CHAPTER 31

In the surroundings, without caring about the others, he repeatedly shouted, “Answer me!” in a loud voice. Trey squeaked and shouted loudly.

Noah took a deep breath, then gritted his teeth and let it out.

[Yes, we did. Is it okay now?]

There was another round of cheering and whistling, and Brianna called out, “Not bad, Toddler!” and then someone else started chanting, “Toddler, Toddler!” in a cheering way. Trey’s voice joined in, and the snickering crowd around then joined in altogether.

A red-faced Minhee buried her face in Noah’s shoulder to hide the tears that threatened to fall, and the kids became more cruel than a cat playing with a mouse.

It wasn’t until Noah whispered in Minhee’s ear, ‘I’m sorry my friends are assholes’, and then clasped his hands over her ears and loudly announced the name of the next person to play that the commotion died down.

It’s a blur as to who played next or how the party ended. When she returned home and lay on her bed, the truth or dare replayed endlessly in her head.

The moment of excitement that had tickled her heart like a feather when she’d kissed Noah for the first time during the day was now covered in shameful words as if filth had been thrown at her.

“I froze, stupidly unable to say anything, just blushing……. I felt so embarrassed about hugging my knees like a real toddler and hiding my face. It all felt like something that happened because I was immature and inexperienced for my age.”

Noah left the next day for New York City, where he would stay until school started. During his time in New York, Noah sent her occasional messages with photos, but Minhee only replied with short, brief answers and didn’t contact him first.

On the first day of school in 11th grade, Minhee went from being a bystander to the center of gossip.

With Noah’s ex-girlfriend, Skylar, graduating and becoming a senior, Brianna officially became the school’s new queen bee.

On the first day of school, as soon as they saw Minhee, the girls surrounding Brianna pointed at Minhee and giggled, saying that she was a Toddler, and Trey also, upon seeing her in the cafeteria, blurted out in front of the whole school, ‘Hey, Toddler, how’s things going with Noah?’.

“Everyone’s first love, superstar Noah, is finally out of Skylar’s clutches, and there’s a rumor going around that he’s dating some really plain, poor Asian girl. Everyone was laughing and saying it was ridiculous, but the atmosphere was like that, as they found an Asian girl who is a main player on the football team and the captain of the cheerleading squad to tease.”

Moreover, the word ‘Toddler’, which is perfect for teasing about appearance, was spreading in all directions toward the Asian girl. The imagination of teenagers was extravagant, and the cunning derived from jealousy was cruel.

Noah had heard the rumors, too, and he texted and called Minhee to apologize. She told him time and time again that she was fine, that she didn’t care about his childish antics, but when he asked to meet up with her, she made up all sorts of excuses.

She knew it wasn’t his fault, and it hurt because she still had feelings for him. It was much more comfortable when she secretly admired Noah alone, loving him from a distance.

“If I date Noah, I would have to hang out with his friends, and I felt so pathetic and resentful of myself that I didn’t have the confidence or courage to stand up to those weirdos.”

But the more Noah expressed his interest in her, the more the whole school paid attention to her, and the bullying increased. She began to dread going to school and eagerly awaited Fridays from the early morning hours of Mondays, waking up from nightmares. When the situation became more than she could handle, Minhee began to avoid contacting Noah.

Then one day, she was grabbed by the wrist by Noah, who was waiting for her at her locker.

[Min, let’s talk.]

Minhee looked around, red-faced and teary-eyed, and whispered something only Noah could hear.

[Noah, I’m too… too tired. Please, just pretend you don’t know me. Don’t contact me. I..I’m not a match for you. I’m really sorry!]

Rejecting Noah’s touch in front of the whole school and running away, the rumors inflated even more uncontrollably.

She had no one to ask for help and no one to confide in. Madison, her best friend, was angry because Minhee didn’t tell her about her relationship with Noah in advance and was avoiding her, and she couldn’t bring up the subject with her dad, who came home after midnight from closing the restaurant 

Minhee spent the entire fall semester of her 11th grade avoiding Noah. As time passed, he began to ignore her and walk past her as if he didn’t see her.

Even though she had pleaded for him to do so, the day Noah didn’t even glance at her, passing by as if she didn’t exist, felt like her heart was dropping to the ground.

The day he walked past her without giving her a second glance, even though she hoped for him to, she felt her heart drop to her feet.

That day, Minhee cried into her pillow all night, realizing that her first love had ended miserably.

As Noah stopped paying attention to her, so did the attention around her. The next summer, Minhee helped her father at the restaurant instead of being a junior camp counselor at Noah’s resort.

That summer, Noah worked at the resort camp instead of going on a trip to Europe with his friends before starting college.

“But the unflattering rumors about my relationship with Noah, and the nickname ‘Toddler,’ stuck with me until after he graduated and I was in 12th grade.”

She hoped that if she quietly focused on studying like an inconspicuous shadow, everything would be forgotten. However, on days when a male student even spoke to Minhee, she became the subject of ridicule, even the males who talked to her were teased for being a toddler babysitter.

“I eagerly waited for the time to pass quickly so that I could escape Rosewood High School and go to college.”

Taejun sat in silence for a while, attentively listening to her words. It was unclear whether he was too quiet and just listening or if she was talking to herself. However, in his sturdy silhouette that seemed to be watching her in the darkness, Minhee felt a strange comfort.

It was comforting to know that he wasn’t trying to analyze or evaluate the situation. Right now, she just wanted to express the pent-up and disgusting feelings she had harbored for a long time.

“I cried all day when I heard the news that I got accepted to a college in New York. I was so happy at the thought of finally leaving that small and closed-off island, and living somewhere where no one knew my nickname. But when I thought about my dad being alone on the island, it made me so sad that I cried.”

As the alcohol spread through her body, her body loosened, but her emotions remained tense. At the memory, Minhee couldn’t hold back the lump in her throat, and tears streamed down her face.

Surprised by Minhee’s sudden tears, Taejun stood up from where he was leaning against the backrest. Faced with her unstoppable tears due to the burdened emotions, his rough fingers gently wiped away the moisture from her cheeks.

“I-it was so good, strangely, it was too… sad…”

As Taejun’s tender touch caused Minhee to cry even more sorrowfully, he started wiping away the sweat forming on his forehead with the edge of his sleeve.

‘Is this not right?’

He had never comforted a crying woman before, but the memory of Minhee comforting Rose was stuck in his mind. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her in, sitting her at an angle on his lap, just as she had done with Rose.

Surprised, Minhee had stopped crying and blinked her eyes. Taejun breathed a sigh of relief. His arms wrapped snugly around her waist and her shoulders, patting her with clumsy gestures.

Taejun’s thighs were not very comfortable because his muscles were hard, but Minhee stopped worrying and leaned against his wide chest. Her head was so overloaded with alcohol that complex thinking was no longer possible.

She couldn’t blame him for treating her like a child, like Rose, and it didn’t feel bad to be snuggled up against a human body for the first time in a long time. No, it wasn’t bad, it was actually comforting.

‘Haa. This is why men don’t see me as a woman. Who can I blame?’

As the nickname ‘Toddler’ implied, Minhee had actually been used to sticking close to her mom and being treated like a child since she was young. After her mom passed away, she struggled with the absence of that affectionate skinship.

She missed the warmth of someone who loved her so much that if someone put their arm around her or rubbed her shoulder, she would instantly like and follow them.

She thought she had gotten over it, but Taejun’s broad chest and warm body reminded her that there was still a little child in her. 

Minhee absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of his shirt in front of her and continued her unfinished story in a tearful voice.

“I thought things would change dramatically when I went to college. But on the first day of school, in my first class, I met Joshua.”

Taejun sighed.

“And who is that?”

“Joshua Chen, but everyone called him Josh.”

As Minhee’s sniffles subsided, Taejun stopped patting her and slowly leaned against the back of the couch, still holding her. He held his breath and hugged Minhee tightly while Minhee wriggled on his lap and found a comfortable position for herself.

“Stop.”

“Huh? Should I stop talking?”

Taejun made Minhee sit diagonally on his legs and hugged her waist again.

“Huh. No. Stop moving, but keep talking.”