Chapter 35 : Just a little more

Back-and-forth Questions. 

How much truth is mixed in them? 

!Beep- ! 

The loudly ringing lie detector is just a toy. 

It cannot be trusted. 

And yet, 

“Do you like Nayul senior?” 

I lifted my gaze and looked at her. 

Lee Jian, with great tension, asked the question. 

She sat with her knees up, then crossed her legs again, swaying back and forth like a toy doll.

Her movements were more restless than the machine. 

Her gestures couldn’t remain still. 

It was clear she couldn’t calm herself. 

I watched her for a moment before slowly opening my mouth. 

“No.” 

The truth. 

In that moment, her body slowly relaxed. 

Her stiff shoulders drooped helplessly, and the trembling tips of her fingers stilled. 

Pfft. 

A small breath escaped. 

That was the beginning. 

“Ah, what is this? Ah, seriously.” 

Laughter erupted. 

It was a foolish kind of laughter. 

As if the tension had been released, she smiled with a silly expression. 

She tried to cover her mouth but it was too late. 

She bowed her head, but it was all obvious. 

She hid her face with the sleeve of her gym clothes. 

The more she tried to hide it, the more awkward it became. 

I smiled quietly. 

That look of Lee Jian— 

It was cute. 

Really, endlessly so. 

Then she peeked up at me, just her eyes showing. 

She asked in a soft voice, 

“Really?” 

Instead of answering, I just looked at her. 

At that moment. 

Cheek. 

The sound of carbonation bursting filled the room. 

Even though it wasn’t carbonated water splashing in front of me, it felt like that. 

The refreshing fizz of carbonation blew in like the wind, shaking my heart. 

Tap, tap. 

My heart skipped a beat. 

I pretended not to notice this indescribable feeling. 

I simply responded briefly, with a slight smile. 

“Really.”

 She buried her face back in her gym clothes. 

I continued to watch her, quietly. 

“…Why did you misunderstand like that?” 

Lee Jian was still hiding her face in her gym clothes. 

Unlike before, she wasn’t huddled up or fiddling with her fingertips. 

She responded instead in a calm voice. 

“Everyone misunderstood like that.” 

I raised an eyebrow slightly. 

“You couldn’t take your eyes off Nayul senior.”

 “When you’re with Yoon Jihoo, you freeze and can’t move.” 

I froze for a moment. 

That was something I couldn’t help. 

The system had automatically locked my gaze. 

I could understand how she could misunderstand. 

But, Pfft. 

I couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Haha. All this time, you’ve misunderstood like that?” 

Lee Jian didn’t respond. 

No, it was more like she couldn’t. 

She was still burying her face in her gym clothes. 

But she still seemed a bit dazed. 

I suddenly realized that she wasn’t saying anything. 

And quietly, very quietly, 

I muttered between my lips, 

“…Did you know this is the first time I’ve seen you smile like that?” 

I looked at her immediately. 

“What?” 

But Lee Jian was still lazily smiling, gripping her gym clothes. 

“Good.” 

I blinked. 

“…Huh?” 

Is this a confession? So suddenly? 

My eyes were shaking like crazy. 

I didn’t know what to say, and the sentence couldn’t form. 

Only words floated around, never completing. 

Her smile naturally curled up. 

“It’s nice seeing you smile like that. You look at ease.” 

Her gaze turned toward me. 

She leaned on her knees, looking at me. 

“It was all awkward before.” 

Her drowsy eyes stared at me quietly. 

“Now, you look like a real person.” 

“…” 

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. 

Somehow, deep inside me, something flinched. 

Like— 

The feeling of carbonation popping. 

I tried to ignore that sensation. 

But strangely, it wasn’t easy. 

I simply kept looking at Lee Jian. 

Like something was broken, I couldn’t form a single proper sentence, but after a while, I finally made a sentence. 

And then I just blurted it out. 

“I like you.” 

The truth. 

Lee Jian froze again. 

Her expression remained still. 

I noticed that her fingers, still gripping the gym clothes tightly, were trembling slightly. 

Her eyes shook faintly. 

Her pupils were looking at me. 

Her lips trembled slightly. 

I think I knew what that feeling was. 

Lee Jian quietly, very quietly, and trying to sound calm, asked, 

“Are you joking?” 

But her voice was quieter than usual. 

Expectations lingered in her tone. 

I just kept looking at her. 

Silence followed. 

She narrowed her eyes slightly at me. 

I slowly inhaled and, with a small smile, opened my mouth. 

“I’m joking.”

 Beep- ! 

The truth. 

She went blank. 

Her breath hitched for a moment. 

I could hear it clearly, even in that instant. 

“What?” 

She bit her lip. 

“Which one is true?” 

I smiled awkwardly. 

“It’s simple.” 

I slowly leaned toward her and looked at her. 

Her pupils shook for a moment.”

The probability is 50%, you know.” 

I said in a low voice, playfully. 

At that moment, her eyebrows twitched. 

“A quiz?” 

She glared at me. 

“Can I guess now?” 

I smiled and slowly shook my head. 

“Just a little longer.” 

Our eyes met. 

“Just a little more.” 

Her breath trembled faintly. 

“…Why?” 

My fingertips stiffened slightly. 

After a short silence, I smiled as if it were nothing and said, 

“Just, not yet…” 

At that moment, her pupils shook deeply. 

It was a complex tremor, mixed with anticipation and fear. 

“Not today.” 

I slowly finished the sentence, staring into her eyes. 

Beep– 

The truth.
“…Later.” 

I slowly turned off the lie detector. 

Then, I discreetly pushed the machine aside. 

She seemed to have stopped breathing. The grip on her gym clothes tightened. 

I slowly exhaled. 

I waited for her response. 

Her eyes, they were looking at me. 

I didn’t look away. 

I knew what she was thinking right now, 

What she wanted to say and what she wanted me to say to her. 

I knew it. 

But— 

“…You’re an idiot.” 

She muttered. 

Her words made me smile. 

In that moment, I saw the tips of her ears turn red behind her gym clothes. 

And before I knew it, my heart thudded. 

The final beep of the lie detector lingered faintly in my ears. 

I couldn’t look away. 

Lee Jian, who had pulled her gym clothes up to cover her face. 

I had a feeling her face hidden beneath it was turning even redder than I imagined. 

“Is it real?” 

Her voice was careful, but full of honest expectation. 

The moment our gazes met, I felt something. 

An unfamiliar emotion. 

A strange feeling, as though my heart was tightening. 

I chuckled quietly. 

“Really.” 

I muttered as I turned my head away. 

“You know I’m slow at walking. Please, just a little more, just a little more wait.” 

I turned my head to avoid looking at Lee Jian, but she kept following me. 

As if observing me, with a curious expression. 

My face naturally turned red. 

In that moment, the lie detector wasn’t needed. 

I gave an answer without any lies, in this very moment, right here. 

Though wrapped in the disguise of a joke, something genuine seemed to leak out. 

Lee Jian’s laughter etched itself in my mind. 

But suddenly, from one corner of my mind, a subtle unease crept in. 

I liked this moment so much that I became anxious. 

I wanted to hold onto this moment, but it felt like it was slipping through my fingers. 

The warm air, which had been there, seemed to be cooling down gradually. 

It felt as if I had stepped just one step back from a warm place, and the whole world had turned cold. 

When I felt that sensation, I quietly inhaled. 

And then I realized. 

I was becoming so accustomed to this time here. 

Was it really okay for me to be here? 

Should I really stay here? 

My heart felt complicated. 

My mind was running in overdrive, but strangely, my chest felt cold. 

I lifted my head slightly. 

The strong sunlight. 

The perfectly clear sky. 

The view of the shaded living room. 

The stronger the sunlight, the shorter the shadows, and it felt like my existence was being swallowed by them. 

It was as if once this moment ended, all the warmth, all the sensations that had been holding me, would disappear. 

I had always thought living here was natural, but suddenly, I became afraid. 

If this wasn’t the world I chose— 

Could I even stay here, if it wasn’t my choice? 

I blinked slowly. 

I wanted to hold on to this moment. 

I wanted to keep it for a long time. 

In the strong light, a fear suddenly overwhelmed me, as though I would become invisible. 

It felt like I was going to disappear. 

Really, like I would be erased right before my eyes. 

So— 

I smiled slightly. 

As if it were nothing. 

With a very calm expression. 

I needed to clear my mind. 

I needed time to quiet my anxiety. 

This place was comfortable for me. 

My mind was at ease. 

I was becoming more deeply rooted in this world. 

But the more that happened, the more the fear of being pulled out again grew. 

I needed reassurance. 

That I could truly stay here. 

That I could really remain here. 

But still,I didn’t want to leave. 

I hoped that the warmth of this house, from the very beginning, was mine. 

I wanted to stay longer, with you inside it. 

“Kim Dohyun.” 

A familiar voice rang low. 

I slowly turned my gaze. 

She was already close. 

At a very close distance, she was looking at me. 

“Why the face?” 

Her voice was kind, but shaking. 

I couldn’t say anything. 

At that moment— 

The warm sensation gripped my wrist. 

The moment our eyes met, the force holding me subtly grew stronger. 

As though it were holding me to make sure I wouldn’t disappear. 

I knew I had to say something, but no words came. 

It felt like I was standing at the boundary between reality and unreality. 

Am I really here? 

Can I really stay here? 

I want to stay with you.