Look Only at Me.
……No matter how much of a dating newbie I was, I knew for sure that noona's sense of distance didn't mean anything bad. Still, carrying on a conversation like this felt kinda ridiculous, so I subtly lifted my butt to suggest moving spots.
-Flinch!
Noona visibly jolted, her body trembling big enough for me to see. It was incredibly cute, like a quivering rabbit. Watching her sparked a tiny sadistic urge, so I changed tactics. Instead of going to her, I'd make her come to me.
"Noona. It's hard to talk with you all the way over there. Come here."
"I'm fine."
"I'm not. You look so damn pretty today—let me get a better look."
"That's…"
"Hurry up. Come here."
"……."
"Come on."
Before last Saturday, I couldn't have imagined acting this bold with noona—would've thought it was too cocky and never done it. I'd stuck to that reserved attitude. But in less than ten days, something huge had shifted inside me. Like I'd awakened.
Of course, I wasn't doing this thoughtlessly. I watched her reaction intently. If she showed even a hint of discomfort or dislike, I'd never do it again. But I believed she'd follow along willingly. I wasn't some genius or backed by psychology, but looking back over the years I'd known her, piecing together moments I'd glossed over, her behavior last week, yesterday's date, and this conversation—it was a prediction based on experience and gut feeling.
And sure enough.
"…Okay?"
Noona stood silently and walked over with quick little steps. She stopped right in front of me, looking down with eyes that trembled ever so slightly. I'd meant for her to sit beside me, but since I'd said I wanted to see her pretty outfit, here she was. My obedient, puppy-like noona was ridiculously cute. Even her usual blank expression felt adorably endearing.
I grinned brightly and gently grabbed her wrist.
"Harang noona, you're really pretty."
Hearing that, only her earlobes flushed—not her face. That was another charming point. Was I too lovestruck to think that?
Seeing her shy like this suddenly made me crave a kiss. Honestly, from the moment I'd decided to come see her, I'd been fantasizing about kissing noona. So I tugged her wrist, pulling her face closer.
She didn't resist—didn't pull away. What I'd pictured was her leaning down from standing, upper body bending toward me for a kiss opposite yesterday's vibe.
But noona, naturally yielding to my pull, surprised me with more than that. Not just leaning in—she stepped even closer.
-Swish.
She parted her legs slightly and sat right on my thigh. I felt her solid weight, and at the same time, an indescribable softness. Even through our clothes, the plush give was unmistakable.
Exceeding my wildest imagination, noona leaned in toward my frozen self and.
-Mwah.
Gently pressed her lips to mine and pulled away. This kiss felt even fresher than yesterday's first one. It ended so quickly it left me wanting, and only then did I snap out of it.
"Noona, you're so bold. You startled me."
"Didn't like it?"
"I love it. Dying here."
As I said that, I let go of her wrist. Her freed arm rose to rest on my shoulder. Not to be outdone, I subtly placed my hand near her waist.
Not out of any dirty motives. Just in case she slipped off my thigh—it'd be dangerous. If anyone asked how she could fall off, I'd tell them to shut up.
Still, I watched her reaction carefully. Touching a woman's body is delicate, especially the waist—our noona had taught me that. Thankfully, she didn't mind at all.
Her incredibly slim waist felt amazing through the thin blouse, like I could sense her soft skin directly. In the brief lull in conversation, noona leaned in again.
-Mwah.
Another short kiss. As she pulled back, her lips curved up just a bit.
"But noona, yesterday's outfit and this one—I don't think I've seen them before. New?"
"Yeah. Last week."
"By yourself? We usually go together."
"Wanted to surprise you."
"You did. You're always pretty, but this makes you even prettier."
-Mwah.
"I'm going shopping with Yeoreum noona next week. Wanna come?"
"…I didn't hear about it."
"Huh? Really? Guess she hasn't said anything yet."
"Let's go. I'll buy for you."
"No… Mom and Dad are sending money."
"I'll give you allowance, noona-style."
"Yeoreum noona would straight-up murder me if I took money from you. Dismemberm—mmph."
-Mwah.
"I'll stop her."
"I appreciate it, but always taking stuff makes me feel bad."
"Don't feel bad."
"How can I not? If I kept buying you things, you'd feel weird too, right?"
"No. Can't spend like that."
"But it's okay for you?"
"Yeah."
-Mwah.
"Anyway, this place is awesome. When I get my own place, I wanna live somewhere like this… Pricey, huh?"
"…Come here."
"Ooh, live together?"
"Yeah."
"No take-backs later, got it?"
"You could stay from tonight…."
"Yeoreum noona makes that tough… But after school, straight here when you're around? Actually, it's closer from school than home."
"Fine even when I'm not."
-Mwah.
"What if I snoop around everywhere?"
"You won't."
"…I won't, but still."
"It's okay."
"You're too casual about it."
"Miss me…?"
"……."
Everything.
-Mwah.
"If you miss me, look all you want."
"…For real? I'm really gonna look?"
"Yeah."
She said it so confidently that it suddenly felt harder to look. Like it'd betray her trust. But if she meant it that much, maybe a peek was fine… No.
I shook off the devilish temptation creeping into my head and changed the subject.
"Where to for our next date? Anywhere you wanna go?"
"Wherever you want."
"Knew you'd say that. Camping next time? You're into that stuff. Not right away, though."
"Let's go."
"Cool. I'll find a quiet spot later. You have camping gear, right? Your dad's old stuff."
"Gonna buy new."
-Mwah.
She's more serious than I thought. I'd just mentioned wanting relaxed camping in a quiet place—something we'd chatted about briefly before. Anyway, her peppering kisses throughout our talk felt great and joyful, but it was getting hard to hold back. I wanted deeper ones.
Still, I kept my hands still because noona's face looked so utterly content. As her boyfriend, I couldn't just follow my urges right now.
Right. Boyfriend… Oh. Shit! That's why I came!
Almost forgot again! I'd gotten so distracted by noona the second I arrived that I'd nearly overlooked the important thing. This was all Harang noona's fault. Pretty from the door, cute, and now seductively claiming my lips—how could I think of anything else?
Anyway, now that I remembered, time to handle it. I shoved aside the stray thoughts and looked at noona.
At noona, lips smacking post-kiss, waiting for my words.
"Noona."
I called her tenderly, gazing into her eyes with all the softness I could muster. For a second, I wondered if I should have her get down and stand face-to-face, but this felt fine. No reason to hesitate now.
"I like you."
Noona's eyes widened. Amid the surprise, her lips curved even more distinctly than before.
Before she could return it, I pressed on preemptively.
"Thanks for going out with me."
We'd been kissing ten seconds ago, so asking her out now would've been funny. Better to express gratitude. I couldn't fully convey my thanks to her—for choosing me out of all the guys in the world with just these words—but she'd confessed first with her actions, right? No need for me to chicken out!
Having learned romance only from Seobin and Sena's relationship and comics, I firmly believed love built on realistic foundations. If I liked noona and she liked me, no need for pointless inferiority complexes or guilt.
And that was my resolution: no unnecessary self-doubt in our time together.
Noona, who'd been listening quietly, lifted her hand from my shoulder to cup both my cheeks.
"…Me too. I like you, Gyeol. I really, really like you."
She smiled with her eyes as she said it. I wished we'd heard each other's hearts sooner. It sucked realizing only recently how expressively her face could change. Her smile was so pretty.
-Mwah.
Still smiling, she held my cheeks and overlapped our lips again. After another short kiss—god knows how many now—she pressed her forehead to mine and murmured softly.
"Today makes day one."
Did she track anniversaries like that? Her words warmed me briefly, then confusion hit. Day one? What about yesterday?
"What about yesterday? We kissed yesterday."
"Yesterday was just a date."
"Can I ask what makes today different…?"
"You said you liked me today."
Mysterious, but it made sense. My fault for idiotically kissing without confessing yesterday.
"…Guess no helping it! Day one starts today!"
I sighed inwardly in relief. Good thing I'd remembered today. Could've started counting from next week.
With our foreheads touching, her beautiful face filled my view. I kept talking.
"You're coming shopping next week, right? Let's match couple looks then?"
"Yeah. Definitely."
"Yeoreum noona won't complain?"
"It's fine. I'll handle her if she does."
"So I can just trust you completely?"
"Yeah. Trust only me…"
So close our eyebrows nearly touched, her dark eyes sparkled. Her voice was soft yet firm as she continued.
"Look only at me. ……Forever."