Four
Ironic BindThe next day, Hyun Ae had a similar routine because her classes also began at 11:30 AM. After she came on board on the same bus as the previous day, she headed to the right side of the bus – to her favourite seat.
It was when she noticed a familiar face on the bus.
Not a halmeoni, but a male.
It was the young man who had given her the small, blue notebook on the previous day. He was seated not too far from the seat that she was heading to, but it was on the left side of the bus. He seemed engrossed in his phone and remained unnoticed that Hyun Ae was approaching him. Hyun Ae slightly bent her body to have a better sight of the young man, making sure that it was the guy who had saved her notebook.
After confirming that it was the same guy, Hyun Ae greeted him to gain his attention, “Annyeonghaseyo.”
The young man looked up from his phone. His deep, black orbs were looking for the source of the greeting. A streak of recognition came across his face as he saw Hyun Ae before he bowed slightly at her.
“Oh, hi,” he briefly acknowledged.
“It’s really you!” Hyun Ae exclaimed, smiling. As she sat on her favourite seat, she spoke again, “Thank you again for yesterday. I didn’t know you were a commuter on this bus too.”
Hyun Ae felt genuinely grateful that she met the young man once again. She felt compelled to express her gratitude again to the young man for returning her lost notebook.
“No problem at all,” the young man replied as he gave Hyun Ae a small smile.
Proceeding with her routine, Hyun Ae produced a bottle of lotion from her tote bag before squirting an amount of lotion onto her hands. At the corner of her eye, Hyun Ae noticed that the young man still gazed at her, looking rather invested at her movements.
As she rubbed the lotion on her hands and in between her fingers, the young man asked, “Are you enrolled at a nearby university?”
“Yes, I’m attending JY University. How about you? Are you a uni student as well?”
“I’m a uni student too, but I attend KT University.”
Hyun Ae nodded at the young man’s answer. She recalled that the university was near to hers. If she was not mistaken, KT University was specialized in arts. It was different from Hyun Ae’s university, as JY University only offered science courses.
Hyun Ae eventually learned that the young man’s name was Yoo Changhyun. It turned out that both of them were the same age. Changhyun was also a first-year student like Hyun Ae, and they were enrolled at their respective universities at the same time.
He was an art student in the music field, taking the vocal course. When Hyun Ae playfully asked him to sing a few lines, he seemed bashful at first, but taking into account that they were the only passengers on the bus, he gave in anyway. Hyun Ae was impressed at his singing voice, she complimented that it sounded pleasantly soothing. Changhyun, probably embarrassed that he was praised, dismissed the praise by saying that his voice was common and he had way many coursemates that had better voices than him.
Their conversation continued even after they alighted at the same bus stop as the previous day. Hyun Ae observed that Changhyun was somewhat a bashful man. His deep, black orbs only met Hyun Ae’s eyes a few times throughout their conversation, and then he would avert his gaze anywhere but towards her. His body posture stayed upright, but he occasionally let his thumb and index finger fidget with one another, especially when he tried to come up with an answer to Hyun Ae’s questions.
Hyun Ae did not find this absurd. She had joined volunteering projects since middle school and had been seeing various kinds of people. Bashful people like Changhyun do exist – even among men. She could easily look past Changhyun’s shy nature, maybe because he was not naturally good at being around females.
Despite that, he did seem interested to keep a conversation going with Hyun Ae. He would answer every time Hyun Ae asked a question. At times, he was the one who asked questions to Hyun Ae.
They parted ways when they reached the junction that led to Hyun Ae’s university. “Hope to see you again, Changhyun-shi,” said Hyun Ae, to which the male responded briefly by nodding.
In the following weeks, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, they kept bumping into each other on the same bus – bus no. 124. They became casual friends eventually and agreed to address each other informally. They even exchanged their phone numbers. Their conversations on bus rides mostly centred around their university antics, and sometimes on common interests such as their hobbies and trending news. Changhyun also became more comfortable around Hyun Ae. It was apparent from the way he looked at Hyun Ae’s face every time they were conversing – his gaze stayed longer towards her eyes, mirroring his built-up confidence.
*****
The day was 16th April 2014. Both Changhyun and Hyun Ae were on board on bus no. 124 on their way home. After learning that Hyun Ae had finished a major presentation that day, Changhyun suggested that they should go to a pojangmacha, a street stall near Hyun Ae’s apartment complex to celebrate her achievement. When Hyun Ae tried to decline that he did not have to do it since it was just a presentation, Changhyun insisted anyway and said that the drink would be on him. He was aware that the presentation had been bothering Hyun Ae for the past few weeks, thus it was reasonable for it to be celebrated because her worries finally ended.
After a few exchanges of bantering on the bus, Hyun Ae reluctantly agreed to Changhyun’s offer. Deep down, she felt appreciated that Changhyun thought that way.
At the pojangmacha, even though Changhyun claimed that it was a ‘drink’, they did not get the alcohol because both of them turned out to have low tolerances towards alcohol, and neither of them wanted to get drunk that evening. They eventually switched the mini-event from having alcohol to having soda, gimbap, and tteokbokki.
Both Changhyun and Hyun Ae’s watches showed that it was 9 PM when they finished their mini-event slash dinner. Since Hyun Ae’s house was en route to Changhyun’s, Changhyun chose to keep Hyun Ae company until she reached her apartment complex, while having a light conversation about how their days had been.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached Hyun Ae’s apartment complex.
“Changhyun-ah, thank you for today. I’ll make sure I will pay for our next meal,” promised Hyun Ae. It was obvious from her face that she was tired. She could not wait to reach home, get showered, and tuck into her bed.
Changhyun simply chuckled at the vow of promise. He waved at Hyun Ae, gesturing her to go. Hyun Ae returned the gesture and lazily said goodbye.
After a few steps, however, she halted in her tracks when Changhyun suddenly called her name.
“Hyun Ae-yah.”
“Hm?” the addressed lady turned around to face Changhyun. She raised her eyebrows a bit, mirroring her hum of question.
What happened afterwards was never in Hyun Ae’s circle of expectations.
“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”
The fatigue that she had been feeling suddenly disappeared into the thin air. It was completely replaced by confusion and shock, which she believed was adamantly apparent through her facial expressions. She gaped as she stared into Changhyun’s deep, black orbs to make sure that he was not joking.
His eyes were not wandering around, and his fingers were not fidgeting with one another. In fact, Changhyun looked serious.
At Hyun Ae’s shocked response, Changhyun added, “I’m sorry it was kind of abrupt. I’m just interested to know more about you, in a more-than-a-friend way.”
Flustered, Hyun Ae averted her gaze onto the pavement of the pedestrian path.
“You don’t have to answer now. You may think about it and give the answer whenever you want, okay?” Changhyun assured.
Hyun Ae meekly nodded, suddenly feeling shy that her eyes would meet Changhyun’s gaze. “Alright, I’ll leave you a text,” she replied as she gave a small smile.
Changhyun looked at her warmly before parting ways.
Hyun Ae quickly spun on her heels, turned around, and took quick strides towards her house.
As soon as Hyun Ae entered her house, she did not even undo her outerwear. She immediately threw her body onto her bed and screamed into her pillow.
Surprisingly, as much as she felt confused and shocked, she was also tingling with excitement.
After a few minutes of screaming into her pillow, she sat up on her bed and cradled her face with both her hands. She could feel her face burning up with embarrassment. She was thankful that Changhyun proposed to her when they were about to part ways. Otherwise, she would not be able to hide her reddening, embarrassed face in front of him.
She could not deny that her heart was fluttering at the unexpected proposal. More so, she did not have a single clue that Changhyun was romantically interested in her. ‘Since when?’ Hyun Ae wondered to herself. ‘And why?’
She excitedly screamed again into her pillow, this time bouncing her bed with her arms and legs.
A few hours later, Hyun Ae still could not sleep. She could not stop thinking about Changhyun’s proposal. It really came out of nowhere.
She thought of the possibilities of ‘Isn’t it too sudden?’ but she shook them off. She had seen how Changhyun was in person. He was not a bad guy. In terms of appearance and visuals, he was not on the inferior side. More importantly, both of them were on common grounds on most matters and could communicate with each other. She felt mutual vibes with Changhyun.
‘What would I lose anyway?’ she thought to herself. ‘As he has said, he was interested to know more about me. I can learn more about him, too.’
*****
Three days after Changhyun’s proposal, Hyun Ae bit her lower lip as she wrote a few texts to him. She honestly felt nervous but excited as well.
“Changhyun-ah, about what you said a few days before.”
“Yes, I want to be your girlfriend. Let’s become a couple.”
[A/N]:
Hyun Ae and Changhyun finally met! Can you tell which Deeply Rooted's chapter corresponds with this chapter?
I had fun while writing this chapter. It turned out so much better than I had expected. I'm looking forward to writing the following chapters. Thank you for reading!
19 September 2021, 16:15 PM GMT
[29.10.2021]
I just finished looking at the previous chapters and made a few additions and changes. I'm having a brief hiatus soon, but I'll try my best to post at least a chapter before November ends.
I just finished looking at the previous chapters and made a few additions and changes. I'm having a brief hiatus soon, but I'll try my best to post at least a chapter before November ends.
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