Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 35

My brother shot up from where he was lying, like he’d just been struck by lightning. The way his eyes sparkled with curiosity instantly made me regret opening my mouth. When I frowned—already sensing where this was going—he leaned forward, ready to interrogate me.

“What is this? Spit it out. You—like some emotionless machine—who do you like?”

“…I didn’t say I liked anyone. I just asked if you’d ever dated.”

“Same thing. Why would you date someone you didn’t like?”

According to his friends, my brother, Cha Wookyung, was old-fashioned for his age. He had our mom’s delicate features and her gentle nature, and had been popular ever since he was a kid.

But he wasn’t the type to start anything based on a shallow feeling—whether it was love or hate, it had to be deep enough to convince him before he made a move.

Before hitting me with another one of his teasing questions, his eyes lit up mischievously.
Whatever he asked, I wasn’t going to get caught in it. I wasn’t going to answer.

“Is she pretty?”

“…Yeah.”

“How pretty?”

“…At school—”

I started, then changed my mind.

“…Probably the prettiest girl in Hampyeong District.”

Wookyung let out a dramatic gasp. But I wasn’t exaggerating. It wasn’t just rose-tinted glasses—objectively speaking, there was no one as pretty as Ji Yeonseo anywhere.

“Do you want to date her?”

“…I think so.”

“Why? ’Cause she’s pretty?”

I didn’t think looks alone could make me feel like this. Sure, Yeonseo was hard to look away from, but I wasn’t the type to get swept up just by appearances.

“I like the way she smiles.”

When Yeonseo smiled, dimples like tiny scoops would appear in her cheeks. Her eyes would fold neatly, and her pink lips would part with a soft puff of laughter that I liked hearing.

“I like her when she’s mad, too.”

Her sharp, cat-like eyes, the indignant huff in her voice, the way her cheeks would flush—whether she was angry or embarrassed—it was all the same to me.

“I like how she looks at me. I don’t want to step out of her sight.”

The thought of her looking somewhere else—or worse, pretending she hadn’t seen me—was unbearable. It made me anxious, breathless. My nerves prickled, my insides burned.

“Then you should confess, Seokyung.”

Wookyung gave me a questioning look, as if wondering why I hadn’t done it yet. Yeah… why?

“Cha Seokyung, do you like me?”

That’s what Yeonseo had once asked me. Why hadn’t I been able to answer her then?

“…Because I was afraid she might cry.”

Yeonseo was scared of a lot of things I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t that she disliked attention, rumors, or people’s stares—she feared them.

I thought I’d gotten to know her a lot better over time, but there were still parts of her I couldn’t relate to. If I offered her something and she took it as a mistake, and that mistake made her cry—

“I just… I don’t want to see her cry.”

I couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. I just didn’t want to. I didn’t even want to imagine it.
Maybe I hated seeing people cry in general, and maybe I was scared that I’d eventually get tired of her because of it—I didn’t know. All I knew was, I didn’t want to see her cry.

“Then just make her smile.”

I turned toward him at that simple answer. He smiled, calm and certain, like he’d once taught me many things.

“If you don’t want her to cry, then give her reasons to laugh. That’s the start, Seokyung.”

The start of what, he didn’t say—just kept smiling.

“….”

I couldn’t help asking, and when I did, he burst out laughing.

***

A Side ▶▶

“Cha Seokyung, is today some special day?”

The moment I stepped outside and saw him, the words slipped out before I could stop them.
He looked like someone standing under a halo. If I exaggerated, I’d say he was so dazzling I had to squint at him through my fingers.

Having spent the whole day holed up under my blanket in a dark room, seeing him was like looking at the sun for the first time—it was a visual shock.

“No,” he said, looking a little sheepish.

“But… today, you—”

You look different, I almost said. He was dressed simply—charcoal slacks, a plain white T-shirt, and a light pink Oxford shirt over it. It was unfair how well that color suited him.

His hair, usually left neatly alone, was styled back to reveal his forehead. From his clean forehead down to the bridge of his nose, every feature was sharp—sharp enough that an older lady walking past actually turned to look again.

“Do I look bad?”

As if. No one with eyes could possibly say that. The way he snuck glances at me, pretending not to, made my heart pound. If I told him I didn’t like it, the faint worry in his eyes would instantly turn to hurt—and that was… kind of cute.

“No, it suits you. But if you were going somewhere fancy, you could’ve told me. I’d have dressed up too.”

I glanced down at my shorts and T-shirt, suddenly self-conscious. Not that I’d had the energy to dress up anyway.

Lately, my whole body felt heavy, like I was weighed down by sadness. If I stayed out in the sun long enough, I’d probably turn to salt from all the tears I’d shed. If Seokyung hadn’t said it was important, I wouldn’t have come out at all.

“Yeonseo, you look the same whether you dress up or not.”

I wasn’t sure if that was an insult or a compliment. Before I could decide, he suddenly asked.

“Wanna go?”

When I nodded, he started walking quickly, like he had somewhere to be.

I didn’t expect him to take me to a karaoke place.I followed him inside the gaudy glass doors to the second floor, feeling thrown off. I’d been expecting a café, a library, maybe the Beta bookstore at most.

Sitting in front of the karaoke machine with a 60-minute timer on the screen, I said flatly.

“…I’m not in the mood to sing.”

Of course I wasn’t. It hadn’t been long since I found out my stepmom was leaving with my younger siblings. Just thinking about it made my nose sting again.

“You said you like singing.”

“…”

“It helps people feel better, apparently.”

Had he remembered something I’d once said in an empty classroom on the fourth floor?
So that’s why he’d brought me here—to cheer me up.

Even under the dim lighting, his face was distractingly handsome. Sniffling, I reluctantly picked up the mic. Fine—just one song, out of courtesy.

I wasn’t in the mood for anything upbeat, so I chose a ballad that matched my mood. When the backing track began, my voice followed the sad rhythm. Maybe because I was so into it, my high notes were hitting perfectly today.

When I finished, Seokyung clapped for me. The machine blasted fanfare and flashed a score of 99, along with the cheesy line, “You could debut as a singer right now!”. I felt a little embarrassed—but not in a bad way. After pouring myself into that song, I did feel lighter.

“Seokyung, aren’t you gonna sing?”

“I like listening.”

“…That’s a waste of time.”

Glancing at the timer—still over 50 minutes left—I turned to a poster on the wall.

“…Oh, that song’s already out?”

It was a new release from one of my favorite artists. Since we were already here, I might as well sing it. I keyed in the number.

This time it was a medium-tempo song, and my mood started to lift. It was a tough song, but thanks to my old trainee training, I nailed it pretty well.

My energy grew. I hadn’t been to karaoke since middle school—why not make the most of it?

“Seokyung, reserve 3217 for me.”

One more song turned into another, and another. The tempo picked up, and by the end, I was standing, moving, even dancing.
It must’ve been halfway through the set when my old training fully kicked in—I was performing like the room was my stage.

I ended with my favorite girl group’s debut song, dancing along to the choreography.
The machine’s fanfare blared again. Even the bonus time the owner had added was up.

When did the time fly like this? An hour and ten minutes—completely burned out, like after my last concert. Catching my breath, I turned toward the couch—

Seokyung was sitting with his elbows on the table, hands clasped over his mouth, like one of our old monthly trainers. For some reason, that made me nervous.

Leaning back, he sighed.

“Yeonseo, it’s a damn blessing you never debuted.”

“Why?!”

“…Too dangerous.”

He pressed a hand to his chest like his heart was hurting. That smug face made me pinch his arm. His muscle was so firm, it was my fingers that hurt.

“Let’s go.”

I stood when he did, and grabbed the door handle— but stopped when I heard something from outside. I quickly shut the door again.

“What is it?”

I pressed a finger to my lips, listening. No mistake.

“Outside—it’s Lee Hojung and Choi Sunyoung.”

“What?”

He stepped closer, peering through the blurry glass, his arm braced on the door.

“…Can’t really tell.”

“Seokyung, let’s wait—”

I turned around to tell him to wait a bit before leaving— and made the mistake of realizing too late just how close he was.

The space between us was… too small. He seemed just as startled, but didn’t back away. I had to crane my neck to meet his eyes—the height difference hit me all over again.

When I dropped my gaze, I saw his flat chest under the white T-shirt, catching the faint scent of soap. Something between us thudded—thump, thump—like I could feel his heartbeat.

But that couldn’t be his heart. So whose was it?

When I looked up again, he was still staring straight at me, unwavering. My breath came shorter.

They say when emotions swing too wildly, people can act on impulse. I’d seen that on an educational program once. Crying all morning, then hitting an emotional high for 80 minutes at karaoke—I was the perfect example. Dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin—whatever cocktail was running through me—

That’s the only way I can explain why I suddenly slid my arms around his waist and buried my face into that soap-scented warmth.

Sometimes when something’s too cute, you just have to bite it. I guess I just… wanted to feel that warmth.

“….”

Yeonseo, you’re insane.

It wasn’t until after I hugged him that I realized what I’d done. I could feel him tense up, but I didn’t let go.

“Sorry. Just… felt a little dizzy…”

Even as I said it, I bit my lip in regret. What a pathetic excuse. Minjae wouldn’t buy it, and neither would I.

If he pushed me away, fine. I’d just apologize properly.Sorry for hugging you out of nowhere.

But instead of pushing me away, his strong arms came around my shoulders—slowly, carefully— pulling me closer, holding me tighter. Like he’d been wanting to do it all along.

The day that had been stuck under dark clouds suddenly cleared, and I was standing in the sun. In that warmth, breathing in his freshly-washed scent, everything felt soft, safe.

Until now, there had only been one person who hugged me—my stepmom.
And since she was leaving, I’d thought there’d be no one left to hold me.

But under the light he gave off, that sadness melted away.

In that moment, a truth I’d been pretending not to see stood right in front of me, refusing to be ignored. This frantic heartbeat—it was mine.

I liked Cha Seokyung. I had fallen for him. Ji Yeonseo liked Cha Seokyung.

And that… was a problem.