234 – EP.10 Belief that things will get better-3
***
On the way down the hill in the cold night air, I was walking side by side with Yoon Sia.
After the tutoring was over, I thought it was dangerous to walk alone on a quiet street at night, so I went along.
I knew it was pointless nonsense and that each and every action like this was a brick building a tower of obsession, but what could I do? This is my personality.
To put it bluntly, even if I die, I can come back to life somewhere else, but if other people die, it’s over.
If I have to make a sacrifice, what I do is cost-effective.
Of course, it’s not right to use grand words like sacrifice or anything else to describe our current companionship…
I also wanted to get some fresh air, and I was really worried about sending Yoon Sia alone.
“You don’t have to take me there every time.”
When we got halfway down, Yoon Sia said this.
She said I wasn’t trying to take her away.
From Noble mtl dot com
Because I had something to buy at the convenience store, I decided to go there as well.
“Okay, let’s do something like that.”
What was she thinking? Yun Sia smiled and looked at the moonlit scene.
The round moon hanging on the shoulder line was showing off its appearance.
“You know. They say this place used to be a moon village.”
As they were walking down the street in silence, Yoon Sia must have been bored and brought up a new topic of conversation.
“So it looks like the hill is high.”
A damn high hill.
It is difficult to climb without a car.
“Isn’t it amazing? It used to be a neighborhood where poor people lived, but now it has become a neighborhood where wealthy people live.”
I kicked a stone slightly raised on the paved road and sent it rolling down, and Yoon Sia followed the stone with her eyes and said,
“Well, okay.”
I couldn’t tell what Yun Shia was thinking, so I answered appropriately.
The reversal between rich and poor villages happens everywhere.
“Hmm… This may not be a story that makes sense to you.”
Yun Sia smiled sheepishly at my ambiguous response.
We went down the hill in silence.
A cold wind passed by my ankles, and I felt like I could see the breath of my breath little by little.
I glanced next to her and saw Yoon Sia’s despondent face.
I don’t know what he was thinking, but I guess he thought I was saying something pointless.
It may have been a shock to know that what you think is normal is not normal to someone else.
Suddenly, a story my friend told me comes to mind.
She told me that she had prepared a webtoon with her younger relative who was drawing pictures, and that it was a conversation we had at that time, and I still remember it.
‘The main character is an ordinary person. ‘Ordinary college student.’
The friend in charge of the story said that, and the guy’s younger relative asked him this.
‘Why are college students ordinary? There are more people who don’t go to college.’
In short, people tend to define ‘general things’ based on themselves.
That’s why it’s a shock when the general standards are shaken.
Isn’t that how Yoon Sia feels right now?
I will make my own guess.
“Teacher, how about college?”
Bring up another topic and save her from diving into the swamp of her deep thoughts.
“It’s different from high school. While high school was a class that someone spoon-fed you, college is a class that you have to prepare for yourself.”
After thinking deeply, she answered.
“Is it fun?”
“It’s fun… I don’t know. But it’s kind of busy. The commute to school takes a long time, there are a lot of assignments, it costs a lot of money… Ah! Did I just say something bad? I like college. It’s free and that’s just it.”
She added hastily, fearing that I might lose interest in college for no reason.
No, I graduated from college too… Don’t pack it up.
“So, Inho, what kind of department do you want to go into? What are your hopes for the future?”
“I haven’t thought about it.”
I don’t think much about it because it’s so far in the future.
“Well, these days, there are many cases where people decide on a job regardless of their department… But if there’s a field you’re interested in, let me know. I’ll see if there’s a department related to it.”
Yoon Shia shows enthusiasm by squeezing her hand.
“Yes~”
I answered appropriately.
While we were talking like that, we all came down the hill.
“Goodbye then. I’m at a convenience store….”
As I was about to let her go at the entrance to her convenience store, her familiar face appeared in front of me and Yun Shia.
“……”
It was Shin Jeong-ah.
“Uh, hello?”
She had been infrequent in contact these days.
Do you live around here? We met here last time, and we’ll meet here again.
“I guess I finished late today?”
Shin Jeong-ah looked at me and Yoon Sia in turns and asked.
“Yeah, I’m a little late for class.”
Shin Jeong-ah looked at me with her flushed face. Her body was shaking slightly, which didn’t seem normal.
“Hey, could you possibly…?”
Just as I was about to ask, Yoon Shia stepped forward and sent me behind her.
“Hello? It’s Jeong-ah, right?”
Yun Sia smiled brightly and pretended to know.
“…….”
Shin Jeong-ah did not hide her unpleasant feelings.
“In-ho, I’ll go. Jeong-ah is on the same bus as me.”
Yoon Sia spat out her words without me having time to interrupt, then grabbed Shin Jeong Ah’s shoulder and headed to her bus stop.
As I watched them walk away, all I could do was wave my hand awkwardly.
***
“What is it, sister?”
Shin Jeong-ah, who failed to properly respond to Yoon Sia’s unexpected push in front of her convenience store, was able to shake off Yoon Sia’s arm from around her shoulder when she reached her bus stop.
“Huh? What?”
Yun Sia looked down at Shin Jeong-ah with a grin.
“Why are you suddenly acting friendly?”
Shin Jeong-ah opened her eyes.
It was a look that would have pricked her if other friends at school had seen it, but Yoon Sia had no reaction.
“You drank alcohol, right?”
In other words, I am asking this question.
In response to Yoon Si-ah’s question, Shin Jeong-ah automatically put her hand to her face.
Despite the chilly weather, there was a slight warmth on her face.
“And it looks like he smoked too.”
Yun Shia sniffed her nose.
“So?”
Shin Jeong-ah flinched for a moment at Yoon Sia’s words, but she soon straightened her shoulders as if she would not get caught.
What are you going to do? A question like this. Despite that aggressive question, Yoon Sia did not lose her composure.
“I was just trying not to let Inho see you like that.”
“She didn’t know you were thinking about me?”
Shin Jeong-ah sarcastically responded to her soft words.
“What do you mean?”
Yoon Sia opened her eyes round at Shin Jeong-ah’s words.
“I didn’t protect you, I just didn’t want In-ho to see what you looked like.”
Yoon Shia corrects.
The softness in her voice from before began to disappear little by little as she spoke softly.
“…What?”
Shin Jeong-ah just glared at Yoon Sia.
Yun Sia shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s literally true. When you see a friend who drinks and smokes, you might think you want to drink and smoke again, right? I hope In-ho continues to follow the right path.”
Yoon Si-ah, with her arms crossed, looks down at Shin Jeong-ah.
“What is she? Does she know more about Inho than me?”
Shin Jeong-ah looked up at her as if she was amazed.
“What do you know?”
On the other hand, when Yoon Sia asked back, Shin Jeong-ah covered her mouth.
“At least you know more than your sister, right?”
“No, I don’t think you know? How good of a kid Inho is?”
“Nice?”
Although she was clearly likable, I couldn’t help but question whether she was nice.
“In-ho, your nature is kind. You seem to be sincere. So I was curious… Why do we go astray…?”
Yoon Shia comes one step closer.
“I think…”
Shin Jeong-ah swallowed her saliva.
“Couldn’t the friends around him be a bad influence on In-ho?”
We have now reached a distance where we can look into each other’s eyes.
As she slowly approached, the gaze that pressed down on her contained uprightness.
“Ha!”
Shin Jeong-ah laughed out loud at her.
“Sister… It really won’t work, right?”
Shin Jeong-ah raised her head and spoke without any hesitation.