Chapter 138

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When I opened the door, a cool breeze blew into my house. Outside the window, the drizzling sound of the rain continued. I grabbed an umbrella before heaving a deep sigh.

My mind still remained blank even until I got on the elevator. The thing I avoided to think came across my head at once. My head swam. With a moan, I pressed one side of my eye. The elevator was heading down at a slow pace. I then fell into thought.

Thinking about Yoo Chun Young got me into a daze. His words entering my ears, his lips kissing my cheek, his face from a breathtaking distance, his long, dark blue brows under his shut eyes, the yellow lamplight blending on his white cheek… I had these thoughts in my head until the elevator stopped. When the door opened, I raised my head.

I had no idea what expression I should show him or what to say; however, as soon as I saw his face, a vibrant smile hung on my lips almost automatically, and, at the same time, something warm spread around from my chest slowly, running all over my body.

Yoo Chun Young noticed that I was still not leaving the elevator after a while, so he then flung a question.

“Are you getting off?”

“Yeah, I am.”

When I said that, the elevator door closed. Yoo Chun Young simultaneously pushed in his foot between the closing door.

With a rattle, the elevator gently opened. I stepped out with a burst of laughter. I then directed my eyes onto Yoo Chun Young.

His hair grew longer than before since he stopped cut them once his modeling career commenced. Still, it looked terrific. Nevertheless, his dark blue hair, his round white ears that were sticking out, and his face didn’t change at all.

He looked like a still life oil painting. His tranquil face reminded me of a vase submerged in the dark and some dried roses or chrysanthemums. His blue eyes under his dark blue lashes were directed quietly towards me. When our eyes met, he furrowed his brows to show his confusion.

‘It is really Yoo Chun Young,’ I thought. Yoo Chun Young was there standing in front of me as if the fact that he avoided me for the last two weeks were all a lie.

‘Perhaps he was busy these days…’ That was what I thought until I saw his face. Although he looked a bit exhausted, his face was still so wonderful that I felt a wave of surging anger within me. ‘Bastard, you could have called me, at least, once,’ with that in mind, I beckoned him grumpily.

“Hey.”

“Sup?”

“Here, look at me. You said you had almost forgotten this face. Look at it as many times as you want, as much as you can.”

I tiptoed intentionally to shove my face into his line of sight. Yoo Chun Young, however, pushed my face away from him while looking shocked. It was such a violent and inconsiderate gesture.

Geez… while I rubbed my face with my dropped jaw, Yoo Chun Young, who stepped far away, stood near the apartment entrance while scowling at me. He even held his hand on the doorknob like he was about to escape as soon as something happened. ‘What the…’ I asked in shock.

“Hey! You said you’re about to forget my face! Why won’t you look as much as you can then?!”

“I can see you from here too,” turning paler than me, Yoo Chun Young replied shortly.

I, who stared at him for quite a while, then cast my glance over his shoulder. The puddled concrete ground shone brightly through the headlight.

I asked, “It’s raining outside. Where is your umbrella? You didn’t get rained on, did you?”

“My car is out there.”

Yoo Chun Young, at last, responded in an expression that showed that he had recovered his composure. I took a step forward since he looked a little mean for not approaching me until the end. As soon as I assumed that action, he spoke to me with a face filled with alarm.

“If you’re gonna shove your face into me again, then just stay there.”

“Why? Didn’t you say you forgot about me? It has been a while, so recharge your memories. What if you forget me again?”

“Recharge? Are you a metro card or what?”

Although his remark reflected that I had amused him, Yoo Chun Young still looked like he had finally cooled down. The proof of this was the usual gentle smile he would show me whenever we were together.

Fixing my gaze at him, I quietly shoved my hands in my pocket while thinking, ‘How long has it been since we last smiled at each other like this?’ I then took another step forward, Yoo Chun Young, however, spoke in a grimace.

“I told you not to come close.”

Geez, I thought it was okay since he was already smiling like that. I then returned foot back from whence it came.

Under the glittering light of the apartment lounge, Yoo Chun Young and I stared at each other. The distance between him as he stood behind the stair landing, and I, who was in front of the elevator, was about two meters. I furrowed my brow. Honestly, I had no idea why he was acting like this. After all, we used to sleep on a desk while we were face-to-face with only a few centimeters of a distance between us during middle school.

The physical distance between two people wasn’t the only way to measure their intimacy, but… I bit my lip. We hadn’t kept in touch for the last two weeks.

I scowled at him. Yoo Chun Young’s blue eyes that were frowning on me looked as if they had some different emotions hidden within.

“Do you really not want me to approach you? Are you sure?” I asked.

“…”

“Did you know that we both haven’t even texted each other for the last two weeks? We never reached out to each other the whole time. I couldn’t even call you because I was afraid I’d wake you up, and I kept wondering when you’d call me. You told me that you were now in front of my house, so I was very excited to see you after a long time, but what did you say to welcome me? Don’t come closer? Are you asking me to keep our distance or something?”

“Ham Donnie,” calling my name, Yoo Chun Young became silent again.

As his silence continued, I lifted my head to look at him. His voice sounded so warm that it eased my anger a bit. Yoo Chun Young often surprised me with his unexpected sweetness in unforeseen situations. Frowning, I turned back.

“Never mind. Come back after two weeks when you forget my face again. If you want to look at me from apart instead, then what else can I do? I want to see you with my own eyes, but if you don’t want me to, then fine.”

“… Wait, hold on.”

Although his voice was quickening, I still pressed the elevator button. A red light then flashed through the gray metal plate.

Crossing my arms, I thought, ‘Alright, fine. Let’s see if I would still say hi to you…’ Although I grew sulky, we had a situation like this before. As best friends usually did, after about two days, we, however, acted as if nothing had happened between us. While I waited for the elevator to descend while wagging my foot, I heard the sound of footsteps out of the blue. I turned back to see who it was.

Yoo Chun Young was the one walking toward me. He looked so determined as he approached me that this made it seem like his hesitant behavior earlier was nothing but a farce. He left behind some traces of dotted prints of raindrops along the ground as he rushed towards me.

Leaving only about two footsteps apart between us, he stood still before me. We suddenly got so close that a shadow fell across his face.

I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I had last seen him at such a close distance. ‘Did he grow taller during those times that we haven’t seen each other?’ I thought. Still, Yoo Chun Young remained silent. His blue eyes that were gazing at me looked a little anxious. Once I showed a grin, Yoo Chun Young heaved a sigh.

‘Hehe~’ I stretched out my hand to grab and shake his arm.

“Dude, you should have done this earlier.”

Looking powerless, Yoo Chun Young allowed me to shake his arms before raising his other hand to sweep his hair back. He sighed once again and spoke with an exhausted face.

“You’re so good at playing hard to get.”

“Nope, I only know how to play with you.”

“…”

“No one ever tries to get me!”

“How proud you are of yourself.”

Yoo Chun Young giggled before patting my head. I waved his arm for quite long before returning it to him. As I glanced up at him, our eyes met.

I asked, “Did you grow taller?”

“My height?” asking back, Yoo Chun Young quietly dropped his gaze at the ground. His lamplight-shed jet-black hair twinkled a blue hue.

“Oh, that was what I heard,” he replied.

“How tall are you?”

“I’m 183 centimeters now.”

It was our senior year winter vacation in middle school when he began his modeling career and reached over 180 centimeters. During those three months, he grew three centimeters.