Things That Are Worrying Me – 3

Although she didn’t usually place much significance on her daily meals, today’s school lunch was particularly unappetizing.

The seasoning was so strong it made her wince, and the vegetables weren’t very fresh.

The main meat dish was the worst of all, with a subtle pork odor that wouldn’t go away, bothering her nose.

‘I want to eat Ahjussi’s cooking.’

Stirring her rice with her spoon, she wished this meal would end quickly.

Whether the cook had made a lot of mistakes today, or there was a problem with the refrigerator storing the ingredients…

Anyway, it was tasteless. Even though it wasn’t a dish she particularly disliked.

“Oh, right, I saw our homeroom teacher on the weekend,” one of the students eating with her said.

“Where?”

“At that department store area. Downtown. She seemed to be with a guy, but I couldn’t see his face clearly.”

“Boyfriend?”

Hyeji, who was sitting across from Seong-a, asked her friend.

“But our homeroom teacher doesn’t have a boyfriend. She always says she’s lonely. Oh, right. I overheard her talking on the phone in the hallway last time…”

The female student giggled, as if the memory was funny.

“Why? What was it about?”

“It seemed like her parents were nagging her about when she’s getting married. She said, ‘I need to have one!’ It was so funny.”

“Then it must have been a blind date on the weekend,” Hyeji replied.

“Probably? It was at a Japanese restaurant.”

“What time was it?”

Seong-a interrupted the conversation.

Surprised that she, who had been quietly eating, had spoken up, the three students looked at her.

“Huh? Oh… it was lunchtime.”

The student answered with a dazed expression, and Seong-a looked back at her tray and continued eating in silence.

The food was still tasteless.

The uncomfortable time continued past lunch and into the afternoon classes.

Kim Sung-ah felt sick to her stomach, probably because of the food she had forced down.

She made more mistakes on the problems than usual, and couldn’t focus on the lessons.

She wanted to lie down and rest during the break, but Hyeji and a few other students approached her and subtly started talking to her.

They chattered about topics only they knew, or subtly asked about Inho.

Kim Sung-ah felt uncomfortable with the excessive attention.

She was grateful for their kind intentions, but she felt an inexplicable purpose hidden within their actions, which made her feel down.

When the break came again, she got up and left the classroom as she saw the students coming to her seat.

As if she didn’t know they were coming to her.

She walked aimlessly down the hallway.

She had no destination. There weren’t many places she could go in the short 10-minute break.

She climbed the stairs and arrived at the rooftop. Or rather, in front of the locked rooftop door.

She leaned against the cold metal door.

“Haa… why is this happening?”

Her chest felt tight, and she couldn’t shake off the heavy feeling.

She had been experiencing these emotional changes frequently lately.

It happened on the weekend, and it was happening again today.

“I want to go home soon.”

Because Ahjussi would be there.

She counted down the remaining classes, folding her fingers. Two more classes left. She just had to endure it a little longer.

She instinctively knew that this uneasy feeling would subside if she met him.

She took out her phone from her pocket.

Then, she moved her fingers and sent a message.

[Come pick me up today.]

[Why? Do you have somewhere to go?]

Did she need a reason to go with him? Kim Sung-ah pouted.

[Just come.]

She huffed and sent another text.

[Okay, I got it. Should we eat out?]

She could almost hear his calm voice.

A gentle smile appeared on Kim Sung-ah’s lips.

[We’ll see how it goes.]

[Okay, I got it.]

As soon as she sent the message, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

“…Two more classes left.”

Kim Sung-ah’s footsteps sounded pleasant as she walked down the stairs.

After school, Seong-a, who was looking for Inho at the school gate, found him hiding far away.

“Why are you here instead of at the gate? It’s hard to find you.”

“I’m not brave enough to stand in front of a girls’ high school.”

At his words, Kim Sung-ah imagined him standing in front of the school gate.

Inho surrounded by girls. Just imagining it made her frown.

“Hmm… I guess so. Let’s meet here from now on.”

As if praising a subordinate, she stood on her tiptoes and patted his shoulder.

Looking at each other, they started walking side by side along the road.

“How was school?”

It was awful. Kim Sung-ah swallowed the words that lingered on her tongue.

“It was okay. Same as usual.”

“Isn’t it hard to keep up with the classes?”

It was a question about whether it was difficult to catch up with the progress since she had been absent so often.

“Well… it’s a little difficult. But I’m somehow managing to keep up.”

“You must have a good head for studying. Seeing you do your Magical Girl activities and still manage to study.”

“My aunt said my mom was good at studying when she was young. Maybe I take after her?”

“I was thinking, if it’s hard to keep up with the progress, maybe you should take online courses. I looked it up, and these days, online courses are better than academies.”

As he said it casually, Kim Sung-ah’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, did you look it up for me? For my sake?”

The corners of her lips turned up.

“Well, for now. I was wondering what the entrance exams are like these days.”

“Hehe… you’re really playing the role of a guardian.”

A sense of satisfaction filled her chest at the fact that there was someone who cared for her.

She couldn’t help but grin.

Her steps became lighter.

“Aren’t you hungry? What about lunch?”

“It was okay. Neither delicious nor tasteless.”

She told a lie that she didn’t need to tell.

They headed home along the road they had walked before.

The roads during rush hour were as congested as ever, and people were busily moving with their own destinations.

“The days are getting shorter.”

Inho said, looking at the setting sun.

“Because summer is over.”

“I’m losing my sense of the seasons.”

“Why?”

“Well… there’s that.”

He gave a mysterious smile.

Kim Sung-ah tilted her head, but didn’t ask any further.

She deliberately followed him two steps behind.

A subtle distance that could be seen as walking side by side.

Kim Sung-ah liked looking at his back.

His back seemed to resemble her father’s. Big, broad, and as if it would accept her.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to cling to his back.

If she ran up and wrapped her arms around his neck, would he accept her?

The thought kept growing.

‘Should I just cling to him?’

Just as the audacious thought popped up, he stopped walking.

She turned her head to where he was looking.

There was a street vendor selling tteokbokki and other snacks.

“It’s a snack shop. Do you want to eat?”

“I guess they don’t have bungeoppang and hotteok yet.”

“Won’t they come out when it gets colder?”

“It’ll have to be after the college entrance exam.”

“I… guess so? By the way, which do you like better, Ahjussi, bungeoppang or hotteok?”

“I like hotteok. What about you?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. The tteokbokki over there?”

“Okay, let’s have that for dinner tonight.”

He smiled, realizing her intention, and she smiled back.

“But you’re the one paying anyway.”

“That’s true.”

They bought two servings each of tteokbokki and fried food and walked home.

Every time she walked, the black plastic bag containing the food swayed rhythmically.

A dark space, illuminated by a faint purple flame.

The door opens and someone enters.

A woman with plain features, her eyes hidden by her bangs.

The fact that she is wearing a school uniform suggests her age.

The woman looks around and snaps her fingers.

With a snap, a purple flame flickers around her body.

The flame scans the woman’s body, burning her exterior like a flame burning twigs.

Her clothes and skin melted away like a snowman in spring.

In the place where the flame subsided, a woman with a completely different impression was standing in the same pose.

Wavy gray hair. Clothes that cling to her body.

“I can’t stand doing this anymore.”

She stretched.

“Sister… please send me home.”

A voice is heard from somewhere. One of the Four Heavenly Kings, Lilis, turned her gaze to the source of the sound.

A woman with the same face as her was sobbing in a prison.

A woman with plain features, her eyes hidden by her bangs.

The fact that she is wearing a school uniform suggests her age.

[Lee Hyeji]

That was the name written on the crying woman’s name tag.