Chapter 6
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 6 – Acceptance is Difficult
—–CROW—–
The seemingly endless bus ride finally ended.
I rushed home as if someone was chasing me.
– Hey! Why are you suddenly running! Lee Si-woo!
I ignored the voice calling from behind.
Come to think of it, someone was truly chasing me.
Whether I ran or not, Han Seo-ah would have followed me.
But how could I not run?
Just being in the same space as her made my heart race like crazy.
“Son? Are you home?”
“I’m tired today, I’m going to rest early.”
Ignoring my mother’s welcoming voice, I quickly passed through the living room and reached my bed.
‘Thud’
“…Ughhhhh.”
I collapsed face-down onto the bed.
Broken.
The perfect word to describe my current state.
Like a piece of furniture with a crucial screw loose.
Like an electronic device that wouldn’t turn on even when charged.
Despite all my efforts to regain composure, my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
As if it was truly broken.
Broken beyond repair.
I lay face-down on the bed, feeling my heart beat.
And then, a question popped into my mind.
‘…Did I like Han Seo-ah all along?’
Was it possible that I had always liked her?
That I had liked her all along but hadn’t noticed because of familiarity?
It was a ridiculous question—ridiculous, to say the least.
Yesterday, I wouldn’t have even considered such a question.
Yesterday, no, even this morning.
I felt nothing but annoyance towards Han Seo-ah.
But the earlier events directly contradicted that.
Logically, hearing someone you dislike say they like you wouldn’t make your heart race.
That wasn’t the reaction of someone who disliked the other person.
Even I, someone who had never dated in my 20 years of life, knew that.
It seemed more likely that the opposite was true.
That I liked Han Seo-ah, not disliked her.
There’s a saying, isn’t there?
Familiarity breeds contempt. Or in this case, perhaps, obscured affection.
Like that saying, which I didn’t know who made it.
Perhaps I had been with Han Seo-ah for so long that familiarity had blinded me to my affection for her.
“…I like Han Seo-ah?”
Of course, I couldn’t easily accept that.
After all, Han Seo-ah and I had been like real siblings for so long.
They weren’t called “real siblings” for nothing.
We fought whenever we saw each other, even over the smallest things.
Fighting more often than eating was the definition of “real siblings.”
And I liked this Han Seo-ah?
The Han Seo-ah I fought with so much, the tomboyish Han Seo-ah?
“…No way.”
It was hard to accept.
No, I didn’t want to accept it.
This wasn’t just a matter of acceptance; it was a matter of pride.
I had preferences, too.
I preferred kind and cute girls over girls I constantly fought with…
– Don’t worry about that and focus on how you’re feeling. I’m only out here because of you.
– Of course, it’s because I like you, you idiot.
“…”
As I thought about my preferences, Han Seo-ah’s words and inner thoughts immediately came to mind, perfectly matching those preferences.
And in that second sentence, I had even admitted it myself.
Cute.
I never thought I’d find Han Seo-ah cute.
The moment I’d readily admitted it replayed in my mind.
“…Really?”
At this point, I couldn’t deny it.
The feelings I had for Han Seo-ah weren’t ordinary.
These feelings, which I couldn’t even pinpoint the origin of, were making me see Han Seo-ah, whom I had never seen romantically before, in a romantic light.
– Si-woo just needs to date me once and then marry me.
And I wasn’t the only one with these feelings.
The situation had escalated to this point because of the unidentified sentences appearing next to Han Seo-ah.
If I hadn’t seen those sentences, her inner thoughts, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
I would have probably gone to class without a care in the world, taken the bus, and come home like usual.
Not feeling my heart race with every one of Han Seo-ah’s inner thoughts.
“…Why is this happening all of a sudden?”
This might be the bigger problem.
Why was this unbelievable thing happening to an ordinary guy like me?
Nothing happened until yesterday.
Why did this phenomenon suddenly start this morning?
“…I don’t know.”
I thought about it hard, but there were no clues.
What was the reason?
Or was it someone’s doing?
No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.
Well, it was only natural.
How could an ordinary person like me figure out the cause of such a catastrophic event?
I was a truly ordinary person.
Except for having a childhood friend I’d been close to since we were very young, I was the most ordinary person in the world.
Average grades, not particularly handsome.
Nothing particularly special about me, except that I could cook.
Han Seo-ah was the extraordinary one.
Looks, grades, arts, sports, even gaming.
Except for cooking, she excelled in everything.
“She’s not a good cook.”
“Who? Me?”
“Then who else would it…”
…Wait.
I was alone in my room. Who just answered?
Goosebumps ran down my spine.
It felt like encountering a ghost in a dark, cold, and windy place.
I struggled to turn my stiff neck.
After a long struggle, I finally managed to turn my head and find the owner of the voice.
“…Han Seo-ah?”
“Anyway, say that again. What am I bad at?”
Han Seo-ah, who should have been next door at her own house, was somehow in my room.
“Wait, how did you get into my room?”
“It was open.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I knocked like usual, and your mom greeted me like usual.”
“No, no. Why did you come to my house?”
“You ditched me and ran off alone. I came to get revenge, of course.”
[Of course, I came because I missed you, Si-woo. Why else would I be here?]
I still couldn’t get used to those sentences that completely contradicted her spoken words.
Uttering harsh words like “revenge” while inwardly saying shy, girlish things.
She was truly remarkable, in a different sense of the word.
Han Seo-ah looked at me sternly, as if giving a warning.
“Anyway, that’s not important. Now, say what you said again.”
“…You’re a bad cook.”
“Ha, I’m a bad cook? Have you forgotten the food I made last time?”
“No way.”
It was more like I remembered it too well.
I still couldn’t forget the taste of that nightmarish food.
“Honestly, even you have to admit that you are a terrible cook.”
“…No, I’m not! I can cook well!”
“Then why don’t you cook breakfast tomorrow morning? If you’re so confident, try it.”
“…”
Han Seo-ah shut her mouth, perhaps realizing she’d gone too far.
[Si-woo’s a good cook, so I don’t need to be. We’re going to live together anyway.]
Only Han Seo-ah’s shameless inner thoughts were expressed to me as sentences.
Dumbfounded by her audacity, I asked her the real reason for her visit.
“So, why did you really come? There must be a reason.”
“…I told you. I came to get revenge for you ditching me.”
[No way. I can’t tell him I came because I missed him. I might die of embarrassment.]
Han Seo-ah’s inner thoughts were still visible.
Since they were still appearing, it was clear that the word “revenge” was meaningless.
If my theory was correct, those sentences would disappear the moment she stopped lying.
Knowing this truth, a relaxed tone naturally entered my voice.
“So, how are you going to get revenge?”
“…I haven’t thought about that yet.”
“You haven’t even thought about how you’re going to get revenge, and you’re talking about revenge? You idiot.”
“…Did you just call me an idiot?”
“What if I did?”
What are you going to do?
What can you do in this situation?
I provoked her with a line that sounded familiar.
And the effect of the provocation was much stronger than I expected.
“This won’t do. You still have your game console at home, right?”
“…Game console?”
“Yeah. I need to play games with you right now.”
[Sorry, Si-woo. Even though I like you, I don’t want to be called an idiot.]
For the first time, Han Seo-ah’s inner thoughts, which had been favorable until now, showed a negative sentiment.
“Han Seo-ah, do we really have to resolve this in such a barbaric way?”
“Lee Si-woo, shut up and bring the game console.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
By the way, I should mention this now.
I had never once won against Han Seo-ah in a game.
—–CROW—–
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