To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 109: I’m not that careless

Chin-hwa was able to get his head straight and take a bath without much interruption. He was still embarrassed about his wet dream so early in the morning but he quickly got over it before stepping out of the bathroom.

It was time to check what Kang-woo had brought for him.

As soon as he saw the first pair, his face was quickly struck with despair. He forgot to tell Kang-woo not to bring any of the brightly colored clothes in his closet.

He checked the other pair, praying against the worst but like the first pair, this one was equally a brightly colored set.

Kang-woo had picked out things he would never wear on a normal day. Struck with despair, he crumbled on the floor.

Just how was he going to go around wearing colorful clothes and not attract attention? One was yellow and the other was blue. Just what was he thinking? It was like Kang-woo wished he would attract attention.

Wait, wasn’t the reason why he never wanted to attract attention gone?

The ache in his heart, the hole, and the loneliness... All of them had been a misunderstanding all along. And though it was taking a while to heal completely from the pain, he had made up his mind that he wouldn’t let that pain dictate his life anymore.

Since, well, he would have to stand out if he was going to be hanging out with Kang-woo like he used to. So, no matter what he did, he would still catch the eye of the public.

It was like a boulder had been lifted from his heart once he had convinced himself he didn’t need to hide in the shadows anymore; once he had convinced himself, he had never been abandoned, and all of it had been a misunderstanding.

"Knock knock"

Chin-hwa raised his head towards the door.

"I’m coming in," Kang-woo said.

"No, hold on. I’m not dressed." Chin-hwa yelled. He had wasted his time reminiscing that he forgot he had to get dressed before Kang-woo got back from heating up the kimchi stew. ’I hope he didn’t burn it.’ He thought, putting on his coat. ’He’s not very good with the kitchen but he insisted on heating it up.’

He headed for the door and opened it.

"I’m done," he announced. "Did you burn the food?"

Kang-woo stared at him and his lips curled up, pleased. Though, not what he had in mind, Chin-hwa still looked cute in yellow. He chuckled as he shook his head.

"I’m not that careless," He said, reaching his hand to brush back Chin-hwa’s hair. "Did you not brush your hair?"

"What’s the need when I’ll just wear a beanie on it anyway?" He asked, slightly squinting as Kang-woo brushed beneath his eyes with his thumb.

"Well, that makes sense." Kang-woo said and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "Head down first. I’ll quickly take a bath."

Chin-Hwa touched his forehead; his face was slightly flushing.

It was almost like they were a couple living together. The feeling was so warm.

But reality soon struck when he got a call from Ji-hoo and he remembered the person he was dating was Ji-hoo and not Kang-woo. It might just be a relationship to help him get over Kang-woo but Ji-hoo’s feelings were real.

And because of that... He did not want to take his efforts for granted.

"Something wrong?" Kang-woo asked as he walked towards him. He had his scarf in his arm and his coat in the other arm.

It looked like he had spent only five minutes up there because Chin-hwa had not even dished out the food by the time he got down neatly dressed and his hair brushed back.

Chin-hwa was the one who had dilly-dallied.

Kang-woo saw the worried expression on Chin-hwa’s face, and immediately, he could tell that something was not right. But Chin-hwa obviously did not want to talk about it as he smiled and changed the topic right away.

"Oh, it’s nothing." He said. "I’ll dish the food now, so hold on a bit."

Kang-woo nodded and sat down, his eyes fixed on Chin-Hwa, but his mind wandered to what might’ve got him in a worried trance.

He liked this. He liked that he was so close to Chin-hwa, doing everything with him and watching him smile. But if other factors made his smile disappear, that made his mind wander and cause him to worry, he could not sit comfortably.

And that brought him to wonder if those factors included his relationship with Yun-Tae.

He pressed his knuckles together with his eyebrows slightly furrowing.

Factors that made Chin-hwa unhappy...

"Sorry for the wait," Chin-hwa said with a bright smile beaming on his face as he placed down the plates in front of him. "Luckily, you aren’t careless as you said, so the food is in good condition." He laughed and took a seat next to him. "So," he picked up his spoon. "Let’s eat."

Kang-woo did not eat yet. He kept his eyes on Chin-hwa, watching him gullibly feast on the meal in front of him. Even when he ate like that, he was so cute.

"Hey, why are you staring?" Chin-hwa asked, pointing his spoon at him. "If you don’t start eating now, you’re going to make us late. Hurry up,"

Kang-woo couldn’t help but smile and then he began to eat as well.

They were still early. Their classes started at 7 and it was just 6 AM. Since Kang-woo was driving, they didn’t even have to worry about getting late.

"Are you ready?" Kang-woo asked and Chin-hwa, who was adjusting his beanie, nodded.

Since Kang-woo forgot to get him a pair of boots that would go with what he brought, he decided to just wear the one he had worn the previous day to their outing. Luckily, it wasn’t dirty or anything like that.

"I’m ready as well," Kang-woo said, brushing his fingers through his hair and Chin-hwa secretly pouted his lips. Kang-woo looked hot doing that pose, so he couldn’t help it.

"I’ll help you," Chin-hwa said, reaching his hand out to him, and Kang-woo, who did not get it at first, bent his head, thinking Chin-hwa wanted to help him adjust his hair. "What are you doing?" Chin-hwa scuffled his hair. "I meant the scarf. I’ll help you put on your scarf, do I have to spell it out?"

"Ha... Haha," Kang-woo laughed. "I think you do." He said. "If you don’t, how am I supposed to know if you feel like touching my hair, adjusting my collar, or helping me put on my scarf? You just pointed, Hwa." He smiled and Chin-hwa flushed in embarrassment.

"Well, now you know I was referring to the scarf," he said, throwing his face away. "In fact, I don’t think you need my help anymore. Just do it by yourself," he began to walk away.

"Hey now," Kang-woo caught his arm and pulled him closer into his arms. "You already offered your assistance, so I’ll take it, Hwa," he pressed their forhead heads together. "Help me wrap my scarf around my neck."

Their faces were so close that Chin-hwa could feel his heart leaping, ready to jump out of his mouth any moment. Just... Why was he doing this? No, why wouldn’t his heart calm down?

He clicked his tongue, snatched the scarf from him, and tied it around Kang-woo’s neck, strangling him.

"There, it’s around your neck." He pushed Kang-woo away and started heading for the door. "Now, hurry up. We’re going to be late at this rate."

Kang-woo coughed after being choked with his own scarf and watched Chin-hwa head out the door.

"He really is energetic so early in the morning," he exclaimed.

Chin-hwa had headed straight for the elevator, hoping not to get caught by Kang-woo till he had calmed his head that was threatening to jump out of his chest.

(Are you sure you aren’t having one of those cardiac arrest? Just saying)

He even went as far as choking Kang-woo with his scarf so he wouldn’t notice anything odd about him.

Did he succeed? He didn’t know. He ran out of there before he could see his reaction.

Kang-woo opened the door of his apartment and saw Chin-hwa standing in front of the elevator. He thought he would’ve gone down by the time he was out but he was still waiting by the elevator.

He leaned his head toward Chin-hwa, who was deep in thought, and asked,

"Why aren’t you down yet?"

Chin-hwa’s eyes widened and he turned around right away to find Kang-woo smiling at him.

"Are you scared of getting lost?"

"Yes, I am." Chin-hwa answered without hesitation, surprising Kang-woo. "It’s better to wait for you here than get lost on the wrong floor, only to end up wasting time and getting late for class."

"You’re so thorough and serious with your studies, Hwa." Kang-woo said, wrapping his arms around his neck and rubbing his face against his head. "You’re such a model student. I’m far behind so I’ll be in your care."