13 – Episode 13
Let’s think about what Seo-a did when she first came to our house:
Touring my room
Helping me study
Cooking for me
Hmm… and
“What’s your name?”
“Y-Yu… Yu Yu Seo-a.”
Seo-a answered while trembling as if she had met a ghost.
“Hmm… So when did you meet our son?”
“Uh… We… we met… last week.”
Wait, something seems off about this conversation. It feels like introducing a lover…
“No, Mom, Seo-ah and I are just friends. She came over today to help me with my studies.”
I quickly explained, trying to clarify the confused conversation.
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Mom.”
“Even though it’s a weekday?”
“Mom!”
If she attacks my son, what should I do… I’m his mother, after all.
“Thank you. By the way, have you eaten? It’s about time for my son to get hungry.”
As expected, my mom seems to know exactly when I get hungry. But this time, Seo-ah made me food, so I wasn’t particularly hungry.
Since we ate before my mom came in, I wasn’t hungry yet.
“Uh… about that…”
“Oh… I ate! Yeah, let’s go to the room.”
I tried to take the flustered Seo-ah into the room.
“Really? With instant noodles? But I don’t smell any instant noodles.”
However, my mom called us, inspecting the kitchen as if she were a detective.
“Just… can’t you trust your own son to cook?!”
My mother looked at me intently and asked Seoa.
“Well, isn’t it uncomfortable? Our son bringing a girl for the first time must have surprised you, right?”
“Oh, no, not at all. Jihun takes care of everything.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Well then, did you enjoy the meal? Even though there weren’t any proper side dishes.”
“Oh, no, I enjoyed it. The soybean paste stew was delicious, and it seemed like it was homemade.”
“Is that so? But our son can’t cook, can he?”
“Uh…”
“Oh…”
With my mother’s remark, both Seoa and I started sweating.
“How.. how do you know that I can’t cook?”
“Don’t you remember the last time you cooked?”
Last time… cooking?
Come to think of it, I vaguely remember boasting about cooking at some point. Was that the last time…?
“Well… I might suddenly become good at it.”
“Oh, so Seoa did it?”
“Yes, it was me, Mom… I mean…”
Seoa stepped forward and spoke.
“Really? Seoa?”
“Yes, well… I just thought it would be too dangerous for Jihun to cook, so I did it instead… But, still! Jihun helped with the ingredients and did the dishes.”
“Hmm~ Is that so?”
My mother looked at me and chuckled softly.
“Our son should treat Seo-ah well~ Cook for her and all.”
“Ah… No, it’s not like that.”
“I did it because I wanted to. Jihoon always treats me well, you know.”
“Is that so? It’s a relief that our blunt boy treats you well.”
No… She keeps pushing me away.
After that, Seo-ah seemed to relax as she talked to my mother about various things.
“Wow! I also wanted to see Jihoon when I was young.”
“Is that so? Well… The childhood photos are at your father’s house… I mean, Jihoon’s grandfather’s house. I’ll bring them later to show you.”
“Yes! I’ll definitely come to see them.”
Before I knew it, the two of them had become close enough to even look at my old photos.
“Oh, we were studying. Can we go back in?”
“Oh, right. I’ll go in first since I’ll bring snacks. You go ahead.”
“Oh… I’ll help too.”
“It’s alright. You’re still a guest.”
“Well… Yes, I am a guest. I understand then.”
Like that, Seo-ah and I went back into the room.
“Phew… I… survived.”
Seo-ah let out a relieved sigh, her expression resembling that of a victorious warrior.
“Sorry for surprising you so much. Usually, when you go out, you come back a little later, but today… you came back early, hahahaha.”
“No, it’s okay. Anyway, we had to greet each other when we meet someday, right? It was actually nice to meet you early.”
“Really?”
Seo-ah sighed with relief and sat on my bed.
“But it was still nice. It felt like my mom was looking at me favorably.”
“Uh… Yeah.”
This conversation seems like it could lead to some misunderstandings.
“Well then… let’s start studying again, like we did earlier.”
“Okay. Since we did physics earlier, should we move on to earth science now? Since I didn’t listen, can you explain if you understood it well?”
I looked at Seo-ah, who seemed like a teacher checking if I had studied properly.
Actually, there was no need to organize my thoughts because I didn’t remember anything.
“Well, first of all…”
I thought about what I had learned so far and talked about what I remembered from before I went back to the past.
“Hmm… It seems like you don’t know well what you learned in the beginning.”
“You know that?”
Seo-ah seems to feel what I lack even though she didn’t study earth science.
“Of course. Studying is about understanding the flow. If I explain, everything falls into place.”
Come to think of it, Seo-ah was good at learning various things from a long time ago.
Without me having to explain, she often did better than me just by watching a few times.
“You know a lot, don’t you?”
“Hmph! Who do you think I am? Of course, it’s natural.”
Seo-ah said confidently.
Tap, tap.
“I’ll go in.”
“Yes.”
At that moment, Mom came in with a snack.
“Oh, I’ll bring it in for you.”
“Oh no, just relax and help our son study. Thanks to Jihun, I’ve learned a lot too.”
Oh… is that so?
Mom stared at me, her eyes wandering, as she looked at what I had studied.
“It seems like I should have a tutor next to me, huh?”
“Well, I study on my own too, you know?”
Upon hearing that, Mom let out a hollow laugh.
“Oh, really? You’re always in your room playing games whenever I come in.”
“Oh… well, that’s just during my break time.”
“Oh my, is it break time every day?”
From Noble mtl dot com
I couldn’t refute Mom’s words, so I stayed silent.
“hehehe, don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on Jihun and make sure he studies well.”
“Well, well, our son does need some monitoring.”
“No, Mom!!”
“Well then, do your best~”
But before I could say anything, my mom quickly escaped.
“hahahahaha, Mom is really funny.”
“Mmm…”
As we came out like that, Seo-ah and I focused even more, or rather, Seo-ah continued to stare at me intently as we studied.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes, it’s getting late and I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Just stay a little longer, Dad will come too.”
“Ah…meeting Dad is still…”
“Alright, hoho, I understand. Just go inside.”
“Yes.”
“Ji-hoon, go and see them off quickly.”
“I was planning to do that anyway.”
And so, Seo-ah and I went out together.
“It’s okay if you don’t come with me.”
“No, I’m worried about you, so I’m following you.”
“Is that so? I feel safer with a guy by my side.”
Seo-ah smiled and said that to me.
“Sure, I’ll protect you!”
“Ha-ha, like last time?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah, like back then.”
Back then, I ran towards Seo-ah without a single thought, only thinking about her. Maybe if I were asked to do it again… if Seo-ah were in danger, I would probably do it again.
“Thank you, but you have to think about your own well-being too.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah, because we’re friends, we worry about each other, right?”
I nodded at her words.
“Um… what about tomorrow?”
Originally, not only Seo-ah but also our other friends were supposed to gather and study together, but since we couldn’t agree on anything, we decided to study individually.
“Tomorrow… can I come to your place? Oh… never mind, forget it.”
“No! It’s okay, I would love it if you came, Seo-ah.”
“R-really?”
“Yes! I don’t often invite friends to my house, so it would be nice if you came.”
“Really? Then… is it okay if I come tomorrow too?”
“Of course!”
I answered with a smile, and before I knew it, we had arrived at Seo-ah’s neighborhood.
“From here, I’ll go by myself.”
“But… I can take you all the way home.”
I tried to come up with a legitimate reason to go with her and check out her house, but she said,
“No, it’s okay. Go home first, your mother must be worried too.”
Seoa kept pushing my back, trying to send me off, so I couldn’t follow her anymore.
“Ah… Alright, I’ll go.”
“Yeah, since you’re going to keep watching me from afar, don’t follow me, got it?”
Seoa firmly stated, making sure I wouldn’t follow her.
“Yeah…”
That’s how it went, and when I really couldn’t see Seoa anymore, she stood still and looked at me.
“Sigh… When will Seoa accept me?”
Seoa had her own boundaries.
Should I say it was her personal space, or a space she didn’t want to show to others?
She had told me mostly about her family after we got married.
That’s how strong her defense mechanism was.
Because of that, she kept everyone outside her boundaries and could be compared to a proud cat that never gave anyone a touch.
“Just… even approaching her is difficult.”
Was the reason I was able to approach her in the first place because I entered Seoa’s heart, or… was it because at that crumbling moment, I reached out my hand?
“But now…”
I don’t know if her defense mechanism is still weak or if there were certain conditions that satisfied her when I entered her frame.
“But still, today… I made progress.”
Seoa came into my house and my room.
Perhaps, for Seoa who avoids people, this can be considered a significant development.
“And tomorrow… Seoa will come again!”
Even tomorrow, Seoa is coming.
“hehehe, I’m already excited.”
Delighted by the fact that I can meet Seoa again, I went back home.
And the next day…
Ding dong.
“It’s me, come out.”
“Jihun! I’m here.”
Seoa came to find me.