The sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway leading to the room. Clutching the blanket tightly, Yuwon closed his eyes tightly at the approaching footsteps in front of the room. Were his parents back, or perhaps a burglar?
With a soft click, the door opened, accompanied by the sound of the doorknob turning. Yuwon, still closing his eyes, peeked as the shadow approached him. Though dimly lit, just by the faint figure, Yuwon could tell it was Hyun Gyujin coming towards him.
“Jung Yuwon, are you sleeping?”
He wanted to ask why the figure came when he said it wasn’t necessary, express his surprise, but Hyun Gyujin’s voice flowed faster. Yuwon, pretending to be asleep, watched secretly as Hyun Gyujin, who had approached closely, climbed onto the bed.
Kneeling on one knee, Hyun Gyujin stretched his legs and knelt on the opposite side of Yuwon’s body with the other knee.
“I came because I wanted to touch you more.”
His voice dropped lower. Yuwon, still pretending to sleep, opened his eyes slightly and observed Hyun Gyujin, who had climbed onto the bed while kneeling. It was then that he realized this was a dream. The real Hyun Gyujin wouldn’t do such a thing.
Despite knowing it was a dream, Yuwon couldn’t move his body. Naturally, he couldn’t speak either. He just watched as Hyun Gyujin poured down on him.
What should I do? Why am I having such a dream… I need to wake up, but if I let it go, it seems like it shouldn’t… Even in his sleep, he thought it wasn’t right. But, on the other hand, he was undeniably curious about what Hyun Gyujin would do next.
“Are you okay? No one’s at home, right?”
The fact that there was no one at home and the current situation seemed unrelated, yet the words brought comfort, as if this dream-like situation depended on it.
“Why were you so still earlier?”
Fingers traced his cheek as they moved downward. Yuwon still couldn’t say anything. It felt as if he had never spoken before.
“Was it good?”
How was it earlier? Yuwon couldn’t recall. He only remembered being too nervous and tense, just passively facing that situation.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The hand that had been teasing his ear now ventured into the shirt, reaching the skin underneath. Yuwon felt the fingertips exploring lower, toward the waist. The sensation of the fingers invading underneath his hoodie made his lower abdomen tighten.
“Lww…”
“Aera j wbwfca…”
Ktf kbgvr tf yjgfis eaafgfv kfgf cflatfg j gfoerji cbg jc jugffwfca. Tekbc, ralii ecjyif ab rjs jcsatlcu, ibbxfv eq ja Lsec Xseplc, ktb rffwfv byilnlber ab tlr rlifca qgbafrar. Lbk mbeiv tf kjxf eq ogbw atlr vgfjw?
“Qts?”
Qts? Qbeiv rbwfbcf erejiis jcrkfg klat ‘kts?’ lc atlr rlaejalbc? Yt, wjsyf la’r cba j ereji rlaejalbc, pera jcs kbgvr mbwlcu bea. Dbivis, Lsec Xseplc’r tjcv rilqqfv lcab atf rtlga jujlc, atlr alwf vfinlcu ibkfg. Mffilcu atf abemt bc tlr kjlra, Tekbc aklrafv tlr ybvs rtjgqis. Ca atja wbwfca, tlr fsfr klvfcfv.
“……”
A dim ceiling came into view. Yuwon quickly turned his head and scanned the room. After confirming that Hyun Gyujin was nowhere to be found, a sense of relief washed over him. How could he have such a dream about Hyun Gyujin… Oh, I must be going crazy. Yuwon, breathing heavily as if nothing had happened, bit his lips at the sensation in his lower abdomen. Even though it wasn’t a real experience, he felt embarrassed and wanted to die.
Looking tired, Yuwon prepared to go to school and took a bite of cereal. In the end, he stayed awake all night, tossing and turning. When he could sleep, he worried about having the same dream again, and when he could, he tried to stay awake to be fully alert. Now the morning had come.
Before the alarm rang, Yuwon, who got up and washed, was slowly getting ready for school with a drowsy and sluggish mind.
“……”
Although he was sleepy, the scariest thing right now was knowing that he would have to see Hyun Gyujin’s face in a little while. Having such a dream about a childhood friend and then having to face him immediately afterward… It was really too much.
Feeling the sticky cereal in his mouth and sensing the tiredness in his restless head, Yuwon took another bite of the cereal, which he usually loved, while lying on the table. Even the beloved chocolate ring-shaped cereal didn’t taste good today. That’s how serious Yuwon was.
However, Yuwon’s seriousness didn’t stop time. The time to leave had inevitably arrived, and Yuwon, with his backpack on both shoulders, left the house. The elevator was seen coming down after passing the 10th floor. Yuwon was about to press the button but just watched the numbers dropping one by one. He knew it would stop on the 6th floor without him pressing the button; that was the reason.
“6th floor.”
As Yuwon expected, the elevator stopped on the 6th floor. And as the door opened, there was, of course, Hyun Gyujin. Trying to act as natural as possible, promising himself not to show any sign of discomfort, Yuwon, who had left the house making these resolutions, couldn’t help but flinch when he saw Hyun Gyujin.
“Not getting in?”
“Huh? Oh, sure, getting in.”
Watching Hyun Gyujin, who was pressing the button to keep the door from closing, Yuwon took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Yesterday’s incident was a dream, and this was the reality now. He couldn’t let a dream-like experience ruin his reality. Yuwon gripped the backpack straps on his shoulders with both hands and nodded.
“What are you doing alone? Why are you nodding like that?”
The voice echoed near his ear. Startled, Yuwon reflexively turned his head. However, his nose collided with the approaching Hyun Gyujin.
Startled, Yuwon jerked his body away. Equally surprised, Hyun Gyujin stepped back.
“Ah, you startled me.”
“What, what! You scared me.”
“You suddenly turned around.”
“Why.”
Surprised by the sudden turn, Yuwon turned around again, looking at Hyun Gyujin, who was chuckling. He lost the will to argue. Moreover, what Hyun Gyujin said was true, and Yuwon couldn’t come up with anything to say. Thanks to his parents teaching him that kissing was a way to show affection, Yuwon used to kiss Hyun Gyujin a lot. Even if Hyun Gyujin shared snacks or played together, Yuwon would give him a kiss. After learning in more detail from his mom about the meaning of kissing, Yuwon stopped doing it.
“Anyway… don’t suddenly do that again. You surprised me yesterday at school too…”
“At school?”
“… After the closing ceremony.”
“Don’t remember.”
Hyun Gyujin didn’t remember something Yuwon himself didn’t remember. It was strangely uncomfortable. Yuwon’s self-esteem was slightly hurt. It was so frustrating not to know why this happened, and there seemed to be nothing transparently visible, making it incredibly frustrating.
“Okay, I’ll be careful. Why are you acting so scared? Ah, give me the bag.”
Before saying it’s okay, the bag was already hanging over Hyun Gyujin’s shoulder. His arm occupied the place where the bag strap used to be, and his hand reached down below the shoulder. Yuwon, who saw Hyun Gyujin’s dangling hand, bit his lip inside his mouth again. Yesterday, this hand touched areas of Yuwon’s face and neck. In both reality and the dream.
“……”
Entering his T-shirt and feeling the sensation of the hand gripping his waist vividly, Yuwon was still feeling it. Because of that strange incident, he had to crouch down and work hard to bury that sensation. Yuwon playfully pinched Hyun Gyujin’s hand, which was patting his cheek.
“Okay, okay.”
When Hyun Gyujin stopped patting his cheek and instead pressed his head with his palm, Yuwon held down his hair that had been pressed down. The more he tried to fix it, the more tangled it became, like a dandelion seed. Seeing Yuwon becoming more disheveled, Hyun Gyujin burst into laughter.
“Why?”
“Your hair is flying away.”
Once again, Hyun Gyujin’s hand rose above Yuwon’s head. This time, it was a gentle touch without playfulness. Yuwon secretly observed Hyun Gyujin’s face, focused on slowly stroking and organizing his hair.
“……”
The sound of the front hair swaying in the cold morning breeze, the school uniform shirt with a few buttons undone over the T-shirt, and even the slightly stronger fragrance today—all of them were reasons for the trembling. Things that had never held any special meaning until yesterday were now visible to the eyes, audible to the ears, and imbued with significance in everything.
What should I do, really?
Accompanied by the still unanswered question, Yuwon truly felt like crying.
