Show me your phone

Despite my resolution to become someone worthy of Ye-rin, our one year together passed in an instant.

Of course, it’s not that I hadn’t been making an effort during that time.

Studying, which I used to think was fine at just average—I worked pretty hard at it.

Now I could somewhat aim for the upper-middle ranks.

Cooking? I was in charge of dinner almost every day, whether at Ye-rin’s house or mine.

Sometimes I did wish someone else would cook for me, but.

Whenever that happened, Ye-rin would look apologetic and offer to cook, which forced me to tearfully stop her as I recalled past memories.

Once, I suspected that Ye-rin might be pretending just to pass the cooking duties to me, but.

After getting food poisoning from her self-proclaimed “omurice” on the day I was suspicious, I never doubted her again.

The practical cooking skills I accumulated that way eventually allowed me to whip up a decent meal with whatever was in the refrigerator whenever our house pig said, “Oppa, food.”

At some point, when Ye-rin watched cooking videos on YouTtube or something similar,

“Oppa, can you make this too…?”

She would scurry over to me, looking up with expectant eyes, and how could I possibly say no to that?

Just to see Ye-rin happily munch away, saying everything I made was delicious.

My repertoire of recipes couldn’t help but grow day by day.

Lastly, exercise. The workouts that initially left me with muscle pain were now easy enough that I could do 200 reps instead of 100.

…Honestly, I think I look pretty good?

When muscles started to develop, confidence followed.

I would strike poses in front of the full-length mirror, and even take my shirt off for no reason when it wasn’t even hot.

Sometimes when Ye-rin and Se-ah would poke at my arms from both sides going “Ooh…” in amazement, I couldn’t stop smiling.

That’s how.

I worked hard to change.

But as if refusing to give me time to catch up.

When I was running, Ye-rin was soaring.

Like a butterfly that had completed its metamorphosis.

**

One morning while eating breakfast, something suddenly occurred to me.

“Mom. Until what age did you grow?”

“Why is my son suddenly interested in his mother~?”

“Sorry, but I’m not actually interested in you.”

Ah, was that too cold? But it’s the truth.

I felt a bit guilty seeing my mom looking at me as if I’d been too harsh.

Under the table, Se-ah was kicking me lightly as if asking why I was speaking that way.

“Hmm~ I think I grew until about 16~? Before that, my underwear would stop fitting at regular intervals, so I kept changing sizes, but from 16 onwards, I was fixed at a D-cup—”

“Okay. Stop. Please.”

I had zero interest in my mom’s underwear size and didn’t want to know.

“But why are you suddenly asking about this~?”

“…Just wondering how long Se-ah will keep growing.”

Se-ah, who was suddenly singled out while eating, looked at me with chopsticks in her mouth and eyes wide open.

Soon she grinned as if she understood everything.

“Oppa?”

“…What.”

“I don’t know when you became so interested in me~?”

“…Shut up.”

I kicked her lightly under the table to signal her to be quiet, and Se-ah let out an exaggerated “Kyaang” before smiling and winking at me.

Ah, seriously.

 

Health class, was it? I recalled something I’d heard before.

That girls grow earlier and faster than boys when they’re young.

As if to prove that saying, while I had grown taller compared to last year.

Ye-rin was changing day by day.

If she was cute and pretty before… now, how should I put it? Pretty and cute, like the priorities had switched.

It couldn’t be helped.

Her already slender arms and legs had grown longer, her already distinct features had become more pronounced. And proportionally, the curves of her body were becoming more noticeable.

It was as if Ye-rin was whispering to me that she was gradually transforming from a girl into a woman.

I had been amazed by her beauty when I first saw her, but who would believe that compared to now, that was like seeing a chrysalis rather than a butterfly?

The current Ye-rin was becoming prettier—no, more beautiful—by the day, more today than yesterday.

The reason I’m thinking about this now is.

—You grow until 16?

Having spent a significant amount of time together over the past year.

Our relationship had become closer.

The problem was, our physical distance had also become closer.

The distance at which we’d naturally, casually be next to each other before.

Now sometimes involved soft parts of her body lightly touching or brushing against me.

Ever since she started sticking close to me all day, I was the only one suffering.

“Ye-rin, aren’t you too close…?”

“This distance is just right…”

Whether Ye-rin knew this or not, whenever I mentioned it, she would respond with innocent eyes as if asking why I was bringing it up, making me wonder if I was the strange one, so I gave up saying anything.

All I could do was bend my waist and recite the national anthem in my head.

And this continues even more…?

As someone who was 14 years old until last year, I honestly still find it hard to believe that Ye-rin is 14 now. Even comparing her to the 14-year-old girl in our house.

Could Ye-rin possibly grow to be like Ye-rin’s mother whom I glimpsed in a framed photo when I visited their house?

…She was incredible.

If so, I was looking forward to—no, I had happy concerns.

You might think I’m counting chickens before they hatch, but I could still imagine, right? Hmm.

It’s a happy thing for someone you like to be beautiful.

It makes you look forward to a future together.

But being too beautiful means that many others are imagining such a future as well.

 

Towards the end of last year. One day, Se-ah brought this up.

“Oppa, will you be okay?”

Here it comes.

That was my first thought when I heard it.

At our age, atmosphere can’t be ignored.

Even a perfectly normal kid can be helplessly bullied if rumors like “What’s that kid like?” start spreading, so.

That’s how it was for Ye-rin.

Not because she was bad or mean, but because she was too exceptional, she became alone.

As that Ye-rin began to hang out with Se-ah and her friends, who were fairly popular in their class, such an atmosphere gradually disappeared.

To make matters even better, if Ye-rin, who always maintained an expressionless face, started smiling too? Need I say more? Both boys and girls who saw that smile probably thought they’d like to at least say a word to her.

Those who gathered their courage and approached Ye-rin one by one couldn’t help but realize what kind of person she was.

I still remember.

How Ye-rin cried tears of relief in my arms, happy that the bullying seemed to have disappeared.

I sincerely thought it was fortunate as I embraced her slender, trembling shoulders. Ye-rin was never someone who deserved such treatment.

Of course, even though she was getting along well with kids, Ye-rin’s nature was to form deep connections with a few people, so even afterward she mostly hung out with just me and Se-ah, but anyway, I thought it was a good thing.

…Until I heard that Ye-rin was receiving a rush of confessions like Jin-hyuk.

I knew there had been kids confessing before, but when those who had been hesitant also seized the opportunity and confessed, it really seemed like she was receiving many confessions.

Se-ah isn’t always by Ye-rin’s side, so if she was telling me this, I thought the reality was probably worse, not better.

…These bastards who didn’t even care before, it’s so annoying I’ve always only seen Ye-rin even when she was shy I saw her from the beginning why now.

It felt like an indie band that only I knew suddenly became world-famous.

I was dumbfounded that guys who ignored Ye-rin when she was struggling were now daring to confess to her—something even I hadn’t done—but I tried not to care.

…Or so I thought. Until the next day when Ye-rin met me with a worried expression and asked if something was wrong.

…Am I that obvious?

Pretending nothing was wrong. Smiling and saying nothing happened, but

“…Are you going to lie to me?”

If she had scolded me, I might have at least tried to hold out.

But when she pouted as if hurt and gently gripped my fingers.

I couldn’t help but provide information like an unlocked phone.

“Confessions…?”

Ye-rin’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected my answer at all.

“…Yes.”

“Heeh…”

Jealousy when I’m not even her boyfriend.

Contrary to my concern that she might be upset hearing this, Ye-rin kept tilting her head and saying “Heeh…” as if she found it fascinating.

Brush.

Swoosh.

Brush.

Swoosh.

Maybe it was because of what I just said. My face felt hot.

Feeling a bit embarrassed to look at Ye-rin, I turned my head, but her gaze followed wherever I turned.

“…How cute.”

“What?”

“Oppa, were you bothered…? That I received confessions?”

—It’s not just that I was bothered, I was jealous.

I couldn’t honestly say that.

But I didn’t want to deny it either, so I just cautiously nodded.

Then Ye-rin smiled happily and rummaged around before handing me her phone.

“…? Why the phone suddenly?”

“Look at my contacts…”

I thought it was strange to suddenly check contacts, but I complied.

At the top of her favorites were me, Se-ah, Jin-hyuk, and Ye-rin’s parents.

Below that, there weren’t many, but there were a few names that obviously belonged to girls.

“…Only girls?”

“Boys probably don’t like me…?”

“You? Why?”

No way. I wanted to say that there’s no man in this world who could dislike Ye-rin, but I held back.

“Because I ignore them when they try to talk to me…”

“…Why?”

At my question, Ye-rin glanced at me with slightly resentful pink eyes, as if asking if I really didn’t know.

“Because of a certain someone’s ideal type…”

“…Ideal type?”

Could that certain someone be me…?

You are my ideal type.

…No, wait, when did I ever tell Ye-rin about my ideal type? I couldn’t remember no matter how hard I thought about it.

But, Ye-rin changed the subject as if the hint ended there.

“There’s only… one boy who contacts and talks with me.”

As if telling me not to worry.

As if telling me not to be jealous, she stared at me with loving pink eyes and a smile, making my face flush.

Maybe that’s why.

Out of embarrassment at being caught, I blurted out words I didn’t mean.

“…But you’ve finally improved your image.”

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say “How about getting to know them better?”

…Will she be angry?

Ye-rin took one step closer to me.

“Would you… like me to get closer to other boys?”

Far from being angry, with a warm voice as if asking if I was serious.

With her tiny hands covering mine.

Stripped bare before those deep, clear pink eyes that seemed to pierce through my innermost thoughts.

I confessed my true feelings.

“……No. Not at all.”

At my answer, a radiant smile bloomed on Ye-rin’s face.

It was as if, had Ye-rin had a tail, it would be wagging happily from side to side right now.

“In return, oppa has to play with me a lot more. Okay…?”

“…Even more than now?”

It felt like we were already together almost every day.

Yet I couldn’t help but smile at Ye-rin’s greediness, as if that wasn’t enough.

“Mhmm, much more than now.”

“…I’ll try to keep you having only me as a male contact.”

Even as she grumbled “That’s too easy…” her good mood was evident as her smile didn’t fade, which made me happy t-

“Then… shall we look at oppa’s contacts too?”

Ah.

That day, my contact list was thanos-ed like some purple alien life form had visited, becoming just con/tacts.