I think I'm the crazy one, evermore
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Hwa-young woke up to seeing him still here, laying on the side of her bed with their hands together. She even noticed a mini warm towel on the side of her pillow.
Cute, she thought.
Her eyes traveled back toward him, she reached her hand out, moving his hair out his face in awe. Suddenly, out of realization for what she was doing, she pulled her hand away from him.
Few seconds later, Jae-eon woke up, "Good morning."
"Good morning."
He sat up before placing his hand on her forehead, "Your fever broke."
"You nursed me the old-fashioned way," picking up the now warm towel with an amused smile.
"The old ways are the best," he responded.
"You're right."
It didn't take long when Hwa-young had finished getting dressed after her shower before heading back to her bed. She noticed Jae-eon sitting down at her desk, using her blow dryer to dry his hair.
He seemed so familiar with her things. He knew were everything was and didn't have to ask for it at this point. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"Why don't you leave your hair out?", Hwa-young asked as she used a towel to dry her hair.
"I'm not use to it."
"It's cute," she playful questioned, "Will you leave it down just for me?"
"Come here," Jae-won stood up from the seat.
Hwa-young walked over to him, sitting in the chair he sat in before he began using the blow dryer to dry her hair. She glanced at him through the mirror, "Who knew you were this sweet?"
Jae-won chuckled, "Only for you."
Once Hwa-young hair was mostly dry, he put it up in a pony tail. Then, glanced at her through the mirror, "I'll keep my hair down and you wear your hair up for me."
"Pretty," he added.
Hwa-young couldn't help but slowly turn her head towards him. She leaned in kissing his cheek, "Thank you for last night."
He kissed her cheek on the right then left side before kissing her forehead causing her to giggle. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up causing her legs to wrap around his torso.
"Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you," Jae-eon mumbled into her ear and Hwa-young could feel her want for him increase.
Then, for a split second, she wanted his words to be real.
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Hwa-young met up with Nabi before they headed towards the university building. They both had latte's in their hands and discussed last nights events. Hwa-young only mentioned that her cold was now gone before getting the scoop on Nabi and Eun-han.
"Yea, Eun-han told me about the girl he got together with the night before."
"Did you really like him?", Hwa-young questioned.
"I went to the movies with him because I thought he was cute. It wasn't like I had feelings for him you know?"
"I get it, but if you hadn't gone to the festival I wonder if he would've kept trying."
"Speaking of which," Nabi began, "What's going on between you and Jae-eon? Or is it Jong-suk?"
"You're are starting to sound like Bit-na," Hwa-young sighed.
"Still waiting for an answer."
Hwa-young shook her head, mumbling, "Feelings are too complicated."
"Tell me about it."
Hwa-young and Nabi gasped at the sight of Bit-na, "How about announcing yourself next time?"
Bit-na chuckled before Hwa-young took this time to divert the attention onto her friend, "Since when are feelings complicated for you?"
"Gyu-hyun and I slept together."
There was a silence echoing as the two tried to process what was just said. Hwa-young instantly thought of Gyu-hyun and his feelings since he was more likely to have an emotional attachment compared to Bit-na.
"Did you guys talk about it?"
"He feels responsible and wanted me to be his girlfriend. He doesn't have feelings for me, but only want to date because we had sex."
"Did he say he didn't have feelings?", Hwa-young added.
Bit-na stopped walking as they stood near the metal shop at the unviversity. She didn't want to finish the conversation with Gyu-hyun around, "No. He couldn't respond which is probably because it didn't connect on how ridiculous he sounded."
"Then, how do you know?"
Bit-na raised her hands up and down exasperatedly, "Ugh, I don't know. I don't want to know."
"Save me a seat, I'll be a little late to class," Bit-na told Hwa-young before she proceeded to head upstairs.
Nabi then turned to Hwa-young, "Don't think I forgot about what I asked you."
Nabi had a feeling that Hwa-young was dealing with her feelings secretly as she always did since they were teenagers. She just wanted to make sure that Hwa-young was truly okay and not just saying it.
Nabi didn't let Hwa-young respond when she also went up the steps shouting, "See you later!"
Hwa-young would've followed her friends upstairs since she did want to work on her art. Yet, she couldn't since she had class that she couldn't afford to be late to.
"Hwa-young."
The young woman turned around to see Jong-suk walking towards her, "How are you feeling?"
"Better. Thanks for asking."
Jong-suk debated on bringing up seeing Jae-eon leave her apartment buidling this morning. He had just walked up the block on her street when she texted him that she was feeling better. Jong-suk knew Hwa-young well enough that she was not going to voluntarily share what her relationship was with Jae-eon. In the end, he decided to kept it to himself.
So, he put his arm around Hwa-young, "Good. Lets head to class."
"Okay," Hwa-young spoke not removing his arm from her shoulder.
The two had the class that Jae-eon was attending as well. It would be the first time since Jong-suk has been back that they'd be sharing the course.
The two entered the class room, by this time Jong-suk had already removed his arm off her shoulder. She noticed that Jae-eon wasn't in the classroom yet and put more attention to getting ready for the lecture.
"Want to go out for lunch today? I feel like I don't see you anymore."
Hwa-young was unable to respond to him as she heard the sound of her name being called. She turned to see Bit-na, Jae-eon, and other classmates walking in.
"Thanks for saving my seat, the corner is the best to nap in," Bit-na smiled as she passed through Hwa-young then Jong-suk in the row.
"Welcome."
Hwa-young found her gaze on Jae-eon who walked toward her seat. There had been an empty one next to her, but Jae-eon smiled and waved at the three before heading to another seat with his classmates.
Disappointed was all she felt, he talked big last night about wanting to show me different and—why would I care if he sat next to me or not. I figured—no, I know it, it was all talk.
She ignored the feeling, reminding herself that his specialty was push and pull. He finds a way to pull you in and then pushes when you get too close.
Hwa-young made sure to pay attention to the class lecture from then on. At least that was until she received a message from her mother, "Your birthday is coming up soon. Make sure to come home."
She stared at her phone, not really knowing how to respond. Especially since she and her mother were not close. Growing up, her mom left her to the nanny's and during high school years, Hwa-young would stay with Nabi and her aunt.
From then focusing on the lecture was futile. Thankfully, the teacher didn't give them a break, so class was over quicker than normal. It allowed for Hwa-young to say her goodbyes quickly, even to Jae-eon, and leave.
Yet, regardless of her haste, Jae-eon still texted her, "See you tonight?"
She couldn't help but to smile at her phone. She briefly forgot about her mom as she thought about him. She paused realizing how easily her emotions changed from one message from him, you are just a distraction... only a distraction...
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Hwa-young was sitting comfortably on her bed with Jae-eon was in front of her, his knees resting on the floor in between her legs. They were supposed to be studying, but Hwa-young couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. And then she glanced up at the gift he had given her: a glass butterfly, suspended from her window ceiling. It seemed like a symbol of Jae-eon's presence even when he wasn't here. The sight of it filled Hwa-young with a sense of warmth and comfort, and she couldn't help but feel grateful for such a thoughtful gift.
"Do you like it?"
Hwa-young nodded, her smile still showing as she spoke, "It's pretty."
"When the sun shines through it in the morning, it'll be much prettier."
She hummed happily as a response with her eyes on him, waiting for him to make his move as he usually did. She noticed his eyes look down at her lips, and she slowly leaned in before she felt his lips on hers.
It was a routine between them, the little kisses that turned into something more. Hwa-young didn't hate it either, in fact, she wanted this feeling to continue.
Jae-eon began placing little kisses on her neck and it wasn't teasing. It was more savoring the moment, before he slowly pulled away to glance at Hwa-young.
"Today you look... so much prettier."
They were such simple words, but hearing them from his voice seemed to make something seem more like a fact then just a plain opinion.
I must be the crazy one.
As their lips met once again, Hwa-young felt a rush of passion and excitement coursing through her body. Jae-eon's arms wrapped tenderly around her waist, pulling her gently towards the bed. As they fell onto the soft mattress, their hands intertwined, and their bodies pressed close together.
Instead of falling asleep, they laid in each other's arms, talking softly about Jae-eon's next tattoo. He pulled her hand onto his chest, whispering, "Somewhere here."
"Another butterfly?"
Jae-eon softly responsed, "It'll be a butterfly with lots of black spots on its wings. The name's pretty long— Taiwanese black-star hairstreak butterfly.'
"That is a long a name."
Jae-eon smiled hugging her close to his body, "You know, when they're still caterpillars, they don't actually eat leaves, they eat flowers instead. Pretty unique, right?"
Hwa-young hummed before Jae-eon placed a kiss on her forehead and closing his eyes to rest. Though, she just thought about his comment, wondering if there was an underlying message or if she was just overthinking. Yet, before she could come to a conclusion, her eyes slowly closed and drifted off.