Lie Again! Chapter 55

<Chapter 55. The Stroke of Midnight (2)>

 

Just as Jin stiffened in surprise at the sudden warmth approaching her,

 

Evan bent down and gently covered Jin’s hand with his own. The fist holding the stone was completely enveloped within his large palm.

 

“Relax your grip a bit and use your wrist to add a spin. Like this.”

 

Muttering softly, Evan swung Jin’s arm as if it were his own. Through Jin’s back pressed against his chest, his low voice hummed, vibrating deep into Jin’s stomach.

 

Jin pressed her lips together to stifle the ticklish sensation, and at the same moment, the stone flew through the air.

 

Despite not being able to concentrate at all, the pebble flew on its own, bouncing exactly three times across the water before vanishing.

 

Jin’s eyes widened in surprise at successfully skipping a stone for the very first time.

 

“Oh, oh! It worked!”

 

“Congratulations.”

 

Seeing Jin’s surprised face, Evan let out a small laugh, brushing his lips once against Jin’s cheek and once at the corner of his mouth before pulling back.

 

The ticklish sound, like the ripples a small stone had made on the water, washed over Jin’s ears and scattered into the distance. Startled by the sudden contact, Jin froze, still caught in the same delight.

 

Evan glanced at Jin out of the corner of his eye and let out a small chuckle. He found it endearing—after everything that had happened, she still acted adorably clumsy over a mere kiss. 

 

Of course, it was a laugh Evan kept to himself. If Jin noticed, she would squint her eyes at him again.

 

* * *

 

After spending a long while tossing stones across the lake, the two returned to the cottage around a slightly late lunchtime.

 

The two of them removed the cloths covering the furniture and opened the windows and doors to air out the stale air and dust, only then taking their seats at the table.

 

In one corner of the living room, there was a small cooking area, but instead of cooking, the two of them took out the sandwiches and drinks they had bought at the store that morning, along with the fruit Riley had packed for them.

 

It was because the cottage’s gas and water supply had been shut off.

 

“Ever since my parents divorced, it’s been basically abandoned. After I got the key, the only thing I could do was light the fireplace.”

 

He couldn’t cook or take a shower, so all he could do was spend a few hours here before heading back. Evan shrugged and gestured toward the fireplace, where the logs crackled and burned.

 

“What used to be here?”

 

“When I was a kid, I used to come here every summer to fish. The lake’s small, but you can catch bass or bluegill. Since it’s a spot other anglers don’t come to, you can see plenty of well-fed fish.”

 

In that lake? I’d have thought you’d only catch minnows at most. 

 

Nodding with a surprised expression, Jin picked up the fruit drink. As her hand trembled while trying to unscrew the tightly sealed cap, a hand suddenly reached out from between her shaking arms and snatched the bottle from her grip.

 

“Do you like fishing?”

 

“Not really. My father likes it, so I go along, but after a while it gets itchy. Just thinking about going fishing tomorrow already feels boring.” 

 

With just about a week of vacation left, Evan said he’d be leaving for a fishing trip with his dad starting tomorrow. He wouldn’t be back until the day before school started.

 

The large hand that had easily opened the cap handed the drink back to Jin. “Thanks,” Jin murmured quietly.

 

“I’m curious. I’ve never been fishing before.”

 

“There should be a fishing rod somewhere. If you want to… ah, it’s probably rotted by now since it’s so old.”

 

Nothing works, sorry.

 

Evan awkwardly swept the back of his hair up. A hint of regret showed on his face as he spoke.

 

Since arriving, he had been awkwardly struggling with the useless little cabin and the muddy, unfrozen lake. Jin shook her head at him. 

 

“I still like it.” 

 

It was true. The crimson flames of the fireplace warmly heated the small space, and the so-called “Chef’s Special Sandwich” from some unknown shop was just as delicious as its name promised.

 

In truth, more than anything else, it genuinely pleased Jin to be invited into Evan’s space.

 

Pretending not to care, Jin had nevertheless been excited the whole way here. It was the first time Evan, who always seemed to keep a careful distance, was showing her his own space.

 

As Jin looked around the small cottage, just the right size for two adults and a child, she imagined the young boy who must have spent time here.

 

A little kid sitting quietly on the sofa, waiting for their parents—or running frantically in and out until getting scolded by their mother. Fidgeting constantly while fishing, eventually abandoning the rod to dash into the woods, or tossing firewood only to get covered in ashes—things like that, those were the kinds of images she imagined. 

 

“Then that’s settled.” 

 

Evan, who had been staring at Jin with a quiet gaze that seemed to say she was genuinely having fun, finally let out a small smile.

 

* * *

 

Kiiikiiik.

 

Startled by the loud scraping on the floorboards, Jin let go of the metal table she had been pushing. She held her breath for a moment, carefully listening to the activity coming from the floor below.

 

‘They probably didn’t hear me downstairs, right?’

 

After finishing their meal, the two of them debated what to do next and decided on a short nap. The sunlight, drowsily spilling through the chilly air, made their bodies, tired from the long drive and cottage cleaning, feel pleasantly heavy.

 

Seeing Evan curl up on the sofa and dozing off after giving up the attic bed, Jin went upstairs—but, stepping onto the bed, kept her eyes wide open. She felt it a little wasteful to sleep after coming all this way.

 

Even as she tried to fall asleep, Jin’s mind only grew sharper, and eventually she decided to explore the small cottage while Evan slept. 

 

But the moment she decided to check out the balcony first, she ran into an obstacle.

 

The small window that served as the entrance to the balcony was blocked by a table and chairs covered with white cloth. The heavy balcony table let out a deep, grating sound as soon as she pushed it with force.

 

Not wanting to wake Evan just to check out the terrace, Jin gave up on moving the furniture. Instead, she took off her shoes and carefully stepped up, precariously climbing over the table.

 

“Wow.”

 

Hunched low and balancing carefully, Jin finally opened the window and stepped onto the cold tiles, letting out a gasp of awe at the view before her.

 

Behind the lake, glistening in the sunlight, stretched a forest of leafless trees hibernating through the winter. It was a view different from the one she had seen at the lakeside earlier.

 

Jin took a deep, satisfying breath, letting the scent of the forest carried on the cold air fill her lungs.

 

The densely packed trees by the water intertwined their branches, casting dark shadows, while only the open expanse above the lake was bathed in bright light. It looked like a secret spot straight out of a fairy tale, and Jin quietly hoped she might spot a rabbit or a deer coming down to drink.

 

But the cold rising from the tiles gradually numbed her feet, and Jin couldn’t endure it any longer, turning her body back inside.

 

Jin, who had come back inside the room over the table, happily looked around the second floor, which seemed less than half the size of her attic room at the homestay.

 

She lifted the cloth to brush off the old wooden desk, opened the built-in drawers, and stood on tiptoe to touch the ceiling fan.

 

She searched meticulously, hoping to catch any trace of young Evan, but the attic was empty, not even a single photo in sight.

 

Just as she was about to feel disappointed at finding nothing, Jin froze, her steps halting as she caught sight of the wall beside the stairs leading down to the first floor.