Chapter 21 (2/2)

As he said the word ‘like’ in that context, Yoo Chun Young heaved a long sigh for a second. I did not feel good since he really looked exhausted. It was then when I was about to stretch out my hand and rub his back.

He opened his mouth and I halted the movements I initially thought I would do.

“It’s that… you seemed to have no interest in me.”

“…”

“That’s why I like you.”

Yoo Chun Young then kept his silence again. He looked at the schoolyard for a while with his shoulders bent down as if his fatigue had finally consumed him. I stared at him in surprise.

The way he talked right now was uncommon for the boy I knew.

I seemed to have no interest in him, he said. It sounded like everyone in the world was diverting their attention at him; however, I grasped what he meant. At least, I eventually did after a long deliberation with myself.

How could I not understand that, especially when I saw what had happened earlier? Besides, I was one of the people hovering around him despite being aware of the truth behind the man that is Yoo Chun Young, the main character of this novel. He continued his words.

“You were not relying on me at all… So I feel comfortable with you.”

“…”

I looked at him again. His eyes were still not on me.

As we came back to the classroom, a few kids had their mischievous glances directed towards us but that was it. They seemed to have thought that Yoo Chun Young and I would not be dating at all. Nothing changed between us except for Yoo Chun Young who now had a look of absolute exhaustion written all over his face.

He, however, looked much more relieved. Yoo Chun Young then fell back to sleep in less than a few minutes after we came back to class. His face was turned to me lying on the desk like before. He had his earphone shoved in one of his ears.

The other side was, of course, on my ear. What came out of it was, of all songs, Stan by Eminem. The sound of the drizzle overlay paired with the gloomy voice of the female vocal rang in my ears. I fixed my gaze at him then laid my head on the desk, facing him.

With my eyes closed shut, I recited his words quietly in my mouth. I didn’t rely on him at all. I had no interest in him.

I was… the only one who did not have any interest in him as a girl.

As I murmured that, the thought of ‘Oh, he meant this’ popped inside my head. The aura I saw when I first met these boys seemed to linger around again on his sleeping face.

Again, it was unbelievable for this boy to exist in this world. His blue-black hair falling onto his forehead and the way his long lashes intertwined among one another spoke in my behalf. I stopped gazing at him and turned towards the opposite side.

I sighed silently so he wouldn’t hear and buried my face within the confines of my arms.

It seemed so silly for me to think that I was frozen in time.

You seemed to have no interest in me.

That’s why I like you.

Those words slowly pierced my heart. Instead of yelling out the pain I was feeling, I clenched my fist quietly. I was stupid to think that he was just attracted to my personality making him enjoy my company as his friend. He said that he liked me because I had no interest in him.

Yeah, sure. All the girls except Yeo Ryung Ban were, to him, something tiresome to deal with–no more, no less. Therefore, he approached me among others, who had no interest in him as a girl.

I was the only girl among loads of people around him who knew his invisible borderline.

Then what would happen if I started to have a crush on him? I thought about this with my fist clenched; however, it did not break my heart that much.

While grabbing my throbbing chest, I mumbled, “Oh, it is a good thing that I do not like him as a guy.”

“I hope… for now and forever…”