Seed of Friction – 2

Sunday night.

After watching Kim Sung-ah brusquely return to her room after dinner, Kang In-ho sat at the table, drinking orange juice and passing the time.

“…Still not talking to me.”

The awkward drinking session on Friday. The subsequent Saturday and Sunday passed without incident.

Kim Sung-ah remained holed up in her room, studying, except for mealtimes. Of course, whether she was actually studying was up to her conscience.

Kang In-ho spent the holidays tidying the yard, pulling overgrown weeds and pruning tangled branches.

Wearing a worn-out hat, he pulled weeds in the yard, occasionally feeling a gaze, but he didn’t bother to pay attention.

Like a dog at a school reciting poetry after three years, he was becoming increasingly adept at understanding people’s feelings.

He wasn’t so oblivious that he didn’t notice Kim Sung-ah’s attitude subtly changing in response to his ex-girlfriend.

“I should have pretended nothing was wrong.”

He should have hidden his true feelings and acted nonchalant. He knew that well.

Like an awl in his pocket, that awl wrapped in the nasty packaging of painful memories pricked his heart, and he couldn’t control his expression.

“Ugh, sour.”

The sourness overwhelmed the sweetness, filling his mouth, and he frowned, looking at the label of the orange juice.

It read ‘100% Fruit Juice’.

He considered having another glass, then put the juice back in the refrigerator.

Then, he cast his gaze towards where she might be. All he saw was the ceiling.

“She’ll come when she’s ready.”

She must be confused, he thought.

There was no more dangerous action than going to talk to her and making her aware of her own feelings.

He decided to remain silent. Hoping she would realize it later, even a little.

“Weekends go by so fast. I should meditate.”

Even for the unemployed, weekends pass quickly and are a source of regret.

He walked to the living room to observe his inner power, which was on the verge of emerging.

While he sat in a lotus position and meditated, Kim Sung-ah was lying in bed on the second floor, watching YouTube.

She scrolled through comedy channels suggested by the algorithm with a listless expression.

The one-minute videos, filled with the essence of comedians unleashed from broadcast censorship, were objectively funny and innovative.

But she couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

“Annoying.”

She had been feeling uncomfortable lately. Her mood changed like boiling porridge, and the range of those changes was unpredictable.

“It’s not even that time of the month.”

She muttered, looking at the calendar.

“Why does it always involve Ahjussi…”

She seemed to know the cause. But she didn’t know the reason.

What is my relationship with Ahjussi?

“Enemy?”

She uttered the one-syllable word. Then shook her head.

At first, that was it. Because Persona had transformed into a human form, she brought him to monitor him.

“Housemate?”

After living together for a few days, he became a housemate in this house.

“Guardian?”

He nodded to her request to be her guardian. Although he attached strange conditions…

“Ahjussi is…”

She traced her dry lips with her finger, thinking of him.

Her heart fluttered slightly. A different feeling from the drinking session when her heart had been constricted.

“Haa…”

She exhaled, filled with frustration.

She placed the phone she was holding in front of her face on the bedside table and looked at the dark ceiling of the room.

Then she thought about tomorrow.

“I have to go to school.”

Get out of bed, eat breakfast, wash, put on her uniform, and go to school.

Enter the classroom, sit down, solve endless problem books, and listen to the class.

Talk to the kids around her during breaks.

Thinking about that suddenly made her feel suffocated.

“…I don’t want to go.”

It was a word filled with her true feelings, different from her usual grumbling.

It was a word that only she could hear.

On Monday, Kim Sung-ah went to school. As if she had a case of the Monday blues like an office worker, her expression was dark the entire time she was leaving.

On Tuesday, Kim Sung-ah went to school. She left the house with a brighter face than on Monday.

On Wednesday, Kim Sung-ah went to school. She must have had a hard time at school that day, because when she returned home, her face was full of fatigue.

On Thursday, Kim Sung-ah went to school.

After seeing her off, he decided to prepare a special meal to support her hard work.

Kang In-ho went to the mart and bought ingredients for bulgogi (of course, with her money).

As he returned home with bulging bags, his cell phone rang.

“Yes, hello.”

Seeing the caller’s name, he quickly answered the phone.

A familiar voice flowed from the other end, and his face gradually hardened as the conversation progressed.

“Ah… I see. I understand. I’ll talk to her.”

The call ended, and he lowered the phone he had been holding to his ear.

The traffic light, which had turned green, blinked, urging him on, but he didn’t move.

“Haa….”

He let out a sigh filled with anger and regret.

The day before yesterday, Kim Sung-ah did not go to school.

The day before that, Kim Sung-ah did not go to school.

Yesterday, Kim Sung-ah did not go to school.

Today, Kim Sung-ah did not go to school.

“I knew it was going too smoothly.”

Clicking his tongue, he scratched his head.