If we're together. 05
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Drumroll. As if hearing that sound, Yeoju's eyes rolled. She glanced around the classroom, where everyone was having their break, and finally, her gaze landed on Jihoon. Jihoon, who had just closed the book he was reading, also shifted his gaze, meeting Yeoju's.
"why?"
Despite the question, the woman remained silent, staring at Ji-hoon. Ji-hoon, confronted with her, closed his mouth without prompting. Then, a belated response was heard.
"It's so new and amazing."
"what?"
"Just staying like this, quietly? It's already been a week, and I still can't get used to it."
"You'll get used to it soon. It will be like that in the future."
“…Are you saying this as if we’ll be together for the rest of our lives?”
"Are you thinking about that?"
The surprised female protagonist's mouth closed, not knowing that the question she had asked in jest would be answered with sincerity.
"A lifetime." Even as she pondered the weight of that word, the heroine stopped and smiled. There was no need to think deeply about a single word, a single phrase. At least not in front of Ji-hoon.
"Are you going to marry me?"
"If you don't mind."
The playful tone of the conversation felt pleasant. Even though I couldn't hear it, I could sense the sincerity within.
When we are together.
Slowly, I thought. Today marks the second week since we started hanging out together, knowing we needed each other.
Unable to hear anyone's thoughts, Yeo-ju's stress level decreased and she was able to move freely in crowded places. Ji-hoon, too, was able to sleep peacefully every night, free from worry, now that he could see someone's future.
With their lifelong worries lifted, Yeo-ju and Ji-hoon decided to take a step forward.
"You know."
"in fact-"
The voices of the two people, who had immediately put their decision into action, overlapped. The words, spoken simultaneously as if premeditated, paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. The timing, almost as if premeditated, was so striking that the two, who had been laughing, finally spoke simultaneously once again.
"I have something to say."
"I have something to tell you."
At this point, they must be reading each other's minds. That thought faded for a moment, and the female lead exhaled heavily, resting her chin on her hand. Her head tilted crookedly, a hint of discomfort in her voice, but Ji-hoon's expression remained calm.
"What the heck? Isn't it you, not me, who's reading other people's minds?"
"No way."
"If not, how could the timing be this perfect?"
"What else wouldn't fit?"
Between you and me. Ji-hoon shrugged his shoulders, and the woman, who had been blinking silently, swept her arms down.
“Ugh,” the female protagonist groaned and frowned.
"If someone heard, they'd think we were dating?"
"I don't care what other people think when they see us. I'm more comfortable being with you than worrying about things like that."
“…How can you say something like that with such a nonchalant face?”
"What am I?"
“Is it because you’re shameless or because you don’t feel shame…?”
Ji-hoon, watching Yeo-ju sigh and shake her head, burst into a playful laugh. Yeo-ju, who had been quietly listening to the laughter, soon stopped thinking deeply. She followed the laughter and laughed, revealing her hidden feelings.
"Can I just say you're shameless and tell you first?"
"say."
"From that day on, ever since I stopped hearing other people's thoughts, I've been thinking about it and wanted to tell you. Thanks to you, I can live with peace of mind now, so rather than keep hiding it, I wanted to tell you everything."
"…."
"My life up until now, my feelings, everything."
Ji-hoon, who had been listening carefully without interrupting the conversation, smiled faintly. The corners of his lips curled upward, forming a neat curve.
"I don't really have any thoughts."
"uh?"
“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or what, but they keep overlapping.”
"…."
"That's what I wanted to say to you too."
The female protagonist, who had been staring blankly into Ji-hoon's eyes, finally came to her senses. "Really?" Ji-hoon nodded in response to the female protagonist's narrowed brows as if asking, and only then did she burst into laughter. She then crouched down, holding back the laughter that threatened to burst out.
Just laugh it off. Whether or not Ji-hoon knew what she was thinking as she held her stomach and held back her laughter, Yeo-ju, who had been laughing quietly for a long time, finally got up.
“Oh… I thought I was going to die laughing.”
"I don't know what was so funny, but why didn't you just laugh it off?"
"No matter what, if you laugh alone in the middle of the classroom, you'll be treated like a crazy person."
"Whatever other people think, I don't think that way."
The female protagonist, who had been mulling over Ji-hoon's words as if they were obvious, rested her chin on her hand again.
It's been two weeks since I've been with Jihoon. When we first met, I didn't know him well, so I was unnecessarily wary. More importantly, I knew absolutely nothing about him, but Jihoon knew something about me, so I was even more wary.
From the day Ji-hoon, who had always kept his distance and avoided approaching me, suddenly approached me, my world changed. It was the first time anyone had ever told me they needed me. And I'd never felt the urge to believe those words.
Even though it was a feeling I'd never felt before, I wasn't the least bit anxious. Even if I couldn't hear his thoughts, even if I couldn't read his mind, I could trust every word that came out of his mouth. That's why I made up my mind.
"It's something I've never told anyone before, but I thought I'd say it for the first time."
My inner thoughts that I have never told anyone,
"Because I can trust you."
To reveal oneself.