Ch.1414. She Is Mine

I could hardly believe they were testing me. Seeing the doubt on my face, Nam Da-eun quickly jumped in.

“Don’t blame Nabi. This was all my doing, on my own.”

She was telling me to direct any anger or complaints at her, not Hwa Nabi. That made me pause. The culprit was confessing to acting alone. Whether that was true or not didn’t really matter.

If I said anything to Hwa Nabi now, I’d just look petty. Nam Da-eun probably knew that and had considered it when speaking. Yes, I hate to admit it, but I was cornered by her preemptive move.

I froze, caught in an awkward position. As I was mentally searching for the right words, Hwa Nabi suddenly walked toward the counter.

“I heard loud voices and wondered what was going on…!”

With her face still bright red, Hwa Nabi passed by my stunned figure and glared at Nam Da-eun. But Da-eun showed no signs of remorse. Instead of accepting Nabi’s scolding, she fired back defiantly.

“Wait, Nabi. Shouldn’t you be thanking me? Honestly, you were curious too, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t. And even if I was curious, don’t you know it’s rude to ask such things to someone you’ve just met?”

“Why is he a stranger? If he’s your boyfriend, then he’s my friend too.”

“What kind of nonsensical logic is that… No, and besides, Siwoo isn’t my boyfriend…!”

Hwa Nabi swallowed the rest of her sentence and glanced at me. Even in her agitated state, she was still mindful of my reaction. I thought I understood why she was acting this way.

We had skipped all the steps that men and women usually take and jumped straight to being engaged. So it was a bit awkward to define our relationship precisely.

Is it appropriate to introduce a fiancé as “my boyfriend” or “my girlfriend”?

…That was a more philosophical question than I expected.

“Boyfriend, and then what?”

“…It’s true. But that’s not the important thing right now.”

Hwa Nabi seemed to have chosen to mumble her way out of it. Watching this, I couldn’t help but smile.

What does one have to eat to grow up to be this cute? I made a mental note to ask Hwa Nabi’s parents when I meet them, as I continued to observe the situation.

“…Anyway, apologize to Siwoo first.”

“Why should I?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? Are you seriously asking? I never thought you’d do something like this! I’m even more shocked! You said all those weird things to Siwoo!”

“What weird things did I say?”

“Uh, um? Well…”

“Well, what?”

Due to Nam Da-eun’s mischievous questioning, Hwa Nabi’s pupils began to tremble violently. Her eyes said she never expected to be asked that.

“What did I say? Tell me. Then I’ll apologize.”

“…C-con.”

“Con? What about con?”

Hwa Nabi struggled to force out words, her gaze darting around aimlessly. Then, as if buffering, she kept repeating the same word.

“Con, conconconcon… traception, things like contraception, that kind of stuff!”

Yet she managed to say what needed to be said clearly. Watching her, I suddenly wanted to applaud. Is this what parents feel raising daughters? It was a heartwarming sight.

“Is contraception a weird word? Why? It’s something you obviously need to do. You’re not planning to have a baby like me, right?”

“…”

I think I just heard something strange. Was it my imagination? I doubted my ears for a moment. It wasn’t the kind of thing you’d expect from a girl the same age as Hwa Nabi.

“Th-that’s true… No, Da-eun, are you really going to be like this? Are you just teasing me now?”

“Heh, sorry. I was just happy to see you after so long. I dropped out during summer break, so it’s been about six months since we’ve seen each other, right?”

Surprisingly, Nam Da-eun admitted it readily and opened her arms toward Hwa Nabi. The meaning behind that gesture was clear—she wanted Nabi to hug her.

I’d heard she had an eccentric personality, but it was hard to adjust to how she could tease someone mercilessly and then suddenly change her attitude. And Hwa Nabi seemed to feel the same way, hesitating to step forward and hug her.

“What? Don’t you want to hug me?”

Nam Da-eun muttered with a disappointed tone. After a moment of consideration, Hwa Nabi squeezed her eyes shut and hugged Nam Da-eun.

“Nabi. It’s been so long. Right?”

“Yeah… Why didn’t you contact me all this time? I was really worried.”

“Sorry, I was busy with having the baby and other things. I had to handle postpartum recovery by myself too.”

They patted each other’s backs while having this belated conversation, and I stepped back.

I thought they had already caught up, but apparently not. I hadn’t heard their conversation earlier because I’d tactfully given them space.

“Huh? Why did you have to do that alone? What about the baby’s father?”

“He ran away.”

“…”

Walking at a distance, I was suddenly at a loss for words.

It’s something that happens in life, but not something you hear every day.

So that’s why Nam Da-eun had been particularly sensitive about contraception and pregnancy. She was worried that her friend Hwa Nabi might follow the same path she had.

Now that I understood the circumstances, I could somewhat comprehend why Nam Da-eun had behaved that way.

“Oh my goodness…”

In response to that shocking confession, Hwa Nabi simply stroked Nam Da-eun’s back gently. I watched the two of them from a distance, but…

“Hmm.”

Thinking about it now, I wondered if I should even be listening to this.

I was, after all, just a friend of a friend—practically a third party. It was quite an uncomfortable topic for someone like me to be present for.

But well, what could I do about what I’d already heard? It’s not like I could erase it from my memory.

“…Ah.”

My mind feels unsettled after hearing such things late at night. I wonder how much baby products cost these days? Just as I was about to take out my phone to look it up:

“Siwoo, where are you?”

I heard Hwa Nabi’s voice calling for me. It seemed their conversation had ended.

“Are you done talking?”

“Yes. More or less. We can continue our unfinished conversation through messenger, so it’s fine.”

After saying they’d finished talking, she mentioned they still had more to discuss. I couldn’t understand it at all. What topic could they possibly have so much to talk about?

Well, if they’re done, that’s fine. I turned around, intending to leave the convenience store. But suddenly, Hwa Nabi grabbed my sleeve to stop me.

“Siwoo, wait a moment. Da-eun says she has something to tell you.”

“…What else does she have to say?”

I was already starting to feel afraid when she said Da-eun had something to tell me. I wondered what strange thing she would say next. I was mentally preparing myself.

“You’re Siwoo, right? I’m sorry for asking such a rude question when we just met. You must have felt uncomfortable because of me, and I sincerely apologize.”

“I-I’m sorry too, Siwoo. If I had known Da-eun would say such things, I would have stopped her beforehand…”

Unexpectedly, sincere apologies came out. And not just verbal apologies—they even bowed their heads deeply, showing proper respect.

It was such an unexpected situation that I didn’t know how to react.

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly upset or anything.

The reason my expression had hardened was because I didn’t know what to say, and I belatedly realized I had said embarrassing things to a complete stranger, not because the situation itself was unpleasant.

Moreover, Hwa Nabi had said she didn’t know Da-eun would act like this. I’m not narrow-minded enough to not understand that much.

But there was one thing that bothered me regardless.

“So, are we good now?”

Nam Da-eun was grinning at us as if everything was settled, even though the person who received the apology hadn’t said it was okay. I found her extremely irritating.

How could I make that convenience store worker’s face look gloomy? I seriously considered it for a moment.

While glaring at Nam Da-eun and contemplating, a method suddenly crossed my mind. I shifted my gaze to Hwa Nabi, who was standing awkwardly beside me.

And then.

“Huh?”

I immediately put my right arm around Hwa Nabi’s shoulder. Then I wrapped my arm inward and hugged her tightly. Hwa Nabi ended up in my arms with her eyes wide open, and sparks flew in Nam Da-eun’s eyes as she watched us.

“S-Siwoo?!”

“Hey, you, w-what are you doing right now?”

“What do you mean? Can’t you see?”

I deliberately added more strength to the arm that was embracing Hwa Nabi. Sure enough, as planned, Nam Da-eun began to visibly panic. She probably didn’t expect me to do this. I didn’t expect it either.

“Hey, hey. Let go of her right now. How dare you put your dirty arm around our Nabi.”

“I don’t want to. She’s mine, isn’t she?”

The method I chose was the so-called jealousy-inducing strategy. At my provocative words, Nam Da-eun bit her lip hard. She was clearly very upset.

“W-what? S-Siwoo?”

Squirming in my arms, Hwa Nabi began twisting her body in various directions. She seemed uncomfortable from being held so tightly, but I hoped she could bear with it for just a moment.

“Just a second, it’ll be over soon.”

“W-what will be over?”

You’ll see. I whispered in her ear quietly enough that Nam Da-eun couldn’t hear, and Hwa Nabi suddenly went quiet.

Then she lowered her gaze with a reddened face. She bowed her head deeply, but for a different reason than before.

“Tsk, if only I had been born a man, this wouldn’t have happened.”

With a grinding of teeth, Nam Da-eun spouted nonsense. I mocked her thoroughly as I continued.

“What? If you were born a man, you wouldn’t even be able to talk to Hwa Nabi. It’s only possible because I’m me.”

“How would you know? You look just like a thug. No, Nabi, what on earth do you see in a guy like this?”

“Why, jealous? You’re jealous, right? You can’t do this.”

“I-I can too! Nabi, just a moment, just for a moment…!”

“Ah, seriously…! Both of you, stop it!”

***

…After childishly bickering like that, we all ended up being scolded by Hwa Nabi.

“Really, Da-eun is Da-eun, but you too, Siwoo. Why are you fighting with my friend?”

“No, she started it first.”

“There you go again! You’re not a child anymore, are you going to keep making excuses?”

“…I’m sorry.”

When faced with sound reasoning, I had nothing to say. Nam Da-eun snickered at me, so I frowned deeply at her in response.

“Siwoo. If you keep doing that, I’m really going to get angry.”

Hwa Nabi’s chilling voice echoed ominously. It was a tone I’d never heard before, and I instinctively knew.

Hwa Nabi was truly on the verge of getting angry.

“You’re both the same. Apologize to each other.”

At my age, being told to apologize to someone almost a generation younger? Naturally, resistance welled up from deep within me.

But the moment I met Hwa Nabi’s fierce gaze, I found myself apologizing to the other person.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

“M-me too.”

“Alright, the discussion ends here. You’ve both apologized to each other, so stop fighting now.”

With Hwa Nabi’s mediation, we both fell silent as if by agreement.

It’s a bit awkward when you go from fighting like you want to kill each other to suddenly cooling down. So I opened my mouth.

“Shall we go now?”

“Yes. It seems quite late. Da-eun, I’ll text you. See you later.”

“Okay. Bye, Nabi. And… you too.”

Nam Da-eun’s last words were barely audible, but at least she said goodbye.

…Anyway, after all that commotion, we left the convenience store.

“It’s not even a downpour, why is it raining so much?”

“Yeah, it’s really coming down.”

Outside, the rain was still pouring heavily. Whether it was an unseasonable monsoon or a hole in the sky, the fierce raindrops beat against the umbrella I was holding.

“You said your home is just ahead, right? I’ll walk you there.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’m saying I don’t think I need to come in.”

Now that I was thinking more rationally, it occurred to me that entering a woman’s home when she lives alone seemed inappropriate.

Actually, even if she lived with her parents, that would be its own problem. From her parents’ perspective, I would just be a scoundrel who kept their daughter out until late at night.

“Um… wait, wait. Are you serious right now?”

Is she asking if I’m joking? Not understanding her intention, I just nodded. But suddenly, Hwa Nabi grabbed my sleeve.

“What?”

My sleeve’s been grabbed several times today. I was having such a pointless thought when:

“No.”

“Huh? What?”

“D-don’t go.”

At these sudden words, I opened my eyes wide. What is she saying? Don’t go home? Does she want me to sleep on the street? Genuinely not understanding, I looked into Hwa Nabi’s eyes and asked.

Hwa Nabi avoided my gaze and muttered in an almost inaudible voice.

“No, that’s not what I meant… Ah, right. Studying. You promised to teach me, remember? You need to help me study.”

“Does it have to be now? It’s late, let’s just do it next time…”

“No, no. It has to be today.”

“…Is there a specific reason it has to be today?”

“Yes, yes. Um, well… Ah, we have a math quiz tomorrow. So I really need to learn from you. And it’s raining heavily, so isn’t it dangerous? It’s late and dark, what if you fall? No, you can’t go.”

“…”

Somehow her reasons seemed to deteriorate as she went on, but… I understood the intention behind her words.

It seemed Hwa Nabi wanted to keep me with her by any means. I don’t know why exactly. She must have her own reasons.

But I had no intention of playing along with Hwa Nabi’s intentions.

“Fine, I got it. Let’s go.”

“Really, really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Oh, great. What should we have for dinner? You haven’t eaten anything yet.”

“…Just, anything.”

I nodded slowly at Hwa Nabi, who was asking with strange excitement. Since she said the purpose was to study for a math test, I would thoroughly fulfill that purpose tonight. Let’s see how she likes studying until her mouth tastes sweet.

Thinking that, I suddenly placed my hand on my chest.

-Thump thump.

Contrary to my thoughts, my heart was beating violently.