The Bus Ride That Made My Heart Race
Wiping the sauce from the corner of her mouth felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. If I were typing in chat, I probably would've written something like [Phew. So much better~]. Watching Yuna fumble around, completely missing the sauce on her lips, had nearly driven me insane. It felt exactly like watching Uni struggle through a Black Souls-type game. Not that Uni was good at every game. For some reason, she was especially terrible at Souls-likes. Last time I watched her play Black Souls, I thought my molars were going to crack from how hard I was clenching my jaw. I knew it was supposed to be hard... but seeing it in action made my insides boil with frustration.
“Ah... thank you.”
Yuna thanked me in a tiny, shrinking voice. And then there was her face, which looked a little flushed. What was that about...? She'd been completely fine eating that ridiculously spicy tteokbokki until now.
“Are you feeling the heat too?”
“Huh?”
Yuna gave me a look that said I was talking nonsense. Of course that wasn't it. Then what was making her blush? Thinking back on what had just happened, I suddenly realized why her face had turned red. Even if I'd been frustrated, was it really okay to just reach out and wipe her mouth like that?
“Ah. Sorry.”
Once I actually processed what I'd done, embarrassment started creeping in. What the hell had I just done...? And to my favorite streamer, no less. I'd touched her face. Not just her hand—her cheek. If any other Uniz had seen that, I would've been executed on the spot. I was a total blasphemer.
“No, it's fine.”
Yuna shoved more tteokbokki into her mouth, clearly trying to cover up the awkward atmosphere that had settled between us. Ah... I'd ruined the mood. But I wasn't the type of guy who could smoothly fix an awkward situation with clever words. So naturally, I stayed silent too. The meal continued in this painfully awkward silence, with both of us just mechanically eating. Ugh. I was going to get indigestion.
I was so busy sneaking glances at Yuna that I couldn't even tell if the food in front of me was actually making it into my mouth.
“...Oppa, do you do that for just anyone?”
Eventually, when I didn't say anything, Yuna spoke first. Her gaze was fixed downward, her ears slightly pink. She dipped her chopsticks into the tteokbokki but didn't pick anything up, clearly waiting for my answer.
“No! I don't do that for just anyone.”
I quickly denied it, worried she might think I was some kind of player. I didn't even know how to act like that in the first place.
“...You don't do that for just anyone?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded vigorously.
“Then it's fine. Let's eat.”
What was that? Why did she suddenly seem happy? Was there something in what I'd said that she liked? As Yuna picked up more tteokbokki with her chopsticks, her expression somehow looked brighter.
After we finished paying and left the tteokbokki place, it was finally time to say goodbye to Yuna. The reason was simple. Her stream was about to start soon. If she still had to prepare, she was probably already cutting it close.
“Oppa, did you actually eat properly?”
“Yeah. I'm already full?”
“You only ate a few bites of the sides and you're full? You must not eat very much, Oppa.”
It wasn't like I was a light eater. If I were being cheesy, I'd say just watching you eat is enough to fill me up. That was the truth. And besides, you ordered way too much, you greedy girl.
“Oppa, you're taking that bus too, right? Number 6794?”
“Yep. That's the only one that goes to our neighborhood.”
So you take it too. Yuna's house and mine were less than five minutes apart. The walk from school to home wasn't that far either. Honestly, it only took twenty to thirty minutes on foot. But since I had a habit of sleeping in, I was more used to taking the bus.
We stood together at the bus stop in front of the school. After a short wait, the bus arrived.
“Here it comes.”
“Ugh. Oppa, look at that. We probably won't get to sit, huh?”
It wasn't packed like it was during regular school commutes, but there were still quite a few people. It definitely didn't look like there'd be two seats available for us. We got on the bus as expected, and just as predicted, we had no choice but to stand and hold onto the handrails. It was a short ride anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
“Not uncomfortable?”
Unlike me, Yuna looked a bit uncomfortable. The overhead handrail was much higher, but she seemed to be reaching for it anyway. Compared to the rail, Yuna was just a tiny bit too short. She had to go up on her tiptoes a little to grab it comfortably.
“Huh? Yeah. I'm fine.”
It would be so much easier if she just held onto the vertical pole or the handle on the back of a seat. Why was she insisting on that one? She looked like a little kid proudly showing her parents that she could reach the handrail because she was “so tall now.” It was kind of cute. The way she was stretching and gripping it tightly with both hands, refusing to let go.
As soon as the bus started moving, the interior began shaking violently. Whoa... Driver, you're going pretty rough there. There were always drivers like this. The aggressive ones. If you were sitting it was manageable, but standing felt like riding a roller coaster—your body would lurch to one side with every turn.
I was managing to hold on okay until—
- THUD!
The bus hit a speed bump hard, shaking even more violently. “Kyaa!”
Yuna, who had been holding the handrail somewhat precariously, lost her grip completely. She lost her balance and fell straight toward me. Luckily, I had my bag slung over my back, so one of my hands was free. In a panic, worried she might get hurt, I caught her against my body.
“Ah...”
Her eyes were wide with surprise, trembling slightly. Her voice shook too. When I came back to my senses, I realized Yuna was completely in my arms. Those obsidian-black eyes, contrasting beautifully against her porcelain skin, were looking up at me. She was so cute. Why did that thought hit me at a moment like this? Was it some kind of protective instinct, wanting to shield someone who looked so vulnerable? My heart started pounding for no reason.
The soft, warm feeling unique to girls and her sweet scent completely filled my head. ...She couldn't hear it, right? It was beating so fast I was actually worried she'd notice.
Once the bus stopped shaking, Yuna quickly pulled away from me.
“Ah! I'm sorry!”
“It's fine. The bus shook, that's all.”
I tried to act casual so she wouldn't see how flustered I was. In reality, I felt like my brain was going to short-circuit from how hard I was shaking. This was the first time I'd ever been this close to a girl. And the fact that it was her made it even worse. I kind of understood now why fans cried during idol fansigns when they got hugs. It felt almost spiritual. If I died right now, I'd have no regrets.
If I hadn't met Yuna like this multiple times already, I probably would've frozen solid on the spot. Even after we got off the bus and parted ways, my racing heartbeat showed no signs of slowing down.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Even after I said goodbye to Oppa and got home, my heart was still pounding violently. Was I actually going to die like this? In a way, it wasn't even that big of a deal. The bus had just shaken and Oppa had caught me for a second. So why wouldn't my heart calm down?
“...Am I the type to fall fast?”
Since I'd never been in love before, I didn't know if this counted as falling fast. But even I, a forever-single girl, could tell. This was clearly a sign of attraction toward Woohyuk Oppa. If I hadn't felt anything, I would've just brushed it off. But the way I was trembling like this... it was obvious I'd started developing feelings for him.
The way he'd casually caught me. The way he'd wiped the sauce from the corner of my mouth. And that moment in the karaoke room when our hands and bodies had touched. Just thinking about those moments sent tingles racing through my fingertips.
“Oppa... you're seriously such a fox...”
For someone like me who'd never dated before, those kinds of stimuli were way too strong. Oppa kept stimulating me like a sly little fox. I wasn't sure if I liked him yet, but I had definitely grown curious about him.
...I want to get to know Oppa better.
That thought alone made my heart flutter with excitement. Before I knew it, I was smiling from ear to ear. It felt like the romance cells I'd only ever seen in dramas were finally waking up inside me.
Luckily, one of my strengths was that I had good follow-through. If I hadn't immediately started streaming the moment I wanted to, I wouldn't have made it this far.
“I should call Sister Seoyeon.”
Since I didn't have many friends, I turned to Seoyeon again. She was the only person who could give me proper relationship advice. There wasn't much time left before my stream, but that didn't matter right now. I felt like I wouldn't be able to stream properly if I didn't sort out these fluttering feelings first.
I quickly pulled up her saved number and called.
- Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
But even after quite a while, she didn't pick up. Why? She wasn't the type to be sleeping at this hour.
“Ah. She said she was taking a break today, didn't she?”
Our last phone call flashed through my mind.
But Sister! Why did it have to be today of all days...?
“Then who am I supposed to talk to...”
In the end, I had no choice but to give up on contacting her. She probably wasn't in a position to answer right now. The only thing I could rely on was the ChatGPT-based program on the [Ask Me Anything] website.
“I'm learning how to date from an AI...”
It was one of those moments where reality hit me hard.