Chapter 39
**CHAPTER TITLE: The Solution**
December.
Normally, the arrival of Christmas at the end of the year would have kept things feeling festive and warm. But Siwoo's house wasn't like that.
The reason was simple.
"**Mom! What should I do? How am I supposed to fix this??**"
It was all because of Sia.
Her face was tear-streaked and trembling as she clung to her mother, Kim Jieun, sobbing.
The cause of her sobs was none other than Park Siwoo himself.
Of course, his attitude had changed. It wasn't that their relationship had broken; their behavior had simply shifted.
"**Siwoo has been so cold lately! He won't even hold my hand first!**"
Exactly. The frequency of physical contact had dropped sharply.
Before, when they walked through crowded places or just strolled, they often held hands. But not anymore. Not for the past two months or so.
Even when Sia reached for his hand first, Siwoo would occasionally flinch, then gently pull away or pretend he hadn't noticed.
And that was what worried Sia the most.
She couldn't tell if she was being rejected or if he simply liked her less.
"**Ugh… Before, he always held my hand! We'd walk around happily, snuggled together! Now he hardly ever lets me touch him!**"
"**Huu… Right. Did you say anything to Siwoo? He wouldn't be like this unless you did something to him. Did you accidentally overdo it?**"
"**Of course not! We made a promise with Mom from the beginning!**"
"**That's true…**"
"**I can't figure out what's wrong even after thinking it through!**"
Hearing Sia's words, Kim Jieun fell silent, lost in thought. Then something clicked.
"**Hmm… Is it because of the confession you received back then?**"
"**Ah… That… upperclassman?**"
"**Yeah, maybe because of that?**"
"**That's absolutely not it! Back then Siwoo asked me, and I clearly told him no!**"
"**Hmm… Then what…**"
"**And stop bringing up that upperclassman! Ugh! That monkey! Just thinking about it makes me want to puke!**"
"**That bad?**"
"**Exactly! It's like every glance is crawling all over me. I really wanted to stab those eyes out!**"
"**Hmm… Did you ever tell Siwoo about it?**"
"**What?**"
"**That the upperclassman was looking at me that way.**"
"**Oh… Yeah, I think I did.**"
"**Hmm… So it started around October, when Siwoo started keeping distance.**"
"**Yeah, late September or early October.**"
"**And the upperclassman confessed around that time too.**"
"**Right?**"
"***Sia, was there anything before late September? Like hugging or anything with Siwoo?***"
"**N-No way! Don't say that!**"
Sia's face instantly flushed at Kim Jieun's words, but when her mother asked with a serious expression, Sia had no choice but to carefully recall every detail.
Most of the skinship between them had ended with holding hands.
Of course, sometimes when they walked down an alley and a car passed, Siwoo would pull her inside for safety, and their bodies would brush. But if she ignored those moments…
"**Ah… I remember one thing.**"
It was during the summer trip to the beach. On the terrace bench, when she couldn't fight her sleepiness and rested her head on Siwoo's shoulder.
But it was still something Sia felt guilty about.
"**There's one thing, but it was an accident!**"
"**What? Tell me.**"
"**It happened back at the beach when we went swimming…**"
"**Yeah, back then.**"
"**I was so sleepy I leaned on Siwoo's shoulder. Apart from that, there hasn't been anything else.**"
"***Sia…***"
"**No! It was an accident too! How was I supposed to control sudden sleepiness!**"
"***Huu… Okay. So do you remember what Siwoo did?***"
"**Umm… I only remember that he let me lean on him.**"
"**Hmm… I see…**"
After hearing Sia's full explanation, Kim Jieun could guess what had happened between the two of them and why Siwoo's behavior had changed since before.
*Hehe, such cute little kids. How adorable.*
Smiling warmly at the fresh, innocent bond between them, Kim Jieun was still worried.
"**If you know why, you have to tell me!**"
From Sia's perspective, the smile meant her mother had figured it out but wasn't saying anything, leaving her desperate to hear the answer.
She wanted to hear the reason as quickly as possible, but…
"**Hmm… This is something I won't tell you for your own good.**"
"**What?!**"
"**Mom has thought about it a lot, so don't be upset!**"
"**There is no such thing!**"
"**It's right here. One hint: Siwoo definitely doesn't hate you.**"
"***Really?***"
"**Yeah. If he hated you, he wouldn't even have held your hand in the first place.**"
"***That's…***"
Sia fell into deep thought after hearing Kim Jieun.
Siwoo had always been gentle with her, but when he wasn't, he would clearly say so.
"**You know it too, right?**"
"***Yeah.***"
"**Mom is saying all this because she has thought about it.**"
"***…***"
"**This seems like a problem only you two can solve.**"
"**Then… at least give me a hint…**"
"**A hint? A hint… I already gave you one.**"
"***What?***"
"**Like this!**"
*Hehe!*
Kim Jieun playfully ruffled Sia's messy hair, and Sia just laughed.
Thanks to her mother's words, the worry in Sia's heart had eased a little.
Still, Sia was determined to fix her relationship with Siwoo.
"**Why isn't our relationship moving forward?!**"
Even after two years, when they were both in middle school year three, the two of them had made no real progress. They remained stuck in a parallel line.
※※※※※※
It had been two years since Sia had learned about the upperclassman.
Naturally, I kept physical contact to a minimum. After all, I didn't want Sia to hate me.
Well… the real reason was that my hormones had become much stronger after puberty.
Now, my dreams about kissing Sia weren't enough. I wanted to do so many other things too. Every time I woke up startled.
On top of that, I couldn't even see Sia's real face clearly anymore.
Sia had also gone through many changes after her second puberty.
Her proportions had always been good, but now she was even taller and had a model-like figure. Her face had completely lost its childish look… and her chest had grown much larger than before.
Because of that, I struggled every time my eyes kept drifting toward her.
I had learned everything there was to know about myself now, and the more I saw Sia, the stronger those fantasies became.
So I kept my distance even more carefully.
Of course, I didn't cut off her calls or messages.
NobelTalk and late-night phone calls were frequent.
Since I was putting in so much effort, I was relieved that even after entering middle school year three, Sia showed no sign of disliking me.
Honestly, I hadn't thought I could hide it this well.
Anyway, we were about to enter high school.
It felt like it had only been yesterday when I became a first-year middle schooler. Now I was graduating… I still couldn't quite believe it.
And the biggest decision now was which high school to attend.
I obviously wanted to go to the same school as Sia, so I asked her first, and we both got in.
I could have aimed for an elite high school with my grades, but I chose a regular public high school because I wanted to study hard alongside Sia.
Sia also felt the same way, and the school we chose was Noa High School.
It had a good reputation in the area.
We applied as our first choice, and today was the day the results would come out.
After becoming third-years, we would be in the same class and would wait together until the closing ceremony.
"**Everyone, sit down. High school assignments are out.**"
"***Yay!***"
"**Okay, read the names in order.**"
One by one, the names were called. When my name was announced, I stepped forward and received the notification letter from the teacher.
Sia and I read ours at the same time.
[Assigned High School: Noa High School.]
We were both assigned to Noa High School.
"**Waaah!**" "Kyaah!"
We jumped around in joy.
Then…
*Thud!*
"…!"
Sia suddenly threw herself at me and hugged me tight.
"**Thank goodness! Right, Siwoo!**"
"**Yeah, yeah. Thank goodness.**"
"**Hehe… Now I can be with Siwoo again…**"
"***…***"
Since Sia was happy, I wanted to be happy with her too.
But inside, I was desperately singing the national anthem.
The reason was the soft feeling of her body pressed against my arm.
"**Ah, by the way, where's Minseong?**"
"**Oh, I'll message him.**"
Minseong and I had been in the same class until second year. In third year, he was moved to another class.
After being close for almost three years, Sia and I had become friends, so she remembered him.
By the way, Sung-hun and Dong-hyeok only knew his face, not his name.
When I asked Minseong, he replied:
"**Minseong also got into Noa High.**"
"**Oh! Really?! Thank goodness.**"
"**Yeah.**"
Having so many familiar faces at the same school would make things easier.
As I was thinking how lucky it was that most of my friends had been assigned here, Sia spoke up hesitantly.
"**Um… Siwoo.**"
"**Yeah?**"
"**Do you have time? There's somewhere I want to go with you… Is that okay?**"
It had been a while since Sia had asked me out on a date.