Always on Your Side
I rolled my unsteady eyes back and forth.
But the guy standing in front of me didn’t budge an inch.
He stayed right there, knees bent in a squat, completely ignoring everything I said.
“...Woohyuk oppa?”
I called his name, hoping he’d understand I was asking how long he planned to stay like that.
He still didn’t move a muscle as he answered me.
“I already told you. I’m not moving until you get on my back for real.”
I’d never seen stubbornness like this.
The man was as bullheaded as they came.
Looking at his completely resolved expression, I realized there was no way I could break his will.
“If you keep this up, we’re only going to draw more stares.”
People walking by kept glancing at the strange scene we were making.
I was starting to feel embarrassed by all the attention.
Especially since I had only just stopped crying.
Everyone was staring at my tear-streaked face.
“...Fine. I’ll get on. Happy?”
I finally surrendered to his stubbornness.
There was no point in fighting here. Neither of us would walk away unscathed, and I had no interest in a battle that would only leave us both wounded.
I limped forward a few steps and gently leaned against his back.
He smoothly slid his hands under my knees, lifting me with minimal contact, then stood up as if I weighed nothing.
...Seeing him like this, he actually looked kind of manly.
It was completely different from his usual slim, almost cute impression.
This was the first time I had ever seen this side of him.
I’d said I wasn’t into that kind of style, but something about this new side of him made my heart beat faster.
“Are we seriously taking the bus like this?”
“No. I already called a taxi. It’ll meet us in front of the school.”
So I only had to stay on his back until we reached the road.
From the main building to the street, it would take ten minutes at most.
That didn’t feel like too much of a burden to put on him.
His familiar scent wrapped around me. The warmth of his body, higher than my own, brought an unexpected sense of comfort.
“Give me the umbrella. I’ll hold it.”
“Sure. It was getting a little awkward anyway.”
I took the large umbrella from his hand.
I carefully adjusted the big black umbrella so neither of us would get wet.
“Why do you even carry something this huge? It’s massive.”
“I hate getting rained on. It feels gross.”
So that’s why he used one bigger than normal.
Pitter-patter.
Raindrops drummed against the umbrella.
A short silence settled between us.
I kept thinking that he might have been disappointed in me after yesterday’s stream.
That was the first time I had ever shown such an ugly side of myself on air.
“...Oppa. What did you think of the stream yesterday?”
My voice shook as I asked.
I wished he hadn’t seen it.
But his message yesterday had made it clear that he had watched.
I was terrified of what he might say.
That he might hate me now.
That he might think the streamer Uni wasn’t worth his time.
“Hmm… The world is big and full of crazy people. Something like that?”
“What does that mean…?”
“I just think you got unlucky yesterday.”
His words eased the tension in my chest a little.
So he wasn’t too disappointed in me.
“...I looked terrible, didn’t I?”
“It was completely understandable. Honestly, I probably would’ve lost it too.”
His sincere empathy melted something inside me.
Yeah. This was just like him.
I felt silly for having worried so much.
“You’re only human. When people say things that hurt, of course it stings.”
“Don’t take the haters’ words too seriously. If they piss you off, just block them.”
It felt relieving to finally let it out to someone.
Having even one person on my side made me feel strangely supported.
Maybe that’s why I ended up spilling everything.
“...I’m kind of scared to turn the stream on again. This has never happened before, and I’m already terrified of what the viewers might say. For real.”
“So that’s why you’re taking a break today?”
“Yeah… that’s right.”
As we walked, my body slowly started slipping down his back.
He noticed immediately and gave me a little bounce, readjusting his grip under my knees.
It reminded me of childhood memories.
The day I scraped my knee at the playground and my dad carried me home.
“Yuna.”
“Yes?”
“This is going to sound pretty cheesy, but…”
His voice was low and quiet.
“I’m always on your side, Yuna.”
“No matter what anyone says, no matter what mistakes you make, no matter what happens to your stream. I’m always on your side.”
...I see.
Those words made my chest tighten with warmth.
I knew I hadn’t done anything particularly good.
Yet here was someone who understood me and still chose to stand by me.
I had someone like that too.
Just that thought alone made my heart feel full to bursting.
The tears I had held back earlier threatened to spill again.
But I forced them down. I didn’t want to cry while being carried on his back.
“And I bet there are tons of people like me in Uni’s stream. That’s what I think.”
His words brought back the memory of all the viewers who had tried to defend me yesterday.
I had been so hurt by the vicious comments that I hadn’t even noticed them.
They were people who genuinely cared about me.
Viewers who were still waiting for me to turn the stream back on.
There were probably far more of them than the haters.
If I apologized and reached out first, they would understand.
“...You really think so?”
I still wasn’t completely convinced.
But thinking about those people made running away feel pointless.
Even if I got cursed at and torn apart, this was a problem I had to face myself.
“Of course. I know better than anyone. I’m the cult leader of the Uni Church. I run Uni_clip, after all.”
Coming from anyone else, it would have sounded incredibly cringy.
But somehow, it didn’t feel awkward at all.
It actually sounded kind of cool.
I didn’t say anything in response.
Instead, I tightened my arms around his shoulders and neck.
Like I would never let go.
Even tighter.
“There’s the taxi.”
Before I knew it, the cab had pulled up, cutting through the rain.
“Thank you.”
I thanked the driver for taking us all the way to Yuna’s building, then lifted her onto my back again.
We walked to her villa and stopped in front of the shared entrance.
Honestly, the things I’d said earlier were starting to make me cringe.
I sounded like some kind of main character in a drama… ugh.
If I were Yuna, I probably would’ve thrown up on my own back after hearing that.
Must be all the romance novels I read.
Those cheesy lines just slipped out naturally.
“Oppa, it’s open.”
“Oh. Right.”
I had frozen in place even though the door was open, so Yuna spoke up.
But the moment we stepped inside the building, both of us froze in dismay.
“That’s weird… It was working fine when I came to school this morning.”
“Maybe they’re doing repairs.”
I didn’t let it show, but inside I was screaming.
I had thought I could just carry her up in the elevator and be done.
Now I had to carry her all the way to the fourth floor…?
Yuna was small and light, but even climbing four floors by myself was no joke.
Carrying someone up those stairs was going to be pure torture.
“Oppa, it’s fine. You can go now. I’ll walk up from here.”
Yuna seemed to be thinking the same thing and told me to leave.
But there was no way she could climb four flights of stairs in her condition. Even a healthy person would find it difficult.
I took a deep breath and steeled myself.
Right. Just think of it as hardcore lower-body training.
My life had been completely removed from exercise, but if I didn’t frame it that way, there was no way I could make it up there.
“Stop talking nonsense and hold on tight, idiot.”
“Oppa… You’re really going to carry me up all those stairs?”
There was no other choice.
I started climbing one step at a time, still carrying her.
I managed to hold out until the second floor.
By the time I reached the third, I felt like I was dying.
...Why were there so many damn stairs?
Yuna’s villa had way more steps than a normal building.
I kept climbing, fighting against my ragged breathing and the burning pain in my legs.
“Haa… Haa…”
“Oppa… are you okay?”
Yuna’s worried voice reached me from behind.
“Haa… I’m fine… obviously.”
I pretended to be okay so she wouldn’t feel guilty, but I was far from fine.
I’m not fine, so please stop asking. I don’t even have the energy to talk.
...I really should have done some cardio once in a while.
It was the moment I deeply regretted my past self who had avoided exercise at all costs.