Chapter 17
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 17 – A Familiar Scene
—–CROW—–
What is a title? What is it about a title that makes things so awkward? Why does a simple word make it so difficult for me to buy clothes and go home?
“…Si-woo oppa.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
…I’m not lying, really. It felt like it was more than just a word used to address someone. If it were just that, I wouldn’t be acting like this. I wouldn’t be at a loss for words and choosing to remain silent.
Han Seo-ah, who knew my feelings better than anyone, kept talking as if to tease me.
“Earlier, you said you couldn’t do it because of Yujin unnie.”
“…”
“Was that a lie? Were you just making an excuse?”
“…No.”
“Then why can’t you say it? Did you actually become an idiot?”
[Si-woo must be too embarrassed to speak.]
[What do I do? Embarrassed Si-woo is so cute, I can’t take it anymore.]
“…”
What couldn’t she take anymore?
Was she going to tease me more?
That was a bit much. I was already trying so hard to cool down my burning face.
I started thinking,
‘…Should I just do it?’
Like I said before, it wasn’t like I ‘couldn’t’ do it.
Just like Han Seo-ah called me “oppa”… I could call her “noona.”
Yes.
I ‘could’.
I ‘could’ do it.
It was just incredibly difficult.
If I was going to do it, I should have done it earlier. Back at Yujin noona’s store, when Han Seo-ah first asked me to call her “noona.”
If I had called her “noona” then, this embarrassing situation wouldn’t have happened.
It was kind of like…
It’s fine when you’re not thinking about it, but once the pressure is on, it becomes a burden.
You can comfortably sing at karaoke, but when you’re asked to sing in front of everyone at a school retreat, you freeze up.
Something like that.
As I was thinking along those lines, I heard Han Seo-ah’s coy voice.
“Are you just going to keep your mouth shut? Not going to say anything all day?”
“…No, it’s not that.”
“Then why aren’t you saying anything? Oppa, you’re not usually this quiet.”
“…”
Earlier, she at least pretended to hesitate.
Now, she was using the term “oppa” without any reservation.
It gave me a headache.
“…I don’t understand how you can say that so casually.”
“You? You should say ‘noona.’ Come on, try it. Seo-ah noona.”
“…”
“Oppa. Are you going to keep doing this?”
…What was this crazy pressure?
I was single, so why was I getting PTSD?
Han Seo-ah was definitely enjoying this situation.
Even for someone as thick-skinned as Han Seo-ah, this was too m…
[I’m glad I learned how to act unfazed in embarrassing situations.]
[Otherwise, Si-woo might have seen my bright red face.]
“…”
On second thought, maybe not.
By the way, where did she learn how to do that?
Tell me.
I wanted to hide my burning face too.
“…Do you really have to do this?”
“Yes. I already called you ‘oppa,’ so you have to do it too.”
“But you didn’t have to…”
“Si-woo oppa, what did you say?”
“…Nothing.”
I tried to rebel slightly, but I immediately backed down at the chilling tone in Han Seo-ah’s voice.
Why did she only get like this with me?
She never acted like this when it came to studying or assignments.
It was incredibly frustrating that she only seemed to have this obsession with me.
“…Seo-ah noona.”
“…Yes, Si-woo oppa.”
In the end, I was the one who surrendered.
What else could I do?
It was a given that I couldn’t win against Han Seo-ah.
I knew that very well.
“…Hehe.”
“…”
And so did Han Seo-ah, who was wearing an incredibly happy expression after finally hearing me call her “noona.”
***
On the way home, we decided to stop by the patbingsu place we’d talked about earlier.
“Hey, Han Seo-ah. So, what do you want…”
“Si-woo oppa? What did you just say? Again.”
“…Seo-ah noona. What do you want to eat?”
“I want mango bingsu.”
“…One mango bingsu, please.”
“…Here’s your buzzer.”
I felt the cashier’s sharp gaze piercing through me.
‘I don’t want to do this either. The self-proclaimed “noona” next to me is threatening me.’
Those words almost escaped my tightly closed lips, but…
“Let’s sit over there, Si-woo oppa.”
“…Okay.”
“Okay? That was a bit sho…”
“Let’s sit over there, Seo-ah noona.”
Han Seo-ah was much scarier than my own frustration.
I shut up and followed her to the table.
“Is it because it’s new? This place seems nicer than the one near our house.”
“…It does.”
As Han Seo-ah said, the atmosphere of the place was very bright, as if emphasizing the fact that it was newly opened.
The bright interior.
A table for two.
And Han Seo-ah and I, sitting alone at the table for two.
It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.
If someone took a picture of us like this, no explanation would suffice.
Even I, the person involved, would misunderstand.
Han Seo-ah seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“…Si-woo oppa.”
“Why are you suddenly cal…”
“Seo-ah noona.”
“…Yes, noona?”
“If someone we know sees us like this, won’t they think we’re a couple, like last time?”
“Probably?”
“Is it okay to just sit here like this? You said you didn’t like being misunderstood last time.”
“…You said you wanted patbingsu.”
What kind of nonsense was this?
As far as I remembered, it was Han Seo-ah, not me, who wanted patbingsu.
I was about to correct her before she misunderstood, but seeing the sentences that were already appearing, it seemed too late.
[He said I’m more important than being misunderstood as a couple.]
[I’m so happy he called me ‘Seo-ah noona’… Did I use up all my luck for a lifetime today?]
“…”
My face started burning again.
Han Seo-ah was the one misunderstanding, and I was the one being wronged.
So why wasn’t I upset?
And why was my heart racing like this?
“Oppa, why is your face so r…”
“The buzzer’s ringing. I’ll go get the bingsu.”
“…Okay.”
Thankfully, the timely buzzer allowed me to escape the situation for a moment.
“Here’s your mango bingsu.”
“Thank you.”
I gently carried the presumably very sweet mango bingsu and walked back to Han Seo-ah’s table as if in a trance.
My mind was still filled with the earlier situation.
The fresh shock of Han Seo-ah calling me “oppa.”
And on top of that, Han Seo-ah seemed cuter than usual, starting from the clothing store.
I no longer felt strange about finding Han Seo-ah cute.
Perhaps I had accepted it.
That, unlike before, I was seeing Han Seo-ah as a woman, not as a sibling or childhood friend.
It was ironic.
We were childhood friends who were more like siblings, always bickering and fighting.
The fact that my perspective of her changed so much just because I started seeing her inner thoughts…
It was so difficult.
And so ironic.
“…You’re back?”
“…Yeah. Here.”
As I walked, lost in thought, I arrived back at Han Seo-ah’s table.
It might have been an overactive imagination, or a delusion, but…
It was as if my place was here, next to Han Seo-ah.
‘…This is a bit much.’
Honestly, it was a bit of a stretch.
Even though I’d never been in a relationship before, I couldn’t stay by Han Seo-ah’s side forever and remain single…
My thoughts were cut short.
“…Lee Si-woo?”
“Why are you calling me again…”
“Why is there only one spoon?”
“…Huh?”
Han Seo-ah spoke, forgetting the “oppa” and “noona” titles she’d been emphasizing, as if she was too flustered.
I immediately looked at the tray I’d carefully carried over.
And I saw it.
“…”
“…Why is there only one?”
“…How would I know, idiot?”
There was only one pink spoon, the one that always greeted us.
It was a strangely familiar scene.
I felt like I could hear the cashier’s laughter from earlier.
—–CROW—–
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