Chapter 22
“···?”
···What kind of situation is this now?
I watched their movements with my eyes half-closed.
Both of them had suddenly met each other's gaze and stood frozen in somewhat awkward poses.
I should figure out what's going on first.
Of the two, Shin A-young was the first to speak.
“By any chance···.”
Shin A-young asked, covering half her face with the paper.
“Are you planning to ride with Seungho?”
“···Yeah. That was what I was thinking.”
Looking flustered by the question, Lee Sol nodded a little stiffly.
“···Why?”
Then she cautiously asked back, as if wondering what was strange about it.
Shin A-young's gaze wandered through the air.
“···Nooo··· You don't usually do that, do you? I naturally assumed you'd ride with Nuri.”
“That's because···.”
Lee Sol's eyes naturally rolled toward me.
Our gazes met briefly, then she quickly turned away as though avoiding my eyes.
“Ahem.”
Lee Sol spoke after giving a small fake cough.
“I don't care who I ride with, so I was thinking of riding with him. You'd be more comfortable with Nuri.”
At Lee Sol's questioning look,
“Uh··· I don't really mind either?”
Shin A-young answered calmly.
“···Really?”
“Yeah.”
And then···.
“···.”
“···.”
Another strange silence followed.
“···.”
Watching them, I drew in a short breath.
What the heck are those two doing?
I looked at their mini-mes. Let's hear what they were trying to do, at least.
Shin A-young first.
— “Riding with Nuri would be nice too, but··· it would be more fun to go with Seungho. I even brought my Nintendo along so we can play together.”
The mini-me fiddled with a small game console.
Her hands kept fidgeting around the game console, as if she'd been looking forward to this until just moments ago.
In short, she wanted to play together.
Shin A-young had been showing me this kind of closeness for some time.
You could say we'd become gaming buddies.
“···.”
This time I looked toward Lee Sol.
Lee Sol's mini-me shot me a sidelong glance and began grumbling.
— “···I don't want to lose out for no reason here.”
Judging by the slight furrow in her brows,
it felt like this had now turned into a battle of pride.
“···.”
How should I stop this?
I felt like I'd gotten slightly caught up in their battle of wills.
Actually.
The problem here wasn't me.
Rather.
“···.”
I shifted my focus slightly behind the two of them.
“···.”
I saw Jinuri standing there alone, looking blankly at them.
Once she grasped the situation, her expression gradually became extremely complicated.
— “···Am I the only one left out?”
Jinuri's mini-me folded her arms with an expression that was neither pouty nor completely composed.
If you looked closely, her small eyes were trembling slightly.
She was pretending to be fine for no reason.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
I gave a subtle fake cough and gestured behind them with my eyes.
Hurry up and do something.
““···Ah.””
Only then did the two realize what was going on.
They belatedly tried to smooth things over.
“Nuri, that's not what it is~”
“No, it's understandable.”
Jinuri took a small step back.
That had really hurt her feelings.
“It's okay.”
Jinuri waved her hand calmly.
She said she really was okay.
That's what she said, anyway.
But in every way, she didn't look okay at all.
— “I guess being nice to them is useless~”
Her mini-me let out deep sighs and flopped down on the floor.
“I just assumed Sol would obviously go with you, Nuri···!”
“···I was worried A-young would feel uncomfortable.”
“···.”
Jinuri fell silent for a moment.
Her expression seemed to grow even stiffer at that excuse.
She slowly turned her body.
“···That means it doesn't matter who sits with whom, right?”
Jinuri raised both hands and draped them over the two girls' shoulders.
“Then you two can sit together.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
The two girls' expressions went blank.
Seeing them like that, Jinuri asked back,
“Isn't that right?”
I could feel a strange pressure.
“Uhh··· yeah, that's right.”
“···I don't mind either.”
Though they stiffly resisted, they had no choice but to nod.
Jinuri turned to me.
“You don't mind either, right?”
“Uh···.”
I simply nodded.
I had neither reason nor justification to refuse.
“There we go. That's settled.”
“···.”
Watching Jinuri neatly resolve the situation, I thought,
I'll definitely make her the group leader.
***
The information sheet fluttered.
Lee Sol lay facedown on her bed, staring blankly at it.
“···Hmm.”
On the following page was the bus seating chart, with the students listed by group.
Next to the name Lee Sol, Shin A-young's name was written.
Looking at it, she pressed her cheek lightly with the hand propping up her chin.
“Hmm···.”
···Well, it was fine.
Going with Shin A-young wasn't bad, either.
Of course.
It was a little disappointing, though.
“···.”
···Lee Sol rolled over restlessly for no reason.
···It wasn't really that disappointing.
In the end, she probably felt this way because she hadn't been able to give it to him.
Lee Sol picked up the envelope of chocolates lying on the bed.
“···They were pretty expensive.”
They were the same chocolates she'd received from him during midterms. They were a premium brand, so they had been fairly expensive.
She hadn't been able to properly repay him after the exams, either.
She wanted to do something for him··· but this was the only thing she could think of.
She'd agonized over it, but eventually bought them.
“···It can't be helped.”
She'd originally planned to share them on the way.
But it seemed she'd have to abandon that plan.
She'd just give them to him when they had some free time, then hover beside him and steal a few.
“···.”
Lee Sol sat up in bed.
She thought she should put them somewhere visible so she wouldn't forget them.
Let's put them on the desk.
···No. Maybe it would be better to leave them right by the door.
“···Hmm.”
···For some reason, she had a feeling she'd forget them anyway.
It would probably be better to put them in her bag ahead of time.
Since she was at it, she should pack her things in advance, too.
Normally, she would have packed the day before departure···. But if she put it off too long, her mother might nag her.
Lee Sol read through the list of required items on the information sheet.
“Things I need to bring··· toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes···. Should I start with the clothes?”
Lee Sol put some of the clothes she usually liked to wear into her suitcase.
Mostly clothes prioritizing comfort, like athletic wear or cotton T-shirts.
Comfort came first.
‘···Are you really going to wear that for the school trip?’
In an instant—
A vision of Lee Seungho seeing this and saying something flashed through her mind.
“Maybe not···?”
···Maybe it wasn't.
“···.”
After a brief deliberation, Lee Sol moved her feet.
···Right.
Since she was going on a trip, anyway.
She steeled herself and opened her wardrobe wide.
She reached all the way into the back, where she normally never touched, and pulled out several outfits suitable for a trip.
“···.”
Lee Sol changed into them and stood in front of the mirror.
She didn't normally use the full-length mirror, but it came in handy at times like this.
“Hmm.”
Something about it didn't look right.
Should I try on something else?
“···This one isn't great either···.”
After repeating the process of putting on and taking off clothes,
at some point,
the clothes piled on her bed numbered more than five.
“···Why do I have so few things to wear?”
Or maybe.
Was she simply bad at dressing?
“···.”
Lee Sol tapped her phone with her thumb.
Let's search it.
> [School trip outfit ideas]
“Hmmmm···.”
Nothing useful is really coming up.
Again.
> [Women's spring school trip outfit ideas]
“Oh···.”
Finally, she was seeing some properly put-together results.
Comparing them with the images, she examined the clothes she'd taken out.
They looked vaguely similar, but the outfits she had laid out were all slightly off in different ways.
She thought she understood why things had looked strange all this time.
As expected, she really had no clothes to wear.
“···Then I guess I need to buy some new ones.”
Should I ask the others to come with me?
To be honest, she wasn't confident about buying clothes. She needed help.
She had never particularly enjoyed shopping for clothes, and had always just chosen from the clothes someone else bought for her.
Lately, she'd even been going around wearing only her school uniform.
Lee Sol immediately posted a message in the group chat.
— Lee Sol : Anyone want to go clothes shopping?
The replies came back almost immediately.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The notification chime rang noisily.
— Jinuri : (hamster doing a backflip in shock emoji)
— Jinuri : Seriously??
— Shin A-young : Let's go, let's go
— Shin A-young : When should we go??
“?”
Lee Sol's brows drew together slightly.
“What is this?”
Why were they making such a fuss?
— Lee Sol : Tomorrow, let's go
Lee Sol sent a suitably brief text.
Tomorrow was Saturday. They had plenty of time, too.
How many outfits should she buy while she was there?
Thinking that, Lee Sol opened her wallet.
“Ah.”
Her wallet was completely empty.
She was out of money.
···Come to think of it, she'd spent quite a lot on the chocolates. That had left her wallet empty.
In that case, she'd have to borrow money from her parents.
“Do you think they'll let me···?”
Lee Sol quietly stepped into the living room.
When she poked her head out, she saw her mother sitting on the sofa, reading a book.
Her mother was the kind of person who liked to plan her spending.
There was a high chance an unexpected request for spending money wouldn't work.
Still, if she somehow persuaded her···
“···What is it?”
“···Oh.”
She'd been caught red-handed.
“Don't lurk around in hiding. If you have something to say, just say it.”
Lifting her teacup, she called Lee Sol over in a gentle voice.
Her attitude had softened somewhat since the midterms.
Maybe.
It might work this time.
Lee Sol slowly walked out into the living room.
“The thing is··· I was wondering if you could give me some spending money···.”
She wore a puzzled expression as she sipped her tea.
“Spending money? I'll send you the money for the school trip on the day, so—”
“That's not it···.”
Her fingertips fidgeted.
“I decided to go clothes shopping with the others for the school trip.”
“Cough!”
She swallowed her tea wrong and choked.
“Cough, cough···! Gasp···!”
After coughing several times,
“···Phew.”
Once she had calmed down, she set down her teacup and
asked again in a slightly trembling voice.
“···What did you say you were going to do···?”
“···.”
Lee Sol's brow narrowed slightly.
···Why did everyone react like that?