second lead. | 정원

chapter 69.

lxix.

"Jungwon?" She whispered. Is that you?

The boy looked up in question with an eyebrow raised as he continued to embrace his sniffing sister. He soon gave her a grateful nod as if silently thanking her for saving Julia's life. Once the young girl in his arms had calmed down a bit, he finally stood up and held his sister's hand, not wanting the same thing to happen again.

Mira's assumption of the boy being Yang Jungwon was proven wrong when she saw his height. Surely, her Jungwon was a lot shorter than the boy standing in front of her. She coughed, breaking the awkward silence, and let out a closed-lipped smile, "Oh, you're not Jungwon— Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

Jungwon and him had such similar features. Anyone could mistake them as the same person.

"It's okay. I wanna thank you for saving my sister's life. I don't know what I would do if she..." The boy trailed off and bit his bottom lip, looking down at Julia whose cheeks had a trail of dried tears. "Is there any way I can repay you, perhaps?"

Jeon Mira stayed silent. She was busy staring at him with a knowing expression that made him fidget uncomfortably in place. He cleared his throat and looked away, a blush rising to his cheeks. They had met just now, but the boy couldn't help but think that the pretty stranger who saved his sister's life was stunning. Wait, was he crushing on her? With that thought, the boy quickly slapped his cheek.

"...I wanna go home, Dan," Julia muttered in English, tugging on his sweater. The little girl looked up at Mira who had averted her attention to her and was smiling softly. "T-thank you miss..." She quietly spoke before burying her face in her brother's sweater in embarrassment.

"Uh yes! Thank you again...uh..." The brother trailed off, hoping Mira would tell him her name. He was fine referring her as the pretty stranger, but he wanted to know her name. He wanted to know the name of his sister's savior. "My name is Daniel, by the way. This is Julia," He suddenly introduced, hoping to get the same thing in return.

And he did.

"Mira, and I'm happy to help Julia here," Mira smiled as she looked down at the young girl hiding behind Daniel's long legs. She huffed out a cold breath and stuffed her cold hands inside her jacket's pockets. "Please don't get too close to the road, okay? Watch your steps."

The little girl nodded her head.

Mira. What a pretty name for a pretty girl, Daniel thought with a smile. He was sure he had gone mad. How could he like a stranger after meeting them for less than ten minutes? As much as he would like to get to know Mira, a thought suddenly struck him. What if she had someone already? Was he making her uncomfortable with his gazes then? A girl like her couldn't possibly be single, right?

But what if she is...? Trying won't hurt.

"I have to get going now. Be careful on your way. Both of you. You should keep a closer eye on your sister, Daniel," Mira specifically spoke to the older sibling, who immediately nodded his head fast. His name sounded angelic coming out of her mouth.

Jeon Mira smiled once more before turning around to leave, but Daniel's voice cut in, "Wait."

-

Yang Jungwon took a deep breath. One of his hands was inside his coat pocket and the other was holding his phone. His eyes were locked on the screen which displayed his girlfriend's account. The pictures he so desperately wanted to look through were shown before him, now available.

Call him a stalker or whatever, but it was a rule Jungwon made for himself to skim a person's account after accepting their follow request. Especially if the account was private. He would send one back and wait for them to accept him before he accepted theirs. Jungwon was a cautious person. He even did it with his classmates.