The Law of Webnovels

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‘Lucky you, I haven’t even reached 160 centimeters yet…’ having that thought in mind, I looked at him with envious eyes. Yoo Chun Young blinked before continuing with a nonchalant tone.

“I was on my way home from the clinic. They say that I’m still growing.”

“Still growing? Even more?”

As I asked him now with a heightened level of shock, he nodded.

“They don’t see any signs of my growth stopping anytime soon, so I also have no idea how much I’ll reach.”

“Jesus, share me some of your height.”

“Take it.”

He giggled after this remark, which could look a little mean, but since he was my longtime friend, I just laughed along with him. I could still smell the faint scent of the rain. I also noticed that his sleeves were quite wet. From his comfortable dark gray sweater and coal-black pants, he looked like he was on his way back from the clinic.

I tried to say something while looking at him, but I decided to close my mouth instead. As if he read my actions, his eyes displayed a feeling of wonder.

“What?” he asked.

“Um…”

I hesitated to speak what was on my mind before raising my eyes to look at him. In a cautious tone, I cast the question from within my head.

“Is it true that you forgot me…?”

The heavy raindrops, which continuously rang in my ears like a noisy drum, seemed like it started to fade away. A strange silence then prevailed between us. My eyes were out of focus as it touched the ground.

I wanted to ask him if he could really forget me.

His presence rooted deep in my head, which made me hardly escape from the thoughts of him over the last two weeks. Although other things distracted me enough to prevent me from losing my focus, once I’d gather my senses, I would start thinking about him again.

Thus, I wanted to ask him if I were a person whom he could easily forget once he cared less about me.

As the prolonged silence continued, I slowly closed my eyes then opening them again. We couldn’t always think of each other at the same level. I knew that from my longtime experience.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for someone to think less of me even if I care about them a lot; however, the more one cares, the more they would get hurt later. I had those thoughts in my mind while staring at Yoo Chun Young’s wet sneakers.

That was why Ban Yeo Ryung Was such a great and respectful figure to me. She always talked about how much she cared for me and how significant I was to her life, but she never cared if I held her in the same regard in my heart. Rubbing my hair, I smiled and thought, ‘What an idiot.’ As I raised my eyes, I saw that Yoo Chun Young, who came into my sight, looked quite outlandish.

He still had a gentle smile on his lips, but his blue eyes were deeply submerged within the darkness. The shadows that were hanging under his eyes were hardly distinguishable, whether they were from sorrow or exhaustion. My eyes grew wide open when he spat those words.

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“…”

“Why are you being such an idiot?”

I never saw Yoo Chun Young speaking that way. He was a self-assured person who seldom blamed others for any circumstances. His remark just now, however, sounded as if I did something wrong, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. It was indeed a grumble at me.

After saying those words to me, he stretched both his hands out and wrapped it around my cheeks. He then strengthened his grip on me. My lips popped out like a carp. ‘What the…?!’ I spoke to him while furrowing my eyes.

“What are you doing? I’m not an idiot.”

“Yes, you are, idiot.”

“No, come on. Ban Yeo Ryung or Eun Jiho might be one, but me… oh, I could be the dummy if your standards are on the level of you guys…”

“If things aren’t clearly said, then you would learn nothing.”

The way Yoo Chun Young’s voice cut into my words didn’t sound like the one he would usually do. It was solid as the rocks beneath the ocean, subdued deeply. I opened my eyes wide. Then, at the next moment, he released his hands away from my cheeks.

I should have broken the ice, but I could hardly do so through the strange atmosphere hanging between us. Still, the sound of the rain kept on outside the apartment. I then looked at Yoo Chun Young.

When our eyes met, he slowly puffed a sigh. The breath that he spat scattered away down his chin faintly.

“No one learns when nothing’s said,” I said hesitantly.

“Well, they could at least learn something if they have common sense.”

“I do know what that word means, but if you’re talking about being tactless, then Ban Yeo Ryung is worse than me.”

“No, she’s not. You’re worse,” replying shortly, Yoo Chun Young giggled.

‘Is he feeling better now?’ It was at that moment when I had that thought in mind.

Yoo Chun Young said, “I get it. You wouldn’t know anything if things aren’t said.”

“Not everything!”

“I came here because I missed you.”

“Huh?”

He said those words very seamlessly and smoothly after my sullen reply. His voice sounded like a flowing river, blocked by nothing.

‘What did he just say?’ As I blinked my eyes in surprise, he spoke again.

“I came here because I missed you, not because I forgot your face.”

“…”

I flickered my eyes before fastening my gaze at him. Something warm and soft rose from my toes at a slow pace. The next moment, I was smiling. Dropping his gaze at me, Yoo Chun Young grinned. He then slowly stretched his hand out to pat my head.

I would usually complain whenever he ruffles my hair like this; however, I just stood still while leaving my hair to his touch.

A distortion of communication that went through between us, at last, found the right track. His precise words seemed to have solidified a stable bridge between us.

Hesitating for a while, I finally grabbed his hand. That was when I heard that voice.

“Move.”

The voice that cut through us struck my ears sharply as if it were spoken right next to me. I turned my head. Ban Yeo Dan was there, standing beside me while looking decent in a black suit just like in the morning. He then stretched out his arm behind me to reach the gap between me and the elevator. As he pressed the button, a light appeared on the black display with a beep sound.

Gazing at him with my jaw dropped, our eyes finally met. His jet-black eyes resembled those of Ban Yeo Ryung, but there wasn’t any hint of light inside.

“What?” Ban Yeo Dan asked.

At the next moment, I threw myself into Yoo Chun Young’s arms with a scream.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

“Yeo Dan hyeong?”

Flinging the question, Yoo Chun Young held me reliably before hiding me behind his back. I grabbed him tightly and scowled at the man before us.

‘What the heck?! Why did he appear so quietly out of the blue?’ I was not the only one, Yoo Chun Young also didn’t notice that Ban Yeo Dan had approached at all. He stared at Ban Yeo Dan in shock.

I asked, “O…o…o…ppa, Yeo Dan oppa, where did you pop out from? The entrance door didn’t move! The sensor didn’t work too!”

“… He dropped me off at the underground parking lot, so I took the stairs.”

“Oh.”

‘Oh, yes. That was how it worked,’ I nodded before slowly releasing my hand away from Yoo Chun Young before I could stretch his sweater any further. Looking back at me, Yoo Chun Young showed his puzzled feeling on his face.

‘I’m embarrassed to death. I mean, anyone would be surprised when someone suddenly pops out like that…’ As I rubbed my face with both hands, I heard the sound of heels clicking from far apart. My eyes directed toward the source of the noise.

Ban Yeo Ryung also looked dazzling in her outfit that she was wearing in the morning. Her white skirt flapped along with her movement. Opening her eyes roundly, she looked at us and cast her wonder.

“What’s going on here? Why are you here too, Yoo Chun Young?”

“Just stopping by.”

“Oh, really? To see Donnie?”

“Uh-huh.”

Replying shortly, Yoo Chun Young then moved his eyes to glance at me. He looked as though he had something to say to me.

“Why?”

“Nothing. I’m leaving.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

‘You just saw him for a few seconds…’ with that thought in mind, I glanced at Ban Yeo Ryung. Although Yoo Chun Young said that he would just leave, she didn’t look apologetic at all.

When she responded apathetically while waving her hand, Yoo Chun Young, for real, turned back and walked to the apartment entrance. When he stepped in front of the sliding door, the lamp above his head spread it’s orange light than his shadow slowly disappeared. Over the door, yellow lights that were pouring from the headlight began to move away from the concrete ground.