Caramel Popcorn

54

Caramel popcorn [Caramel popcorn]

54.

...

"I think you can let go now..."

Only then did I snap out of it at Jaehyun’s words.

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오여주

"...Ah."

Yeojun and I almost simultaneously pulled away from each other.

Yeonjun’s hand, which had been gripping my arm, slowly dropped, and I, too, hurriedly let go of Yeonjun’s arm that I’d been holding on to tightly.

Feeling awkward for no reason, I fidgeted with the stray camera here and there.

Then

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최연준

"I surprised you."

Yeonjun spoke first.

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최연준

"I grabbed you out of nowhere."

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오여주

"No. I was the one who was backing up, so..."

That wasn’t the problem.

It was clearly just that he’d caught me before I fell, so why was my face this hot?

I deliberately looked only at the camera screen.

Then Jaehyun slowly walked toward me and asked.

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명재현

"Are you okay?"

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오여주

"Yeah. I’m fine."

Jaehyun’s gaze dropped to my arm, then lifted back to my face.

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명재현

"That’s a relief."

He didn’t say anything else.

But the expression I’d seen earlier on the field flashed by again for a moment.

A face slightly stiff.

'What’s wrong with him...?'

It still bothered me, but I quickly looked away.

Today, for some reason, it felt like I was paying too much attention to every little expression.

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김지우

"Yeoju."

Just then, Jiwoo’s voice called out to me.

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김지우

"If you’re going to take pictures, look this way too."

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오여주

"Okay!"

I quickly walked toward Jiwoo.

After taking a few steps like that, I turned back as if spellbound...

And then I saw Yeonjun and Jaehyun standing face to face.

There was no conversation between them.

Just for a moment.

It looked like only their gazes had collided.

'What is this...?'

I ended up getting caught up in those expressions again for no reason.

...

...

After checking the staircase filming spot to some extent, we moved to the auditorium.

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한동민

This time, Ye-won led the way, while Jiwoo and Dongmin were bickering again from behind.

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김지우

"Ooh~ At this rate, you’ll fall over like earlier again~."

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한동민

"I didn’t fall over~."

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김지우

"If I hadn’t caught you, you really would’ve fallen."

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한동민

"I didn’t fall."

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김지우

"You did fall."

"I didn’t."

Dongmin kept teasing Jiwoo, even while laughing.

The serious look he’d had when Jiwoo was in danger was gone, and he was back to his usual mischievous self.

Jiwoo kept snapping back too, saying it was annoying...

Watching them, I gave a small laugh.

As expected, those two seemed to suit being like that best.

...

...

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이영서

After looking around the auditorium, just as we were about to head back to the club room.

"Yeoju."

At the voice carefully calling me from behind, I stopped walking.

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오여주

When I turned around, Yeongseo was staring straight at me.

"Hm?"

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이영서

At my answer, Yeongseo glanced around for a moment and then said,

"Can we talk for a bit?"

The words I’d heard earlier in front of the bathroom suddenly came back to me.

'I was going to say sorry.'

'I’m scared.'

I looked toward Jiwoo, and Jiwoo looked once at Yeongseo and once at me, then without a word led Ye-won and Dongmin away first.

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오여주

Yeonjun and Jaehyun were also watching us from a few steps away.

"Go ahead first."

When I said that, Jaehyun seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding, and Yeonjun also turned away without saying anything.

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오여주

After confirming that the two of them had walked off, I looked back at Yeongseo.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Yeongseo bit her lip tightly.

She couldn’t speak right away like usual, and kept taking breaths over and over.

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이영서

It overlapped with the voice and expression I’d heard in front of the bathroom earlier.

"Um..."

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이영서

Yeongseo finally opened her mouth with difficulty.

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오여주

"I’m sorry."

"..."

I’d been thinking it might be something like that, but hearing it directly made my feelings turn strange.

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이영서

I looked at Yeongseo without saying anything.

"I was way too harsh back then."

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이영서

Yeongseo’s voice got quieter.

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이영서

"I had no right to say that to you."

"Honestly, I was jealous."

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이영서

It was an unexpected admission.

"Both Yeonjun and Jaehyun..."

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이영서

Yeongseo lowered her head for a moment.

"They’re guys I’ve known for a long time, but suddenly it felt like they were getting closer to you."

Something on one side of my chest tightened strangely.

All the things Yeongseo had shown until now came to mind one by one.

The face that stiffened every time I talked with Yeonjun.

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이영서

The awkward atmosphere that changed every time Jaehyun looked after me.

"So I think I was just thinking strangely on my own."

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이영서

Yeongseo gave a bitter smile.

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오여주

"You didn’t do anything."

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이영서

"...Yeongseo."

"I know."

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이영서

Before I could say anything, Yeongseo spoke first.

"Just because I said sorry doesn’t mean you have to be okay right away."

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이영서

Silence fell for a moment.

"I just... wanted to tell you that I was sorry."

Until just now, I’d thought I didn’t know how I should take it.

But seeing Yeongseo standing right in front of me made it even more complicated.

I wasn’t completely over my anger.

The hurt was still there too.

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오여주

But at least I didn’t want to decide that everything Yeongseo was saying right now was a lie.

"I still don’t really know either."

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오여주

At my words, Yeongseo lifted her head.

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이영서

"When I think about what you said, I’m still angry."

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오여주

"...Yeah."

"But that doesn’t mean I want to keep living like this, feeling awkward all the time."

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오여주

Yeongseo’s eyes widened a little.

"Give me some time."

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이영서

Yeongseo, who had been looking at me for a long time, slowly nodded.

"...Okay."

At that moment...

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명재현

I heard the sound of someone running from far away.

"Yeoju!"

It was Jaehyun.

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명재현

Stopping in front of us, breathing a little hard, Jaehyun looked at me and said,

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오여주

"Did you maybe bring the camera."

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명재현

"...The camera?"

"Did you bring it?."

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오여주

At Jaehyun’s question, I let out a short sigh when I realized my hand was empty.

"Ah."

I left it behind.

Looking at Jaehyun as he came closer, I shifted my gaze to Yeongseo.

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이영서

When our eyes met, Yeongseo nodded.

"Go on."

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오여주

Without saying anything, I nodded and then said to Jaehyun, who had come right up in front of me,

"I definitely took it to the auditorium, but I guess I left it there. I’ll get it quickly."

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명재현

With those words, I was about to turn and head toward the auditorium when...

"I’ll go with you"

Jaehyun’s voice stopped me in my tracks.

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오여주

At that, when I turned around to look at Jaehyun, the person who caught my eye first wasn’t Jaehyun, but Yeongseo standing blankly beside him with a bag in both hands.

"It’s okay. Yeongseo looks like she’s carrying something heavy, so please help her with her stuff."

When I asked, Jaehyun looked down at the stuff in Yeongseo’s hands for a moment, then, glancing at Yeongseo, took the load from her with one hand instead.

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이영서

Yeongseo, who had ended up handing her things to Jaehyun, scratched the back of her neck and smiled.

"I’m fine though..."

After wrapping that up, I turned back and headed for the auditorium...

Thud-thud- footsteps could be heard behind my back.

Soon, someone’s side profile came into my view.

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자까

"I’ll go with you"

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