CH 72.1

“…”

The place he can get the closest to her, without her permission.

So, at Woo-hyun’s words that he would stay here, Yoo-hwa pressed her eyes tightly. The heat rushed in. She pressed her cold palms together and looked up at Woo-hyun. The morning sun was shining behind his back. Just looking at it was making her cry.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Are we going to eat together if I am?”

“…”

“Then, I’m hungry.”

His low voice accompanied the wind. Like the wind that scattered her hair as if it was nothing, it made her heart flutter. But she was too cautious to be happy.

“I think there’s no place to go because it’s still early…”

Yoo-hwa awkwardly swept down her white neck and turned her gaze away.

“… I have nothing to eat but ramyeon. Would you like to come in if that’s okay? If we keep standing here like this, my neighbors might think I’m weird.”

In fact, it didn’t matter how her neighbors saw her, but Yoo-hwa gave him a trivial reason and turned her body sideways to allow him to enter. Woo-hyun, who raised himself like someone who had been waiting for those words, came in with light steps.

“Excuse me.”

Adding a polite excuse, Woo-hyun entered the house and took a deep breath. His shoulders went up and down, and his back looked so comfortable that it was strange.

“Wash up for a bit and come. I mean, you didn’t get to wash up yesterday.”

“Yeah.”

His voice was soft. Woo-hyun’s face, half-turned, was as soft as his voice. Unlike her, who was feeling a little awkward and strange, Woo-hyun remained calm as if he had returned to his rightful place.

To the point that she was suspicious that it might be an act. He was acting natural, like he did when he first met her in the redevelopment area.

“The bathroom is over there.”

Instead of moving to the place where Yoo-hwa’s finger was pointing, Woo-hyun turned and stopped in front of her. His fingertips, which reached out hesitantly, touched Yoo-hwa’s face unnaturally. His hand followed along the lines of her face to her temple, her cheek, and flowed down the tip of her chin.

Like someone trying to check if what they’re seeing is real.

After checking Yoo-hwa without saying a word, Woo-hyun quietly entered the bathroom. Only the sound of water pouring from the sink was heard beyond the door.

The moment she was alone, the heat rushed to the place where Woo-hyun’s hand had passed.

Feeling the sensation that was so vividly transmitted that it was scary, Yoo-hwa wrapped her cheeks with her hands.

… He wasn’t feeling calm either.

***

“…This is really all I have to eat.”

The simple table consisted of a pot with two boiled ramyeon packets, kimchi, plates to eat, and a ladle. Even the kimchi was a small amount, with only about five mouthfuls before it ran out.

“Thank you for the food.”

Woo-hyun made eye contact with her and thanked her. His hair, which had been dried with a hairdryer after being washed, shone in the sunshine.

“Aren’t you busy?”

Yoo-hwa asked while filling the empty bowl with ramyeon, as if trying to break the awkward silence.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I see.”

The atmosphere was even more awkward than before she started the conversation. But she seemed to be the only one thinking that, as Woo-hyun began to eat the ramyeon calmly.

“What are you going to do now?”

Woo-hyun asked, after emptying the bowl of ramyeon Yoo-hwa had given him in an instant.

“I’m not sure.”

Yoo-hwa blurred her words, lowering the chopsticks she was holding about halfway.

“I really don’t know how to live this time.”

It was obvious that getting close to Woo-hyun again would make it hard to get a regular job. She had always dreamed of living a normal life, so she felt lost.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

Answering nonchalantly, Yoo-hwa picked up the chopsticks again.

The conversation with Woo-hyun seemed to be cut off. Since they were sitting around the table eating ramyeon, it was as if they had returned to the house in the redevelopment area, under the shabby ceiling. Back then, a time that happened so long ago that it even seemed to have stopped. It was a place that hurt her to the point of feeling numb, but had a nostalgic smell.

The stone steps where she sat next to Woo-hyun, the old wall where they could hear each other’s voices, and the door with the opaque glass.

After the meal, Yoo-hwa took a bottle of coke out of the refrigerator. She divided the soda she had bought to drink when she felt stuffy and handed it to Woo-hyun.

“There’s no coffee. This is all I have to drink.”

“Thank you.”

Yoo-hwa took a step back and looked at Woo-hyun sitting in her room. She thought it was spacious when she was alone, but having Woo-hyun here made it feel cramped. Woo-hyun raised his glass and looked around the house while he drank it.

“You threw away most of your stuff.”

Yoo-hwa nodded slightly at Woo-hyun’s words.

“Yeah. I threw away a lot of stuff I couldn’t use because it was old. Give me the glass when you’re done. I’ll do the dishes.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Woo-hyun asked, giving her the glass. Their fingertips overlapped as she took it. Even though it must have been less than 1% of their skin area, she felt like her fingertips were alive and her heart was pounding.