Chapter 139: Chapter 139

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‘Lucky you, I don’t even reach 160 cm yet…’ having that thought in mind, I looked at him with envious eyes. Yoo Chun Young blinked then continued in a nonchalant tone.

“I was on my way from the clinic. They say that I’m still growing.”

“Still growing? Even more?”

As I asked him in a big surprise, he nodded.

“They don’t see any signs that stop me from growing, so I also have no idea how much I’ll reach.”

“Jesus, share me your height.”

“Take it.”

He giggled after his remark, which could look a little mean, but since he was my longtime friend, I just laughed at him too. The scent of the rain still touched my nose. His sleeves were quite wet. From his comfortable outfit of a dark gray sweater and coal-black pants, he appeared to be on his way back from the clinic.

Looking at him, I tried to say something but just closed my mouth. As if he read my actions, his eyes displayed a feeling of wonder.

“Why?” he asked.

“Um…”

I hesitated to say so then I raised my eyes to look at him. In a very careful tone, I cast the question inside my head.

“Was it true that you forgot me…?”

The heavy raindrops, which constantly rang my ears like a noisy drum, seemed to fade away. A bizarre silence then prevailed between us. My eyes were out of focus, touching the ground.

I wanted to ask him if he could really forget me.

His presence rooted deep inside my head, which made me hardly escape from his thoughts over the last two weeks. Although other things distracted me from being lost in his thoughts, once I gathered my senses, I repeated thinking about him again.

And therefore, I wanted to ask him if I were a person who could be easily forgettable when he cared less about me.

As the prolonged silence went on, I slowly closed my eyes then opened them again. We couldn’t always think of each other on the same level. I knew that from my longtime experience.

Just because someone doesn’t care about me as the same as I do to that person, it isn’t something wrong; however, the more who cares the more who gets hurt later. Staring at Yoo Chun Young’s wet sneakers, I had those thoughts in mind.

And that was why Ban Yeo Ryung felt so great and respectful to me. She always talked about how much she cared about me and how big my presence was to her, but she never tried to measure the level of how she was to me. Rubbing my hair, I smiled and thought, ‘What an idiot.’ As I raised my eyes then, Yoo Chun Young, who came into my sight, looked quite outlandish.

He still put a gentle smile on his lips but his blue eyes were deeply submerged into the darkness. The shadows hanging under his eyes were hardly distinguishable whether they were from sorrow or exhaustion. My eyes then became wide open when he spat those words.

“Do you think that can work?”

“…”

“Why are you being such an imbecile?”

I never saw Yoo Chun Young speaking that way. He was a self-assured person, who seldom blamed others for any circumstances. His remark just now, however, sounded as if I did something wrong and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. It was indeed a grumble at me.

After saying those words to me, he stretched both hands out and wrapped around my cheeks. He then strengthened his grips on me. My lips popped out like a carp. ‘What the…?!’ I spoke to him while furrowing my eyes.

“What are you doing right now? And I’m not an imbecile.”

“Yes, you are, idiot.”

“No, come on. Ban Yeo Ryung or Eun Jiho could be but me… oh, I could be the dummy if you set standards to you guys…”

“If things aren’t said clearly, you learn nothing.”

Yoo Chun Young’s voice that cut into my words didn’t sound like usual. It was solid like the rocks inside the ocean, sad, and subdued deeply. I opened my eyes widely. Then at the next moment, he released his hands grabbing my cheeks.

I should’ve broken the ice but hardly could through the strange air hanging between us. Still, the sound of the rain kept on outside the apartment. I looked at Yoo Chun Young.

When our eyes met, he slowly fetched a sigh. The breath he spat out scattered away faintly down the chin.

“No one learns when nothing’s said,” I said hesitantly.

“At least something can be learned if they have something called a sense.”

“I do know what that word means, but if you talk about being tactless, Ban Yeo Ryung is worse than me.”

“No, she’s not. It’s you who’s worse,” replying shortly, Yoo Chun Young giggled.

‘Is he now feeling better?’ It was the moment when I had that thought in mind.

Yoo Chun Young said, “Now I get it. You know nothing when things aren’t said.”

“Not everything!”

“I came here because I missed you.”

“Huh?”

He said those words very seamlessly and smoothly after my sullen reply. His voice sounded like a flowing river, blocked by nothing.

‘What did he just say?’ As I blinked my eyes in surprise, he spoke to me again.

“I came here because I missed you, not because I forgot your face.”

“…”

I flickered my eyes then fastened my gaze at him. Something warm and soft rose from my toes at a slow pace. The next moment, I was smiling. Dropping his gaze at me, Yoo Chun Young grinned too. He then slowly stretched his hand out to pat my head.

I would usually complain to him not to shovel my hair; however, I just stood still while leaving my hair to his touch.

A distortion of communication that went through between us, at last, found the right track. His clear words seemed to put a solid bridge between us.

Hesitating for a while, I finally grabbed his hand. It was then when I heard that voice.

“Move.”

The voice that cut through us struck my ears sharply as if it was said right next to me. I turned my head. There was Ban Yeo Dan standing right beside me while looking decent in a black suit just like in the morning. He then stretched out his arm over my back to the gap between me and the elevator. As he pressed the button, a light appeared on the black display with a beep sound.

Gazing at him with my jaw dropped, our eyes finally met. His jet-black eyes resembled those of Ban Yeo Ryung but there wasn’t any hint of light inside.

“Why?” Ban Yeo Dan asked.

And the next moment, I threw myself into Yoo Chun Young’s arms with a scream.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

“Yeo Dan hyeong?”

Flinging the question, Yoo Chun Young got me over reliably then hid me behind his back. I grabbed his back tightly and scowled in front.

‘What the heck?! Why did he appear so quietly out of the blue?’ It was not only me but also Yoo Chun Young who didn’t notice Ban Yeo Dan’s approach at all. He stared at Ban Yeo Dan in surprise.

I asked, “O…o…o…ppa, Yeo Dan oppa, where did you pop out from? The entrance door didn’t move! Even the sensor didn’t work too!”

“… He dropped me off at the underground parking lot, so I took the stairs.”

“Oh.”

‘Oh, yes. That was how it worked,’ I nodded then slowly took off my hand that was almost stretching the collar of Yoo Chun Young’s sweater. Looking back at me, Yoo Chun Young displayed his puzzled feeling on his face.

‘I’m embarrassed to death. I mean, anyone can get surprised when someone suddenly pops out like that…’ As I rubbed my face with both hands, I heard heels clicking from far apart. My eyes directed toward the source of the noise.

Ban Yeo Ryung also dazzled in her outfit as in the morning. Her white skirt flapped along with her movement. Opening her eyes roundly, she looked at us and cast her wonder.

“What’s up there? Why are you here too, Yoo Chun Young?”

“Just stopping by.”

“Oh, really? To see Donnie?”

“Uh-huh.”

Replying shortly, Yoo Chun Young then raised his eyes to glance at me. He looked as though he had something to say to me.

“Why?”

“Nothing. I’m leaving.”

“Ok, see you tomorrow.”

‘You saw him only for a few seconds…’ with that thought in mind, I glanced at Ban Yeo Ryung. Although Yoo Chun Young said that he would just leave, she didn’t look sorry at all.

When she responded apathetically with a hand wave, Yoo Chun Young, for real, turned back and walked to the apartment entrance. When he stepped closer to the sliding door, the lamp above his head spread orange light, then his shadow slowly disappeared. Over the door, yellow lights pouring from the headlight began to move away from the concrete ground.