Chapter 41

Chapter 41

—–CROW—– 

“…Yerin Unnie, you’re working on the weekend too?”

Honestly, it was a sorry sight.

It was 2017, and autumn was fading fast.  It was a crisp, clear weekend, not yet gripped by winter’s chill, but Yerin Unnie was cooped up inside, her mind consumed by work.  I was starting to get worried.

Did she really want to get married?

Whether it was marriage or dating, she had to go out and meet someone first, but I’d never seen her do anything *but* stay home.

And look at her now.

Dark circles under her eyes, already thin before, but now practically gaunt from skipping meals… It made me sigh.

Were we *that* poor?

Not really.  After hearing Unnie’s situation, Dad burst out laughing and said that’s how it is when you start a business. He’d been helping her out with living expenses.

Even after paying rent, gym fees, and food, she still had some money left over.

And she made a little extra selling flowers online and with her part-time job during the week.

“B-but I can’t keep taking money from your father. I need to earn more and show him I can be independent…”

‘I don’t think Dad really cares.’

I found out later, but my family was loaded.

Or maybe I was just slow to realize it.

Dad had built a big house in Ulleungdo and become a farmer, even though he didn’t have a regular job at that age.

Mom’s family owned a gukbap franchise, and Dad’s family was also well-off.

I heard that when Dad, fresh out of the army, took Mom, who was still in college, to Grandpa and said, “I’m going to marry her,” Grandpa clutched his chest and exiled them to Ulleungdo…

But he sent them off with plenty of support, so they lived comfortably without financial worries.

Anyway, back to Unnie’s situation.

“It’s not good to work yourself to death, Unnie. You need to take it easy.”

She should stop clinging to a business that barely gets any orders and take some time to rest and recharge.  She barely got two or three orders a month, anyway.

…I kept those harsh words to myself, took Yerin Unnie’s hand, and pulled her up, leading her to the bathroom.

“???”

“Why are you just standing there?  Wash your face and hair.  Let’s go out and have some fun~”

“Oh, but I don’t have any money.”

Seriously, you don’t need to spend a fortune to have fun.

Yerin Unnie, exposed to all the wonders of the city, seemed to have developed a complex about needing money to survive in this harsh world.

Well, she had a point.  You *do* need money to *really* have fun.

“Let’s just find a nice cafe nearby or do some window shopping.”

Looking at Yerin Unnie’s face, I wanted to tell her to sleep, but then she’d probably just obsess over money and secretly look for side hustles or weekend jobs.

Seriously, if you work hard during the week, you should relax on the weekends!

“But…”

“Unnie, look in the mirror.”

“Huh? Why the mirror… Oh.”

“Do you think you look presentable right now?”

“?? Yuna, that’s a bit harsh.”

I’m just saying you don’t look good. You look inhuman.

Like a workaholic on the verge of death, risking their life, not just their health, for their job.

You have to live like a human being.

This isn’t the era of slavery; why are you wasting your youth working all the time?

“Why are you just spacing out?  Do you want me to wash you?”

“N-no! Okay, okay, just wait outside. I’ll be out soon.”

That’s more like it.

Hmm, what should we do outside?

If it were those four weirdos I called friends, or the guys I sometimes played soccer with, we’d go to a PC bang, an arcade, or the school playground, but Unnie was different.

Hanging out with middle school boys is different from hanging out with a woman in her 20s.

We could go to a cafe, have some coffee, walk around, do some window shopping…

‘…Oh?’

…What should we do after that?

Back in elementary school, my only female friend was Yuri, and even then, we mostly just studied together, played arcade games, or went to the PC bang with Jeongwoo.

There weren’t many places to shop or things to do in Ulleungdo, so I never really had to think about how to have fun.

And since coming to the mainland and starting middle school, I hadn’t hung out with any girls, so I had no idea what girls did for fun.

‘If I take her to the gym, she’ll die.’

Mr. Yong-chul could somehow manage, since he’d made a commitment and was a guy, but if I took Yerin Unnie, with her lack of muscle and stamina, to the gym and trained her my way, she might be found dead the next day.

“Hmm.”

I needed help. When in doubt, ask for advice.

It was time to put my plan into action.

“…What the hell.”

It was Saturday, my precious, peaceful weekend.

I was planning to sleep all day since I didn’t have to go to that dreadful gym…

* “Teacher, sorry to bother you on the weekend, but are you busy?”

* “Why?”

* “You’re free! Great!  Meet me at Three Some Place in front of the school in 30 minutes!”

* “No, why are you calling… Hey! Hey!! Tell me what you want first!!”

I never said I was free. How did she know?

This was my life as a teacher.  She seemed like a delinquent on the surface, but she was just an energetic weirdo, the kind you’d find in any classroom, especially in an all-boys middle school.

If she were a boy, I could just yell at her, but since she was a girl, I had to choose my words carefully…and I couldn’t even overpower her physically.

And here she was again.

Calling her teacher on the weekend, instead of hanging out with friends.  Didn’t she have any friends?

‘…I don’t think she does.’

Or rather, she didn’t seem to have any close friends.

The other girls avoided her because of her quiet, intimidating aura, and she’d rejected confessions from countless boys last year.

Had she become withdrawn due to all the unwanted attention?

That’s not good.

It’s important to make friends when you’re young and build relationships.

It gets harder to make new friends as an adult, and people naturally drift apart because it’s difficult to find time to meet.

I should give her some advice as her teacher.

Kids her age might just brush it off as nagging, but it’s better than doing nothing.

Even if I cursed her internally and looked at her like she was some kind of animal, she was still one of my students.

If I really thought of her as an animal, I wouldn’t have come out here.

Who would come out when an animal calls them?

‘…I would.’

Wow, what if an animal called me and asked to meet at a cafe in a few minutes?

I’d be so intrigued that I’d jump out of bed and go.

That aside, I needed to tell her not to call her teacher on weekends.

Doing things I couldn’t even imagine when I was her age, I had to put a stop to this childish behavior…

“Hi, Teacher~!  Hello~!”

I had to…

“Ah, hello.  I’ve…heard a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.  I’m Yoon Yerin.”

“…”

What?

A woman followed Yuna, who was waving, wearing long black pants and a thick knit cardigan. She smiled shyly and greeted me.

Her hair, tied back in a ponytail, swayed like an animal’s tail.  She wore a white shirt and tight jeans that hugged her slender figure.  I was speechless.

Wow, what is this?

“Teacher?  Teacher?  Why are you just standing there? Are you ignoring Yerin Unnie?”

“Oh, n-no! Ignoring her?! It’s nice to meet you.  I’m Yong-chul.”

What was I supposed to say?

Those dark circles…on anyone else, they’d be a turn-off, but on her delicate, almost fragile-looking face…

Wow, just wow.  I was in awe.

Is this what they call a頹廢美 (decadent beauty)?

No, no! Snap out of it, Yong-chul.  You’re a teacher, and you’re supposed to be scolding your student, not getting smitten!

“Hey, Han Yuna. You can’t just call your teacher out of the blue like this. It’s very rude.”

“Aw, come on, Teacher~! You told me you wanted to get in shape and get a girlfriend, remember? That’s why I called.”

“What?!”

She remembered that?

She nudged me with her elbow as she spoke, and I was speechless again.

“Yerin Unnie, what do you think of our teacher? He might seem stoic and worn down by society, but he likes flowers and is secretly a romantic!”

“Hey! Why are you telling her that?!”

Liking flowers isn’t exactly a manly thing these days!

I reached out to stop Yuna, who was casually revealing my secrets to Yerin, but…Yerin’s eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at me.

“Oh my, you like flowers?”

“…Very much.”

I scratched the back of my head and admitted it. Yerin, who had been quietly observing me, gently took my hand.

“W-would you like to go to a cafe nearby and talk?”

“???”

…Huh?

—–CROW—– 

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