Episode.61 The First Kiss Remains in My Heart
After the moment of my first meeting with Yeona, time flowed, and we became close enough to walk home together.
How much time has passed? Perhaps it was around when autumn was coming to an end.
Yeona and I had been trying hard not to show that we liked each other.
Like fools.
Why did we do that?
At that time, I probably knew well.
I already liked Yeona.
She must have known it too.
That she liked me, Han Shiwoo.
She would have realized it already.
The feelings felt in that moment would not simply end up as a childish game.
Interest.
If I just confessed, it could lead to something more.
But I had never been in a romantic relationship in my 17 years, nor did I have an interest in romance, so I hadn’t really watched any romantic works.
I had no knowledge at all.
Looking back now, I truly had no idea how I would confess to her or what feelings I had when I would do it.
But one thing was certain…
I….
I couldn’t tell how Yeona thought of me.
But the atmosphere of this place was speaking for itself.
A crimson sunset in autumn.
We were sitting on a bench in the park, spending time together.
Even at this moment sitting on the bench, my tongue felt numb.
Why was my tongue numb, you ask?
After school, I went to a snack bar with Yeona to eat spicy food she liked and had spicy tteokbokki.
I ate spicy tteokbokki so hot that I shed a few tears and gulped down water.
Maybe that’s why my tongue still felt numb now.
Anyway, at that time, Yeona said,
– “Ahaha! You really can’t handle spicy food can you? Sorry, did I order something too spicy?”
– “Next time, let’s go eat something you like. By the way, what do you like?”
At that moment, I nearly blurted out “you,” but I held back and chose what I thought was the most appropriate response.
– “Hee… I didn’t think you liked sweet things.”
We continued chatting like this, leaving the snack bar to enjoy other entertainments like claw machines.
Time passed, and it had gotten to the point where the sun was setting.
Perhaps we sensed that the moment of parting was approaching, we sat on the park bench watching the setting sun.
We could meet again at school tomorrow.
But I felt a sense of regret that this moment was coming to an end.
Underneath the beautifully colored autumn leaves.
The sunset filled the sky as it sunk lower.
A gentle breeze brushed against my cheeks, reminding me of the moment of our first meeting.
Before we knew it, our hands were holding each other.
“Ah…”
“Oh…”
Realizing that we had unconsciously held hands, we quickly pulled our hands back.
The red autumn leaves floating down in that evening, and just like those leaves, Yeona’s face turned red.
When our friends talked about their experiences with dating, there was always one friend who shared their own stories.
This friend said… that before two people got together, a romantic atmosphere always flowed.
It felt like that.
I didn’t believe it.
What is a romantic atmosphere?
Does that even exist?
I thought until I experienced it myself.
Even in this moment of silence, we forgot about the impending separation, sitting on the bench without saying a word, merely looking at the ground.
An unknown feeling began to consume my heart.
“Hey!”
Yeona and I spoke at the same time.
We exchanged awkward smiles as we looked at each other.
“… Siwoo, you go first.”
Yeona turned her head and gently covered her mouth with her left hand, trying to hide her shy expression.
“Then, without hesitation…”
I gathered my courage.
I carefully took a breath and moved closer to her as she sat at the edge of the bench.
“Hey, you know… actually… that…”
“Yeah, I’m listening…”
She seemed to be waiting for my next answer in a strangely expectant way.
“Huff… since the moment I first saw you… I felt you were more special than others.”
I saw her swallow hard.
Seeing Yeona, who seemed more nervous than me, gave me a little more courage.
“Your smile, your eyes, everything about you makes my heart flutter. So…”
“So?”
I couldn’t bring myself to finish the last words.
Even if I wanted to, I didn’t have the courage to continue.
But I had to.
For her, who opened my eyes to the realm of ‘romance,’ something I had never been interested in for 17 years.
It was something I had to do.
So I wouldn’t give up here.
Having come this far, it would be a waste to give up now.
“I really like you. As a person of the opposite sex.”
Yeona’s eyes widened.
Her eyes sparkling with surprise and joy filled with expectations. She probably anticipated my confession, but hearing it directly seemed to evoke a strange feeling.
Then, with a satisfied expression, Yeona responded to my confession.
“I thought so too. Every moment with you is special… Maybe, I like you even more than you like me. Thank you for confessing first… I might be a bit frustrating since it’s my first time dating…”
Yeona, who said it was her first time in a relationship.
“You don’t need to worry. The happiness you give me is beyond what words can express. And… it’s my first time in romance too. So… let’s take this journey together.”
We nodded lightly.
Our hands naturally moved towards each other.
And we clasped hands.
‘I succeeded in confessing… but now what?’
I hadn’t thought about what came next at all.
Honestly, I didn’t think it would go this way, but after succeeding in my confession… I had no idea what to do.
I just thought that heading back home and meeting at school again the next day was the most mundane choice.
“… Okay…”
Yeona suddenly seemed to promise something with a small voice.
Then she moved closer, gripping my hand tighter.
“Close your eyes…?”
I followed Yeona’s words and closed my eyes.
Then a sudden sensation hit me.
As my lips felt an unfamiliar touch, I reflexively opened my eyes, and what I saw was.
Yeona, with her eyes closed, kissing me.
Yeona, who suddenly pressed her lips against mine.
As soon as I saw that, I closed my eyes again.
I couldn’t believe that the moment our lips met had arrived.
The first kiss was a soft and sweet moment.
Through our kiss, Yeona and I deepened our emotions for each other.
Her awkward touches and the first kiss felt like an invitation to a world where my heart raced.
In that feeling, we clutched each other’s hands tighter.
My heart raced even more as if I had discovered a treasure.
The emotions of that moment were a mix of fear and anticipation for our future.
And the intersection of anxiety and happiness made it feel even more special.
We continued to share our affection through our lips.
People said the first kiss tasted like lemons.
… That was a lie.
The taste of my first kiss was sweet tteokbokki.
As I shared my feelings with her through our long and deep kiss, I began to move towards a deeper relationship.
For this moment, we reflected only our honest feelings towards each other and expressed our love through action; it would remain a beautiful memory in my heart.
This first kiss felt like it would forever be kept in my heart.
As if to signal the end of our first kiss, I felt a shortage of breath.
Yeona must have reached her limit too, as we slowly pulled our lips apart and cautiously opened our eyes.
As light entered our eyes, the sight revealed the strands of saliva between our lips stretching like cheese.
“… You know, they say the first kiss is best done on the day you start dating.”
With her face flushed pink and avoiding eye contact, Yeona spoke.
I felt my ears burning too.
“… Who said that?”
“A friend before I transferred here.”
To break the awkward atmosphere, I made a joke.
“Oh… you had a friend? Since you only talked to me after you transferred here, I thought you had no friends.”
“I-I do. Of course, I have friends! There’s a girl named Yang Soobin. Well, you wouldn’t know her. And talking with you is… more fun.”
“Yang Soobin? What does she do?… Haha…”
As soon as I said that, I immediately realized I had made a mistake.
Bringing up another girl in front of the person who just became my girlfriend.
Thinking about it from her perspective, it was clearly a tricky situation.
It was the consequence of living as a lifelong solo for 17 years.
“Hehe… curious about Soobin?”
“No, I misspoke. I’m sorry.”
“You know you made a mistake? Then… you should be punished, right?”
“Please go easy on me…”
I was curious about what kind of ‘punishment’ she would give me.
Seeing her, who I had known, seemed far from ‘violent.’
I imagined she would struggle to squash a bug.
So I became even more curious about what kind of ‘punishment’ would be given to me.
“Then…”
– gulp.
I swallowed instinctively.
At first glance, her actions might seem enticing.
– slurp.
“Hey, want to kiss me again?”
Her bright smile doubled the excitement I felt.
