Chapter 26
“I should hurry up and take it off.”
There was no room for rational thinking.
I was confused about where to focus my gaze.
No wonder the shirt fit like it was tailored for a model.
Unlike smooth, slender fingers, there were firm muscles on the arms, explaining why the shirt hugged tightly.
Plus, there was a tattoo adding to the allure.
Watching droplets of water drip from the still damp hair onto the well-defined chest muscles, I couldn’t help but swallow involuntarily.
It was almost as if I was about to awaken to a different taste I hadn’t noticed before.
“Unless you want me to undress you.”
The words that crossed the line of what I could handle brought me back to my senses.
“W-what, what are you….”
“….”
“Are you kidding me?!”
As I shouted in shock, Baek Ha-won slowly blinked at me.
“Are you kidding?”
Realizing how harsh my words were to Baek Ha-won, I felt a pang of guilt.
But was that all he was saying?
Baek Ha-won wasn’t that kind of person.
No, was it… me?
Truthfully, I had never thought about Baek Ha-won as deeply as Yugyeom while reading the original.
Still holding my wrist, Baek Ha-won looked at me and I recoiled, standing up.
Seeing my reaction, Baek Ha-won smirked.
“Seems like someone who’s shivering to death in wet clothes might be more suited for being undressed.”
It felt like a hammer hitting me on the head.
Finally, I understood Baek Ha-won’s words.
“If you’re not hoping for me to undress you, wouldn’t it be better to dry your clothes?”
Baek Ha-won accurately pointed out the truth without any misunderstanding.
Then, casually turning away, he began to play with a twig as if it were a matchstick, poking at the campfire, and chuckled softly.
It was clearly a laugh directed at me.
No… he should’ve said that sooner!
I still felt like a glitching robot, recalling my past reactions, but I forced myself to stop thinking.
If I thought too much, I might just bolt out of this cave.
“….Thank you for your concern, boss.”
I said with a stiff voice, glaring at Baek Ha-won.
His gaze met mine, and he smirked as if to say, “When did you start glaring at me?”
Then he casually tossed off his damn jacket.
As my hand reached for the top button of the shirt, Baek Ha-won’s eyes met mine.
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I slowly unbutton it, sending him a strange glance like he did to me?
Or should I just tear the shirt off with force?
“You’re not actually thinking of tearing the shirt off, are you?”
Creak-
Alright, let’s go with force! I thought, but my hand slipped.
What the heck. Is he actually reading my mind?
“The expression ‘how did you know’ should go along with that hand.”
I couldn’t hide my astonishment and blinked my eyes widely.
“How did you know?”
Baek Ha-won turned his head as if it wasn’t worth answering.
But the more he told me not to do something, the more I wanted to do it.
“I don’t plan on taking you barefoot to the sky, so you’d better drop that thought.”
“….”
Is he really a magician? Or perhaps a demon?
I gave Baek Ha-won a suspicious look and plopped down on the dirt road.
Now that I wanted to find my courage, it seemed to vanish, and I didn’t feel like just fidgeting around normally.
Thanks to the warmth of the campfire, it didn’t seem too cold anymore.
I hugged my arms around myself and hunched over, watching the flickering flames.
In the silent stillness, only the rhythmic sound of dripping water and the crackling of the burning wood echoed around the cave like a faint echo.
As I counted the beats, my eyelids gradually became heavy.
—
Tap-tap.
The sound of burning firewood echoed calmly in the quiet cave.
Baek Ha-won, leaning against the wall with closed eyes, slowly opened them.
And his intense gaze landed on the dozing Yeon-byeol.
“Not asleep….”
Baek Ha-won chuckled involuntarily again but then stopped, covering his mouth with his hand.
Realizing the meaningless gesture, he stood up.
The warm glow of the campfire seemed to know exactly who belonged, wrapping only her in its warmth.
Kneeling in front of Yeon-byeol with one knee, Baek Ha-won reached out his hand towards her.
“….”
As he brushed aside the hair that had fallen over her eyelids, Yeon-byeol’s fluttering eyelashes trembled, and her forehead creased.
Baek Ha-won lightly pressed down on the furrowed forehead, and Yeon-byeol groaned, twisting in discomfort.
As her head, which had been tilting from side to side, slipped off his narrow lap, small hands slipped away.
“….!”
Reactively, Baek Ha-won reached out and caught Yeon-byeol’s cheek as it fell to the ground.
Her small face moved rhythmically as she breathed.
The heat from his hand seeped through her wrist, then her arm, and gradually spread throughout her body as if it were consuming her.
Baek Ha-won’s furrowed brow relaxed as the heat melted away.
Upon touching his forehead, it was as if it was boiling.
“Anyway, she doesn’t listen.”
Muttering under his breath, Baek Ha-won carefully wrapped Yeon-byeol’s head against the wall.
As he straightened her legs, the flesh stuck to the wet white shirt was fully revealed.
Baek Ha-won turned his gaze away and then back at Yeon-byeol.
In the end, he knew it was up to her not to take off the clothes.
Because it might not matter, but it might not be okay either.
Baek Ha-won reached out towards Yeon-byeol, who was breathing anxiously, and then reached out towards her.
His fingertips touched the button on Yeon-byeol’s shirt.
It was easy to unbutton the neatly buttoned button at the neckline. It was okay underneath.
But it didn’t go down any further.
As soon as he saw her collarbone, his hand seemed to stop working, as if it were malfunctioning.
“….”
Baek Ha-won looked alternately at Yeon-byeol’s face and the button, then clenched his hand into a fist.
I should have just told her to tear it off.
A strange regret washed over him. His jaw tensed.
Baek Ha-won carefully grabbed the collar of the shirt.
Thunk!
The thin shirt no longer served its purpose.
Avoiding direct contact with her exposed white skin, Baek Ha-won carefully removed the wet shirt, making sure not to hurt Yeon-byeol.
Swallowing hard at the sight that barely grazed him, he started filling the small, numerous buttons with his white fingers, trying to avoid any contact with the flesh while still ensuring Yeon-byeol wasn’t hurt.
With each button filled, emotions surged within him.
“Why.”
Not a single moment was important for her well-being.
Until she stepped into his space.
The day someone dared to invade his space, which no one had ever dared to do before.
It was definitely from that day.
From where, what went wrong, to where we are now, it all seemed unclear.
—
“Umm….”
Struggling to lift heavy eyelids, I was met with dazzling sunlight filling my vision. Blurry cliffs appeared in my hazy sight.
“What… when did I fall asleep?”
I never thought I could fall asleep.
I didn’t want to sleep, and in the midst of this forest, in a cave, next to Baek Ha-won, it didn’t seem like sleep would come.
But people can fall asleep anywhere, like passing out when facing unbearable events.
Baek Ha-won was either outside or not in the cave.
Struggling to rise with a sore body, I lifted my arm to sweep away the messy hair, but something felt off.
“What’s this?”
I blinked, looking at the long sleeves covering my fingers.
Black.
Mine should be white, right?
For a moment, an unreasonable imagination flashed through my mind. I shook my head vigorously.
“Nah, impossible.”
Despite my denial, the uneasy gaze scanned my body.
Thankfully, other than the shirt, nothing had changed.
The still trembling gaze swept the surroundings this time, and I noticed small pieces of white cloth folded on the rock from earlier.
The tiny crawl reached out and grabbed the shirt I was wearing yesterday.
Tick, clatter, clatter-
As I lifted the shirt, several small things fell and rolled on the floor.
“Buttons…?”
At first, I thought they were stones, but they were buttons.
Looking again, the state of the shirt was strange. It seemed forcibly torn, with empty spaces where buttons should be.
“What, what’s this?”
I definitely didn’t tear the shirt yesterday, did I?
Feeling a chill, I put the shirt down and searched my body.
“Gosh.”
I realized some of the buttons were undone. As I hurriedly buttoned them up, I heard a low voice.
“Woke up well-coordinated.”
Turning towards the voice, Baek Ha-won was still standing with nothing on his upper body.
I looked alternately at him and the shirt I was wearing.
“It seems like it’s time to leave, even if the rain hasn’t stopped.”
Nah, it can’t be.
Or is it?
It was the moment I thought Yeon-byeol might have a delusion, thinking that way and trying to move on.
“Oh, and…”
Baek Ha-won interrupted, sweeping his hair back.
The anxiety he looked me up and down with felt like a rough wave crashing down on me.
Baek Ha-won faintly smiled. It felt like I could hear laughter tickling my ears.
“I guess you wanted me to undress you.”
