Chapter 371

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Raising my head, I called his name with an indifferent expression.

"Yeo Dan oppa."

"Uh-huh," he nodded.

"Did you send me the text first? Before Yeo Ryung?"

"..."

Watching him nod slowly, I widened my eyes. With a moment of hesitation, I asked, "... Why?"

Yeo Dan oppa was staring at me. After quite a while, his response returned, which sounded the same as usual.

"I have no idea."

Before I tried to ask him, 'Are you sure?' he weighed his words, saying, "... But I think I know why."

I looked up at him, speaking that way. Yeo Dan oppa dropped his gaze and continued, "Now that I had come to think of it..." He continued with a low voice, "Maybe there was no reason why we became close."

"... True." I nodded wordlessly.

That made sense. The theory I saw in the news that I just rattled on could be applied to relationsh.i.p.s between neighbors. Our parents moved to Seoul and settled down where Yeo Dan oppa's parents just so happened to be living next door. That was a coincidence with a minuscule probability.

Sometimes, I did think about it. 'What if the Bans and our family weren't next-door neighbors? If we just lived in the same apartment complex instead of living right beside our units, would we be this close? If we weren't next-door neighbors, would I be able to have an advantage over the other girls living in this apartment who adored Yeo Dan oppa?' When I rambled about these thoughts, I would always shake my head.

So, yeah, the reason I became so close to Yeo Dan oppa wasn't that different from why I befriended the Four Heavenly Kings.

That was when I nodded my head again. His following words made me raise my head vacantly.

"Well, although we've become close for no reason, it doesn't mean we have to grow apart for the same thing."

"..."

"What I'm trying to say is that a relationship doesn't always need a reason to end, but..." Hesitating shortly, Yeo Dan oppa soon continued, "But some relationship doesn't work that way."

"..."

"At least, I don't."

Looking at him in a daze, I quickly lowered my head. While I pressed my crease firmly with my palms, Yeo Dan oppa kept on speaking.

"Back then, I hated how you and I weren't real siblings, but now, I feel lucky that it was the case. Thing's changed, but I..."

I lifted my head again. His black eyes never felt this warm before. He then concluded, "I still like being with you."

"..."

"So, don't worry too—"

Continuing his remark nonchalantly, Yeo Dan oppa suddenly slurred the end of his sentence with a bewildered look. As if he didn't know what to do, Yeo Dan oppa hesitated for a second but soon took a step toward me. He slowly pulled me into his arms. His umbrella fell on the ground beside his feet.

"Don't worry," he uttered, "Everything's gonna be fine." With a moment of hesitation, he slowly added, "... We're gonna be alright."

His shoulders touched my forehead; he was warm. I lifted my head. The rain stopped before I even knew it. Sunlight poured through the clouds, and it touched Yeo Dan oppa's shoulders.

I suddenly heard a vibration in my pocket. However, I ignored it and just shoved my face back onto his shoulders.

* * *

Once I returned home, I suddenly got fatigued as if I had been inside a whirlpool. Without thinking about changing my clothes, I collapsed on my bed and slept like a log for about two or three hours. I didn't even have a dream. In the end, I arose from slumber when my mom came home after work.

Listening to my mother nagging me about going to bed without changing my dirty outfit from Sports Day, I barely raised my body. Once she left my room, I rubbed my eyes, stepped out of bed, and walked to my desk.

A notebook was on top of it; I used it as a diary. I usually put it deep in the bottom of my drawer below other stuff to hide it from my mom. However, it was on my desk now with a pencil between a few pages.

I opened my notebook. Looking at the page that had my pencil on it, I m.o.a.ned and covered my face with my hands.

"Geez, it wasn't a dream."

On the wide-open open notebook, a single line was written on it.

Yeo Dan oppa asked me out!

Article 30. Characters in Web Novel Also Visit Their Relatives' House During the Holidays

I opened my eyes upon hearing the birds' chirpings through my window. Looking up at the yet dark ceiling, I blinked swiftly for quite a while before turning to my left side and murmuring to myself.

"... Is it late at night?"

If it wasn't late at night, it couldn't be this dark in the morning. I finally realized that it wasn't a dream when my mom rushed into my room and slapped my back.

I lifted myself from bed with a shriek.

"OUCH! I'm awake! I'm awake now!"

"Have breakfast! Wash your face. Time to go to cram school."

Although she left my room while blurting out that way, I couldn't get out for a while. After some time, I could barely get my feet off my bed; I trembled at the cold air rising from the floor. It smeared at my wrists and ankles through my wide pajama sleeves. I shivered with my arms around my body then walked into the living room.

The sky outside the living room window still looked dark. Only the kitchen was bright, for the bulb on the ceiling lit it up. I heard my mom calling me again.

"Are you awake now, dear?"

"Uh-huh! I'm up!"

I quickly dashed to the kitchen and immediately sat down on the table in fear of her scolding. Taking a spoon of warm soup, I wondered, 'Where does this déjà vu come from?' This scenery in the upcoming wintertime seemed familiar.

'Ah!' I soon realized that I saw something precisely a year ago when Eun Jiho came to my house and sat in our living room. At that time, the light wasn't open, so only his platinum silver hair shone dimly in the dark like a source of light; his long legs were on the side table.

'He was here in our house because we were going on a middle school senior trip.' Thinking to that extent, I looked down at the bowl of rice in lonesome.

A year from that time, I couldn't believe that those days had existed in my life. Sometimes, those sceneries I encountered while flipping over the pages of my memories didn't feel real. It seemed like they were other people's experiences or something straight out of fiction.

Nibbling the rice, I could only finish just half of my meal and put my spoon down. My mom, who was eating hers across the table, flung a question in surprise.

"Why are you eating only that much?"

"I'm gonna be late."

She quickly looked at me with a face that said she understood what I meant. 'Why didn't you wake up earlier then?" Leaving her nagging aside, I got up and moved to the bathroom.

* * *

If I didn't dry my hair, I would save more time, but in this kind of weather, my hair would freeze.

'That's why winter makes me tired,' grumbling that way, I turned on the hairdryer; with my other hand, I picked up my phone. I checked the unread text messages while blow-drying my hair, but my face soon stiffened.

I turned off the hairdryer, swept all the open workbooks on my desk into my backpack, carried it on my shoulders, and ran toward the shoe rack.

'Yikes!' Throwing my bag in the front door, I quickly returned to my room and put on a padded coat. Once I went back to the shoe rack, I shoved my feet into my sneakers and shouted, "Mom, I'm leaving!"

'This fast? Did you dry your hair?' Her words soon faded away from my ears.

Once I dashed out, I quickly shut the door to prevent my parents from seeing who was standing outside. Looking at the person before me, I yelled, "Oppa!"

Yeo Dan oppa, leaning on the bal.u.s.trade while looking outside, directed his eyes on me. He looked slightly surprised.