chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ah-Yumi went to his house for a while to try and make friends with this arrogant kid. Ah-Yumi leaned back in the chair, her feet propped up on Eeunsoo's desk as she flipped through one of his books. She had barged into his space without hesitation, claiming his room was "less suffocating" than the others in the house. Eeunsoo, to his own surprise, had let her stay.

"Your taste in books is boring," she said, snapping the cover shut and tossing it onto his bed. "All serious and moody. Do you even read anything fun?"

"I didn't ask you to critique my collection," Eeunsoo replied dryly, glancing up from his laptop.

Ah-Yumi rolled her eyes, smirking. "Admit it. You're secretly a poetry guy, aren't you? Bet you've got some tragic love sonnets hidden somewhere."

Eeunsoo's jaw tightened. "I don't."

"Hmm," she hummed teasingly, leaning forward. "Your lack of denial is suspicious."

"Do you ever stop talking?" he asked, shooting her a sharp look, but his tone lacked real bite.

"Not when it's this fun getting under your skin," she shot back, grinning.

He sighed, but there was a faint tug at the corner of his lips, something she didn't miss.

As the evening wore on, the playful banter gave way to a more comfortable silence. Ah-Yumi had curled up on the edge of his bed, scrolling through her phone, and Eeunsoo found himself surprisingly unbothered by her presence. He wasn't used to having people invade his personal space, yet with her, it felt… different.

When he finally glanced up, he noticed she had fallen asleep, her phone slipping from her hand onto the blanket. The soft rise and fall of her breathing filled the room, and the usual sharpness in her expression was replaced by something peaceful, almost vulnerable.

Eeunsoo froze.

For a moment, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to wake her, to tell her to leave, but instead, he found himself sitting there, just watching her.

And that's when it hit him—like a punch to the chest.

He liked her.

The realization was so sudden, so jarring, that he almost stood up to escape his own thoughts. But he stayed rooted in place, his heart pounding.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair. "She's… loud, annoying, and impossible."

Yet his eyes drifted back to her, and he felt his face grow warm.

"No," he said more firmly, as if saying it out loud would erase the thought. "It's not like that."

But the faint ache in his chest told him otherwise. For the first time in a long time, Eeunsoo felt like he wasn't in control, and it terrified him.

He looked away, determined to push the feeling aside. This wasn't happening. He wouldn't let it.

And yet, as he sat there in the quiet of the room, his gaze kept slipping back to her, no matter how hard he tried to resist.