13 – 13.
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
I had lost the phone that Mayeonseo gave me.
“If you didn’t want to give me your number, you could have just said so…”
“No, it’s not like that?!”
Thanks to that, I also ended up being misunderstood by Hanyeo-won.
“Where on earth did I lose it?”
I had it in my hand until I left the classroom and left a message for Mayeonseo.
And as usual, I put it in my jacket pocket…
But it suddenly disappeared without a trace.
“Did I drop it somewhere along the way?”
It seems like it must have slipped out during our escape earlier.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Losing my phone alone is frustrating enough, but it’s even more distressing because it was the phone Mayeonseo gave me.
As I let out a heavy sigh in frustration, Hanyeorwon, who had been watching me closely, cautiously offered an apology.
“…I’m sorry… It’s all because of me…”
Hanyeorwon sincerely felt sorry for what happened because of her.
Although it was a situation that occurred while helping her, to be honest, I couldn’t entirely blame her for my own mistake.
Putting my frustration aside, I tried to comfort her.
“It’s not your fault, so don’t worry about it. If I was going to lose it like this, I probably would have lost it no matter what.”
“Umm…”
Still, she seemed to feel a sense of guilt.
“Anyway, help me find the phone.”
“Oh, of course! I’ll definitely help!”
We first tried calling Hanyeorwon’s phone.
[ The phone is turned off. Please leave a voicemail… ]
Unfortunately, the phone was turned off.
“Is it possible that the battery ran out?”
“Since it was over 50% when I last checked, that can’t be the case.”
“Oh. Then…”
“…Someone must have picked it up and turned it off.”
In the meantime, someone had taken the cellphone.
“Damn it. Luck really isn’t on my side.”
There are good people in this world too.
There are cases where precious wallets lost by chance are found again after several years, right?
I had hoped that could happen to me too, but it was highly unlikely.
Since someone had picked it up, it was practically impossible to recover it.
“…I guess I should be grateful that at least the photos and contacts were backed up on the cloud….”
The only fortunate thing was that the photos and contacts in the cellphone were backed up externally.
It was a great relief that I didn’t lose all the memories I had accumulated until now.
“What should I tell Yeonseo? I have to buy a new phone…. Even the cheapest ones are at least tens of thousands.”
It was a time when I was sighing deeply in frustration.
At that moment, Hanyeoran, who seemed sorry and didn’t know what to do, brought up the topic.
“Hey. Yoochan. Um, if it’s okay, would you like to use my old cellphone for a while…?”
“…Your cellphone?”
“It’s still pretty good, you know? I used it for quite a while…. I even did a factory reset! It’s well taken care of, so it’s really clean!”
She was offering to let me use the phone she used.
“Is it okay?”
“Yeah! Since I don’t use it anyway…!”
Hanryeowon looked at me with a worried expression, wanting to help in any way possible.
It was definitely an awkward situation. But somehow, my heart melted at her puppy-like appearance.
“Of course, it’s only right to accept this.”
I couldn’t find a reason to refuse, even if it was secondhand and not worth a penny.
“Well then… I’ll ask you a favor.”
“You made a good decision! hehehe.”
“…Is it something you really like?”
“Oh, um. No, that’s… not it… um….”
“You’re kidding.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“You, you scared me…!”
She gave me a teasing look, pretending to be surprised.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her playful and ever-changing demeanor.
I even forgot for a moment that I had lost my phone.
*
After promising to receive the phone, I returned home and immediately used the landline to contact Mayeonseo and let her know that I lost it.
“I’m listening?”
[Why aren’t you answering my calls?]
Beyond the phone, Ma Yeon-seo’s chilly voice pierced through.
[Why is your phone turned off? What have you been doing all this time?]
The sudden interruption in communication for several hours seemed to have made her extremely uncomfortable.
Based on experience, in situations like this, it’s best to get straight to the point as quickly as possible.
“Um… sorry… I… lost my phone.”
[…What?]
We moved to a cafe near my house.
“There you are.”
In a hurry, I arrived to find Ma Yeon-seo already seated, having ordered her drink.
It was clear that she had arrived much earlier than me, despite my intention to come quickly.
“Is this the difference between an awakened individual and an ordinary person…?”
Realizing the difference once again, I quietly tried to sit across from Ma Yeon-seo, acknowledging my wrongdoing.
And then.
Tap. She gently tapped the seat next to her, without lifting her head from her phone.
She was telling me to sit next to her.
“….”
Unable to help myself, I discreetly took a glance around before quietly sitting next to her….
“You lost your phone…?”
Instead of a greeting, she asked with an icy tone.
I had nothing to say, so I quickly explained the situation,
Leaving out the part about Hanyeo-won, of course.
“I sent you a message last, remember? I put it in the outer pocket for sure. But when I checked later, it wasn’t there…”
If I were to mention that I lost my phone while helping her, I knew I wouldn’t hear anything good.
“Really?”
“I’m telling the truth! You gave it to me, and I carelessly lost it… I’m really sorry…”
Thinking it’s better to take the beating first, I sincerely apologized once again.
Regardless, it was definitely my fault for losing the precious gift my girlfriend had given me.
“…”
In the end, she stared at me silently for a while, then let out a deep sigh, expressing her dissatisfaction.
“Do you know how surprised I was?”
“…”
“Suddenly, no contact at all. The phone was turned off.”
“…”
“It’s not just because you lost a stupid phone. I thought something happened to you, and I…”
“…I’m sorry…”
Sighing once again, she wordlessly held out her palm.
It meant to comfort me subtly, as I was feeling really uncomfortable right now.
Fortunately, I quickly understood and crossed my arms, slipping a finger into the ring on my hand.
Now that the storm was inevitable, it was time to act cute until her heart was appeased.
“I really messed up. I’ll make sure this never happens again.”
“……”
“I should have contacted you first, but I was so distracted….”
“And I didn’t even matter to you?”
“Oh, it’s not like that….”
I quietly buried my face in her neck and apologized.
The scent of my favorite perfume lingered on the tip of my nose.
“How can I make it up to you?”
“……”
“You know I’m clueless. Please tell me. Please?”
As I gently nuzzled her neck with my lips, she immediately squirmed and wriggled her lower body.
Realizing that she was slightly aroused, I turned her body towards me and gently kissed her lips, begging softly.
“Just give me one more chance. I’ll do better from now on.”
“…Are you trying to win me over with this subtle aegyo?”
“It’s not like that…. I’m just really grateful that you were worried about me.”
Smooch. Smack. Smooch. As we continued to kiss, her tightly closed lips parted.
Not missing this opportunity, I grabbed the back of her head and deeply intertwined our tongues to match our preferences.
In response, she placed her hand on my chest and accepted the physical affection obediently.
It was a sign that her heart had softened a bit.
“It feels like we’re smoothly moving past something.”
The guilt of trying to cover up the mistakes I made weighed on me, but there wasn’t really any other way.
Since I had nothing else, all I could do was force what she liked the most into the world.
Kang Yoo-chan. That’s me.
“…Are you feeling a bit better now?”
“…A little.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…Don’t ever do that again.”
After sticking close for a while and barely being forgiven.
She continued to drink her beverage and talk.
“I guess I’ll just get a new phone while I’m at it. Which one do you like?”
“Huh?”
“I’ll get it for you.”
Just as expected. She was thinking of buying me another phone.
“Well, if that’s the case.”
Suddenly, I remembered an article I had recently seen on the internet.
It said that the phone company that Ma Yeon-seo had given me had raised the prices of the latest models by about 2-30%.
The company already dealt with expensive equipment, so it became even more expensive.
No matter what, receiving it again made me feel guilty.
“No, that’s a bit… It’s too expensive.”
“…You don’t want it?”
The expression vanished from Yeo-yeonseo’s face suddenly and mysteriously.
It was the face she made when she forced herself.
“Here we go again.”
Every time, she received expensive gifts in a non-threatening but threatening manner like this.
Honestly, it’s not that great to receive gifts all the time. From the perspective of the receiver, you can’t always be happy about it.
Each gift was worth at least a hundred units, and the wallet she bought in the United States was almost close to ten million won.
Since finding out about that fact, she couldn’t relax and just kept it safely tucked away.
How would you feel if you couldn’t properly repay such gifts and they kept piling up day by day?
I also have my pride.
“This time, I absolutely can’t back down.”
I made up my mind and took a deep breath before cautiously attempting to persuade her.
“Yeonseo, is it because you don’t like the gifts I give you?”
“I’m saying I don’t want to receive them.”
“It’s because it seems like you’re only receiving them without giving anything in return.”
Sincerity tends to be understood no matter what.
I grabbed her hand and spoke earnestly.
“I know it might be hard to understand, but I can’t just keep receiving.”
“…Am I burdening you?”
“No. I get angry at myself for not being able to return what I received.”
Upon hearing that, Ma-yeonseo also responded with a serious face.
“You don’t have to give it back to me. We’re going to get married anyway, so why bother about that?”
“M-Marriage…”
“Husband and wife are one. So, what’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine.”
In that instant, I snapped back to my senses, my words caught in my throat.
“T-This, this won’t do!”
If things continued like this, I felt like I would spend my whole life just receiving and eventually die.
I had to find another way.
“…Still, I can’t.”
“…What?”
“My pride won’t allow it.”
And so, I decided to force myself.
“I don’t want to take it for granted that I receive. Do you want me to become such a pathetic person?”
“……”
Mayeonseo looked at me with her mouth shut.
It seemed like she wanted me to say that, but I deliberately turned away.
“Just understand me this once. I can’t let go of my phone. I lost it this time. So, I have to bear the responsibility.”
Mayeonseo sent me a gaze without any response.
As if she was deeply contemplating something, she stared at me for a while, then let out a deep sigh as if she had no choice.
“…Do as you wish.”
In the end, she had decided to support me.
“Enough!”
Having finally broken her stubbornness since we started dating, I clenched my fist inwardly and expressed my gratitude.
“Thank you for believing in me. I’ll do better from now on.”
A relationship is something that happens between two people.
Thinking that we had become even more equal in that sense, I showered Ma-yeon with kisses.
“I love you!”
But then she uncommonly pushed my face away and spoke.
“…Let’s do that at home.”
And so, we made up for our relationship, indulging in plenty of physical affection.
*
The next day.
As expected, rumors about Hanyeo-won had spread everywhere by then.
But unexpectedly, many students came forward to comfort Hanyeo-won.
“Are you okay, Hanyeo?”
“This is really too much. How can parents do this?”
“It must be so difficult….”
It seems that they considered her situation pitiful, thinking that she had matured somewhat since she was in high school.
Of course, there wasn’t a single person among them who praised me.
“Hello, Yoo-chan!”
“Good morning.”
After experiencing a series of events and accidentally discovering each other’s dark sides, Hanryeo-won and I became much closer than before.
“Yoo-chan, have you finished eating?”
As evidence, recently we started going to the library together for lunch.
Am I the only one among my close friends who likes books?
“I’ve almost finished.”
“Really? I guess I’ll have to wait a bit.”
“Huh? No, you can go ahead.”
“I’m already sitting.”
“You can just go….”
“hehehe. It’s okay, take your time.”
“…You’re staring at me so intently, how can I eat slowly?”
“Should I feed you?”
“Forget it.”
As a result, our time spent together gradually increased, and I couldn’t help but notice.
“Sigh. I don’t know if this is okay.”
Most likely, this is the case for most people, but especially our girlfriend absolutely does not tolerate the existence of a “female friend.”
Right now, it’s not a problem since I’m hiding Hanryeo-won’s true identity, but I can’t keep hiding it forever.
It’s unfortunate, but keeping a distance from Hanryeo-won within a reasonable limit was the right choice.
“But she’s my only high school friend….”
However, it’s also true that I don’t want to push away a friend who came to me.
My high school life, which was once bleak and lonely, became much richer as I got closer to Hanyeo-won.
Especially in the beginning of the semester, the times of loneliness and solitude felt so regrettable.
Above all, she and I had so much in common that our time together was enjoyable.
“Oh! You’re into rock too?!”
“Calling me a rock freak. Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“I love rock too! Especially alternative!”
“…Really?”
“Yeah! That’s why I learned to play the guitar.”
From uncommon music tastes.
To trivial food preferences.
“Lunch was pretty good today. Everyone went crazy at the snack bar.”
“Right? It wasn’t just me who thought it was delicious, right?”
“Why do you hate grilled mackerel so much?”
“That’s what I’m saying! Thanks to you, I ate more than usual… I might gain weight because of this….”
“Mackerel is good for you, so it should be fine, right?”
“Is that so?”
In other areas where our tastes might differ, we mostly had the same direction.
To exaggerate, we were inevitably drawn to each other.
But if I were to grow distant from her, I would have to go back to the dull times of the beginning of the semester.
To put it bluntly, I no longer had the confidence to go back to that time.
“…Anyway, once we reach our second year, we’ll naturally end up in different classes…”
She, who aspired to the science track, and I, who aspired to the humanities track, would naturally be placed in separate classes starting from our second year.
Whether we liked it or not, it was clear that we would grow apart the following year.
“Just until the end of this year.”
That was the time when we made a promise to hide the true nature of our relationship and continue our school life.
As we moved past the middle of the semester and into the hot summer.
“Oh, did our aunt buy chicken last night?”
“Oh, chicken.”
“She happened to buy my favorite! But she got it too late…”
It was the usual conversation between Hanyeo-won and me as we walked to the convenience store.
Ring ring─. Ring ring─.
Suddenly, the phone I had put in my pocket began to ring.
“Oh, just a moment.”
[From Gyeonseo ♥]
It was a call from none other than Gyeonseo.
“…Your girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
She had known for a while that I had a girlfriend.
After all, my messenger profile was decorated with a couple photo, so she couldn’t not know.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Sorry, but I need to take this call for a moment.”
“…Sure.”
I casually answered the phone without bothering to move from my spot.
“Oh, hey…”
[Why haven’t you seen my message?]
And I found myself facing a chilling voice coming from the speaker.
“Oh… sorry. I went to the convenience store.”
[…But why haven’t you checked your phone? Was someone there with you?]
I casually glanced at the sharp question from the mysterious voice.
“?”
She, who knew nothing, met my gaze with a question mark floating above her head.
My conscience pricked me in various ways.
“…I went alone. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I know. Yeah. I got it. I’ll see your message. Yeah. I love you.”
After being thoroughly grilled for a while, I finally managed to end the call.
“Haah…”
Unknowingly, I let out a heavy sigh, and Hanyeo-won, who had been waiting quietly beside me, cautiously spoke up.
“Your girlfriend seems quite possessive, huh?”
I shrugged my shoulders and responded.
“She’s a handful… That girl in the profile picture, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I saw her before, and she was really pretty. Is she a model or something?”
“I went to a sports high school. I awakened in my third year.”
“Wow, you’re an awakened one? What’s your rank?”
“It’s probably still C-rank, right?”
“It’s only been a year and you’re already C-rank? That’s impressive!”
Before we knew it, we naturally continued the conversation about the Ma-yeon Association.
Han Ryu-won was the type who listened well to stories, so it seemed like she effortlessly shared the concerns she had been holding onto.
“It’s all good, but um…what should I say…should I say I really like her?”
“Do you have a bit of an attachment?”
“A little…more like quite a bit.”
“Wow, what does it feel like?”
“When we’re together, it’s not like that, but when we’re apart, she gets really anxious.”
“Oh. Is she worried someone else might snatch you away?”
“She says it’s because of that, but honestly, I’m not like that, am I?”
Without thinking, I sought empathy and glanced at Han Ryu-won.
But she didn’t give me a satisfactory answer.
“Hmm…I understand a little bit of how she feels as a girlfriend.”
“What?”
She unexpectedly sided with Ma-yeon.
“Hey, if you say that too, what am I supposed to do?”
“But I can’t just say it’s not true! You don’t think you’re not serious, do you?”
Hanryowon looked at me with a face that seemed genuinely absurd.
It felt awkward to hear this kind of story from someone other than Ma Yeonseo.
“Sigh. Listen!”
Hanryowon, who had settled on the bench, began a long speech.
As expected, a woman understands a woman’s heart.
There was no separate expert in love.
“So, will a woman worry or not? Won’t she?”
“She will… right?”
“That’s right! Then what should you do? Should you be careful with women or not?”
“I should… be careful.”
“Be careful?”
“You’re a woman too.”
“Oh.”
Hanryowon belatedly realized and overturned the logic he had just spoken.
“Well, there are exceptions!”
“You said earlier that all women are enemies.”
“Am I a woman?!”
“So, are you a man?”
“You… are you doing this on purpose? You just don’t want to hang out with me?”
“If you didn’t want to, then you wouldn’t have told your girlfriend earlier that you were alone.”
“…!!”
She couldn’t refute what had just happened in one fell swoop.
She simply bit her lip, her ears turning bright red.
“She has a subtly cute side.”
As we gradually became closer friends, we relied on each other and continued peaceful days.
Without knowing what would happen in the future, not even in our dreams.