We Don't Match

"Fine. See you Wednesday, then."

"Wait. Do the dishes before you go."

"……."

I wondered what was so pitiful about a kid like him that I'd bought him a movie ticket and even cooked him kimchi stew. I wanted to refund the tickets I'd reserved for Kwon Hyun-jin right then and there.

Kwon Hyun-jin never made me do the dishes.

If he had that day, I never would have come back to watch a movie I'd already seen with such an uncomfortable guy in such an uncomfortable place. The truth was, Kwon Hyun-jin had never once asked me to do any kind of labor—dishes, cleaning, none of it.

Wednesday at three.

I was exactly one minute late for our appointed time. Getting home from school, changing clothes, packing side dishes, and making it from Hannam-dong all the way to Banpo—arriving only a minute behind was a miracle.

But for that mere one-minute delay, Kwon Hyun-jin started snapping the moment he opened the apartment front door.

"You protesting 'cause you don't wanna watch a movie with me?"

"It's just one minute……."

Exhausted as I was, I started to fire something back—then I looked at Kwon Hyun-jin and the words died in my throat.

I'd always known he put care into how he dressed. But today he had clearly gone all out; the effect was something else entirely. A cashmere long coat with a soft sheen over a navy turtleneck. With those naturally broad shoulders of his, the clothes fit him insanely well. The toned-down tapered pants made his already long legs look even more striking.

He'd even put something in his hair, styling it with pomade to bare his forehead. And on his wrist sat a watch I'd never seen before. I'd never seen him in such grown-up attire; he looked like a model who'd stepped straight out of a fashion spread.

"Did you put on cologne, too?"

Instead of the usual unidentifiable floral scent of fabric softener he always carried, there was something different. Vanilla. That luxurious vanilla fragrance nearly made me bury my nose against him without thinking.

"Why……? Does it smell bad?"

I'd only asked if he'd put on cologne. At that single question, Kwon Hyun-jin's face suddenly turned anxious.

"Should I wash it off and put on something else?"

"No…… Just leave it."

A fresh sense of distance washed over me. Since the theater was right in the heart of Gangnam, I'd worn something carefully chosen instead of my everyday hoodie. Still, it was nothing more than a pair of long-out-of-fashion skinny jeans and a burgundy V-neck sweater.

Kwon Hyun-jin, on the other hand, looked like a luxury brand from every single strand of hair. That was simply who he was.

Our mismatched figures—like oil and water—showed in the mirror by the front door. Looking at the two of us standing side by side, I hastily took a step back.

We don't match.

Kwon Hyun-jin and I really don't match.

In the mirror, I stepped away from the space beside him.

"You put the side dishes in the fridge. Let's go right away. We're going to be late."

Fleeing from Kwon Hyun-jin's place, I stood waiting for him in the empty hallway.

Mr. Kim the driver escorted us to the theater. There were plenty of days when Manager Choi dropped me off, so I wasn't startled when Kwon Hyun-jin pressed the button for the underground parking garage.

"What are you doing?"

But when I naturally went to open the front passenger door beside Mr. Kim, Kwon Hyun-jin seemed taken aback.

"Get in the back."

"No. This is more comfortable."

"Sit next to me."

"……I don't want to."

We tussled with me still gripping the passenger door handle. Kwon Hyun-jin clenched his jaw and glared at me as if he wanted to kill me. From inside the tinted car, Mr. Kim peered out, wondering what was going on.

"Fuck it, do whatever you want."

His voice had sunk all the way to the floor. Kwon Hyun-jin went straight to sit in the back seat.

"Na-hee, you look like a lady from the outside. Is Manager Lee doing well?"

"Yes, Mom's doing fine."

Mr. Kim seemed relieved not to be alone with the prickly young master. With easygoing me taking care of punching the destination into the nav and even announcing the arrival time, the atmosphere up front wasn't bad at all.

In the back seat, on the other hand, a chill like the Siberian plains was flowing.

Mr. Kim didn't seem to notice anything particularly different from usual and casually struck up conversation with me.

"So you're watching a movie just the two of you with the young master?"

"Madam brought over kimchi after her kimjang gathering. I just came to drop off some side dishes, and he said he didn't have anyone to watch with……."

The excuses tumbled out in a stream. In the rearview mirror, Kwon Hyun-jin kept his eyes fixed on the window and said nothing at all.

"Chan-hee and I are around the same age, so I guess he finds me more comfortable."

"That makes sense, really."

No sooner had Mr. Kim's agreement finished than my eyes met Kwon Hyun-jin's. With his arms crossed, the boy in the mirror looked every bit the prince—a thoroughly irritated prince.

Mr. Kim managed to slip off Gangnam-daero into an alley near the theater and parked. Kwon Hyun-jin got out first, and I thought the door was going to break.

"Young master, shall I wait nearby?"

Mr. Kim craned his neck to ask, but Kwon Hyun-jin walked off first without even looking back.

"Uncle, I'll look after Hyun-jin."

"Then make sure he gets home and give me a call once you're inside, okay, Na-hee?"

"Yes."

After sending Mr. Kim off, I stepped into the building with CXV written large across it. Voices from every direction left my ears ringing. There were so many people it felt like the entire population of Seoul had gathered here.

Even in the middle of all that, Kwon Hyun-jin caught the eye at once.

Men and women alike turned to look at him standing before the elevator and murmured among themselves. Whoa, who's that guy? He's seriously good-looking. Did you just see him? Is he a model? Must be.

Whether they did or not, a thoroughly pissed-off Kwon Hyun-jin stood with both hands shoved in his pockets, staring straight ahead. When I sidled up next to him awkwardly, the boy who hadn't moved a muscle slowly turned to look at me. If a look alone could freeze someone solid, he seemed more than willing to do it.

"It's theater 15 on the eleventh floor…… This way."

I gave his sleeve a light tug toward the elevators for the odd floors. Kwon Hyun-jin, whom I'd expected to shake me off, followed me along obediently.

We waited for the elevator in awkward silence, without conversation. When the doors opened, people poured out like a flood. Getting in, we were practically shoved inside by the throng at our backs.

I was pushed forward, sideways, jostled every which way. Then a strong grip pulled me by the shoulders and dragged me straight into the corner. My back met the cold wall, and Kwon Hyun-jin stood in front of me.

His hands braced against the wall on either side of my head. The scent of the cologne on his wrist brushed past the tip of my nose.

People kept piling into the elevator without end. Kwon Hyun-jin strained to keep from touching me as much as possible. Thanks to that, a gap of about a handspan was preserved between us. If I so much as fidgeted my legs, my thighs would brush against Kwon Hyun-jin's knees—that close.

"Would you stop getting on already!"

"That's enough!"

People shouted in frustration from every direction. It was clearly already over capacity, yet no warning beep came from the elevator, so they just kept shoving their way in.

"Hah……."

An irritated sigh drifted down. It was the boy who'd lowered his head over the crown of mine.

Had Kwon Hyun-jin ever experienced a crush like this in his entire life? England probably wasn't as crowded as Seoul, at least. Was he okay? I abruptly lifted my head, and Kwon Hyun-jin flinched. In that moment my eyes fell on his deeply bobbing Adam's apple, and on impulse I reached out. I pulled on the hem of Kwon Hyun-jin's coat.

One handspan.

The boy who had been carefully holding that much space between us collapsed into me as if crumbling. The instant my face buried itself against his solid chest, the elevator doors closed.

Second floor, third floor, fourth floor…….

I counted the numbers to myself. Surrounded by Kwon Hyun-jin on every side, I couldn't even see the elevator display. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds. But it felt as if the elevator were moving endlessly slowly.

Maybe it was the sound of a heartbeat in my ears. That heartbeat racing like a beast chasing its prey…….

Pressed against me, Kwon Hyun-jin felt raw and alive.