Q. She wants to confirm your feelings.
Find the right answer to her question!
Seungcheol's A
“I think I’ve gained weight.”
"··· ···uh?"
I was frozen. Hmm... How should I respond? I rolled my eyes. Is this what I've only heard about...? I picked up the iced Americano in front of me. It was cold. I took a deep sip and thought. In situations like this, most men have to think of an answer, no, a perfect answer. I swallowed the coffee in my mouth and put the cup down. My hands were damp. Was she sweating for me? I roughly wiped the moisture off my hands and smiled. ... Damn, I was so nervous that my smile must have looked awkward. 100%. My legs were starting to shake more and more now. It wasn't like this even when I was taking the first test in my third year of high school. I pressed my hands against the trembling in my legs, which was getting worse, and opened my tightly shut mouth. If I delay this any longer, she'll definitely get angry...
“..No, not at all?”
"really?"
"of course!"
“But why are you hesitating?”
Actually, I didn't have time to think. I shouldn't have made her wait. I should have answered the question without a single second of hesitation, but it was a failure from the start. This time, I really felt like I was breaking out in a cold sweat. What should I say? It wasn't like I had time to think just because it was the second question. If I hesitated here again, I would inevitably face a sharp glare. What would be the perfect answer she wanted? No matter how much I rolled my eyes and racked my brain, the answer just wouldn't come. This was a disaster. I kept screaming "I'm screwed!" inside me, and picked up the cup again and put the straw to my lips. I was buying myself time to think. I shook my clammy hands in the air and looked at her. ... Ah, my patience has reached its limit. I had no choice but to quickly speak.
“I hesitated, but you were so pretty that I lost my mind for a moment.”
“..That’s not an excuse, is it?”
“Of course, I always tell the truth.”
It was a decent answer, even though I slurped it nervously. Fortunately, her expression didn't look too bad. In fact, she seemed satisfied. She picked up the cup in front of me and drank the orange juice. I didn't think she'd ask such a dangerous question again. Relieved, I picked up the coffee and downed it. The cold sweat and the shaking legs stopped. I could look into her eyes again, the ones I hadn't been able to look into even though I'd done nothing wrong. She smiled, not awkwardly, but different from before. She put the cup down and smiled faintly.
“But there is something.”
"..huh?"
I tapped the table with my right finger. A feeling of anxiety washed over me.
“Is anything different?”
"··· ···."
...This time, I really might have to be prepared.
Hansol's A
“Have I changed anything?”
"··· ···. ···hmm."
One bright, sunny weekend morning, a bolt from the blue sky struck me. When I was asked if anything had changed, I rolled my eyes and looked around. Her hair was still long and wavy as always, and her clothes were new every day, so it was hard to say anything had changed. She wore her favorite black shoes, saying they were comfortable and pretty. The bottom line was, I couldn't figure out what had changed. But if I said, "I don't know what's different about you," she'd definitely be disappointed. It's true that seeing a disappointed expression is bittersweet, but there were too many things to just say, "This has changed."
"Why aren't you answering?"
“I was amazed at how bright the snow was today.”
“Did you put candy in your mouth again?”
“But it’s true.”
Yes. It's true. But it's also true that I don't know what's changed. I realized how sad it is to not know the thing I want to know more than anyone else. I approached her, studied her eyes, studied her lips. I looked from afar, sat down, turned around, looked at her profile. But I still didn't know. Perhaps I had to choose from so many options? ... That's what I decided. No matter how much I thought about it, there would be no answer. And I couldn't let her stand there any longer. Let's take the picture.
“Hmm, did you change your lip color?”
“And what else?”
"hmm···."
Right! I was so lucky. But it wasn't just one thing that changed. What can I do? Should I try again? That was a gamble. I didn't have the confidence to get it right twice. In the end, the only way is to find out where it changed. But even after looking closely once more, I still can't figure it out. In such cases, you can lie to hide your ignorance, but the other way is to be honest and say you don't know. ···Why did I only realize this now? Of course, if I had said I didn't know from the beginning, you might have been upset and asked if I could have done it without a second thought. ···Let's be grateful that we got it right.
“..sorry, I don’t know.”
“I knew it. Ta-da, I changed the color of my nails.”
“Oh, it was a fingernail. It suits you well.”
She showed me both of her hands. They were different than the last time I saw them, but it wasn't quite as obvious. Had her bare nails turned apricot? It was hard to tell. I'm one of those people who thinks all colors are the same. Fortunately, she didn't seem particularly bothered. Just noticing the change in her lip color was a huge step forward, even if it was just a photo.
“Yeah, my friend said the same thing.”
Do you know, oppa...? It's possible for a bolt from the blue to strike twice.
Jihoon's A
Here, a man's heart just fell out.
“Isn’t that woman really pretty?”
"··· ···."
I blinked. I needed to figure out what was going on. What was going on? The sound coming from the TV sent a chill down my spine. It was a romance, a romantic comedy, for sure. I dropped the popcorn I was holding. I felt a pang of anticipation. Maybe it was for the best. I could buy myself some time to think while cleaning up the dropped popcorn. I asked the female lead on TV if she was pretty. Celebrities and regular people, of course celebrities were more beautiful. But asking me must mean she wanted to confirm her love and affection. I cleaned up most of the popcorn. Time was running out. I wasn't even panicking like I did when I dropped the popcorn.
“Because she’s a celebrity, she’s pretty..”
"okay?"
“But still, you are the only one for me.”
The expression on his face seemed to change in an instant. It didn't seem like I misread him. I racked my brain, wondering what I'd answered wrong. I took the popcorn I'd picked up and put it in the kitchen. I returned and sat down on the sofa, but the sidelong gaze felt incredibly harsh. Where did I slip up? The answer didn't come easily. Nothing, not even the movie, was catching my eye. I swallowed hard.
“That girl is pretty, I am pretty.”
“Huh? Of course you’re prettier.”
“Isn’t that woman the nation’s first love?”
"How does that compare?"
Judging by the fierceness in her eyes, it must be okay. It was okay. The words that she was the only one and that she was prettier didn't seem to reach her heart. It was all sincere. What kind of answer did she want that made her stare so persistently? I was so curious that I almost fainted. I looked back and forth between the female lead in the movie and her. The actress was pretty, but she didn't make my heart flutter or fall in love at first sight. Rather, that kind of thing... I thought as I looked at her. She was my style after all. She was the prettiest in my eyes. How could I prove it? Actually, I didn't have to think long. I concluded that I just had to express it as it was.
“The actress is pretty, though,”
"what?"
"Not my style. In my eyes, you're the prettiest. Really."
“Oh, what is it? I’m surprised.”
Ah, that's right. She smiled bashfully. I felt a bit relieved. I guess she was hoping for the answer, "It's not my style." I was finally able to focus on the movie, which was almost over. I grabbed the popcorn that had disappeared from my hand. She looked back and forth between the popcorn disappearing one by one and my hand, then suddenly spoke.
“···Do I look fat?”
I tapped my chest with my hand, not sure if it was because the popcorn was choking me or if my chest was just tight.
