episode_0010

14 years old.

The days of elementary school, when I was young and naive, have passed.

Now that we’ve grown up a bit and shed our childish ways, Aki and I are no longer as close as we were when we were kids.

“Wooju~chan, ah~”

“Huh? here… ?”

“Hurry up, my arm hurts~”

“Ah, uh… .”

──It didn’t work out.

Of course, the only thing that has changed is that the clothes worn to school changed from autonomous uniforms to school uniforms, and that students went to school by bus instead of walking.

Over the past 4 years, my relationship with Aki has not changed at all. In fact, we have become closer than when we were young, but it makes no sense that we have changed so much.

What’s more, when our parents saw us playing, they probably said, ‘Don’t they look like some kind of married couple?’ or ‘That’s right, sometimes it seems like they’re closer than me and him.’

“How about it? Uju~chan, is it delicious?”

“Yes, it’s delicious. Thank you, Aki.”

However, the environment surrounding me and Aki has changed a little.

For example, the relationship between parents.

More specifically, it is the relationship between my mom and dad and Aki’s mother. My parents and Aki’s mother, who only knew of each other’s existence until 4 years ago, quickly became friends after Aki’s mother came to our house to say thank you. You became friends.

The reason this was possible was because the children were close to each other and because my parents were fluent in not only three languages but also six languages, so there was no problem in communication at all. Aside from that, we also liked each other very much.

My mom and dad are naturally a bit shy, and Aki’s mother was born in France, so their sociability wasn’t at a typical level.

When a sweet and pretty person who likes to be close to others and a couple who likes to interfere in other people’s affairs meet each other and talk about their children.

In fact, are you sure you won’t become friends? In fact, it’s even weirder to be moving away.

Well, anyway, my parents and Aki’s mother became a little closer every time we met, and now, four years later, we have become comfortable enough to speak informally to each other.

“What, then you don’t have to go to Japan anymore? Are you going to live in Korea forever?”

“Yes, I made enough money and he said he should continue to help his father-in-law with his work, so I’m just going to stay in Korea and help out.”

“Oh, really? That’s good. Aki will really like it.”

“But he liked it when I told him about it yesterday. What did he say? Oh really? really really? He said, ‘Mom, I love you~!’ I thought he was all grown up now, but he’s still a baby. ”

“Because you are my daughter, you are very good at expressing affection. i envy you. When our universe was young, it always said that it loved its mom, but these days, it doesn’t say that it loves its mom, perhaps because it’s embarrassed that its head has grown a bit. They don’t even hug me very well. Is this because you are a teenager too?”

“Right? Woo Joo and Aki are now fourteen, so it’s time for them to become more sensitive. And you know that boys are a bit stingy in that regard, right? Especially compared to my daughter.”

“This is why I have to have a daughter in addition to a son. Hey, I should have just cheered up and given birth to another one when I gave birth to Universe… .”

And as the parents became closer to each other, I, who had previously been reluctant to go to Aki’s house where only my father was present, was able to go out and play more comfortably.

Before the age of 10, the frequency was about once every two months, but after Aki came to live with his mother, it continued to decrease to once a month, once every two weeks, and once a week. And furthermore, once every three or four days, I came in and out as if it were my own home.

There were so many visits that Aki’s mother jokingly suggested, ‘Woojoo, do you want to just be our son?’

“But Eunhye, I guess Woo Joo is really handsome.”

“Huh? Why, what happened?”

“I had some business to do some time ago, so I went to the school where Aki and Woojoo go to school. I thought it would be over in about an hour, but it took longer than I thought and took about three hours. I looked at the time and it was 2:30 PM. Middle school usually ends around that time, right? So, I was going to wait a little longer and go home with Aki… .”

“Oh, I did it?”

“From afar, a boy who looks like space appears with a girl. I was a bit worried so I got a little closer and it turned out to be a real space. So of course I thought the girl next to her was Aki, but oh my. It wasn’t Aki, it was another girl?”

“… … ?!”

Aki’s eyes widened at the words of Aki’s mother, who was sitting on the living room sofa.

Even so, he raised his big eyes to the size of a flower lantern and looked at me as if asking if what he said was true.

‘… … No, when did you see that?’

I couldn’t say no and was speechless.

“Another girl? Who, who was it?”

“She was a girl with a pretty face and hair down to her waist, but I don’t know her name. But he seemed very close to the universe? They walked almost closely together. To the extent that strangers would think you two were dating.”

“Oh my, my… !”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Are you cheating on me, Uju?”

“Oh, really? Still, that’s probably not the case. But we all know that the universe likes our Aki very much… … . Oh my, were you two there?”

“Wooju~chan.”

“Huh?”

“… … Follow me for a moment.”

“Ah, yes… .”

* * *

After school, after the funeral.

All the kids in the same class gathered in groups of twos and threes and headed to their respective destinations, while Jaehyun and I, who were in charge of cleaning the classroom today – who got caught talking together during class – stayed behind and mopped the floor with a linen cloth.

“Hey Jooju, let’s go to the coin karaoke room after cleaning.”

“Sorry, not today. I have to get tutoring with Aki later.”

“Again? Hey, why do you always hang out with Aki?”

“Not only do I hang out with Aki, but I also hang out with you and other friends? And it’s not about playing, it’s about getting tutored.”

“You’re probably going on a date, not a tutoring session, you two are dating.”

It’s true that we’re not dating or going on a date, but we’re really just going to get tutoring, but it’s useless to talk about it at length, so I kept quiet.

Jaehyun is a friend who has been watching me and Aki’s relationship for the past 8 years, so he has reached a point where he doesn’t believe me even if I say we’re not dating.

It was like a tough relationship, so to speak. Perhaps by coincidence or fate, when I entered middle school, I ended up in the same class as Jaehyun, but fell into separate classes with Aki.

Jaehyun and I are in the 2nd grade, 1st grade, and Aki is in the 3rd grade.

Although the class next to you is just a short distance away, you can see each other’s faces right away, but as everyone can agree, the difference between classes is enormous. If you exaggerate a little, you might not be able to see the faces of students in the class next to you for an entire semester.

Of course, that didn’t happen because Aki and I met regularly outside of school. The point is that there is a sense of distance between students in different classes.

“So when are you going, and can’t you go even for a moment?”

“Tutoring starts in an hour, so I should finish cleaning quickly and wait for the next class to finish before taking him right away.”

“Wow, you’re leaving your friends and going on a date with your girlfriend. Okay, go. A.”

Jaehyun waved his hands as if he was done, but suddenly stopped as if he remembered something.

“That’s right, it’s space. You Aki… . No, what happened with Fujiwara-san?”

“When it’s just me and you, you can call me Aki.”

“No, it’s okay. Your girlfriend is so scared… .”

Jaehyun trembles as if he’s not just saying this, he’s really scared.

I tilted my head as I looked at that figure.

‘… … ‘What’s so scary?’

No matter where you look at it, it looks cute.

“Really? Then there is nothing we can do. But why is that suddenly?”

“The kid who used to come to our class during recess never came today. I saw that you weren’t absent during the mobility class earlier, so of course something must have happened with you. Don’t you think so?”

“… … Ah.”

That’s right too. Aki comes to visit me every day or I visit Aki, so I guess we can infer something like that.

“Tell me honestly, what’s going on? Did you two fight?”

“No, we didn’t fight… .”

“Looking at you not being able to speak, I guess you had a fight. We fought, did we fight?”

“No? We didn’t fight. Just, well… .”

“We didn’t fight, but something happened?”

“… … .”

Having hit the nail on the head, I stopped mopping.

Jaehyun must have noticed something when he saw me like that, and came next to me, smiling slightly sinisterly.

“What, what’s going on?”

“Hmm… .”

Should I say this or not?

It’s true that something happened like Jaehyun said, but I thought for a moment that this wasn’t the kind of problem to talk about confidently in front of others.

Jaehyun taps my shoulder.

“I won’t tell the other kids, so tell me about it. I’m also a master at listening to love stories, right?”

“What kind of person is a love expert when he has never had a girlfriend before? .”

“Hey, when did I say I was a love expert? I said I was a master at listening to love stories.”

“I don’t believe it… . If you talk, don’t you just go somewhere and talk?”

“Junior Universe, when have you ever seen me talking about other people to other people?”

“Well, there isn’t one… ?”

“So, you said I never gossip behind your back? And you wanted to talk anyway. What I’m thinking about right now is proof of that.”

“Umm… … .”

There is nothing to refute because it is correct in every detail.

The fact that Jaehyun is surprisingly quiet-mouthed is something I know better than anyone else, having seen him for the past 8 years, and I was also right in wanting to tell someone about my concerns.

I hesitated for a moment, then slowly resumed mopping and opened my mouth.

“That, Jaehyun. You really shouldn’t tell this to other kids. You know, right?”

“Ugh, never say that. What is it?”

“Well, what happened is… .”

I explained the whole story to Jaehyun.

It was a long story, but to summarize it as best as possible: [About a week ago, I saw the class leader walking down the hallway carrying a heavy baggage, so I helped him. The class president said he would repay the favor and asked us to hang out after school, but I refused, saying that Aki was waiting for me. Even though I refused, the class president kept saying, ‘If you do this, I feel uncomfortable,’ so I had no choice but to get tteokbokki and eat it. But by chance, Aki found out about all of that.] That’s about it.

“This is how it happened.”

“Um.”

Jaehyun nodded, listened to my story, and summed it up in one word.

“What, you’re trash? It means you left your girlfriend and played with another girl.”

“No, you’re not playing? We just ate some tteokbokki and went our separate ways. Really.”

“Did you really say that to her too?”

“Uh, why?”

“Wow… . This guy is serious.”

Jaehyun rested his chin on the mop handle.

“Hey, universe. Fujiwara-san promised to play with you. Before I met you, I met another boy and ate something with him.”

“What? Who is that boy? Is it you?”

Without realizing it, I looked at Jaehyun with a straight face.

“What are you talking about? I said if. I’m not saying it really happened, but what would it be like if that happened?”

“First, I will find out who that boy is and warn him never to think about doing anything with Aki again. Then-.”

“… … I thought it was just Fujiwara, but he’s a little weird too.”

“Huh? What?”

“No, it’s okay. Let’s not talk. But how did you get caught doing that?”

“To be exact, I didn’t catch it, but I think Aki’s mother saw me going to eat tteokbokki with the class president. I was hanging out at Aki’s house the other day and he said that.”

“ Why did you say that to your mother again? Then it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell your girlfriend that she saw something wrong.”

“Ugh, right? But even if I could have pulled it off, I probably wouldn’t have. I decided never to lie to Aki.”

“Oh, is that so? Why did someone who was such a lover go to eat tteokbokki with another woman?”

“… No, that is.”

I have nothing to say because it’s my fault.

“It was just a joke, and after listening to it anyway, I got the answer. Just go ahead and apologize first. I said I was wrong and I will never eat with another girl again.”

“I apologized. But even if I apologized, they didn’t accept it easily. What did you say? ‘Uju~chan, I believed it! Did you say ‘Uragirimono (traitor)!’? .”

“Hey, if you get caught cheating and apologize, that’s a bodhisattva. Isn’t it natural to keep apologizing until you accept it? Change your perspective and think about it. If Aki apologizes for getting caught playing with a boy other than you, can you forgive him right away?”

Aki caught me playing with a boy other than me, and he apologized for that.

I swear I’ve never imagined something like that, but if something I don’t want to imagine actually happens.

If it happens… … .

“… … .”

“What, I can’t do it?”

Jaehyun looks at me with a grin, as if he knew that would happen.

For some reason, I didn’t like that smile, so I slightly pursed my lips and moved my hands.

“What are you talking about? Aki will never do that.”

“Why does that never happen? Don’t you know what people do?”

“Uh, no. Isn’t that right?”

“So, do you know why it’s not like that? Actually, Aki might want to hang out with other boys other than you. But since you keep clinging to me, even though it’s annoying, I have no choice -.”

“… … Hey!”

I raised my voice without realizing it.

“No, Aki decided to marry me──!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

And right after that, I realized that my voice was too loud.

“Oh, sorry. I got excited for a moment… . I’m really sorry.”

I quickly apologized, but Jaehyun just looked at me and said nothing.

I shyly took a step closer, wondering if Jaehyun might have gotten angry because I shouted.

“… … Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun gives me a wink.

More precisely, he is pointing over my shoulder, towards the back door of the classroom where I am standing with my back to him.

I unconsciously looked back.

Then, there.

“… … Huh?”

Standing half-hidden through the slightly open back door.

“… … Ah.”

Aki was there… … !