episode_0022

The place is still outside.

After getting off the bus, I was trying my best to comfort Aki, who was pouting cutely.

Aki likes to tease me, so he often pulls subtle pranks on me, and I’m easily swayed by him, but he’s very vulnerable to teasing me in return, so whenever I counterattack even a little, he appeals like ‘I’m angry~’ This often happens.

“Aki, I’m sorry. Are you very angry?”

“… … Heung.”

Well, even if you pout, just cross your arms like this, turn your head and pretend not to hear me. All it does is snort, so instead of being scary, it just looks cute.

If you tease him more because he’s cute, he’ll get really upset. There are stages to Aki’s sulking. Why, like the 5 stages of anger famous in the community. There are everything from the very least to the very worst.

To explain it in terms of the 5th stage, Aki’s current psychological state is about sono.

no. Since I’m not angry, I’m just upset, so “small” would be more accurate.

“I’m sorry, Akiya, okay?”

“… … Heung!”

Anyway, I offered an apology to Aki, who was in a very upset state, but Aki seemed to have no intention of accepting my feelings and continued to snort and hum.

To be honest, the pouting is also cute so I want to keep seeing it, but then I’m the one who feels disappointed.

It’s not that it’s not, because today is the day that Aki came to our house and cooked.

Aside from the fact that I don’t know what changes Aki will make to the recipe to get revenge on me if I go home like this, today I’m in a position to be beaten. So it would be right to bend over and go in first.

“I was wrong, I won’t do that again, so let go of your anger.”

“… … .”

“Well, what was your favorite thing? Eating it with a skewer. The name… .”

“… … Tanghulu.”

When I ask Aki, deliberately pretending not to know, he takes the bait.

“Ah, yes. Tanghulu, his name was Tanghulu.”

As a girl, I guess she likes sweet snacks, but as soon as I mentioned Tanghulu, Aki perked up her ears and started glancing at me.

Judging by his reaction, he wanted to eat it, but it seemed like he didn’t want to ask me to buy it first, so I noticed it like a ghost and quickly said.

“I will buy you a tanghulu, so can you relieve your anger? huh? Please, Aki.”

“… … Two.”

“Huh? What?”

“Buy me two.”

“… … .”

I never thought they would ask for two Tanghulu in the middle of this.

You’re a girl who can’t let her guard down, Aki.

Still, if you can soothe a sulky Aki with two Tanghulu, it’s cheap. I nodded without hesitation.

“Okay, I’ll buy you two. So are we making up now?”

“… … Yes.”

Only then did Aki look at me.

‘As expected, girls like to eat… .’

The life tips I learned at the age of ten seem to be still valid even at the age of seventeen.

I smiled and held out my hand.

“Shall we hold hands to commemorate the reconciliation?”

“… … Well, something like that.”

Aki grumbled and gently took my hand.

I gently held Aki’s hand, and since we made up, we walked at a balanced pace and slowly got to the point.

“Aki, do you remember that you decided to come to my house today and make dinner?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Really? Great. Can I ask what you want for dinner?”

“Hmm… . First of all, I think we need to check what’s in Uju~chan’s house… . Oh, no. I can’t see anything. Let’s go to the mart first, Wooju~chan.”

“Ugh, there’s nothing there. But Aki, why don’t you call it Woojoo?”

A little while ago, he dropped the chan (ちゃん) and only called him Wooju, but as soon as we reconciled, I felt that his nickname went back to normal, so I immediately asked him about it.

Aki thought about my words for a moment.

“Ah, not yet… . A little too early… .”

He muttered in a low, barely audible voice.

“That was just a mistake. I think it was a mistake… !”

“Mistake? Then, since I made a mistake, I can’t keep making mistakes?”

“Oh, no! Take Namae (name only) later, when our relationship became a little deeper… . At that time, I decided to call… .”

“What does a deeper relationship have to do with this?”

“… … I don’t know. Anyway, it’s still too early to just call him by name! Let’s pretend you didn’t hear it, Uju~chan!”

You always call me by your first name, and then you call me by your title again.

It was a disappointing declaration for me, who had been desperately waiting for Aki to call me by my first name, but this was not something I could ask for.

After doing some cursory research, I found out that Japan’s yobiste (address) culture is a completely personal area. If Aki doesn’t want to call me by my first name, forcing him to do so would be very rude.

Of course, Yoviste is case-by-case, so each situation is different, but at least the basic gist is the same.

‘I can’t help it… .’

Today I have no choice but to take a step back.

I just swallowed my regret inside, no, in fact, I couldn’t swallow it all, and nodded my head with some lingering regret.

“Okay. Instead, let’s make something really delicious for dinner tonight, that’s okay, right?”

“… … Yes! Just trust me, Wooju~chan!”

* * *

In front of the house, a large supermarket.

Aki and I walked down the street holding hands for about a stop, and stopped at the supermarket in front of our house to buy ingredients to make dinner. Because of the time zone, it was quite quiet inside.

“Wooju~chan, is there any dish you’d like to eat?”

“Me? Well, anything is fine with me… .”

In the past, you had to put coins in the shopping cart, but now it’s a free, open shopping cart.

And as I continued to push forward and walk, Aki walked next to me and tapped his lips with his index finger.

“Not just anything, is there anything you feel like this is for sure?”

“Um, well… . Should I just take a look and think about it? If you look around, you might find something you want to eat.”

“It’s not a very good behavior… . I got it first. Let’s go and see.”

“Yes, then. But why is it not a very good action?”

“Wooju~chan, have you heard of impulse buying? If you don’t decide what to buy in advance, you are more likely to buy something useless. You end up wasting money on something you don’t need to use.”

“Aha.”

Well, it could be because all the things you see are useful-looking items.

What I heard was true, so I thought it was plausible and looked around. Fruits, vegetables, meat. The first floor has many items where freshness is key, including agricultural and marine products. That’s probably why it’s called ‘Fresh Corner’.

‘Meat and vegetables… .’

When you combine the two, something immediately comes to mind.

Men’s favorite dish, stir-fried pork.

If you mix sweet and salty pork on top of chewy rice, you can have a meal in no time.

Just thinking about it made my mouth water, so I glanced at Aki and sighed.

“Aki, how about stir-fried pork?”

“Stir-fried pork? Oh, you mean stir-fried pork?”

“Yes, it’s made with vegetables and pork. How are you? Isn’t it okay?”

“Well, it’s okay because it’s simple and easy to clean up afterward… . Uju~chan, do you know what? Vegetable is a Japanese expression. In Korea, it is correct to say vegetable or vegetable, not vegetable.”

“Oh, really?”

What is it? Even though Aki is of mixed Japanese and French descent, she knows Korean better than me, a native Korean… … .

As I walk in front of the vegetable stand and am purely amazed, the eyes of people around me are drawn to us as we walk side by side, pushing a cart. The reason is simple.

Aki, who is right next to me, is clearly not Korean, but she is wearing a Korean school uniform and, on top of that, she looks very handsome.

The mere fact that he is a person with blue eyes attracts people’s attention… … . It’s so pretty that you can’t help but look back as you pass by.

“Let’s see. To make stir-fried pork, first you need meat, cabbage, green onion… .”

But, does Aki really not care about the looks of those people? Or maybe I was just so used to it that I didn’t know, but I was just thinking seriously while touching my lips.

“Wooju~chan, how should I season it? Soy sauce or red pepper paste?”

“Since it’s dinner, should we have soy sauce?”

“Ugh, okay. Then you will also need soy sauce. Uju~chan, let’s go buy meat first.”

“Okay.”

Today’s chef, Aki, gave an order. The target is pork, the destination is the meat section.

I pushed the cart forward.

One step, two steps. Three steps again. As we were walking forward, I suddenly noticed a product promotional message hanging at the top opposite the direction we were going.

[Sweet gift corner for the upcoming White Day!]

‘… … Ah, now that I think about it.’

Now next week is White Day.

I had a lot to worry about these days, so I forgot about it, but March 14th is the anniversary when men give gifts to women.

I received handmade chocolates as a gift from Aki on Valentine’s Day, so of course I should return the favor, right?

Actually, just today, I’m planning to get some food later, and I usually take care of things for him. Now that we are both in high school, I want to give them a nice gift to commemorate the occasion… .

‘… … ‘Cost is the problem.’

As always, money is the problem.

Due to my mother’s education policy (if you don’t have money, you learn that money is precious, so if you provide it generously from a young age, the habit of spending money will only get worse), I didn’t originally receive a generous allowance, so spending money was burdensome.

At least when I received pocket money and used it, things were okay. If you don’t have it, you can just reduce your spending.

But, starting this month when I start living alone, that won’t be possible. This is because my mother provides a set amount of living expenses, and I have to manage all expenses on my own.

“Hmm… .”

If I had money to spare, I would feel free to give it as a gift, but I don’t have a part-time job, so unless I have money left over from living expenses, I don’t have any extra money, right?

But that doesn’t mean I can’t buy a gift for Aki with my dad’s card.

‘I’m worried… .’

Is there any better way?

I can solve my money problems all at once. Such a good method… … .

As I was walking forward with some serious agony, Aki tapped my shoulder.

“Wooju~chan, it’s on the other side, right?”

“… … Oh sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment.”

“Thinking about something else… ?”

Aki stopped walking.

“Wooju~chan. By any chance, you were thinking about another woman, right~?”

“Hey, Aki, what are you thinking about when I’m with you? Of course not.”

“Hmm, okay… ?”

Jiii-.

Aki seems to be looking me up and down carefully.

“You know. Uju~chan, I heard an interesting story today… ?”

“Interesting story? What is that?”

“About 3 days ago? Uju~chan went to a coin karaoke room with another girl without Atashi (me) knowing… . That kind of story.”

“… … No, who says such nonsense?”

“Jaehyun-sang said you went with him, wasn’t he?”

“… … .”

Jaehyun Nam.

I will definitely take revenge on you.

Hit me in the back like this… … ?

“Wooju~chan, why can’t you answer?”

“… … .”

“… … Uju~chan?”

“… … .”

“… … Hehehe. Uju~chan, there is no use in exercising your right to remain silent. If you don’t tell me, I will do it myself-.”

“──Are you a newlywed?”

The moment Aki was holding my arm and questioning me, someone standing beyond the meat counter suddenly started talking to us.

I looked around without thinking, and there was a lady with a warm look standing there. The age range is roughly around 50 to 60 years old, or around my grandmother’s age.

“Uh, are you talking about us?”

“Ugh, that’s right. These are the two people who were having a friendly conversation just now.”

“… … Poetry, newlyweds?!”

Aki muttered something softly, and his face turned red.

I looked at Aki, who was strangely embarrassed, and answered while fiddling with the cart handle.

“Ah, we… . I’m still a student.”

“Oh, it wasn’t. Sorry, I guess I was mistaken.”

“No, well… .”

I’ve often been misunderstood that we’re dating, no, I’ve been misunderstood a lot, but this is the first time I’ve been misunderstood that we’re newlyweds.

Even though I and Akina are quite mature in appearance, I didn’t think they would look that way since they were wearing school uniforms, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for older people.

“Did you come to buy meat?”

“Ah, yes. For stir-fried pork.”

“If it’s stir-fried pork, you’re going to use front leg meat, and the two of you are going to eat it? How much will I give you?”

“Yes, two people will eat. Aki, how long will you live?”

“… … Poetry, newlyweds, newlyweds.”

The taste seems to have gone somewhere, like a broken robot, ‘Newlyweds, couple…’ Aki just mutters ‘.’

I asked, but he didn’t answer and continued like this, so I had no choice but to open my mouth.

“Just give it in moderation. Just enough for one meal for two people.”

“Okay. I’ll pack a pound for you. The price is only 5,000 won. I may have misunderstood something, so I’ll give it to you cheaply.”

“Ah, thank you. Here is 5,000 won.”

The staff behind the counter expertly packaged the meat.

I paid, received the meat, and while the whole process was over, I patted Aki, who was still distraught, on the back.

“Aki, let’s go buy vegetables now.”

“Oh, yes… .”

Aki walks after me with a blank face, as if she has lost her soul.

‘… … ‘Did you really like being called newlyweds?’

As I was quietly looking at Aki, a small sense of playfulness suddenly occurred to me.

“Akiya.”

“Ugh… ?”

“When should we set the wedding date?”

“… … Ugh, huh?!”

Aki’s face turned bright red.