Chapter 25 : Can you dry it for me?

I entered the house.

I opened the familiar door and stepped into the familiar hallway, only to find myself in an unfamiliar home.

It was quiet, as always.

It felt like a space where time had stopped.

Everything seemed frozen in place, with no traces left behind.

This house was always quiet, and always the same.

“Wow… it’s cleaner than I thought?”

Her casual remark cut through the quiet air.

I closed the door and responded nonchalantly.

“Not really. 

It just doesn’t have much.”

She took off her shoes and stepped inside.

The sound of her wet socks stepping on the floor awkwardly spread through the room.

It was the first time I had heard someone else’s footsteps in this house.

Her damp body shivered slightly.

It wasn’t exactly cold, but there was a strange feeling of unfamiliarity.

“I’ll get a towel. 

Stay here for a sec.”

Without waiting for a response, she went into the room.

She pulled a clean towel from the closet.

I had to find something for her to change into.

What should I give her?

She was smaller than me.

If she wore my clothes, the shoulders might fall off.

I hesitated, unsure.

It was starting to sink in that I had brought a girl into my house.

I thought I would be fine, that I could pretend it didn’t bother me.

But my heart kept pounding.

In the quiet house, my heartbeat sounded unnervingly loud.

I slowly got up and walked over to Lee Jian.

I handed her the towel.

“Towel.”

“Ah, thanks.”

She took the towel and started drying her hair.

I briefly watched her, then held out the clothes.

“Change into these.”

“Okay.”

She took the clothes.

“Sorry, I don’t have any underwear.”

“Isn’t it weirder if you do have them?”

“Ah… actually, that was a joke.”

“Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Lee Jian giggled.

That’s when I smiled a little too.

It seemed like the tension had eased, just a bit.

I could sense her presence.

The sound of her drying her hair with the towel.

The water from her clothes seeping into the towel.

The quiet exhale of breath.

For a moment, the space felt like a different one.

Lee Jian stopped when she saw the clothes I handed her.

She touched her arm and frowned slightly.

It seemed like she was uncomfortable.

Well, she had fallen into that muddy water pretty dramatically.

“If you’re going to shower, you should wait for the hot water to come on.”

Lee Jian grabbed the edge of the clothes, pulling them open, and then lightly bit her lip.

“Then I’ll wait a bit and shower.

I’ll change into these later.”

She sighed a little and turned her head.

“I’m going to change too.”

I felt just as awkward with my wet clothes.

But more than that, it felt unbearable being in the same space, so I escaped.

By the time my heartbeat settled, I returned to the living room.

It was an evening with rain. 

The rain, which had stopped for a while, started falling again.

The air, heavy with humidity, slowly dampened the room.

I looked at her, sitting on the sofa.

She was wearing loose gym clothes.

The same gym uniform we wore at school, with my name tag on the chest.

Something felt strange.

The neck was a little too big, causing the shoulders to droop.

The sleeves were long enough to cover her fingers.

She was hugging her knees, her body curled up as she stared out the window.

Outside the window, the faint glow of streetlights shone.

The yellow light softly filled the room.

The light fell across her wet hair.

The dry towel was placed beside her, but the ends of her hair were still wet.

Drops of water fell slowly, soaking her collar.

Her breath quietly drifted through the room.

It was a familiar space, but somehow, it felt unfamiliar.

This house was always quiet.

It always looked the same.

But now, it is different.

The house hadn’t changed, but the atmosphere had.

It was still quiet, but it wasn’t suffocating.

There she was, sitting on the sofa, wearing a somewhat large gym outfit.

An unfamiliar presence in an otherwise familiar space.

When she curled her body and pulled her legs in closer, the gym clothes seemed even bigger.

She lightly held onto the sleeve ends, pulling and releasing them as if lost in thought.

Her fingertips strangely caught my attention in the quiet room.

The playful tone from before was gone, and now there was only a quiet silence.

Sniff. 

She quietly lifted the sleeve and sniffed.

“What are you doing? 

Checking if it smells?”

“Ugh! 

What? 

When did you come in?”

“I’ve been here the whole time. 

What are you talking about? 

If someone saw, they’d think you were the homeowner.”

Lee Jian’s face turned bright red.

“So, does it smell? 

Is it sweat? 

Should I bring you something else?”

“…No, it’s fine. 

It’s just because it’s uncomfortable.”

She shrugged dismissively, but the wet strands of her hair were still slipping down her collar.

The hot water was taking longer than usual. 

Was there a malfunction?

This hadn’t happened before.

I nervously spoke, trying to ease the tension.

“You didn’t dry your hair properly.

“She glanced at me without answering.

Then she lowered her head and pushed her wet hair toward me.

“Could you dry it for me?”

I sighed softly, picked up the towel beside me, and gently pressed it against her hair.

She took a quiet breath in.

Why did I say that if I was going to be this nervous?

The rustling of the towel felt strangely loud in the silence.

I tried to keep my movements as natural as possible, even though I was awkward.

I held her hair gently and moved the towel over it.

Before long, warmth began to seep through her damp hair.

“That’s enough. 

You can dry it yourself now.”

I quietly sat down on the floor and leaned my back against the sofa.

Lee Jian sat on the sofa, knees drawn up.

The sofa and the floor.

We were only separated by a few centimeters of space.

“Where are your parents?”

Her voice broke the silence.

I answered briefly.

“They’re not here.”

“Oh… they must be working.”

She interpreted it that way, naturally.

I opened my mouth a second later.

“No, they’re just not here.”

The air froze for a moment.

I felt her hand, still gripping the sleeve, freeze as well.

“…Sorry.”

“It’s fine. 

Don’t worry about it.”

I said that, but the awkwardness only grew.

I looked at the floor, and she seemed to be watching me out of the corner of her eye.

The silence stretched on even longer.

The rain was still falling.

Thud. 

Drip. 

Thud. 

Drip.

That sound, irregular yet rhythmic, slightly erased the silence in the room.

“Your house is really quiet.”

She said,her voice was a bit lower than usual.

I leaned back on the sofa and slowly turned my head.

“It’s always like this.”

Outside the window, the rain continued to fall.

The sound of the rain wrapping around the room covered the stillness.

I turned my head back to look at her.

Her hair was slowly drying.

But there was still some moisture at the ends.

The droplets were gradually fading away,as if they were slowly blending into the space itself.

“That was close.”

“What happened?”

“I didn’t have an umbrella. 

If I had stayed a bit longer, I would’ve had to run home in the rain.”

“Don’t you have a spare umbrella?”

“Nope.”

I sighed as I spoke.

“It’s the rainy season. 

You should carry an umbrella just in case.”

“Are you worried about me?”

…I lied. 

I didn’t even know why I said that.

A poke. 

A poke on my back.

I turned my head.

Lee Jian was looking at me, leaning against her knees.

She whispered softly while staring into my eyes.

“Can’t I be worried… about you?”

Her loose gym shirt, the zipper slightly open, and what was visible between…

At that moment, my heart sank.

My mind went completely blank. 

I didn’t know what to say.

“Be, be careful! 

You… a girl…”

My voice jumped a couple of tones higher than usual.

Without thinking, I turned my head sharply. 

My fingertips were trembling slightly.

“What’s wrong, why are you so surprised?”

She asked nonchalantly. 

But I couldn’t be calm.

“Be, be more careful… entering a guy’s house like that without any boundaries!”

My words got tangled. 

I couldn’t catch my breath. My mind was in chaos.

What was I even saying? 

I invited her in.

But then—

“It’s because it’s you that I came in.”

Her voice was quiet, but it felt heavy with certainty.

At that moment, my heart thudded loudly.

I didn’t know if this feeling was embarrassment or something else.

She was staring at me, silently.

Her eyes were playful, yet serious.

Her voice was calm, but underneath it, there was a surety that unsettled me.

I unconsciously inhaled, but couldn’t exhale.

My lips feel dry, and my fingertips tingle.

This was definitely—

I couldn’t say anything. I froze in place.

“Hehe, you’re flustered.”

She sounded like she enjoyed it, her voice light.

“You really… in front of other people…”

But my words couldn’t continue.

She grabbed my head and turned it.

Her face was suddenly right in front of mine.

Her breath was so close.

When she came nearer, I instinctively inhaled, but couldn’t breathe out.

My fingers were shaking slightly.

Was it nerves? 

Or something else? 

I wasn’t sure.

Outside the window, the rain still fell.

The raindrops on the ground, the faint ripples expanding under the streetlamp.

Even in the still room, the sound of rain from outside kept echoing in my ears.

But—

There was something else in the room besides the sound of the rain.

“I told you. 

I only act like this around you.”

Her voice quietly filled the space.

Her pink eyes shimmered.

Light began to seep into them.

Drops of water gathered on her wet eyelashes.

Drip—

A cold droplet fell onto my cheek.

At that moment, my time froze.

The water running down her face seemed more vivid than the droplets.

The warmth of her presence consumed my senses.

Like the rainwater pooling on the floor,all my feelings spread outward, centered around her.

“I thought I’d try whining like you said.”

The rain fell heavily outside the window.

The wind knocking on the window.

And in front of me, she was looking at me.

The corner of her mouth curled up slightly.

She smiled lightly, eyes twinkling.

“You want it, don’t you? 

Do you want to whine a little?”

At that moment, something inside me trembled.

The rain was still falling.

But now, it wasn’t the rain I heard,it was the sound of my heart pounding.

The view outside the window was slowly changing.

The raindrops that had been hitting the ground were now fading away,the small puddles spreading out, their ripples becoming faint.

The downpour, which seemed like it could start again at any moment,was slowly, ever so slowly, reaching its end.

The humid air had been washed clean.

A faint breeze slipped between the wet leaves, and the sky beyond darkened, with a hint of the sunset light seeping through.

A different kind of air now.

And she, coming toward me, was different too.

“But… 

What if you get wet again? 

Will you dry me off then?”

She asked in a heavy voice, almost like the last remnants of the storm.

In her eyes, something flickered faintly. 

Was it me, or was it something else? 

I couldn’t tell.

She parted her lips, as though about to say something.

But in that moment—

The system interfered.

It was as if even the system sensed that the flow of emotions was about to shift.

[Anomaly detected.]

Her hand, which was holding onto mine, was cold.

She slowly lifted my hand, but then, as if lost, it floundered in mid-air.

Her fingers lingered uncertainty, as if unsure whether to grasp it or just let go.

My hand trembled, then stopped, hesitating before it sliced through the air again.

It was like I was caught in a moment, unable to make a decision.

Should I reach out?

Or just leave it?

My hand wavered and stopped, trembling.

It hovered between us, close enough to almost touch, yet not quite.

And then, at that moment, it froze.

“If you want.”

Her expression shifted slightly.

“If you want, I’ll dry you off.”

It was a weak response.

A cowardly answer that shifted the responsibility to her.

An irresponsible phrase, leaving the decision to her instead of me.

But even so,I couldn’t deny it.

Then—

At that moment.

My hand stopped trembling.

The coldness, but underneath it, a faint warmth.

A soft, comforting hand.

“Then you’re saying you’ll dry me off?”

She was holding my hand.

While I hesitated, she took my hand into hers.

In that instant, my breath caught.

My hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, finally stopped.

No, it was made to stop.

When she took my hand, there was no place to run anymore.

It was warm.

Smaller than I expected, and delicate.

But the sensation was strangely strong.

It wasn’t light.

It didn’t shake.

I carefully closed my fingers around her hand.

The room was silent.

[Your sense of presence is increasing.]

[The anomaly has reached a significant threshold.]

[System response—updating…]

The word “presence” made my body flinch.

But before I could even accept the change—

She tightened her fingers.

A light pressure, but a clear force.

The small vibration traveling from her fingertips spread to a corner of my chest.

“Don’t run away.”

At that moment, her words struck harder than the system’s notification.

It was as if the rain had stopped.

Slowly, everything fell into place, quietly.