‘Ah, why did I cry there like a fool.’
I kicked at my innocent blanket with my feet, recalling what happened at the Library.
All that over some fallen leaves.
Before I was possessed, I never cried over such trivial things. Not even once.
No, honestly, I can’t remember ever crying at all.
Maybe when I was too little to remember, but from any moment I can recall, I never shed a tear.
Yet there I was, crying just because I couldn’t get in touch with my boyfriend.
And in front of a friend who likes me, no less.
“Aaaargh!”
“What’s wrong? What happened?!”
Unable to overcome my embarrassment, I screamed, and my dad came running in, flustered.
He opened the door and looked at me lying on the bed, then shifted his gaze to my desk. Unfinished workbooks and pens were scattered all over it.
“College entrance exam stress is tough… Take it easy. Dad doesn’t care if you don’t get into a good university!”
“What are you talking about?!”
The moment Dad said that to comfort me, Mom’s yell echoed from the living room.
Dad gave me a clenched-fist gesture as encouragement, then quietly closed the door and left. I stared in silence at the closed door, then buried my face in both hands.
‘How am I supposed to face Do Ihyun now…?’
In the end, I didn’t even get to say what I’d meant to.
Because of those damn tears.
‘I guess my personality’s changed bit by bit since the possession, sure. But tears? That’s really not me.’
Drowning in self-loathing, I picked up my phone and checked the messages I’d received so far.
Still, there was no message from Ban Eunhyeol.
‘Fine, that’s it. It’s over. I’ve waited long enough, haven’t I? What more am I waiting for?’
Just this evening I’d been crying, but now I was completely defiant.
Lately, my emotions had been all over the place, shifting several times a day.
But now, it really seemed like time to put my feelings in order.
Thinking that, I was about to get up from bed and wash up for the night.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
“Huh…?”
When I checked the sender, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
Ban Eunhyeol, who hadn’t contacted me even once while I waited all this time, was now texting me right when I’d resolved to move on.
[Don’t cry. I’ll be there soon. – Ban Eunhyeol♡]
Frozen with my phone in hand, I read the message over and over again.
‘He’s coming back to Korea?’
The more I read the message, the rougher my breathing grew with anger.
‘Does he think contacting me now makes everything okay?! Just wait till he shows up. He’s not getting away with it.’
I clenched the phone tight in my hand.
Then my gaze caught the heart symbol after Ban Eunhyeol’s name.
“How could you save your boyfriend’s name so honestly in your phone?”
Before the fight between Onsaemiro and the Four Heavenly Kings, Ban Eunhyeol had seen my phone during a break and said that bluntly.
Then he’d grabbed my phone, changed the saved name as he pleased, and handed it back to me.
The new saved name was ‘Hubby♡’.
I trembled with embarrassment at the new name, and he smiled with satisfaction.
“Ah, you’re my wifey♡, so don’t even think about changing it.”
“Yeah, I’m changing it.”
We bickered over that name for a while. In the end, we compromised by just putting a heart after his name.
‘I haven’t changed it once since then.’
I’d never put a heart after anyone’s name, and meant to delete it as soon as I got home from school. But somehow, I’d left that heart there longer than expected.
I stood still for a moment, staring at my phone, then flung it onto the bed.
‘Whatever. It’s a hassle, so I’ll just leave it.’
My steps toward the bathroom were lighter than before.
***
Early in the morning, Do Ihyun came out of the shower, roughly towel-drying his hair as he headed to the sofa.
He checked his phone with one hand while rubbing his head with the other.
Droplets fell from his chin as he moved, and a bitter smile crossed his face.
[Are you going to the Library today? I don’t think I can make it. I have something to do. – Dana]
He hadn’t made a promise to meet Dana today. But they’d gone to the Library together so often lately, he’d gotten ready just in case.
Do Ihyun put down his phone and sank back into the sofa.
With his neck tilted back, he closed his eyes.
‘Looks like Ban Eunhyeol is coming back to Korea.’
The ‘something to do’ Dana mentioned probably meant going to meet Ban Eunhyeol.
Still leaning back, Do Ihyun rolled his eyes to look out the window.
The sky, clear before he went to shower, was now filled with dark clouds.
He stared blankly at the raindrops beating against the windowpane and muttered,
“Shouldn’t have bothered showering.”
It didn’t look like he’d be going out today anyway.
***
I’d always heard that the Airport is a place for meetings and farewells, even before I was possessed.
But unless it was for Awakener business, I never had any reason to meet someone at the Airport.
Yet here I was, waiting at the Airport for someone I could only resent now.
‘What’s so great that I’m out here to meet him?’
The thought of seeing Ban Eunhyeol soon made me feel sulky for no reason.
Why had I come out to meet a guy who’d ghosted me and put me through all this heartache? Even if I regretted it now, my body was already sitting on a bench in front of the Airport Departure Gate.
I checked the arrival time for the flight Ban Eunhyeol had told me, grilling him for every detail, and sat down at the bench near the Departure Gate.
As soon as I sat, I naturally crossed my legs and folded my arms.
My gaze toward the Departure Gate where Ban Eunhyeol would appear was anything but pleasant.
Before long, the gate opened and people started pouring out with their luggage.
Families and couples, reunited after a long time apart, hugged each other and showered each other with affection right next to me.
Some were even moved to tears.
Seeing that brought back the moment I cried in front of Do Ihyun. My face burned.
‘I won’t cry ever again.’
As I fanned my red face with one hand and clenched my fist with the other, making a silent vow—
A tall, strikingly handsome man appeared at the gate.
The moment he stepped out, he spotted me and walked straight toward me.
“…You, you didn’t contact me at all this whole time!”
I stormed up to Ban Eunhyeol, ready to unload everything I’d been holding in.
But Ban Eunhyeol pulled me into a tight embrace before I could say a word.
“You think I’ll forgive you just because of this? Are you not letting go?!”
The more I struggled, the tighter Ban Eunhyeol held me.
With him hugging me silently, the anger that had flared up the moment I saw his face began to cool.
I was starting to notice people’s stares, so I tried to pull away from his arms.
He gently loosened his grip, took my arms, and bent down to look into my face with a husky voice.
“Did you cry a lot?”
“…Why would I cry?”
Remembering how I cried in front of Do Ihyun made my answer come a beat late.
There’s no way Ban Eunhyeol would know I cried.
So I had to brazen it out and pretend I’d never shed a tear.
But Ban Eunhyeol shattered my resolve with his next words.
“Why’d you have to go and cry in front of another guy?”
“Huh…?”
How did he know that?
I stared up at him, stunned, and he frowned, clearly displeased.
“Only cry in front of me.”
“Shouldn’t you be telling me not to cry at all at times like this?”
“I swear, you have a real knack for ruining the mood.”
He laughed, brushed my hair behind my ear, and whispered to me.
“If you cry in front of someone else, I can’t be the one to comfort you, dummy.”
“Waaah!”
His familiar line sent chills down my spine and I screamed before I knew it.
Seeing me suddenly yell and leap back, Ban Eunhyeol looked at me with an exasperated face and shook his head.
“Ah, this wasn’t the emotional reunion I’d imagined.”
“Emotional reunion? After what you did, you think that’s possible?”
“Don’t hit me. I’ll explain on the way.”
Seeing him talking about an emotional reunion only made me angrier, so I smacked his back repeatedly.
He just took my hits, flinching, and then quietly took my hand. I shook it off, but he grabbed my hand again right away.
Da.
Da.
“It better be a good reason.”
I assumed Ban Eunhyeol’s family driver would pick him up, so I started heading for the exit.
But Ban Eunhyeol held my hand and led me straight downstairs.
“Where are we going?”
“Taking the subway.”
“What about your driver?”
“He’s not coming. I left home after arguing with my parents and declared my independence.”
“What?!”
Despite the seriousness of what he’d just said, Ban Eunhyeol turned to me with an absurdly bright smile.
He tightened his grip on my hand.
“I left home to see you.”
He made this shocking declaration as if it was nothing, his eyes curling into a beautiful smile.
“So now you have to take responsibility for me, okay?”
The situation was serious, but somehow, this moment looked just like a scene from a coming-of-age drama.