Chapter 15
It feels strange. Why does my heart feel like it’s falling off a cliff? Usually, I’d just answer the phone feeling comfortable and happy.
Why does this phone feel so incredibly heavy? So heavy that I can feel my heart beating… and trembling. I can’t pick up the phone because I’m afraid my voice will show how much I’m shaking.
You, Yi-seong, who was so easy and comfortable to be around for almost 30 years, why have you become the most awkward person in the world? Did yesterday’s single mistake suddenly tie me down?
Just because you touched my body, just because you looked at my private space, and your hands and lips went there, should it really be like this?
Bzzz. I couldn’t bring myself to answer the phone. That’s when I reached the end of the steps on the walking path.
A voice pulled at the back of her head.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Oh, my goodness. It’s definitely Yi-seong’s voice.
She let out a small, trembling sigh, then turned around.
Yi-seong was standing at the bottom of the walking path steps. A bright ray of sparkling sunlight fell on Yi-seong’s cheek.
Is this a halo?
The clear air of early summer settled on your fresh face, and she was momentarily lost in Yi-seong’s beauty. His innocent face made her admire him anew.
That’s why I’ve told you many times not to attack me with your looks.
But it seems like the seal has been broken since yesterday.
Making me feel attracted to Yi-seong as a member of the opposite sex.
“No! No way!”
Ah, it came out. The words I yelled inside.
“What’s ‘no way’?”
Yi-seong stepped onto the same stair as her and asked politely. His calm and relaxed face seemed to have completely forgotten yesterday’s memory.
She drank a lot, and Yi-seong drank just enough. She drank enough to get really tipsy, Yi-seong just enough to feel good.
Or maybe it was the other way around? Why do you have such a careless expression?
I can also act calm. No, I must act calm. Because I’m the one who forgot yesterday’s events. Yes, only then can we remain friends for a long time.
She tried hard to put on a blank expression and faced Yi-seong.
“Oh, I was thinking about something else. What brings you here?”
I hope her smile isn’t awkward.
Yi-seong quietly looked down at her face. Her fair, clear skin and her long, dog-like eyes don’t seem to match, but they’re very charming. An innocent but sexy charm.
Ah. I fell for the face attack again.
What are you thinking, looking at me with such clear eyes?
His expressionless gaze was hard to read, so she kept repeating one phrase to herself.
Act normal. Act normal.
“You’re going to stare a hole through me. Why? Why? Want to have a staring contest?”
Still, his eyes carefully examined hers for a long time. She felt like he could see through her act, and her gaze kept wanting to waver.
Only then did Yi-seong’s lips move.
“You…”
The pause made the tension rise even more sharply.
“Me… what?”
“You have sleep in your eye.”
“Huh. Hey.”
“Just kidding.”
She relaxed as he made a playful joke, just like he usually did. And when she instinctively punched his thick arm, he grabbed her fist with his large hand.
A hot, strong feeling. A warmth that reminded her of last night.
Ugh. When she tried to pull away from his grip, his hold tightened even more.
“Hey, let go.”
She put more strength into her arm again, and Yi-seong, still holding her hand, said something else.
“Did you sort things out with Go Do-hoon?”
“Ah, come on. Let go of my hand.”
Yi-seong smiled and didn’t let go of her hand.
“One more thing. The work? Did you decide to do it? Our project.”
“Yeah. Are you done? Now will you let go?”
The strong grip on her fist slowly loosened. He was about to let go. Just as she let out a small breath and tried to pull her hand away, the grip tightened again.
“Ah, why again?”
“Last one, for real.”
“What, what?”
“Do you remember yesterday?”
Suddenly, her chest dropped, and her heart rate sped up wildly.
Crazy. What do you do when he comes at you without warning? It was so sudden that she didn’t have time to prepare her act.
Seeing her standing there, mouth agape, unable to say anything, Yi-seong mumbled.
“You remember, don’t you?”
No. I absolutely cannot fall apart here. Even if it’s obvious, I have to push forward with a shameless lie. To keep this relationship from being ruined.
“What memory? Oh, yesterday… I drank way too much at your place. Did I say a lot of nonsense? I completely blacked out.”
“Completely… blacked out?”
“Yeah. Ha, I was so angry yesterday, I drank too much. Haha.”
“That’s it?”
“Then what?”
Yi-seong let go of her fist and stared intently into her eyes.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“About what?”
“What happened yesterday.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to know about my drinking habits. Whatever embarrassing things I did, you should just delete it from your memory.”
“How do you know what embarrassing things you did? You even told me―”
What was he about to say? She quickly covered her ears with both hands.
“Ah, ah, I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you.”
Then Yi-seong grabbed both her wrists again and rambled on strangely.
“You threw up on me, punched me, kicked me.”
“When did I ever? I’ve never thrown up on you or hit you!”
“You remember, don’t you?”
“No—I mean… I don’t remember anything like that. Me throwing up on you and hitting you… I don’t remember that…”
Her trembling eyes and pursed lips created an awkward expression.
Exactly 29 years, rounding up to 30 years, Jeong-a. I know exactly what kind of face you make when you lie, don’t I?
“Stop being so pathetic.”
“Oh, okay. I get it. I get it. If I threw up on you and hit you… I’m sorry. Is that enough?”
“To the very end… Okay, so what? How sorry are you?”
Yi-seong is suspicious now. No, maybe even certain. Certain that she remembers everything and is just pretending not to.
But she will never remember.
“Very, very, very sorry. Is that enough?”
“With just words? No way.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You have to remember what happened yesterday.”
Bright sunlight poured onto Yi-seong’s forehead, and a clear, refreshing breeze blew for a moment, cooling the sweat. It felt as if a breeze was blowing inside her chest too.
“You have to remember what happened yesterday.”
Those words seemed to seep into her heart like the wind.
“How can I remember… if I don’t?”
“Shall we re-enact it?”
“What?”
“Then maybe you’ll remember.”
Crazy. Yi-seong, are you messing with me?
She hit Yi-seong’s arm harder than before. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
“So what do you want me to do? Punch you and kick you, or should I throw up right now?”
“We should kiss.”
Gasp. Oh my goodness. She had to drop her clenched fist. Ha. What if he says it? What if you and I… can’t even be friends anymore?
“It wasn’t a kiss… it was a mistake.”
“A mistake? So was sex a mistake too?”
“It didn’t go that far.”
“See? You remember.”
“Ha, ugh. Why… why are you digging up something I’m trying to bury?”
The memories I was trying to bury keep coming back. The sweet kiss we shared, the strange sensation when you touched my body, even your body desiring me.
“Can you bury it just by trying?”
“Only if you cooperate.”
“I don’t plan to cooperate.”
“Ha. This is crazy. Why on earth? Why? Why won’t you cooperate?”
“Because what happened didn’t disappear. You remember, and I remember.”
She sighed, muttering a curse word softly.
“Ha. Ugh. What are we going to do. We’re still friends, right? We kissed, and well… we did that other weird stuff, but, ah, let’s just pretend we both have amnesia, no, like we time-slipped, and act normal.”
Suddenly, Yi-seong’s handsome face came close to hers. They were close enough to feel each other’s breath, and she, flustered, instinctively stepped back.
