Chapter 16
7:39 PM [Ihyeon, did you get home okay?]
7:39 PM Yes.
7:40 PM I had so much fun today!
7:40 PM [Lol, Unni did too ^^]
7:40 PM [Let's hang out again~]
7:41 PM Next time, I’ll definitely treat you.
7:41 PM [Lol, I’m touched. But it’s okay, Unni has lots of money~]
7:42 PM [Sent a photo.]
7:42 PM Ah!
7:42 PM [The picture we took together today~ I should show my younger siblings! Tell them I have such a pretty younger sister now~ lol]
7:43 PM Yes, hehe. Good night lol
Hehe...
Heh...
Hmm...
That's a little embarrassing.
On the screen was a photo of me eating ice cream and looking at the camera by accident.
- All right, Ihyeon. Say cheese~!
- Huh?
- Click.
I was a little embarrassed and asked her to delete it, but Song Chaeyeon showed it to me, saying it had come out well.
It really had come out well.
How had it turned out so good, even though she'd taken it on the spur of the moment?
- ... Send it to me later.
So in the end, I let it go without asking her to delete it.
... I should save it for now.
Then I checked the time.
It was getting late enough to call it night.
[7:47 PM]
"Phew..."
I took a deep breath.
This time, I hadn't forgotten.
If I'd forgotten again, wouldn't she have filed another complaint against me?
I found 'Yoo Jieun' in my contacts and called her.
I heard the ringing tone.
Ring.
Ring.
I'll hang up if it rings three more times.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring...
[Hello?]
I jolted a little.
Honestly, I'd hoped she wouldn't answer.
[Huh? Can you hear me? Hello~]
"Ah, y-yes. I can hear you. You can hear me, right?"
[Ah, yes.]
A brief silence.
[Did you have fun?]
"Huh?"
[You said you were out having fun all day. Did you enjoy yourself?]
"Ah, yes. Hehe..."
[Hmm... Then tell me everything you did today, from start to finish.]
"Today, too? We just hung out..."
[There can't be any exceptions, can there?]
"Okay..."
I sighed where she couldn't hear, then recounted the day, counting on my fingers as I went.
"Um, we met up and went shopping for clothes, then had lunch... We found an art museum, so we looked around... Then we went to an arcade... After that, we went to a batting cage, had dinner, and parted ways."
[...Sounds like you had fun. What did you have for lunch and dinner?]
"A hamburger and malatang."
[Hmm. What brand were the clothes?]
"The brand? Hold on."
I said as I picked up the shirt from the bag.
"Um... it's a brand called Think What."
It was probably some obscure brand.
[Hmm...]
After Yoo Jieun's thoughtful hum, I thought I heard a faint snort.
"Did you just laugh?"
[No?]
What? I'm sure I heard something...
[Anyway, now you need to tell me in detail what happened.]
"Y-Yes, like what?"
[What happened when you went shopping for clothes, what happened while you were eating the hamburger, and so on. Tell me all the details.]
... Even that?
I fumbled for words,
"The skirt was a little embarrassing, but when I tried it on... ...Do I really have to tell you this...?"
[Yes. Tell me everything.]
"Mmm..."
I was getting a little embarrassed.
Still, I had to tell her.
"When I tried it on... I-it looked prettier than I expected, and I liked it."
[Hehe, really? Then you said you went to a burger place, right?]
"Yes."
[What happened there?]
"N-No, nothing?"
I couldn't tell her that I'd been hassled and cried my eyes out.
No way in hell.
[...]
... Why wasn't she saying anything? This was making me nervous.
[That's a lie.]
"Eek."
How did she know?
Was she psychic?
Anyway, it was fine. I could just deny it.
I calmed my startled heart and opened my mouth.
"N-No? I'm not lying."
[Can I hang up for a moment? I have someone to call.]
"What...? Who?"
[The police station. I have something to take care of—]
"Aah! I'll tell you!"
Cold sweat ran down my back.
How on earth could she tell I'd lied?
Setting that question aside, I honestly told her what had happened.
Because if I hid it from her again, she'd probably really make that call.
"Um... after we bought the clothes, I was excitedly walking around..."
[Yes.]
"Um... I bumped into someone, and they spilled coffee on their clothes..."
[Oh dear.]
"So... they swore at me."
[...And then?]
"Then... they asked me to pay compensation, and it was 400,000 won, so... I cried."
[Did you end up paying?]
"No. Unni came then and chased them away."
My voice went a little higher at the end.
Song Chaeyeon was so cool.
[Hmm...]
Yoo Jieun hummed softly. She didn't sound too pleased.
[All right, what happened after that?]
"After that—"
I explained what had happened since then.
I skipped over little things that didn't seem worth mentioning.
But each time, she fell silent for a few seconds, as if scrutinizing my reactions while I spoke.
- You left something out, didn't you?
- Eek...
Whenever I'd deliberately left something out, she noticed immediately.
It was terrifying.
"Um, h-how do you know...?"
[Ah, haha. You can't lie, Ihyeon.]
"Huh?"
[When you lie—ah, this is a secret. You might hide your tells. Anyway, if I get suspicious and ask you again, you have trouble answering.]
"..."
What was that supposed to mean?
Could it really be possible to tell when someone was lying that easily?
Unless she'd planted someone there.
... Or was I just bad at lying?
She only called me out when I'd actually left something out and tried to gloss over it. So she wasn't just guessing.
... Scary.
I honestly told her everything and reported my day's activities.
[Hmm, I heard everything. Nothing particularly strange happened.]
"W-What did you think might have happened?"
[I was worried you might have done something bad to that Unni.]
"What...?"
[There wasn't any physical contact?]
"What!? Why would you ask that...? We're both women."
[Just tell me.]
Uh... no.
... I couldn't bring myself to say it, afraid she'd figure it out immediately again.
I didn't want to seem like a little kid if I told her she'd petted and hugged me...
But I couldn't help it.
Better than getting scolded.
"U-Unni petted me... and hugged me, too."
[...]
There was a brief silence.
[Hmm. In what situations?]
"Um... when those guys picked a fight with me outside the clothing store, she hugged me when she saw me crying... As for the petting, um..."
I couldn't remember clearly...
"I think when she bought me the clothes, when I was eating ice cream, and after we ate at the burger place... I think that's all."
[I see. No other physical contact?]
"No."
[...Okay, I don't think that's a lie. Good job.]
"...Okay..."
[Now then. Send me the photo you said you took earlier. I'll count that as your selfie.]
"Ah, okay..."
What? Wasn't sending a selfie supposed to be the punishment?
I wondered to myself as I selected the photo of us from my gallery and sent it.
A photo taken from a slightly higher angle, with Song Chaeyeon making a V sign and me beside her, licking my ice cream.
"...Um, can I crop Unni out before I send it...?"
Somehow, I was reluctant to send Yoo Jieun a picture of Song Chaeyeon. She and I weren't on good terms.
In the first place, the intent behind the photo wasn't all that good.
[No? Send it as is.]
"Okay..."
Reluctantly, I sent the original.
Sorry, Chaeyeon...
"I sent it."
[Hmm.]
[Your Unni is tall, isn't she?]
"Huh? Ah, yes. She's around 176 centimeters."
[Hmm......]
She hummed for a moment, then spoke.
[But that shirt and skirt look really good on you. Seriously.]
"Ah, thank you. Hehe..."
The unexpected compliment made me feel a little better, even though it came from Yoo Jieun.
... Honestly, I'd been hoping for a little praise when I sent it.
[Now, one last thing. Take a selfie.]
"A selfie..."
"B-But didn't you say the photo would count instead?"
[Oh, that.]
Yoo Jieun laughed, then said,
[I changed my mind. Take one from far away while wearing the shirt and skirt.]
"......"
She really did whatever she wanted.
Now that I knew why she wanted the selfie, I was a little reluctant.
Every photo I sent her was another piece of leverage she had over me.
But I had to send it...
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and took one just like that.
In fact, I was still wearing the dress and shirt after getting home.
Somehow, it felt like a waste to take them off.
After I got home, I'd even turned around in front of the mirror and tried... posing.
So I could take one right away.
But I couldn't get a photo I liked.
Probably because I was stiff with awkwardness.
I could strike poses enthusiastically by myself, so why did I freeze up in front of a camera?
I moved a little farther from the mirror, framing myself so my legs were mostly visible.
- Click.
I took one.
"...Hmm..."
But I wasn't quite satisfied with it.
If possible, shouldn't I send her a pretty one?
... Was I always this kind of person?
And so, I spent over ten minutes taking pictures.
Then, the one I'd carefully selected.
I held my phone beside my face, made a V sign with my free hand, and brought my legs slightly together.
"Hmm."
Now I was finally satisfied.
After sending the photo, I called Yoo Jieun again.
[Hello?]
"I sent it."
[Yes, good job. But that took you a while, didn't it?]
"Ah... I was choosing one."
[Hehe, I see. Hmm...]
She spoke, then fell silent for a moment.
... I started feeling a little nervous.
It wasn't as if I was sending it for my own sake.
... Still, I hoped she'd compliment me.
[You're pretty.]
"...Hehe, thank you."
[Wear that when you meet me the day after tomorrow, too.]
"Hehe, he..."
?
"What?"
[Why?]
"Did we make plans like that...?"
I have to meet her again?
For some reason, with the suffocating Yoo Jieun?
Even in Bell, if I happened to run into her, I'd dodge.
The Grandmaster-Challenger bracket was small, so we ran into each other often.
If she was on the enemy team, I had no choice, but if she was on mine, I'd dodge at the speed of light.
But she wanted me to meet her in real life?
[We can make plans. You're free the day after tomorrow anyway, right?]
"Ah, ah, hehe... I have plans..."
[Another lie. Right?]
"Eek..."
And so, I ended up making one-sided plans with her.