Unbelievable Reality and a Late-Night Call
I dropped Na-eun off at home late into the night and finally made it back to my place. I still couldn't believe it. That Na-eun—that pretty, kind Na-eun—and I had become a couple. It was utterly unbelievable.
I pinched my cheek hard. "Ow." Nope, definitely not a dream. This was reality.
"Fuuuuck…"
A deep sigh escaped me before I knew it. My head was spinning in the best way possible—so good it felt unreal—so I sighed to try and snap out of it. But stepping into the warm house only made it worse. My mind swirled even more.
That's when someone approached me.
"Y-You're back?"
"Yeah…"
My sister greeted me coolly, then giggled and said,
"Had a super sweet~ time, huh?"
"Huh?"
"Saw it on KakaoTalk. You even took a cute couple profile pic?"
"Ahem…"
Na-eun had wanted to match couple profile pics, but posting them was basically announcing it to the world. Like saying, 'I'm dating this guy.'
"You took the tutoring gig just to hit on her from the start, didn't you?"
"No."
"Sure, sure, of course not~ A girl that pretty with an amazing figure, still single? I'd go for her too! Yeah! Big sis gets it!"
Her attitude screamed 'I just wanna mess with you,' snapping me back to reality. A bit annoyed, I headed straight for the bathroom.
Creak! Slam!
I shut the door a little too roughly, stripped, and jumped in the shower. Yeah, just sleep it off. Think tomorrow. Ignore her long enough and she'll shut up. That's what I told myself as I scrubbed down and shampooed, trying to empty my head.
Shower done, I toweled off and bolted out—straight to my room. I'd stormed off without grabbing clothes thanks to sis's teasing. Luckily, no one saw my awkward dash, and I slipped in without a hitch. Phew.
I changed clothes peacefully and…
…my phone rang. From the most beautiful, kindest, loveliest person in the world.
I swiped to answer, and her adorable voice poured out.
"Hello, oppa?"
"Yeah, Na-eun-ah."
That voice of hers.
"Something up? Why'd you call?"
Without a hint of hesitation, she said the most embarrassing yet lovable thing.
"…'Cause I like my boyfriend so much, so I called."
Haa… First relationship, no brakes on this girl. And that's why I love it. So damn cute.
Lying in bed, I started chatting idly with Na-eun.
"Na-eun-ah, you got home safe today, right?"
"Yeah, but oppa—you walked me home. Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"Haha, true."
I was saying the dumbest stuff I'd never say normally, just 'cause I like her so much. And it felt great. Because it was Na-eun listening.
"Did you get home okay, oppa?"
"Nah, not really."
"Why…?"
"Sis teased me the second I walked in."
"Your sister? Why?"
Her voice sounded a bit flustered, so I told her straight up.
"She saw our couple profile pic."
"Ohhh…"
Na-eun got it and said what I expected.
"My brother teased me too. 'You finally hooked up with Lee Seonwoo~'"
"Hahaha… Yeah, classic Seung-min."
I could picture it perfectly—Seung-min messing with Na-eun. But something clicked.
'Finally hooked up'—that's something only someone who knew Na-eun liked me would say.
"You knew, huh. Seung-min."
"Ah… Yeah, I knew."
Seung-min had known from the start that Na-eun liked me.
"When'd you find out? Him."
"Um… Uuuum… When we were pretty young…?"
"Young? When?"
"Like… Uuuum…"
Na-eun hesitated, then spilled the past in a super shy voice.
"Remember when you went to college and got a girlfriend…?"
"Yeah."
"I saw her profile pic… and just burst into tears…"
"Ah…"
She cried over my relationship, and Seung-min comforted her— that's how he found out. Man, I've got a lot to answer for. If I'd only seen Na-eun from the beginning…
"Sorry."
"No! Why are you sorry, oppa!"
"…Thanks."
"Heehee."
Her little giggle tickled my heart. So lovable. All of it.
As I thought that, we talked about other stuff.
"Na-eun-ah, anything you wanna do with me?"
"With you, oppa?"
"Yeah, we did a couple things today."
Yeah, like taking pics for our profile. No matter the backstory, I'd made her wait too long—I wanted to give her more happiness and experiences.
She pondered my words.
"Something with oppa… Hmm… Hold on…"
I waited patiently. Then, surprisingly, her first idea was…
"I wanna go on a date to a special place with oppa."
"A special place date, huh…"
"Yeah, for a 1-night, 2-day trip."
"1-night, 2-day…… What?"
Na-eun said nothing to my echo. I froze too. Never expected that from her.
*
I messed up. When Seonwoo oppa asked what I wanted to do, I meant to pick something dreamy from my fantasies—but I accidentally blurted out the thing I should've hidden.
A 1-night, 2-day trip as lovers? Super sweet and happy. But what happens when adult guy and girl go away overnight…? Yeah, that stuff.
I know. I'm not a kid; I know what I need to. That's why I want it with Seonwoo oppa. To share even deeper love.
But I didn't wanna say it outright. I wanna stay his sweet, pretty, lovable girlfriend—not the one spilling those desires.
I tried hiding it, but my true feelings slipped out too fast. Day one of dating and saying 'Let's go somewhere and sleep together!'? Total fail.
"Ugh… Uuuu…"
I just sat there blushing, speechless, when Seonwoo oppa smoothed it over.
"Right? Trips are romantic like that."
So grateful for his clumsy 'romance' cover, I played along.
"Y-Yeah…! Totally…! Romance…!"
I nodded wildly, even though he couldn't see. His kindness melted me.
"1-night, 2-day… Can't after semester starts, so summer sounds good."
"Summer… Summer!? Yeah…! Sounds great…! Summer…!"
Summer's fine. But too far. Compared to how long I've waited… My mood dipped a bit, even as it soared.
How'd he know? He suggested,
"Or a quick 1-night, 2-day in February."
"…February!?"
"Yeah, February. Should be okay then?"
"Perfect! No, amazing! Super!"
Way better than summer—less wait, winter cuddles legal. He chuckled softly at my reply, then said reassuringly,
"We'll plan the trip later, slowly. Got it?"
"Yeah…! Got it!"
Later, sure—but I'll bring it up seriously soon. I really wanna travel with Seonwoo oppa. Become even closer.
Beyond the fun talk, we chatted about everything. Before I knew it, it was 3 or 4 a.m…
"Oppa… I'm so sleepy…"
"Okay, sleep now."
"Yeees… Love you…"
Drowsy, I whispered my love and drifted off.
"Yeah, love you too. Na-eun-ah."
Seonwoo oppa replied so gently to my embarrassing words. What a perfect guy. Seonwoo oppa is.