd fallen for Minseo even knowing who they were, then I was a strange person.
I knew Minseo trusted me as nothing more than a friend they could rely on, and treated me as usual without giving it a second thought. I shouldn't put my mouth to those chopsticks.
That was definitely how it should be.
"It's pretty good..."
But I couldn't resist the temptation. I shamelessly leaned in and ate the tteokbokki Minseo offered me.
'...An indirect kiss.'
And even that wasn't enough for me. I ended up sucking all around the chopsticks that had been in Minseo's mouth before I could finally pull my head back.
Even though my brain knew I shouldn't, the feelings that took over in the moment were beyond reason's power to control or explain.
"...You don't have to lick the chopsticks clean, do you?"
"If sauce is left on them, they're hard to wash. You should eat cleanly."
"......"
Minseo's gaze, staring at me as if something was strange, made me feel a little self-conscious. Thankfully, Minseo didn't seem to take the thought any further; even the way they turned back was cute.
Unaware of the feelings behind the way I'd sullied those chopsticks, Minseo used them to continue eating.
Seeing how innocently careless they were, I made the same deep resolution in my heart once more.
'I have to protect Minseo. It'd be bad if some weird person set their sights on them. I won't give them to anyone else.'
Even if it was too soon, if I kept holding on to hope and subtly pressing my true feelings on Minseo, the day would come when they understood.
Someday, I would fill Minseo's bitter, lonely-looking lips with my love and make them feel the joy of being alive.