Chapter 48
I just needed to arrive at Incheon Airport in time for the flight the school had announced, right? As I waited at the airport, students began streaming out.
"You must be tired, so let's go straight home."
"Yes, oppa."
Since Jia looked so exhausted, I put her in the back seat and drove toward Seoul. Fortunately, perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, the roads weren't too busy. Jia was completely sound asleep and showed no sign of waking even when the cars around us honked.
"Jia, Jia?"
"Mmm... Just five more minutes..."
"We're almost home. Let's go to bed once we get there."
Jia simply couldn't wake up, so I decided to carry her on my back. Well, she'd gotten off a plane, gotten into a car again almost immediately, and then traveled along the expressway... No wonder the motion sickness had worn her out.
"Hello? Ms. Jiyeon?"
[Have you arrived at Jia's house?]
"Yes, we just arrived, but she wouldn't wake up, so I laid her down on the bed."
[I don't think I'll be able to leave work early today... If you happen to have time...]
"I'll stay with her until she wakes up, so don't worry too much."
After my call with Jiyeon ended, I decided to stay at the house until Jia woke up and began thinking about lunch. What should I do for lunch...? Jia probably wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Should I just grab something at a convenience store?
"I'll just buy a convenience-store lunch box or something."
Since I often just grabbed something at a convenience store even on ordinary days, it wasn't particularly unusual to me. In fact, I was used to it, since I often had to eat quickly and finish up my work.
"Uuugh...!"
"Is Jia awake?"
I thought I heard the sound of someone stretching, so I opened the bedroom door and saw Jia sitting on the bed, stretching.
"Ah! You saw that...?"
"Huh...? What's wrong with stretching?"
Jia must have been embarrassed about stretching, because she stopped and got up from the bed.
"Oh, it's nothing..."
"Have you eaten lunch?"
"No, not yet."
This time, I thought it would be better to go out to eat, so I suggested it, and Jia began considering the menu too, apparently not opposed to the idea.
"Hmm... Yukgaejang? Or maybe a rice bowl..."
"Your stomach must be upset from the motion sickness. How about a rice bowl?"
"That's true. I like rice bowls too."
It was too far to walk, so although I felt bad making Jia, who was already suffering from motion sickness, ride in the car again, we decided to drive there.
*
I fell asleep in Minsu oppa's car, but when I opened my eyes, I was lying on the bed in my room. I guess I hadn't woken up, so he must have carried me all the way to bed... My body felt stiff, so I raised both arms and stretched.
"Uuugh...! Haa..."
Hmm, I think I made a strange sound that could barely be called a stretch... Is this okay? It's not like I was home alone, so why did I make a sound like that?! I was embarrassed, but I was a little hungry, so I decided to choose lunch first.
"Do you like rice bowls, Jia?"
"They're easy to eat, aren't they? They're usually just rice topped with meat, so they're not very divisive either."
"That's true."
When oppa and I arrived at the rice-bowl restaurant and looked over the menu, there were a lot of red dishes, so I chose a nonspicy pork-jowl rice bowl. Oppa must have been craving something spicy, because he chose a pork-jowl rice bowl with spicy sauce. Before long, our food arrived, and we began eating our late lunch.
"Ah... I'm full."
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes, one rice bowl was enough to fill me up."
"They do give you quite a lot of rice here. No wonder you're full, Jia."
In the past, I would have needed to eat two rice bowls before I felt full, but now one bowl was more than enough. Being able to feel full from a relatively small portion of food was definitely an advantage.
After we finished eating, Minsu oppa asked whether I wanted to go to a café so we could talk, but I wasn't particularly interested in going. Just as I was considering what to do, I made eye contact with Hyeonsu, whom I'd met at the baseball stadium before.
'Huh...? Why is he here...? Shouldn't he be at school right now?"
As we happened to be opening the door to leave, we ran into Hyeonsu passing by, along with a girl walking close beside him. I didn't know the girl, but judging by the way she was staring at me, she seemed to know me.
"You're that girl from back then! Have you been okay since that day?"
"Ah, yeah... I'm fine, but who are you...?"
I didn't know her, so who was she to cling to me like this? On top of that, the boy named Hyeonsu kept watching me as if he had something to say...
"I don't know who you are, but do you have some business with Jia?"
"We're students at OO High School. Jia was passing in front of our school when it looked like she was being sexually harassed by someone I'd always found suspicious, so I called the police and ran over."
"Talking about this out here is a little awkward, so let's move somewhere else. If Jia's okay with it, we'll give you two a ride as well."
I didn't want to talk to these kids if I could help it, but it was also true that I'd escaped trouble thanks to this girl. Since someone who had helped me so much said she had something to tell me, I couldn't simply refuse. In the end, the four of us rode in oppa's car and headed to a café.
*
After we arrived at the café and ordered a few simple items, we took a table for four on the second floor. Oppa, sitting beside me, spoke first...
"Could you introduce yourselves first?"
"I'm Yang Hyeonsu, and this girl is Choi Suyeong."
"My name is Jeong Minsu, and this is Han Jia."
When I hesitated and kept my mouth shut, Minsu oppa introduced me for me. Now I had to ask what I wanted to know, but I couldn't get the words out. Hyeonsu was the younger brother of Hyeonwoo, who had once been my friend. I knew Hyeonwoo had a younger brother, but this was the first time we'd met.
"Um, but... Were you looking for me...?"
"It wasn't like we were out looking for you, but we happened to see you while passing by after eating."
"Suyeong just wanted to meet you because she was worried about you, while I wanted to meet you because of my brother."
"Your brother...?"
It was obvious he meant Hyeonwoo. But Han Jia didn't know anyone named Hyeonwoo; to her, he was merely someone she'd passed at a baseball stadium. So I had to pretend I didn't know him without giving myself away.
"Yeah, my brother is Yang Hyeonwoo. A close friend of his disappeared after leaving only a few texts without calling anyone, so I've been looking for him, and I heard they saw you at the hospital where that friend was admitted."
"Really? That's the first I've heard of it."
"Is that really true, Hyeonsu?"
Why did Suyeong react like that, as if she were about to say something...? Could she know more about me? I didn't know Suyeong, but Hyeonsu might keep pursuing me if Hyeonwoo had asked him to.
"So? What happened that you need to speak to Jia? I'm a little busy, so I'd appreciate it if you could wrap this up quickly."
"If you don't mind, I'd like you to meet my brother."
"I don't know that friend of yours, so I have no reason to meet him..."
When I said that, Minsu oppa began to stand, but Suyeong stopped him.
"W-Wait a moment!"
"What is it? I said I was busy."
"The police officers who arrested the culprit that day told us something. Small-scale but organized crimes have been occurring here and there..."
"I know. I'll protect Jia, so don't worry. Let's go our separate ways."
Minsu oppa stood up, paid for everything we'd ordered, took my hand, and led me out of the café. Suyeong seemed to be asking for my number, but I didn't want to get involved any further, so I got straight into the car.
"Jia, are you all right?"
"Yes... Suyeong just wanted to make sure I was safe, but Hyeonsu..."
"You said he's your friend's younger brother, right?"
"Yes... It was my first time seeing him in person, but Hyeonwoo must have begged him desperately, since he started approaching me after we ran into each other at the stadium last time..."
"That's troublesome. If you run into them again, just ignore them, and if they keep approaching you, tell them you'll report them to the police."
"Yes, oppa."
As I clasped my trembling hands together, trying to suppress my anxiety as much as possible, I felt a warm touch.
"I'm here, aren't I, Jia? They go to a different school, so you don't have to worry too much. You said there's a sports festival coming up, right? Let's focus on that."
"Yes, thank you."
When we got home, we decided to stay inside until Jiyeon unnie came home, and I held back my urge to see her as soon as possible while trying to calm down.
*
What should I do...? I'd never seen my brother beg so desperately before, so I wanted to help him, but I must have come on too strong despite meeting Jia for the first time. She left. Should I consider myself lucky just to have learned her name?
"Hyeonsu, look over there. Isn't that girl a student at B High?"
"Hwang Jihye, the one they call the smart crazy bitch?"
"Yeah, that's her. We went to the same middle school, and she really caused a commotion like a crazy bitch, but she was good at studying, so that's what people called her."
Huh? But it looks like that Hwang Jihye is coming this way. Did she hear us talking behind her back?
"Hey, you two. What school do you go to?"
"We go to OO High School..."
"If you don't mind, tell me about yourselves. You look interesting."
Even though Hwang Jihye had never met us before, she confidently joined us at our table and began asking us all sorts of questions.
"Your name is... Hyeonsu, was it? You said there's a girl you're looking for?"
"That's right."
"That girl who was with the man who just left?"
"Huh? How do you know?"
"Haha, I was on the third floor. I came here to hang out with a friend for a bit, but I spotted that bitch, so I waited."
Hwang Jihye then began explaining all sorts of reasons she was looking for Han Jia, but we thought it would be dangerous to tell someone known as the 'smart crazy bitch' Jia's name, so Suyeong and I worked together to keep it from her.
Hwang Jihye kept asking us questions, but we didn't know enough to answer her. She got annoyed and left, complaining that she'd wasted her time.
"What a strange girl... Should we leave too?"
"Let's. But, Hyeonsu."
Suyeong's face suddenly took on a frightening expression... What was wrong with her? Had I done something wrong again? Hwang Jihye was pretty, but I hadn't been looking at her, had I?
"Jia is pretty, though... So
you liked her that much?
"
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"When you were talking to Jia earlier, you couldn't take your eyes off her and were completely smitten... You're going to do that with me sitting right beside you?!"
Ah, no, that's not it. We're strangers, so neither of us has any reason to feel particularly uncomfortable around the other, and unlike you, Choi Suyeong, she doesn't get obsessively attached or sulk and get angry at me for reasons I can't understand!
"I can practically see exactly what you're thinking, Hyeonsu...?"
"Gah... What are you even talking about? I'm going home!"
If I stayed with Suyeong any longer, I'd be the one needing help before I could help my brother. I had to go home right now. Sorry, bro, but I couldn't help him anymore.
After barely calming Suyeong down as she vented an almost obsessive fury, I finally had to say something I didn't mean—'You're prettier than Jia, so stop it!'—before her expression changed and she calmed down.
*
I started taking off my clothes one by one to change, but then I began to feel a strange gaze. When I looked toward it, I saw some man glancing at me; now he had started staring without even turning his head away.
My heart began pounding wildly, and my hands gradually froze. I'd already taken all my clothes off, so I needed to put on my underwear quickly, but my hands were trembling and wouldn't move. I called for Minsu oppa in my mind, screaming for him to help me, but no matter how loudly I screamed, he didn't appear.
Suppressing my trembling body as best I could, I quickly began putting on my clothes one by one. I had put on my underwear and was fumbling into an oversized T-shirt when the man began slowly approaching me. The closer he came, the more the distance between us shrank, the more violently my body began to tremble, and the less I could move.
"S-Sob... U-Unnie, oppa... Please help me. Please..."
With my eyes squeezed shut, I barely managed to force out a single word. Then I could no longer feel the man's leering gaze; all I felt was a familiar pair of hands grasping both of mine.
"Jia, are you all right? Did you have a nightmare?"
"S-Sob... U-Unnie... Sob, I was so scared... Sniff, hhh..."
"It's all right. It was only a dream. No dream can hurt you, Jia. Unnie will protect you, so let's start by taking deep breaths."
As I struggled to take deep breaths and calm myself, the trembling in my body began to subside, and only then did I remember coming home with Minsu oppa.
"That's right, Minsu oppa..."
"He's in the living room. What happened? Minsu doesn't look particularly happy."
"It's... I met someone I'd run into at the baseball stadium before..."
I slowly explained to Jiyeon unnie what had happened at the café. Since the girl who'd helped me was there, I couldn't simply say I didn't want to be involved, so I told her we'd talked for a while and that I only managed to get away because Minsu oppa took my hand and led me out.