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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Hold My Hand
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The four days and three nights flew by so quickly that it was hard to believe they were over.
Everyone boarded the plane, reluctant to end their short trip.
Having stayed up all night playing without even sleeping, their fresh faces from arriving in Jeju were gone, replaced by exhausted, disheveled looks.
Still, being young, they brimmed with energy and chattered away nonstop.
“Oh! Kang A-jin.”
Jong-min spotted A-jin, who had boarded first, and greeted her happily.
Then he turned to Jun-woo.
“You must be happy she’s out of the hospital, right? Feeling all lovey-dovey?”
“You crazy bastard.”
Jun-woo cursed at Jong-min for his nonsense and found his seat.
“I think I know why you tease Kang A-jin so much.”
“…….”
“Her reactions are just too good. Ah, that’s why you pick on her like that.”
Jong-min stowed his souvenirs in the overhead bin and nodded vigorously, as if deeply relating to Jun-woo’s feelings.
“Don’t tease her. You’ll just hurt an innocent girl for no reason.”
Jun-woo recalled her teary expression from Jong-min’s teasing.
“What? You can, but I can’t?”
When Jong-min protested, Jun-woo looked up at him.
His already sharp eyes grew even sharper and more intense.
*Don’t do it if I say not to.*
That’s what his gaze said.
“Haha. Right, we shouldn’t hurt our friends.”
Overwhelmed by Jun-woo’s stare, Jong-min awkwardly looked away, cracking a joke.
That’s when he noticed Cho-hee switching seats to sit next to A-jin.
Jong-min’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Hey! I’ll sit behind you.”
Jong-min pulled his bag out again and moved to the back.
Jun-woo didn’t pay it any mind at first.
He was just fiddling with his phone.
A moment later, A-jin approached his seat.
“Why’d you call me over?”
At her question, Jun-woo feigned innocence.
“Me? I didn’t.”
“Jong-min said you did.”
Jun-woo turned to look at Jong-min in the seat behind.
*I’ll sit next to Cho-hee and ascend to heaven! Buddy.*
That’s the signal Jong-min was sending.
*Pathetic guy.*
He’d tricked A-jin again, who had told him not to lie just to sit next to a girl she didn’t even like.
*You like going with Kang A-jin too. Have a good time!*
Seeing Jun-woo’s pitiful expression, Jong-min signaled again.
Sending A-jin away or calling out Jong-min would both be a hassle, so Jun-woo let it go.
He nodded at A-jin to sit.
“Sit down for now.”
“My seat’s back there?”
“Just sit here.”
“Then Cho-hee will be uncomfortable.”
Leaving Cho-hee alone and sitting next to Jun-woo for about an hour both felt awkward.
She was truly on pins and needles.
Jun-woo then showed her his injured arm.
“You know whose fault this is, right?”
When he held out his arm, her face fell immediately.
“Mine.”
“So you need to sit next to me. I might need help.”
“What could I even help with? It’s only 40 minutes.”
“So you’re not gonna help?”
His indifferent tone and blank expression sounded like a threat.
A-jin had no choice but to fly next to him.
* * *
“Cho-hee, want some? Jeju chocolate.”
Jong-min grinned foolishly as he opened his souvenir bag and pulled out a chocolate bar.
He handed it to Cho-hee.
Just sitting next to her made him feel like he was floating.
He’d gone off and gotten married, honeymooned, felt every emotion under the sun.
But Cho-hee was in a foul mood.
*Why’d they call Kang A-jin over?*
Her eyes were fixed on one spot.
Kang A-jin next to Park Jun-woo. Park Jun-woo next to Kang A-jin.
Seeing the two side by side sparked jealousy and soured her mood.
She glared at Jong-min unpleasantly and snapped irritably.
“Eat it yourself.”
“Yeah? How about this? Omege rice cake.”
“Eat it yourself!”
*This clueless idiot… You stick those two together and now you’re shoving omege or whatever rice cake in my face?*
Even glaring at him felt tiresome, so she turned away and shut her eyes completely.
*What did I do wrong?*
Jong-min flinched at her unusually prickly reaction today, but figured women had their off days and popped an omege rice cake into his mouth without thinking much of it.
* * *
“Need any help? Want me to do your seatbelt?”
A-jin figured since he’d called her over to use her, she should play her part.
“Already buckled.”
“Close the window shade?”
“It’s closed.”
“Ah! Then…”
“Just sleep. Quietly.”
*There’s nothing to help with…*
If there was nothing to do, why call her?
A-jin puffed out her cheeks in frustration, filling her mouth with air.
“But did you really wanna marry me?”
Then, eyes closed, he asked.
The sudden question startled her, and the air in her cheeks burst out with a pop.
“Huh? Me? When?”
“You said you’d take responsibility. Help with everything, do whatever I want.”
She had thought about marriage.
Not considering his feelings, but out of a heavy sense of duty to take charge of his life.
“Me? When? I never said that.”
Embarrassed that she’d even considered marriage, A-jin denied remembering it.
“I clearly heard you. Guess you forgot saying you like me too.”
He asked with an expression testing if she remembered this one either.
A-jin bristled and shot up.
“Hey! I said I’d take responsibility, not that I like you. Don’t make stuff up!”
*He’s such an idiot anyway.*
“Pfft.”
He covered his mouth with his hand and laughed.
Her reaction was reliably entertaining, as always.
“Hey!”
She’d fallen into his pace again.
A-jin glared at him, annoyed.
“See? You did say it, but now you’re denying it.”
“That was… I thought your arm would be totally useless.”
“But isn’t betting your whole life on one arm a bit too risky?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“I’d be the one losing out.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
A-jin pouted, her feelings hurt, her face full of sulk.
Her lips drooped, her brows furrowed tightly, and her glaring eyes trembled.
Her grumpy expression was amusing.
It was the one he cherished most.
He didn’t laugh loudly, just let out soft, leaking chuckles.
That only made her angrier.
“That’s why I had you sit here. Exactly for this.”
No help needed—clearly, he’d just wanted to tease her.
She huffed, endlessly making the expression he adored.
Meanwhile, the fully prepared plane began to move slowly, its massive engines roaring.
A-jin calmed herself and sat up straight.
Graceful, pretty flight attendants with neat hair and slim figures began explaining the safety procedures.
The boys couldn’t take their eyes off the flight attendant sisters.
A-jin couldn’t either.
Tense from her first-ever flight, her wide eyes focused intently on the attendant’s words, vowing to survive this plane.
It wouldn’t crash, right?
What if a bird hits and breaks a wing?
They said on Number One not to put on the life vest before ditching in the ocean.
Should’ve learned to swim. When the oxygen mask drops, pull it like this.
She read every word of the safety card meticulously.
Leaning casually against the window, he spoke up.
“Hey! You’re not gonna die.”
“B-but still, just in case!”
“Plane crashes are 100% fatal. Reading that crap a hundred times won’t save you anyway.”
“No, some people survive. Stop it and read it yourself.”
Jun-woo gave her a pitiful look like *you read it plenty* and closed his eyes.
Whirr. Fweee.
In that instant, the speeding plane took off.
It lifted its nose and soared into the sky, forcing A-jin’s body back involuntarily.
Pulled from behind or pressed from the front?
Terrified, A-jin squeezed her eyes shut.
The fuselage shook with a roar.
Unthinkingly, she grabbed Jun-woo’s left arm.
Startled by the sudden touch, Jun-woo’s eyes snapped open as he looked down at his arm.
A-jin was clutching it.
She was gripping hard from fear.
Jun-woo pried her hand off, crossed his arms, then clasped her hand tightly.
Just wrapping one arm around her brought a sense of stability.
The warmth in his hand melted away her fear.
A-jin turned to look at Jun-woo.
His gaze was on her too.
Their eyes met for a moment.
Warm and gentle.
Rumble. The plane shook again from turbulence, and A-jin shut her eyes tight, burying her face in his shoulder.
She gripped his hand even tighter.
* * *
“Argh, I’m late.”
A-jin barely washed her face, shoved a few rice balls her mom had wrapped into her mouth, and rushed out.
If she missed this bus, she’d be tardy.
“I gotta catch that one! Wait!”
She sprinted full speed and barely caught the packed bus.
“Almost screwed.”
Panting unevenly, A-jin squeezed through the crowd and snagged a seat in the back.
“Sorry. Sorry. Whew…”
“Didn’t wash your hair?”
Apologizing nonstop as she settled in, someone spoke to her.
“Huh?”
A-jin turned.
Jun-woo was standing there.
“You? Why take the bus?”
She wondered why he was on a bus with his injured arm.
“Why not?”
“Your arm hurts.”
“So?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.”
What a curt way to talk.
Not sure what else to say, A-jin turned away.
“Did you at least wash your face?”
“I did.”
Her hair was tied up sloppily, so she looked like she’d overslept and rushed out without washing.
He didn’t care, but observed her for teasing material.
“But does it show?”
A-jin touched the top of her head and asked.
“You really didn’t wash it?”
“Sorry. Does it smell?”
A-jin gave an embarrassed smile and inched away from him.
“Ah! What!”
She stepped on the foot of the person next to her.
The man, whose freshly polished shoe now bore her footprint, brushed it off irritably.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
A-jin bowed repeatedly, flustered.
*Always so clumsy.*
Jun-woo pulled the mistake-prone girl to his side.
“No smell. Stay here.”
Then don’t say anything from the start.
A-jin silently blamed him, puffing her lips in a pout.
The bus stopped at the school stop.
Students in the same uniforms poured out the back door.
A-jin and Jun-woo got off with the crowd.
“Take care of it.”
Just before entering the school gate, he said something out of the blue.
“Huh? Take care of what?”
A-jin asked what he meant, but he just gave a meaningful smile, saying nothing.
*Take care of what? Did he say something before that I forgot?*
A-jin racked her brain, recalling their conversations one by one.
