Birthday Present – 1

Last year, I couldn’t give Ye-rin a birthday present. No, I wasn’t able to.

Because we first met in April, but Ye-rin’s birthday was.

—March 14th.

It had already passed.

“Hah….”

The White Day gift alone was giving me a headache, and now a birthday present too?

Until now, the only gifts I’d ever given to girls were friendship candies to girls in my class, and birthday presents to Han Se-ah, though I’m not sure if she counts as a girl.

Giving a present not just to a female acquaintance, but to a girl I liked, was an extremely difficult problem.

I wanted to make up for not celebrating her birthday last year, and above all.

—Why is this so expensive…?

I thought the wallet Ye-rin gave me last year was fancy, but I figured how expensive could it be for kids our age?

I had just thought Ye-rin had good taste~ That’s our Ye-rin. But one day, out of curiosity, I casually searched for the wallet.

“…What? One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand…?”

How much is this…?

My eyes nearly popped out when I saw the price.

—I shouldn’t have searched…!

Was what I received not a wallet but Pandora’s box?

If I hadn’t known, I could have at least chosen something with peace of mind. But now that I knew, the wallet in my back pocket felt heavy.

I briefly thought about looking for something in a similar price range, but with my allowance, I’d have to drink only water—no, I couldn’t even drink water.

If I couldn’t choose something of similar price, at least I’d put in my sincerity.

I had to choose a gift that would satisfy both Ye-rin who would receive it and me who would give it.

**

A week had already passed since school started.

The various gazes directed at us when walking with Ye-rin remained the same.

But whether people stared or not, we only paid attention to each other, and others watching us walking together had all gotten used to it, so I didn’t think much of it anymore.

“Ye-rin.”

Even on the way to school, whatever made her so happy.

When I called out to Ye-rin, who was humming a tune, her yellow eyes turned to me.

…Now. Now I really need to know.

Every night before going to bed, I’d been searching for ‘gifts middle school first-year girls would like,’ ‘birthday gifts for middle school first-year girls,’ ‘please recommend a gift,’ and always ending up thinking, this isn’t it, this isn’t it-!! before falling asleep—it had been a week.

With only 5 days left until Ye-rin’s birthday, I couldn’t delay any longer.

“Do you…”

“…? Do I?”

“…need anything or want anything these days?”

I did it.

Why. Why didn’t I just ask directly what gift she wanted?

I thought the Goguryeo Watermelon Map probably had “Han Woo-jin is an idiot” written on it as a guarantee, but.

With Ye-rin’s birthday approaching, this was no time to worry about such things.

“Things I need or want…?”

“…Yes.”

Looking at Ye-rin, who seemed puzzled by my sudden question, I waited for her answer with resignation…?

Huh, wait. Don’t do that. Why, why are they changing? This shouldn’t happen…???

Ye-rin’s eyes, which were silently looking at me, gradually changed from yellow to pink. And it was a slightly deeper pink than usual.

“Mmm, I like anything…”

“…Really?”

What do you mean you like anything…?

Seeing Ye-rin’s shy expression, I imagined Han Se-ah in my mind saying, “Oppa, my hint was right, wasn’t it?” with a satisfied look.

 

After dropping Ye-rin off at her classroom, which had become routine, some kids greeted me, perhaps having grown used to me coming in and out of the first-year classroom every day.

I greeted them back with a smile. I couldn’t make a bad impression on Ye-rin’s friends.

I continued to worry until I entered my classroom and sat down.

…Do I really have to wrap myself up? Is that the best option?

Middle school 2nd-year male student arrested naked with a ribbon at middle school 1st-year female student’s home… “The gift is me,” he claimed he was just trying to give a present…

The worst headline flashed before my eyes.

“Haaa….”

…Ye-rin must have worried like this for me too?

I just wanted to repay her feelings. But somehow, the more I worried, the harder it seemed, and I unconsciously sighed.

“Why are you sighing from the morning, it’s annoying.”

“Aren’t you just looking in a mirror?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t stop at a sigh.”

“True. You’d be pouring soy sauce on it, breaking it, and making a scene.”

Seeing the two approaching me, spitting out such precious words from the morning without caring about my mood, I thought, should I just beat these jerks up and relieve some stress?

Seo Jin-hyuk was always like that, and Yoon Do-hyun.

This guy, using our promise to go to the PC bang next time as an excuse, had been sticking to us like a leech asking when we’d go.

For some reason, he seemed to like something about us and had started following us around.

…Should I ask these guys?

Like how even dog poop can be used as medicine, maybe these trash guys could be helpful, so I raised my head.

“…Sigh, never mind. What would you guys know?”

“What’s up? You seem really pissed off.”

“You too? Me too.”

Once I thought that I probably knew more about women than these two, any desire to consult them disappeared.

“Hey, it’s probably about Jin-hyuk’s sister anyway, so talk to your hyung, you single loser. I’ll give you some advice.”

“?”

“Huh?”

At Yoon Do-hyun’s sudden words, both Jin-hyuk and I had question marks above our heads.

“…What’s with your reactions?”

“Aren’t you single too?”

“What nonsense. I’m on my 7th girlfriend now.”

“What?!”

Is this for real?

When Jin-hyuk and I exclaimed in unison, surprised at this unbelievable statement, Yoon Do-hyun frowned.

“Your reactions are really annoying… Anyway, let’s talk outside. If you feel uncomfortable talking here.”

Since Yoon Do-hyun, whom I had thought was a fellow single comrade, had suddenly become adult-like after saying he’d dated 7 times.

We rose from our seats as if enchanted and moved elsewhere.

 

“…Hey, why didn’t you tell us you had a girlfriend?”

“You guys never asked.”

“But don’t people usually mention it? That they have a girlfriend.”

“Why would I go around talking about it like it’s something to brag about? People just find out naturally when hanging out.”

…Is this the composure of someone with a girlfriend?

I thought having a girlfriend at our age was something to brag about a lot, but seeing Yoon Do-hyun talk as if it were nothing special, I wondered for a moment if I was the strange one and looked to the side.

—Hmm, I guess not.

I was reassured when I saw Jin-hyuk meeting my eyes with a trembling gaze as if thinking “no way.”

“And.”

Yoon Do-hyun hesitated as if it was a bit uncomfortable to say, then continued.

“I don’t want to downplay my girlfriend. But just looking at the appearance of those girls who come to see you or Jin-hyuk every day, they’re the kind that someone would want to at least chat with, if not more. It would be weird to mention I have a girlfriend in front of them.”

…Hearing Yoon Do-hyun speak as if he were a bit envious, I somewhat understood why he hadn’t mentioned his girlfriend first.

I briefly thought that my pig at home might be at that level, but since Ye-rin was indeed at that level.

I suddenly realized how the girl I liked appeared in others’ eyes.

“…So. How did you date 7 people? Did you confess to all of them? Or did they confess to you?”

“Sometimes I did. Sometimes they did.”

“They confessed to you? You?”

“…Hey, I may not be at your level, but I’m pretty decent, you jerks.”

Yoon Do-hyun momentarily flared up but soon chuckled and said.

“Hey, don’t put too much meaning into dating. It’s not a big deal. Don’t stop people from coming, don’t stop people from leaving. If you like them, keep dating, if not, break up. That’s all there is to it.”

“This guy talks like he’s realized something profound. You just fall in love easily.”

“Yeah, you player.”

“…These jerks, even when I talk… damn. And I’ve never cheated, you jerk.”

I had no desire to comment on others’ relationships, but even from this brief conversation, I could tell.

The temperature of romance that Jin-hyuk and I thought of was different from what Yoon Do-hyun thought.

“Do you know why they say to date a lot at our age? Even if you don’t feel like you’ll die without them, if you think ‘they’re okay?’ then you try dating. When else would you…”

“…That’s why it’s at this age.”

“Huh?”

I cut off Yoon Do-hyun, who was continuing his explanation, seemingly perplexed that we didn’t agree.

“I said that’s why it’s at this age.”

A time that will never return. When we were both at our most energetic.

To be able to proudly say that you looked at only one person and loved them with all your might.

That’s the kind of romance I wanted.

Frankly speaking, both Jin-hyuk and I, if we set our minds to it, could have dated 7 times or however many times.

We just chose not to.

Perhaps sensing the sincerity in my words, Yoon Do-hyun closed his mouth, and silence fell between us.

Tsk. I didn’t mean to say it like that.

It’s not like there’s a right or wrong in dating. Everyone just does what they want. It’s just a difference in thinking.

But the current atmosphere felt like I had said, “Yoon Do-hyun, your approach to dating is wrong.”

Thinking about it made me uncomfortable, so I jokingly spoke up.

“Hey, they do say to date a lot, but in moderation. At our age, 7 times is probably something even the person who said that would go, ‘Ah, damn, that’s a bit much.'”

“Right, he’s not a bomber or something.”

“Damn, I can date a lot if I want to, you jerks.”

“So, how old is your current girlfriend? Same age as us?”

“No, a year younger. I only date younger girls anyway.”

“You like younger women?”

“Even when I talk… damn. It’s not that I like younger women, it’s just that I can’t see them as women if they’re not younger than me.”

…Is he crazy? That seems even more dangerous.

But seeing Yoon Do-hyun speak with such intense eyes, I didn’t have the courage to say so.

“Wait, come to think of it, this isn’t why we came here. So what’s Han Woo-jin’s problem anyway?”

“Ah.”

I had forgotten our purpose for coming here, shocked by Yoon Do-hyun’s unexpected dating confession.

“Um, it’s Ye-rin’s birthday soon? So I was wondering what present she would like…”

I want to die.

The more I spoke, the hotter my face burned, and my voice got smaller.

“Can’t you just give her something she needs?”

That’s me.

I couldn’t voice my thoughts to Jin-hyuk, who spoke as if this was hardly something to worry about.

Then Yoon Do-hyun clicked his tongue as if we knew nothing and said.

“He’s probably already thought of all that. If you don’t know what she needs, how about this? It’s a method I often use when giving gifts.”

“…What is it?”

Since it was the advice of someone who had dated 7 people, I thought I had nothing to lose and waited for his answer.

“Give her something you want to see.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Something that makes you think, ‘Ah, this would suit her well’ or ‘I want to see her wearing this.'”

“—!!!! That’s it, that’s it!!!!”

It was as if my mind cleared up at Yoon Do-hyun’s answer, making me wonder why I had foolishly only been thinking about what Ye-rin needed.

Imagining what would look good on Ye-rin, what she would like, no, thinking about it.

It was something I did every day.

It was my area of expertise.