“It’s still valid. So… you weren’t sick at all, were you?
Daniel, breathing heavily, perhaps from a rushed run, stared into the heroine's eyes, waiting for her answer. Bewildered by Daniel's sudden actions, the heroine belatedly understood the meaning of his words and lowered her head to the floor.
I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing... but my heart was genuine, so I nodded a couple of times, met Daniel's eyes with a bright smile, and spoke.
"sure."
Seeing her bright smile, Daniel felt as if he had been hit in the head. To see Yeoju smile again, Daniel thought, was his goal. To make Yeoju, who always had a sad face, smile. He thought that was his only goal. The Yeoju smiling before him now was exactly as he had imagined.
But why... am I still standing here like this...?
Daniel impulsively placed one hand on the female protagonist's cheek. He then stroked the corner of her mouth with his thumb, then covered her lips with his own.
Daniel's lips, which had been brushing against the female protagonist's a couple of times, slowly moved away. Then, the female protagonist's face, with her eyes closed, came into Daniel's sight.
I thought that was all I wanted, for her to smile at me, but I guess not. Daniel simply wanted her. Even Daniel felt unfamiliar with himself like this. He'd never once looked at her lips and thought he wanted to press them against mine.
But now, it seems like I'm going crazy.
"Even if I'm going crazy, I should go crazy in a pretty way," he scolded himself inwardly. When he looked again at the female protagonist's face, it looked even prettier than usual.
She had just come out of the shower with a pale face, and her cheeks were noticeably flushed, perhaps from the surprise of the kiss just a moment ago.
Wake up, Kang Daniel.
Even though he repeated those words dozens of times, the thought of wanting to hold the red lips of the heroine still dominated Daniel's mind.
I pressed my hand, still resting on Yeoju's cheek, into hers again, pressing it firmly. Daniel, who would normally have asked permission to kiss her, had already kissed her deeply before she could even give permission. But Yeoju, who neither pushed him away nor showed any sign of displeasure, accepted him completely.
Unlike the brief kiss just a moment ago, what interrupted their long, passionate kiss was the still-wet hair of the female lead.
"oh,"
A cold drop of water fell on the top of the female protagonist's foot as she focused all her senses on Daniel's kiss, and the lips that had been intertwined with Daniel's parted from the surprised female protagonist.
Daniel, who had regained his senses at the sight of the startled female protagonist, quickly took his hand off her cheek.
It wasn't the first time a drop of water had fallen from the heroine's head. The shoulders of her top were already soaking wet, exposing the entire outline of her shoulders.
Silence flowed between the two, with no conversation taking place. It was Daniel who broke the silence first.
"I'm sorry. Without permission..."
Even after hearing Daniel's words, the heroine did not respond.
"....I need to change my clothes. I'll go.."
It was too dangerous to stay in that space alone for any longer. Even as he gazed at the woman's swollen, red lips from their kiss, Daniel felt a pang of regret. He placed a hand on his forehead, which must have been driven mad, and, carrying the woman's luggage, leaned against the closed door.
Daniel went home, realizing that he was such a cool idiot after kissing her without thinking and saying, "I'm sorry."
Even after Daniel left, the heroine stood in front of the doorway for a long time, caressing her empty lips. She didn't even realize that half of her top was soaking wet. The hand that had been caressing her lips then turned to her heart.
As if to prove that my heart was beating fast, I started to make a loud noise and increase my speed.
The heroine remembered Daniel's words to do whatever her heart wanted, and today she found herself doing exactly what her heart wanted.
***
Daniel, who couldn't sleep because of his complicated head and his heart pounding from running a hundred meters, closed his eyes until the sun rose, checked the time repeatedly, and when it was time to go to work, he got up, took a shower, and came out.
Daniel checked his phone, which hadn't rang even though the alarm was supposed to go off, and realized that today was Saturday.
Daniel sighed in regret even though it was a day when he didn't have to go to work. He realized that going to work had been an excuse to see Yeoju rather than work, and he let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"This is serious, Kang Daniel."
My mind was full of the heroine. And then I remembered yesterday's events.
"Ah...! This crazy guy..!!"
Even so, Daniel ruffled his carefully arranged hair as he watched the red lips of the heroine still dazzling before his eyes.
This was my first impulsive kiss without the other person's consent, so I didn't know what to say or how to contact them. I wondered if Yeo-ju would be upset because I did it on my own. Would she hate it if I contacted her?
While I was picking up and putting down my phone repeatedly, worrying about all sorts of things, I carefully checked the phone that was making a short alarm sound.
'Are you awake?'
As expected... it was Yeoju.
Daniel sighed in frustration at not being able to contact her first, and wrote down his reply word by word.
'It's the weekend, why are you up so early? Are you feeling better?'
Not long after I sent the reply, another text arrived.
"Then why did you wake up so early, Team Leader? You must have been tired because of me last night..."
Daniel, who had been exchanging meaningless texts, finally gathered his composure and clenched his fists, writing down a single word.
'I'm busy today. If you're not busy, could you spare some time for me?'
Daniel pounded his fist on his knee at the delayed reply from the heroine.
'Okay. What time should we meet?'
At the heroine's reply, Daniel stood up and shouted, "Yes!" He quickly sent a text message, then straightened his messy hair and changed out of the stiff-looking suit he'd worn to work.
'Call me when you're ready. I'll pick you up at your house.'
As soon as Yeo-ju received Daniel's text, she jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Instead of the stiff, terrycloth jacket she usually wore to work, she pulled out a pair of comfortable jeans and a pure white knit. She felt she'd chosen a beautiful outfit, perfectly suited to the chilly weather transitioning from fall to winter. She smiled contently at her reflection in the mirror.
Then, I sat down at my vanity and finished my basic base makeup. Normally, I would have given up here, but today, for some reason, I found myself reaching for my color cosmetics.
After finishing my makeup, which was brighter than usual but not too much, and which I liked, I pressed the call button next to Daniel's phone number saved as 'Team Leader'.
Daniel, who had not even finished ringing once, answered the phone and told her he was ready. Startled by Daniel's unexpected answer, the heroine quickly put on her crossbody bag and shoes and went outside.
'It's in front of the house.'
Daniel said he would come pick her up when he was done getting ready, but he was already waiting in front of the house. The female lead, who had run out and sat down at the podium, spoke out of breath.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No. Why are you coming out in such a hurry?"
"Well, the team leader said he was waiting..."
Daniel frowned slightly as he looked at the unfamiliar female protagonist today.
Daniel was already going crazy because his head was so complicated, but now the sight of the heroine's lips painted in a pretty color was making him even more miserable.
"But where are you going today?"
"Ah... Is there somewhere you want to go?"
Daniel, who had called me to meet him first and then asked if I had anywhere I wanted to go, said, "Oh no." But Yeoju thought about it for a moment and then said she had somewhere she wanted to go and asked me to go with her.
Daniel, driven mad by yesterday's events, is on the verge of going crazy. Yeo-ju, on the other hand, is gazing out the window, transfixed by her desire to go somewhere. Watching her, Daniel is at a loss as to what to say, where to begin, and how to proceed.
It wasn't far, but not close either. It felt like a casual stroll. The place the two arrived at was an aquarium.
"Is this an aquarium?"
"Yes. I really wanted to come back. But I didn't want to come alone..."
The heroine smiled again at Daniel. Daniel was pleased that she kept smiling at him, but at the same time, he felt a little awkward. He had never imagined this kind of atmosphere would flow between them.
The aquarium, where I bought a ticket and entered, was just the right amount of people. Not too crowded, so it felt uncomfortable, but not too few, so it felt awkward.
As they explored the aquarium, Daniel instinctively sensed that this was a place filled with memories for her, and he figured if she wanted to come back, it would have to be a beautiful memory. He struggled to suppress the laughter that was welling up in his chest at the thought of her choosing to come to such a place with him, but there was no way she, excited and walking ahead of him, would notice.
The female protagonist, who had been walking ahead for a while, stopped in front of an aquarium.
Daniel, who was following behind, also stopped next to the female lead.
"I really wanted to come here today anyway..."
"Is there something you want to remember?"
"....hmm..."
The female protagonist, who had been thinking seriously about Daniel's simple question of whether he had any good memories of this place, began to speak.
"There's something I really want to remember. But I came here today to forget. Really... for the last time..."
Daniel couldn't answer a word. As always, as he had always done... For fear that he might touch her wrong and further injure her already hurt wounds.
"A month ago, no, it's been another month now.. That's what happened then. It'll get better.. I'll wait..
I'm okay now. I'm okay.. Team leader... is he still there...?"
There was a faint tremor on the face of the female protagonist as she spoke with a smile.
"You told me to do whatever my heart desires when things get tough, Team Leader. That's why... I came all the way here..."
The heroine's gaze, which was directed towards the aquarium, met Daniel's, and her trembling eyes were directly transmitted to Daniel.
At those eyes, Daniel felt the urge to immediately wrap his arms around the female protagonist's waist, place his hand on her small cheek that could fit in one hand, and kiss her again.
"What I said that day. It was useful, but there was a problem..."
"I've come to like you more, Yeoju..."