Chapter 15
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 15 – Call Me Noona
—–CROW—–
I should have just pretended I didn’t see anything. That was my honest feeling after witnessing Han Seo-ah’s crimson face.
I really shouldn’t have said anything.
I’d never imagined I’d actually experience such a light-novel-like situation.
It was a common trope in romantic comedies: the protagonist witnessing the heroine muttering to herself, thinking he’s not around.
‘…My life isn’t a romantic comedy.’
But this was definitely reality.
People didn’t live in drawings, manga, or anime.
[I don’t know what to say. Did Si-woo hear everything?]
Of course, seeing your childhood friend’s inner thoughts wasn’t something that usually happened in real life.
Anyway, regardless of how it happened, escaping this awkward atmosphere was my priority.
So, I decided to tell a little white lie.
“Han Seo-ah? What did you just say?”
“…You didn’t hear?”
“No. I heard something about clothing styles, but not after that…”
“It’s okay! You didn’t need to hear it!”
[Thank goodness. If Si-woo heard everything, I wouldn’t be able to face him again.]
Han Seo-ah immediately took the bait.
Normally, she would have been suspicious of why I was saying this.
Just how desperate was she to move past this situation that she took the bait without a moment’s hesitation?
It seemed like I’d successfully navigated the situation, but I decided to play along a little longer, just in case.
“I didn’t need to hear it?”
“I was just looking at clothing styles that would match the outfit I recommended to Na-yeon.”
“…Ah, so that’s what it was?”
“Of course. What else would it be?”
“I thought you were looking for something that would match the outfit you recommended to ‘me’.”
“…That’s nonsense. Why would I look for clothes that match when I’m with you?”
[I should come back alone later to find clothes that would look like couple outfits with Si-woo.]
[The risk of Si-woo finding out is too high right now.]
If she’d been thinking that all along, she should have done that from the start.
Why make me act when there was a risk of getting caught?
Various complaints welled up in my throat, but…
Han Seo-ah’s inner thoughts about coming back alone later were so cute that I decided to let it sl…
“Whoa, hold on.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
Han Seo-ah looked at me with a puzzled expression at my sudden exclamation, but…
“…Nothing, it’s nothing.”
I couldn’t focus on her expression.
More accurately, I didn’t have the mental capacity to.
‘Did I just think Han Seo-ah was cute ‘again’?’
I was shocked by the thought that unconsciously popped into my head.
Had I really gone crazy?
Why did I keep having such absurd thoughts?
Han Seo-ah being cute?
The same Han Seo-ah who only called me an idiot?
That could never hap…
– He doesn’t even realize. Stupid Si-woo.
As I was denying it, a past memory suddenly surfaced, and…
‘Thud!’
“Crazy! Why did you suddenly bang your head?!”
“…”
I slammed my head against the desk in front of me.
The reason was simple.
I couldn’t stay like that any longer.
My face was burning up, and I needed to cool it down somehow.
Primitive methods were usually the most effective.
Han Seo-ah yelled as if she’d just seen a lunatic.
“Are you suffering from heatstroke already? It’s only April!”
“…No.”
“Then why did you do that?! You’re not crazy, are you?!”
[Oh no. Si-woo looks really unwell. Should I take him to the hospital?]
“The hospital is fine…”
“Hospital? What hospital? Do you want to go to the hospital now?”
[What? I haven’t mentioned the hospital yet…]
“No. You usually bring up the hospital around this time, so I just preempted it.”
“…Is that it? I thought you actually wanted to go to the hospital.”
[So that’s what it was. But that means Si-woo remembers everything I say, right?]
[If that’s true, I might be a little happy? It’s proof that Si-woo cherishes my words.]
“…”
I couldn’t let my guard down for even a second.
Why did she suddenly start thinking like that?
My face heated up, and I spoke curtly,
“…Anyway, what do you think?”
“You already changed? Into the clothes I picked out?”
“How long does it take to change clothes?”
“Hmm, not bad. As expected of my choice.”
“What does your choice have to do with it looking good on m…”
“Of course it has… nothing to do with it. Yeah. I just picked them out randomly.”
[I know better than anyone what clothes look good on Si-woo.]
[I need to be careful what I say, Han Seo-ah. Do you want another incident like earlier?]
Han Seo-ah’s inner thoughts were now self-reflecting.
…Well, whatever.
As long as she knew.
I also preferred it when she didn’t make slips of the tongue.
That way, I wouldn’t have to act.
“Seo-ah, when did you get here?”
“Yujin unnie?”
As I was nodding along with those thoughts, an unfamiliar voice reached my ears.
“I went to the restroom for a bit, and there’s a customer.”
“Is that note on the counter your doing too, unnie?”
“Of course. I own this place. Whose else would it be?”
“…So like you, unnie.”
“By the way, you didn’t bring Na-yeon today? Is this your boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
Han Seo-ah shrieked at the word “boyfriend.”
She wasn’t a pterodactyl.
Why was she yelling when she could just calmly deny it?
[Boyfriend? Si-woo being my boyfriend?]
[It makes me happy just imagining it, but it’s still too embarrassing.]
…Seeing that, I could kind of understand.
Anyway, I had to be polite to someone I was meeting for the first time.
“Hello, noona. I’m Lee Si-woo, this idiot’s childhood friend.”
“Who are you calling an idiot?!”
Ignoring Han Seo-ah’s yelling, I greeted her politely.
“Ah, you’re Si-woo?”
“Yes? What do you…”
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Seo-ah and Na-yeon. Our Seo-ah’s boyfri…”
“Yujin unnie!”
“…Childhood friend. Yeah.”
“Seriously, unnie. Why do you keep doing that?”
“What did I do, Seo-ah? This unnie hasn’t done anything yet.”
“…Ugh.”
It hadn’t even been five minutes, and I already felt like I’d met someone on a completely different level.
Someone who could handle Han Seo-ah so well.
Even Han Seo-ah’s parents weren’t this good, as far as I remembered.
I suddenly wanted to become friends with her.
“Are you… Teacher Yujin?”
“What’s with the ‘teacher’? Just call me Yujin noona.”
“Yes, Yujin noona.”
“Good boy, our Si-woo.”
“…Hey, Lee Si-woo. You said you couldn’t call me ‘noona’ because it didn’t feel natural.”
“…I did?”
Han Seo-ah suddenly turned to me with a hardened expression, questioning my casual use of the word “noona.”
I said that?
I didn’t remember anything like that.
Seeing my genuinely confused expression, Han Seo-ah said, looking incredibly wronged,
“You said it before! You said you couldn’t call me ‘noona’ because it didn’t feel right.”
“…Wait, is that what this is about? That was because it was ‘you’. Not a real older sister like Yujin noona.”
“Regardless! You said you couldn’t call me ‘noona’!”
“…”
Why was she acting like this?
What kind of convoluted reason did she have for acting so childish?
‘…And her inner thoughts aren’t even showing up.’
Even Han Seo-ah’s inner thoughts, my only salvation in these situations, weren’t visible.
As if to tell me that her childish words were her true feelings.
Were they really her true feelings?
Those childish words that even Yujin noona was struggling to hold back her laughter from?
“…Ahem.”
Yujin noona was indeed desperately trying not to laugh.
She was covering her mouth with both hands, trying not to let out a single sound.
I gave Yujin noona a look of disappointment for not helping me, and then I cautiously probed Han Seo-ah, who still looked annoyed.
“…So, what are you trying to say?”
“Trying to say?”
“You’re acting like this… not throwing a tantrum, or whatever… because you want to say something to me, right?”
“…Call me ‘noona’.”
“What?”
Did I hear that wrong?
Was I hearing things, Han Seo-ah’s voice as well as her inner thoughts?
It seemed like it.
There was no way Han Seo-ah would say something like that unless she was cr…
“Like you did with Yujin unnie, call me ‘noona’ too.”
“…”
“Just once. I’m not asking for twice.”
“…What’s with…”
“Just call me ‘noona’ once.”
I didn’t know about just once.
But I could say one thing for sure.
Han Seo-ah’s expression was the most serious I’d ever seen.
—–CROW—–
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