First Love

I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth.

“…Right now…Where do you want to touch me?”

My voice trembled as I spoke.

Han Gangun suddenly leaned in until he was right in front of me.

He lowered his voice and whispered into my ear.

The ticklish sensation made me flinch.

“How far are you going to let me touch you?”

Our eyes met.

Only our breathing filled the quiet hallway.

Han Gangun’s face was so close.

Close enough that our lips could have met at any moment.

I took a deep breath.

“…My hair.”

“That’s awfully stingy.”

Han Gangun pulled away with a swift step backward.

“You can touch my hair.”

“Between us?”

“I’m not saying you can’t even touch my hair.”

“Alright, alright.”

My head spun.

The legs I’d been kneeling on were numb, and warmth surged upward from my feet.

Han Gangun slowly reached his hand toward me.

He wasn’t even kissing me.

Yet my stomach churned as though my heart might leap right out of my chest.

The empty hallway seemed to fill with heat.

Bang!

The moment his fingers brushed through my hair—

The bell rang.

Its loud chime echoed through the hallway and every classroom alike.

The front classroom door flew open, and the English teacher stepped outside.

Both of us instantly shot our hands into the air.

Han Gangun bit down hard on his lip, his head lowered.

He looked like he was fighting for his life not to laugh.

“You two.
Get up.”

The English teacher tucked a book under his arm and waved us over.

“You’ve both got three demerit points. Don’t forget it.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

“What terrible timing.”

Han Gangun muttered quietly.

“Next period’s PE.”

Then his warm palm landed on top of my head.

His hand rested on my crown before gently stroking through my hair.

It didn’t stop there.

His fingers traced down the strands, brushing lightly along the back of my neck.

Only when they reached my shoulder did he finally let his hand fall away.

Han Gangun grinned crookedly at me.

Then he slipped back into the classroom.

I stood there for a long while, unable to move.

PE passed by in a blur.

Besides the usual conditioning exercises, the teacher had unexpectedly turned the physical fitness test into a graded assessment.

We ended up doing flexibility tests and sit-ups without any warning.

As the class representative for PE, Han Gangun’s voice rang louder than ever throughout the gym.

His long arms and legs made his summer gym uniform look almost too small.

Instead of participating, he spent most of the class blowing a whistle, tossing balls to the others, and laughing.

Moving equipment.

Organizing classmates.

Keeping everyone in line.

Han Gangun handled almost all of it.

Whenever we did warm-up exercises, even the PE teacher would tease him, saying his voice was loud enough to bring the whole gym down.

Fortunately, the teacher genuinely liked him.

With his clear voice and commanding height, all it took was a few words from Han Gangun for the noisy students to line up without complaint.

I stood quietly in the corner, watching him demonstrate each activity.

This time it was the standing long jump.

Han Gangun swung both arms back and forth a few times before launching himself forward.

One instant he was standing still.

The next, he’d flown an unbelievable distance before landing cleanly.

Afterward, he rubbed his heel, complaining that his ankle hurt.

The boys gathered around the measuring line let out impressed whistles.

“Whoa.”

“That’s insane.”

Since I’d been sitting in the back with my knees hugged to my chest, I hadn’t been able to see anything.

But before I knew it, I’d gotten to my feet.

While everyone else took their turns, I quietly made my way forward.

I wanted to see Han Gangun’s record.

Apparently it was the best jump so far.

My lips parted slightly.

“Go on.”

A voice sounded beside my ear.

I instinctively shrank my shoulders.

Han Gangun was standing next to me with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling.

Maybe it was because his legs were so long, but his gym shorts looked unusually short above his knees.

“Let’s see how far Seo Ijae can jump.”

He rocked his body playfully as he spoke.

I quietly stepped aside.

“I’m bad at this.”

“Exactly.

I want to see how bad.”

I knew I’d said I wasn’t good at it.

Still…

I hadn’t expected to do quite that poorly.

At least I wasn’t last.

But barely managing to score above average still left me disappointed.

A tingling ache spread from my toes all the way up to my knees.

After loosening my sneakers and walking back, I looked up.

Han Gangun was standing farther away with his arms crossed.

The moment our eyes met, he smiled.

For the first time…

I regretted that we were in the same class.

The performance assessment ended early, leaving us about twenty minutes of free time.

Everyone rushed to the storage room to grab badminton rackets, volleyballs, basketballs, and whatever else they could find.

Naturally, I had no interest in sports.

When I looked away for only a second, Han Gangun had disappeared.

I found myself looking around for him.

The gym buzzed with students enjoying their free time.

I slowly walked along the wall, searching through the crowd for his tall figure.

“Ijae.”

Someone called my name.

I turned.

Standing inside the dim sports equipment room, Han Gangun flashed me a grin.

He crooked a finger, beckoning me over.

Almost as if I were being pulled by a magnet, I walked inside.

“What are you doing?”

“Putting the equipment away.”

“I was looking for you.”

“So I noticed.”

“You saw me?”

Han Gangun shook the dust off a badminton bag before tossing it into the corner.

Then he nodded.

“You were wandering around like this.”

He mimicked me looking around.

Had I really looked like that?

Embarrassment washed over me.

“The others are noisy.”

As he said that, Han Gangun slid the storage room door shut.

With a creak, it swung closed.

Click.

The storage room was half underground.

Aside from a single window near the ceiling, there was no other source of light.

A slant of warm sunlight streamed in through it, cutting through the darkness.

Han Gangun sat down on top of a stack of rolled-up gym mats.

Then he gestured for me to come over.

When I got close, he patted the space beside him.

I sat down.

Our thighs pressed together.

My heart immediately started racing.

Han Gangun turned toward me and studied my face.

“We’re the only ones here.”

“We’re the only ones here.”

“What if someone comes in?”

I asked anxiously.

Han Gangun answered without a hint of concern.

“So what if they do?”

“…”

“It’s not like we’re in here kissing.”

I immediately looked up at him.

Seeing the expression on my face, he let out a quiet laugh.

“We’re just sitting here with our butts touching.”

“…”

“But I could.”

“…Could what?”

“Kiss you.”

His eyes stayed fixed on mine.

His lips curved into a faint smile.

I glanced up at his face for a moment before quickly looking away.

The back of my neck tingled.

“There are security cameras.”

“Hey. Since when are there security cameras inside the equipment room?”

“No…I couldn’t.”

“That’s a shame.”

Han Gangun clicked his tongue.

“A peck, then.”

Just as Han Gangun was about to dust off his hands, he looked back at me.

“A peck…I might be able to do that.”

Han Gangun started laughing.

“What’s the difference between a peck and a kiss?”

“On the cheek.”

“Oh.
Not on the lips?”

“Yeah.”

“So one on the lips is a kiss…
and one on the cheek is a peck?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s some strange logic.”

He couldn’t stop smiling.

When his laughter finally subsided, he looked at me and said,

“Then give me one. A peck.”

“Right now?”

“Now.

The bell’s going to ring any minute.

If someone actually opens the door, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Hurry.

Before someone comes.”

He began urging me on.

I clasped my hands together tightly.

I bit my lip, then let it go.

Lowered my head.

Raised it again.

Han Gangun watched me from the corner of his eye, looking every bit like he intended to wait until I actually did it.

“Ten…

Nine…

Eight…

Seven…

Six…”

He actually started counting down.

I rubbed my sweaty fingers together before glancing nervously at the closed storage room door.

No one would come in…

Right?

Slowly, I leaned closer to his cheek.

The nearer I got, the stronger Han Gangun’s familiar clean scent became.

I grabbed the sleeve of his gym shirt tightly.

Then I lifted my head.

Our faces drew closer.

I gently pressed my lips against his pale cheek.

I’d intended to pull away immediately.

But somehow…

I didn’t want to.

So I kept my lips there for just a little longer.

Han Gangun stayed perfectly still and accepted the kiss.

He didn’t tease me.

He didn’t laugh because I’d kept my lips there too long.

The grin that had been tugging at the corners of his mouth slowly disappeared.

It froze in place.

Neither of us even seemed to breathe.

It felt as though we’d both sunk beneath water.

I suddenly pulled away like someone breaking the surface.

I finally took a breath.

“…There.”

“Should I give you one too?”

The answer caught me completely off guard.

Han Gangun looked at me quietly.

I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

Not that I wanted to.

When I nodded, Han Gangun slowly leaned toward me.

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the sharp line of his jaw as he tilted his head.

I wanted to touch it.

I wanted to kiss his soft cheek one more time.

Those thoughts tangled together in my mind—

And then something warm touched my skin.

Smack.

Unlike mine, Han Gangun’s kiss came with an unmistakable little sound.

After pressing a kiss to my cheek, he leaned back again.

The smile had faded from his face.

He looked at me with an unexpectedly restrained expression.

I’d always thought Han Gangun never got embarrassed by anything.

It was surprisingly endearing.

“A peck’s not bad either.”

Han Gangun dusted himself off and stood.

Then he held out a hand.

I took it.

He pulled me to my feet.

Together, we left the gymnasium.

I wondered if Han Gangun’s cheeks were burning as much as mine.

Walking side by side toward the classroom, that was all I could think about.

Han Gangun walked beside me in silence.