Chapter 59: The Beginning of a Crush

“Ah, uh. I’m okay.”

I hurriedly waved my hands. Back then, I was even worse at accepting help than I am now. Na Eun-hyeok’s tone felt like he was pitying me, so I scrambled to get up. But the moment I straightened my knees, blood streaked down from the wound. Without meaning to, I plopped back down on my butt. Watching me, a slight crease formed between Eun-hyeok’s smooth brows.

“You’re hurt pretty bad.”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Wait right here.”

“I’m really okay… hey.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Eun-hyeok dropped his shoulder bag next to me and strode off somewhere. I stared blankly at his retreating back, unable to stop him. The leather bag left behind looked just as forlorn as I felt.

Eun-hyeok returned about ten minutes later. In the meantime, I had been standing awkwardly at the edge of the road, holding his bag. My wound was throbbing and still bleeding, so I wasn’t in the best of moods.

“Eon-ha-ya. Stay still for a second.”

That was until Eun-hyeok spoke and began laying out the items in his hands.

“What is all this? Did you buy it?”

“It’s nothing. They didn’t sell ointment nearby, so I had to run to the student union building. Sorry I’m late.”

Eun-hyeok had brought wet wipes, disinfectant, ointment, and bandages. He handed me a few wipes and then, without a hint of hesitation, knelt down and gently wiped the area around my knee. As the dust around the wound was cleaned away with a sharp sting, Eun-hyeok uncapped a fresh bottle of disinfectant.

“Eun-hyeok-ah.”

“It’s okay, stay still. It won’t hurt.”

“It’s not that it hurts, it’s just…”

“You’re quite the scaredy-cat, Eon-ha.”

With a soft chuckle, he applied the disinfectant to the scrape. It stung as it worked, but all my senses were focused entirely on the person in front of me. After smoothly applying a translucent layer of ointment, he meticulously placed a bandage over it before finally standing up.

“Should I do your hands too?”

“I-I’m fine.”

“Let me see.”

Eun-hyeok took my hand—the one that had been nervously clutching a wet wipe—and peered at my palm.

“Hmm… This one’s a bit tricky. Can you do it yourself when you get home?”

“Yeah. I’m really okay.”

“Alright. Take these with you.”

He pushed the supplies he’d bought toward me.

“No, no, it’s fine!”

“They’re just extra weight for me anyway. You take the heavy load.”

“These aren’t heavy at all…”

“Well, if they aren’t heavy, even better. Take them.”

He was a master of logic. While I was busy stammering, unable to win the argument, Eun-hyeok walked behind me, unzipped my backpack, and tucked the items inside. As I stood there fidgeting, unsure of what to do, he looked back at me.

I was standing further down the slope, and Eun-hyeok was standing above me. I was already slightly shorter than him, but the incline made him look massive. The vivid red sunlight shining behind him looked like a holy halo. With the backlight casting shadows across his sharp features, his face felt even more reverent than usual.

“Thank you, truly.”

I gave a deep bow. Eun-hyeok let out a short laugh.

“Consider it payment for watching my bag.”

Eun-hyeok grabbed his leather shoulder bag from my arm and slung it over his own. While I was still searching for the right words to say, he started walking. His white shirt caught the light, gleaming brilliantly as he strode away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

I stood there, paralyzed. Even long after he disappeared down the hill, my eyes continued to trace the path he took. I couldn’t feel the sting of my wounds or the weight of my heavy bag anymore. My mind was so full of Na Eun-hyeok that there was no room for anything else.

“Na Eun-hyeok.”

That was the day I fell in love with him.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Ah, uh? Nothing.”

Eun-hyeok’s voice tore through my memory. I lifted my gaze from the floor to see him leaning back in his chair, long legs slightly crossed, looking effortlessly cool in his denim jacket. If Han Gyu-tae or Park Seong-jin had posed like that, I would have told them to stop acting like try-hards, but on Eun-hyeok, it just looked right.

We had moved to a spacious cafe on the second floor of the Social Sciences annex. The cafe, which featured a terrace, was more expensive than the unbranded shops on campus, but it was a favorite for group projects because of the ample seating and large tables. Quite a few students were working solo with earphones in at the window seats, and a couple sat whispering together on the sofas half a flight up.

We chose a large circular table half a flight down. The table was big enough to fit three laptops with room to spare, and it had about five chairs. We sat facing each other. Behind Eun-hyeok, a massive floor-to-ceiling window showed tree branches swaying in the wind, their fresh spring leaves dancing above his head.

And Eun-hyeok was staring straight at me. His deep eyes, set above a nose sharp enough to cut, moved slowly as if trying to read my thoughts. The fluorescent lights from the high ceiling reflected in his eyes like stars. Unable to meet that gaze, I looked down again. Right then, the buzzer on the white table began to rattle and vibrate.

“The coffee’s ready. I’ll go get it.”

“I’ll get it!”

“No, really. I like picking up coffee.”

I hurriedly stood up, preventing him from rising. As I climbed the stairs, I wondered what on earth I was saying. I like picking up coffee? Who even says that? It’s not like I said I like drinking coffee.

Whenever I was in front of him, my brain’s circuitry just fried. My thoughts were spinning in circles. The sheer presence of Na Eun-hyeok filled my mind so completely that no other thoughts could squeeze in. Getting used to him through a few conversations wasn’t nearly enough to clear the mental clutter.

I’m in trouble if I stay like this all day.

“Enjoy your drinks.”

I took two straws and the tray from the dazed-looking part-timer. Eun-hyeok had ordered an Iced Americano, and I had ordered a Mocha Latte topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. The scent wafting from the plastic cups was sweet and nutty. As I carefully carried the tray down the stairs, making sure not to spill anything, Eun-hyeok turned toward me.

“Thanks, Eon-ha-ya.”

“Yeah.”

I had intended to say something like, “No problem,” but a curt, blunt voice came out instead. Even so, Eun-hyeok didn’t flinch; he just crinkled his eyes and gave a melting smile. The way he picked up his Americano and brought it to his lips looked like something straight out of a coffee commercial.

“So, I think we should split up the research for the assignment. What do you think?”

“Yeah.”

“There are five topics, and the last one requires a lot of research. I think we should take two each and do the last one together.”

“U-huh.”

“Normally we should solve them all together, but to save time, I think splitting them is better. Our answers will probably be the same anyway. You’re good at this.”

“No, I…”

It seemed he had already thought everything out. He divided the workload without a hitch. All I did was sit there like a dummy, repeating “Yeah.” I took questions 1 and 4, while Eun-hyeok took 2 and 3. As he suggested, we’d research question 5 together and meet next week to combine our findings.

Unlike Eun-hyeok’s smooth speech, my brain continued to creak. I felt like I understood the questions better when I first glanced at them in the classroom than I did now, staring at the paper. The black letters on the white page seemed to scatter and merge into strange, incomprehensible patterns.

Focus. I needed caffeine to bring my half-conscious mind back to reality. I grabbed the condensation-covered plastic cup and took a long sip through the straw. As the bitter-sweet flavor of the mocha latte spread through my mouth, I felt like I was finally coming to my senses.

“You must like sweet things.”

“Huh?”

I felt like I was coming to my senses until Eun-hyeok spoke.

Startled by the unexpected comment, I looked up with wide, rabbit-like eyes. Eun-hyeok had his elbow on the table, resting his cheek on a lightly clenched fist. Beneath his tilted head, his dark eyes curved playfully as if he’d seen something amusing. My heart, which I thought had been calmed by the mocha latte, began to thud again.

Right. Coffee is a stimulant.

“I noticed you asked for extra drizzle earlier.”

“Ah, y-yeah. Yeah.”

“Do you like desserts too?”

“Yeah. I don’t go often because it’s weird for a guy to go alone, but…”

Under the table, I clenched my hidden hand into a tight fist against my thigh. My knuckles were definitely white from the pressure. Forcing myself to keep it together, I managed to string together the longest natural sentence of the day. Well, it wasn’t perfectly natural—my intonation was a bit shaky—but I said it.