〈Chapter 15〉

The Childhood Friend Steals the Ex-Boyfriend’s Lips

* * *

“Han Yerin, please wake up!”

CPR was an act that demanded a staggering amount of physical endurance.

Thirty compressions at a rate of two per second.

Having pushed through four full sets, Si-hyeon wrung out the last of his strength to perform rescue breathing.

And the result…

“Ugh..! Gasp!”

Yerin choked up the water from her lungs and blinked her eyes open. Seeing that, Sihyeon grabbed both her shoulders and asked,

“Yerin, can you hear me?! Are you conscious?!”

“Si-hyeon… I…”

It seemed she had finally come to. Overwhelmed by emotion, Si-hyeon immediately pulled Yerin into a tight embrace.

Startled, her body flailed and struggled for a moment. But as Si-hyeon gently stroked her hair, her movements gradually settled down.

“You don’t have to say anything… I’m just so glad you’re safe…”

Yerin nodded and wrapped her arms around Si-hyeon in return. At that moment, cheers erupted from their classmates, and before long, the paramedics arrived.

After loading the exhausted Yerin into the ambulance, Si-hyeon took the guardian’s seat and tightly gripped her hand, knowing how terrified she must have been.

“Si-hyeon…”

Perhaps he was the one still shaken, as Si-hyeon’s hand wouldn’t stop trembling. Seeing this, Yerin gave a faint smile and gently stroked his head as if to reassure him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay…”

He could feel the warmth radiating from her hand to his head. This was the ultimate proof that she was alive. Relief finally flooded over him, and he began to wail like a fool.

“Why are you crying like this…? Were you that worried?”

“Of course I was! I thought you were never going to wake up… Do you know how…”

Choking up, Si-hyeon couldn’t get any more words out. Yet, as if she knew exactly what he wanted to say, Yerin pulled his head into an embrace and stroked his back, soothing his anxious heart.

“I’m not going anywhere. You’re right here, so where else would I go…?”

As Yerin’s comfort continued and Si-hyeon’s trembling finally began to subside, the paramedic—who had been getting the story from the other students—approached from behind.

Just as the burly man grabbed the handle to close the rear doors of the vehicle—

“…hyeon! …Si-hyeon!!”

Si-hyeon spotted Chae-yeon sprinting toward them, barefoot.

What could be so urgent that she was rushing over like that?

She was still too far away to clearly hear what she was saying.

“…Don’t! …Come back!”

The gap between them closed, and just as her words were becoming somewhat audible…

THUD!

The paramedic, completely unaware of the situation, callously slammed the door shut.

* * *

According to the doctor’s diagnosis: thanks to the rapid administration of CPR, there were no lasting physical issues.

The jellyfish that stung her was apparently a species that only caused temporary muscle paralysis. Yerin laughed awkwardly, saying that was probably why her body had suddenly lost all strength.

In the end, all we had to do was buy some ointment to apply to the sting before leaving.

And while we were taking a taxi back to the lodging…

“Sir, please let us out here.”

Even though there was still some distance left to the pension, Yerin asked to be dropped off at the nearby beach.

Before I could even stop her, she had finished paying and stepped out the door, leaning on her crutches.

“What was that for? Your leg is in bad shape—you’re planning to walk the rest of the way?”

“Yeah. I wanted to see the ocean up close.”

“You still like the ocean even after what you just went through…?”

“I do. Thanks to that, I have a good memory now.”

Maybe it was the sunset, but Yerin’s face looked strangely flushed.

Stepping onto the sand, she moved forward while gazing out at the sea.

Worried that she might trip and fall, I followed closely behind her.

Crush, crush.

The sound of treading on sand, combined with the gentle sound of the waves, tickled my ears.

Even Yerin, who would usually be chatting away, was silent—perhaps lost in the beauty of the scenery.

After walking like that for a while…

Yerin and I arrived at the exact spot where we had been playing with our classmates earlier.

“Si-hyeon, where exactly did I go under?”

“Right around there.”

Looking where I pointed, Yerin’s mouth parted slightly.

“That was pretty far out… You must’ve had a hard time dragging me back.”

“I won’t deny it. It was so tough I thought we were both going to drown together.”

“Pfft… Then would we have become ‘water ghosts’ and lived together like that?”

When she said that wouldn’t be such a bad idea either, I told her not to talk nonsense and gave her a light honey-punch on the head.

“You lived this time because you were lucky, but be careful from now on. Why are you always so restless and flighty?”

“Sorry. I’ll be careful in the future.”

Looking dejected, Yerin sat down on the sand, hugging her knees.

Why was she acting so discouraged, unlike her usual self…

Feeling unnecessarily awkward, I scratched the back of my head and sat down beside her for the time being. Then, another period of silence began.

Just as I was about to open my mouth, unable to bear the quiet anymore…

“Si-hyeon.”

Yerin spoke up first.

“Yeah?”

“The doctor said it earlier, right? That I owe my life to the fact that you gave me CPR.”

“Yeah, he did. Why?”

Yerin, who had been staring straight ahead, turned toward me and said shyly,

“T-then… that means you must have done rescue breathing on me, too…?”

“Ah.”

The moment of truth had arrived.

I hadn’t thought twice about it while I was actually doing it, but now that the aftershocks were hitting, the embarrassment was no joke.

“Just so you know, it was completely unavoidable. Even before I did it, I kept agonizing over whether it was the right move, you know? But what else could I do? If I didn’t do it immediately…”

My mind went blank and I started rambling excuses when suddenly I felt something pressing against my lips.

Looking straight ahead, I saw Yerin pressing her index finger against my lips. With a smile in her eyes, she shook her head and spoke.

“I’m not trying to blame you. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve died without ever even being in a relationship. What’s a little thing like a first kiss anyway…?”

First kiss.

At the words that I had taken away Yerin’s precious first experience, my heart began to pound while a sense of guilt flared up at the same time.

Swish.

Hurriedly pulling back, I spoke to Yerin, who I worried might have been hurt by the whole ordeal.

“Listen carefully. Nothing happened between us today. To begin with, a kiss via mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is considered a ‘No-Count.’ Got it?”

Did my clumsy comfort actually reach her?

Yerin nodded, letting out a little giggle.

Suddenly overcome with embarrassment, I hurriedly stood up and started walking away, leaving Yerin behind.

“Wait for me!”

Yerin’s voice was laced with laughter. Grabbing her crutches, she began to chase after me.

However…

“Ouch!”

Perhaps because her leg was in such poor condition, she didn’t make it far before tumbling onto the sand.

“Are you okay?”

“Tch… I told you we should go together…”

With tears welling in her eyes, Yerin stared at the scars on her leg. Complaining in a tearful voice, she hooked a crutch over her right arm and…

“I can’t walk. Carry me on your back.”

She demanded a piggyback ride.

“Is giving you a shoulder to lean on not enough?”

“No. Carry. Me. On. Your. Back.”

Yerin put extra emphasis on the ‘Back,’ stretching out both arms toward me.

Well, if she says she can’t walk, what choice do I have?

Reluctantly, I offered her my back, and Yerin immediately climbed on.

“Driver Kim, let’s head out.”

“Yes, yes, whatever you say.”

* * *

Yerin, who had been sitting a little awkwardly on his back, adjusted her position by wrapping her arms tightly around Si-hyeon.

And at that moment, both of their hearts began to pound in unison.

Yerin’s shallow, ragged breath tickled the nape of Si-hyeon’s neck.

As they moved forward in that position, Yerin asked in a shy voice:

“Si-hyeon. When you did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on me… it didn’t feel unpleasant, did it?”

That damn mouth to mouth…

Si-hyeon cursed his self for blindly initiating that “lip-collision.”

But what could he do about what was already done?

Considering this all to be his “karma,” he revealed his honest feelings.

“To be honest, I don’t know. Setting aside whether it felt good or bad, my head was just completely filled with the thought that I had to save you.”

It was an answer that was somehow both pleasing and disappointing. Making a slightly uncomfortable face at that, Yerin summoned her courage to ask one more time.

“What if… what if it hadn’t been an emergency? What do you think it would have been like then?”

“Why do you keep asking things like—”

“Just answer me.”

Yerin’s voice was serious. Hearing it, Si-hyeon realized that this wasn’t a question he could just brush off or handle half-heartedly.

‘Wait, is she…?’

At this point, it was impossible not to see it.

The suspicion his classmates had mentioned—that Yerin might actually have romantic feelings for him.

Just as that suspicion was turning into a certainty, a flushing Si-hyeon forced his mouth open.

“If we’re talking about whether I’d like it or not, obviously I’d like it. I’m a man too, and with a girl as pretty as you… Ah.”

In the middle of speaking his mind, he ended up blurting out something that was perfect bait for her to tease him with.

“Pffft…!”

Sure enough, the sound of Yerin’s laughter erupted from behind him.

Overcome with sudden embarrassment and swamped by a sense of self-loathing, Si-hyeon snapped irritably.

“Dammit… you’re heavy now, so get down already!”

“Calling me heavy? How rude! Having the chance to carry a beautiful girl like me is a rare opportunity, you know?”

“You, seriously…!”

Si-hyeon’s shame had officially broken past its limit.

Deciding he couldn’t let this drag on any longer, he began to sprint toward the pension.

“Whoa—!”

Yerin let out a joyful scream, clinging tightly to Si-hyeon’s neck.

After climbing the long, winding stone steps, they finally arrived at the pension.

Their hearts were pounding so frantically it felt as if they had motors attached to them.

“We’re here, so get down now.”

“What? I wanted to stay on a bit longer…”

Grumbling, Yerin planted her crutch on the ground and slowly climbed down.

After setting her down, Si-hyeon wiped the sweat from his forehead, about to catch his breath…

“Oh, u-uh…?”

Yerin’s panicked voice reached his ears.

He spun around quickly, only to find her body on the verge of toppling backward.

“Yerin!”

Horrified, Si-hyeon frantically reached out and grabbed Yerin’s wrist.

The moment she stopped mid-fall and he felt a surge of relief…

Whoosh!

Using the momentum, Yerin threw her arms around Si-hyeon’s neck.

And lunging forward aggressively, she…

Smack♡

…pressed her lips firmly against Si-hyeon’s.

It was a kiss that literally made a smacking sound as it made contact.

Startled by the soft, supple sensation, Si-hyeon ended up tumbling backward onto the ground.

“Ha-Han Yerin, you…”

Perched on top of him like a sly brown cat, Han Yerin ran her tongue lightly over her pink lips.

Wearing a smile more seductive than ever, she gently traced Si-hyeon’s lips with her fingers and said,

“This kiss… you won’t be able to call it a ‘No-Count,’ will you?”

* * *

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