Chapter 18 : I like you, a lot (2)
by fnovelpia
My head throbbed.
Since I had taken the full weight of both Chaeryeong and myself, it was no surprise I was in pain.
But even that pain barely registered, as if I were under anesthesia.
“…Uh…ugh…”
More than the pain, what overwhelmed me were the slender hands resting lightly on my shoulders, while she sat straddling me near my waist.
Her soft thighs and hips pressed against my stomach.
Her large breasts pressed firmly against my chest.
And finally, as Chaeryeong lifted her head, her face came so close to mine that our lips were almost touching.
All of it made my mind go blank.
For a moment, our eyes met.
The emotions in them were embarrassment and awkwardness.
Staring at her bright red lips, my thoughts grew hazy.
…What would that feel like?
Should I just lean in, pretending it was an accident?
We’re going to have to kiss for the scene anyway, so would it be so bad if I kissed her first?
A shameful desire boiled inside me.
But more than that, I was curious—
…If I kissed her, how would Chaeryeong react?
Would she hate it?
Would she not care?
Or… would she despise me?
“Um… Yoon Taeo? Are you okay? Why are you staring like that… it’s making me nervous.”
Chaeryeong’s face turned slightly red under my intense gaze.
With her words, the wild thoughts in my head instantly evaporated.
“Ah, sorry. I must’ve gotten dazed after hitting my head.”
“What? Did you get a concussion again? Sorry… making you go through two traumatic experiences at school.”
“It’s fine. Just cut the nonsense and get off me. That sad look of yours doesn’t suit you at all.”
“Okaay.”
She sluggishly climbed off me.
As she moved, the subtle friction from her lower body was something I had to endure as I got up with her.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nope. Don’t worry. You were under me, so if anyone got hurt, it’d be you.”
“I wasn’t really worried about you. If you got hurt, today’s shoot would be ruined, that’s all.”
“Oh, is that so? How long are you planning to keep up this tsundere act?”
“It’s not an act, it’s real. And stop fooling around already. Can’t you go a single day without causing trouble?”
“Heh… sorry… I just got all excited thinking about sneaking back into our old classroom like we used to…”
“Geez.”
Even elementary school kids are more careful than her.
But without that innocent energy, Chaeryeong wouldn’t be herself.
I glanced around the classroom and said to her,
“Anyway, we came all this way. Let’s film what we need to. Quickly.”
“Right. Let’s do it.”
Chaeryeong quickly brushed her messy hair with a comb she carried and checked her face with her phone.
Satisfied with how she looked, she returned to her filming tone the moment I picked up the camera.
“And this is the classroom where we spent our second year.”
“Now that I see it, the desks and chairs look really small. That locker used to look taller, too.”
“Maybe it means we’ve grown taller since then?”
She stood on tiptoe and measured her height with her hand above her head, as if checking her growth.
“Well, not sure about height, but you’ve definitely gained a little wei—ugh!”
“You don’t say things like that in front of your girlfriend, got it?”
“Cough cough. Yes… I’ll be more careful…”
Her swift punishment—a neck chop—landed right on my throat, cutting off my words.
Small but deadly with those hands, seriously.
“Wow, it’s here! This was my seat! Yoon Taeo, remember?”
“Yeah. You always used to sleep with your head down at that desk.”
“What are you talking about! I didn’t sleep that much!”
“Every time I looked, you were passed out.”
“That was just bad timing! It’s like how moms never come into your room when you’re studying, only when you’re slacking off to nag.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll let you have that one. Don’t be so defensive.”
“I’m not letting myself have anything~! It’s the truth!”
Ignoring her protest, I instructed her for the video.
“Sit over there. Like you did back in the day. I’ll film it.”
“Oh, okay. Sure. Hello, nostalgic desk~”
She greeted the desk and patted it like she was petting a puppy, then sat primly like she used to in her school uniform.
“No, not like that. You have to slump over and sleep, just like old times.”
“I told you, I didn’t sleep…ugh.”
I filmed her exaggeratedly offended expression and also got a shot of my old seat.
“You know what? Do you remember who sat next to me?”
“Next to you? Hmm… who was it?”
“Kim Minsu. That shy guy who always read quietly.”
“…Oh. The one who was always reading, right?”
“Yeah, him. You used to sit next to me all the time, so he would go to the library during lunch and break time. Did you know?”
“Really?”
“You should apologize to Minsu. I told him he didn’t have to go, but he said he preferred it that way.”
“Ugh… I didn’t know… Sorry, Minsu. If you’re watching this, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to take your seat.”
In truth, Chaeryeong hadn’t meant to take Minsu’s seat.
She just sat beside me from time to time, and when the seat was free, she used it.
Maybe Minsu felt pressured by her social presence or was just uncomfortable, so he relocated to the library.
Well, now it’s all just a memory.
We lost ourselves in nostalgia and reminisced in front of the camera.
Eventually, when we ran out of things to say, I stood up.
“Let’s head out. We need to check the third-year classroom too.”
“Okay.”
There were still quite a few places left to see.
The third-year classroom, the library, the art room, the music room—
We moved through them one after another.
“It’s a bit of a shame we can’t actually go inside. Maybe we should’ve asked for the master key.”
“Nothing we can do about it. Still, at least we got to see it like this.”
If we had only looked around the outside, it would’ve felt emptier.
Even with the footage we had now, there was plenty for the next video.
“The cafeteria… hmm, might be too hard to get to. I guess all that’s left is the gym and the nurse’s office?”
“Seems like it. Let’s go to the gym first—it’s closer.”
“Yeah.”
We walked through the building to the front of the gym.
There was a skybridge on the third floor, and crossing it led straight to the gym.
As expected, the entrance was locked tight with a padlock.
“Figures, this is locked too.”
“Of course. You used to perform here, remember? During the school festival.”
“Ah… that…”
She bowed her head deeply, clearly embarrassed.
The gym doubled as the auditorium, so it was used as a stage during school festivals.
“You got up there with your classmates and danced to an idol song, remember? Haha.”
“Ugh.”
“You actually danced pretty well—if only you hadn’t tripped over your own feet.”
“Kyaaa! Don’t go blabbing about my dark past in front of the camera! Edit that part out!”
“Nope. Absolutely not. That’s going in no matter what.”
She rushed toward me to cover my mouth, but I took off running with the camera in hand.
“Still, even with your face all red, you stuck it out and did your best until the end. It was nice to see. Everyone laughed, sure…”
“Trying to compliment me now doesn’t change anything… You’re dead meat…”
“I’m serious! You looked kind of cool in your own way.”
At least to me, you did.
Maybe it’s because I already liked her back then.
Her never-give-up attitude looked beautiful to me.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Pulling it off perfectly on the first try wouldn’t suit you anyway.”
“Why is that the image I have in your mind?”
She puffed up her cheeks and pouted sullenly.
Well, that’s because you’re always being clumsy and getting hurt.
Thinking about her getting hurt reminded me of something else that happened in the gym.
“Speaking of which, you had a pretty bad injury here once too, didn’t you? When was that… during badminton class?”
“Oh~ right. That time. I twisted my ankle during a match, remember?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Pfft. Remember how you freaked out even more than the gym teacher?”
“Freaked out? That’s slander against someone who was just worried about his friend!”
You picked me up and sprinted all the way to the nurse’s office.
The gym teacher was so shocked watching that.
Just thinking about his face back then still makes me laugh.
“You were clutching your ankle and collapsed, okay? That was method acting. I was totally fooled. Not my fault.”
She clutched her ankle and let out a delicate scream mid-game—What was I supposed to do at that timing, just stand there?
Listening quietly to the story, Chaeryeong suddenly wore a mischievous smile, like she’d just had a great idea.
“Yoon Taeo, I just had a great idea.”
She always looked like this when she thought of something good for YouTube content.
Hm.
“What is it?”
I asked with half-lidded, suspicious eyes.
Chaeryeong suddenly grabbed her ankle and sat down on the floor.
Then she launched into a ridiculously fake performance, like she was reading from a textbook.
“Ow~ my ankle is twisted and it hurts so bad. I wonder if anyone might come rushing over to carry me to the nurse’s office?”
As expected, she always defies my expectations.
I stared blankly as she reached out her hand, pleading for a piggyback.
“You want to reenact that moment?”
“Isn’t that fun? Besides, we’re heading to the nurse’s office next anyway.”
“Ah, but you’re kinda hea—”
“What did you just say?”
“…..My girlfriend is so light, I can’t even tell if I’m carrying her or not! Yeah. Let’s do it. Haha.”
Because I misspoke, I received a sharp glare as I bent over.
Chaeryeong grabbed my shoulders and put her weight on my back.
“Uugh-cha.”
“How is it? Feels like a feather, right?”
“Oof, my legs are shaking. Hey.”
“Hey.”
“—Just kidding. Way too light. Did something even get on my back? Ah~ who knows?”
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