Chapter 112
“Yeah.”
Song Hyuk-jun was naturally boisterous, so that was one thing, but Lee Dong-ha standing next to him was uncharacteristically silent. He also knew the reason and deliberately avoided eye contact.
“Noona, why did you hide behind glasses all this time? Keep wearing lenses. You look really pretty right now. I thought there was another goddess at our school I didn’t know about.”
“Ah, well…”
At Song Hyuk-jun’s exaggerated praise, it felt as if the sunlight was pouring directly onto the top of my head. I had now reached a state where I couldn’t look straight at anyone—not just Lee Dong-ha.
“I have an appointment, so I’ll go ahead. Enjoy your lunch.”
Fortunately, I had an excuse. Without even hearing Song Hyuk-jun’s goodbye, I hurriedly walked away. I was in fierce internal conflict about whether I should switch back to my glasses right now.
To be honest, the biggest reason for my sudden decision to try lenses was Ryu Eun-seok.
Every time we kissed, he would take off my glasses and look into my eyes with such a serious face, and he seemed to like my bare face, so I decided to take on the challenge following my mom’s advice.
But Song Hyuk-jun’s teasing praise made my shoulders shrink even more. I wasn’t a freshman wearing a coat against the spring chill—I had been around school long enough. Ryu Eun-seok, the person in question, would surely know the reason for me suddenly making an effort.
If Ryu Eun-seok, whom I was about to meet soon, reacted as boisterously as Song Hyuk-jun, I’d take the lenses out right there.
…and put my glasses back on. I took a deep breath like a boxer entering the ring and stepped into the parking lot.
Ryu Eun-seok was leaning against his car, fidgeting with his phone. As if he’d noticed my footsteps, he immediately lifted his head.
He didn’t wave as usual, nor did he give his fresh smile. He only sent a stiff, hardened gaze toward me as I hesitantly closed the distance.
And he just stared down at me until I reached the car, feeling self-conscious. The temperature in his face was cold as ice.
“…What?”
My voice asking that lacked any confidence. Instead of answering, Ryu Eun-seok walked around the car and personally opened the passenger door.
“Get in the car and we’ll talk.”
Tension settled on my shoulders, just like when I was a kid and my mom, clenching her molars, would say, “We’ll talk about it at home.” What on earth was he going to say that he had to push me into an enclosed space?
But Ryu Eun-seok, once in the driver’s seat, didn’t say a word and started the car. It would have been better to just get scolded first, but with him keeping his lips tightly shut with an expression that said he had a lot to say, I felt uneasy. Even before taking a bite of the burger, I felt like my stomach was already churning.
It was only after we arrived at the burger place and placed our order that Ryu Eun-seok finally got to the point.
“Did you lose your glasses?”
“No.”
“Then why aren’t you wearing them?”
The man wasn’t just asking. He was interrogating.
“Does it look that strange?”
So my attitude naturally became defensive. I rolled the tissue in front of me, trying to act casually. Inside the store, where lively music was playing, only our table was excessively quiet.
Even to my own eyes, it was an unfamiliar face. Just this morning alone, I had raised my hand to push up my glasses only to wave at empty air and put it back down several times.
Though Ryu Eun-seok had occasionally looked at my face without glasses, taking them off briefly was entirely different from deliberately wearing lenses. I couldn’t judge my own appearance objectively. He might genuinely think I looked better with glasses on.
“It’s not that it’s strange.”
Ryu Eun-seok finally spoke after a long pause.
“It’s just that I feel uneasy.”
Before I could ask what he was uneasy about, the vibration buzzer went off. Ryu Eun-seok stood up and brought over the tray with the burgers. He still showed the same consideration—putting a straw in my cola and getting wet wipes ready in advance.
Except for the cold temperature of the gaze touching my face.
“Why are you angry?”
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