Swaaah—
The showerhead’s stream poured down vigorously.
The warm water wrapped around my shoulders and trickled down.
Drip, drip.
Droplets falling from the tips of my hair landed on the tiled floor, forming tiny circles.
The bathroom was filled with white steam.
Kim Dohyun’s house.
Kim Dohyun’s bathroom.
The realization that I was showering in this space suddenly hit me.
I covered my face with my hands and instinctively shrank back.
For some reason, my cheeks felt hot.
No, obviously, they’d be hot—I was taking a shower, after all.
But still, there was this strangely awkward feeling.
Swaaah—
Lowering my head under the stream of water, I let out a deep breath, puffing my cheeks to try and change my mood.
But only a sigh escaped.
How did this even happen?
Slowly, I retraced my memories.
And in the end, the reason all came back to me.
I had reached out to grab Kim Dohyun—only to slip and fall straight into the puddle.
“…Uwaaaah!
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!”
Hunched over under the water, I covered my face with both hands.
A white shirt.
Wet clothes.
And glimpses of bare skin peeking through in places.
And Kim Dohyun had seen it all.
My face flushed red on its own.
It was embarrassing.
Why did this always have to happen in front of Kim Dohyun?
Of all people, why was it always him seeing me at my most pathetic moments?
I was going crazy.
I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Then suddenly, I tilted my head back and let the water hit my face.
The warm stream soaked my skin.
“Cough!”
Water rushed up my nose.
I sputtered and coughed, shaking my head frantically.
“What the hell is wrong with me…”
I felt like an idiot.
I glanced around the bathroom.
Kim Dohyun’s room.
Kim Dohyun’s clothes.
Kim Dohyun’s shower head.
Even this bathroom seemed to be filled with his scent.
No, that couldn’t be possible!
I shook my head, trying to rid myself of these strange thoughts.
But—wasn’t it a little too quiet?
The silence that filled the house after the door shut behind me.
My footsteps echoing louder than they should in the emptiness.
A home without any real traces of life, as if time had stopped here.
Cold air.
A space that seemed tidy yet strangely vacant.
Not so much a home, but more like a temporary place for someone to stay before moving on.
A place where leaving wouldn’t feel unnatural.
And—
The gym uniform.
The clothes he had handed me, with his name embroidered on them.
I had been gripping the sleeve quietly.
Sniff.
I had secretly lifted the edge of the sleeve to my nose.
Even in the cold air, his familiar scent lingered faintly.
At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.
How much of his warmth remained in this house?
Even though he lived here, did he really think of this place as ‘home’?
I clutched the gym uniform tighter.
Wanting to remember this moment a little longer, a little deeper.
“0000!!”
Under the shower stream, I flailed my arms and stomped my feet in frustration.
Why, of all times, did that memory have to resurface now?!
The image of me hugging his gym uniform, my fingers secretly tugging at the sleeve, flashed through my mind.
“Aaaah, I’m seriously going crazy!”
I bowed my head, covered my burning face with both hands, and let the hot water rain down on me.
Swaaah—
The sound of the water filled the bathroom.
But whether it could wash away this ticklish feeling in my chest—I wasn’t sure.
“Ugh! And to think he actually caught me doing that!”
Afraid that someone outside might hear, I quickly shut my mouth.
Then, I rolled my eyes around the room.
“Wait… this towel, is it his too?”
I sharply turned my head to look at the towel hanging nearby.
Of course it was.
It had to be.
But why was I so bothered by that?
“This… this is just perverted.”
I clutched my head and leaned against the wall.
Swaaah—
The water streamed down my back.
Poke.
For no reason, I poked the bathroom wall with my finger.
Once, twice, three times.
“…It’s fine.
It’s nothing.
I just need to finish washing up and leave.”
Muttering to myself like a vow, I slowly nodded.
But when I looked around again, another wave of embarrassment crashed over me.
“Uuuu…”
Droplets slid down my hair, falling silently.
I moved my hands, trying to catch them, but of course, they slipped through my fingers.
“Should I throw a tantrum and say I want to keep them?”
A weird thought popped into my head.
What was I, a kid begging for a toy?
At a loss, I gently knocked my forehead against the wall.
Leaning my head against the cold surface, I tried to calm myself down.
Even so, my emotions remained a tangled mess.
“…Is this a crush?”
Kim Dohyun already liked someone else.
Someone brighter than me.
Someone so radiant that they naturally drew people in.
But that didn’t matter.
Like my sister said, they weren’t actually dating.
Which meant I still had a chance.
The foggy mirror.
I reached out and traced a small circle on its surface.
The sun wasn’t the only thing that could chase away the clouds.
The moon could do it too.
I clapped my hands together lightly.
Clap!
A small but distinct sound echoed in the bathroom.
“It’s not a one-sided crush—it’s our crush.”
Saying it like that, it really felt like the two of us matched.
Not just one, but two.
Like maybe, someday, our feelings would meet in the middle.
The corners of my lips lifted slightly.
“Hehe.”
I really hoped that would happen.
I was paying more and more attention to him.
I was getting closer and closer to him.
And now, I wanted him to look at me.
Only me.
That’s why—I liked Kim Dohyun.
Swaaah—
The warm water wrapped around my hands.
Absent-mindedly, I opened my palm.
And at that moment—
The sensation came rushing back.
Kim Dohyun’s hand.
Much bigger than mine, much firmer.
The subtle feeling of warmth as his cold hand wrapped around my own.
Quietly, I clenched my fist.
His hand had been big enough to completely cover mine.
The moment our fingertips touched, the difference was clear.
Silently, I held onto the memory of his hand.
The warmth seeping through my fingers felt unfamiliar.
In this cold house, his hands were unexpectedly warm.
When I held his hand, Kim Dohyun had definitely flinched.
That moment of startled eyes, the tips of his ears gradually turning red.
And then, the way he quietly wrapped his hand around mine.
At that moment, my heartbeat also seemed to pulse through my fingertips.
It was just holding hands—so why did my heart feel so ticklish?!
“Ah, seriously… get out of my head!”
I shifted my body left and right, trying to avoid the falling shower water.
I dodged right, then left, but there was nowhere to escape.
“Ugh, forget it!”
Stomping lightly, I raised a hand to block the water, but I couldn’t stop my face from burning.
I quietly clenched and unclenched my hand.
As if the sensation hadn’t completely faded, my fingertips still tingled.
“Kim Dohyun, you’re so mean…”
Pouting, I pressed my palms against my cheeks.
“Don’t run away. Seriously.”
Kim Dohyun, who had hesitated, as if he wanted to pull away.
For a moment, his presence felt clearer, but instead of reassuring, he seemed even more fragile.
Like a flame burning its brightest just before it goes out.
I slowly pressed my fingers together.
A small sound, but a definite touch.
“…What am I supposed to do?”
The bathroom filled with a mix of embarrassment and excitement.
As I rinsed out the last of the shampoo foam, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
The traces of Kim Dohyun felt like they were still floating in the steam.
“Seriously… what am I supposed to do?”
I quietly muttered, pursing my lips.
“Ugh… this, this is all because of the water!
Yeah, the hot water…
It’s just the hot water! Right?”
It was just the heat making my head feel fuzzy.
Pouting again, I rubbed my cheeks.
But when my face refused to cool down, I finally threw a towel over my head.
I pressed the towel down over my hair. It was warm.
And yet, strangely, my mind wasn’t settling down at all.
I pressed a little harder.
Maybe, just maybe, if I did this, my thoughts would quiet down too.
But along with the warmth—
Rustle, rustle.
The sensation of fingers gently moving through my hair.
“You didn’t dry your hair properly.”
My heart thumped.
Sure, I had leaned in first, but that was just a joke.
I thought he would lightly push my forehead away, rejecting me playfully.
But instead, he had placed the towel over my head.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of the towel moving carefully through my hair.
His touch had been softer than I expected, and for some reason, that made my heart race.
At that moment, I had stayed completely still.
Trying my best to hide my breathing.
His fingers had hesitated.
That sensation kept resurfacing, making my face warm all over again.
I grabbed the towel and rubbed my head frantically.
But… something felt off. Different. Strange.
When Kim Dohyun did it, it had felt gentler.
When I did it, it was just a rough motion of the towel over my head.
But back then… he had been more careful, slower, warmer…
“…Ugh, I don’t know anymore!”
I pulled the towel over my head and kicked the floor in frustration.
The memory of him drying my hair was so vivid that I almost wished I could erase it completely.
I shook my head, rubbing my hair wildly with the towel.
But instead of fading, the memory only became clearer.
My hair, now thoroughly tousled, stuck up in all directions.
And yet, my thoughts felt even more tangled.
“If you want…
I can dry it for you.”
What did that even mean?
Was he just saying it casually? Or…
Thinking back, Kim Dohyun hadn’t been acting like his usual self.
When he reached out his hand.
When he passed me the towel.
His expression was as indifferent as ever, but—
There had been a small tremor.
His fingers, gripping the towel, had briefly tightened before loosening.
The way his knuckles had bent awkwardly—I had noticed it.
He had tried to avoid looking at me, yet his gaze had wavered.
His pupils had trembled—just for a split second.
I sucked in a breath.
I was starting to see his hesitation.
Kim Dohyun was someone who never showed his emotions.
And yet, because of me… he wavered.
Silently, I pressed the towel down over my head and bit my lip.
My heart pounded in a strange way.
His face had been unreadable, but his fingertips had twitched slightly.
His voice had been calm, but the way his hands had touched my hair had been slow, hesitant.
And the way he looked at me—somehow, it had been unsure.
…So I wasn’t the only one shaken.
I slowly opened and closed my hand.
The sensation of his touch seeped into my fingertips once more.
“…Seriously, what am I supposed to do?”
Now that I had realized his hesitation—now that it was clear—
I knew I couldn’t step back anymore.
So—
I hope you feel just as embarrassed as I do.
I hope you feel just as flustered as I do.
I let out a small breath, carrying my wish with it.
“…Hoo.”
As I exhaled, I felt an odd tremble inside me.
Like maybe—just maybe—this wind could reach his heart too.