CH 58.2

Drip, drip.

The water drops that hadn’t flowed out of the showerhead fell to the floor.

Yoo-hwa’s gaze turned obliquely upwards, following the hand that held hers. Woo-hyun, wearing a knit t-shirt, was holding the lever.

She didn’t notice him coming, but Woo-hyun was standing very close to her. She was surprised for a moment, and wondered how stupid she must have looked.

While she was staring at Woo-hyun with astonished eyes, water drops flowed down from her soaked hair to her shoulders and arms. The thin drops of water gave her goosebumps. Maybe it was because of Woo-hyun’s gaze, moving along the drops. Woo-hyun’s eyes gradually flowed down from her shoulders to her arms, and her fingers.

Drip.

Finally, as the drops flowed along her fingertips and fell completely to the floor, Woo-hyun’s gaze fell from her body. Looking at the floor, Woo-hyun’s gaze was shaken for a moment.

Like someone who had forgotten what kind of situation this was and had suddenly become aware of the reality, Woo-hyun quickly raised his head.

“I forgot to teach you. Where the dressing room was and how to use the faucet. I knocked, but it seems you didn’t hear it.”

He probably knocked and came inside when he heard her being flustered. Woo-hyun, who spoke as if this was his fault, opened the cabinet, took out a large towel, and covered Yoo-hwa’s head. Then, he dried her wet hair and shoulders with a careful and meticulous touch.

“I’ll do it.”

Yoo-hwa stepped back and evaded him, but she was still in his hands. He silently wiped her, not giving an answer, and Yoo-hwa gave up and entrusted her body to him. Even though it seemed like all the water had been wiped after a while, Woo-hyun held one corner of the towel as it covered Yoo-hwa’s head. As if he had forgotten how to take his hands off her.

Time passed. As the atmosphere, as they faced each other, got denser, emotions poured down between them. Emotions that can’t be read from anyone else, and only the person concerned knows.

“If you’re done, can you get out? I want to shower.”

The person who ended the silence first was Yoo-hwa, avoiding his gaze. Woo-hyun’s shoulders, which had hardened, loosened up at her words.

“… I’ll teach you how to do it.”

After a long time, Woo-hyun spoke in a suppressed voice and took a step back.

“… If you press here, water will come out of the faucet below.”

Woo-hyun explained how the shower worked in a voice that was more sunken than ever before. Although he stood next to her and explained it clearly, she couldn’t hear it properly because her mind kept disconnecting.

She couldn’t tell whether it was because of Woo-hyun’s sinking gaze, looking at her for a longer time while explaining how to use the shower, or because her whole body was wet.

***

After taking a shower, Yoo-hwa was lost a few more times. The large house had cabinets in unexpected places, and there were enormous numbers of such cabinets. Finding what she needed there was like a scavenger hunt she had done as a child.

In the end, Yoo-hwa, unable to find the hair dryer, opened the room door and came out. Woo-hyun was sitting on the sofa in the middle of the living room, which had gotten dark at some point. Whether he heard her coming out or was already looking in that direction, Woo-hyun’s gaze turned to Yoo-hwa.

“… Where is the hair dryer?”

When Yoo-hwa asked, Woo-hyun handed her the hair dryer that was next to him, which he had prepared in advance.

“Dry your hair and come out. To eat.”

“I don’t want to eat.”

“Take care of your body and eat.”

Hearing his firm words, which sounded like he would turn down further refusal, Yoo-hwa looked at Woo-hyun. She wondered why he was so obsessed with her meal and what it meant, but she didn’t ask.

She couldn’t see any sign of retreating from Woo-hyun, and she didn’t want to argue with him about such a trivial thing. She was annoyed, but it was just one meal. Eating wasn’t a bad thing for her.

“Alright.”

After giving a rough answer, Yoo-hwa returned to the room, dried her hair, and dawdle for a long time. Although she thought it was just one meal, she couldn’t move her steps when she thought she would be facing Woo-hyun beyond this door.

She thought she was okay now.

She became frustrated when she found herself hesitating like this once again.

She felt a faint sense of disgust towards herself as she went back and forth between calmness and anxiety.

When she came out of the room after hesitating for a while, Woo-hyun was setting up the meal. He didn’t seem to be moving very fast, but his actions were quick. In an instant, warm steaming rice and soup were set on the table, as well as some nice side dishes. Rather than it being Woo-hyun’s skills, he seemed to have borrowed someone else’s help.

She stood by the door and looked at him quietly.

It felt so unreal that it was like a scene in a drama.

“Sit here.”

As if he already knew that she had opened the door, Woo-hyun looked at her calmly and pointed at the opposite seat on the kitchen island. Yoo-hwa moved with slow steps and approached him.

“Thank you for the food.”

Yoo-hwa carefully sat down and quickly picked up the spoon, unlike before. Contrary to her desire of eating quickly and getting up, as soon as she put a spoonful of rice in her mouth, she just spun it around inside her mouth and didn’t swallow it. Woo-hyun was looking at her. She couldn’t tell whether it was because of that, or because he was looking at her without eating, but she knew for sure that it was because of Woo-hyun.