The weekend had come back again. Ever since Yu Hamin showed up, time seemed to pass faster, I thought as I fiddled with my phone on my bed. While browsing the latest OTT releases, I found that the movie I’d been waiting for had finally been added a few days ago. My upper body shot up reflexively.
“Ah!”
It was an action movie starring one of my favorite actors. I’d wanted to watch it since it came out, but I missed it in theaters because it overlapped with exam period.
Hm, I want to watch it. But it wouldn’t be fun by myself. I’ve never watched a movie alone, after all.
There weren’t any friends living nearby, and as for Yejun… for some reason, I couldn’t quite bring myself to look at his face.
…I guess this is the only way.
I left my room and knocked on the next room’s door.
“Yu Hamin.”
I heard a short reply from inside.
When I opened the door, Hamin was sitting at his desk using his laptop. At the sound of me coming in, he lifted his head and stared straight at me.
“Why?”
“What are you doing today?”
“Nothing much.”
“Then do you want to watch a movie with me?”
Hamin’s eyes widened a little.
“…With me?”
“Yeah. The movie I wanted to see got uploaded today. I was going to watch it at home.”
After saying it, I suddenly felt embarrassed for no reason.
What is this. I’m just asking to watch a movie, so why am I getting so nervous?
“Oh, at home.”
“If you don’t want to, it’s fine.”
“Who said I didn’t?”
Hamin put his phone down on the desk and stood up.
We went out to the living room together, but Mom and Dad had already taken over in front of the TV. They were watching a variety show they followed every weekend, and there were snacks and fruit spread out on the table.
There was no atmosphere for handing over the remote.
“Mom, when does this end?”
“Won’t it go on for at least two more hours?”
Two hours.
Enough time to finish an entire movie and then some.
As I hesitated, Hamin spoke beside me.
“Want to watch on the laptop?”
“The screen’s small.”
“It’s fine for a movie. If you don’t mind, we can watch it in my room.”
Hamin paused for a moment, then added,
“If that’s uncomfortable, I can just lend you the laptop.”
Was he being considerate? His expression didn’t change at all, so I couldn’t tell. I answered, trying to act cool for no reason.
“What would be uncomfortable about it? Let’s just watch together.”
Hamin looked at me quietly, then went back to his room first. I put the cola and opened bag of chips on a tray in the kitchen, then headed to Hamin’s room.
By then Hamin had brought the laptop from his desk and set it on the bed, with a big pillow propped up against the wall behind it. When I sat on his right, Hamin put a small bed stool on the mattress and set the laptop on it. As I placed the tray in front of us, Hamin handed me a soft cushion beside him. I naturally took it and pulled it into my arms.
Ah, Yu Hamin smell. Even though we use the same shampoo and body wash, his scent feels a little different from mine. I glanced at Hamin, but he didn’t seem to be thinking about anything. He just opened the internet window, went to the OTT site, and logged in.
Sitting side by side on one bed and watching a movie on a laptop felt a little strange.
This is kind of like we’re dating. Ahem. I coughed, and Hamin looked back at me.
“Why?”
“What movie are you watching me see?”
“Ah, I’ll put it on.”
As I reached out with my right hand for the laptop touchpad, our bodies tilted and our shoulders touched. Ah, so I’m aware of even this stuff now. Without showing how my heart was pounding, I pressed the play button.
Thankfully, once the movie started, my other thoughts disappeared almost immediately.
Right from the start, chase scenes kept coming. Every time a car flipped or a building collapsed, my body tensed up. When the actor I’d been waiting for finally appeared, I unconsciously tapped Hamin’s arm.
“That’s my favorite.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“He’s handsome, right?”
“No.”
His curt answer honestly didn’t even register properly. Barely a few minutes into the movie, the snacks and cola were already gone. To focus more, I hugged the cushion and stared hard at the screen.
After a flashy action scene ended, the supporting characters started talking. From scenes where they discussed various possibilities to find a solution, to romantic scenes with supporting characters I didn’t really care about. As it got a little boring, my eyes started to close halfway. Wasn’t my favorite actor going to appear anymore? Then there was no point.
Then at some point, the scenes started cutting off in patches. Gunfire sounded again and the noisy scene seemed to resume, but I still couldn’t stay awake. I remembered only that I had leaned my head a little against the cushion. Only after confirming with my own eyes that the actor I liked was no longer appearing did my eyes slowly close all the way.
After that, I remembered nothing.
-
When I opened my eyes, the room had grown a little dark.
Faint orange light was filtering in through the window by the bed. The blanket covered me up to my shoulders, and the laptop that had been playing the movie and the tray I’d brought were now on the desk.
Ah.
So I fell asleep.
Just as I tried to sit up, I found Hamin lying beside me.
Did he fall asleep too? He must’ve covered me with the blanket….
Hamin was lying on his side facing me, eyes closed. He’d made a pillow with one arm, and his other hand rested near his own stomach, kept away from me. I thought he was only bold and aggressive, but he had this side too. Honestly, I thought he’d have his arm around my waist.
Usually he always looked me straight in the eyes, so I hadn’t noticed, but looking at him like this, his eyelashes were pretty long.
The tension between his brows was gone too. Maybe that’s why his sleeping face looked softer than I’d expected.
His nose was high and straight too. His skin was fine. He looks like a girl.
We were so close that even a small movement would make our faces touch. Every time Hamin exhaled, a faint breeze brushed near the tip of my nose.
My heart started pounding fast.
Now I think I get it too. I really do like him. I don’t know exactly when it started, but only now did I finally feel certain. Just as I thought that my eyes might be sparkling while I looked at him, Hamin’s eyes opened.
Our gazes met head-on.
“Huh.”
I hurriedly sat up.
“No, I mean... when did I fall asleep!”
My voice came out louder than necessary. Still lying down, Hamin looked up at me without saying anything.
“The movie? Is it over?”
“…Yeah.”
His hoarse voice was low. At that growling, almost howling voice, I swallowed.
His black hair was slightly mussed, and his eyes, not fully open yet after waking from sleep, were deep. His solid forearms visible beneath the black short-sleeve shirt, and that unreadable, deep gaze looking up at me too.
Hey, do you know you’re looking extremely provocative right now? My heart was pounding wildly.
I bit my lip hard, cleared my throat with a small cough, and turned my head.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go out.”
It was the moment I turned my body to get down from the bed.
Hamin grabbed my arm.
“Eek!”
My arm was yanked backward.
My off-balance body toppled back onto the bed. Before I could even brace myself with my palm, Hamin’s arm wrapped around my back.
I was pulled straight into Hamin’s embrace.
“Hey, what are you doing…!”
Hamin didn’t answer.
He just buried his face against my shoulder and let out a long breath.
“Haaah…….”
What.
Why is he acting like this?
Was he just waking up and still not fully conscious yet?
The arm around my back was tight. I felt like I could push him away if I tried, but I didn’t.
Without meaning to, I just clenched the bedsheet a little with my fingers. Thump, thump. I could hear a heartbeat. Was it mine, or his.
For a while, neither of us said anything.
And not long after, the strength left Hamin’s arm.
I slowly lifted my upper body. Hamin followed and sat on the bed too.
Before I knew it, the sun had fully gone down, and the room had turned blue.
Hamin looked at me, brushing back his messy bangs.
“Whether you’re careless or just indifferent.”
Hamin left only that behind and got up from the bed.
“You said you were hungry.”
In just two steps, Hamin reached the doorway, opened the door, and went out. He didn’t even look my way.
I was left alone on the bed, staring down at the bed where Hamin had been lying just moments ago, where we’d been holding each other.
So he still doesn’t know I like him.
Idiot.
Why would I have just stayed still in his arms? He was the one who was defenseless too.
The feeling of his solid arm wrapped around my back was still vivid. Rubbing the area around my shoulder, I got up too and headed toward the bright living room.
Chapter 5 - FIN?
.
.
.
This was the first time noonah had asked to watch a movie first.
“With me?”
I repeated without thinking.
I had a hunch.
That maybe she didn’t dislike me right now, or that asking to watch a movie together on the weekend meant something else.
I entertained that hope for just a moment. She even said she’d watch it in my room. Ask anyone and they’d be squealing that this was a green light, right? Hah, my heart kept lifting on its own. It wasn’t easy to calm it down.
And then, in the movie noonah played, a car exploded in the very first scene.
Of course.
Far from romance, before even five minutes had passed someone smashed through a window and jumped out of a building.
I let out a short breath while looking at the laptop screen. My expression and my feelings dried up in an instant. Noonah probably didn’t know it, though.
She really was careless.
Not knowing that, noonah was all excited because her favorite actor showed up.
“That’s my favorite.”
At the touch of her hand tapping my arm, my gaze naturally drifted to the side.
I didn’t ask.
The words I’d thought to myself came out of my mouth pretty bluntly, honestly. I hadn’t meant to say them out loud.
I glanced to the side, annoyed, but she wasn’t hurt or anything—she was just focused on watching the movie.
Seriously, what a horrible woman.
I didn’t know how the story was going to unfold, and all my attention was directed at this careless woman beside me. The movie itself was just a pretty standard hero action film.
When a slightly boring part came up, noonah immediately lost focus.
Her head tilted to one side. With her eyes closed, her cheek was buried in the cushion.
“Noonah.”
I called softly, but there was no answer.
So she really did fall asleep.
She’d suggested watching an action movie and couldn’t even last half of it.
Careless and indifferent, and on top of that, completely defenseless. Hah, I sighed and lowered the laptop volume. But even then she didn’t wake up, so I cleared the laptop, the stool, and the tray cluttering the bed all at once. Even so, she showed no sign of getting up.
The girl I like is sleeping on my bed.
That was a pretty provocative situation. I wonder if this noonah knew that.
I pulled the blanket that had been pushed to the foot of the bed up over her body. Then I lay down beside her too. I reached out and brushed aside only the hair sticking to her face.
Does she trust me?
She’s really too carefree.
With her eyes closed, she looked even younger than usual. Sss, sss. Only her quiet breathing rang in my ears. The hand that had been fiddling with her hair stopped on its own near her lips. I swallowed. Little by little, my face leaned closer.
I had the feeling I might never get another chance like this.
A huge pounding heartbeat sounded in my ears. If I opened my mouth, it felt like my heart might jump out. Noonah’s lips were right in front of me. Just a little more and I could touch them. Even breathing felt cautious. Then a trembling breath slipped through her lips, and I pulled my face back.
What am I doing right now.
Hah, I sighed, closed my eyes, then opened them again. I looked toward the doorway, thinking maybe I should move away, but soon changed my mind.
It pissed me off that she always ran away in front of me, yet on my bed she slept so comfortably like this.
I should just keep looking at her face a little longer.
I lay facing noonah and quietly looked at her sleeping face. Pretty, cute, she had it all.
After making a self pillow with one arm, I had nowhere to put my other hand, so I just rested it on my stomach. It was the first time I’d looked at her face like this. I thought it was like a dream.
And with that thought, I fell asleep without realizing it.
-
When I opened my eyes, noonah was looking at me.
Her face was right in front of mine.
Maybe because I’d just woken up, every sense felt too sharp. The distance where I could feel noonah’s breath, her eyes trembling slightly—everything was vivid.
My newly awakened heart pounded hard.
Still, I didn’t move.
She’d obviously bolt if I startled her.
Just as expected, the moment our eyes met, noonah jerked upright in a panic.
“No, I mean... when did I fall asleep!”
Her flustered 모습 felt like slow motion. Every movement was engraved clearly in my eyes. She got up, ran a hand through her hair, then sat herself up.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go out.”
Before I knew it, my hand had gone out first. I grabbed her thin arm and pulled her close. When noonah’s body fell onto the bed, I pulled her straight into my arms.
Noonah’s body went rigid in my embrace.
“Hey, what are you doing…!”
She says that, but she doesn’t push me away.
Ha.
I wondered if I should just bite down hard on the white nape of her neck right in front of me.
What was she thinking, falling asleep beside me, and what was she thinking when she looked at my sleeping face.
I’m a vigorous 17-year-old boy, you know. My lower stomach is still pretty damn tight right now.
I buried my face in her shoulder and let out a long breath.
“Haaah…….”
If I held on just a little longer, I felt like I wouldn’t want to let go.
I slowly loosened the strength in my arms.
Noonah slowly sat her upper body up. I followed and sat on the bed too.
The sunset that had remained in the room was already gone.
“Whether you’re careless or just indifferent.”
I got up from the bed and opened the doorway.
I didn’t look back.
If you act this defenseless again next time.
Then I’ll be more honest than I was today.
