I found out that Liam injured his leg in an accident during a race with his friends. Luckily, his injuries could be healed. Otherwise, he would have bawled his eyes out.
“It’s so boring here. I really respect how you can just sit here all day!”
Liam let out a dramatic howl, then handed me today’s lunch with a resigned look.
“I can’t do it. If I stay here any longer, I’ll be stir–crazy! But my big brother won’t let me go outside! This is so annoying! Even
the doctor said I can walk now.”
I looked at the way Liam flailed around, and couldn’t help but giggle. “He’s just worried about you.”
“Nah. He’s just being bossy again!” Liam protested, clinging to my arm as he whined.
I caught a glimpse of the scars on his wrist and said casually, “You’ve got a lot of old injuries… It’s normal for your brother to
worry.”
Liam jumped, covering his chest with both hands with a startled look. “When…. When did you peek at my body? Was it when I was sleeping?!”
The tips of his ears got even redder.
I reached up and flicked his forehead. “Use your brain, will you? They’re all over your wrists. I don’t need to see you without
your shirt.”
Liam drooped, and mumbled in embarrassment, “Oh, I see. I thought… Maybe you had some other thoughts about me.”
I almost spat out my food. “What? How old are you, anyway? Are you even an adult yet?”
Liam got flustered. “I’m nineteen! I’m an adult!”
“Nineteen is still a kid to me. I’m already twenty–five,” I teased.
I didn’t expect this to make Liam even more anxious. “I’m not a kid, okay? I’m taller than you!”
With that, he made me stand up and compare our heights back–to–back.
Liam grinned, his eyes full of smugness. “See? I’m taller than you!”
Then he knelt in front of me, looking up at me with puppy–dog eyes. I swear I could see him wagging an imaginary tail.
“When I first saw you, you were so pretty in the sunlight. You didn’t even seem real. Do you know the cliche, delicate and
sickly?”
I touched my face. All my life, I had been told I was pretty. When that thought crossed my mind, I laughed. “So you fell for my
looks, huh?”
Liam hurriedly waved his hands. “No, it’s not like that! I’m not that shallow…”
I waited to hear what he would say next.
Liam just stared at me for a long time before finally saying, “You’re so pretty that the more I look, the more I like you!”
He kept leaning closer. Speechless, I had to shove him away.
“And you say you aren’t shallow. You’re completely charmed. Only a delinquent will do what you’re doing!”
Liam latched onto me and wouldn’t let go. “No, no! I like you more than just for your looks. Honest! My sister–in–law is pretty, too. If I’m so shallow, then why am I not into her?”
He quickly pulled up his phone and showed me a photo of his sister–in–law from his older brother’s social media.
