Chapter 61: Girlfriend

“Be my… real girlfriend.”

My whole body tingled as I finally spoke the words I’d held back for so long.

My head spun with excitement, and my body felt like it would burst into flames at any moment.

The person suddenly receiving this confession was no different.

So-yul trembled in my arms. She couldn’t even open her mouth, as if shocked by my sudden words.

I hugged her tighter, trying to stop her trembling, and heard a soft “hic” against my chest.

“W-what’s this all of a sudden…”

These were the only words that escaped So-yul’s lips.

She seemed bewildered, as if unsure what was happening. Her voice strained to hold back her racing heart, letting out quick breaths she couldn’t control from within my embrace.

I stroked her tiny back. So-yul’s body was infinitely soft and delicate. With such a small frame, she must have struggled carrying all those burdens until now.

Recalling these painful thoughts, I spoke:

“I mean exactly what I said. I’ve liked you for a long time. When I saw your bright smile after comforting you backstage at the arts festival. No, when I saw you giving your all during your performance. …No, maybe even long before that.”

When did I start having feelings for So-yul? I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. There was no need to obsess over it anyway.

Love gradually colors your heart like a gradient.

“Even after realizing these feelings, I ignored them saying it was just fake anyway. I tried hard to hide and suppress them, telling myself it was wrong to develop feelings in a school like this.”

By now, I knew what to call these feelings.

I was simply afraid.

What if So-yul felt nothing for me? What if revealing my feelings only earned her dislike?

If our relationship would dissolve like cotton candy the moment I confirmed it, better to leave things as they were. Even if it was fake, we could still act like real lovers. That had been enough.

“Even after realizing your feelings, even after sensing everything… I deliberately looked away.”

“…So you knew all along.”

So-yul whispered self-reproachfully.

I patted her back gently, trying to convey she had nothing to blame herself for.

Getting votes from someone in the popularity poll during the school trip. Accidentally falling asleep in the same bed. Nearly kissing during the movie filming.

There was more than enough to make me suspect So-yul might like me too. Our relationship had already grown too deep to just call it fake dating.

Yet I kept running away.

I deliberately looked away, telling myself there could be no happy ending for such a relationship in a school that banned dating.

“But I can’t do it anymore.”

So-yul’s shoulders jerked at my blunt words. Her tense breathing against my chest clearly showed her nervousness.

She seemed to clearly anticipate what would follow.

Maybe this was too selfish now. Maybe it was already far too late. Maybe I wasn’t enough to hold So-yul’s hand when she carried so many burdens.

Even so, I wanted to tell her. I wanted to convey it before it got even later.

As I’d heard once before, love was something you couldn’t hold back.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I once again revealed the feelings I’d buried deep in my heart.

“…Han So-yul, I like you. Be my real girlfriend.”

A single statement conveying my unadorned feelings.

The moment I spoke, everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Even the endless rain seemed to wait for us in that moment.

Or maybe that was just my imagination.

The time waiting for So-yul’s answer felt so incredibly long.

“Thank… you, but.”

After a while, So-yul began like this.

Words that sounded ominous to my ears.

But what followed pointed in a slightly different direction.

“…What if the school catches us?”

“…Now you bring this up?”

I couldn’t help but laugh despite the serious situation.

Hadn’t I constantly warned about this since accepting So-yul’s proposal? That we’d be in huge trouble if caught. That I couldn’t guarantee what future would await us both.

Each time, So-yul had just brazenly insisted it was “thrilling because we might get caught.” Though she’d always trembled beside me whenever we actually risked being discovered…

Well, it wasn’t strange.

This was different from a fake relationship that could be ended anytime. If we’d end up breaking up later from fear of getting caught, better not to start at all. That must be what So-yul feared.

But there was no need to be afraid.

I hugged So-yul’s tiny body tightly, conveying my determination.

“It’s okay. We’ve hidden it well until now. We’ll find ways to avoid getting caught in the future too. We’ll figure something out if we put our heads together.”

“…Will it really work out?”

“Yeah. Fortunately you’re small so it’s easy to hide, ow ow!”

I got pinched in the side before finishing.

Seems she doesn’t appreciate having her complex pointed out even now.

Her anger somewhat subsided, So-yul continued:

“Even if we date for real, we won’t be able to meet properly, just like now.”

“That’s fine too.”

Having to avoid others’ eyes meant we could only meet in the piano room or on benches late at night. Nothing remotely romantic. We couldn’t even talk loudly, let alone go on dates.

But that didn’t matter at all.

“As long as you’re there, that’s enough for me, whenever and wherever.”

I heard a muffled “ugh” from within my arms.

“You’re saying such cringy things.”

“I meant it sincerely.”

“That’s what makes it cringy.”

So-yul giggled as she said this. Really, she was too much.

“But, still…”

Despite our back and forth, her anxiety hadn’t subsided as So-yul kept muttering these words. As if trying to find any reason why she couldn’t accept my confession.

A faint statement followed.

“…I’ll just make you suffer too if you stay by my side.”

This made no sense to me.

“Why would I suffer?”

“Why? Because if you treat me like this, I’ll keep relying on you more and more.”

“Yeah. And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’…”

When I questioned briefly, So-yul continued in a voice filled with subtle heat:

“I’ll dump all my painful struggles on you. And I won’t be able to tell you anything happy…”

Was that all?

I replied with a chuckle:

“It would be sadder not being able to do anything when someone I like is hurting. You can lean on me anytime when things are hard. I’ll gladly accept whatever comes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Absolutely. No, this was exactly what I wanted. If I could stay by So-yul’s side when things became too much to bear alone, I’d be nothing but grateful.

If you can’t endure it, I’ll support you from beside you.

Just like the words I’d wanted to tell So-yul someday.

“I’ll be clingy all the time.”

“Isn’t it cute when your girlfriend acts clingy?”

“I’ll complain to you too.”

“You already do that now.”

“…When it gets really hard and you hug me, I might cry.”

“You can cry as much as you want.”

As I said this, I stroked So-yul’s amber hair.

Her usually soft hair was slightly damp from the rain. So-yul trembled when my touch traced from her nape down her back. My hand probably tickled.

We let time pass while holding each other warmly like this.

Warming our rain-chilled bodies with each other’s heat. Savoring the faint scent that came through the smell of rain. Feeling each other’s presence while shaking off the lingering anxiety in our hearts.

“…Dummy.”

Finally So-yul buried her face in my chest and whispered softly while nuzzling against me.

Though her voice hadn’t been touched by rain, it sounded infinitely tender to my ears.

Soon I felt warm wetness where So-yul rested against me.

Were So-yul’s tears or the falling raindrops wetting my chest?

The muffled sobs mixing with the fierce rain told me the answer.

So-yul finally letting out her long-held sadness in my arms.

The rain poured endlessly on our heads as if trying to hide her.

Though I’d felt gloomy about rain coming on such a day, seems that wasn’t it at all.

The timely rain was hiding me and So-yul.

Soon So-yul’s hiccuping tears subsided. Though I couldn’t see her face, I could tell from her sniffling stopping.

Her shoulders that had been shaking repeatedly finally stilling was another sign.

The whole time So-yul cried, I held her tight.

Gently stroking her long hair and tiny back. Hugging her closer when the wind blew. Sometimes curling up from ticklishness when she nuzzled her cheek against my chest.

I wanted to accept all the sadness she’d built up over this long time.

This was all I could do to fulfill that wish.

“I’ll cry the rest later.”

Her nonsensical words suggested she was feeling better now.

“Who cries in installments?”

“Me.”

Well, she had a point. Such a person did exist right here.

“Feeling better?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Her answering voice trembled noticeably. I figured she was trying to hold back embarrassment.

Though she’d called me out to end our relationship, she’d ended up sharing all her feelings instead. And even crying in my arms on top of that. It must be quite embarrassing for So-yul.

Then So-yul took several deep breaths to clear her throat and:

“It’s gotten really late. I should head back to the dorm.”

“Mm, that’s true.”

We weren’t going to stay embracing here all day. The conversation had definitely gone long. It wasn’t right to keep So-yul who’d just returned from America either.

“You should go in too. We might get caught if we stay out longer. Plus it’s pouring rain, you need to go shower.”

“Well, true…”

This applied to So-yul too. We’d definitely catch colds at this rate. Quickly washing off with warm water was urgent.

“…Then let go of me.”

So-yul’s tone was thoroughly cold as she said this.

I released my arms from around So-yul’s delicate body. As if freed from a stuffy space, So-yul let out a long “phew.”

At the same time, she pushed away from my chest and stood up from the bench. She turned her face away as if not wanting to show it to me.

Then she whispered softly:

“Well, goodbye. See you later.”

“Y-yeah.”

After I barely responded, So-yul immediately stepped away. She headed toward the girls’ dorm through the rain. She seemed intent on going straight back without getting distracted.

…

“No, wait. Han So-yul.”

So-yul stopped abruptly when I called her name urgently.

Then, without turning around from several steps away, she asked:

“What?”

“Well, um, I know this is awkward, but.”

I scratched the back of my head as I forced myself to ask.

“So, what’s your answer…?”

“…Pfft.”

Though I barely managed to ask while hiding my embarrassment, So-yul dismissed it with a quiet laugh. Really, she was too much.

“That really is awkward.”

“Yeah, sorry for being awkward.”

So-yul gave an unhurried response, ignoring my feelings.

Though it was embarrassing to ask directly, I had no choice. Such an important matter needed an answer from her own lips.

If we glossed over it now, the chance might not come again. Asking “By the way, are we dating?” during normal conversation would be even stranger.

But such worries were unnecessary.

“It’s okay, even if it’s awkward.”

Finally So-yul turned her back to me and:

“Because to me… you’re cooler than anyone else.”

She said this with a bright eye-smile, hand resting on her chest.

Her long straight hair fluttered in the wind. The musical note hairpin in her hair gave an adorable impression. Her tiny frame suggested future growth.

So-yul’s pink lips moved gently.

Her next words came… playfully as always:

“Please… be my real boyfriend.”

The rain had grown incredibly light by now. The fierce wind had vanished as if it had never blown.

The typhoon that had raged around us finally passed like a sudden shower.

The sky that was still dark would soon clear.

Even if somewhat clumsy, even if slightly slow.

Until we could finish a wonderful performance to the end.

On our stage where the cloudy curtain had lifted, the second piece was about to begin.

[Author’s note: Thank you for reading.

This episode concludes Part 2. Part 3 begins next chapter.

Part 3 will be the final part, wrapping up these two’s happy story.

The story races straight toward its conclusion.

I’d be grateful if you’d continue watching to see where that end leads.

Thank you for your continued support.]