Chapter 45: Is it a nuisance?

Morning. As I brushed my teeth, rubbing my sleepy eyes, the doorbell rang from beyond the bathroom door.
It could only be her, visiting at this early hour.
I shuffled to the front door and opened it.

“Why are you here?”

I told her we should meet at the station because it was a hassle.
But the person at the door wasn’t the impertinent brat resembling a cockroach that I had expected.

“N-Nehet?”

A delicate voice tickled my ear. Startled by the lovely, yet pitiful, melody, I lowered my head and carefully examined the face before me.

Silver strands of hair cascaded from under a black hat pulled down low, and shimmering blue eyes met mine.
Only one person I knew had such a face.

Yu Garyeon, the audacious younger sister who was currently shaking my heart, stood there, fiddling with her fingers.

As soon as I saw her face, my cheeks, which had started to flush as if they had been waiting, cooled down, and I steadied my staggering body.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“No! I thought you were someone else.”

At my words, Yu Garyeon sighed in relief, clutching her chest. I looked at her and continued.

“What’s up so early in the morning, all of a sudden?”

Yu Garyeon’s lips quivered at my words, and she lowered her head.

“…Do you want to come in?”
“I-Is that okay?”

I nodded instead of answering and followed Yu Garyeon, who was stepping cautiously, into the living room.

“Make yourself comfortable.”

Yu Garyeon, who had been looking around like a baby sparrow, soon sat down on the sofa in front of the television. Good thing I cleaned yesterday. It probably doesn’t smell, right?

I pushed the distracting thoughts to the back of my mind, opened the cupboard, and took out a cup.

“What do you want to drink? Coffee? Green tea? I also have misutgaru.”
“Ah, gre, no, coffee. I’ll have coffee.”

Yu Garyeon, who received the coffee from me, blew on it with her small lips and then slowly brought it to her mouth.

“How is it? Is it, is it okay? Not too weak?”

Weak? It’s not like it’s ramen. I despaired at my own vocabulary, but I perked up my ears and focused on Yu Garyeon’s reaction.

“Yes, yes. It’s delicious. It’s really delicious. So much so that I could drink it all day.”
“I-I see. That’s a relief.”

Only the sound of gulping echoed in the awkward silence. I gathered my resolve again and spoke.

“By the way, it’s been a while. Almost a week, right?”

Yu Garyeon nodded silently.

“I missed you.”
“Ugh.”

As soon as I finished speaking, black water spurted from Yu Garyeon’s mouth as she was drinking her coffee.

After coughing for a moment, Yu Garyeon composed herself and swept back her hair. Her ears, peeking out, were flushed red.

“But when I try to talk to you, you run away, and you ignore my messages… I thought we had finally reconciled, but I thought you hated me again—”
“No!”

Startled by the sudden loud noise, I just blinked my eyes. Yu Garyeun, flustered, waved her hands and continued.

“Ah, I-I’m sorry. That, ignoring your messages was definitely not because I hate you or anything.”

Yu Garyeon mumbled for a moment, then turned her head and spoke, glancing at me.

“I just, didn’t know what to do…”

Looking at her face, I felt embarrassed myself, and I closed my mouth even though I thought I should say something.

“…Am I too selfish?”
“Huh?”

Yu Garyeon looked up at me with hesitant eyes and said.

“Hating you on my own, liking you on my own, running away on my own, and now coming to find you on my own… You hate it, right? Someone like this.”
“No.”

I picked up a tissue and wiped away the coffee droplet that was about to trickle down Yu Garyeun’s chin, and then spoke.

“But I hope you don’t run away.”

Startled by the sudden touch, Yu Garyeon pulled her face back. I found her so annoying that I gently pinched her nose with my index finger and thumb.

“If you’re going to say things that turn a person’s heart upside down, you should at least take some responsibility.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“If you know, then it’s fine.”

Yu Garyeon, in front of me, was on the verge of tears, clutching her nose. I found her so cute that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I sat down next to Yu Garyeon and turned on the television. Her sidelong glances, which I could feel on my cheek, were soft yet ticklish.

“But is it okay to be here like this? Shouldn’t you be heading to work soon?”
“Ah, I took a day off, so it’s okay. The remaining work can be handled by the outsourced staff.”
“To think I’d live to see the day you take a day off.”

Yu Garyeon replied in a low voice at my words.

“…Am I being a nuisance?”

There she goes again. I found even that endearing and was contemplating how to tease her this time when the alarm on my smartphone went off, snapping me back to reality.

“You’re not a nuisance, but I have a prior engagement today.”
“Ah…”

A shadow fell over Yu Garyeon’s face. Fiddling with the hem of her clothes with a sullen expression, she soon forced a smile and spoke.

“Then it can’t be helped. I’ll come again next time.”
“Next time? You’re coming with me.”
“What?”

****

“…What do you think you’re doing?”

“What?”
“Why is that woman here?”

Han Yeoreum said, glaring at Yu Garyeon with sharp eyes. Yu Garyeon’s expression, looking at her, was just as rotten.

“…So your ‘appointment‘ was with this girl.”

I stepped between the two, who were exuding a subtle tension, and spoke.

“I know you two don’t get along.”

Han Yeoreum kicked the ground with her foot, as if asking why I was doing this if I knew.

“But Garyeon is a working adult. As for me… I worked at a company, but I’ve never done any real work, so I’m currently unemployed.”

At those words, Han Yeoreum’s foot, which had been tapping the ground irritably like a tap dancer, stopped. Meanwhile, Yu Garyeon awkwardly pulled down the brim of her hat.

“She can give you more realistic advice based on her experience. And even if she can’t, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have more perspectives.”

Han Yeoreum was still frowning with dissatisfaction, but she didn’t say anything in rebuttal.
Yu Garyeon, who had been watching her carefully, poked my back. Soon, she stood on her tiptoes and spoke into my ear.

“Why?”
“What on earth are you going to do that that… girl is being so obedient?”

Startled by the warm, strange sensation on my ear, I reflexively pulled my face back.

“Ah, I-I didn’t tell you?”

I tried to ignore the questioning gazes of the two, who were poking my cheeks, and spoke.

“Jobtopia. I’m going to let her experience some jobs.”

Jobtopia, the National Job Experience Center. A public facility established to help growing adolescents explore careers and form a view of work.

The reason for our visit today was, without a doubt, for Han Yeoreum.

What she needed right now wasn’t to create a dream, but to know how many different dreams exist in this world.

In that sense, this place, where she could directly experience various jobs, would be the perfect place for her.

“It’s bigger than I thought.”

Yu Garyeon, who had entered the entrance, looked around with wide, surprised eyes. After a moment, Han Yeoreum, looking a little nervous, looked around and spoke.

“Look over there.”

Where Han Yeoreum was pointing, students in school uniforms were lined up.

“How old do you think they are?”

Although they were dressed up, their faces still had a childish look, and their awkward height suggested they were at most in their third year of middle school.

I scratched my head, pretending not to know, and spoke.

“I don’t know, should I go ask?”
“Forget it.”

Han Yeoreum said that and tried to gently nudge my shoulder with her body, but I noticed in advance and stepped back, so her attempt failed.

“Oof.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

…Or so I thought, but I was wrong. As I tried to avoid Han Yeoreum, I bumped into a middle-aged woman standing behind me. I apologized and bowed my head.

Fortunately, it was a light bump and didn’t lead to a serious injury, and the middle-aged woman soon left, saying it was okay.

“Serves you right.”

Han Yeoreum smirked at me, but for a long time, she couldn’t take her eyes off the receding figures of the middle-aged woman and the small child holding her hand tightly.

“What do you mean, ‘serves you right’? It’s your fault.”

I lightly chopped the top of her head and started walking.

“Let’s go in.”