Chapter 41 : Different

I even had a premonition that something good would happen.

The streets were deserted because I had left earlier than usual. When I arrived in front of her house and knocked, Jian’s mother greeted me warmly.

“Dohyun, you’re here? She’s still getting ready, would you like to have a cup of coffee while you wait?”

I nodded and stepped into the entrance.

“Yes, thank you.”

A familiar warmth filled the living room.

The unique cozy atmosphere of this house still felt awkward, yet somehow comfortable.

As soon as I sat down at the table, an intense gaze flew towards me.

Grinning.

Jihye Noona was staring at me with interest.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Noona rested her chin on her hand and gave me a meaningful smile.

“Just wondering. Are you here to support our Jian?”

“Yes.”

Noona’s smile deepened. Uncomfortably so.

Just then, Jian’s mother said,

“Jihye, can you go check on Jian in her room? She’s taking her time getting ready.”

Right then, Noona came up to me and whispered meaningfully.

“Want to go instead?”

“Pardon?”

“I suddenly need to use the restroom.”

She headed to the bathroom leisurely, not looking like she needed to go at all.

Left with no choice, I made my way to Lee Jian’s room.

Knock, knock. I knocked, but there was no response.

Knock, knock again. Still no response.

In the end, I just opened the door and went inside.

An unexpected sight unfolded before my eyes.

“Light hidden in the darkness, be my courage!”

She was striking a bizarre pose while uttering cheesy lines.

Lee Jian was standing in the middle of the room, as if preparing for a magical girl transformation, with one leg stretched out to the side and her arms stretched powerfully upwards, her fingertips delicately spread.

At the same time, she turned around.

Our eyes met.

I quickly grabbed my phone and started filming this spectacle.

In burst mode.

Click, click, click!

Lee Jian’s face gradually turned red, unable to hide her surprise and embarrassment.

Silence filled the room.

I leisurely looked down at my phone and checked the photos I had just taken.

“You didn’t take any, did you?”

Lee Jian’s urgent voice hit my ears. I slowly raised my gaze to look at her.

“Capturing moments like this is the role of a photographer.”

“Delete them!”

Lee Jian strode towards me. I took a step back with a light smile.

“I don’t want to?”

“Kim Dohyun!”

She reached out to snatch the phone.

I quickly twisted my body to avoid her.

Lee Jian lunged again.

And so, we were in a situation of chasing and being chased across the room, like a cat and mouse.

“Just delete them!”

“These things should be preserved in history.”

“What history! Delete them right now!”

Lee Jian reached out her hand.

I reflexively twisted my body.

So, this is the situation.

I’m the one running away with the phone, and she’s the one trying to get it back.

…It’s a familiar scene.

No, it’s a familiar feeling.

It was like that back then too.

At the bus stop.

The day I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there.

The day the eyes I met were strangely clear.

A subtle tremor was transmitted from my fingertips.

It felt awkward to say a single word, and the distance felt unfamiliar.

But…

It’s different now.

It’s not an awkward tremor.

It’s not an unfamiliar distance either.

Now, I want to get closer.

It feels like I could hold her hand, or even get closer than that.

Now, it felt more natural to close the distance, rather than keep it.

But, she had no way of knowing my thoughts–

“Ha!”

She suddenly reached out and snatched the phone.

A surprise attack that caught me off guard.

I couldn’t react in that instant.

Taking advantage of the gap, Lee Jian raised the phone high above her head.

Smiling brightly, as if declaring victory.

“I won!”

She opened and closed her palm, making a playful expression.

I quietly looked at her.

The sensation on my fingertips still lingered.

…I lost.

I slowly lowered my hand, which had been frozen in the air.

Then, I looked down at my palm.

An empty feeling.

The spot where the object that had been in my hand until just now had disappeared.

But it was strange.

I felt empty.

It wasn’t just that I was disappointed to have the phone taken away.

It was because of the subtle sensation that remained on my fingertips.

The distance that had been in front of me until just now.

The distance that had been close until just now.

That, had disappeared.

…I wanted to get closer than I thought.

I realized that now.

I stared at my hand for a long time.

“…What.”

A familiar voice.

A hand waved in front of my eyes.

“Are you that disappointed?”

I blinked.

Lee Jian was staring at me with wide eyes.

Still holding the phone in one hand, with a half-playful expression.

I let out a short breath.

To be honest… I was disappointed.

But I didn’t want her to see that.

I shrugged, pretending not to care.

“No.”

“No? You looked incredibly empty just now?”

“That’s your imagination.”

I turned my head, pretending to be nonchalant.

But-

Lee Jian fiddled with the phone, then suddenly turned on the screen and moved her fingers.

She touched the screen with familiar movements.

However.

-A password input window appeared.

11

Lee Jian paused for a moment.

I quietly raised the corners of my mouth.

“So how are you going to delete them?”

Lee Jian narrowed her

eyes.

“Will you tell me the password?”

“I don’t want to?”

I shook my head firmly.

Lee Jian glared at me.

And soon, she clutched the phone tightly in her hand and desperately racked her brain.

I could almost hear her brain working.

“Then… I can just guess the password.”

“Try guessing. If you get it right, you can delete them.”

“I’ll definitely get it right.”

She groaned and pondered for a while, then raised her head and asked.

“Is it maybe my birthday?”

She shook her head as if it was absurd, even though she was the one who asked.

“No way, there’s no way you know my birthday…”

“0314? No?”

Lee Jian’s fingers stopped.

Her eyes widened.

11

Her expression changed very slightly, subtly.

A face that mixed embarrassment and surprise at the same time.

I didn’t miss that change.

“Did I get it right?”

She stared at me for a long time, then pressed her lips tightly together.

“How do you know… my birthday?”

“…Shouldn’t I know it?”

“W, well…”

Lee Jian bit her lip.

I pretended to be calm, but inside I was secretly amused.

But at that moment.

Lee Jian’s expression changed slightly.

It was a somewhat transparent face.

She glanced up at me, and said in a voice that was deliberately natural.

“…Then, is it your birthday?”

I stifled a snicker.

“You don’t know my birthday, do you?”

“…Ah, I know.”

“What, you were just agonizing over it.”

“…Tell me.”

“No way.”

I shook my head firmly.

“Why!”

“Because that’s the password.”

Lee Jian froze.

And immediately, she reacted violently.

“That’s so unfair! Totally unfair!!”

“So what?”

“Then…”

Lee Jian desperately scanned my expression.

“March…?”

I shook my head silently.

“Then April?”

I shook my head again.

“May?”

“I don’t think you’re going to get it, just give up.”

“No! I feel like I’ve lost if I do this!”

She finally gave up and raised both hands.

I took back the phone in her hand.

And-

“I told you to get ready, but you’re filming a drama?”

A playful voice echoed through the room.

We both turned around in surprise at the same time. Jihye Noona was standing at the door with her arms crossed.

“O…Onni?”

Lee Jian flinched and stepped back. I was the same. Thanks to the sudden arrival of the audience, the atmosphere from before was instantly shattered.

“You two should hurry up and get ready instead of doing this?”

Jihye Noona added with a meaningful smile.

I cleared my throat, and Lee Jian quickly averted her gaze with a flushed face.

Lee Jian hurriedly blurted out an excuse.

“…N, no! It’s not like that!”

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and come out.”

Jihye Noona grinned and turned her back.

The summer morning sunlight streamed softly through the car window. The car was moderately cool, but somehow a subtle tension lingered.

Lee Jian had thrown her bag in the back seat and was about to open the driver’s seat door. But suddenly, as if something had occurred to her, she

slapped her hand.

“Ah, I forgot something! I’ll be right back!”

With those words, she hurried back into the house.

“Oh, that scatterbrain.”

Jihye Noona, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, muttered with a deep sigh.

I was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window and quietly listening to her words.

“I wonder if she can do well like that.”

A moment of silence flowed through the car. The lingering afterglow awkwardly lingered in the air.

There weren’t many cars on the road visible through the car window yet.

The chirping of birds and the occasional sound of the wind filled the space gently.

“…Jian, she may seem like she doesn’t think about anything on the surface.”

Jihye Noona opened her mouth. I was still looking out the window and waiting.

“But she’s actually really nervous.”

I turned my head to look at her.

She tapped the steering wheel with one hand, watching my reaction.

“I guess so.”

When I answered calmly, she gave me a puzzled look.

“…You already knew?”

I nodded.

“Yes. Even if she doesn’t show it, I can tell from her expressions and gestures. Her fingertips tremble slightly, or her words become subtly slower.”

Noona stopped talking for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Her eyes were mixed with surprise and interest, as if it was unexpected.

I looked back out the window without saying anything. And I quietly watched Lee Jian running out of the house.

Before the competition, we had to listen to some brief instructions and move by school, so we had to gather on the schoolyard.

As soon as I arrived at the schoolyard, a heavy tension weighed down on me.

From the moment I stepped in, even the air felt heavy.

The students’ murmuring, the teachers’ busy footsteps, the loud engine sounds of the buses.

Everything seemed to add to the pressure on me.

My fingertips turned cold.

I took a deep breath in and out.

Don’t be nervous.

It’s okay.

I smiled naturally, as if nothing was wrong.

My thoughts gradually turned into an obsession that I ‘had to’ do well.

I have to do well.

I can’t make a mistake.

I have to live up to expectations.

I have to prove myself.

My whole body gradually stiffened.

I unconsciously clenched and unclenched my hands.

The sweat on my palms felt sticky.

At that moment, a familiar hand came into my view.

It was Kim Dohyun. With a blunt expression, but with somewhat awkward gestures, he was handing me a drink.

As always, a barley soda with an ugly duckling drawn on it.

I naturally accepted it and chuckled.

“Is it buy one get one free again this time?”

Kim Dohyun blinked briefly. And quietly shook his head.

“No.”

I tilted my head and asked again.

“Then why did you give it to me?”

Kim Dohyun clenched and unclenched the drink in his hand once, then handed it over as if it was nothing.

“…Encouragement.”

When the short words fell from his lips, his fingertips seemed to tremble slightly.

Instantly, my heart fluttered strangely.

I looked up at him.

Kim Dohyun avoided my gaze for no reason and turned his head.

And he cleared his throat while rubbing the back of his neck. His ears seemed to be slightly red.

His appearance was so awkward and cute that I couldn’t help but laugh.

I held the drink tightly and smiled brightly.

“Thank you.”

Kim Dohyun turned his head without looking at me even after handing over the drink.

He rubbed his wrist with his other hand for no reason, then quietly looked up at the sky.

His fingertips were noticeably stiff.

The subtle scent of barley drink seemed to linger on my fingertips.

“We’re moving in 10 minutes. Check carefully to make sure you haven’t left anything out before then.”

The homeroom teacher’s voice prompted the students to start checking their belongings.

Unpacking bags and the rustling sounds added a strange tension.

Amidst all the noise, the small drink that Kim Dohyun offered stood out.

His fingertips were still cold.

But holding the barley drink can, I felt a subtle warmth.

The touch of the warm metal on my palm made me feel like the tension that had been tightening just a moment ago was loosening.

I quietly inhaled. As the air entered my lungs, my chest seemed to soften.

It was as if the shortness of breath I had felt just a moment ago was a lie, and I felt much more comfortable.

Yet, my mouth was still parched. I was about to take a sip of the barley drink, but I looked up at Kim Dohyun.

He was looking at me.

At that moment, the warmth transmitted through my fingertips felt stronger.

The savory scent of barley moistening my throat. The refreshing coolness of the small bubbles spreading. The warm temperature slowly subsided, and the tension that had been tightening seemed to dissipate as well.

I felt a little more at ease.

Kim Dohyun looked down at me and said.

“And there’s also that. The light hidden in the darkness, my courage.”

“Don’t.”

I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

“I didn’t know you’d like Procutie so much.”

“I said don’t.”

He quietly raised his hand and stroked my hair.

The feeling of my hair tangling in his hand was quite nice.

“So, cheer up.”

“Can’t you just encourage me?”

As I grumbled, Kim Dohyun chuckled and said.

“That’s for later. When you go to the national competition.”

“Do you think I can go?”

“Don’t you think you can? It looked really beautiful to me.”

At his words, I clenched my fist slightly.

My heart was racing, and I couldn’t stand it.

“Back then, you were the one who left the barley drink, weren’t you?”

Kim Dohyun opened his mouth for a moment, then averted his gaze.

“So, does that mean you’re my first fan?”

“…Aren’t you supposed to leave now?”

His voice was trembling more finely than usual.

I liked that little tremor.

That tremor entered my heart.

Plink. A drop of trembling fell. Creating a small ripple.

With excitement instead of tension, I boarded the bus.

The bus door closed slowly.

The barley drink can in my hand was still warm.

Kim Dohyun was standing beyond the window.

For some reason, that image reminded me of a certain moment.

The bus stop,

Kim Dohyun standing there.

And the departing bus,

Me sitting there.

But a lot had changed since then.

I came to know the name of this emotion that made my heart race.

The unfamiliar barley drink had become not only familiar but also my favorite drink.

The wheels slowly started to roll.

The air seemed subtly lighter. But strangely, something inside me was getting heavier and heavier.

The barley drink can in my hand. I could still feel the sloshing inside the can whenever the bus moved, indicating that there was still a lot left.

Warmth traveled through my fingertips.

At first, it was unfamiliar.

The savory scent, the bitter aftertaste, the subtle reverberation of the carbonation that wrapped around the tip of my tongue.

But now-

I felt like I would miss this warmth if it wasn’t there.

Slightly wetting my lips, I suddenly thought.

The fingertips that handed this to me.

The small gesture of offering it as if it were nothing.

Under the streetlight,

The hand that slowly unfolded my tightly clenched hand.

And――

Since when was it?

The sensation that started from those fingertips,

Was growing inside me.

At first, it was small and light like a can of barley drink.

But now-

It traveled through my hands, through my gaze, through my heart,

It just kept getting bigger and bigger.

I looked out the window.

The barley drink, the fingertips that handed me the drink, his hand that unfolded my hand.

And Kim Dohyun was still standing there.

He stood out as if he was the only one popping out in the flowing scenery.

The barley drink flowing in.

Kim Dohyun slowly spreading along with it.

He was gradually filling up my heart. With a clearer color than anything else.