Chapter 82
* * *
······Time briefly turns back to that morning.
“Hwaaam···.”
I came out into the living room with a wide yawn.
It was nearly seven o'clock.
Our appointment was at eight, so if I got ready and left now, I'd arrive with time to spare.
Just as I was quietly rustling around in the dark living room—
Creak—
The door across from mine opened.
“Hwaaam···.”
Lee Seungah staggered out, yawning.
“···What?”
She blinked when she saw me.
Her eyes seemed to ask what I was doing up so early.
Looking at her, I asked quietly,
“What brings you up so early?”
It was unusual.
It was vacation, and she wasn't the type to wake up at this hour.
“Yeah, it just kind of happened.”
Lee Seungah slipped past me.
She took a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down.
— “···Actually, I just haven't slept yet···.”
Her Minimi muttered sleepily.
“···.”
Figures.
It wasn't particularly surprising.
Vacation had barely begun, and Lee Seungah had already flipped her days and nights.
Seungah tilted her head.
“···But where are you going this early?”
“I'm going out.”
“···.”
Lee Seungah's expression went blank.
— “As if I didn't know that.”
She grumbled flatly.
Soon, Lee Seungah realized I wasn't going to explain unless pressed and began figuring it out on her own.
“···Are you going out with Soli unni? But didn't you see her last week? You're seeing her again?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Huh? Then?”
“With Shin Ayoung.”
“Huh?”
Lee Seungah gave a brief, questioning response.
— “Come to think of it··· Ayoung unni did sound like that too···.”
The two had grown close recently from going to the gym together.
Lee Seungah was naturally quick to read situations.
Hadn't she picked up on the strange air Shin Ayoung gave off, too?
— “Wait a second···.”
The Minimi came to an abrupt stop.
— “···Seriously, what is this guy doing?”
Lee Seungah narrowed her eyes as if she couldn't believe me.
What was her problem?
“···Oppa, you went out with Soli unni last week.”
“Right.”
“And this time you're going out with Ayoung unni?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded. She was right.
— “···Does he seriously not know what's wrong with this?”
The Minimi tapped its forehead.
It seemed to be wondering where to begin.
— “···You're just two-timing them.”
Faced with that blunt statement, I searched for something to say. Then I shut my mouth.
‘···I guess so.’
I had nothing to say.
I had thought of it as simply hanging out with the two of them. But when I turned my actions over carefully, that really was what it looked like.
— “Or··· does he not even realize he's doing it?”
It hit the mark.
“···.”
Lee Seungah looked at me with a complicated gaze, then—
“Good grief.”
She let out a deep sigh.
“Just handle it yourself.”
Lee Seungah spat out those words and turned back toward her room.
“Don't make them cry like before.”
“···Right.”
It was easy to say, but not easy to do.
To avoid two-timing them,
I just had to settle things with one of them.
The method was simple, which was precisely why it was difficult.
“···.”
To choose one of them right now···.
I still felt more affection for them as friends than romantic interest.
“Sigh···.”
I scratched my head vigorously. A sigh escaped me for no reason.
Because the breadth of their feelings for me
differed from the breadth of my feelings for them,
I found myself agonizing over what kind of distance I should keep.
* * *
I arrived at the movie theater.
“···.”
I got off the elevator and moved around looking for Shin Ayoung.
Maybe because it was Monday morning, there weren't many people.
It wasn't completely empty, either. Vacation seemed to be having an effect.
‘Where is she?’
I couldn't see Shin Ayoung anywhere.
— “Oh, it's Seungho.”
A familiar voice reached me. It was Shin Ayoung's Minimi.
— “···Will he recognize me?”
In the direction of that voice stood a woman wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled low.
So that's where she was.
I strode straight over.
“You got here fast.”
“What? How did you know it was me?”
Shin Ayoung giggled and tapped my shoulder.
She put the mask, hat, and sunglasses she had been wearing into her bag.
“Why are you so covered up?”
“You know, quite a lot of people come up and talk to me.”
If someone else said it, it would just be narcissism. But with Shin Ayoung, the statement carried some weight.
It had been the same with Isol last time, after all. It was understandable.
“Let's go get popcorn. Popcorn.”
I headed to the concession stand, following Shin Ayoung's lead.
“What do you want?”
“Half and half. Caramel and original. How about that?”
“Sure.”
We bought popcorn and went straight into the theater.
Since it was an early showing and we had arrived just in time for the start,
there wasn't time to stop by the arcade like last time.
And so, we went inside the theater, only to find—
‘These are couple seats.’
Shin Ayoung noticed my puzzlement and gave an awkward cough.
“This was the only kind of screening they had?”
“···Really?”
After hearing her thoughts, I knew she was telling the truth.
The movie she wanted to see wasn't particularly popular, so this was the only theater showing it.
— “···I wonder if he'll feel uncomfortable?”
It couldn't be helped, so I didn't think much of it.
Besides, these seats were more comfortable than I expected.
The seats were spacious, and I could stretch my legs out.
They were seriously fine.
— “Oh, it's starting···.”
After a short wait, the movie began.
The theater was relatively empty.
Apart from us, there were only about two other groups,
so we could watch in relative comfort.
Unlike last Saturday, I was able to immerse myself in it.
“···.”
···And so, I slowly fell into the movie···.
“···.”
Keeping my eyes fixed on the screen, I naturally reached my hand to the side.
I was trying to find the popcorn Shin Ayoung was holding.
Tap—
Just then, my fingertips touched inside the tub.
I felt something cold.
“!”
Shin Ayoung seemed startled too, her eyes widening for a moment.
“···.”
She darted her eyes around, then
suddenly took hold of my wrist gently.
My shoulder jerked. I hadn't expected her to do that at all.
‘Here.’
Shin Ayoung whispered softly.
With a foxlike smile in her eyes, she placed a handful of popcorn in my palm.
— “---------”
Meanwhile,
the noise I heard throbbed like a heartbeat.
“···.”
She was trying hard in her own way.
The feelings Shin Ayoung wanted to hide
were all revealed by the very fact that she was trying so hard.
I could see them whether I wanted to or not.
“···”
I would have preferred not to know.
Even if I had known, it would have been fine if I'd found out more slowly.
They were feelings I should have discovered that way, normally,
but the Minimi told me about them directly, without giving me even a moment's leeway.
“···.”
Crunch—
I chewed one of the pieces of popcorn she had given me.
Amid the Minimis chattering loudly throughout the theater, I quietly looked up at the screen.
“···.”
I didn't know whether I should match my response to her outward actions
or follow what she was thinking inside.
I didn't know how to respond to what she had done.
* * *
Whoooosh—
Water ran from the sink in the restroom.
The movie had ended a while ago, and Shin Ayoung had stopped by the restroom on her way out.
“···.”
After scrubbing her hands, Shin Ayoung checked her reflection in the mirror again.
“···.”
She tidied her bangs with her fingertips.
Hmm.
‘Not bad.’
Today had been a day of effort in many ways. She had dressed with more care than usual, and had deliberately bought one of the larger popcorns.
As she'd hoped, their hands had touched midway through the movie.
‘A-and we held hands too.’
Shin Ayoung interlaced her own fingers. Her lips worked nervously.
She had tried hard.
So far, everything had gone according to plan.
Just as she'd hoped at first, Lee Seungho was enjoying himself right now.
‘But···.’
Quite apart from that,
she didn't know whether he had felt any excitement from being with her.
Even when she worked up the courage to act, Lee Seungho showed little in the way of a dramatic reaction.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung lightly scratched her forehead.
She wondered if she wasn't attractive enough.
Her confidence had taken a slight hit.
‘No.’
Let's not think so negatively for no reason.
“Phew···.”
Shin Ayoung exhaled deeply and went straight outside.
She didn't want to invite needless suspicion by taking too long in the restroom.
“···You're here?”
Lee Seungho, who had been waiting outside, spotted her and pushed himself away from the wall.
“Shall we go get something to eat?”
“Yeah, let's.”
The two of them went outside the shopping mall.
The food court wouldn't have been bad, but they decided to look around outside.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“There's a pasta place around here that's supposed to be good.”
They were walking side by side, chatting about what to eat, when—
“Huh?”
Tap— patter—
A cold sensation touched her forehead. It was a raindrop.
“···Ah, it's raining.”
Tap tap— patter-patter—
More and more droplets began to fall.
Shin Ayoung hurriedly pulled a folding umbrella from her bag.
‘Thank goodness.’
There hadn't been any forecast of rain, but the weather had been cloudy, so she'd brought an umbrella.
Bringing it had turned out to be a stroke of genius.
“Here.”
Shin Ayoung held the umbrella over Lee Seungho's head.
Apparently, he hadn't brought an umbrella of his own.
But there was no time to feel excited about sharing an umbrella.
“Let's hurry···!”
Was it a shower? The rain was growing heavier and heavier.
They needed to move quickly and find somewhere to take shelter.
Rat-a-tat-tat——!
They ran side by side beneath the same umbrella.
Shin Ayoung went into the building that housed the pasta restaurant they'd just been discussing.
“Ugh··· We're completely soaked···.”
Even though they had only just come inside,
it seemed the umbrella really had been too small for two people.
Her clothes were damp.
The moisture running down from her shoulders had soaked the area around the outer edge of her chest.
‘···I hope it isn't see-through?’
With a troubled expression, Shin Ayoung patted her clothes with a handkerchief.
They were white to begin with, so she was already worried about them···.
“···.”
Lee Seungho's gaze subtly turned to the left.
‘···Oh.’
Shin Ayoung's eyes followed his.
Somewhere,
the tips of his ears were faintly red.
‘···Aha.’
Is this it?
‘How long until our Counseling Club outing again···?’
A small smile spread across Shin Ayoung's lips.
···Maybe it really would be better to buy a new swimsuit.
=========
(!Sign!)
(There's an AI illustration if you scroll down!)
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(Ayoung's Date)
(Wet Ayoung)