Chapter 17
…Yeah, honestly, I hadn't expected this.
Seojin and I had only just turned fourteen, and no one would think to ask a fourteen-year-old for their phone number.
Wouldn't anyone who did that be a creep? She was only fourteen.
I'm not saying I hate couples with a big age gap, but liking a fourteen-year-old makes you a pedophile, doesn't it?
Of course, maybe that could happen if someone matured early, but at least to me, Seojin didn't give off that kind of impression.
Seojin seemed more cute than manly. More childish than mature.
…Calling him childish sounds like a bad thing, but I mean he was cute and lively rather than mature and cool.
Yeah, yeah. He was so cute I'd want to hug him all day if he were a doll.
I didn't like how they spent all day trying to tease me, but even taking that into account, Seojin was cute.
“So, are you really not going to give it to me?”
“No.”
In other words, no matter how I looked at the scene before me, it just wasn't normal.
The other person didn't look that old, and with that distinctive caked-on makeup, she didn't seem like an adult, but that wasn't my problem.
‘Who does she think she is, asking Seojin for their phone number?’
Because I didn't like the fact that she was making a move on ‘Seojin’ in the first place.
And she was exactly the kind of delinquent girl I hated most.
‘And she's ugly, too….’
Even in the world of a dating sim, this wasn't some kind-hearted world where even extras were attractive. She was nowhere near pretty enough to compare to me.
If Seojin had to get involved with anyone, it would be a hundred times better if it were another heroine-type character. I absolutely didn't want to see them get involved with a girl like that.
She looked like a total delinquent, and I hated how she was acting based only on Seojin's looks.
In a foul mood, I slowly walked over to Seojin.
I'd been in such a good mood on the way here, but suddenly it felt like I'd stepped into a sewer.
At the very least, I absolutely didn't want to keep watching that.
“…Oh! Siyeon! Over here—”
-Grab.
“Hey…?”
The moment I approached, I grabbed Seojin's arm and hugged it tightly, closing the distance between us even more.
I wanted to make that woman back off, even if I had to do this.
I didn't like her looks, her personality—how she kept coming on to Seojin even after being turned down—or her whole vibe.
“‘Our’ Seojin, is something the matter?”
“…Hah.”
I deliberately emphasized ‘our’ to indirectly tell her to ‘get lost right now,’ and she looked at me as if she couldn't believe it.
What are you going to do about it, staring at me like that?
‘You can't even do something like this.’
Of course, I didn't normally do this kind of thing, but in a situation this unusual, I could.
“No? Never mind.”
“Really?”
In the end, she was the first to back down, and watching her trudge off in the opposite direction, I couldn't help smiling.
As if she could beat someone even I couldn't.
“…Let's go.”
“Hm? Where?”
“Let's just get out of the café first.”
Of course, I didn't keep smiling for long. I wiped it away at once and tugged at the clueless idiot's arm, telling them to leave the café.
I'm never coming back to this café.
I could see the idiot looking bewildered that we were leaving the café I'd blacklisted in my mind as soon as we arrived, but my mind was already made up.
A café where I might run into a girl like that was somewhere I was better off never visiting again.
“Hurry up, let's go, idiot…!”
“Wait, wait…!”
Seojin still seemed not to understand what I meant, standing there all flustered. I tugged their arm harder than before, determined to drag them away by force this time.
…I despaired when Seojin didn't budge, no matter how hard I pulled, though.
Someday, I'll get strong enough to drag you around…!
==========
“So… where should we go?”
“I don't know.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
‘Why is she acting like this…?’
After being dragged out of the café.
Watching Kim Siyeon remain in such a foul mood, Han Seojin couldn't help wondering how to cheer her up.
After all, they were planning to spend the whole day together, and it wouldn't do if she stayed in a bad mood.
It wasn't that Seojin was worried about the atmosphere; they wanted Kim Siyeon to be happy, too. From that perspective, they were sure she wouldn't enjoy herself properly if they spent the day together while she was like this.
Besides, if she were simply in a bad mood, that would be one thing, but the way she kept holding his arm felt completely different from how Kim Siyeon usually acted when she was sulking.
She seemed to be on guard, and Seojin couldn't even begin to guess what she was wary of.
“Did something happen today?”
“…You really have to ask?”
Seojin didn't have to wait long to regret saying that, having decided to just ask her directly.
Kim Siyeon's usual “idiot” at the end of her sentences was nowhere to be heard. Instead, she kept speaking in a cold, strangely sharp tone, and Seojin had no idea how to respond.
“…Um, sorry?”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I guess…?”
Since the situation made it seem like Seojin was at fault, they apologized. When Kim Siyeon asked why, they honestly said they didn't know.
“And you're still apologizing? Even though you don't know why I'm acting like this?”
“……”
“…I hate you, okay?”
“…!”
Hearing that from Kim Siyeon, Seojin couldn't help being shocked.
He'd heard “idiot” and “I hate you” plenty of times, but he'd never once heard Kim Siyeon say something like “I hate you.”
It was one thing if she were just saying her habitual “idiot,” but this was an actual insult from Kim Siyeon, who called Seojin an idiot all the time while avoiding saying anything hurtful to them.
Besides, whether she meant it or not, the fact that Kim Siyeon was still clinging to their arm after saying it only made things more confusing for Seojin.
‘How am I supposed to fix this…?’
It might have been easier if Seojin knew why Kim Siyeon was acting this way, but no matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't figure it out, which made things all the more complicated.
In the end, Seojin gave up thinking and decided to do something simple, if rather drastic.
“…Then, should we just go our separate ways today?”
“…What?”
He decided to just leave her alone until she felt better.
They'd come to that conclusion thinking that time healed all wounds, and maybe they'd be able to figure things out if they had a little time to think.
“A-all of a sudden…?”
At least, that didn't seem to be the case for Kim Siyeon.
“Yeah. If you really don't want to, let's just part ways today.”
“W-What I really don't want is….”
Seojin didn't notice Kim Siyeon's wavering eyes and kept suggesting they call it a day. Her small, trembling protest didn't reach them.
Regardless of what Kim Siyeon said, Seojin had already made up their mind and began trying to unwrap her arm from theirs.
“I-It's fine. We can keep hanging out today. Okay?”
“You've been in a bad mood for a while, Siyeon. It doesn't seem like you're in the mood to hang out today.”
“N-No. I mean, well. This isn't what I had in mind….”
Seojin took Kim Siyeon's flustered insistence that they could keep hanging out as consideration for their sake, and kept telling her she didn't have to—that she should just take it easy and rest.
“…I-I don't hate you.”
“Hm?”
“Y-Yeah. I said ‘I hate you’ by mistake just now. I don't actually hate you. We can hang out today, too. Let's just keep going, okay…?”
“…?”
Kim Siyeon's sudden change in attitude, as she kept trying to hold on to Seojin, seemed strange again, so they tilted their head. But remembering how she'd acted earlier, they decided it was better to let her rest, and left just like that.
“Ah…?”
Kim Siyeon was the only one left, staring blankly after Seojin as they walked away.
==========
I'm screwed.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't think of anything besides that.
‘Th-This isn't what I wanted…?’
I really hadn't given it much thought. I was just worried another girl might hit on Seojin, so I kept hugging their arm. The more I thought about that girl, the worse my mood got, so I answered her the way I did.
Then, when Seojin suddenly apologized out of nowhere, I thought, This idiot thinks they're at fault again, and just snapped at them.
…When I said I hated him, that really was a slip of the tongue. I hadn't meant to snap at him that much.
If I'd known it would lead to this, I never would've acted that way…!
“W-What should I do….”
Seojin must be angry because of what I said, right? They must be mad.
'I mean, how could he like it when I said I hated him…!'
I had to do something to get out of this situation, but no matter how I thought about it, what I'd said was just too mean.
“Siyeon's home… Siyeon?!”
“S-Sob… M-Mom….”
In the end, I couldn't hold back my tears and threw myself into Mom's arms.
Mom had taught me how to do makeup, and today was the first time I'd done it myself, but it was all ruined. Still, the thought that my relationship with my only friend was ruined made it even harder to hold back my tears.