Return Home – 4

As much as I wanted to tell oppa this joyful news right away.

What if.

ㅡ What if we couldn’t go to Korea?

Just like my parents had delayed telling us about returning to Korea.

Even if it might be excessive worry, I couldn’t even imagine how heartbroken oppa would be if I announced our return but then we couldn’t go.

Thinking I’d just wait until it was certain.

Before I knew it, it was February.

Jin-hyuk oppa had already told Se-ah, apparently, since he’d been smiling from ear to ear ever since our parents told us.

I asked both of them separately.

To keep it a secret from Woo-jin oppa until I told him myself.

…Now I really need to tell him.

Maybe I got a bit excited at the thought of seeing oppa soon.

…What if I keep it a secret and surprise oppa?

Even I thought it was mischievous, but just imagining oppa’s reaction gave me tingles throughout my body.

From that day, I started planning.

**

…I shouldn’t have done it.

I shouldn’t have done such a thing, but I didn’t know…

The thought that I should have just honestly told oppa kept circling in my mind. I could clearly picture how happy oppa would have been.

When I told oppa the truthful lie that I would be busy and couldn’t contact him for a while, starting 4 days before the first day of school (including the flight time to Korea), oppa said he understood, but.

The guilt of lying to oppa pricked my conscience.

And I could see that oppa was getting more stressed because of it, even though he pretended not to be.

…Stupid. Stupid Seo Ye-rin. What was that stupid surprise for.

What if oppa gets angry when we meet…?

I was worried enough to think like that, but.

Still, as the first day of school approached, my heart pounded with the thought that I would soon see oppa.

And so.

Finally, the first day of school arrived.

Was it from excitement?

My eyes opened even before the alarm went off in the morning.

I put on the uniform of the same school as oppa and left my room. Jin-hyuk oppa had already gone to meet Se-ah, so he wasn’t home.

I could understand his feelings, and I also wanted to see oppa as soon as possible.

So I left home a bit earlier than usual.

…This is nice.

The spring rain gently tapping on my umbrella.

The cool morning air and the fragrant smell of grass tickling my nose.

All of these things seemed to specially decorate this path I was taking to meet oppa.

I just felt good.

One step, one step.

As I got closer to oppa, the conversation I would soon have with him kept coming to mind.

What words should I use to greet oppa?

What expression should I have when facing oppa?

How would oppa react when he sees me?

Have you been well, oppa? I really, really… missed you so much.

Oppa, I…

There was so much I wanted to say.

As I walked through the rain, before I knew it.

I had arrived at the familiar route where I used to go to school with oppa.

If I waited here, oppa would pass by, and when I see oppa…

My heart kept pounding to the rhythm of the light spring rain.

So for a while.

As I was enjoying the anticipation, I soon began to see a familiar silhouette.

Although the umbrella obscured his face, I could recognize him at a glance.

Yet even though it was definitely a familiar figure.

The oppa I had seen every day through video calls, photos, and even in my dreams. Perhaps he hadn’t been properly captured on the phone.

His much more solid body than what I saw on screen, his broader shoulders, his height that naturally made my gaze turn upward.

Those distinct changes, clearly different from his former appearance.

My heart, which was already restless, now began to pound so loudly that I wondered if oppa could hear it.

Worried he might hear, I approached oppa carefully, but he seemed to be deep in thought, head down, and didn’t appear to notice me.

Tap.

I lightly touched oppa’s shoulder from behind, but there was no response, as if it hadn’t reached him.

Once more.

Tap tap.

When I tapped oppa’s shoulder again with joy, this time it seemed to register.

Oppa slowly turned his head.

“…Huh?”

The eyes of oppa, who had turned around, began to widen.

“…Oppa.”

Looking up at oppa, seeing his much more manly appearance than before.

Unconsciously, with my hands clasped in front of my chest.

I carefully opened my mouth, almost whispering.

“…I missed you.”

Really, a lot.

It didn’t make sense.

To the point where I wondered if this was a hallucination created because I’d been under too much stress lately, because I missed Ye-rin too much.

It was hard to believe that Ye-rin, who should be far away, was now right in front of my eyes.

But.

It was too vivid to be a dream.

My impoverished imagination couldn’t possibly create such beauty.

Those cherry blossom-like eyes, filled only with me, that only Ye-rin in this world could have.

When I unconsciously reached out and touched Ye-rin’s cheek, the warm softness felt so distinctly on my fingertips.

It seemed to tell me that this situation wasn’t a dream.

“…When did you come?”

“I came 4 days ago…”

“…So when you said you were busy, it was because you were coming back?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

“…You should have told me.”

“I’m sorry… At first, it wasn’t certain, and later, I wanted to surprise you…”

“…Don’t do that next time.”

“Yes…”

When I pinched her cheek slightly to indicate she shouldn’t do that, her skin reddened easily, probably because it was so fair.

I didn’t expect to scold her as soon as we met.

I knew Ye-rin had always liked surprises, but I never thought she would make her return a surprise.

I had imagined countless times what words I would say when we reunited, but I never imagined this situation, so I couldn’t help but smile.

Although we ended up in this atmosphere.

There was one thing I absolutely had to convey.

“Ye-rin.”

“Yes…”

Even though I kept stroking her hair wet from the spring rain, her moist cheeks.

Ye-rin, as if all of it was mine.

Far from being annoyed, she nuzzled her face against my hand as if wanting more touch.

“…You came sooner than I expected.”

“…Liar.”

“…Actually, it took a while.”

We looked at each other and smiled.

Now, it was a joke we could make.

“Every single day, I missed you. Really.”

“…Yes, I’m sorry. For making you wait.”

“We’ve just reunited after a long time, and you’ve already apologized twice?”

“But still…”

To Ye-rin, who still seemed apologetic, I gently pinched her soft cheek once more to tell her not to be.

“Then, thank you… for waiting.”

“Much better. I’m thankful too. For coming back.”

“That’s nothing…”

Even as she chided me.

Seeing Ye-rin smiling brightly and leaning her cheek into my hand made me smile too.

“It’s soft.”

“And…?”

“Really squishy. I want to touch it all day.”

“Yes, now you can…”

Like a cat wagging its tail for its owner.

Seeing Ye-rin purring in my hand somehow made my heart tickle.

Unconsciously, I slowly lowered my head, and

Chu-

On the fair forehead revealed between her hair wet with spring rain.

I kissed her.

“…Huh?”

What is this? Was I hacked?

As if someone was controlling me, my body moved on its own.

The thrill when my lips touched her, and the moistness I still felt even after removing my lips.

It seemed to tell me that what had just happened wasn’t a dream.

If I, one of the parties involved, was this surprised, then Ye-rin, who was on the receiving end.

Her skin, which had been so fair just a moment ago, was now completely red from face to ears, frozen in place still leaning on my hand.

Should I a-apologize…?

No, but we’re a couple approaching our 4th year…?

After much deliberation, what came out of my mouth was.

“S-soft…”

…That doesn’t seem right? What am I, some pervert? What is this,

“…A-and…?”

…She’s going along with it?

“It’s really, you know, squishy…”

“Is that all…?”

“…Huh?”

At Ye-rin’s words as she clutched my clothes shyly, I couldn’t follow for a moment.

“Ah, earlier there was more…”

What had I said before?

When I went back through my memories.

I remembered.

That I had said I wanted to touch all day.

But that was about her cheeks? I didn’t say that. If I did, the cherry blossom petals in front of me might fall.

Rather than that, it was better to be completely intoxicated by the cherry blossom petals.

“…I want to do it all day.”

“Yes, that’s fine…”

As if giving permission, Ye-rin kissed my hand that was cupping her cheek with a chu.

I too slowly lowered my head again, starting with Ye-rin’s forehead.

Eyebrows and nose, then cheeks. And finally… her neck.

One by one, slowly, clumsily but with care.

No matter where I placed my lips, I left my mark on the soft and squishy Ye-rin.

As I moved down from her forehead, I seemed to get a bit more used to it.

On her cheek, I even tried poking with my tongue once. And when I kissed her neck last, I tried biting it slightly,

“Hyah…”

Ye-rin flinched and made a sensual moan, which surprised both her and me, but.

Neither of us had the leisure to mind that.

Gulp.

What remained last.

I could feel that we were both staring at each other’s lips.

I didn’t ask if it was okay.

Because just as I belonged to Ye-rin, Ye-rin belonged to me.

As I slowly overlapped my lips on Ye-rin’s, starting from our touching lips.

“Hmm…”

It felt like electricity was flowing through my entire body.

And, while all other parts were soft too.

I realized there was no comparison with the lips.

The heat and breath we felt the moment our lips met, the strawberry scent spreading in my mouth.

All of it was incomparable.

When I pulled away after a moment, Ye-rin’s eyes had become dreamy.

Probably the same for me.

If it was like this just from our lips touching, I wondered what it would be like to go inside.

Ye-rin must have had the same thought, as her thirsty, deep pink eyes were looking at my lips.

“…Ye-rin.”

“Haa… yes…?”

“I really hate to say this right now…?”

“…?”

“But if we don’t go soon, we’ll be late…”

But if we continued, I wasn’t confident we could stop after just one time.

The time displayed on my wristwatch that I glanced at was telling me that we would be 100% late if we continued.

…It’s not that I don’t want to do more.

If it were just me, it might be okay, but for Ye-rin to be like this on her first day of transfer seemed a bit… With this thought, I carefully brought up the time with the watch to Ye-rin,

“…………………Yes, the first day… we should go………..”

Ye-rin, with her eyes tightly closed, spoke with great difficulty after tremendous deliberation.