＜Episode 7＞ Girlfriend
“Are you feeling well today?”
Read at noblemtl.com
Monday afternoon, first class of the week.As usual, I took a seat in the far corner of the back row, and a friend approached me and talked to me.
“Well. You’ve never seen me when I was in bad shape?”
“okay?”
“I miss class when I’m in the slightest bad shape.”
“It’s a good thing.”
The friend smiled bitterly.
Well, maybe it’s better not to come than to come to the classroom and do something else. The professor will never look good on you either.
“Still, I’m in a particularly good mood today.”
I put my laptop down on the desk and answered, my friend said, “Is that right?” I asked.
“what is it. Was it because the housekeeper helped you?”
“Um, I think it might be.”
Not sure, but it was very likely.
With the help of Si-eun, who came as a housekeeper, I got up (relatively) early and made a full meal. Nothing has changed otherwise, so if your complexion looks good, it must be because of this.
But counting until Friday, it’s now been the fourth day since Si-eun came. If you have lived a bad life so far, would it be effective already?
The friend crossed his arms and nodded.
“It’s worth paying 500 a month. Now I look a little more like a human being.”
“You haven’t even looked like a human until now, have you?”
“uh… … . Rather than that, he seemed like a person who didn’t want to talk to me.”
He laughs and snorts harshly.
Even though it looked like that, did you still talk to me? He’s a very grateful guy. Or maybe even aiming for a Nobel Peace Prize in the distant future.
Then my friend put his hand on my shoulder and said,
“Originally, it was pretty good, but now it looks like a human. I live in the same house with my housekeeper, so it won’t be awkward to talk to a woman.”
He babbled around and patted my back a few times.
“It’s time for you to get a girlfriend too.”
“You sound like a girlfriend again… … .”
Again, I have to make friends first.
I hate hearing as much as advice from relatives on holidays. When he frowned and expressed his slight irritation, the friend took a gesture of apology and left.
If you want to brag about your girlfriend, please do it to other kids. Because I don’t have the heart or ability to get a girlfriend.
After taking a deep breath, he checked his watch. It takes about 5 minutes to start the lecture. Now was the time to start doing something else.
Press the laptop power button and wait for it to boot.
This week, the very last seat in the back row, in this place that is like my reserved seat, the week starts like this… … .
“Are you doing anything else today?”
… … I thought it would be
A soft voice came from the side.
are you talking to me?
When I turned my head to check, I saw a strange woman in the seat next to me, staring at me.
“Wow.”
For a moment, I was startled and spit out a strange noise.
“Wow?”
“Oh, no. in amazement.”
“Ahaha. I’m sorry. Did you talk too suddenly?”
The woman apologized with a soft smile.
Semi-long hair with a hint of brown and large eyes were characteristic. Judging from her sitting height, she seems to be much smaller than me. It makes me wonder if it’s middle school or high school.
With a bright smile, the woman moved closer to me.
“Hey, do you always sit in the back row?”
“Uh, well, that’s right.”
As she stuttered in reply, the woman clasped her hands.
“Then you’re a colleague in the back seat!”
“A colleague in the back seat?”
“Ahaha. I also sit in the back row. If you don’t want to attend class, lie down and sleep!”
“I don’t think it’s something to say out loud… … .”
“How are you? Did your senior say something similar before?”
similar words? Did you mean to say to your friend, “If you’re not feeling any better, you’ll miss class.”
Well? But you’re senior? After a moment’s hesitation, the woman covered her mouth and said, “Oh.” after making a sound.
“By the way, I didn’t introduce myself.”
while bowing his head.
“I’m Han So-hye, a sophomore. Oh, you can talk nonsense!”
“Uh, then… … . I’m Lee Hwi-min in 3rd grade.”
“Ahaha. That’s a good name.”
“Um, is that so?”
“sure.”
The woman smiles afterward.
“I am doing well as a backseat colleague. It’s been a while since the school year started.”
“Uh, uh. okay.”
At my answer, the woman smiled once more and went back to the seat next to her.
A woman named Sohye seemed to have been sitting in the back seat all the time. Of course, as I was not interested in the professor in front of me, let alone the seat next to me, I had no way of knowing.
He’s a pretty lively person. Since he and I are the exact opposite, it was at a level that could be described as a polar opposite.
We only talked for a while, but all the mental power I had stored up over the weekend ran out. I feel like my body is rapidly deteriorating. Should I miss class tomorrow? … .
I was trying to be immersed in that thought, but this time I felt the gaze from the front.
When I glanced in front of me, there was Si-eun looking at me. With an expressionless face without any emotion.
what… … ?
◎
“I didn’t know you would have another friend.”
“What?”
That evening.
While I was wrestling with today’s menu, grilled fish, Si-eun suddenly came up with these words.
“I thought you only had one friend. But today, I was talking to someone else, so I was a little surprised.”
“ah.”
Is it during lecture?
I thought I had only one friend, but I think I was surprised to have two. What’s even worse is that the second kid isn’t even a friend.
As she kept her mouth shut because she was too lazy to explain, Si-eun threw another word.
“It just came to mind.”
“yes.”
“If you have a girlfriend, will I get kicked out?”
“… … Did you eat any strange food?”
“If I ate, wouldn’t you have eaten too?”
“Yes.”
Seeing that my body didn’t show any abnormalities, it was clear that I hadn’t eaten any strange foods.
Then why are you making such a strange noise all of a sudden?
“Well? What if you have a girlfriend? I never imagined it.”
He took off the thorns from the fish and responded roughly.
By the way, I don’t like grilled fish. Do you have to remove the thorns by hand while eating? It’s probably the most annoying food in the world.
“Isn’t it? I have a girlfriend and living with another woman is weird. Small household chores are something you can ask your girlfriend to do.”
“That’s right.”
He brought the area where the thorn was applied to his mouth and gave a moderate affirmation.
It’s cumbersome to peel off the thorns, but the taste is good. I learned through a few days of experience. You can trust Si-eun’s cooking skills.
After chewing and swallowing all the food in her mouth, Si-eun was staring at me when she looked up. what? Are you mad at me for answering so succinctly?
“Why?”
Si-eun turned her face away at my question.
“Just, seeing you chatting with a girl today, suddenly came to my mind.”
“Are you jealous?”
“… … .”
“sorry.”
As soon as he bit his lip and looked at me, the words of apology came out.
“Not that. I believed that if I didn’t quit, I would be able to get 500 full monthly payments. But I thought that one day I might be kicked out suddenly.”
It seems to be a very serious concern.
“Well. It would be more helpful to worry about what will happen if the earth is destroyed tomorrow than what will happen if I have a girlfriend.”
“why?”
“I don’t have any friends, but would you like to have a girlfriend?”
“There is no absolute law in this world.”
Si-eun spread her index finger and spoke as if teaching.
“I don’t know, isn’t he the second closest person to you at our school? The first among women. Then there’s a good chance, isn’t it?”
I was in second place because we had a conversation once. Isn’t it too easy to climb the rankings? Either way, it’s not going to go well with him. There are absolutes in the world.
“No, but.”
When I let go of my luck, Si-eun tilted her head. He continues the story while looking at Si-eun like that.
“Secondly, isn’t it you?”
“… … me?”
To Si-eun who asked with a puzzled face, I answered with a big nod.
“okay.”
The child I met today just suddenly spoke to me. It was the first time they met, and they didn’t even know their name.
However, I knew quite a bit about Si-eun, and we talked about it dozens of times while tied up with the link of a housekeeper. Are you still talking right now?
At my words, Si-eun only blinked her big eyes.
“what. Do you like me?”
“no. I don’t like people.”
“You all sound like a middle school patient.”
Then, while avoiding his gaze, he opened his mouth again.
“Well, with you… … It will never happen.”
The point is sympathy.
“i think so too.”
After a brief consent, Si-eun said nothing more.
It was probably my misunderstanding that the face looked very slightly but pouty.