A Strange Sound
"I guess so, huh?"
Seon Woo-hyun answered, looking a little sheepish.
Watching his embarrassed expression, Han Si-ah became certain.
What she had been thinking was probably right.
...No wonder only the songs I like were written down.
She had rummaged through his room once out of boredom when she was alone, and the only thing she had managed to find was this single sticky note.
A sticky note packed full of song titles that matched her own tastes.
"I've never collected songs like this and recommended them to you, though. So you wrote them down one by one every time?"
"Yeah. Roughly. Every time you told me to listen to something, I just jotted it down."
Han Si-ah had never once gathered tracks into a playlist and recommended them to him. Whenever something came to mind she would just toss out a "try this one too" or "listen to this" over text or in class, one or two at a time.
Seeing that he had carefully collected every single one without forgetting them had honestly made her chest tighten a little.
...Why is he so thoughtful? Not very guy-like.
It went beyond mere diligence. It meant he had never once taken her words lightly.
The densely written song titles easily numbered more than twenty.
He had probably listened to almost all of them by now.
He always acted like he was only half-listening. And yet he does this.
Of course she had made the recommendations, but she never expected him to remember each one so carefully.
From her perspective they had just been casual suggestions tossed out whenever they occurred to her.
In the first place, recommending something to someone else was the kind of thing you normally did without high expectations. If it matched their taste or caught their interest they would listen; if not, they would not. That was all.
She herself treated recommendations from others the same way, so she had naturally assumed he would do the same.
But Seon Woo-hyun was different.
...Doing something like this, how am I supposed to not be moved?
She had always thought of him as a decent guy, but every time she saw something like this she ended up thinking he was even more decent than she had realized.
Even if she acted rough and carefree on the outside, Han Si-ah was still a girl. She even considered herself more soft-hearted than most people.
Rather than grand gift offensives or anything overly burdensome, it was these small, careful attentions that hit girls the hardest.
Even if the person doing it had been a girl instead of a boy, she would have felt her heart flutter. Looking at this, that thought actually crossed her mind.
...Does he actually like me?
Was this something he did for everyone, or was it because he thought of her as special? She had no way of knowing.
The fantasy circuits in her head began to spin little by little.
I don't like Seon Woo-hyun yet... but if he likes me...
If he was treating her as someone special, how should she respond? She fretted over it.
No matter how she thought about it, though, the idea did not feel unpleasant.
If he liked her...
Someone like Seon Woo-hyun wouldn't be a bad boyfriend, would he...?
The old Seon Woo-hyun was another story, but the current one seemed perfectly fine as a boyfriend. Han Si-ah thought it would actually be pretty fun if they dated.
They would probably keep it secret at school, of course. They would still bicker the way they did now, yet exchange "I love you" messages at home. They would share music, meet up on weekends for dates like last time, and this time go to places couples actually went instead of just karaoke.
Honestly, she enjoyed the time she spent with Woo-hyun.
Back then.
And now.
If she had not, she never would have followed him here under the pretext of a study session.
Of course part of it was that she did not want to leave Nam Yu-ri alone with him, but she also simply wanted more time with him.
So she carefully tested the waters.
"Hey. Seon Woo-hyun."
"Yeah?"
"Do you do this for everyone? Writing down recommendations like this whenever someone gives them to you."
Deep down she hoped he would say no.
It was strange.
She had never been this happy about a guy's kindness before. Why did she specifically want his kindness directed at her? Even she could not quite understand the feeling.
"...I don't think so?"
"R-really?"
"Yeah. You have to be pretty close for me to do something like this. Like if I want to get closer to someone."
"Hmm. I see."
Wanting to get closer.
What kind of meaning did that hold?
Just as friends? Or did it include something more?
She felt happy and, at the same time, a little frustrated.
She almost asked outright, "Do you like me?" but the thought of looking like a delusional idiot if she was wrong was too embarrassing, so she could not bring herself to be that direct.
...Every time I get involved with this guy it ends up like this.
In the end she sighed inwardly and gave up thinking about it.
If she kept prying she might create some weird misunderstanding, and there was no need to rush. They still had plenty of time together. If he really liked her, she would figure it out eventually just by hanging around him.
"But why do you ask?"
"Just. If you did it for everyone I was going to refuse to be moved."
"That is honestly the worst reason ever."
Which meant she was moved right now.
Not that this guy would ever notice something like that.
"Ahh~ more importantly, I'm dead tired. Can I lie down here?"
With that she flopped straight onto his bed.
She had already been sleepy, and the walk to the convenience store had been long enough that exhaustion hit her all at once.
Watching Han Si-ah sprawl out without a care, Seon Woo-hyun spoke with a look of pure disbelief.
"If you're just going to do it anyway, what's the point of even asking?"
"A tiny twinge of conscience?"
"I am not sensing a single shred of conscience in that behavior."
"Dunno, dunno. Si-ah doesn't know about that stuff. Nngh."
Still lying there, she stretched her arms out long and arched her back in a full-body stretch.
The hem of her T-shirt rode up a little, but for a girl who could pull off crop tops without a second thought it was nothing worth fretting over.
Seon Woo-hyun, however, seemed to feel differently. He cleared his throat and turned his head away.
"Cover up a little. Don't girls have any sense of shame?"
Oh-ho.
Watching him, Han Si-ah felt a switch flip on inside her.
The usually unflappable guy's cheeks had turned red, and suddenly the whole situation became entertaining.
He never treated her like a girl most of the time, yet something this small made him react. The urge to tease him mercilessly surged up.
"What's the big deal? You can look a little."
"I am not okay with it."
"What? So you do see me as a girl? Getting all embarrassed over something like this."
"Sorry, but no matter how you look at it you are a girl. Even if I try to see you any other way, I just can't."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward her upper body.
She instinctively understood the reason behind his words.
"Whyyy~? Is it because of these?"
She flashed a wicked little smile.
Then she lightly stroked the part of her body she was most confident about—the full, pretty, teardrop-shaped curves of her chest—and said,
...Honestly, they are pretty. Even I think so.
She believed that no matter where she went, her chest alone could rival those of currently popular idols. That was why she could be so shameless about it.
Other girls always envied them, and she knew boys' eyes were constantly drawn there. Size, shape, firmness—none of it was lacking.
Of course, normally she covered them up no matter how proud she was. She knew exactly how destructive they were, so she usually hid them under a vest to avoid those hungry stares.
But with Seon Woo-hyun, she actually liked the way he looked.
The simple fact that these breasts could pull his gaze, the fact that they helped him recognize her properly as a girl, made her feel rather proud.
"Well, with something this big hanging off me, of course you can't help seeing me as a girl. Heh-hem."
"Ugh. You crazy girl. Listen to yourself. Is there anything you won't say in front of a guy..."
Seon Woo-hyun immediately ducked his head in defeat.
The thrill of overpowering a guy she could never normally pin down made Han Si-ah squirm with delight.
...He's weaker to this kind of stuff than I thought. Almost as bad as Nam Yu-ri.
Among trainees they talked about bodies pretty freely, so she did not find this kind of banter particularly difficult. Talking like this in front of a guy was a first, though.
She snickered at the sight of him, ears bright red and completely cowed, then decided she had teased him enough and went back to rolling around on the bed.
Sniff sniff.
Then her sharp nose caught a subtle scent.
The same fragrance that filled the room was coming from his blanket as well.
This had to be his natural body scent.
"Hmm?"
"What are you doing, Han Si-ah."
"There's a weird smell. From your blanket."
"What? No way. I washed it once before you guys came over."
"Just... a weird smell to me."
Sniff sniff again.
Even wrapped in fabric softener, the scent refused to disappear.
Hooo. It's addictive somehow. Familiar yet a little wild at the same time.
It was a scent she felt she had smelled somewhere before. Han Si-ah clutched her head and muttered,
"What is this smell...? I feel like I've smelled it somewhere."
"Hey. Get up. You've rested enough. Get out of my blanket already."
Apparently embarrassed by her behavior, Seon Woo-hyun tried to drag her off the bed.
Han Si-ah shook her head stubbornly and threw a tantrum.
"Nooo~ I wanna rest a little more. Just a little."
"I let you rest and now you're sniffing someone else's blanket, you little pervert. Get out right now."
"Ahh~ just a second. If I smell it a little more I think I'll figure out what it is."
"Don't try to figure it out. Just get ouuut!"
He grabbed both her arms and pulled hard.
Han Si-ah clung to the corner of the bed, then decided brute force would not work and unconsciously gave him a light shove with her foot.
"Gyaaah! That's the bruised spot!"
Of all places, her foot landed right on the spot he had injured earlier on the corner of a book.
Seon Woo-hyun screamed and his legs gave out.
As a result—
"Kyaa!"
The force he had been putting into the pull sent him toppling forward, and he crashed heavily onto the bed—right on top of her.
Naturally, Seon Woo-hyun's face landed squarely on the largest surface area of her body: her chest.
"Mmph?"
Still too stunned to process the situation, his breath brushed against her breasts.
For a girl who had never had anything but underwear touch that area, the rough texture of a boy's hair and face, plus the sensation of his warm breath, made a sound slip out of her before she could stop it.
"...Hnnngh."
A strange, ambiguous moan echoed through the room.
Just as Han Si-ah was wondering whether that sound had really come from her own mouth—
"Guys...? Wh-what are you doing? Right now?"
Why of all times...
She locked eyes with Nam Yu-ri, who had just returned from the bathroom.