Lie Again! Chapter 38

<Chapter 38. Halloween Festival (2)>  

 

The musty smell of dust hung in the air, their arms kept brushing, and the wardrobe was so cramped that Jin worried the other person might hear her breathing—or even her pounding heartbeat.

 

Realizing who the person in the dark was, Jin asked in a whisper.

 

“…Why are you here?”

 

“Well, then. Why are you here?”

 

As always, the answer she got was a vague one. The only difference from usual was that there was a faint hint of irritation.

 

…Is he mad? But no matter how much she narrowed her eyes, she could only make out a vague outline, unable to read any expression on his face. Jin muttered an excuse under her breath.

 

“I don’t know either. I didn’t want to be here.”

 

“Did you know what kind of game it was?”

 

Although his tone was still a little cold, as if he were still annoyed, his voice had softened compared to before. Jin hesitated for a moment, then quietly asked again.

 

“…No. What exactly are we supposed to do in here?”

 

In the darkness, a long exhale was heard.

 

“Choose.”

 

“….”

 

At the sudden words thrown without any explanation, Jin looked at Evan with a puzzled expression.

 

He added to his words with a casual tone, as if it were nothing important.

 

“Hold out for 7 minutes until the kids outside lose their excitement, or kiss me and let’s get out of here quickly.”

 

“…What?”

 

“I like the latter.”

 

As Jin stared blankly, unable to understand what she had just heard, Evan’s hand moved toward her face. His large, straight fingers covered her cheek, and the size of his hand extended down to cover her jaw and neck as well.

 

As Evan lowered his head, the scent of soap, deepened by his body heat, rushed into Jin’s nose.

 

Jin inhaled sharply as the distance between them closed in an instant, feeling each breath they both exhaled.

 

“Wait, wait.”

 

The hand that cupped her cheek was warm, causing Jin to flinch and blink rapidly. A pulse, vibrating beneath the skin of her neck, throbbed intensely—whether it was hers or Evan’s, she couldn’t tell.

 

“Tell me.”

 

With a soft thud, their foreheads touched. Right in front of her, too close for comfort, green eyes filled with a playful smile looked down at Jin, making her head spin.

 

It would have been better if she couldn’t see him at all, but her eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, easily made out Evan’s face. The faint light slipping through the crack in the wardrobe occasionally outlined his features.

 

“I, I’m only going to do something like this with someone I like.”

 

Jin stammered in a thin voice. Unable to find anywhere else to look, she stubbornly kept her gaze fixed just around Evan’s jawline.

 

The steady thumping of a heartbeat beside her ear only made her already dizzy head spin even more.

 

“But?”

 

“…I don’t like you.”

 

Jin hesitated for a moment before whispering to Evan, who had asked again in a calm voice. Somehow, even to her own ears, her voice sounded unsure—but she tried her best to ignore that fact.

 

After a brief silence, Jin saw Evan’s lips move slightly in her lowered line of sight.

 

Lie.

 

A faint voice brushed past Jin along with a low chuckle. At the same time, his tilted face grazed her lips like a passing breeze before pulling away.

 

The unfamiliar sound of their lips touching echoed briefly between the two and then died down.

 

“….”

 

Jin, who had opened her eyes in surprise, blinked as if she was frozen. What just now…

 

No matter how many times she blinked, those strikingly vivid green eyes that seemed almost enchanting were still staring down at Jin from up close.

 

Evan, who had been staring quietly at Jin, lowered his head toward her once more.

 

“I… I did it. Can we leave now?”

 

Jin hurriedly reached out and stopped Evan by placing her hand on his shoulder. Her sweaty palm briefly slipped over the fabric of his clothes.

 

As Jin babbled with a trembling voice and turned her head toward the wardrobe door, it happened.

 

“If you knock on the door now\…!”

 

The sentence was interrupted as Evan pulled Jin’s face back toward him again. With his hands on Jin’s waist, Evan lowered his head and stopped just in front of Jin’s lips.

 

The sensation of their foreheads and noses touching made Jin take a short breath. Her cheeks and waist were hot as if on fire, and her head was spinning because of the soapy smell that rose from the boy with every breath she took.

 

Evan, with his eyes lowered, whispered softly.

 

“That’s a lie. Whatever you do here, just spend seven minutes here.”

 

If you don’t like it, push it away.

 

Their lips met again. This time, it was deeper than the feather-like kiss from before.

 

Jin could feel the back of her head pressing against the narrow closet wall, and the weight of his large body pressing in closely.

 

Jin’s hand wandered over his broad shoulder, feeling the rising heat, but in the end, she couldn’t push him away and instead grasped the hem of his clothing.

 

Jin suddenly recalled a day when she was making Halloween decorations with Riley and Ivy. While scooping out the pumpkin, Ivy had asked why ghosts appear on Halloween, and Riley had explained the origins of the holiday.

 

‘The ancient Celts divided the year into only winter and summer. The beginning of winter was the beginning of the new year.’

 

They believed that on the first night after the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, the gates of the underworld would open, and all sorts of things would rush out. On the last day of October, the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts would collapse.

 

So… that’s why. She can’t push this boy away, that’s why it feels so strange, why her heart is pounding so fast that she can hear it thumping in her ears.

 

Because today is Halloween. It’s the first night of the Celtic New Year when all sorts of strange things come out to the living world.

 

Jin shut her eyes tightly.

 

* * *

 

“Tell me honestly! What were you two doing in there?!”

 

Joey, who ran into Jin in front of the cabinet, shook her shoulders back and forth. After days of this same situation, Jin calmly shook her head. 

 

“Nothing happened.”

 

“Look into my eyes. Really, really, really?”

 

“…Really.”

 

Jin said, slightly avoiding Joy’s bright blue eyes that were right in front of her face.

 

At Jin’s response, Joey narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but soon, as if losing interest, she slumped her shoulders.

 

“Well, you two don’t even acknowledge each other when you meet in the hallway. Ah, what a shame. I thought maybe you’d give that Gwen girl a bit of a shove.”

 

Jin awkwardly laughed at Joey who sighed.

 

“If you two are secretly meeting behind everyone’s back after all this, wouldn’t that be really boring?”

 

Jin flinched a little at Joey’s sudden intense gaze and last words, but she stubbornly shook her head.

 

And it was true—nothing had really changed between the two of them since what had happened in the closet.

 

They still passed each other like strangers at school, and after classes, they studied together in the music room. Now and then, they would exchange a bit of trivial small talk—it was the same routine as before.

 

The only difference was…

 

[Jin, what time are you coming today?]

 

At Riley’s text, Jin put down the bag she had been packing on the desk in the music room and began to type a reply. 

 

[I think I’ll be there soon.]

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Evan, leaning against the door, hurried Jin by turning the car key on his finger.

 

“Just a moment.”

 

Jin stole a glance at him, hurriedly sent the message, and began tidying up her things.

 

Since Halloween, Evan had been giving Jin rides home every single day. She had ridden in his once-unfamiliar Mustang so often that she now knew where the air conditioning and radio buttons were.

 

Jin grew accustomed to the voice of the radio host Evan often listened to, and to the sound of him tapping his fingers on the steering wheel out of boredom whenever they got stuck in traffic.

 

Riley, who had been muttering that she couldn’t get used to that face whenever she saw Evan, had gotten used to his good looks and even the exhaust sound of the green car. It was a small change.

 

“Thanks for taking me here.”

 

Jin unbuckled her seatbelt and spoke. Evan, who had buried his face in the steering wheel and was staring at Jin, smiled beautifully and asked.

 

“Are you free on Saturday?”

 

“…Why?”

 

“Let’s go see a movie.”

 

Jin stopped in her tracks at the sudden words and moved as if she had broken down.

 

‘Is this a date request?’

 

Her gaze shifted awkwardly from Evan’s chin to the window, and her mouth opened as if to say something, only to close again repeatedly.

 

This was the first time she had made plans to meet him outside of school. The previous lake drive didn’t count, as she had been dragged along without knowing where they were going.

 

Whether Evan could see her fidgeting or not, he remained completely nonchalant the whole time. Because of this, Jin couldn’t figure out if this was an actual date invitation or just a casual plan she could make with any friend.

 

So just.

 

“…If you have time. Take care.”

 

After roughly blurting it out, she quickly got out of the car and ran away.

 

Evan, who was watching her back as she walked away quickly, let out a low laugh.