I rushed straight into the bathroom, hurriedly brushing my teeth and splashing cold water on my face. The chill helped clear my head a little.When I finally stepped out, ready to leave, Bin suddenly appeared out of nowhere.He tilted my chin up with his finger and gave me a cheeky smile. “Good morning, Mrs. Bin,” he teased softly.“Ugh, what the heck, that tickles!” I muttered while drying my face with the towel, trying my best to ignore him.But of course, Bin being Bin, he copied my voice in an exaggerated way. “Ugh, whaat the heck, that ticklesss!” His lips puckered ridiculously, making his face look so stupid it was actually hilarious.I burst out laughing, though I was still annoyed. Finally, I swung my towel at him. “Gotcha!”But he was faster. He dodged and quickly shut the bathroom door behind him, laughing like a maniac.“You’re so annoying!” I grumbled, but I couldn’t stop laughing too. Bin always had this way
After that, I fell asleep in Bin’s arms. It felt so warm, so safe, and for the first time in the past few days, I felt calm. The sound of Bin’s steady breathing beside me was like the perfect lullaby.But sometime in the middle of the night, I faintly heard the front door open quietly. It must have been Dad coming home, just like Mom had said earlier. I was still half-asleep then, but the next sound I heard snapped me wide awake.It was the sound of people arguing. At first it was faint, like muffled murmurs, but soon it grew clearer. I sat up slowly, trying to catch the words. My eyes stayed fixed on the bedroom door, alert, while my ears strained to listen.“What’s wrong, Yu?” Bin’s voice was raspy, half-asleep, but he clearly noticed I wasn’t calm.“Sshh…” I put my finger against my lips. “Listen… I think Mom’s fighting with Dad.”Bin sat up too, his large frame leaning closer to me, trying to catch the sounds I heard. We stayed quiet,
"You forgot, back when we first entered high school, we were all still in the orientation period…" Bin began, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His gaze softened as he recalled something."So what about orientation?" I asked, my brows furrowing as I tried to remember the event he was talking about."We were in the same group," Bin replied casually. "And at that time, we were given an assignment to bring food that had been decided the day before. I…," he paused briefly, his expression shifting a little, "...I forgot to bring one of the items. I panicked so badly."I chuckled, "Oh my God, why did you panic so much? That’s nothing."Bin shook his head slowly, "For me, it wasn’t nothing. I didn’t want the whole group to be punished because of me. But… you were the only one who asked me. You were the only one who cared.""And then?" I looked at him more seriously now."You told me, ‘Here, just take mine. I brought extra just in case.’ You don’t know, Yu, but those simple wor
“I can’t do things halfway, Yu. I have to see this through,” Bin finally said, his voice low, so soft it made my heart ache.The word halfway instantly reminded me of what Iky once said, that Bin never did things halfway when it came to people he cared about. And now, the air around me felt heavier, warmer.My hand, without thinking, moved again. I gripped his shoulder firmly, then my fingers slid down to touch the bruise on his chest.“This must hurt, Bin… it’s still fresh… what if later—”“Why are you so scared of me getting hurt?” Bin cut me off. His eyes were still locked on mine, so deep, and his hand pulled my waist closer against his stomach.I froze, staring back at him. All the feelings I had buried, all the pride I’d been holding onto, it all felt meaningless now.“I-I…” My breathing was unsteady. But finally, I drew a deep breath and said, “I care about you, Bin… I don’t know since when, I don’t understand.”The words came out as tears streamed down my face. “I don’t want y
I don’t know when I finally fell asleep, but it felt so comfortable. Maybe because I saw him here, safe and sound. Still, my sleep wasn’t peaceful; I had a strange dream that only made me feel more flustered.In that dream, I was lying down on this bed, and suddenly Bin was right beside me. He hugged me, so tightly, like he never wanted to let go. Strangely, I didn’t push him away. I just stayed there, even smiling like an idiot.But the dream shattered the moment I woke up. I was lying on my side, slowly opening my eyes as my mind cleared. And when my eyes were wide open, Bin was right there in front of me.WITHOUT A SHIRT!I let out a small scream and jerked back so fast I nearly fell off the bed. But Bin’s reflexes were faster. He immediately caught me, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist to keep me from falling.“Shh! What the hell, so noisy! You scared me!” Bin’s voice was sharp, but his arm still held me firmly.I hurried to pull away and sat with my back facing him. My hear
Iky kept staring at his phone that had been vibrating nonstop. Looked like it was a call. I paid attention right away, had to be Bin.“Hello, Bin? Yeah, I’m already at Ayu’s mom’s house. She’s fine… Yeah, yeah, got it. Just come here later, Ayu’s mom is worried too. Okay, don’t stress!”As soon as Iky hung up, I asked right away, “How’s Bin? Is he really okay?” My voice couldn’t hide the worry at all.Iky leaned back on the sofa casually. “Relax, Yu. He’s fine. Don’t overthink it. I’ll stay here with you until Bin comes back.”I nodded slowly, but my thoughts were far from calm. Bin always looked strong, but who knew what he was actually feeling inside?“It’s okay if I wait here, right, Auntie?” Iky asked politely to my mom, who was still standing in the living room.She gave him a small smile and nodded, though her face still looked uneasy. “Goodness, you kids carry so much responsibility. Fine, Auntie’s going to bed now. If anything happens, tell me right away, okay?”“Yes, Auntie.