"Hyunjin!!!"
Chan screamed, alarmed. He came running in my direction with a scared expression. It looked as if he lost his kid in the supermarket or a baseball stadium.
"Where did you go? I've been looking for you everywhere, man! I swear your mother is going to kill me if something happens to you-"
"Don't over-exaggerate it! I just came to see the beach. I'm right here, hyung!"
"I almost had a heart attack!" He said while checking upon me from head to toes, trying to spot a scratch of who knows what. "Don't go on your own again-"
"Eww gross! You sound like an overprotective mother. I'm not a child, hyung. I can take care of myself," I laughed while seeing how he deadpanned at my exaggeration.
"I know, but either way," he smacked my head, and this made me shoot a glare at him, "your mother is going to hang me up if something happens to her prodigal son."
"Tsk! Don't mention that woman here. Let me enjoy these vacations free of her craziness. Come on, let's get going," I said, walking on my own.
Chan and I kept looking at our surroundings, buying souvenirs and food, taking pictures, and planning what to do during the following days.
There are so many things to do on the island, and so many places to visit that I don't know where to start.
But for today, we decided to call it a day because as soon as we arrived this morning, we went outside.
We didn't rest nor spend time with his parents, and to be honest, I was a little tired from waking early. I'm not a morning person at all.
Fortunately, Chan and I agreed on the same, so we went back home to rest.
After having dinner, the night came really fast. Soon I found myself in my room, lying on the bed. I was scrolling through the pictures I took today when something came to my mind.
It was the cute guy I saw on the beach.
His vivid image was present in my head.
I closed my eyes and started to remember what he looked like.
The memory seemed to come in slow motion. A subtle smile was forming on my lips, but, soon I interrupted it.
His boyfriend appeared in my sweet memory, and that pissed me off.
"Tsk! Why a person like him has a stupid boyfriend like that?!"
I huffed and covered my face with a blanket. I drifted to sleep some minutes after.
~~~
The day after tomorrow came. Chan hyung and I woke up at 6 a.m. in order to visit one of the most famous landscapes in Jeju, Mount Hallasan.
The day before, we asked for directions and the necessary to climb it. We planned everything, and even Chan's parents lent us the car so we could drive around the island without a problem.
"Do you need help, buddy?" My friend asked me when he was ahead of me.
"I'm good," I said, slightly panting, stopping from time to time to fill my lungs with the clean air.
"Jesus Christ! You should do more exercise. You are suffering, Hyunjin..."
"Shut up, hyung! I'm just enjoying the view! It's just that," I said while taking his hand and finally composing myself.
Once I recovered and reached the main point of the mountain, we sat for a moment to drink water and rejoice with the view.
It was worth it to climb it. Our reward was the huge beautiful crater lake that welcomed us as soon as we arrived at the highest part.
Chan hyung went around to take some pictures of it and talk with the tourists that came from other counties.
In the meantime, I stayed seated for more minutes to recover some more.
When I was about to stand up, a sound came from behind me and that made me turn around.
My eyes widened when the cute guy from two days ago appeared right in front of me.
"Wooow~~ it's so beautiful," he exclaimed as soon as his eyes landed on the lake, "it looks better in real life!!"
I stood up clumsily, trying not to look like a loser. But I failed.
Fortunately, he didn't notice me. He was so busy admiring the lake to even paid attention to me.
The cute boy walked past me and went in Chan's direction, where the latter was still taking pictures and talking with foreigners.
Mount Hallasan lost my interest in a second. It didn't matter the lake to me anymore because my eyes kept glued to that boy since the moment he arrived.
He seemed to be alone today because minutes passed and no one appeared by his side, which was strange for me.
After an hour or so, Chan hyung asked me to go down the mountain, but I refused.
"Let's wait a little bit more, hyung..." I said, scratching the back of my head. I was not prepared to tell him about that cute boy I was looking at. If I tell him that I am interested in someone that has a boyfriend, he would surely scold me for the whole vacation.
"Didn't you say you wanted to go and eat something after this?" The older asked while scrolling through the pictures he snapped.
"Y-Yes, I want to...but...let's stay here some more minutes," I got a little bit nervous. "Let's eat later..."
"Alright..." He replied while still looking at his phone, "tell me when you want to go,"
I just hummed in response and kept watching over a certain boy that called my attention.
That person kept roaming around the place, admiring every spot of the beautiful mountain on his own. He was also taking pictures and talking with whoever he crossed paths with.
For some reason, I didn't want to get down the mount without him.
He was alone here, and that didn't seem right to me. Even though he looked friendly and talked with some people, he remained alone once the conversation got over.
So I opted to stay there and watch over him. I wanted to go and take care of that guy but secretly. He has a boyfriend, and I respect that.
After half an hour, he looked at his phone and soon took his backpack, ready to go.
It was until that moment that I told Chan hyung that we could go and eat something.
The cute boy was walking mindlessly, still admiring the surroundings while Chan hyung and I were just some meters behind him.
I felt relief when the three of us got down the mountain without a problem and walked the whole road straight to the car.
My friend kept talking to me about random stuff, but to be honest I didn't listen to any of it.
The whole way down, my eyes kept glued to that cute boy in case he needed some help or, more precisely, me just being a stalker.
~~~
All the vacations went like this. I occasionally met him in different places where our destination crossed by coincidence.
Sometimes he was alone, and other times he was in the company of his boyfriend.
He never saw me nor recognized me. It was as if I was invisible under those beautiful brown eyes. However, I found myself addicted to those beautiful coincidences where I had the pleasure to see him.
The last day of vacation came to its end. I was really sad because I wouldn't be able to see that sweet guy anymore.
I was sullen all the way to the airport. I got attached to that boy, and he didn't even spare a glance at me. No even once.
Chan hyung asked me several times why I was in such a mood, but I only told him that it was because I would be missing this place. Which was true...but it was not only that.
The main reason was that I wouldn't be able to see that guy that stole my heart from day one.
I was so immersed in my thoughts that when we were aboard the plane I forgot that Chan hyung and I would be sitting separately.
We forgot to book our tickets on time so the last ones we bought were from separate seats.
When I arrived at my seat, I saw a familiar face sitting near the window.
That person was with his headphones on and holding a book with a black cover in his hands.
I squinted my eyes, and it was there when I recognized him.
It's the cute guy!!!
My heart started to pound like crazy, and my hands started to sweat.
Suddenly I became all happy for having the opportunity of sitting next to him.
RIGHT NEXT TO HIM!
But then I composed myself when I remembered that he has a boyfriend.
UGH! How unfair!!!
I put my backpack in the compartment and got ready to take a seat next to him.
When I was about to go near him, I stumbled and fell.
Yes, I know. I fucking fell!
I hit his book by accident. This resulted in the object falling to the ground, ripping the perfect black cover in two halves.
I panicked when I heard the sound of the cover ripping, "Aahhh your book!! I'm sorry...I'm sorry," I apologized swiftly.
I tried to grab the book, but he didn't let me.
"H-Hey, don't worry about that," the boy said while taking my hands, "are you alright?" He helped me to stand up, instructed me to the seat next to him, and then cupped my face, "did you get hurt? Let me see..." His voice held concern while his eyes were examining my face.
I didn't notice that my head was what impacted his book. Everything happened so fast that I didn't even feel the pain in my head.
What an idiot...I'm so stupid...what a way of embarrassing myself!
His warm and soft hands were still cupping my face. "Are you okay?" He questioned me one more time.
His expression was one of worry when he caressed the hit zone I didn't even notice I had, "ouch! That must hurt..." He whispered softly while caressing my forehead.
"I- umm...I'm sorry for what I did to your book," I said with my flushed face.
He examined my features once again. When he saw that everything was fine, he said, "thank God, nothing happened to you. Next time be careful, okay?" Then patted my head while still holding that beaming expression.
My face flushed more immediately after sharing those words with him. He is not only beautiful and cute. He is so kind, sweet and caring as well.
The boy took his book back from the ground and showed it to me, "look, I can repair this..." he said while pointing to the ripped cover, "so don't worry. What matters is that you are okay and that your handsome face is alright," he chuckled and then opened the book in the previous page he was reading.
I had to make an enormous effort to make myself react. I was just staring at him in awe.
When I noticed this, I sat properly, facing the front, and then put on the seat belt.
What a way to start a conversation Hwang Hyunjin!!
When I was ready to say 'hi' or something to the cute boy next to me, he was already with his headphones on and reading that book with a focused expression that made me retract from bothering him.
You didn't take advantage when it was presented to you the opportunity to say something. You were just fucking staring!!! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!
He was so focused on the book that didn't notice when the captain of the plane voiced that we would be delayed 30 minutes due to a sudden storm that was taking place near the zone.
All the passengers remained in their seats, patiently waiting.
In my case, I kept glancing to my left.
I kept glancing at the sweet boy from time to time.
It was funny how he made small gasps and certain expressions according to what the lecture was about.
His expressions made me feel interested in the book, so I took a peek and read the title.
'Why do I love you?' It said one of the parts of the cover that was ripped.
I wonder what it is about...
"You must be kidding me! How is there someone this oblivious?!" When he exclaimed this, he hit his head with the book, huffed, and then kept reading once again. He went from upset to giggle, then from surprised to about burst into tears and other different emotions caused by that book.
It was so cute seeing those random reactions that the lecture caused him. He didn't even care if I was looking at him or not. His level of concentration is really on another level.
After twenty more minutes, he closed the book and then closed his eyes.
He fell asleep within ten minutes.
At that moment, I took the chance and examined his features. His hair was falling in his forehead majestically.
After some more time, his head kept swaying, and this resulted in me removing his headphones and putting his head on my shoulder since his neck could get hurt from doing that movement. I also put my jacket above him when he started to shiver and removed some strands of hair that were messing with his eyes.
I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't help it.
I smiled at how he leaned more to my side and hugged his book. He accommodated himself to be on my side. I had to lean more, so part of his head could rest in my chest and not my shoulder. Only in this way, he could sleep without moving anymore.
It was such the comfortness he portrayed that I also closed my eyes and leaned my head above his. I was imagining all the possible scenarios of him waking up and seeing us like this, that I didn't know how tired I actually was.
~~~
The next thing I knew it was that we had arrived in Seoul.
Chan hyung was shaking me, trying to wake me up. Apparently, I fell asleep too.
"Hyunjin, wake up! We need to get out of the plane!"
"Huh? Chan hyung?" I tried to adjust my sight to my surroundings and saw Chan hyung taking my backpack from the compartment.
Reality hit me in that instant. I suddenly remembered what I did before drifting to sleep.
I turned to my left, and the cute boy was not there anymore. The seat was empty, and the jacket used to cover him was now placed above me.
Chan and I were the only ones that were aboard. So he hurried me to take my stuff and get out of the plane. And so I did.
After we got out, I started to feel sad. I didn't even have the chance to see him one more time nor see his reaction when he woke up.
Did he get mad? Did he get embarrassed? Did he feel disgusted? How am I supposed to know this?!
At least I know that he lives in Seoul as well...maybe one day I can see him again and apologize for taking such privileges without his permission.
That lifted my mood for an instant.
I took my suitcase once I was outside and put on the jacket I had.
Chan hyung and I were patiently waiting for our ride home.
I wanted to take my phone out to see the hour. But when I searched for it, suddenly, I felt something strange in one of the pockets of my jacket.
I put my hands in the left one and felt something in the tip of my fingers.
I took it out and saw one object.
It was a small package of jellies.
"How strange...I don't remember buying this," I whispered to myself.
"Huh? What did you say, Hyunjin-ah?" Chan hyung inquired while trying to spot our car.
I shook my head when he looked at me. "Nothing, hyung... just talking to myself..."
When Chan nodded, I turned again to observe the package of jellies I never bought. I was trying to remember if someone gave this to me while examining them. When I turned the package, I saw that a piece of paper was pasted on the reverse of it.
I carefully unfolded the small paper. My eyes widened when I read its content.
"Hello, stranger. Thank you for letting me sleep over you and for lending me your jacket. I was really comfortable. I'm sorry if I took the freedom of using you as my personal bed, hahaha. You are so sweet for doing that.
Since you are sleeping and I need to go, I can't thank you personally, but take these candies as a reward. I hope you like them. Thank you so much for the trouble.
Sincerely, the stranger you tore the cover book up."
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