17 – Episode 17
“Heh heh… That was a close call!”
“You’re late, you bastard.”
“Oh, really?”
I had already contacted Seokho in advance.
“Well, you could still be late, couldn’t you?”
I asked for understanding, but…
“Yeah, you’ll probably get here in a bit.”
And then, Sua followed from behind.
“Heh… Heh, sorry, guys.”
“Well, you could still be late, you know.”
This guy?
Feeling unfair, we went to see the exhibition of ancient creatures.
“Wow… They used to look like this back then.”
“Hey, Jihun.”
“What’s up, Seokho? What’s this?”
What is this roughly shaped fish?
“This looks really roughly made.”
“So, what kind of fish is this? What’s its name?”
It was written as Sakabambaspis.
“hahahahaha, the triangular mouth is really funny. Did they just make it randomly?”
“What is it? Huh… This is absolutely cute.”
“Why are you like that? Oh my, what is this?”
Seo-ah started laughing when she saw the fish.
“It’s so cute~ Something weird is cute.”
“So, what’s its name?”
“It’s called Sakabambaspis.”
“Really? It’s quite an interesting name.”
We continued to admire and eat, and as we looked around again…
“Dad, let’s go quickly.”
“Yes, it was fun today, right Seo-ah?”
“Yes! It was fun.”
“Tell your uncle that I’m grateful too.”
“We’re going to meet him anyway, why don’t you just do it in person?”
“…Fine, I got it.”
Anyway, we got into the car, our tired bodies leading the way.
“Did you have fun today?”
“Yes!”
Everyone replied like that, and the car started moving.
“Ugh… Now back to school again… I’d rather die.”
“What are you saying? You’re always playing anyway.”
“Well… We have exams again.”
Come to think of it, we also had final exams.
“Let’s think of that as a distant future.”
“Sure.”
“What are you talking about? It’s in a month.”
“Oh no! I forgot!”
“That’s right!”
“Oh my… Seo-ah, you… Seo-ah?”
I turned my head at Park Seo-hyun’s words.
“Oops!”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Seo-ah must have been tired, as she was leaning on me and sleeping.
“You must be tired.”
“Yeah, I also ran earlier.”
Seo-ah was sleeping soundly, not even the sound of her breathing could be heard.
“Hey, lean on me, Seo-ah,” Park Seo-hyun quietly said to me.
“Huh? Why?”
“Because Seo-ah would be terrified if she woke up.”
What? Terrified? Am I some kind of monster?
“Come on, Seo-ah, lean this way.”
“Uh… Seo-hyun…”
At that moment, Seo-ah briefly opened her eyes and looked at both me and Seo-hyun alternately.
“Oh, sorry, did I wake you?”
“Ugh…”
From Noble mtl dot com
But Seo-ah, who just woke up from sleep, doesn’t function properly.
If you ask how I know, even if I play a prank on Seo-ah when she wakes up next to me, she would never know.
“Come on, Seo-ah, quickly.”
Maybe that’s why, at this moment, Seo-ah is very straightforward and sincere.
“I prefer it this way…”
Thud.
“Oops…”
“!!!”
Seo-ah turned towards me completely.
“S-Seo-ah…”
“Shh, I’m sleeping.”
I smiled in victory as I looked at Park Seo-hyun, and she glared at me before turning her gaze out the window.
“Well, what’s going on then… Huh!”
Seok-ho, due to motion sickness, kept his gaze fixed forward, but he briefly turned his head to look behind, curious.
“Why don’t you look ahead? Don’t say it’s because of motion sickness.”
“I don’t pay taxes.”
“hahahaha, Seok-ho, look ahead. It’s even more nauseating when you look behind.”
“Yes… sir.”
And so, we comfortably sat on our way home, while I…
“Huh… Are we there yet?”
“Yes, let’s wake up now.”
“Yes… Ji-hun.”
Seo-a followed me outside, holding my hand.
“Oh? Ji-hun, why do you look so tired?”
“Ahahahaha, no, I’m not tired.”
Truth be told, I couldn’t sleep because I was too nervous with Seo-a leaning against me.
“Haam… I’m sleepy. I had a good sleep, Seo-a.”
“Yes, it felt comfortable.”
“Is… that so?”
It’s a relief that Seoa is feeling better.
We arrived and immediately parted ways.
“Goodbye, Seoa. See you on Monday, not tomorrow.”
“Yeah! Have a safe trip, Jihoon.”
Watching Seoa wave goodbye and disappear, I stared at her for a while.
“Oh, son, you’ve made a good friend, huh? So when are you going to introduce her?”
Of course, now it’s my turn to be tormented by Dad.
“I just went out…”
“Honey, I’m home.”
I entered the house with Dad.
“Welcome back, son. Why do you look so down?”
“Oh… it’s nothing.”
“Come on, son! You have to be more confident! That’s how you catch the attention of the girl you like!”
“What are you talking about? Huh? Did you have fun with Seoa today?”
“Um… yeah, I guess.”
It was really great.
“Phew, when will Seoa come over again?”
Without realizing it, Seoa’s liking for me was growing.
After resting on Sunday and returning to school, I thought to myself,
“Ugh… back to studying… when will the festival come?”
I was waiting for a festival that hadn’t even arrived yet.
“Hey, how did the exam go?”
“Uh, Hyunsik.. How about you?”
“Well.. I did pretty well because I studied with my girlfriend.”
“I’m fine too.”
Seoa helped me.
“By the way, where’s Seokho?”
I looked around, but couldn’t see Seokho.
“He’ll be here soon..”
*Bam*
“Safe!!”
“Oh, you’re here.”
“What took you so long?”
“Oh.. I woke up late.”
“Phew.. Luckily you’re not late.”
“Anyway, hahahaha!”
Anyway, we attended classes and it was lunchtime.
“Seoa.”
“Yes?”
Of course, now I eat lunch with Seoa.
“Let’s go.”
Seokho seemed to have gotten used to it by now, as he didn’t seem too tense even when he was with Seora.
“What are we having today?”
“Beef rib soup?”
“Oh, sounds good.”
They entered the cafeteria and took their seats.
“By the way, what are we going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are we going to start studying two weeks before the exams like last time?”
Actually, we were supposed to start preparing for the exams today so that we could do well on the final.
“Oh…”
When I looked at Seora, it seemed like she had the same thought as Seokho.
“Ca.. Can’t we take a little break?”
“Jihun~ No, we can’t.”
“Okay…”
Unable to say anything in response to Seora’s words, I continued studying after the exams were over and entered another exam period.
“Let’s just go today and start studying together from next week.”
“Okay, goodbye.”
“Yeah.”
Park Seohyun and Seokho left, leaving me and Seora behind.
“Um… Shall we take a walk for a moment?”
“Yeah? Sure.”
Seo-a and I walked together like that.
“It’s tough to study again, isn’t it?”
I was taken aback by the question, as if she was asking me if it’s difficult to go back to the past and start over.
“Well, it’s not difficult to start again since we did it a few days ago.”
“Really? Then should we start studying from today?”
“Ah… Since I haven’t learned anything yet, it might be better to do it next time. hahahaha.”
Even though she said that, it’s not like we’re going to study right away.
We parted ways and started walking alone.
“…”
When I look at Seo-a, my heart still races and I feel that I love her.
But I kept wondering if Seo-a feels the same way.
Was it because she treated me well because I was inside her circle of trust, or because of the loyalty she showed by saving me?
Perhaps the answer has already been decided.
It wasn’t difficult to understand Seo-a’s feelings. If I look at the present, I can tell that even if it’s not love, there is a liking.
But it is difficult for that liking to suddenly turn into love.
“Sigh…”
Even with various thoughts, the dilemma couldn’t be easily resolved.
I had to confess. Because I was closer to her than I had thought when I first came back to this place.
“I’m back.”
“Yeah.”
I sat down in the room and pondered deeply.
Before confessing my feelings to her at this festival, I had thought of raising her favorability towards me in advance.
And the next day, and the day after that.
I did my best to help her next to Seoa, laughed together, empathized with her.
Maybe, contrary to what I had promised, I treated her more carefully next to her.
I wondered what would happen if this relationship crumbled or went astray.
“Lately, aren’t you sticking too close to Seoa?”
“…What?”
I was walking alone in the hallway when Park Seohyun appeared.
“Well, because Seoa is by your side, you seem too conceited.”
“…”
“You know, Seoa isn’t really that kind of queen… or whatever you want to call her.”
“Seoa has a lot of scars and she treats others coldly because she doesn’t trust herself.”
“If you really have feelings and interest in Seoa, then…”
“I know everything.”
I replied.
“Maybe I know more than you.”
Calmly.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m not the one. Seoa might not even see me as a man, after all.”
“But you know what? I just want Seoa to be happy.”
“Wow, is it really that being by your side makes Seoa happy?”
I pondered for a moment at his words.
He was right. Being by her side might not bring her happiness.
“But…”
“That’s just an excuse.”
Ignoring Park Seo-hyun, who interrupted me, I spoke again.
“I believe that I can make Seoa happier than anyone else, so that’s why I’m by her side.”
“…”
“That’s it. I’m going to confess to her at this festival.”
“Really?”
“Well, if she rejects me, I’ll step back. Her happiness doesn’t have to come through me.”
“Okay, I understand.”
She turned away again.
I tried to turn back and walk away, but…
Tap, tap, tap.
“Hmm? That back view…”
With her neatly styled hair and tidy attire… Could it be?
“Is it Seoa…?”