Chapter 141: Side Story – Modern IF (2)

Chapter 141: Side Story – Modern IF (2)

Gaeun: Sewon-ah

Can I come over to your place today?

8:20 AM

-Yeah, come whenever you want.

Could you buy some milk from the convenience store in front of my house on your way?

Let’s eat cereal together.

8:20 AM

Gaeun: Okay. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.

Is there anything else you need?

8:21 AM

-Heehee

Nope.

8:21 AM

Gaeun: Wait a moment.

I’ll make something delicious for you.

8:21 AM

-Ok

8:21 AM

“Heeu-aaaaaaah…”

I put down my phone and stretched languidly in bed.

Today is the weekend morning I’ve been waiting for.

I scratched my slightly sticky cheek and turned on the air conditioner while lying down.

Bbi-bik-

The air conditioner started, and cool air blew out.

Yeah. This is it.

The weather is crazy. It’s only mid-June, but it’s already quite hot.

Is this global warming or something?

I sighed and enjoyed the cool air conditioning.

‘Ah, this is nice…’

You have to start the morning comfortably.

Feeling happy, I rubbed my eyes.

My messy hair was all over the place, completely like a bird’s nest.

Gaeun will be here soon, so I need to get ready quickly.

The first thing to check is the groceries.

I bought them all yesterday, but it’s good to check again.

“Hmm… Good.”

Fortunately, all the ingredients were in the refrigerator.

With a satisfied expression, I gathered the clothes scattered nearby.

If I wash up as quickly as possible, I’ll be done just in time before Gaeun arrives.

I quickly took off my clothes and started showering.

Tok tok-

“Sewon-ah. I’m coming in?”

“Uh, yeah. Come in.”

Just as I expected, Gaeun arrived at my house right when I was finishing my shower.

She pressed the door lock and opened the door, and Gaeun stepped into the entrance.

“Did you sleep well? You woke up quite early today-“

She put down the luggage and bags she was carrying and wore a blank expression.

“Huh? Why?”

“You were showering… S-sorry. You should have told me beforehand.”

Then she turned her head away shyly.

I wondered why, so I looked down.

I was wearing a tank top and only underwear, drying my hair.

I didn’t feel anything particularly awkward, but

Gaeun seemed quite uncomfortable with the situation.

“What’s wrong with it? We’re both girls.”

“Is that so..? O-okay then.”

Her reaction was a little shy.

Her demeanor was completely different from usual, which made me feel a bit playful.

But I felt like her face would explode if I played a prank,

So I dried my hair moderately and picked up the dolphin shorts lying around and put them on.

Then, I smiled brightly at Gaeun.

Only then did she regain her usual composure and wear a relaxed expression.

“It’s very hot outside, isn’t it? Come over to the air conditioner.”

“It’s okay. It’s not that hot. Let’s just eat cereal.”

“Really? You’re not hot in this weather?”

Gaeun, who spoke nonchalantly, didn’t have a single drop of sweat on her face.

Her skin was very soft and dewy, as if she had no sweat glands.

I stared blankly at her face and brought the tiger flakes and bowls.

“Yeah? It’s just my constitution…”

“That’s amazing. I wish I didn’t sweat… Then summer would be much happier.”

Dal-gak-

I set out the bowls, put in the appropriate amount of tiger flakes.

And then poured in the milk Gaeun bought.

I sat at the table I had set up with a refreshing feeling.

“Bon appétit…”

“Sewon, you really like cereal. Is it that delicious?”

“Yeah. It’s convenient and delicious. I bought a lot of it before, so I probably have about thirty boxes.”

“Wow…”

Gaeun looked blankly at the mention of ‘thirty boxes.’

Is this strange?

I eat it when I’m bored, when I’m hungry, and as a late-night snack.

So they get eaten quickly. The 30-box set is also a reorder.

Gaeun seemed quite shocked by my words, muttering ‘thirty boxes…’ and then chewing on her cereal.

We finished all the cereal while chatting like that.

I happily giggled and flopped onto the bed.

Gaeun smiled at me.

“It’s not good to lie down right after eating.”

“You sound just like my mom. Here, come here. Let’s lie down together and watch a movie.”

I stretched out my arms towards her, and Gaeun hesitated slightly.

She clasped her delicate hands and exuded a strange aura.

Finally, Gaeun sat down on the bed.

“I’m fine just sitting here…”

“Oh, come onnnn.”

“Kyaak!”

I wrapped my arm around Gaeun’s abdomen and pulled her onto the bed.

Gaeun shrieked briefly and was pulled towards me.

She laughed, saying ‘What is this, really,’ and then yielded to my touch.

At the same time, a pleasant shampoo scent wafted to my nose.

I could smell another scent, so she must have put on some perfume.

“Did you put on perfume?”

“Yeah. Dad bought me one as a gift. How’s the scent..?”

Gaeun, who asked this, fidgeted with her hands.

Through her falling red hair, her white neck was visible.

I’ve heard that when applying perfume, you put a little on your neck and wrists.

It smelled very soft and sweet like flowers, so it seemed correct.

Seeing Gaeun’s slight shyness, my playful side was tickled again.

I hugged her tighter and whispered softly.

“It’s really nice. What perfume is it?”

“Honeysuckle and Davana…”

Gaeun, speaking with a slightly trembling voice, had her ears turning red.

Strangely, she’s weak to this kind of forwardness.

She’s quite responsive and fun to tease.

“Hmm… The perfume name is unusual.”

“Sewon doesn’t use perfume much, so it’s natural for it to be unfamiliar.”

“It smells so good, I want to try it sometime. Can you recommend it to me later?”

“Uh, yeah… Okay. I’ll ask Dad.”

The phrase ‘ask Dad’ gave me a slightly ominous feeling.

It felt like she said the same thing when I went grocery shopping before.

Especially, Gaeun’s father strangely likes me.

He says there’s no friend who stays with his daughter for so long.

Given that he’s saying that after only three months, there seemed to be a lot of backstory,

But I don’t really care.

Gaeun knows that, so she treats me comfortably.

“Thanks. Let’s watch a movie for a bit and then make lunch. What do you want to watch? Is there anything you want to see?”

“La La Land… is that okay?”

“La La Land? Let me see if we have it. Let’s see… Ah, here it is.”

I pressed the TV remote a few times and found the poster labeled ‘La La Land.’

Whoever put Netflix on a TV deserves an award.

As soon as I pressed ‘Play,’ the movie started.

This is what’s good about watching movies at home. You can skip unnecessary commercials and watch immediately.

Lately, Gaeun seems to have gotten into movies, and she often watches movies at my house when she has free time.

Most of them are romance movies.

Occasionally, when we watch horror movies for the purpose of ‘teasing Gaeun,’ she gets completely scared and hugs me tightly.

Her reaction is so cute that I sometimes use it.

Dalk-

I turned off the lights and focused on the movie that started while hugging Gaeun.

I had been meaning to watch this movie for a while but kept forgetting.

This is a good opportunity to enjoy it while hugging Gaeun.

And so, we focused on the movie, holding our breath.

The ending was a bit ambiguous, but overall, the songs were good, and it seemed fun.

After the movie ended, Gaeun wore a dazed expression, lost in the afterglow.

It was longer than I thought, about 2 hours had passed.

It’s around 11:10 AM now.

This is the perfect time for lunch.

I giggled and held Gaeun’s hand, asking in a soft voice.

“Gaeun-ah. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Yeah. I was so focused on the movie, I didn’t realize, but I’m a bit hungry. Should we start making lunch soon?”

“Absolutely.”

It seems I wasn’t the only one hungry.

As if she had been waiting, Gaeun let go of my hand and dashed to the refrigerator.

There, the ingredients I bought yesterday were proudly displayed.

The reason I buy ingredients like this isn’t really for me to cook.

I’m not very good at cooking.

Because of that, seeing me constantly ordering delivery food, Gaeun declared that she would cook for me whenever she had the chance.

‘What a good girl…’

I don’t know why such a kind and pretty girl is sticking to me,

But I always welcome having such a good friend.

Today’s lunch is tteokbokki, loved by everyone.

I took out the packaged sundae and prepared to cook.

I can make fish cake soup, so I took out a pot too.

As the two of us busily prepared the ingredients, we managed to create a mouth-watering snack set about an hour later.

“Wow… The smell is amazing…”

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat quickly.”

Gaeun also found it hard to resist, so she quickly set the table.

The portion size seemed a bit large for two people, but

In less than 30 minutes, the three-piece snack set disappeared into our stomachs.

Feeling full after emptying our stomachs,

I rummaged through the drawers with great excitement.

Inside were 2-player board games.

Since I’ve been spending a lot of time with Gaeun at school and at home lately, I bought a few to play together.

Although Gaeun bought about 7 out of the 10 games.

“Let’s play this after resting a bit. I bought it yesterday and really wanted to play it with you.”

“It’s a brain game, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. You’re really good at studying. They say it’s super fun to play with someone smart.”

“Right. Let’s play together later. I’m a bit full now… I want to rest for a bit.”

For some reason, Gaeun looked at me with a very pleased expression.

Is she happy because I praised her intelligence?

Anyway, praise makes even whales dance.

I nodded and naturally rested my head on Gaeun’s thigh.

A single-person pillow I can occasionally enjoy.

She usually finds it embarrassing and doesn’t do it often, but it’s easy to take advantage of the moment when I feel sleepy like now.

Resisting the temptation to sleep from the soft and fluffy sensation,

After resting for about 10 minutes, I enjoyed a happy board game session with Gaeun.

As expected, Gaeun’s brainpower was beyond imagination.

“Wow… You’re really good… Isn’t this your first time playing this game…?”

“Uh, um… It’s not that difficult a game. You just need to think about the probabilities a little…”

“Wow…”

We played a total of 20 games, and I lost 11 of them.

The reason was that I kept telling myself I had to win next time, and the number of games increased too much.

After that, when I felt hungry while playing games, I’d go to the convenience store.

When I felt tired, I’d lie down and lounge around.

It was a simple yet fulfilling way to spend time, and it was already approaching dinner time.

I decided to order delivery this time, as it felt too shameless to rely on Gaeun’s kindness for dinner too.

At first, Gaeun, who wouldn’t even hold my hand, completely changed her tune after tasting pig’s trotters.

As expected, meat is the best way to win someone over.

“Haaahm… This is really the best… I feel like I’m going to die from happiness eating only delicious food all day…”

I played all day and ate delicious food.

I snuggled into Gaeun with a happy expression.

There’s about a 15cm height difference, and she’s petite, so she’s perfect to hug.

Gaeun fidgeted with her hands in my embrace and then smiled.

“Then, to make Sewon less happy, I’ll make pineapple pizza for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Ah, that’s a bit… No, more importantly. Tomorrow morning?”

Her words, which seemed to hint at something, made me tilt my head.

Then Gaeun peeked her head out of my embrace.

She looked cute, like a hamster digging a hole.

“Yeah. I’m going to sleep over tonight. I already told my parents.”

“Really? Yay! So that’s why your luggage looked a bit heavy earlier.”

It was unexpected news, but it didn’t really matter.

Today is Saturday, and it’s very common for Gaeun to sleep over at my house.

I prefer it that way. Two is more fun and enjoyable than one.

Bbi-k-

Smiling happily at the good news, I turned on the TV.

Since Gaeun is staying over tonight, we should watch movies until dawn.

Gaeun seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she was already listing movies she wanted to watch.

The movie she immediately picked was a romance movie that’s been quite popular lately.

It’s said to have excellent, intense depictions and has received good reviews from critics.

The trailer also looked very interesting.

“I’ll turn off the lights.”

“Yeah. If we get hungry while watching the movie, let’s stop by the convenience store.”

“Okay. Here… the movie starts.”

Gaeun turned off the lights and quickly sat next to me.

As the critics praised, the movie was quite enjoyable.

The humor matched my taste, and the plot was exactly what I liked.

However, Gaeun didn’t seem to like the movie.

She kept fidgeting with her hands and glancing at me.

I wondered if something was wrong, so I looked at Gaeun.

She slowly opened her mouth.

“Um.. Sewon-ah.”

“Yeah? Why?”

“..Can I ask you just one thing?”

“What is it? Ask me anything you’re curious about.”

“Well, don’t misunderstand. It’s just… I heard by chance. Yesterday… I heard you received a confession.”

The movie was at the point where the female protagonist was about to confess.

I was a bit taken aback by the unexpected question, but

I soon regained my composure and smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah. I received one yesterday… Why do you ask?”

“That, um. So, from whom… did you receive it?”

Gaeun’s expression as she asked this seemed very complicated.

What is it? Does she think I’d be uncomfortable with this question?

I wonder if this is why she was acting strange at times today.

I didn’t particularly care, so I smiled and continued.

“There’s a guy in my club. We did a lot of activities together when we were in the club… I guess he developed feelings then. He confessed to me in a place where there weren’t many people.”

“I see…”

-Will he think of me as more than a friend? I don’t know.

The female protagonist’s inner monologue pierced the strange silence between us.

Then, Gaeun’s hands started fidgeting again.

She lightly touched my hand,

And then slowly intertwined her fingers with mine.

Her soft, cool hands were trembling slightly.

“Are you going to… accept that?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“So, um… do you have feelings for him? Just… I’m curious.”

Her hesitant demeanor was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile.

I held her hand tightly,

And said in a slightly playful voice.

“Well. He’s good-looking, and his personality is decent… but I don’t know yet. I’ve never thought of him as more than a friend.”

-Snap out of it, Jeong Juwon. How long are you going to hesitate like this?

On the TV screen, the female protagonist agonized, sighed heavily, and thought of the male protagonist’s face.

And also the faces of other girls who had feelings for him.

That’s why the female protagonist couldn’t act rashly.

“..I see.”

Gaeun murmured calmly, her expression unreadable.

However, I could only feel her grip on my hand tightening.

She sighed faintly and then leaned her body against my arm.

She seemed to have a lot to say.

As I tilted my head, wondering about this strange atmosphere, Gaeun looked up and met my gaze.

“Sewon-ah.”

In a calm, soft, yet somewhat seductive tone.

She opened her mouth.