6 – 6.
In the end, I bought a gift for Kim Cha-bin.
Anyway, what was the point of going back empty-handed after promising to give it to him?
“Oppa! You waited, right?”
As soon as the first class ended, I went straight to find Kim Cha-bin.
The first-year classroom was on the first floor, and for some reason, I felt a little burdened by all the gazes I received while waiting.
“Oh, I waited so long.”
“hehehe. I’m sorry. But why did you call me?”
“I have something to give you.”
When I subtly showed her the small shopping bag I had been hiding behind my back, a bright smile blossomed on her face, full of curiosity.
“No way?!”
“Yes, it’s a present for you.”
“Did you really buy it?”
“He’s my only junior, how could I not take care of him?”
“Wow…! Oppa, you’re the best!”
Holding the shopping bag, Kim Cha-bin expressed her joy by hopping around and bouncing with her whole body.
Because of that, she attracted the curious gazes of the surrounding students.
Good things are good. I just accepted it wholeheartedly.
“You’re really cute…! Thank you, Oppa!”
“I’m glad you like it. It was worth buying it with all my effort.”
She showed a very touched reaction and happily said while hugging the doll tightly and making an exaggerated expression.
“Oppa, let’s watch a movie this weekend!”
“A movie?”
“Yes! I have movie tickets. Since I received the doll, I’ll show you! How about it?”
She waited for my answer with an excited face.
It seems like the movie was the repayment I mentioned before.
I accepted her kindness with a light heart.
“Well… should we?”
“Really? Is the time really okay?”
She confirmed multiple times with a bright smile.
How much did she want to see me to be this excited?
“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll make time somehow.”
“Yay! Oppa, you won’t back out, right? Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Kim Chabin continued to giggle and held the doll tightly.
She seemed like a child who had fallen in love with something.
“Then, I’ll contact you.”
“Yes!”
With that, we agreed to contact each other later and parted ways for now…
“I should head home soon.”
As I hurried up the stairs, on my way back to the second-year classroom.
“…Hmm? Come to think of it…”
Suddenly, a certain fact crossed my mind.
This was my first date ever in my life.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, I started to feel nervous.
*
“Help me! Yeon Seo-e-mong…!”
During the next break.
I hurriedly went to find Mae Yeon-seo and asked for her help.
“I’m in big trouble!”
“What happened?”
“I made plans for the weekend, but…!”
“Plans? With whom?”
“You know, the junior I mentioned last time!”
Instantly, Mae Yeon-seo’s expression stiffened.
Indeed, it was a surprising turn of events for her too.
“How did this happen…!”
I quickly explained the situation.
After giving the doll to Kim Chabin, I received a movie invitation.
At first, I accepted without much thought, but after receiving it, I realized my mistake.
“Please help me!”
But.
“….”
For some reason, she didn’t give me any response.
She just stared at me as if she was deeply lost in thought.
“Yeonsoe?”
“…Huh?”
“What do you think?”
“….Well….”
Completely absent-minded, Mayeonseo just stared at me with unfocused eyes.
“Why is she acting like this?”
Unable to figure out her thoughts, I waited anxiously for advice…
“No. Wait.”
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
Could it be that Mayeonseo is also clueless about romantic relationships, just like me?
“Is she inexperienced too…?”
It was the moment when my trust in Mayeonseo was subtly readjusted.
♫ ♩ ♬ ♪
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
“Ah… This won’t do. I’ll come back during lunchtime! Are you really thinking about it?”
“……”
Mayeonseo was still lost in thought.
Unable to do anything else, I hurriedly left, promising to meet again next time.
“Could it be… Does she like me? No, no way. No matter how I think about it… Sigh. But why a movie? And on the weekend? On purpose? It feels like I’m just deluding myself for no reason….”
Unable to concentrate on class, I spent the whole time racking my brain, worrying.
Finally, with a determination to catch even a straw, I went to find Mayeonseo again.
“Mayeonseo!”
But.
“?”
For some reason, she wasn’t in the classroom.
“Huh? She left early?”
“Huh? Left early?”
Instead, I heard that she went home early because she wasn’t feeling well.
“She seemed fine earlier… Is she really sick?”
Feeling flustered, I returned to the classroom and sent her a message.
Me [ “I heard you left early.” ]
Are you [okay?]
Luckily, it seemed like I had enough strength to touch my phone, and soon the ‘read’ notification appeared….
That was all.
Even after waiting for a long time, she didn’t reply.
She had read it and ignored it.
“How much pain does it take to not even be able to move a finger?”
Putting aside my worries about our date, I used my lunch break to call her.
[She didn’t answer, just a beep sound….]
But she didn’t answer the phone.
*
Thud. When the vibration on my phone stopped, the heavy silence filled the dark house once again.
“……”
Sitting on the bed, hugging my knees, Mayeonseo quietly watched the screen showing the missed call notification.
The gaze that looked at the turned-off phone was endlessly dark.
Within her hazy pupils, a multitude of emotions were raging.
Anger. Regret. Worry. Sadness.
All because of Kang Yoochan.
All of it.
“……”
With a tight grip, Mayeonseo involuntarily clenched her fist, trembling slightly.
I never imagined it would come to this, even when I bought a doll for no reason and gave it to another woman.
Even though Kang Yoo-chan is clueless, I thought he would at least have some sense.
I was too careless.
What is obvious to me is naturally visible to others.
And even though she was begging for attention everywhere she went, why didn’t I step in and stop her?
“It’s my fault.”
Ma Yeon-seo had no choice but to admit her own mistake.
A dog with an owner running wild without a leash is entirely the owner’s fault.
And it is the owner’s responsibility to repent for that mistake and fix things.
“I can still… I can still turn things around.”
Ma Yeon-seo picked up her phone to fix things.
Now she wouldn’t stay silent any longer.
*
Just as my mother had a company dinner and I ordered takeout for dinner after a long time, I was fidgeting with my phone, feeling uneasy about Ma Yeon-seo, who hadn’t contacted me until late in the evening.
“How hurt could she possibly be?”
And then it happened.
Ring… Ring…
Suddenly, the screen of my phone changed, and a call came in.
“What a surprise.”
Startled, I wiped my chest and checked the caller I.D. of the person I had just called…
[Mayeonseo]
Her name, which I had been eagerly waiting for, was written there.
“Hey! Why the hell weren’t you answering my calls? Do you know how worried I was about you… What?”
I hung up the phone and hurriedly put on my clothes, rushing out of the house.
“It’s getting cold now.”
As I turned into the dark alley in front of my house, I saw her standing silently under the only intact streetlight.
Mayeonseo. She was standing there.
Dressed strangely, with her hat pulled down tightly.
“Did she catch a cold?”
Suddenly worried, I waved my hands and approached her.
“Mayeonseo!”
“….”
“Are you feeling alright…?”
And then, at that moment.
“Huh?”
I looked at something in her hand and paused for a moment.
“That is…”
A rough and rugged rectangular object.
It was a brick.
It is the red brick often used when building a house.
“Huh…?”
It was a bit unexpected, so I was slightly taken aback, but I approached her again with the thought of starting a conversation.
“Are you okay? Why are you carrying that?”
“……”
She tightly shut her mouth and sent me a fleeting glance.
Maybe it was because it was dark. Her usually bright eyes seemed somewhat empty.
As if she was not in her right mind.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Why is she like this?”
Not knowing the answer, I scratched my head and glanced briefly at the brick in her hand.
I wondered where she picked it up from. Its end was sharp and somewhat threatening.
“But where did she… No, that’s not important right now.”
I didn’t sense anything strange in her voice when she called me earlier.
She just said she had something to tell me and asked me to come out to the front of the house right away.
It didn’t seem much different from usual.
“What happened while I was away?”
Feeling anxious for no reason, I cautiously spoke up again.
“What happened?”
And then, at that moment.
“……”
Swish. She quietly lifted her head and our gazes met.
Her eyes, devoid of any vitality.
In a moment of hesitation, I instinctively looked away, avoiding her gaze.
A vivid image of me ruthlessly beating those who had tormented me flashed through my mind.
“…Are you angry? Did I do something?”
Gulp. Swallowing my saliva absentmindedly, I cautiously spoke, keeping an eye on her reaction.
“Ye- Yeonseo?”
Then, her tightly closed lips finally moved.
“…Well, I have one question.”
“Me…? You want to ask me something?”
She sent me a fleeting glance, as if trying to read my thoughts.
“Is that why you came all the way here?”
For now, I obediently entertained her question.
“Yeah, well… What do you want to ask?”
And then, out of nowhere, came the unexpected question.
“Do you like me?”
“What?”
Did I mishear her?
Startled by the sudden ambush, I stammered, clearly taken aback.
“What, what is that sound? Do you like me? Me?”
My face turns red with anger.
How should I respond to this? I couldn’t possibly stay calm.
“Of course… I, I like you! Huh? You’re my best friend! So you don’t like me?!”
I blurted out whatever came to mind, getting worked up for no reason.
Then she asked again.
“Well then. Do you love me?”
“L-Love…! W-Why are you asking that all of a sudden?! Did something happen?”
As if adding insult to injury, her question hit me like a curveball, making me dizzy with confusion, and I started to worry about her.
Because no matter how you looked at it, she didn’t seem okay.
But…
“Answer.”
She didn’t give me a chance.
“Hey, why are you suddenly talking about love…”
“Answer.”
Her hand, holding a brick, twitched.
“Oh, no… Um… It’s not that I don’t want to answer…”
Slightly intimidated by her force, I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze and continued hesitantly.
“So, it’s not that I don’t like you… It’s just, um, how should I say it…”
“…Then, what about the underclassman?”
“….Junior?”
What does Mayeonseo mean by “junior”?
“Could it be, Kim Chabin?”
Realizing it belatedly, I raised my hand and clapped.
“Hey, why would I like him! Chabin is just a close younger brother! It doesn’t make sense…”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“….”
A chilly silence filled the alleyway.
“I can’t believe this.”
It was a moment when my head was scratching frantically due to the suffocating awkwardness.
Swoosh. Mayeonseo, who had been silently observing me, took a step closer and suddenly confessed.
“I, I like you.”
It was a genuine confession, literally.
“….Huh?”
My mouth was left agape as I stared at her blankly.
Before I knew it, she reached out her hand and firmly grabbed my collar.
“!”
With a forceful motion, she forcefully pressed her lips against mine.
“Wha?!”
A soft sensation pressed against my lips.
Startled by the sudden situation, I panicked and hurriedly pulled her away.
“You, you…!”
An unexpected first kiss.
With a satisfied smile, Mayeonseo whispered quietly.
“Is your heart pounding?”
Thump thump. Thump thump. My heart raced as if it would burst.
“You…”
I stared at her with a soulless face…
“…you were the one who initiated it.”
Snap! I hugged her and shared a second kiss.
In an instant, we became lovers.