I’ve changed, but Ji-hye has also changed.

“Hey.”

“…”

“Don’t pretend to be asleep and answer me. If you’re suddenly taking a vacation to look at a house, a heads-up would’ve been nice, you know.”

“I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me.”

“…Sleeping or whatever, isn’t a single word of explanation about this situation not that difficult? Why all of a sudden?”

It was inside a train heading to the countryside.

Without any warning or word, we had reserved train tickets for just the two of us, and I was forced to lean back in my seat, dragged here since early this morning by my collar.

I was dragged out without even having properly tidied up, and the only thing I heard was the short phrase, ‘Let’s go look at a house.’

I was dragged out in a daze, and my brain, still not fully recovered from fatigue, screamed and caused a headache.

“Now is the best timing.”

“Suddenly? Did you get some kind of call or something?”

I couldn’t tell if she had received help from her younger siblings or not.

Even if I was full of annoyance, Ji-hye’s expression was serious, so I expected that no matter what I said, she would push forward resolutely.

As I expected, Ji-hye confidently looked at me and said.

“No. If it wasn’t today, the kids would want to come along, so I made it today.”

“Ah…”

“It’s the house where oppa and I will live, isn’t that much obvious?”

“Still, I never dreamed you’d tell me to go so unprepared like this.”

“I learned it from oppa.”

I let out a sigh inside my mouth.

I thought her jealousy had decreased while I hadn’t seen her, but her jealousy was unchanged.

She wanted to go not because there was a house, but because the kids weren’t there?

What’s the difference between this and a married couple going out to play when their children aren’t around because they can’t go on dates?

“Okay…if you say so. Then I’ll sleep until we arrive.”

Remembering that the seat behind me was empty before getting on, I reclined the seat and laid down.

It was still about two hours until arrival. I thought it was still far away, so I tried to sleep, but Ji-hye stuck close to me and closed her eyes as well.

Was this to mean that she would fully monopolize me today? I had no way of knowing, so I closed my eyes again as is.

–

“It’s warm, but it’s still cold. It’s a problem that it’s warm enough that I can’t even see my breath.”

“Why are you complaining so much as soon as we arrive? Are you going to keep doing that?”

“This isn’t a complaint, it’s a socially agreed-upon act of sarcasm.”

“Don’t say weird things, where do you want to go first?”

“Where first? How many places did you look at for houses that you’re saying ‘places’?”

“Huh? No, no, not houses, but places to hang out.”

“…….?”

Not houses, but places to hang out?

She didn’t want the kids around and bothering her when looking at houses, and she’s trying to monopolize me, but it turns out she just wanted to play?

“…We didn’t come to look at houses?”

“No. The house listings are for later, today we just came to hang out.”

“…Come here.”

“Why?”

Instead of a long speech, I quietly called her over and quietly flicked her forehead once.

It’s nice to come, and it’s nice to play, but at least a word to me is my own revenge.

She rubbed her forehead after being flicked and glared at me, but I had nothing to be ashamed of.

“If you’re going to do something like this, at least say something. What, is someone going to eat you if you don’t, huh?”

“Then why hit me instead of just saying it!?”

“Do you listen if I say it? I’m telling you to engrave it deeply in your head.”

“What are you, oppa? Anyone would think you’re my husb…”

“That’s right. If you’re not happy, I’ll go back up, so you can stay here alone.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘husband’ and covered her face, which had turned bright red.

Of course, I quickly continued the conversation to reduce the awkwardness, but the blush on her face didn’t seem to want to subside easily.

Not knowing where to go, I grabbed my arm as I walked down the street, and after cooling her face for a while in the occasional cold breeze, she opened her mouth.

“…Okay. I’ll tell you everything from now on when there’s something like that.”

“What if you don’t tell me?”

“Why, I’m saying I’ll tell you everything. Don’t you believe me?”

“If I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. Rather, I’m reminding you not to make a mistake because I believe you.”

In my standards, if I have no trust at all, I don’t say anything.

Because the thought that this person won’t keep it is ingrained in my head, so no matter what they do, I just think, ‘I knew it,’ and move on.

But if it’s someone I trust, I thoroughly remind them to keep their promise. That was my method, and I even set conditions to keep each other in mind, as a way to keep our promises.

Ji-hye nodded at my words, pondered for a moment, then leaned her head on my arm and quietly murmured.

“I…I’ll wear the clothes that oppa wants me to wear…”

“I won’t accept anything but hot pants.”

“…How can you tell me to wear something like that?”

“It’s not like you’ve gained weight, and it’s not like your legs are thick…there’s no reason you can’t wear them, right?”

“I’m getting older now, so I have to be careful about what I wear. If I walk around wearing hot pants at this age, I’ll be made fun of for being tacky.”

“It’s none of my business, so I’m telling you to keep it. If you keep it, there won’t be a reason to wear them, so there’s no problem, right?”

She pressed her head against my arm to protest silently, but the sensation felt through the jacket wasn’t that strong anyway.

It was a meaningless action that could even be called acting cute, but I didn’t mind the feeling, so I kept walking as is.

–

We had an early lunch at a department store restaurant that opened early and looked around the department store.

Ji-hye said not to worry about house-related matters because she had a detailed grasp of them that would make my tongue wag.

I asked her to show me a little, wondering how detailed it could be, and when I saw the real estate information packed into her phone, I really…turned my head and agreed without the slightest hesitation.

The data she had prepared in advance, thinking, ‘I knew oppa would ask,’ was so meticulous and detailed that I didn’t have to worry about house problems.

“If you were just going to play, you should have said at least one word.”

“I couldn’t because I thought the kids would notice.”

“Do you think I’m the kind of person who goes around talking about that kind of thing?”

“Oppa doesn’t say anything, but oppa’s expression really can’t lie. The kids would all be fooled the moment oppa puts on a mask.”

I wondered if it was that obvious, but well, the person who’s known me the longest says so.

As I pondered whether I should learn how to manage my facial expressions while working in society and touched my face, Ji-hye smiled and stroked my cheek.

“That’s oppa’s charm, so there’s no need to hide it. However, you should keep important things a secret for a bit and tell me right away so you don’t get caught.”

“Ugh, not being able to hide your facial expressions while living in society is a really big weakness.”

“You’re still young, so try to overcome that much. Ah, since we came to the department store, what do you want to buy?”

“What to buy. Let’s look around a bit…ah, should we look at some furniture?”

She looked at me with a surprised expression at the word ‘furniture’.

Clothes or swimsuits would have been normal, but people don’t usually come all the way to a department store to look at furniture.

Moreover, it would be even more surprising if it was me. It would be a word I’ve never uttered in my life.

“Furniture? Is there something you want to buy?”

“The move is still far away, but I was wondering if there’s anything good. I already contacted my parents and they gave their permission.”

“It won’t be summer until we move…”

“I thought it wouldn’t be bad to look in advance and buy slowly. It’ll be expensive if we buy it here, but it’ll be cheaper if we buy it online.”

We went up to the furniture corner floor in the elevator and looked at some furniture.

From wardrobes to beds and sofas, desks and chairs, etc.

The very act of discussing and considering things together, rather than just buying things for me to use that I used at home, took a considerable amount of time.

Especially the bed. We agreed on everything else without much discussion, but not the bed.

“The bed should be big. I’m big, and you’re going to use it too, right? Then it should be big.”

“I guess we’ll use it together. But we won’t always sleep together, so it’s better to use separate ones that are big.”

“We won’t always sleep together? What, are we going to use separate rooms as soon as we move?”

“Oppa and I are people too. I’m exhausted from work, so would I feel good if you touched me in the same bed?”

“No, well…we don’t dislike each other, so why would it feel bad.”

“I know both oppa and I are similar, and we both need personal time when we’re in a bad mood. That’s why I’m saying we should have separate beds. Feeling good from being touched is only for a very short time.”

Opinions were subtly divided. The problem was that we both agreed to some extent with each other’s words, and we needed an agreement rather than a fight.

It was true that we spent nights cuddling in bed when we were in a good mood, but it wasn’t the case when Ji-hye was stressed and full of annoyance.

Of course, it was also true that she felt better if I said something nice next to her, but when she was really angry and speechless, that didn’t work either.

The conclusion we reached by adjusting and matching each other’s opinions was to buy beds that could be pushed together.

We spent too much time and energy just looking at furniture, so we went back to the department store restaurant, ate, and started talking again.

“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“Regret? Regret what.”

“Living with me.”

“If you say that now, what, are you saying we should live separately?”

“It’s not that…there could be other paths, but you’re saying you’ll live with me. That’s why I’m asking.”

She briefly stopped eating and calmly drank water.

The touch of wiping her mouth lightly was light, and that hand immediately grabbed my cheek and opened her mouth.

“Ack!”

“You should have asked that sooner, why are you asking that now, you idiot?”

“Hey, let go…no, it’s not like I can’t ask now, why?”

“If you were going to ask something like that, you should have done it from the beginning, when we met at the cafe. What’s the point of saying that now?”

Releasing my cheek, Ji-hye took another sip of water.

“If I was going to regret it, I should have done it back then, and now it’s too late even if I regret it.”

“So you’re saying you regret it after all…”

I had nothing to say even if she regretted it.

In fact, I used my power to push her semi-forcibly, so even more so.

But Ji-hye accepted me anyway, and even if that was sincere, I couldn’t easily get rid of the feeling of guilt.

In the end, the result I created by pushing forward, even though there might have been other paths, is what it is now, and there’s no one who can guarantee that it wouldn’t have been better to go down a different path.

Ji-hye, who had been silently listening to my words, looked at me for a moment and then got up from her seat.

“What are you doing?”

“Move over a bit. Let me sit too.”

She confidently walked over and sat in the chair next to me, then nonchalantly brought over the plate of food she had been eating.

And she handed me a fork and boldly demanded, leaning on my shoulder.

“Feed me.”

“You’re not a kid, Ji-hye.”

“I’m not a kid, so I’m telling you to feed me, so I don’t regret it.”

“Ugh…so you do regret it after all.”

She hit my shoulder with her head at my whining and opened her mouth.

“A person can’t not regret something. There’s one thing I didn’t regret back then, but I regret now.”

“What is it, that you should have met someone other than this bastard and it would have been better?”

“No. If I had known it would be like this, I would have educated you to my liking.”

She grabbed my hand tightly again, reminding me of the sensation of the fork.

In the end, her regret wasn’t about meeting me.

I took it to mean that the meeting itself wasn’t very good, but she had no regrets after meeting me, and I picked up a piece of meat with the fork and put it in her mouth.

I smiled without realizing it at the sight of her quietly accepting it and chewing, and I continued to feed her.

Ji-hye quietly accepted it and chewed, and she remained leaning on my shoulder.

‘If this is acting cute, then it is. Showing off openly to people outside…’

Recalling the time we had dinner at the department store in the past, I could feel that Ji-hye definitely didn’t regret it.

The girl who avoided even touching me to avoid being noticed by others is now openly clinging to me and acting cute, so isn’t that an indirect expression that she has no regrets?

Without even realizing that my food was getting cold, I fed Ji-hye and enjoyed this happiness.

I also changed, but Ji-hye also changed, and today, time flowed by.