My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

43 – Under the Name of Friendship (3)

Her head returned to its original position.

When Hayan’s hand slipped away from Geonyul’s shoulder, she bit her lip as if she wanted to let out a sigh.

Resting her head on Geonyul’s shoulder wasn’t a mistake caused by drowsiness.

It was a deliberate act to narrow the distance between them.

“…I didn’t have this intention from the beginning, though.”

At first, she was really tired and closed her eyes.

But the atmosphere between them improved after what happened earlier.

…Maybe it’s okay to lean on his shoulder due to drowsiness.

Such thoughts brushed through her mind, and she instinctively acted upon them.

It was short but delightful.

Burying her face in Geonyul’s shoulder, a pleasant fragrance filled her senses.

The firmness felt in the shoulders gave a sense of reliability.

As it was Ha-yeon’s daily routine to laugh, talk, and fall asleep in his arms with joy and exhaustion.

For a moment, she felt like she had returned to their past relationship.

But dreams are just dreams.

Reality was that she was still pretending to sleep, leaning on the chair.

“…Even if we’re friends, it’s okay to lean on your shoulder.”

No matter how close they were as friends, there was no need to draw such a clear line.

It was frustrating that even though she pretended to sleep, she couldn’t narrow the distance between them.

It seemed like the distance between her and Gun-yul right now, and it made Ha-yeon feel a little uneasy.

– Zeeing. Zeeing.

Just as she was about to fall asleep.

Suddenly, Gun-yul’s phone vibrated.

Despite her fatigue from yesterday, Ha-yeon couldn’t fall asleep.

“Yeah? It’s me, Zia.”

She knew exactly who was calling him.

She wanted to cover her ears to block out Gun-yul’s gentle voice.

Because she knew that a conversation she didn’t want to hear would continue.

But since she was pretending to sleep, it would be obvious if she suddenly covered her ears.

[…Pa! …Areyo?]

“Yeah, there’s about an hour left. We should arrive soon, right?”

A cheerful and bright voice seeped through the receiver.

She didn’t know what they were talking about, but listening to the high-tone melody made her uncomfortable.

She didn’t feel good when Gun-yul talked to other girls.

Especially if it was with that pleasant and affectionate voice.

Thinking that he believed she was sleeping, Gun-yul continued his conversation with Zia.

“Oh, then. Where are you? Really? Your house is closer than I thought.”

Ha-yeon opened her eyes slightly and glanced at Gun-yul.

A smile appeared on his lips.

His eyes sparkled in an instant.

Somehow, his posture seemed straighter than before.

……How can someone be like that on the phone?

In reality, it might not mean much.

But for Ha-yeon, it felt enormous.

Although the atmosphere between them had not been bad, this was completely different.

On their side, it felt like the tone of a friend, while on the other side, it felt like the tone of a lover.

“Oh, really? So you called me before going to sleep? After hearing my voice?”

[…Yeah…]

“…You’re cute. Our Jia. Okay, I got it. I’m tired. I’ll go to bed quickly.”

…….Our Jia?

To others, it would have been just a cringe-worthy nickname.

But it irritated Ha-yeon so much.

It felt like they were really dating, right?

‘…Could it be that they started dating during this time?’

Anxiety began to rise from Ha-yeon’s toes again.

Now, when they finally closed the distance as friends.

If Jia completely surpasses him, that would be dangerous in itself.

And Gun-yul turned his head slightly towards himself.

Jia’s words, which were not audible before, pierced into Ha-yeon’s ears.

“Yes, I’ll hang up now…I love you. Oppa.”

His heart thumped and sank.

His chest tightened and it felt suffocating. His heartache was overwhelming.

Even if he had to snatch the phone away from Gun-yul right now.

And even if he had the urge to smash the cellphone, he wanted to stop their conversation.

…Don’t respond. Please. Yul. Please. Just hang up.

And that brief moment felt like slow motion to Ha-yeon.

It seemed like Gun-yul’s mouth opened very slowly.

Ha-yeon wished he could shout out loud inside.

He couldn’t handle Gun-yul saying the same thing to Jia.

He couldn’t bear to see that scene in front of him.

“Um…um.”

Ha-yeon intentionally made a sound like sleep talking to prevent Geon-yul from speaking.

To the extent that she could take away his attention.

She hoped he would miss the timing to speak and just hang up the phone.

In response, Geon-yul turned around slightly, and Ha-yeon hastily closed her eyes.

……Please, it’s a request. Please.

With Ha-yeon’s pounding heart, she desperately wished for the call to end.

“Huh? It’s nothing. I love you too, Jia.”

Her shoulders trembled.

It was because she had clenched her hand too tightly.

If she hadn’t trimmed her nails short, maybe she would have bled.

…I wish my eardrums were torn apart like this.

Then I wouldn’t have heard anything.

Ha-yeon felt her heart sink to the bottom.

*

“Ha-yeon. Hey. Seo Ha-yeon.”

“…Hmm.”

She could feel Geon-yul touching her shoulder.

He shook her shoulder, as if trying to wake her up.

“Hey. Wake up. We have to get off at the next stop.”

“…Ah. Yul.”

“Are you awake? It’s the next station. We’ve arrived.”

“Ah. Yeah. Thanks for waking me up.”

Pretending to be sleepy wasn’t easy.

In fact, her heart was sinking endlessly at the moment.

She made a special effort with her expression and voice to not show any signs to Geon-yul.

If her intentions were caught by him, their relationship could become dangerous again.

In the first place, she couldn’t sleep in this situation.

She heard someone confessing their love to someone else.

It felt like her insides were being twisted and tangled all at once.

I felt nauseous, even though I never had motion sickness before.

“…Disgusting. Nauseating. Dizzy.”

Suddenly, the bus came to a stop.

Hayeon struggled as she got up from her seat.

Then, she tapped her card and descended the steps of the bus with Geonyul.

As she breathed in the outside air, an inexplicable discomfort gnawed at her from within.

“Are you okay? You don’t look too well.”

The bus started moving again, and Hayeon staggered, walking with unsteady steps and squinting eyes.

Geonyul looked at her worriedly and asked with concern.

Even while swaying, Hayeon continued her negative thoughts.

…You only care about me when I’m sick.

Such twisted words boiled up inside her.

Perhaps because of what happened earlier, she also felt a bitter emotion towards Geonyul.

She wanted to curse out loud, to let out all her frustrations.

But she couldn’t do that.

Because she didn’t want to seem mean-spirited towards Geonyul.

And she loathed herself for creating this situation.

It was natural for someone to worry when another person is in pain.

Geonyul was simply a good-hearted person, so he would do this for anyone who’s hurt.

Even if it were a stranger, he would probably still show concern.

“Seo Hayeon. This immature girl. Idiot.”

What made her so repulsive?

Was it because of the strange smell of the bus she had ridden after a long time?

Or because she couldn’t sleep properly, or perhaps due to being shaken more than usual, causing her nausea?

…Or maybe it was the shock from the words she heard earlier.

“…Ew.”

Unbeknownst to herself, Hayeon let out a dry heave.

Geonyul waited for her, standing beside her seat.

But Hayeon didn’t end up vomiting.

It was as if she had spit out a disgusting feeling into the air.

She didn’t even realize it was a self-hatred.

“It’s okay. It’s just a little dizzy.”

Hayeon reassured Geonyul, shaking her hand.

But Geonyul was still delicate and overflowing with consideration.

“Stay here. I’ll even buy you something to drink.”

“…Yul…I’m really okay-“

“-You don’t look okay. I’ll be back~!”

Was it nausea or fast steps?

Geonyul hurriedly headed to the convenience store.

Hayeon just sat there, staring blankly at Geonyul’s back.

Geonyul put the drink he bought to his mouth for a moment.

Hae-yeon felt her appetite subside.

“Thank you…I’m really feeling better now.”

“Are you? You look better than earlier.”

“Let’s go now. We’ll be late if we stay here.”

As Hayeon got up and started to walk, Geonyul walked alongside her.

“Take better care of yourself. You’re not in good shape. How can you be so weak. And make sure to eat properly.”

“…”

Like the nagging from when they were dating.

Geonyul expressed his concerns as he looked at Hayeon.

Knowing about her illness, Geonyul didn’t even realize he would worry about such trivial things.

Every time he showed kindness to her like this.

Hae-yeon only grew more eager to go back to their previous relationship.

‘…Let’s not give up. It’s not over yet. We haven’t even confirmed that we’re dating.’

Although her heart was honestly grim, she couldn’t just sit there.

In the first place, the purpose of coming down with Geonyul was to narrow the distance.

Like that woman Jiara, I had to build a relationship with him in my own way.

I couldn’t stand the thought of his attention being solely directed towards other women.

“Maybe we’re still in the early stages of dating. No, even if we’re officially together, he could change his mind, right?”

I recalled a dating YouTube video I had watched a few days ago.

“Never give up. If you don’t give up, an opportunity will come someday.”

It was a video about reuniting with an ex-boyfriend.

Hayan had become engrossed in that video, which had been recommended by the algorithm.

And she had made a promise back then. She would never give up.

That promise should not be broken.

“Yul.”

“Yes?”

We walked in silence for a while, and when Hayan finally spoke, Geonyul turned to her.

Hayan cautiously spoke up.

“…Could you maybe go see my mother with me tomorrow or the day after?”

She had to bring up this topic with him.