To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 120: Kang-woo, I’m not avoiding you

Kang-woo worked hard. When it was time for lunch, his mother, Ga-ram, made sure to call them down so they wouldn’t skip their meals, but even then, they only ate a bit and ran back to the music room.

It was great that they were working hard, but he wished more than anything that they wouldn’t overdo it.

"I finally got it," Kang-woo said in excitement as he stopped playing the violin. He had finally gotten it right and did not miss a single key.

He was sweating though. Sweat glistened on his chin as well as his forehead.

In that music room where the air con was heating up the room, cause it was cold otherwise, they were drenched from the amount of concentration they put in and how hard they worked.

"Nice work," Chin-hwa said, smiling at him with his eyes closed but then returned his gaze to the piano.

Kang-woo was panting hard like he had run a marathon. He had even folded up the short sleeves of his shirt so the sweat wouldn’t bother his arms.

Kang-woo looked at Chin-hwa. He was acting normal. At least, that was why he liked anyone to see them to believe but he had noticed it three times already.

When it looked like they were about to make eye contact, Chin-hwa would drop his head to look at something else or just look away completely.

It might’ve been a coincidence but something was bothering him. Chin-hwa was... Avoiding him.

"Alright, you must be feeling uncomfortable with all that sweat, but we can’t exactly lower the air con. If not, we’d catch a cold. So, you can go take a shower while I learn the lyrics of the song." Chin-hwa said, his eyes still fixed on the piano keys. "Then, we can start practicing while I sing."

Instead of answering, Kang-woo actually sat on the floor next to him, dropping his head on Chin-hwa’s seat.

Chin-hwa saw this and almost lost his cool.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He asked but Kang-woo kept his firm gaze on him. He was trying to figure him out.

Chin-hwa darted his eyes aside, feeling rather uncomfortable. What did Kang-woo think he was doing?

He was sweating so much that even his seat smelled like his pheromones.

"Don’t look away from me please," Kang-woo suddenly said. "You... Why are you avoiding my eyes?"

Chin-hwa gulped. But of course, he tried to deny that.

"What do you mean avoiding your eyes? I didn’t do anything like that." He said, but even then, he wouldn’t look down at Kang-woo.

"Then, why aren’t you looking at me right now?" Kang-woo asked, catching Chin-hwa’s neck by the collar.

Chin-hwa gulped once more. Why wasn’t he looking down? Because he was too embarrassed and too stuck up on what happened the previous night to completely act like everything was fine.

"Kang-woo, I’m not avoiding you. It’s just... I can’t look you in the eyes right now." Chin-hwa answered and pressed his lips together.

He hoped Kang-woo would not press the matter further. He didn’t know how to explain this. He didn’t know how to face him. Not yet. He still needed to clear his head.

Kang-woo did not say anything more and stood up. Chin-hwa sighed, seeing Kang-woo had given up, but to his surprise, Kang-woo suddenly stood behind him, lowering his head and shifting Chin-hwa’s neck back.

His short hair, which was nearly soaked in his sweat, fell down, covering a bit of his face as he fixed his eyes on Chin-hwa’s shocked ones.

He gulped but didn’t even know how to react. His eyes were directly locked to Kang-woo’s eyes now and he couldn’t even straighten his neck to avoid contact because Kang-woo’s hand was on his neck.

’What is he doing?’ Chin-hwa thought and rolled his eyes away, prompting Kang-woo to plead.

"Don’t avoid my eyes, please." He said and Chin-hwa barely brought his eyes back to his.

This was embarrassing and his heart was racing. Why was he so stubborn?

"Hwa, I had a dream last night," Kang-woo said and Chin-hwa’s eyes slightly faltered. "I don’t know the exact context of it but it might’ve been a wet dream. Embarrassing, right?"

"W-why are you telling me about your wet dream then?" Chin-hwa asked him, forcing out a laugh. "It’s so embarrassing that you have wet dreams at this age. Just what do you think about all day for that to happen?"

Kang-woo remained silent, his gaze still firmly fixed on Chin-hwa’s eyes.

"Well, it happens sometimes, I guess." He said and continued. "In any case, I’m only saying this because it felt so vivid, and real." Once again, Chin-hwa’s eyes faltered. "When I woke up, it looked like I had actually kissed them and held them in my arms. The sensation lingered."

"W-well, that... That’s a wet dream for you, haha." Chin-hwa said, blinking his eyes and trying to look away. This was so uncomfortable.

"I guess you’re right." Kang-woo said, bringing his hand up from Chin-hwa’s neck slowly and smoothly, rubbing their flesh together till his hand fell on his chin and then his lips. "But it bothered me that you looked strange when I woke up. Did I..."

"Oh boy, you’re so funny," Chin-hwa said, laughing and changing the topic. "I already told you it was the water that was stuck in my eyelids, but you’re still hung on that. Maybe I should’ve just agreed with you and let you console me, haha." He laughed.

Kang-woo watched him carefully. So, he wasn’t going to say anything about it then?

Even next to Chin-hwa, he could no longer trust himself. Maybe he had indeed done something, maybe he had crossed the line, and that was why Chin-hwa cried, but he wouldn’t admit it because he didn’t want to ruin their friendship.

Even without seeing the tears, he saw Chin-hwa’s puffy eyes so he knew that he had indeed cried. It made his heart feel heavy and apologetic.

He was sure he had done something, and even if he didn’t... How could he sleep so soundly while his best friend, who he loved so much, was hurting all by himself?

But then, he had a feeling that he had indeed done something, even though he had no memories of it.

If he had done what he did in his dream to Chin-hwa subconsciously, then... It would make sense that he was trying to avoid eye contact because he wasn’t over it yet.

"Hwa," he called, softly stroking Chin-hwa’s cheek. "I’ll go take a shower now." He said, planting a soft kiss on Chin-hwa’s forehead. And then he smiled. "You better get the lyrics registered in your mind by then." He let go and started walking towards the door.

A stunned Chin-hwa watched him and then scoffed. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"What do you take me for? Learning such things is such a piece of cake for me." He said and Kang-woo nodded. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

"Sure, sure. I’ll get ready to be amazed." He said and walked through the door.

Chin-hwa’s heart was racing and his face felt hot. He touched his forehead and closed his eyes.

"Seriously, it’s like all my efforts keep going down the drain with you." He muttered.