Chapter 71
* * *
“Hmm···.”
— Swipe, swipe.
Shin Ayoung sat on the bed in her room, idly fiddling with her phone.
She wasn't doing anything in particular. She just had nothing else to do.
She was simply sitting there blankly, lost in thought all by herself.
“···.”
— Flop.
Like a roly-poly toy toppling to the side, Shin Ayoung collapsed onto the blanket.
‘I’d never seen an expression like that before···.’
Lee Seungho’s expression was still vivid in her mind.
A blank, flustered face. It wasn't a reaction one got to see very often.
Lee Seungho was usually so composed.
The atmosphere had become incredibly awkward then. Jinuri alone had remained composed in that space.
‘What was up with that girl···.’
Shin Ayoung drew in a sharp breath.
When she thought of Ha Seorim, her eyes narrowed slightly.
‘She really does seem to have some sort of history with Seungho···.’
Though she didn't know exactly what it was.
‘Is that why she’s so hard to win over?’
That suspicion had occurred to her.
Judging by what Isol was doing, anyone else would have fallen for him several times over by now···.
Yet the two of them didn't seem to have made much progress in their relationship.
“Hmm.”
Maybe it was a good thing for Shin Ayoung herself.
···It was fortunate, at least.
“Hng···!”
Shin Ayoung rolled around on the bed. She hugged a long cat plushie and buried her face in it.
Thump, thump— She pounded the blanket with her shins.
Thinking about it only made her regret it again.
“Aah··· Why did I do that···?”
Why had she made Isol realize her feelings?
No, that part was fine. It was something Isol would have realized on her own someday.
However.
If she hadn't at least said she'd help, it wouldn't be weighing on her like this.
“Haa—.”
Sighs kept escaping her. It was belated regret.
That didn't mean she planned to give up on Lee Seungho. But it was true that she felt uneasy.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung fidgeted with her phone for no reason. She had no other way to express her tangled feelings.
‘Oh.’
Just then, an alarm sounded on her phone.
‘···Seungho’s sister posted something?’
That was the notification.
She had followed her last time, thinking she might post something related to Seungho.
And that thought had been exactly right.
[Came to work out hehe]
Along with those words, she had uploaded a single photo.
Lee Seungah had taken a selfie in front of a mirror while wearing a tracksuit. Exercise equipment lined the background, making it look like a gym.
“Ah.”
Shin Ayoung’s eyes widened.
There he was.
Looking closely, Lee Seungho’s reflection was visible in the mirror. He had a goofy look on his face and was watching what Lee Seungah was doing.
“···Heh.”
Seeing that, a silly laugh slipped out before she knew it.
“!”
She startled herself, her shoulders flinching. Her eyes darted around.
“Gnh···.”
Saying she’d help Isol···.
Right, that was it.
···Who could have known I’d end up like this, too?
“Uugh···!”
Regret welled up again, and she buried her face in the blanket. Her body curled up like a shrimp.
“···.”
Her head slowly rose.
Shin Ayoung stared at the screen over the pile of blankets.
“···Wow.”
Maybe because she was working out, she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
Her thighs were quite thick. That was a different sort of appeal. The exposed skin tickled something in her chest.
···Gulp.
Her throat bobbed involuntarily. Shin Ayoung looked at the photo with a strangely flushed face.
Her fingertips tapped at her lips.
‘Something··· The image quality is a little disappointing···.’
That was the only flaw. It was an accidentally taken photo, so it couldn't be helped.
Tap, tap.
She liked Lee Seungah’s post and saved the photo, too.
“···Should I work out, too?”
Seeing it made her think that. It seemed like a genuinely good idea.
‘My shoulders have been aching lately, too···.’
Shin Ayoung tapped her shoulders. They cracked whenever she tilted her neck.
The reason was simple.
Because they were unnecessarily large.
‘···Wait a second.’
Shin Ayoung’s movements abruptly froze.
Her face flushed faintly, her eyes rolling around as her fingers fidgeted.
‘···Does Seungho like them big, too?’
Aren’t all guys like that?
That was what she heard, at least. She sometimes felt the boys’ gazes during gym class at school, too.
Thinking of those times made her feel instantly annoyed···.
But when she imagined Lee Seungho doing the same.
“···Huff···.”
A breath of excitement escaped her before she knew it.
‘···I-I guess it wouldn’t be so bad.’
In its own way, that wasn't such an unpleasant thought.
‘···Ugh!’
Shin Ayoung briskly patted her cheeks.
She felt a little dizzy.
She even grew pessimistic, wondering if this was the kind of person she was. Her feelings were in turmoil.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung abruptly sat up with a strange expression.
Tap-tap-tap—
She tapped rapidly at the screen.
> [Do breasts get smaller if you exercise?]
···It did bother her a little, so she thought she would look it up just once.
‘So that wasn't the case. What a relief.’
Shin Ayoung felt relieved. Apparently, there was no scientific evidence proving it.
Then working out wouldn't be a problem.
Her next move was quick.
— Tap. Tap-tap-tap.
Shin Ayoung tapped on her phone’s keyboard. She immediately sent a DM.
[Shin Ayoung — Seungho!]
[Shin Ayoung — Which gym do you go to??]
[Shin Ayoung — I want to start working out, but I can’t find a good place ㅠㅠ]
[Shin Ayoung — I want to go to the same one as you hehe]
She sent the messages to Lee Seungho in rapid succession.
‘···And this one.’
Shin Ayoung looked through the emoticons she had bought.
She picked out one that seemed suitable.
This one should do.
[(Retriever emoticon hugging a heart tightly)]
She was about to send it···
Then she paused. She fell into thought for a moment.
“···Is this a little much?”
Isn't it too obvious? That was what she wondered.
It was blatant flirting.
She hesitated, wondering what she'd do if he found it burdensome.
“···.”
She stared down at the send button for a long while.
Whatever. I don’t know.
Press—
[Shin Ayoung — (Retriever emoticon hugging a heart tightly)]
Shin Ayoung squeezed her eyes shut and sent it.
She was in a let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may mood.
‘Oh my god, oh my god···!’
She had sent it herself, yet she was startled and made a huge fuss on her own.
Shin Ayoung moved her phone far away. She didn't have the courage to look at the reply.
“···.”
She sprang up from the bed and paced around the room restlessly.
Then.
She caught sight of herself reflected in the mirror.
Come to think of it, this wasn't the time for this.
‘···I need to buy some workout clothes!’
···Ones
that would get guys’ hearts racing···!
* * *
“Good. Hold that position—”
I came to a gym near our house with Lee Seungah. At least an hour of exercise every day—that was the routine I was sticking to.
“Nngh···!”
Lee Seungah’s face turned red as she barely managed to lift the barbell.
As if she was at her limit, she looked at me pleadingly.
But she wasn't at her limit yet. From the looks of it, she could still do more.
“Good, just one more.”
“Hoo···!”
“Just one more time.”
“Hngh···!!”
“Good, good. Yeah, just one more.”
“···Kuh.”
— “You crazy bastard···!”
A curse slipped out.
The Minimi’s voice had definitely gotten louder. The noise was starting to come through. It was time to stop.
This was her limit now.
“Hwek— Hwek—”
She wheezed and staggered as she twisted her body.
— “I-I’m gonna die···.”
Since I could still hear the Minimi’s voice clearly, I had stopped at exactly the right time.
After doing this for a while, I had gotten good at controlling the limit.
“Ugh···.”
“Where are you going? Let’s run just a little before we leave.”
I stopped her as she headed toward the showers. Apparently, she thought that had been the last exercise, but there was still one left.
She still had to run on the treadmill.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
— “···Should I make a run for it?”
The Minimi avoided my gaze, glancing this way and that. It cautiously checked my reaction.
“If you run away and I catch you, you'll pay for it tomorrow.”
“Hey— You really don’t trust me. I mean it.”
Lee Seungah burst out laughing. She waved her hands, telling me not to worry.
— “Tch. Your instincts have gotten annoyingly sharp.”
The Minimi scrunched up its face. Its petty little lips puckered.
She hurried away as if fleeing.
“···.”
I watched her with a surly look.
With nothing else to do while I was alone, I got on the treadmill first.
I adjusted the speed so it wouldn't be too much.
As I jogged slowly like that.
“···Hmm.”
That girl suddenly came to mind.
Ha Seorim, I mean.
‘It really had been a long time.’
Almost a year.
It wasn't all that long, but perhaps because she had dyed her hair, she looked quite different from how I remembered her.
Back then, she had had a slightly more childish face.
“···Ssh.”
That's enough.
Let's not think about it anymore.
She probably felt uncomfortable around me, and I couldn't treat her as casually as before, either.
Looking at her naturally brought the past to mind.
Even though it had little to do with her.
Maybe it was because Ha Seorim had been close to Seungah.
“···.”
— Beep, beep, beep!
For no reason, I increased the treadmill’s speed.
“Huff···!”
Let's forget about it.
I wouldn't run into her again at school anyway.
“···.”
···But.
Why is Lee Seungah taking so long?