Chapter 145: Artificial Respiration

TL: Aniea

“...The Ferris wheel?”

Kim Eun-ha tilted her head. In response, I carefully removed her hand that was covering my lips and added an explanation.

“Yes. For one, the Ferris wheel is much slower than the roller coaster, and more importantly, it’s an independent space just for us. I thought it might feel less pressure that way.”

“You’re trying to do something sneaky again, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’d be even better.”

Ugh-

As I responded without batting an eye, Kim Eun-ha took a step back, suppressing a groan. Her glare made me laugh involuntarily.

“Don’t laugh like that.”

“Then how should I laugh?”

“I said don’t laugh.”

“This is involuntary muscle movement....”

“Nonsense!”

Maybe it was the aftermath of having gone through a panic earlier, but Kim Eun-ha’s reactions were more intuitive and much fiercer than usual. To put it bluntly, the impact felt satisfying.

It had started as a joke to lighten the awkward mood, but by now, I found myself simply enjoying it.

“So. What do you think?”

“About what.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“...It’s not a bad idea.”

“Which means it’s a good one?”

“I said it’s not bad.”

“Which means it’s good. Pretty much.”

“No...!!”

Haa-

Kim Eun-ha raised her voice only to let out a deep sigh. Knowing that teasing her any further might make her truly explode, I raised both hands and backed off moderately.

“...You’re seriously evil.”

Kim Eun-ha glared at me as if something about me didn’t sit right with her.

Maybe if I’d crossed the line, she could have gotten mad, but since I pulled back just before that, I must have come off annoyingly sly. Her lips stuck out in a pout.

‘Should I let her get one in?’

An unusually cute expression for someone like her. So I decided to slightly cross the line, just as she wanted.

With that thought, I deliberately shrugged my shoulders in an exaggerated manner, and just as intended, Kim Eun-ha’s eyes turned sharp like an axe and she went to kick my shin.

...To be exact, she tried to.

If I hadn’t reflexively dodged, she would’ve landed it for sure. I’d gotten too used to Kim Eun-ha’s attack patterns.

“You dodged?”

“No.... I mean....”

Naturally, her disoriented anger flared up even more violently. The situation turning completely different from what I intended made me panic too for a moment.

I tried to come up with some kind of excuse, but Kim Eun-ha silenced me with a cold glare and said,

“Kang Woo-ju. Attention.”

“E, Eun-ha ssi! Calm down....”

“Attention.”

“......!”

Her voice was so chilling it froze the air around us, and once again, my body responded before my brain did.

Like a new recruit freshly assigned to his post, I stood at perfect attention. Kim Eun-ha, with the corners of her lips twisted up, slowly walked toward me.

“If you dodge again, I really won’t let it slide.”

Nod-

With a resolute heart, I nodded and tightly shut my eyes to prevent a repeat of earlier.

But no matter how long I waited, the impact I was expecting never came. Just as I was about to peek through one eye, I finally sensed Kim Eun-ha making a move.

Squeeze-

The moment I flinched slightly, a beat too late, I felt a soft sensation envelop my whole body.

“Thank you.”

Kim Eun-ha opened her arms wide and pulled me into a tight hug. Her sincerity came through more strongly than ever, and I momentarily stopped thinking.

Then, very gently, I reached out my arms,

And embraced her back.

***

Kang Woo-ju’s suggestion to try the Ferris wheel was quite appealing.

Though she had been completely defeated by the roller coaster, backing down now didn’t sit well with her.

Not that she could come clean about her true feelings to Kang Woo-ju, who had even faked being in pain for her sake, but he had readily made the offer first.

‘If it’s the Ferris wheel....’

Compared to the roller coaster, the physical burden felt drastically lower. The image alone gave off a calm and romantic vibe.

Even when compared to an elevator, where all sides are closed off, it felt much more open and therefore less claustrophobic.

Of course, just the idea of spending several minutes in a confined space was still suffocating in itself.

‘But somehow, more than that....’

Glance-

Kim Eun-ha subtly observed the expression of Kang Woo-ju, who was walking side by side with her.

Sensing her gaze, he tilted his head and looked back at Kim Eun-ha, and she lightly shook her head before turning her eyes toward the Ferris wheel in front of them.

However, all her attention was still focused on their interlocked hands. At this point, not holding hands felt more awkward, it had become a natural form of skinship.

‘T-this really feels like a date now!?’

Of course, it was indeed a real date.

But all the calculations she had made before coming to the amusement park had gone out the window, and now she was just enjoying the moment purely.

Even now, as they waited for the Ferris wheel, it was the same. More than the fear of being trapped in a closed space, it was the fact of being ‘with Kang Woo-ju’ that made her nervous.

‘Should I consider this a relief....’

It was true that it made her feel more at ease. Still, something about it felt backward, as if the priorities had been flipped. She wasn’t sure if it was okay to let herself enjoy it this much.

She spent quite some time thinking it over, but no clear answer came to mind.

Meanwhile, the people in front of them gradually cleared out, and their turn was right around the corner.

“Ah....”

Now that the Ferris wheel was right in front of her, Kim Eun-ha felt her breath hitch once again.

Squeeze-!

As if he sensed it, Kang Woo-ju tightened his grip on their interlocked hands, encouraging her. At the same time, he playfully spoke up.

“Do you think Neil Armstrong felt like this too?”

“Huh?”

“We’re taking a new step into an unknown world. Just imagine, what we’re standing on right now is a spaceship, and inside the Ferris wheel is the moon.”

“...Isn’t it the other way around?”

No matter how you looked at it, they were going from a large space into a small one, and yet he was asking her to reverse that concept. It made no physical sense.

“Eun-ha ssi, are you a [T] by any chance?”

“I don’t believe in unscientific things like MBTI.”

“Knew it.”

“I said I don’t believe in it.”

Despite her jab, Kang Woo-ju smiled widely, as if he was genuinely enjoying himself. Kim Eun-ha let out a deep sigh and said,

“Still, I get what you were trying to say. Physically it’s just a single step, but in the grand scheme of things, it could be a giant leap, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Something like that.”

“.......”

Judging by his reaction, it didn’t seem like he had that deep of an intention. Still, no matter what he meant by it, it was up to the listener how to interpret it.

Getting on the Ferris wheel might be nothing to someone else, but to her, it was something that required tremendous courage.

If she could successfully go through with it, it would surely have a huge impact on overcoming her trauma.

“Next two, please!”

“Shall we?”

“...Yeah.”

Encouraged by Kang Woo-ju’s words, she carefully boarded the Ferris wheel following the staff’s guidance.

Kang Woo-ju naturally sat across from her. Even then, he didn’t let go of her hand.

“Enjoy your ride!”

Clunk-!

With the staff’s guidance, the door closed. The sound of the safety lock being secured echoed around them.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-!

As if waiting for this exact moment, her heart began to pound wildly. Once again, Kim Eun-ha found her breathing becoming labored against her will.

‘S-stop it...!!’

But the Ferris wheel, with no understanding of her feelings, began to ascend silently, and Kim Eun-ha ended up tightly shutting her eyes.

Tap tap-

Kang Woo-ju gently patted her hand. Though she thought he would start chattering like always, he surprisingly didn’t say a word.

No “Be brave”,

No “Trust me”,

None of those usual phrases.

He simply waited, trusting Kim Eun-ha.

‘...So warm.’

The space inside the Ferris wheel wasn’t that big, so the two of them were sitting closely together.

Through their touching skin, Kang Woo-ju’s warmth was transmitted to her completely. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could clearly feel his heartbeat as well.

Ba-dump, ba-dump-

His heart beat in a strangely fast yet rhythmic way. With her eyes closed, just focusing on that, her own heart began to stabilize as if syncing with his.

“...Woo-ju ssi.”

“Yes, Eun-ha ssi.”

“Could you just say something? Anything?”

Because it felt like her heart was going to explode.

Kim Eun-ha barely managed to swallow those last words.

Though, with the pounding sound, it had probably already been obvious.

Mmm-

At her words, Kang Woo-ju looked troubled. He seemed unsure of what to say, visibly at a loss.

Considering he had always been like a vending machine, promptly delivering the perfect response with the press of a button.

Seeing Kang Woo-ju hesitate and unable to open his mouth felt like a new kind of stimulus to Kim Eun-ha. It made her curious about what kind of expression he was making right now.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Eventually, unable to hold back her curiosity, she lifted her head and caught sight of Kang Woo-ju scratching his cheek with an awkward expression.

Maybe it was because of the twilight light spilling over him. His slightly flushed skin looked cute, cute enough that she wanted to capture it in a photo if possible.

“Woo-ju ssi? Can you hear me?”

“Yes. I can hear you.”

“Then why aren’t you talking?”

“Hmm. Well, it’s just....”

Kang Woo-ju averted his eyes toward the window, dodging the question. But when her gaze didn’t let up, he finally gave in and slowly parted his lips.

“...Because it really feels like I’m on a date with you, Eun-ha ssi.”

“Huh?”

At the unexpected words, Kim Eun-ha let out a dumb little sound, and Kang Woo-ju, now redder than before, hurried to explain.

“No, I mean.... I know this might not fit the situation right now! Until now, it was more like a contract between you and me, right?”

“So?”

“But now.... Even though you haven’t given me a clear answer yet, we’re still holding hands like this, so I feel kind of excited, you know....”

Aaaaah-

Even though the words came out of his own mouth, Kang Woo-ju became totally flustered and broken.

Pfft-

Kim Eun-ha couldn’t help but laugh at this uncharacteristically goofy side of him.

And as if someone had opened a window, the suffocating feeling that had been choking her until just a moment ago was instantly ventilated, and she felt much lighter.

“I thought you were the type who’s always ready to handle any situation. This side of you is refreshing.”

“...Well, I’m still human too. Of course, since I’m an actor, I do have a broader range of responses than the average person.”

“Riding a Ferris wheel with a couple is a pretty common scene in dramas, right? You could just think about what kind of lines are usually said in this kind of situation.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Huh?”

At Kang Woo-ju’s firm reply, she blinked. Then he looked into her eyes with a serious expression and said,

“If this were a drama, the male lead would probably say all kinds of cool things for the female lead, right? Like reciting a romantic poem or something. Of course, I can do that too.”

“But?”

“But this is reality. I want to be with you right now not as an actor, but as ‘Kang Woo-ju’. And the more I think that way... the less I know what to say....”

“.......”

Kim Eun-ha was speechless.

What on earth was this man saying?

Did he really not know how much those words were making her heart race? Even without self-awareness, wasn’t this a bit too much?

Was this... acting?

The thought crossed her mind briefly.

But looking at Kang Woo-ju’s completely flustered expression, it was impossible to believe it was a lie.

If that expression was acting, then he shouldn’t be an actor, he should be working for the National Intelligence Service.

“Woo-ju ssi.”

“Yes?”

“I... I think I can’t breathe.”

Ah!?

Startled by Kim Eun-ha’s soft voice, Kang Woo-ju began fidgeting nervously in his seat.

“S-sorry! I must’ve spaced out for a second.... Are you okay!? What should I do!? Should I call a rescue helicopter first-”

“That’s why I need artificial respiration.”

“Huh? Mm-!?”

Kim Eun-ha pulled Kang Woo-ju’s cheeks toward her and kissed him. The breath he exhaled swirled in her mouth, filling her with warmth.

*****

For more chapters check out my patreon:

If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊