My Bra (1)
Even after spending an utterly wholesome April Fool's Day as pure youth, Do Ha-min would come straight to our house after school for kendo lessons, then head up to my room to study for exams together. With the weather fully turning into spring, we were both drenched in sweat after a round of kendo, so we'd shower separately before diving into studying. We couldn't exactly sit at the same table reeking of that stuffy, humid sweat smell. No way we'd focus on studying like that. In all sorts of ways.
That meant Do Ha-min and I always smelled like the same shampoo and body wash when we entered my room for study sessions. Oh, obviously we didn't shower together. He used the shower in the remodeled bathroom on the dojo's first floor, and I used the one on the second floor. Totally separate.
"Ahh, feels so refreshing. Do Ha-min, wanna drink something? I put that Zero Lime Cola you bought earlier in the fridge—want to share?"
"Thanks, but just in case, I'll stick with the coffee I brought. I don't want to nod off here and have a repeat of last time. I've even set alarms for the train schedule this time."
"Y-You're so thorough..."
Do Ha-min, who'd committed to overseeing my exam prep even after the April Fool's incident, had started putting up even stronger defenses—subtly, but noticeably. Along with the Zero Lime Cola as payment for his kendo lessons, he'd begun bringing coffee or caffeinated drinks from the convenience store. All to avoid dozing off mid-study. And if sleep hit anyway, he'd set minute-by-minute alarms to wake up in time for the train. Ruthless.
It's fine. It's just a password, so if he falls asleep, I can always change it later...
"Just so you know, I changed my phone password too. Don't mess it up five times and lock my phone."
"Aw, why."
"I knew you were thinking that..."
To block me from casually unlocking his phone like before—changing alarms or sending fake messages impersonating him—he'd even swapped the password. The guy's birthday was January 1st, and he'd used that as his password. Simpleton. Probably switched it to his mom's birthday or something lame like that. A little brainpower, and I could guess it...
"What are you doing? Focus on the problems. Why are you scribbling numbers that have nothing to do with them?"
"Cracking the code."
"We're learning quadratic functions right now? D-Don't look at my phone—look at the problems."
"Tch."
With his past trauma, Do Ha-min now kept his phone glued to his hand more than ever, so opportunities to snoop the answer just didn't come up.
"See? Sticking to the problem gets it done quick. You were spinning your wheels on that one earlier."
Of course, his walls didn't create distance or push me away. If anything, our conversations flowed way smoother than before—as long as I wasn't pranking him. Compared to me always starting the talks or suggestions, this was huge progress.
"Did I just do good?"
"Huh? Yeah... you got it exactly right. Why?"
"No, if I did good, praise me more. Pet my head, tickle my chin."
"Ehh... I'm not a dog or cat—what, you want that much?"
"What, you don't wanna?"
"A-Alright... fine. The d-door's properly closed, right?"
Do Ha-min's big hand settled on Ban Do-young's head, moving carefully clockwise. Nice rotation, solid weight. Calming for body and mind. Saying it like that makes me sound like a puppy, but his hand was large and a bit warmer than average—the warmth spreading from my scalp through my whole body felt really good. Probably from all that note-taking despite his awful handwriting, I could faintly feel the callus on his ring finger. Even that texture wasn't bad.
"Why...? Something wrong?"
"No, keep going just like that."
He seemed a little awkward, but Do Ha-min naturally stroked my hair. After crossing that big April Fool's hurdle, even he wasn't so scared of skinship with the world's most beautiful girl, Ban Do-young. Proof: his hand didn't tremble on my head or chin.
"What time did you sleep last night?"
"Uh... around 2, I think."
"So you only got three hours before rushing to school? You're gonna drop dead."
"It's fine. They say three hours and you're good, four and you fail."
Do Ha-min's stammering and shaking had mostly vanished when talking to me now. He could express his thoughts to Ban Do-young better, I guess.
"My mom said they even stuck that phrase on the blackboard back in her school days."
"Oh, that. Come to think of it, our classroom had it in high school too..."
"Huh? Our class has that too?"
"Hic!"
Sometimes, I got too comfy chatting with him, blurting out pre-possession memories along my train of thought. Lucky he didn't suspect anything—close calls a few times. Still, he wasn't pulling away or keeping distance, so deep down, he must want to be close to Ban Do-young too.
"Did you fool your mom okay last time? Heh heh. I even texted her that I love her."
"Yeah... she bought it. She thought the text you sent was from me. B-But today, once we finish the set amount, I'm heading straight home! No repeats of last time."
"Our Do Ha-min's gone full delinquent. Boldly admitting you'll trick your parents now."
"...It's all because of you. If you trace it back, it started 'cause you hated forced self-study."
"True... so what now? Back to normal? If I just follow what you taught, I could hit the target score without you watching."
"..."
Do Ha-min hesitated. If he really wanted distance, he could've told his parents about everything and cut ties ages ago. In a way, Ban Do-young was the perpetrator, Do Ha-min the victim toyed with in her game.
"What about it? You get to go back to model student life, and I don't have to drag your ugly mug to my room every day. Sounds good, right?"
"...No, I wanna keep it like this till exams end."
But he chose to stay by my side anyway.
"Really? Even tricking Ma-ma and Sensei just to stick by me? You little rascal."
"It's 'cause you keep veering off studying if I slack even a bit. Like we promised, I'll stay till midterms are over. No bailing midway—we set it that way from the start."
"Hoo... I've seen plenty of writers say that then bail mid-serialization."
"And you're not the one who wants to bail...?"
"W-What?! Think the great Ban Do-young would run from a punk like you? Who do you think you are?"
"If you don't wanna run, hurry and finish this problem. Your hand stopped."
He brushed off my question about wanting to escape and refocused my eyes on the problem he'd made.
"Guh... how'd you read my hatred for studying? Damn, you mind-raped me..."
"Don't use words like that. That's why I have to stick around. What if you write crap like that on an essay? Makes me—the one teaching you—look bad too."
"I-I know my limits, okay?"
"Good, then I'm relieved..."
Do Ha-min had walls up against Ban Do-young, but they weren't for running away. More like prevention against messy situations he couldn't handle. A mental barrier to avoid getting swept by instincts that could hurt not just him, but me too. And probably the author's wall to keep this all-ages webtoon from going off the rails. A stance to dodge anything mutual blame could stick to. Could seem cowardly, risk-averse... but to me, it felt different.
"And stop calling me model student like you're teasing... You said you'd call me Do Ha-min from now on."
I don't wanna start from instinct-driven mistakes. I want a serious relationship on equal footing, same level.
I'll keep my promise to the end, so you keep yours too.
"My way...?"
"...Call me Do Ha-min till we die."
"O-Oh..."
That's probably what our cherry boy Do Ha-min is thinking. As the main heroine, I'd have to go along with that demand.
"Then keep solving. Gotta hit the bathroom quick."
"B-Bathroom?"
"Why... why stare at me with those big round eyes?"
"Little one? Big one?"
"...Little one."
"For real? Isn't 'little' secretly 'big' too?"
"W-What are you getting at?"
One change since the April Fool's youth incident: I'd grown curious about what was inside Do Ha-min's pants. Crudely put, I really wanted to see it. Just what does that guy's dick look like?