The Senior Minds the Indirect Kiss
The weather was unusually bright and sunny, perfect for an outing. Jinwoo and Eunbyul weren't the only ones who thought so. And what did that mean? It meant the subway was packed shoulder to shoulder with people.
"There are so many people."
"Yeah. So this is what the subway looks like at this hour. I had no idea since I just stay home writing every day."
Eunbyul made a troubled face. At this rate, they'd be exhausted before they even reached their destination. More than her own discomfort, she felt guilty about dragging Jinwoo into this.
"Sorry. It's crowded and stuffy, isn't it?"
"It's fine. Doesn't bother me at all."
The answer came instantly. In truth, Jinwoo couldn't have cared less about the stuffiness. On a crowded subway, you inevitably got pushed into a corner. If they got separated, that would be a disaster. But holding hands or pressing their bodies together...
I can't do that to Eunbyul-sunbae while she's in her school uniform.
For the current Jinwoo, it was something he couldn't even dream of. Since they couldn't afford to get separated, they stood side by side. But in the cramped subway car, even that caused all kinds of contact.
The soft skin he felt through the thin fabric whenever their bodies brushed. The sweet scent of her hair drifting up from right beneath his nose. That alone was more than enough to make a healthy young man's heart race.
So Eunbyul-sunbae smells this good even in a crowded place like this.
If he had to say whether it was good or bad, honestly, it was good. At the same time, it was embarrassingly difficult to endure. Why did she have to be wearing that cute school uniform today of all days?
Eunbyul in her school uniform skirt, inside a packed subway car. No matter how hard he tried not to, criminal thoughts kept popping into his head.
Haah, you perverted bastard.
And so Jinwoo began his battle against the overcrowded train.
But the expression on Eunbyul's face as she watched him wasn't good either. Their thoughts, however, were moving in completely opposite directions.
"It looks stuffy. Maybe you should press closer?"
"Ah, no! It's really fine! This is actually more comfortable!"
"Still... ugh!"
At that moment, more passengers flooded in. The crowd pushing all at once had more force than expected. The two were shoved all the way to the door on the opposite side. But the pressure didn't stop there, and Jinwoo was pushed straight into Eunbyul—
"Hup!"
"E-eh?"
Jinwoo thrust both arms forward. Bracing with all his strength, he somehow managed to keep them from being pushed any further.
Okay, did I barely make it? Safe?
At least Eunbyul didn't seem hurt, and his body wasn't touching hers. This much should pass as acceptable.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, um... Y-yeah."
Jinwoo himself hadn't realized it, but he had unintentionally ended up in a classic wall-pinning position with both hands planted on either side of her. Eunbyul could see nothing but his chest. Her face grew hot—not from the stuffy subway, but for an entirely different reason. The slight tremble in her voice wasn't his imagination.
"A-are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. More importantly, let's be careful. There are a lot of people."
"...Thank you."
Anyway, for Jinwoo, the worst thing that could happen was Eunbyul getting hurt here. Those hands were priceless—how could they get injured in a place like this? So that's why I went to the gym even though I wasn't popular. I want to praise my past self who kept eating protein so diligently.
While he was thinking that, he had no way of knowing. That Eunbyul's heart, wrapped in his arms and body, was also pounding furiously. That she was desperately fighting the urge to keep glancing at the veins standing out on his forearms.
Jinwoo, focused entirely on holding his ground, didn't notice any of it.
*
Getting off the overcrowded subway wasn't easy either. The two were half-pushed by the crowd before they finally stumbled out.
"Phew! That was exhausting!"
"Wow, the air feels completely different once you're off. The oxygen even tastes sweet."
"It really does. I need to think twice before taking the subway next time."
The school Jinwoo and Eunbyul had attended was nearby. They decided to walk the rest of the way. They were a little tired from the subway and wanted some fresh air. Above all, it made them feel like students again.
"Hehe! Walking like this feels strangely refreshing."
Eunbyul's face had brightened by the time they were strolling along the street. Seeing her expression, a warm smile naturally spread across Jinwoo's face too.
I never even imagined going to school with a girl back in high school.
That version of me is now walking down the street with Eunbyul-sunbae. And not just any Eunbyul-sunbae—an adult wearing a school uniform!
The loser I used to be is on a school uniform date with a star writer? If the me from my cafeteria days could see this, he'd be insanely jealous.
"Hehe! It's such a strange feeling, going to school together like this after we've grown up."
"It really is."
It seemed Eunbyul was thinking something similar.
"We probably can't go inside the school, right?"
"They wouldn't let graduates in. But I think the playground would be okay."
"Our school was pretty lenient about that stuff."
They used to play soccer with the neighborhood adults on weekends. Now everyone had either moved away or become regulars at his father's tteokbokki shop.
"What kind of student were you, Jinwoo? Were you always this diligent?"
"Me? What was I like..."
Jinwoo tried to recall some good memories from his school days, but he ended up frowning.
"I don't really remember anything memorable."
His grades were average. He put effort into arts and physical education but wasn't particularly talented. Not an honor student, but never caused trouble either. He was just that kind of ordinary student. Even in this era of low birth rates, there were probably tens of thousands of students like him across the country.
"Looking back now, I wish I'd lived a little more freely. I don't know why I worried so much."
"Hehe! You have a lot of regrets, huh? Anything in particular you're sorry about?"
"When I first started high school, I was disappointed because it was nothing like the manhwa. We couldn't even go up to the rooftop."
"Haha! That's right! The rooftop was always locked."
For Jinwoo, who had dreamed of eating lunch on the rooftop like a scene from his youth, it was quite a shock. Not that it mattered much since school provided meals anyway—he'd only packed lunch around exam time.
"And I think I also admired the idea of a cute junior with glasses. Looking back, that was never going to happen."
"Hmm~ So Jinwoo prefers younger girls over older ones?"
Eunbyul, who had muttered that, suddenly walked ahead. Then she spun around. Slightly bending at the waist, she looked up at him with moist, sparkling eyes.
"Would I not be okay, Jinwoo sunbae?"
His breath caught in his throat. This... was seriously cheating. He was already at his limit with Eunbyul-sunbae in her school uniform. That pose straight out of a manga combined with that adorable tone of voice. Was this the knowledge and execution ability of a star writer?
"Hehe, did that make your heart flutter?"
"...Please stop teasing me so much."
He realized belatedly that he'd been played and grumbled. Of course, he wasn't actually upset. Honestly... he even found himself wanting to hear it one more time.
*
"There's a vending machine! It's hot—want to get something to drink?"
Eunbyul pointed at the vending machine with a bright smile. Both of them were sweating from their struggle on the subway.
"Ah! I'll buy."
"Ehe~ Put your wallet away. You're even helping me with research. The senior should at least treat you this much. Or does Jinwoo prefer it when the junior buys?"
"...Let's not go there again."
With an adorable smile, Eunbyul picked her drink first. It was the famous blue ion drink with white lettering.
"What do you want, Jinwoo?"
"I'll have the same one. I sweated quite a bit."
"Good choice."
Click—! The refreshing sound of the can opening echoed. They both drank at the same time, gulping down the cold liquid.
When he glanced sideways, he saw Eunbyul's throat moving as she swallowed.
Hmm.
He'd been trying not to be conscious of it. But after getting teased by Eunbyul so much, he couldn't help noticing. Of course, since this was for research, it might just be natural behavior on her part.
"Speaking of which, something just occurred to me while drinking this."
"Yes?"
Eunbyul suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
"That scene where people drink from the same can and then the cans get switched and they don't know whose is whose. You've seen that a lot, right?"
"Ah... Yeah, all the time!"
"Right?"
The moment when fresh young lovers who are just starting to date suddenly become conscious of an indirect kiss. It was definitely one of the royal roads of romance tropes.
"But things like that don't really happen in reality."
"Besides, I don't really mind indirect kisses that much anyway."
Working at the tteokbokki shop, he often saw couples feeding each other. Though maybe that was a slightly different situation.
"In novels, actual indirect kiss scenes probably don't happen that often either."
"Hmm, I suppose? There are lots of parts about being embarrassed, but most of them seem to fail. Like someone else eats it midway, or they just get nervous and give up."
"The key point is that one side actually 'minds' it, I think."
Eunbyul nodded as if that made sense.
"Is it the heroine's embarrassed reaction that's appealing?"
"I think there's charm in the fact that she becomes conscious of something like an indirect kiss because she cares about the protagonist."
"So it means these two are currently in the flirting stage..."
The reason Jinwoo had first fallen for the heroine in The Princess's Seduction was exactly that. The always cold princess had blushed and shown embarrassment when she saw the protagonist in bed for the first time. That was it. It was just his personal opinion, but there was definitely something about an embarrassed heroine that drew readers in.
"Or maybe it's just kids who care about things like that. Since it's that age."
"Ah! That's true! Have we gotten too old to be bothered by indirect kisses!"
Eunbyul looked dejected as if she'd received a huge shock. Even that was unbearably cute.
"Still, as a reader, I think scenes like that are nice to have. They're somehow refreshing."
"Hmm~ I see. If I were writing it—"
Eunbyul suddenly placed her finger against her own lips and gently pursed them. Her pink lips wrapped lightly around her fingertip. Then she stepped closer to Jinwoo, rose onto her tiptoes, and—
Lightly poked his lips with that same finger.
"Hehe, indirect kiss completed?"
For a moment, Jinwoo's mind went completely blank. He couldn't even process what had just happened to him.
"Or does our Jinwoo prefer a direct kiss instead?"
Only after seeing Eunbyul's mischievous smile did his senses return, and he realized he'd been teased again.
"Sunbae, I told you to stop teasing me."
"Haha! Sorry! I kept imagining the scene and did it without thinking."
Eunbyul winked playfully as if asking for forgiveness and turned away. Jinwoo sighed and tossed his can into the trash. Being teased like this over and over—older seniors really did have plenty of composure.
Contrary to what Jinwoo was thinking, however...
The face of Eunbyul as she gripped her can tightly had turned bright red, as if it might burst at any moment.