Chapter 125
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The last day of the second-semester midterms.
“You worked hard studying for your exams, so go have as much fun as you like today.”
The final homeroom period was over. The teacher left the classroom first.
Everyone else got up and filed out after the teacher, the sound of their bustling presence filling the room.
Brrr-brrr—
While I was packing my bag, the phone on my desk began to vibrate noisily.
[Hey]
[PC bang after ages?]
A text like that had arrived.
Yoon Jinsu. A guy who had been in my class in my first year.
“Friends from your first year?”
Shin Ayoung noticed it as she stood up and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Yeah.”
I answered Shin Ayoung’s question affirmatively.
“……”
She silently looked down at the desk, lost in thought. Her fingers tapped lightly against it.
— “I suppose he’s been doing nothing but hanging out with us lately……”
It seemed to have made a decision. The minimi gave a small nod.
“You can go have fun.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you want to hang out with them?”
It wasn’t exactly that.
Or maybe that was how it seemed to her.
— “Come to think of it, Seungho and I didn’t make plans to meet today……”
That was true.
Since that was how things had gone until now, I had simply assumed we’d naturally hang out together. It wasn’t as if either of us had been the one to suggest it.
— “Seungho needs time to hang out with his friends sometimes, too.”
The minimi said it as if everything was fine.
Her tone was calm and gentle, too.
“……”
But that wasn’t true.
When I turned my gaze toward her, the minimi looked nothing like that.
— “……”
The corners of its eyes drooped, and its body sprawled across the desk like slime.
Its disappointment was written all over it.
How could I possibly say yes when it looked like that?
“Never mind. They seem to be having fun without me.”
I sent a message declining and slipped my phone into my pocket.
I could hang out with them another time.
“Let’s go.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up.
“I’m really fine with it.”
Shin Ayoung picked up her bag too and stood beside me.
She said that, but the corners of her mouth had already curved into a pleased smile.
“What about the others?”
“They said they’d return the clubroom key and wait by the shoe lockers.”
When we went down to the first floor, the two who had come down ahead of us were waiting.
“…So what are we doing today?”
At my question, Shin Ayoung offered a suggestion.
“A PC bang?”
“Anything besides that?”
Ji Nuri immediately shook her head.
“We went there last time, too.”
Her tone implied that she didn’t want to go somewhere we’d already been.
I thought through the places we could go, one by one.
If we excluded places we’d already visited….
“Hmm, we’ve been to an OTT room once, too…… So how about a bowling alley?”
“…Not really.”
This time, Lee Sol shook her head.
Come to think of it, that was the exact opposite of the kind of place she liked.
At least, bowling was.
With a heavy bowling ball in her hands, she’d probably go— hngh— while her hands and feet trembled.
It was easy to imagine.
“……There really isn’t much to do.”
That was because we’d already done almost everything worth doing around here with these three.
If it were winter, we could at least go to a ski resort.
But it was too early for that, and it was too far away for a day trip.
It did seem like it would be fun to go later.
“Then, whatever. Want to wander around the department store and watch a movie?”
Ji Nuri put forward a suggestion.
“You want to go shopping?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s a safe choice.”
Besides, now that I thought about it, the four of us had never gone shopping together.
I had heard that the three of them had gone together before the school trip, though.
“Sounds good.”
“…Yeah.”
The others seemed to agree.
Lee Sol in particular nodded, saying this was perfect timing.
— “I need to buy clothes for the dance challenge video, too.”
She must have been thinking about going shopping lately.
* * *
Hub-bub— hub-bub—
‘……Wow, there are a lot of people.’
That was my immediate impression as soon as I got off the bus.
Maybe other schools were finishing their exams today, too; people in school uniforms were milling around the streets.
Since I had the minimi, the commotion felt twice as loud to me.
“That place looks good.”
We wandered around the department store, then browsed a store that looked suitable.
There were only three of us in the store: Lee Sol, Shin Ayoung, and me.
That was because Ji Nuri had stepped away to buy something to drink.
“Seungho, which of these two is better?”
Lee Sol held out two knit sweaters for me to compare.
“Umm……”
My eyes narrowed naturally at the question.
Honestly, it was hard to choose.
Even more so because Lee Sol was the one asking.
Anything looked good on her, so choosing was actually harder.
“I think they’re both fine. They have a similar feel, too.”
“If you had to choose just one?”
Lee Sol blinked at me, her eyes utterly serious.
Had she ever looked this serious before?
— “I did get some allowance from Mom, but… I don’t have enough to buy both.”
Hng.
The minimi let out a deflated sigh.
Apparently, she wanted to buy both if she could.
“……”
I looked from one hanger to the other, then chose one.
I pointed to the one on the left.
“This one?”
“…Yeah, I’ll try it on.”
I had no objection.
As if that was enough for her, Lee Sol immediately turned around and hurried into the fitting room.
‘She seems to have gotten into buying clothes lately.’
Maybe she had discovered the joys of shopping.
At the beginning of the semester, she had worn random hoodies because clothes were a hassle. Now she was changing clothes of her own accord like this.
Her mother might have applauded if she had seen it.
“Seungho.”
Shin Ayoung lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Aren’t you buying anything? Want me to pick out your clothes?”
“Hmm….”
I definitely did need to buy some winter clothes.
Everything I’d worn last year had become too small to wear.
“Okay.”
I nodded. Since I was already out, I might as well buy something.
“Is there any style you like?”
“Honestly, I’m fine with anything.”
“What kind of answer is that? If you don’t have a preference, I’ll choose for you.”
Shin Ayoung led me to the section right beside us.
This side sold men’s clothing.
It was the casual section, so clothes for both men and women seemed to be on display.
“How about this?”
Shin Ayoung picked up a piece of clothing and held it up against me.
Then she brought over something else, saying another one would suit me better.
She repeated that several times.
Somehow, I felt like a mannequin.
As we continued choosing clothes that way…
“You’re looking for clothes for your boyfriend, right?”
A sales clerk approached us with a knowing smile.
“Yes, yes?”
Shin Ayoung was startled and blushed.
She almost dropped the hanger she was holding.
Her intense reaction made me embarrassed too.
The clerk raised an eyebrow and covered their mouth.
“Oh my, I’m sorry if I’m wrong.”
“No, it’s not that…!”
“Yes, we’re just classmates.”
The reply came from Ji Nuri, who had caught up with us.
With an indifferent expression, she took a long slurp of fresh fruit juice.
— “Otherwise, Lee Seungho would just end up in an awkward position.”
Sniff.
Ji Nuri’s minimi sniffed once.
It hurried after its main body, which continued on as if nothing had happened.
“……”
A cold look washed over Shin Ayoung’s face, as if someone had poured cold water over her.
The air became awkward without anyone saying a word.
Swish—
With a rustle of the curtain, the fitting-room door opened.
Lee Sol, who had gone in to change, walked out.
“Oh….”
I let out a small exclamation.
She walked forward confidently.
Given Lee Sol’s personality, I had expected her to feel awkward or embarrassed, but there was no sign of that at all.
Maybe it was because she was a model.
She seemed accustomed to showing off outfits.
“…How is it?”
She spun around, showing off how the clothes looked on her.
“It looks good. It suits you.”
I couldn’t come up with any other comment.
— “……”
Lee Sol’s minimi was silent. It covered its flushed face with both hands and wiped downward as if washing its face.
“…Then I’ll try on the other one, too.”
Lee Sol hurried away again as if fleeing. I let out a small laugh.
Her reaction was cute.
“What about you, Ji Nuri? Aren’t you picking anything?”
She had suggested coming shopping, yet she had spent the whole time just looking around.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
At that question, Ji Nuri silently sucked on her drink, then flashed a mischievous smile.
“…What, do you want to see me try something on?”
For some reason, the corners of her mouth were quirked upward.
“……”
Seeing that, my eyebrows twitched. She was a master at getting under my skin.
It was obvious that if I backed down here, she’d become even smugger.
So instead, I decided to brazen it out.
“Yeah.”
Just one short syllable.
I nodded with an unruffled gaze.
“…Huh?”
At that unequivocal answer, Ji Nuri’s expression turned blank.
She clearly hadn’t expected that answer.
Her face showed that she was wondering whether she had heard me correctly.
“……”
Ji Nuri rolled her eyes around, then…
Phew.
She let out a short breath.
“……Yeah, whatever.”
Ji Nuri furrowed her brows.
She reached out and began rummaging through the clothes, looking them over.
— “Since I’m here anyway, I should at least buy one outfit.”
The minimi muttered.
“……”
I blinked, dumbfounded.
I’d expected her to stew over it, or maybe get angry.
Something along those lines.
But how should I put it?
It wasn’t what I’d expected.
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