Gentle Forest

Chapter 20

Breakfast was a simple affair with cereal. Aiden watched me quietly as he crunched on his cereal. I half-expected some teasing or playful banter, but he remained surprisingly quiet. Recognizing a certain consideration in his gaze, I decided to spend our time in silence as calmly as possible.

The routine continued. Aiden, after helping with the dishes, swiftly finished tidying up and then entered my room. It felt pointless to look at him or find out his intentions anymore, so I took out the vocabulary book I had stored away and dusted it out the window.

He asked if he could use the laptop, and for a while, we watched highlights of a gourmet soccer match. Unable to flip through more than two pages of the English vocabulary book, I tossed it near my head and yawned. Thanks to the bath, my body felt refreshed, and a pleasant fragrance emanated from me.

Noticing that we didn't have bubble bath in our house, I realized Aiden had brought it all the way from the U.S. I didn't think sports guys would have that kind of delicacy at all, but when I looked at Aiden, it seemed like that wasn't necessarily the case.

Since he had asked me to tell him when I was sure, there was no need to hastily draw conclusions. I hoped our relationship could continue as a friendship, but the future worried me.

With a history of kissing, I couldn't be certain if remaining just friends was possible. Thinking back on what had happened so far, no matter how hard I tried, the situation with Aiden didn't seem to go my way.

Tears welled up in my eyes due to yawning, as I observed Aiden focused on the laptop screen. His hair was now completely dry, and the pants he hurriedly changed into in the bathroom seemed different. I admired the straight muscles of his arms as he rested his chin, and his fingers, which were pretty for someone who grabbed and threw a ball roughly.

Sunlight bathed half of my desk and his body, exuding the hues of summer. While our surroundings were vast, the space we lived in was small. So, Aiden must have been overestimating me as if we were the only two people left on Earth. Since i already knew that he liked men, it was natural for me to become his interest. Therefore, I vaguely concluded that he probably wasn't deeply invested.

Yes, what more could I worry about, considering we almost saw each other completely naked?

Giving up on overthinking and surrendering to the passage of time, I gradually felt more at ease. My heart still trembled and felt tight due to the situation I was faced with for the first time, it wasn't as intense as it had been in the bathroom.

So, I will overcome this hardship and adversity well. If giving Aiden some time to sort out his feelings was what i needed, then so be it.

"Is that a video of you running?" I asked nonchalantly, as if the peculiar atmosphere between us meant nothing, switching from the nervous demeanor in the bathroom to a shameless expression.

"Yeah. Why? Curious?" Aiden responded with a look that made him want me to be curious.
I nodded and casually approached the desk. Maintaining a distance of about fifty centimeters, I stood there, and he looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

"You want to watch it from here?"

"I can see it just fine from here."

"It might be too fast to see clearly."

He reached out for me to come closer, but instead, I took a half step back.

"I can see it really well. I have good eyesight."

Aiden withdrew his outstretched hand with a visibly upset face. Eventually, he played the video again. It was clear that the thing flying around like a dot was a ball... unfortunately, it was challenging to distinguish Aiden among the players wearing the same uniform. I knew little about his jersey number or the quarterback's position.