Chapter 314: Date of Han Min-ah (4)

Since the moment we first met today, Han Min-ah had been wearing a somewhat subtle expression, and even after entering the bakery cafe, that subtle look remained.

Like a puppy told to ‘stay’ in front of a treat, she had a subtle look of longing for something. No, knowing Han Min-ah, maybe a cat in front of fish would be a better comparison than a puppy.

Surely she wasn’t showing signs of separation anxiety about not going to work just because she’s an extreme workaholic.

It was a story entirely possible for Han Min-ah. She really is quite the workaholic.

So, I watched intently as Min-ah stood next to me, choosing bread.

Finally, I could barely find one difference from her usual self.

‘She… was wearing a skirt.’

Because it was hidden by her long, hip-length hoodie, I hadn’t noticed it during our first meeting.

I never expected Han Min-ah, who always wears pants, to actually show up wearing a skirt.

Thinking about it now, it really was an unexpected outfit. Including her school days, for the past 8 years and 6 months, she had never once worn clothes like skirts or dresses.

You might say that during school days, there were uniforms, so it’s not strange that I didn’t see them, but in this world, wearing pants as part of a girl’s uniform was one of the naturally accepted options.

It wasn’t that all outfits were unified into pant uniforms; it was a rule where girls could choose to wear either skirts or pants.

In that regard, Han Min-ah wore only pant uniforms throughout her 6 years of school, and even during training camps, school trips, or other external events, she never even glanced at outfits that were open at the bottom like skirts or dresses.

On a day like this, her showing up out of the blue wearing something skirt-related was, in many ways, refreshing.

And not just any skirt, but a short mini-skirt, the kind that her younger sister Jin-ah would wear, coming up past the halfway point of her thigh.

Could it be… that her expression had been subtle since earlier because I hadn’t noticed her changed outfit?

Han Min-ah, in her own way, thought of today’s schedule as a date and had clearly put effort into her outfit, so it was possible she felt down because I didn’t notice.

It’s not the usual sentiment for a girl to get upset over not being noticed for a slight change in outfit, but the scale of that change itself was quite significant for Han Min-ah.

At least mentioning it wouldn’t hurt.

“…Your skirt looks nice.”

“Eek?!”

Startled by my voice, Han Min-ah jumped, nearly dropping the bread tongs, so I quickly grabbed the hand holding the tongs from behind her.

“Are you spacing out? What’s with the sudden reaction?”

“Hey…! It’s because you suddenly started muttering weird things!”

“What’s wrong with complimenting your skirt? Isn’t that why you wore it, to hear something like that?”

“N-no, it’s not…?! I just wore it because I wanted to? Can’t I, like, wear mini-skirts?!”

“I’m not saying you can’t, it’s just that your outfit is different from usual, so it’s refreshing.”

“…So what? Since when have you cared so much about my outfits…”

True, during school days, I didn’t really pay attention to whatever Han Min-ah wore.

Since Han Min-ah and I were so close back then, I also deliberately tried to see her as a friend rather than a girl.

Especially since that was a time when I was surrounded by women who saw me as a man with intense gazes, and constantly harassed or molested me.

In that respect, Min-ah, who treated me like a normal friend until the very end, was a grateful presence to me in many ways.

With her face slightly flushed, denying my question, I casually threw in another compliment, pretending not to care.

“Keep dressing like that often in the future. It’s much nicer to look at than always wearing drab pants, it’s so fresh.”

“M-my business! Whether I wear something or not, what business is it of yours!”

“Well? Maybe not on other days, but today you wore that to show me, so I think I can say something like this, right?”

“T-to show you… It’s n-not really like that…?”

“Is that so.”

Whether she was hiding her true feelings out of shyness or genuinely dressed according to her mood, unrelated to me, Han Min-ah didn’t seem inclined to say anything more about her outfit.

I also, matching her unspoken wish, appropriately ended the conversation and focused on choosing coffee to go with the bread.

“I’m having a hot Americano, what do you want?”

“…Me too, the same.”

“I’ll pay for it first, and you can send it via CocoaPay later? Uh, this and two Americanos…”

“Wait, wait. I’m paying, so move aside.”

“You don’t have to pay just because you’re a girl. I know your financial situation well, so would I accept being treated by you?”

“It’s not like that, I need to get the discount and points, so move!”

…Ah.

“Uh, first, apply the mobile carrier discount. Then, SJ point accumulation, March Card point payment, and mobile app stamp accumulation…”

Seeing her at the counter, getting every possible discount and benefit, her back view made me chuckle involuntarily.

Yeah, that’s the real Han Min-ah.

Han Min-ah was still confused.

What exactly had confused her in the first place was so confusing that her mind was still a chaotic jumble of worries.

One of those worries was the brief compliment from Sung Taekyung shortly after entering the bakery cafe.

‘He noticed I was wearing a skirt… he actually noticed.’

If it were the guy I usually knew, I briefly wondered if he wouldn’t notice until the very end and we’d part ways, but thankfully, it seemed he wasn’t completely unobservant.

On her part, it was an outfit she’d worn with considerable courage, so being noticed was certainly a happy thing, but…

Separately from that, the fact that she was caught wearing such clothes was still embarrassing.

To Sung Taekyung’s words complimenting her outfit, her defensive reaction bursting out reflexively was unavoidable for her.

‘When he said it was pretty, I should have just said thank you… Why did I get defensive there and keep saying weird things…’

Since earlier, her own body, moving completely contrary to her thoughts, had reached the point where she resented it.

After receiving a compliment like ‘pretty’ for the first time in ages, what woman desperately denies it?

Moreover, in her mind, she had hoped he would notice, so Sung Taekyung’s words themselves were undeniable facts, making her actions feel even more foolish.

‘Now, he probably won’t say things like ‘pretty’ anymore… Sigh, really Han Min-ah, you idiot, really…’

Even while sitting across from him, having a light meal, the foolish thing she just did wouldn’t leave her mind.

Furthermore, right after denying Sung Taekyung’s compliment like that, she pushed him aside at the counter and what did she do?

Doing all sorts of stingy things in front of a guy – getting discounts, accumulating points, paying with points – how Sung Taekyung must have looked at her, I wonder.

Recalling that situation, Han Min-ah couldn’t even tell if she was chewing the bread in her mouth, or drinking coffee through her mouth or nose, reaching a point where she couldn’t distinguish.

‘I should have just taken the mobile carrier discount… How embarrassing, really…’

Both denying the compliment he gave her foolishly, and pulling out various cards and apps at the counter stingily to pay, and even Sung Taekyung’s face looking at her from across the table.

All of it caused complex emotions in Han Min-ah, amplifying her confusion.

“Are you done eating? Shall we get going?”

“…Yeah.”

In the end, having experienced only melancholic feelings since entering the bakery cafe, Han Min-ah couldn’t even remember what bread she chose or ate, and got up from her seat.

At the crosswalk in front of the cafe, she quietly held out her left hand towards Sung Taekyung, just like before.

‘Th-this time, for sure…’

Although it was only a short distance, about 10 minutes at most, to the movie theater building, the desire to walk holding hands side-by-side, even for just that short time, bloomed again in Han Min-ah’s heart.

Especially considering the series of actions she had just taken inside the cafe, she felt she absolutely had to make up for her mistakes in the current situation.

She carefully extended her hand, peeking out from her clothes, towards Sung Taekyung, wanting to grab his right hand, but…

Unlike her hasty heart, her body simply wouldn’t move properly.

‘Sigh, I’ll just close my eyes and grab it this one time…!’

Doing the opposite of what she wanted, her body only doing what she told it not to, she cursed her own body as she screamed inwardly.

Suddenly, her left hand felt something large and warm snatch it.

“Hyiit?!”

She never expected Sung Taekyung to grab her hand first, so Han Min-ah reacted with surprise again, jumping slightly from her spot.

Reacting to that, reflexively, her ears and tail also popped out from beneath her body.

“Uh, uhh, uh, uh.”

“What are you so surprised about? It’s just holding hands.”

“…I-I wasn’t surprised? B-but why did you grab my hand…?”

“Your hand was sticking out of your clothes all alone, looking pathetic and trembling, so I thought you wanted me to hold it and grabbed it.”

“I-I wasn’t trembling?! Y-you’re making weird assumptions…”

“Oh? Then would you prefer I let go?”

I almost let out a ‘Go ahead then.’ again due to embarrassment, but thankfully, this time, she mustered the courage and managed to express a small piece of her true feelings.

“Since you’ve already grabbed it, just keep holding it…”

“Okay, then.”

“…”

Just moments ago, she had been agonizing over whether she should reach out first, but now, for Han Min-ah, that part wasn’t important at all.

The very fact that she was walking hand-in-hand with Sung Taekyung was such a joyous moment.

Therefore, she still hadn’t noticed that her ears and tail had unconsciously popped out.

Not until Sung Taekyung subtly mentioned her flaw, pointing to Han Min-ah’s ears.

“…At least hide your tail. Your panties are showing.”

“W-what the hell?! Why are you telling me now?!”

“I naturally assumed you’d know to hide it yourself.”

Immediately after, Han Min-ah hastily calmed her emotions and tucked her protruding tail and ears back in.

Amidst a strange atmosphere filled with familiar yet unfamiliar sensations, the couple’s date continued for a little longer.