episode_0234

***

On the way down the hill in the cold night air, I was walking side by side with Yoon Sia.

After the tutoring was over, I thought it was dangerous to walk alone on a quiet street at night, so I went along.

I knew it was pointless and that each and every action like this was a brick building a tower of obsession, but what could I do? This is my personality.

To put it bluntly, if I die, I can come back to life somewhere else, but if someone else dies, it’s over.

If I have to make a sacrifice, it’s cost-effective for me to do it.

Of course, it’s not right to use grand words like sacrifice or anything else to describe our current companionship…

I also wanted to get some fresh air, and I was really worried about sending Yoon Sia alone.

“You don’t have to take me there every time.”

When we got halfway down, Yoon Sia said this.

I said I wasn’t trying to take him away.

Since I had something to buy at the convenience store, I decided to go there as well.

“Okay, let’s do it like that.”

Yun Sia smiled and looked at the moonlit scene, wondering what she was thinking.

The round moon hanging on the shoulder line was showing off its appearance.

“You know. They say this place used to be a small village.”

As we were walking down in silence, Yoon Sia must have been bored and brought up a new topic of conversation.

“So it looks like the hill is high.”

A damn high hill.

It is difficult to climb without a car.

“Isn’t it fascinating? It used to be a neighborhood where poor people lived, but now it has become a neighborhood where wealthy people live.”

I kicked a stone lightly placed on the paved road and sent it rolling down, and Yoon Sia followed the stone with her eyes and said,

“Well, ”

Since I couldn’t understand Yun Sia’s feelings, I responded appropriately.

The reversal between rich and poor villages happens everywhere.

“Hmm… this story might not make sense to you.”

Yoon Sia smiled awkwardly at my ambiguous response.

We went down the hill in silence.

A cold wind passed by my ankles, and I felt like I could see the breath of my breath little by little.

I glanced to the side and saw Yoon Sia’s despondent face.

I don’t know what he was thinking, but I guess he thought he was saying something unnecessary.

It may have been a shock to learn that what you thought was normal wasn’t normal for someone else.

Suddenly, a story my friend told me comes to mind.

He told me that he had prepared a webtoon with his younger relative who was drawing pictures, and that it was a conversation they had at that time, and I still remember it.

‘The main character is an ordinary person. ‘Ordinary college student.’

The friend in charge of the story said that, and the guy’s younger relative asked him this.

‘Why are college students ordinary? There are more people who don’t go to college.’

In short, people tend to define ‘general things’ based on themselves.

That’s why it’s shocking when the general standard is shaken.

Isn’t that how Yun Sia feels right now?

Let’s make a wild guess.

“Teacher, how about college?”

Bring up another topic and rescue her from diving into a swamp of deep thoughts.

“It’s different from high school. If high school was a class that someone spoon-fed you, college is a class that you have to prepare for yourself.”

After thinking deeply, she answered.

“Is it fun?”

“The fun is… I don’t know. But I’m kind of busy. The commute to school takes a long time, there are a lot of assignments, and it costs a lot of money… Ah! Did I just say too bad things? I like college. It’s free and just like that.”

I added hastily, fearing that I might lose interest in college for no reason.

No, I finished college too… Don’t pack it up.

“So Inho, what department do you want to go into? What are your hopes for the future?”

“I haven’t thought about it.”

It’s so far in the future that I don’t think much about it.

“Well, these days, there are many cases where people decide on a job regardless of their major… But if there’s a field you’re interested in, please let me know. I will find out if there is a department I am related to.”

Yoon Sia clenches her hands and shows enthusiasm.

“Yes~”

I responded appropriately.

While we were talking like that, we all came down the hill.

“Then goodbye. I am a convenience store…”

As I was about to let her go at the entrance to the convenience store, a familiar face appeared in front of Yoon Shia.

“……”

It was Shin Jeong-ah.

“Uh, hello?”

She had been infrequent in contact these days.

Do you live around here? We met here last time, and we’ll meet here again.

“I guess you finished late today?”

Shin Jeong-ah looked at me and Yoon Sia in turn and asked.

“Yes, class is a bit late.”

Shin Jeong-ah looked at me with a red face. My body was shaking slightly, and it didn’t seem normal.

“Hey, could you…”

Just as I was about to ask, Yoon Sia stepped forward and sent me behind her.

“Hello? Right, Jeonga?”

Yoon Sia smiled brightly and pretended to know.

“…….”

Shin Jeong-ah did not hide her unpleasant feelings.

“Inho, I’ll go. Jeong-ah took the same bus as me.”

Yoon Sia kept talking without me having time to interrupt, then grabbed Shin Jeong Ah’s shoulder and headed to the bus stop.

As I watched them walk away, all I could do was wave my hand awkwardly.

***

“Sister, what is it?”

Shin Jeong-ah, who was unable to properly respond to Yoon Sia’s unexpected push in front of the convenience store, was able to shake off Yoon Sia’s arm from her shoulder when she reached the bus stop.

“Huh? What?”

Yoon Sia smiled and looked down at Shin Jeong Ah.

“Why are you suddenly acting friendly?”

Shin Jeong-ah opened her eyes.

It was a look that would have been prickly if other friends at school had seen it, but Yoon Sia had no reaction.

“You drank alcohol, right?”

In other words, I am asking this.

In response to Yoon Si-ah’s question, Shin Jeong-ah automatically put her hand to her face.

Even though it was chilly, there was a slight warmth on my face.

“And it looks like he smoked too.”

Yun Shia sniffed.

“So?”

Shin Jeong-ah flinched for a moment at Yoon Sia’s words, but soon straightened her shoulders as if there was nothing to worry about.

What are you going to do? A question like this. Despite that aggressive question, Yoon Sia did not lose her composure.

“I was just trying not to let Inho see you like that.”

“I didn’t know you were thinking about me?”

Shin Jeong-ah sarcastically responded to her soft words.

“What are you talking about?”

Yoon Sia’s eyes widened at Shin Jeong-ah’s words.

“It’s not that I protected you, it’s that I didn’t want Inho to see what you looked like.”

Yoon Si-ah corrects.

The softness from earlier began to disappear little by little from her soft voice.

“…What?”

Shin Jeong-ah just glared at Yoon Sia.

Yun Sia shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s literally like that. When you see a friend who drinks and smokes, you might think you want to drink and smoke again, right? I hope Inho continues to follow the right path.”

Yoon Si-ah, with her arms folded, looks down at Shin Jeong-ah.

“What is your sister? Do you know more about Inho than me?”

Shin Jeong-ah looked up at her as if she was shocked.

“What do you know?”

On the contrary, Shin Jeong-ah kept her mouth shut when Yoon Si-ah asked back.

“At least you know more than me, right?”

“No, I don’t think you know? How good of a kid is Inho?”

“Nice?”

I definitely liked him, but I couldn’t help but question whether he was nice.

“Inho, your nature is good. He seems sincere. So I was curious… why are we going astray…”

Yoon Shia comes one step closer.

“I think…”

Shin Jeong-ah swallowed her saliva.

“Aren’t the friends around him a bad influence on Inho?”

Before we knew it, we had reached a distance where we could look into each other’s eyes.

The gaze that slowly approached and oppressed me contained uprightness.

“Ha!”

Shin Jeong-ah laughed out loud.

“Sister… It really won’t work, right?”

Shin Jeong-ah raised her head and spoke without any hesitation.