Don’t you think we are going too fast? chapter 14

I was at a loss for words at Taeshin’s question. The thoughts that flashed through my mind were ‘I’m sorry,’ then ‘You,’ and then…

“Uh, well.”

“Sigh.”

Damn mouth. It usually doesn’t stay shut, but now it wouldn’t open.

I wanted to say I wished it had never happened, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Though I had so much to say in my heart, my lips felt sealed.

I couldn’t bear to look at Taeshin’s face anymore and dropped my gaze, prompting a long sigh to escape above my head.

“Alright.”

I was terrified by Taeshin’s words, fearing he might say he didn’t want to see me anymore.

But then, Taeshin said something unexpected.

“I don’t remember it anymore either.”

I flinched at his words while looking at the floor.

Unable to believe what he had just said, I lifted my head to look at Taeshin.

He watched me with deep eyes and then smiled slightly.

His serene smile made me feel strangely unsettled.

Whenever our opinions differed, it was always Taeshin who compromised. Seeing him yield to my more selfish wishes than ever this time made me feel deeply relieved but also terribly guilty.

I had been anxious ever since posting my worries online, seeing comments advising me to accept the situation more seriously.

I had prepared for the worst, thinking I should do the same if Taeshin truly didn’t want to see me anymore, so his words now felt incredibly fortunate and grateful.

Yet, my complicated feelings of guilt remained.

Is this the right thing to do?

As I hesitated, fidgeting with the shopping bag in my hand, Taeshin was the first to change the subject.

“Did you finish course registration well?”

“Oh… yeah! I did.”

I nodded vigorously as I replied awkwardly.

“Come in. Did you manage well?”

“Yeah. Fortunately, I got all the courses without failing any.”

I stepped aside to let Taeshin into my room.

We started talking about our course registrations and decided to check each other’s schedules.

Although things had been awkward between us lately, we had already discussed and coordinated our courses together.

After much deliberation, I registered for the same courses we had planned, so it was only natural that our schedules, except for one elective, would be identical.

“Huh?”

I checked Taeshin’s schedule first. It matched exactly what we had discussed.

But when I logged in to check mine, I noticed something strange.

“Why isn’t mine showing up?”

“Did you complete the course registration?”

“Yeah, I confirmed everything.”

When I accessed the timetable on my personal page, it was blank.

There were only days and times listed without any course names, leaving me confused.

Taeshin took the mouse and went to the course registration page.

Unlike earlier, several course names were grayed out, indicating they were already full.

Seeing this, I became anxious and decided to check one course, clicking the confirmation button before running my hand through my hair.

When I checked the course and clicked confirm, a pop-up appeared, asking for a final confirmation.

I thought I had registered properly, but it seemed I had clicked cancel instead of confirm.

As I pulled my hair in frustration, Taeshin, watching me, let out a low growl.

“Let’s register now.”

“I’m doomed. Should I take a leave of absence?”

“Freshmen can’t take leaves. This one’s still available. This one… you’ll have to take this.”

Taeshin comforted me as I sat in shock from my careless mistake and helped me register for courses again.

All the popular courses with good professors were already full.

I managed to register for a notoriously tough professor’s course while whining, and finally confirmed my schedule.

Seeing my properly filled timetable this time, I kept sighing.

It felt like I had already messed up the semester.

Taeshin, sitting beside me, stared at the monitor, then pulled the keyboard towards him and logged in with his student number.

As he navigated to the course registration page, I quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.

“What? Are you planning to change your schedule to match mine?”

“I just need to check something.”

“You registered for those popular courses with good professors. Why change now? Even if it’s a few different ones, don’t change. If you change to match mine, I won’t team up with you for four years.”

I warned Taeshin, who was obviously lying, and he closed his mouth, staring at the monitor.

Seeing his dissatisfied expression, I sighed and patted his head like a child.

“You should take the courses I can’t. And you have to tell me about them. They say the professor is fun and gives good personal projects. The other courses are similar. Especially the professor of the course I managed to register for is nicknamed ‘Walking Sleeping Pill.’ I’ll definitely fall asleep, so you need to learn well.”

I mixed reality into my plea to ensure Taeshin wouldn’t secretly change his courses later.

As I gently coaxed him, his expression gradually softened. Taeshin was indeed well-behaved.

This is the right thing.

I really thought the world was ending that morning, but see?

Deciding to let it go makes everything fine…

I continued to ruffle Taeshin’s hair, feeling its pleasant texture between my fingers, until he turned to look at me, making eye contact.

Feeling awkward, I averted my gaze back to the monitor and let go of his hair to grab the mouse.

“Uh… what are you going to do now?”

“I have something to do in the evening, so I need to go.”

“Something to do?”

“Yeah. Why? Should I skip it?”

“Oh? No, it’s fine. Are you leaving now?”

As I asked, getting up from my seat, Taeshin nodded.

I escorted him to the front door, wishing him well with his tasks.

After waving goodbye to Taeshin, I immediately collapsed on the living room sofa.

Trying to be careful not to say anything that might upset Taeshin had drained all my energy.

Despite my efforts to act nonchalant, the brief moment of eye contact while ruffling his hair had made me feel awkward again.

“Sigh.”

I lay on the sofa, covering my eyes with my arm, and let out a short groan.

But at least one hurdle was overcome.

The uncomfortable situation I had been holding onto seemed to have finally been resolved.

Is it really sorted out?

I moved the arm covering my eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Feeling strangely unsettled, I shook my head.

Since Taeshin had also let it go without remembering, it was over. It was sorted out.

* * *

After a long time, I woke up fully rested to find a message from Taeshin.

Kneeling on the bed, I stared blankly for a moment before replying to his usual message asking if I was up.

[Just woke up]

[Did you check out what happened yesterday?]

Continuing the conversation a beat later, I lay back down on the bed.

Pressing down my oddly sticking-out hair that bothered me, I waited for his reply.

[Taeshin♥> Yeah, I did]

[Taeshin♥> (Photo)]

[Taeshin♥> I organized the materials for each lecture. Check if it matches yours.]

“Wow.”

Taeshin had organized the lecture materials he registered for yesterday, making it easier to see on the timetable.

He was exceptionally diligent, no wonder he did well in his studies.

Amazed at the chart Taeshin had prepared, I sent a reply.

[It’s all correct]

[When did you memorize all this?]

[Taeshin♥> I only needed to remember the subjects different from mine]

[Taeshin♥> Should we order the materials as is?]

Though course registration wasn’t over yet, Taeshin already wanted to buy the materials.

I suggested getting them from the campus bookstore instead, thinking there would be many people buying them.

Persuading him to wait until after registration closed, I checked the registration page just in case.

“Oh, nice.”

The course I couldn’t register for because it was full had opened up again.

I quickly added it and informed Taeshin of the update.

He was pleased and agreed we should buy the materials later.

I refreshed the registration page a few more times to see if there were any changes.

Seeing no further changes, I closed the page.

It was a lucky morning.

While browsing the internet, I noticed a movie title trending in the real-time search.

Wanting to reconnect with Taeshin, who I hadn’t hung out with in ages, I asked if he wanted to watch a movie together.

[What are you doing today?]

[Movie?]

[Taeshin♥> Sure, sounds good]

[Taeshin♥> Any movie you want to see?]

Taeshin’s positive response had me searching for recently released movies.

It was off-season, so there weren’t many choices, but I found an action movie with decent reviews.

[(Link)]

[How about this one?]

[Taeshin♥> Looks fun]

[Taeshin♥> What time works for you?]

Agreeing without any objections, we picked a time.

We decided to meet at the cinema after lunch, watch the movie, and then have dinner.

If time allowed, we’d go shopping as well, since the season was changing and we needed new clothes for university orientation.

After a late brunch, I lazily rolled around in bed before starting to get ready to go out.

Timing my travel to the cinema, I showered and went into the dressing room.

Changing into warm clothes for the cold weather, I noticed a small shopping bag on the dressing room table.

Putting on a thick hoodie over a T-shirt, I fixed the misaligned neckline and picked up the shopping bag.

Curious, I opened the unfamiliar bag to find a neatly folded red necktie inside.

Frowning, I realized I had seen this tie before. Startled, I quickly crumpled the tie back into the bag.

It was my brother’s engagement tie, which I must have taken off, though I couldn’t remember if I did it or if Taeshin did.

I didn’t even realize I’d lost it, but Taeshin had returned it yesterday.

The appearance of the forgotten tie brought back memories of that night, which we agreed to treat as if it never happened.

The burning body, drunken mind, overwhelming pheromones.

The hot hands gripping me firmly, the intense pressure…

“Aaaaah! Ugh!”

Slap, slap, slap!

I threw the shopping bag with the tie into a corner of the table and slapped my cheeks with both hands.

I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know anything!

Shaking my head to erase the memories, I grabbed my long padding coat and rushed out of the dressing room.