Without thinking twice, I leaned in, capturing his lips with mine. His body was stiff at first, caught off guard, but within a second, he responded back. He placed his hand behind my head, pulling me closer.
When I tell you how long I'd wanted to kiss him.. Both my hands found their way to his cheeks, the ones I'd always wanted to squish. I felt his hands travel from my arms to my waist, drawing me in closer.
His hand settled on my jaw, leaning in impossibly closer. I didn't even realize when I was pinned against the wall, the cool surface pressing against my back. We both were lost in the moment, breaths mingling and hazy.
"Fuck," he whispered.
Now we were both on our way back after buying food for Sooho. The kiss... yeah, let’s not talk about that.
I sat by Sooho’s bed, watching him open his food.
“What’s this feeling? I’m getting goosebumps,” he said, looking genuinely shocked looking at his ox bone soup.
“What?” Sieun asked, raising a brow.
“You! You’re being nice to me. Your whole demeanor, your eyes, the way you’re looking at me,” Sooho said in disbelief, squinting at Sieun like he was seeing a ghost.
"This is so gross," Sooho said, scrunching his nose. Sieun glanced at him, letting out a small breath before breaking into an unexpected smile.
Sooho looked even more shocked. He scoffed, trying to imitate the smile. "Did you hit your head somewhere? You definitely got hurt bad," he rambled, eyes wide in disbelief. "Ya, Eunji, what’s up with him? Did somet—" he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Sooho's gaze shifted to me, his eyes narrowing as if he was piecing it together. Damn it, he’d figure it out in no time. He then turned to Sieun, who was suddenly very interested in the floor, trying (and failing) to hide the hint of a smile on his face. Sooho glanced back and forth between us, realization slowly dawning on him.
Then, with exaggerated drama, he made a fake gagging noise. Before digging into his food making me giggle.
Sitting in the dim room, I glanced at Sooho, already sound asleep, and Youngyi dozing off in the corner. The silence was heavy, and I just stared at the wall, lost in my thoughts.
"Let's go home?" Sieun's voice cut through the quiet. I looked up at him. I didn't want to go home; the thought of that empty house made my chest tighten.
"Umm... I think I'll stay," I replied, avoiding his eyes.
"Okay... then, I’ll head out," he said, his tone casual, before turning to leave.
That’s it? No conversation? No mention of anything that happened between us?
I hated the way things were between us—always swinging between awkward tension or heated arguments. Why did it always have to feel so jittery, like neither of us knew how to deal with this... whatever it was?
The next day, after Sooho convinced me to skip the morning half, we all gathered for lunch. Normally, I’d sit next to Sieun without a second thought, but today, I made sure to take the seat beside Sooho instead. I could feel Sieun’s eyes on me, the confusion evident on his face.
Have I done something wrong? he wondered as he watched her.
I kept my attention on my food, pretending not to notice, but the awkwardness between us was hard to ignore.
While I was eating, I saw Hyuno walking toward me. According to Sooho, the guy apparently liked me. But Hyuno was respectful, which is why I didn’t mind hanging out with him.
"Hey Eunji, it’s been a while. Wanna grab a snack?" he asked, looking down at me.
Hell yeah, I thought. Anything to escape this tension.
"Sure," I said, standing up. But just as I got ready to walk away, I felt a hand on my wrist.
"Who is he?" Sieun's voice was sharp, and for the first time, it sounded like he was actually interested.
"This is Hyuno, my friend," I replied coolly. "I should get going before lunch ends. See you guys in class." I walked away with Hyuno, leaving the tension behind.
I didn’t have to turn around to know that Sooho was thoroughly enjoying this drama. For him, it was just like watching some love triangle unfold in a K-drama.
Sieun, on the other hand, didn’t know what was happening to him. He didn’t like this new guy one bit. After the kiss yesterday, he'd been frozen, unable to process it. No one had ever made him feel the way I did, and that uncertainty was making him more nervous than he'd care to admit.
Sieun wanted to talk to her—hell, he wanted to kiss her again. The thought had been eating at him ever since it happened. But the problem was, if he brought it up, he knew he’d turn into a stuttering mess. And the last thing he wanted was for her to see that side of him, the one that wasn’t in control, the one who didn’t have the right words.
Around 10 p.m., I heard my phone ring. The caller ID showed it was Sieun. After a few seconds, I answered.
"Where are you?" His voice was breathless, like he'd been running or crying.
"Home," I replied quickly. "Can I come over?" he asked, his tone softer this time.
"Yes, Sieun, are you okay?" I asked, worried.
"I don't know," was all he said.
Now, I was really worried.
I heard the doorbell ring and immediately went to open it. What surprised me was when Sieun pulled me into his arms, wrapping his hands tightly around my waist and burying his face in my neck.
It took a moment, but I quickly wrapped my arms around him too.
"Sieun, what happened?" I asked softly.
"I just wanted to see you," he said, pulling me in closer. That clearly wasn’t the whole reason.
"Did something happen at home?" I asked again.
"Mom's," was all he said, and I understood immediately. I didn’t press him further. Gently closing the door behind us, I tried to pull away from the hug, but he wouldn’t let go.
I felt his grip tighten around me, and I could sense the tension in his body. It was as if he needed this moment to gather himself, to escape whatever turmoil was waiting for him outside.
“Sieun,” I murmured softly, trying to catch his gaze. “You can talk to me, you know that.”
He finally pulled back slightly, just enough to look into my eyes. There was a flicker of vulnerability in his expression that made my heart ache. “I just… I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just wanted to be here with you.”
