Yesterday Was Our First Kiss, Today Is...

The Saturday morning sun filtered through the curtains as I woke up early, showered, shaved, and headed straight for Lee Yu-ri's house. The weather had finally warmed up, bringing that unmistakable feeling of full-blown spring. The sky was especially clear today; just breathing in the air was enough to lift anyone's spirits. Or maybe it was because I was really looking forward to today.

I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick text.

Her reply came back surprisingly fast. I sat on the bench and waited just a few minutes before the apartment entrance door opened. Out stepped a woman wearing a simple white shirt and jeans. The outfit was casual, but Lee Yu-ri had clearly put extra effort into her makeup today. Even in that modest look, her beauty was so striking it made the whole thing look elegant.

The moment I saw her, I blurted out my honest thoughts.

"Damn, no matter how many times I look at you, you're still insanely pretty."

"W-what are you saying? You really need to put a filter on that mouth sometimes."

"I'm just calling a pretty person pretty. What's wrong with that? You don't like being told you're beautiful?"

"...It's not that I don't like it."

"Then it's fine."

I said that and held out my hand. Lee Yu-ri stared at it for a second, her face turning red, before placing her hand in mine. I gently wrapped my fingers around hers, and she slightly spread her fingers to make it easier for me to interlace them. We naturally locked hands, fingers perfectly intertwined.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

We started walking hand in hand, but she was still keeping a bit of distance between us. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She looked up at me in surprise but didn't resist at all. Once we were close enough that she could link arms with me anytime, I took her hand again. We walked like that, maintaining the perfect distance of a couple completely comfortable with each other.

We passed through her apartment complex and continued toward the back, where a cluster of very old, rundown villas came into view. Lee Yu-ri's expression darkened slightly when she saw them. The neighborhood I lived in was notorious among the locals for being so rundown it was basically called a slum.

"This is... Seong-jin, you live here?"

When it was just the two of us, Lee Yu-ri naturally started calling me by my first name.

"Yeah. The rent's cheap."

"But this neighborhood is..."

"That's why I told you the place I live isn't great. But with what I make, it's hard to get into a decent area like where you live."

"Why don't you apply for the tuition support program now? I'll talk to them and make it work somehow."

"I already told you before. After all the shit I've done, do you really think someone like me would get approved? Just think of it as me paying for my sins and stop worrying about it."

"Still..."

When I saw her face turn a little gloomy, I couldn't hold back. I leaned in and gave her forehead a light kiss.

"Eek?!"

"Still, it's kind of refreshing and nice to have someone worry about me like this. Thanks."

"R-really, kissing me so casually in the middle of the street..."

"I'm just marking what's mine. What's the problem?"

"W-who said I'm yours..."

Even as she said that, Lee Yu-ri's face flushed bright red and she squirmed shyly. This girl really had a habit of saying one thing while her body did the complete opposite.

We kept our hands tightly clasped as we headed to my place. The moment we stepped into my shabby one-room apartment, Lee Yu-ri's mouth fell open in shock. I'd tried to clean up as best I could, but the room was still messy in a way that could never match the spotless perfection of her own home. I'd picked up the clothes that had been scattered on the floor, but the desk and cabinets were still cluttered with random stuff. The mattress and blanket I usually slept on looked even worse after my half-assed attempt at folding them.

She stared at me with an expression that screamed one hundred percent disbelief.

"You... how exactly do you live in a place like this normally?"

"Look, I usually get back from my part-time jobs really late, so I'm too tired to care about cleaning. But today I knew you were coming, so I actually tried pretty hard to—"

"If this is what it looks like after you cleaned, what does it look like normally?! This won't do. You're not starving yet, right? We're cleaning this place first. Is this even fit for a human being?!"

Lee Yu-ri started scolding me while gathering up the junk scattered across the cabinet one by one. And just like that, we dove into an unexpected full-scale spring cleaning.

We started with the cabinets and closet, then moved on to folding the blankets, cleaning the sink, and mopping the floor. The lunch she'd promised to make for me had somehow turned into a complete house overhaul. Thankfully the room wasn't that big, so we finished in about an hour and a half. But it was still exhausting. Once we were mostly done, we sat side ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by side against the wall, sweating and catching our breath.

"Haa... haa... Ugh, I'm so tired... I don't even clean my own room this thoroughly..."

"Whew... See? You should've just left it."

"How could I leave it like that?! But now that we've cleaned, it looks way better, doesn't it?"

"I guess so... But after using up all that energy, can you still make food?"

"Ah."

Lee Yu-ri finally remembered why she'd come over in the first place and made an awkward face. She'd used up so much stamina cleaning that cooking right now seemed like too much.

I quickly made a different suggestion.

"You've worked really hard already. It feels bad asking you to cook after all that, and it would suck if you just cleaned and left. Want to order something instead?"

"...I want donuts."

She must've worked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up an appetite from all the sweating, because Lee Yu-ri didn't hesitate at all and happily accepted my offer. So the original plan of "I'll make you lunch" flew out the window. We ordered donuts and drinks through a delivery app, then sat on my mattress to enjoy a short break.

While she was looking around my room, her eyes suddenly locked onto something in the corner. There, leaning quietly against the wall, was an acoustic guitar.

"You play guitar too?"

"Huh? Oh, that. It's nothing special."

It was something the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠original Han Seong-jin would play by himself when he got bored and didn't feel like calling over any girls. Luckily, I knew how to play guitar too, so it wasn't a problem.

When I told her I could play, Lee Yu-ri's eyes sparkled. She grabbed my sleeve and tugged.

"Can you play something for me? I want to see!"

"Uh... You probably shouldn't get your hopes up too much."

"Still!"

Seeing her look so unusually curious, I couldn't refuse. I grabbed the guitar from the wall and sat back down on the mattress.

Sitting on the soft mattress with my back against the wall, guitar in hand and Lee Yu-ri right beside me... it felt strangely intimate.

What song should I play? Nothing's really coming to mind... Well, if it's guitar, there's really only one choice.

I tuned it quickly, warmed up my fingers a bit, and started playing.

As I sang, I looked straight into Lee Yu-ri's eyes. The moment the words "I love you" came out in the first line, her eyes widened in surprise. I smiled softly and kept singing. The gentle guitar melody, filled with just the right amount of syncopation, filled the small room. Lee Yu-ri swayed lightly from side to side, completely enchanted.

Singing and playing guitar at the same time was harder than I expected, but the desire not to mess up in front of the girl I liked, combined with my previous experience, helped me get through it without any major mistakes.

When I finished the song and gave a small nod, setting the guitar aside, Lee Yu-ri clapped enthusiastically like an excited seal.

"That was amazing... You had a talent like this? Seriously, how are you so good at guitar? If you'd joined the band club instead of doing weird stuff, it would've been so much better. If you'd practiced properly, you could've become a school celebrity."

"It's not that good. Look, my fingers are still shaking from nerves."

I showed her my sweaty palm. She let out a small laugh and took my hand, spreading it open.

"What? You get nervous too?"

"Of course I do. When the girl I like is watching right in front of me, only a weirdo wouldn't get nervous."

"Eh...?"

"Thanks for coming to help me. And... I like you, Yu-ri."

The sudden confession caught her off guard. She looked away, fanning her face with her hand, then looked away again and answered in a tiny voice. But this time, she placed her own hand on top of mine.

"I... I like you too... Seong-jin-ah..."

"Do you remember the song I just played?"

"Huh?"

I took her hand and wrapped my arm around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her slender waist, pulling her toward me. She naturally ended up in my embrace, her eyes trembling as she looked up at me.

"I don't just want to hear you say you like me."

"T-then..."

"I want more than that. Just like the song said."

"You... you said you couldn't speak English, so why do you only know those kinds of lyrics..."

"That's not important. What's your answer?"

Lee Yu-ri's eyes darted around before she gave the tiniest nod, as if she'd made up her mind.

I supported her back with my hand and gently laid her down diagonally on the mattress. I leaned in closer and closer. When our noses were almost touching, she squeezed her eyes shut.

And the moment our lips met, I laid her completely down on the mattress.