Pick Up the Rejected Pure Love

Yesterday, I made salmon rice bowls and sushi with Han-gyeol.

Today, a plate of tteokbokki made solely by Han-gyeol was placed on the table.

The same exclamation of surprise as yesterday burst out, and Hyun-joo Unnie and my brother were busy eating.

“It’s so delicious... I can’t even imagine a life without Han-gyeol Hyung now! From now on, our house will always be filled with joy- Ouch!”

I kicked my brother in the shin for his unnecessary remarks.

“Don’t burden Han-gyeol and just eat your tteokbokki.”

“Thank you for enjoying it. I might not be able to make it often, but I’ll make it for you occasionally.”

“Wow~ How can you be so perfect... It’s too much for my little sister.”

“It’s not. Eun-ha is the one who’s too good for me.”

I felt a little proud and teased my brother.

“See? Han-gyeol said so.”

“Have I ever seen such a sly thing? Han-gyeol, my little sister is so lacking.”

“Come on, Eun-ha is amazing. She’s smart, kind, pretty, cute, and gentle. There’s so much to learn from her.”

“Is this girl you are talking about from our Shin family, right? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t see anyone like this in our household.”

My brother kept poking at my nerves.

I tried to kick him in the shin again but mistakenly kicked the chair instead.

“Ouch...! It hurts...!”

“Hahahahaha! Trying to get hit twice? This is too good.”

He obviously expected me to kick again.

My brother, always keen to pick a fight for no reason.

“Ah, come on- you’re not kids. Stop fighting.”

Hyun-joo Unnie stepped in to mediate between my brother and me.

“But he started it by getting on my nerves first.”

“I just stated the facts, little sis.”

“Why don’t you go out? Aren’t you staying home too much? Get out.”

“I’ll go out after I eat tteokbokki and stay for about thirty minutes.”

“I’d prefer if you left as soon as possible.”

“I’ll stay longer just because you said that.”

‘Such a petty guy.’

‘Just leave already.’

“Ah- is that so? Then, how about you go out with me?”

Upon Han-gyeol’s suggestion, I quickly turned my head.

“Huh? Han-gyeol, are you leaving right after eating tteokbokki?”

“Of course? Eun-ha has to go for her private lesson, right?”

“Um... that only lasts two hours though.”

I was thinking of studying together after my private lesson.

Come to think of it, I didn’t ask him to wait.

“Should I wait until Eun-ha’s lesson is over?”

“Oh- if Han-gyeol has plans, it’s okay. I totally forgot to tell you.”

“No, I said that thinking I might disturb you. Truthfully, I wanted to study together too.”

“You won’t be disturbing at all. Can you wait just two hours?”

“Why not? I’ll be studying in the living room too.”

“The living room table is too low, so study using the desk in my brother’s room.”

When I said that, Han-gyeol shifted his gaze to my brother.

“Is it okay with you, Hyung?”

“Of course. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you.”

My brother easily agreed.

He was really kind to Han-gyeol.

It must be because Han-gyeol set up the computer for him.

But it seemed like they got along well even without that.

“Eun-ha, did you miss Han-gyeol that much at home~?”

Sitting next to me, Hyun-joo Unnie poked my side and teased.

“Ah! No, it’s just that... studying with Han-gyeol helps a lot. The midterms are coming up!”

“Is that so? I didn’t know you were this studious~”

“It’s true! Studying with Han-gyeol really helps!”

“That’s right. I study better with Eun-ha than usual.”

Han-gyeol also sided with me.

“You two look great together. Remember, don’t neglect your studies just because you’re dating.”

“Of course! I study even harder now than before dating Han-gyeol.”

“Me too. Eun-ha’s dedication naturally makes me work harder.”

“Yep, yep. That’s right.”

“You two are a good sight to see.”

Hyun-joo Unnie responded with a smile to our comments.

Afterwards, we quickly finished our tteokbokki.

I couldn’t keep Han-gyeol waiting for too long.

After swiftly cleaning up, I headed to my room with Hyun-joo Unnie.

“Han-gyeol, I’ll be back after my lesson with Unnie. If my brother bothers you or is annoying in any way, feel free to come to my room, okay?”

“Hey, punk. Am I some gangster? Why would I bother Han-gyeol?”

“Just focus on your lesson and don’t rush. Make sure it lasts the full two hours.”

“Okay, see you in two hours.”

“Sure~”

Thinking of spending more time with Han-gyeol, a smile bloomed on my face.

As I entered the room, I hurriedly sat on a chair and opened my reference book.

“Hey, Unnie. Let’s start the private lesson.”

“Ahem, it’s not ‘Unnie’ during class.”

“Teacher. Let’s start the lesson.”

“Why? Don’t want to keep your boyfriend waiting?”

“Yeah. I don’t.”

When I carelessly responded in informal speech, my sister’s hand playfully hit my head.

“Get your act together. Focus when you study.”

“Yes...”

***

Before I knew it, I was focused on the private lesson.

It was just hard in the beginning. Once I focused, I rarely got distracted.

While I was stacking up in my head everything that Hyun-joo Unnie told me, someone knocked on my door with a knock sound.

- Hey, I’m coming in.

My brother briefly said and then opened the door to enter. It seemed he stopped by my room before leaving.

“Leaving now?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back late after dinner.”

“What about Han-gyeol? What’s he doing?”

“He seemed drowsy after eating tteokbokki. Told him to comfortably sleep on the bed.”

“Han-gyeol is sleeping now? On your bed?”

I was so curious about how Han-gyeol looked while sleeping. I wanted to rush over and see him right away.

“Yeah. I thought I’d say goodbye before leaving, but he was fast asleep, so I didn’t wake him. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

“Yeah. Don’t come back drunk.”

“Okay. Hyun-joo, be careful when you head home.”

“Sure. See you next week.”

With that, my brother left the house, having piqued my curiosity.

There was still a long way to go before the private lesson ended... but I was so curious.

But asking my sister if I could go see Han-gyeol right now seemed rather childish.

I had no choice but to hope that Han-gyeol wouldn’t wake up until the lesson was over.

“Shall we continue with our studies?”

“Yes.”

There was nothing to be done.

‘Ah- but I really want to see him. Should I close my eyes and just ask?’

“Eun-ha.”

“Yes?”

“How about we take a break a bit earlier today?”

‘This is my chance!!’

“Yes!”

“That was a quick answer, wasn’t it?”

“Just 10 minutes, neither more nor less!”

“Alright. Just 10 minutes, okay?”

I energetically nodded and headed toward my brother’s room.

Being careful not to wake Han-gyeol, I gently turned the doorknob.

Quietly opening the door and sneaking into my brother’s room, I saw Han-gyeol lying on the bed.

“Han-gyeol...are you...sleeping?”

Han-gyeol didn’t respond to my call.

I approached a little closer and gently looked at Han-gyeol’s face.

Without snoring or grinding his teeth, Han-gyeol was in a graceful pose, deeply asleep.

“He’s so handsome...”

I was resolved to gaze upon Han-gyeol during our brief break.

After all, seeing Han-gyeol asleep was undoubtedly a rare sight.

To get a better look, I rested my arms on the edge of the bed and leaned over.

His eyelashes were unusually long for a guy.

A sharp bridge of the nose.

Even those soft-looking lips.

I took them all in, without missing a single detail.

Hearing the faint sound of his breathing, the corners of my mouth naturally lifted.

I really didn’t understand how he could be this handsome.

He was my boyfriend who was cute, dashing, and also so endearing.

Gathering my courage, I lightly poked Han-gyeol’s cheek.

The moment my finger touched, his brows twitched ever so slightly.

“So cute...!”

Simply gazing at a peacefully sleeping Han-gyeol warmed my heart.

Even if I was just looking at him, to feel this way…

Even by my own reckoning, it seemed I truly adored Han-gyeol.

He probably didn’t realize it.

How significant he was to me right now.

How wonderful would it be if I could genuinely convey all my feelings to him?

How elated would I be if I were someone more expressive?

Though I had mustered up courage many times, I had never fully expressed my heart.

I knew exactly what words would wholly convey my feelings.

However, since our time together hadn’t been long, I had been cautious about voicing them.

But since Han-gyeol was currently lost in sleep, I decided to muster a bit more courage.

The words I had held back countless times, I whispered gently.

“I love you.”

It was much more embarrassing than I had imagined.

Still, having voiced it once, I felt I could do it better the next time.

For today, overwhelmed by my shyness, I decided to call it quits and carefully got up from my spot.

I gazed at Han-gyeol’s face one last time and straightened his blanket.

“Sleep well, Han-gyeol. See you in a bit.”

--- The End OF The Chapter ---

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