TW 13

Chapter 13

Thanks to Hae-il’s consideration, Danbi was able to finish her meal more comfortably than she had expected.

Of course, she wasn’t even sure whether she had properly tasted the food, since she had spent more time sneaking glances at Hae-il sitting across from her than actually eating.

When the meal was over, Hae-il paid without hesitation, and soon the two of them climbed into a taxi.

“Tell me your destination. I’ll drop you off and go.”

The taxi stopped in front of Danbi’s academy not long afterward.

Danbi was about to get out and thank him when Hae-il spoke first.

“Thanks for today. You really saved me. See you tomorrow.”

There was an inexplicably gentle quality to his normally blunt voice.

Having her words stolen from her, Danbi stared at him blankly for a moment before awkwardly waving her hand.

“Uh…… yeah. See you tomorrow.”

The taxi carrying Hae-il slipped away with a quiet engine hum.

Danbi stood rooted to the spot for a while, unable to take her eyes off the red taillights until they completely disappeared from view.

Only after the faint image of the taxi had faded into the distance did Danbi finally turn and head into the academy building.

Once Hae-il was gone, the rest of the day continued as usual.

The instructor’s voice and the problem-solving exercises sank clearly into her ears, yet strangely, other thoughts kept creeping into one corner of her mind.

The warm softness she’d felt from his hand.

The gentle gaze he’d directed toward her despite his seemingly indifferent expression.

And the unexpected farewell he’d given her at the end.

Even after finishing her academy classes, returning home, washing up, and lying down in bed, everything that had happened that day replayed through her mind like a panorama.

Danbi felt her heart beating more violently than usual.

What’s wrong with me today?

Even when she closed her eyes, Hae-il’s image kept appearing before her.

His sharp eyes when he took off his glasses.

The way he had grinned at her.

And his hand, which had held hers throughout the walk home from school.

The more she thought about it, the hotter her face became, and her heart thrashed wildly of its own accord.

When she placed a hand against her forehead, she even felt as though she had a slight fever.

Curling herself up against the unfamiliar heat, she pulled the blanket up to her neck, but sleep refused to come easily.

It was an unfamiliar emotion, one she’d experienced for the first time in her life.

She had never been this conscious of someone before, nor had she ever felt so anxious over every little thing someone did.

Maybe I’ve been too stressed.

Danbi tossed and turned dozens of times, trying to calm herself.

Only when the sky outside was beginning to grow faintly bright did she finally manage to surrender her exhausted body to sleep.

But even in her shallow dreams, he appeared.

He held Danbi’s hand as they walked through a flower field, talking about their future together.

It was an absurd story, but Danbi felt happier than she ever had in her life.

✶ ✶ ✶

After that night, Han Hae-il was no longer simply “the shield that protected her from Lee Suhyeon” to Danbi.

Of course, Suhyeon had become noticeably quiet after the incident in the gymnasium and no longer hovered around Danbi or bothered her.

Hae-il would sometimes curl the corners of his lips in satisfaction as he watched Suhyeon’s change, but that was no longer important to Danbi.

Now, to Danbi, Hae-il was simply Han Hae-il—a boy with an enormous presence.

His low voice.

His seemingly indifferent yet gentle gaze.

The occasional smile he showed.

Everything about him captured Danbi’s attention.

As a result, she developed a habit of stealing glances at his profile during class.

Whenever their eyes happened to meet, she struggled to pretend to be calm while her heart went wild.

Sometimes, he was a huge and frightening wave, just like his name suggested.

“Hey, Lee Danbi.”

It was on the way home from school one day.

For some reason, Hae-il had sent his friends ahead and was walking alongside Danbi.

“Lee Suhyeon hasn’t said anything to you separately or anything, right?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Then that’s good.”

Had he come just to check on that?

He seemed quite satisfied that he had completely crushed Suhyeon’s spirit.

There was a subtly hierarchical and nasty side to him.

“Did you know Lee Suhyeon before?”

“We went to the same middle school. Almost all the kids around here went there. You’re the only new face.”

So that was why the students had been moving around in groups since the entrance ceremony.

Come to think of it, unless there was a particular reason not to, people usually chose schools within their own neighborhood.

Especially in this area, that culture was even more firmly established.

“Then were you two always on bad terms?”

“Nothing happened in particular. You know how there are people who just find each other annoying? I guess you could say we’re just not compatible. I don’t like noisy people.”

“Hm…….”

“I’m actually glad it turned out like this. It’s quiet now. You like it better now that you’re quiet too, right?”

Suhyeon was already outside Danbi’s sphere of concern, but at Hae-il’s satisfied smile, she silently nodded.

Throughout the conversation, he stayed beside her, matching his stride to hers.

Even his authoritative manner of speaking had somehow become comfortable, and the occasional gentleness he revealed created tiny ripples in her heart.

She liked this time she spent with him.

She was absentmindedly watching his shadow gently overlap with hers when Hae-il suddenly leaned slightly toward her and whispered near her ear.

“Hey, that guy’s looking at you again.”

“Huh? Who?”

Danbi, who had been completely focused on Hae-il, finally looked up.

Soon, her eyes met Suhyeon’s in the distance.

His hand was still wrapped in a white bandage.

He stared at Danbi and Hae-il with an indescribably empty look in his eyes before getting into his car and driving away.

At that moment, the image of Suhyeon screaming while clutching his broken fingers flashed through Danbi’s mind.

A faint ache settled in one corner of her heart.

“Are his fingers really that bad……?”

It was concern born from pure sympathy.

Of course, Danbi was afraid of Suhyeon and disliked him, but they saw each other’s faces every day, so she couldn’t help feeling a little concerned.

“Lee Suhyeon?”

“Yeah. It’s good that he’s been quiet since that day, but he looks so drained. It doesn’t seem like he told the teachers or adults much about it, either.”

“That’s because he doesn’t want to admit that he lost to me. If he tells his mom he got beaten up after picking a fight, he’d have his balls cut off.”

“Hmm…….”

The fight had started because of Suhyeon’s provocation, but once the outcome had already been decided, Hae-il had broken Suhyeon’s hand.

He had probably wanted to crush Suhyeon’s spirit so thoroughly that he would never dare challenge him again.

The method had been rather cruel, so Danbi could imagine the shock and emotional damage Suhyeon must have suffered.

And she couldn’t quite shake the discomfort it caused her.

“I wish you hadn’t stepped on his hand.”

“He stepped on my glasses.”

“Still, you had already won the fight then. Lee Suhyeon couldn’t even get up…… I mean…….”

Hae-il abruptly cut her off.

“Hey, Lee Danbi.”

“……Huh?”

Danbi turned her head to look at him.

Hae-il asked,

“Why do you keep taking Lee Suhyeon’s side?”

Then, with narrowed eyes that seemed capable of seeing straight through her, he continued.

“You like me, don’t you?”

In an instant, Danbi’s mind went completely blank.

The shock hit her like a blow from a hammer, so powerful that she even forgot how to breathe.

No.

She needed to deny it.

But no voice came out.

Instead, uncontrollable heat rushed to her face.

Her ears grew hot, and soon the tip of her nose began to sting as tears welled up in her eyes.

Hae-il’s figure wavered through her dampened vision.

He seemed somewhat surprised as he stared blankly at Danbi’s face, which had turned bright red.

Danbi couldn’t deny it.

But she couldn’t admit it, either.

Unable to endure the heat that felt as though her face might burst into flames, she simply lowered her head.

Her heart thrashed wildly.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It felt as though that deafening sound were echoing throughout the entire world.

With just one sentence, he had made the feelings she’d desperately tried to ignore become painfully clear.

Confusion, embarrassment, and uncontrollable excitement all mixed together, swallowing her like a gigantic wave.

“I-I’ll go first……. I’m late for the academy…….”

Danbi couldn’t remain there any longer.

She blurted out the words without waiting for a response, turned around, and started running.

Her heart seemed ready to burst out of her chest, pounding in rhythm with every footstep.

She couldn’t bring herself to turn around and confirm the weight of the gaze she could feel on her back.

Her entire face felt like a ball of fire.

Breathing heavily as her breath rose all the way to her chin, Danbi thought of nothing but getting farther away from him.

And so, Danbi ran away from her first love—

and from the powerful waves that love had stirred within her.