Yes, It’s Me. The Obsessive Side Top

#030

Somehow, it turned into a strange combination of people gathering. Was this going to be like a time where the model student tries to reform two troublemakers? Kim Shin was busy looking around everywhere, while Sun Woo sat at the table, not even glancing in Kim Shin’s direction, focused on copying notes from papers he had brought onto his laptop. As for me, the other troublemaker, I watched Kim Shin with a tired face.

“Then I’ll go wash up.”

“Oh? Me too, me too. Ha Jin, give me any of your clothes. I want to shower and change too. These clothes are uncomfortable.”

Even though Kim Shin wasn’t wearing his usual suit today because of the shooting gathering, he still claimed his casual clothes were uncomfortable and asked for my clothes. When I hesitated, Kim Shin reached out and put his arm around my shoulder.

“Come on. You used to wear my clothes often when you came to my house too.”

“To shower?”

“Yeah. Why, want to shower together?”

I jumped away from his side, startled by Kim Shin’s words.

“Now I’m hurt, Ha Jin. You don’t have to react like that.”

With a sly face, Kim Shin approached me again, trying to reach out, but his arm was suddenly caught by Sun Woo’s hand.

“Follow me. I’ll give you clothes.”

“You, Sun Woo? Did you bring clothes too?”

Sun Woo naturally led Kim Shin to my dressing room. On the way, he didn’t forget to turn back and tell me:

“Ha Jin, go shower. I’ll take care of Kim Shin.”

“Oh? Oh. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Leave it to you? Who’s leaving who to whom?

I tilted my head in confusion at my own response. Sun Woo, who had so naturally snatched Kim Shin away, disappeared into the dressing room.

I quickly showered and headed to the living room. Since I felt uneasy leaving those two alone, I came out with just a towel on my head, not even drying my hair. Kim Shin wasn’t visible, presumably in the shower, and only Sun Woo was at the kitchen table.

“Sun Woo, did you give Kim Shin clothes?”

“Kim Shin was helping himself to clothes. More importantly, why didn’t you dry your hair?”

“I came out right after showering.”

“You’ll catch a cold. Come here.”

Sun Woo called me while pulling out the chair next to him at the dining table. A cold in this weather? I could somewhat predict what would happen if I sat there. But I told myself not to expect anything, dismissing it as my excessive imagination, and sat in the chair he pulled out.

Sun Woo stood up and moved behind me.

‘No way… no way?’

My imagination became reality. He grabbed the towel and started drying my hair from behind.

What’s going on now? Ha Jin, what exactly is happening to you… Is this some kind of reward for almost dying today?

While Sun Woo was drying my hair, I saw Kim Shin coming out of the guest room through my messy bangs. The moment I saw him in a white short-sleeve t-shirt and shorts, I jumped up from my seat and ran to him.

“You!”

“Ha Jin, did you miss me that much? Running to me just because you haven’t seen me for a bit? I think I might cry.”

Kim Shin hugged me without even asking why I came over, swaying side to side happily. I immediately broke free from his embrace and looked at the t-shirt he was wearing. The pure white t-shirt had a sea turtle embroidered on it.

Crazy… That was the shirt I was saving untouched for meeting grandmother.

“Take that off.”

“Take it off here? Ha Jin, shouldn’t we do that when we’re alone? Sun Woo is watching us intensely.”

“I’ll give you something else. Take it off quickly.”

“Okay, okay. You’re in such a hurry.”

Kim Shin immediately took off the shirt right there. As the white t-shirt rode up along his arms, his well-defined abs appeared before my eyes, followed by his perfectly proportioned chest. Kim Shin, with his slightly tanned skin, had a firm physique that matched his fierce face well. I briefly admired his good build before taking the shirt he handed over.

“Should I have this dry cleaned…”

“What, is it such a precious shirt?”

“It was a gift. I’ll bring you another shirt.”

I went to the dressing room, carefully hung up the t-shirt, and came out with another random shirt I grabbed. I handed it to Kim Shin, who was still shirtless, telling him to put it on quickly, then headed to the kitchen.

“Should we make some ramen?”

“Ramen?”

I had asked Sun Woo, but Kim Shin, following me into the kitchen while putting on the shirt, was the one who responded.

“You can’t eat spicy food.”

Ha Jin the spice wimp…

“I have the mildest kind.”

Unable to give up ramen completely, I occasionally made the kind known to be the mildest. Kim Shin sat down next to Sun Woo with an amused smile. It was the same spot where I had just been sitting, letting Sun Woo dry my hair.

“I remember when you wanted ramen before, I used to rinse it in water for you.”

Kim Shin closed his eyes and smiled, curling up the corners of his mouth as if reminiscing. Ironically, these memories Kim Shin had with Ha Jin were ones I didn’t possess.

“Want me to make it?”

Sun Woo asked as I was taking out the ramen.

“It’s okay. I’ll make it.”

“Ha Jin, you couldn’t use the induction stove before, but I guess you can now?”

Sun Woo said this while looking at Kim Shin. What… are you tattling to Kim Shin about me not being able to use the induction stove?

Kim Shin just smiled gently at Sun Woo’s gaze.

“Ha Jin, sit down. I’ll just make it. Seeing you in the kitchen makes me nervous. You used to get small injuries all the time because of how careless you were.”

Kim Shin got up, made me sit down, and filled a pot with water.

“Ha Jin, want me to put the egg in without breaking it?”

…Ha Jin and I have exactly the same taste in this one thing. Not breaking the egg when cooking ramen.

“Yeah.”

Kim Shin opened the refrigerator, seemingly looking for eggs, but pulled out some beer cans instead.

“Ha Jin, this is surprising. You actually have beer in your fridge. I’m going to have this. Sun Woo, want one too?”

“Just give me one can.”

“Oh, I’m happy to drink together.”

Kim Shin came over with beer cans and eggs in his arms, smiling. While the ramen with eggs was cooking, Kim Shin opened the beer and held it out to Sun Woo for a toast. Sun Woo reluctantly clinked cans and drank. After taking a sip, Kim Shin gave me an apologetic look.

“Sorry for drinking just between us. Maybe I should’ve gone to the convenience store to get non-alcoholic beer.”

“It’s fine.”

“Or Ha Jin, want to try a sip?”

I narrowed my eyes at Kim Shin’s playful suggestion. He responded with a handsome smile.

“Ah, drunk Ha Jin is really pretty. Too bad I don’t get to see that anymore.”

“The ramen’s boiling.”

I cut off Kim Shin’s unnecessary comments by mentioning the ramen. Soon the bubbling ramen was served at the table, and we each silently served ourselves portions. Despite being an odd combination, the three of us shared a comfortable meal without any awkwardness.

It’s been a series of strange events.

To see these three people together in one scene.

Kim Shin was good at cooking ramen, and the three hungry young people quickly emptied the pot.

Since the study desk in the library was too small for three people, we sat at the dining table to organize the exam papers. Unlike during midterms, I was now able to contribute some opinions. Though compared to Sun Woo, my input was still minimal.

Without Sun Woo’s help during midterms, I would have certainly had something broken by my father as soon as the test results came out.

Kim Shin lazily skimmed through what we were organizing. When I shot him disapproving looks for his clear lack of interest in studying, he would finally brighten up and smile at me with sparkling eyes.

As much as I wanted to tell him not to spoil the mood and leave my house immediately… the exam papers he’d provided held me back.

Kim Shin folded his eyes into crescents as he smiled at me, then clapped his hands.

“Ah! Ha Jin, you need to take your medicine. I almost forgot.”

“Did you leave it in the car?”

“I brought it down with me.”

Kim Shin handed me the medicine bag he’d left on the living room table. He even brought me a cup of water and quietly watched as I took the medicine. Sun Woo gave me a questioning look at my sudden medicine-taking.

“Are you sick?”

In response to Sun Woo’s question, Kim Shin gestured towards my left arm.

“There was an incident today where Ha Jin hurt their arm.”

“What incident?”

“Ah, well. Ha Jin, should I tell?”

Kim Shin asked if it was okay to tell.

“Sun Woo, I’ll tell you about it later.”

Just then, Kim Shin’s phone rang loudly. He excused himself to take the call, then returned with a deeply frowning face.

“Damn. I need to go. Seems they heard about today’s incident. Given who the people involved are, rumors spread instantly. These kids all have such loose lips. Father wants me to come and explain everything… Is it okay if I tell them?”

“Just tell them exactly what you saw.”

Kim Shin sat with a blank expression, fiddling with his phone. Then he examined the clothes of mine he was wearing, lifting the fabric to sniff it.

“Can I keep wearing this? I love that it smells like Ha Jin.”

“Keep it.”

“Really? Then I’ll wash it and return it later.”

“No need. Throw it away.”

“Nah. I’ll treasure it as my precious possession.”

Kim Shin showed a sly smile, clearly pleased. Soon he got another call, and he said his driver had arrived to pick him up and bid farewell before leaving. After Kim Shin left, we continued studying in the now calmer atmosphere. Between the effects of the medicine and Sun Woo’s deep voice, my eyes began to close slowly.

“Sleepy?”

“Ah, sorry. Let’s continue.”

“Go to sleep if you’re tired.”

“But you made time to come, and we hardly got anything done.”

“Well, this wasn’t supposed to be a study day anyway. Let’s go in.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll watch you fall asleep before I leave.”

Sun Woo helped me up from the chair with his strong arm. When he said he’d clean up and follow after, telling me to go ahead, I walked to my room as if in a trance. Only after entering the room did I wonder whether I should lie down on the bed or tell Sun Woo it was fine and that he could leave.

My deliberation became meaningless when Sun Woo opened the door and came in, his presence alone making me decide to fall asleep under his care. Yes, I admit it. I was captivated by his handsome face.

“Lie down.”

Though it was a simple command, coming from Sun Woo’s lips it sounded so pleasant – seems the Ha Jin demon still hasn’t been exorcised. In my sleepy state, I obediently climbed onto the bed as Sun Woo instructed. Sitting at the headboard, Sun Woo even personally covered me with the blanket.

“What’s this about getting hurt?”

At Sun Woo’s question, I told him about today’s incident with Jung Woo. A very sanitized version. Omitting the part about him pointing the gun, just saying he swung it and hit me. After listening quietly, Sun Woo suddenly expressed concern about Ha Jin’s relationships.

“Do you really need to meet those people? If you want to hang out, the school kids are fine too.”

“I only need to go to the regular meetings.”

“Ha Jin. Be selective about who you associate with.”

“Mmhmm.”

What’s with this guardian-like statement?

He used his fingers to fix my hair that had fallen onto my face. Pleased by his gentle touch, I smiled slightly, which made Sun Woo’s hand pause for a moment.

Wanting more attention, I nuzzled my head against his hand, and his fingers resumed playing with my hair.

“Sun Woo. Want to sleep together?”

Late at night, drunk with sleep, I blurted out words without realizing their meaning, only understanding their implications belatedly. Just as I was sinking into sleep, those words I spoke forcefully pulled me back to the surface.