Worried About Me?
I wasn't Seon Woo-hyun. Keeping up this act was proving to be a failure.
Finally, I gave up trying to hide my flushed face and used the folding fan to cool it down.
Even if I denied what had already happened, she wouldn't believe me.
"If you know I'm embarrassed and trying to hide it, you could at least pretend not to notice..."
While muttering that under my breath, Seo Da-eun burst out laughing again, her expression utterly carefree and adorable.
"Sorry. I really didn't notice."
"Right. From now on, pay more attention."
"You're so shameless."
"I learned that shamelessness is a virtue in Korea."
If asked when that was, I would say during my time in society.
There were always moments when you had to wear an iron mask.
Even with her cheeks still flushed, Seo Da-eun kept grinning the whole time, clearly finding my reply hilarious.
...Stop laughing already. It makes me nervous.
A smile like this from a beautiful girl staring down at me would make any boy slip up.
If I hadn't possessed Kim Yun-su's 29-year-old soul and been just an 18-year-old Seon Woo-hyun, I probably would have fallen for her right then and there.
But this visit seemed more like mocking my clumsy fall than anything else.
She soon snapped back to reality and quickly scanned my situation.
"It bled. You got a lot of scrapes."
"...I fell because I was running too fast and rolled around."
"So that's why you yelled earlier?"
"You. Your personality is so different from your looks. Even a person in pain."
"I wasn't teasing."
Yet she kept chuckling.
I already knew she had a playful side, unlike her usual serious face.
After all, Seo Da-eun was one of the heroines in Our Romcom.
And honestly, this kind of injury was probably nothing to a track-and-field athlete like her.
"Hold on a second."
"Mm?"
She opened the sports bag she always carried.
A small water bottle and various other items came out.
Sure enough, she reached inside and pulled something out.
"No disinfectant, but at least let's do some first aid."
She bent down and approached me.
A single drop of sweat fell from her forehead to the floor.
She carefully examined my wounds and briskly brushed away the dirt and debris with her handkerchief.
Her focus was so intense it felt like I shouldn't disturb her.
...This is too close.
Even though it was just first aid, her body scent tickled my nose.
Maybe because she trained every day.
Her skin had almost no impurities, and her sweat smell was barely noticeable.
Instead, that refreshing, girl-specific scent mixed with a hint of moisture and felt almost addictive.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
Her heartbeat quickened slightly. Then, without realizing my inner turmoil, she wrapped several bands around my injured elbow and knee.
I felt grateful yet a little burdened and said,
"...You didn't have to do all this."
"I had to."
"What?"
"If I don't treat it right now, it could scar. We have to do these things as quickly as possible."
She spoke like she was scolding a little kid.
She scolded me for ignoring first aid.
Watching her like that, I remembered.
Originally, why did Seo Da-eun always carry first-aid supplies in her sports bag?
'Probably for the younger siblings.'
She wasn't just carrying first-aid tools in her bag; she always had them on her.
Because she often took care of her young siblings.
That's why her tone earlier sounded just like it did when speaking to her little brothers.
Once she thought she had finished the first aid, she checked the bands with her hand.
"Are you still going to keep running?"
"Huh?"
"You should stop and go home. I thought maybe you wanted to keep running."
That was a statement only someone from the track team would make.
Any normal person wouldn't even think of continuing to run in this situation.
It was a thought only a track-and-field fanatic could have.
But I hadn't even completed the promised running time yet.
And I didn't want to go back home right after injuring myself.
"Yeah. I do want to keep running."
"It might sting a bit, but it's not a tear. It won't rip open just because you run."
Given that she had plenty of experience with injuries, she could tell what kind of wound it was and reassured me it would be fine.
Just from that, I could see how serious Seo Da-eun was about running.
"Instead."
"Instead?"
She brushed off the dirt on her handkerchief and blew on it to clear the dust.
Then she wrapped the handkerchief around the layered bands, tying a neat knot.
"The injury is on the knee, so if you run the band might come off. This way."
Only after finishing did she shake her hands off.
I watched her, glowing with satisfaction over the quick first aid.
Her warm gaze made me certain she was truly kind.
"Thank you. I'll wash the handkerchief and bring it back to school."
"Mm. That makes me happy. Do you need help up?"
"Yes."
I took her hand and stood up.
Standing on both legs, my wounds throbbed a little, but they weren't so bad I couldn't walk.
"You're really kind."
"Huh?"
"I mean, anyone could have just walked past. But watching you help like this, I thought you must be a good guy."
Most people probably would have just walked past.
They were busy with their own lives and didn't feel obligated to help someone who fell.
I already knew from the original story that she was kind, but actually experiencing it was another matter.
I felt the warmth I couldn't sense in the characters.
"...What? That awkward compliment."
She answered in her blunt tone.
But her cheeks were strangely flushed.
It seemed she was just as embarrassed as I was by the praise.
To shift the awkward atmosphere, she changed the subject.
"Do you usually run this way? I haven't seen you on this course before."
"Huh? No. I only started today."
I knew this was a good running path, so I figured I might come here for morning runs from now on.
"Then I'll see you around often. Bye. Run hard."
She packed up in an instant, waved, and dashed off again at full speed.
She was so fast. She was really a person, wasn't she?
I stood there watching her from a distance.
While she fiddled with the handkerchief I had tied on her leg.
After finishing my run, showering, and eating breakfast, I arrived at school.
When I entered the classroom, I spotted Seo Da-eun lying on the floor in the far corner by the window.
...She even got here earlier than me.
With her eyes closed, her hair fluttering in the breeze from the window, she dozed off contentedly.
I laughed while watching Seo Da-eun, who looked exactly like before, as if she had never experienced anything with me.
I plopped down on my seat with a thud, and a sweet voice came from beside me.
"What? What's with that scary laugh?"
"Why are you criticizing me the moment I sit down? Are you picking a fight?"
"No. Well... you were grinning like a pervert while looking at the window, so it grossed me out."
"Now even laughing makes you scold me? That's unbelievable."
He was a guy who had zero credibility in showing his textbook.
I knew her true nature wasn't like that, but since we were already in this situation, what could I do?
It would be nice if I could show Yoon Tae-jun only half of the real me.
'This is kind of fun.'
Though it sounded a bit creepy, Seo Da-eun spent most of her school life sleeping like me.
Plus, she wasn't the type to mix with others, so she quietly spent her time alone.
"Hey, are you close with Da-eun?"
At Han Si-a's question, I answered.
"Huh? No. We're not close."
"As expected. You seemed to struggle when I saw you smiling at her. I thought you two were close."
Her cold face and attitude of not caring about others.
That was why most kids couldn't get close to Seo Da-eun.
Somehow, knowing that I was the only one who shared a secret with her gave me a strange, inexplicable feeling.
What to say...
It felt like being the only one friends with that tsundere girl who didn't talk to anyone else in the class.
"Yeah. Your expression just now was seriously a total pervert."
"Stop staring at my face. Are you really interested in me?"
"How could I not when you're giggling beside me?"
Aah. Han Si-a. This annoying kid.
I had thought sitting next to her was good, but I started wondering if I had been wrong.
The thought of constantly bickering with her from now on made my head spin.
Then I noticed Han Si-a's eyes slightly widen as she looked at my arm resting on the desk.
"What? What's that?"
"What?"
"Bands on your arm. Did you get hurt?"
The waterproof bands that Seo Da-eun had put on caught my eye.
Thanks to their waterproof quality, they hadn't come off even when I showered.
They were probably the same kind kids used, so the adhesive and performance were top-notch.
...Still, she was worried about me.
Even though my lips said it didn't bother me, seeing her genuinely concerned made her look oddly cute.
"What? Are you worried about me right now?"
"What? What nonsense. Why would I worry about someone like you? This is ridiculous."
"Then what is it?"
"It's just different from usual. And if you get hurt, Yoon Tae-jun will worry about you."
Her excuses were endless.
All the while, mentioning Yoon Tae-jun made me chuckle without realizing it.
She was kind of cute.
I was about to tease her embarrassed reaction when I gave an honest thank-you.
"Still, thanks. Han Si-a."
"What?"
"You're the only one who worries about me."
"Don't. Why are you suddenly like this? It's making me feel gross."
With an honest thank-you, she reacted horribly.
But in that brief moment, I caught the wide, round look in her eyes.
Probably the first time she had ever heard a pure thank-you from me.
Still, it wasn't a bad idea to show her this side of me little by little.
For now, I would keep the playful position.
But in the end, I was still just me, Seon Woo-hyun, different from the others.
Honestly expressing gratitude was closer to my true self.
Han Si-a stared at me and said,
"Seon Woo-hyun."
"What?"
"You're acting weird lately. Suddenly studying hard and all. Even right now. It's different from usual."
"What could be different? It's just your imagination."
"No... it's definitely different. Your eyes... they're more motivated? Like there's fire in them. Did a ghost possess you?"
...That was sharp?
I barely held back my heart from jumping in surprise and answered casually.
"Han Si-a. Stop watching weird variety shows or comics. There's nothing like that in reality."
"...Tsk. No. It's really weird."
This was why women had sharp instincts.
I shook my head side to side and started preparing for first period.
"...Hey, Seon Woo-hyun."
"What now?"
"Do you like Baby Shark Pink?"
She was staring at the bands on my arm.
There, Baby Shark Pink from the children's animation was drawn.
Of course. It was the one Seo Da-eun had applied.
Since she put it on her little brothers, it made sense.
"Your taste is surprisingly childish. Cute? Hee hee."
"It's not like that."
"No~ Really? Fuup. This is what my cousin's little brother wears."
Ah, annoying.
Han Si-a was the one who erased all the gratitude I had felt moments ago in a single blow.