Your True Feelings (6)
"Han Sua...?"
I was flustered. It was because a name I never imagined came flying out of nowhere. Why was she suddenly bringing her up here?
Puppet Show is in use on the target...
The hypnosis was definitely in effect. So, did that mean Yuha's biggest worry right now was really about my relationship with Han Sua...?
"Why her all of a sudden..."
"Answer."
Squeeze.
A cold voice accompanied even tighter pressure on my thighs. Her hands were firmly pinning down my shoulders now, as if she wouldn't let go until she heard my response. The restraint was so strong that my body couldn't budge an inch. I could clearly feel the gap in our power as superhumans. If Yuha truly wanted to subdue me, I'd be helpless against her.
Whatever the reason for the question, I had no choice but to answer...
My relationship with Han Sua...
At first, I thought of her as just a disposable pawn. Back then, I was convinced she was a villain through and through. Of course, after the training raid incident, I learned her true intentions, and my view changed a bit. I even wanted to help her.
In any case, it wasn't a normal relationship. We needed each other to get what we wanted... If I had to label it, maybe partners.
Of course, I couldn't say that outright. This wasn't just my secret—it involved Han Sua's too...
"Just friends..."
"Liar."
Thud.
Yuha cut me off sharply and pushed me back again. Her long hair tickled my face.
"You're always hanging out with her lately."
Her eyes, on the verge of tears, filled my vision. Our lips were so close they might touch. I could even feel her sweet breath.
"After school, you go see her instead of me. You went on the field training with her instead of me...!"
"Yuha? Hold on..."
"Why do you keep... trying to disappear from in front of me?"
"..."
I ended up clamping my mouth shut. The voice spilling out wasn't that of a hero—it was just a single girl's frustration.
"I'm scared."
"...Of what?"
"Of being left alone."
Yuha dropped her head and murmured softly.
"I keep thinking that. That you're going to leave me and go somewhere by yourself."
"..."
"We used to do everything together. Day or night, we were always stuck side by side. So why do you keep trying to run away from me?"
"Yuha, that's not—"
"When I heard you'd gotten hurt again... do you know how shocked I was?"
Her voice was trembling so much now that I could barely make it out.
"You should've just gone with me. Not Han Sua, but me...! If it had been me, those villains wouldn't have dared touch a hair on your head...! But... why...!"
And that's when I finally realized Yuha's true feelings. Han Sua was just an excuse. What had been worrying her all along... was me, once again.
"..."
An indescribable guilt seeped in. Of course, she had no way of knowing that following Han Sua was part of my plan, so she thought that... But her worries were things that had actually happened before my regression. I'd already hurt Yuha. A wound that couldn't be repaid even with death, one that could never be erased.
"You're bad. Kim Woojin, you're really a bad guy..."
Yuha raised a weak fist and pounded my chest repeatedly. It'd be a lie to say it didn't hurt, but this was such a minor tantrum. If she really wanted to, a superhuman like her could turn me into a donut without breaking a sweat.
I could handle a tantrum like this. Especially since I was the one at fault.
"Why do you keep testing my patience...? I don't really want to lock you up either... but... if you keep doing this..."
"?"
A chill ran down my spine. Surely those words weren't her true intent. They must've just spilled out in the heat of her emotions, like an impulsive outburst.
In any case, my goal hadn't changed. No matter what it took, I'd make Yuha the greatest hero. That was the only complete way to atone to her. I'd achieve it, even if it meant becoming a villain myself and shouldering all the world's evils.
For now, though, an apology came first.
"Sorry."
I apologized in an awkward voice.
"Hmph. You always just say sorry with words."
Without a moment's hesitation, Yuha whipped her head away.
"You misjudged me. Do I look like an easy girl?"
"..."
Yeah... The word was right on the tip of my tongue, but I shoved it back down. She clearly wasn't actually refusing the apology. After sneaking glances at me, Yuha hesitantly opened her mouth again.
"If you're really sorry, grant me one wish..."
"A wish?"
An unexpected proposal. But I had no reason to refuse. For the price of soothing Yuha, one wish was a bargain.
I nodded right away.
"Sure. No big deal."
"Huh? R-really?!"
Yuha let out a joyful shout she couldn't hide. She quickly realized it and pouted, pretending to be mad, but it was too late.
Easy girl, confirmed.
I grinned and asked again.
"What? What's the wish?"
"...N-not yet."
She'd blurted it out without thinking.
"You'll really grant anything...?"
"Yeah, as long as it's not weird."
"I-I'm gonna wish for something weird."
Sure you are. I know your personality better than anyone. At most, she'd ask me to buy her something... nothing more than that.
It didn't matter to me anyway. Whatever Yuha's wish was, I'd fulfill it with all my heart.
Seeing my smile, Yuha grumbled like I was annoying her.
"I'm still mad."
"I know."
"You know and still...! Ugh, whatever... idiot. Idiot Kim Woojin...!"
Her words said one thing, but her lips had been curving into a grin for a while now.
For now, I'd passed the crisis. I'd found the source of what was troubling her heart, and she'd accepted my apology. I'd have to be more careful from here on. I planned to avoid getting directly involved in incidents like this. I couldn't worry her again.
"Take your time thinking about it."
I continued with a smile.
"And thanks. I heard you stayed by my side nursing me the whole time I was in the ward."
"Uh...? You don't need to thank me for that."
I expressed my belated gratitude. But this time, Yuha firmly shook her head.
"It was just what I had to do."
"..."
Just what she had to do... Her words sparked a sudden question. We were childhood friends, sure, but that was from our distant childhood. There'd even been a major fallout in between. Because of my mistake, no less.
So why was she devoting herself to me like this? What was I to Yuha? Even in her dying moments, she'd looked at me and smiled, saying it was a relief.
Yeah, just like that severed hair I could see right there.
"..."
I blinked. The illusion vanished in an instant. Maybe I was the one running a fever. Anyway, once the curiosity took root, it wouldn't go away. And slithering into that gap was an unexpected temptation.
I'd sworn never to peek into Yuha's deepest feelings... but just this once couldn't hurt, right...?
"Yuha."
After agonizing, I finally spoke up again.
"Can I ask one more thing?"
"Huh...? What...?"
"Well..."
Unnecessary tension made my mouth slow to open. Like a dazed crucian carp, I flapped my lips a few times before barely managing to spit out what I wanted.
"I mean... how do you feel about me?"
"Huh...?"
Yuha pondered the question for a moment, then tilted her head in confusion.
"I don't quite get what you mean..."
"Uh, um... I mean... ah, do you like me as a friend?"
"..."
My heart was pounding hard. I couldn't predict what would come out of Yuha's mouth, which only ramped up the tension.
What was this about? And after a brief silence,
"No."
Yuha, who'd been staring straight at me, finally spoke. Without a hint of hesitation.
"I don't particularly like you as a friend?"
"Mm..."
Baek Yuha, lying in bed, slowly opened her bleary eyes. Outside the window, the sun was dipping low.
She blinked her dazed eyes a couple times to focus.
"Huh...?"
The fever was completely gone now. As she looked around, her gaze landed on something on the bedside table. A neat bowl of porridge, seemingly homemade.
She recognized the handiwork immediately.
"Woojin...? When... eek."
The name slipped out instinctively, jolting her fuzzy memories awake. She shuddered.
It was because all the embarrassing things she'd done in her feverish haze—drunk on sickness instead of alcohol—were still vividly etched in her mind. And it had only been a few hours ago.
"H-huhhh...!!"
Baek Yuha's face turned beet red. A completely different kind of heat flushed through her body.
Idiot...! Why, why...!
Today's events were a total black history. Why had she spilled all those words she'd kept bottled up inside? She'd decided to hold them back, endure, but of all people, she'd confessed them to Kim Woojin himself.
Was it because the fever stripped away her self-control?
A-and why did I climb on top...!
Her shameful actions needed no further mention. The sensation of thighs pressing together, the firmness of his embrace, the heat in their locked gazes. The vivid tactile memories only revived her flustered embarrassment.
"I'm screwed..."
Baek Yuha muttered in despair.
"Why did I do that... If you're gonna do it, at least go all the way..."
As she huddled there, her eyes fell again on the porridge bowl by the bed. Made by Kim Woojin. For her. Just for her...
"...Heehee."
A shy smile crept onto Baek Yuha's lips as she gazed at it.
Come to think of it, today's events weren't all bad. If anything, this could make her even closer to Kim Woojin...
"...No, wait."
Just as she was sinking into happiness, Baek Yuha froze. Her eyes were trembling like aspen leaves.
It was because she'd finally recalled the last thing she'd said to Kim Woojin.
-I don't particularly like you as a friend?
Baek Yuha clutched her hair and screamed.
"Idiot, idiot...!!"