episode_0007

“Mi, sorry! We bumped into each other again… . But that’s fortunate. I’m not holding coffee this time. ”

I ran over and apologized to Hanna Yeon. I said thank goodness, but it didn’t seem like it was very funny.

“Your friend.”

Because Hanna Yeon’s eyes were looking over my shoulder.

“Huh… ?”

“Your friends are staring at you.”

As I followed Hanna Yeon’s gaze, two pairs of eyes filled with venom turned towards me.

“Ah, uh… .”

I was fidgeting, looking back and forth between Hyunseo, Minji, and Hannayeon, when I suddenly heard laughter coming from in front of me.

“Go now.”

As she said that, Hanna Yeon turned around. I stood there dumbfounded, forgetting that the kids were glaring at me from behind.

The first time I saw Hanna Yeon’s smiling face, it was so attractive that I thought I would have fallen for her whether I was a man or a woman.

* * *

A day goes by.

This day is no different from any other day.

Here, by ‘ordinary’ I do not mean today, which was special.

Elementary school students, middle school students, and high school students. I’m talking about a day that seems like it will continue forever.

Hyunseo and Minji have been blatantly ignoring me since meeting Hannayeon. Since I had a general idea of the mood, I didn’t bother to get involved, and naturally, our karaoke appointment ended up being canceled.

No, let alone making a karaoke appointment, it seemed like we wouldn’t even be able to say hello starting tomorrow.

“Should I go to daycare… .”

I headed to the bus depot with a sagging gait. I had to take the bus because I was assigned to a high school in a different district from my house.

If you want to get off at the daycare, get off one stop earlier. So when you take Mirae to school, walk one stop before getting on the bus.

This time, the lady said she would do it every day, but I declined because I also wanted to walk with Mirae.

Actually, when I was in middle school, I thought the woman rejected me because she felt sorry, but when I was in the same situation, I realized that she really just wanted to go with Seo-hu.

“Hey, hey… .”

“… Me?”

I was standing at a bus stop, checking out an unfamiliar route, when someone next to me spoke to me.

He was a male student who still looked young, but was tall and slender, and you would naturally say, “He’s handsome.”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

A face that looked very tense. Not only the nape of her neck but even the tips of her ears were red, making me feel sorry for her.

What? Are you a kid with a bit of social awkwardness like me?

“Yes, please speak.”

I felt a sense of kinship with him, so I spoke to him as gently as possible. However, the boy’s flushed face showed no sign of calming down.

“Oh, that… Are you going by bus?”

“… But.”

My relaxed mind began to feel tense. Could it be that he was trying to borrow the bus fare? Or was he trying to rip me off?

“Ah, I also took the bus and went… .”

The boy scratched the back of his head as he spoke. The words, “So what?” rose to his throat, but he held them back and smiled faintly. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he wanted to borrow money.

“Ugh, over there, over there!”

“Yes… ?”

As I was looking at the route map, wondering if it was over, the boy spoke to me again. His gentle face no longer had any of its original skin color left.

“Ho, if you go alone, I was wondering if I could ride with you… Where are you going?”

The question is a bit odd. Why are you asking where people live?

Besides, I don’t live alone, and my home is also home to my future. Since I couldn’t answer easily, I just smiled and quietly walked away.

“Ah, uh… that number!”

“… Yes?”

As I intentionally moved away, the male student shouted urgently.

Number, number… .

Only then did I understand the intent of the conversation with the male student.

Get a number. Is this what you call hunting? If it’s hunting, then I can understand why you’ve been hesitating until now.

I see. That’s what it was… .

I smiled for no reason as I recalled what Mirae had said this morning. That’s why I was worried about getting married. No matter what, it’s too early to get married.

“I’m sorry.”

Of course, I bowed my head politely without hesitation.

My identity was established as a ‘future mother’. That doesn’t mean I completely forgot my past life, so I couldn’t even imagine dating a man.

So, I will never get involved in a romantic relationship with a man.

“Yes… . Sorry.”

The boy accepted it obediently and turned back to his friend who was watching behind him.

“What are you disappointed about? Is it okay? You and I are just like each other.”

“I was thinking about whether I should go first.”

“Anyway, I didn’t do it. What?”

“Oh my god, you’re so annoying. You’re going to get screwed.”

It was my first rejection, so I was nervous inside, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to hurt me. Things like this happen to me too. I really have to live a long life to see it.

“Sigh… .”

I sat there momentarily, my tension released, and soon the bus arrived.

“Student, aren’t you riding?”

“Ah, let’s go!”

No matter what kind of day it was, the way home is always exciting.

* * *

“Where is this?”

I fell asleep on the bus. It seems like today was harder than I thought. I fell asleep without even knowing where I was going.

I got off in a hurry and checked the route map, and it was 8 stops away from the daycare center.

Besides, there were 45 minutes left until the next bus. I checked the estimated time it would take to walk with the help of Mr. GOGLE, and it came out to one hour.

It’s ambiguous. Even if I wait for the bus, it will take an hour. Even if I walk, it will take an hour.

Then, would it be right to wait and take the bus?

To do that, I needed a place to kill time. The easiest places to do that would be a cafe or a convenience store, but when I looked around, all I could find were houses and apartments.

Okay, let’s find a store.

45 minutes. I have plenty of time. I walked a little further in to take a look around. I wandered aimlessly through the concrete jungle that was as tall as my head.

After walking like that for about 10 minutes, I finally found a small convenience store in a seemingly deserted alley.

It’s almost dinner time, so I should just buy something simple to drink and go out.

Ding, ding~.

“Welcome… .”

“Hello… .”

uh?

“What… .”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t even open my mouth, but the other person sighed first.

“Oh, hello?”

I came to my senses belatedly and tried to say hello. I wasn’t a stranger, and we had already bumped into each other twice, so wouldn’t it be okay to say hello?

But Hanna Yeon didn’t seem to think so, and she distorted her face and ignored me.

“… … .”

I also picked up a banana milk and put it on the counter without drawing attention to it. I thought that if I did this, people would have to look at it even if they didn’t want to.

“… … .”

Boom.

Contrary to my expectations, Hanna Yeon only focused her gaze on the POS machine and scanned the barcode.

“… How much is it?”

I felt a bit embarrassed by that sight, so I asked her, but Hanna Yeon didn’t even answer that and instead pointed to the POS machine that had the price on it.

“I can’t see, so I can’t see. How much is it?”

I’m also a person who will do it if I have to. I plan to hang on until Hanna Yeon opens her mouth. Don’t you tend to be more stubborn about trivial things? The current situation is exactly like that.

But Hanna Yeon was stubborn, and she just stared silently, biting her lips.

“Hey, how much is it! I’m a guest… .”

To be honest, it’s a little scary. She’s taller than me, so I have to look up at her, but unlike me who’s in my school uniform, Hanna Yeon is in casual clothes, so she feels like a much more mature person.

Light blue skinny jeans and a white shirt. It was a simple outfit, but no, it was more powerful because it was simple.

“… Sigh.”

After a while, the lips that had been tightly shut opened slightly. The heavy sigh that came out of it made me feel momentarily nervous, but I tried my best not to show it and confidently took out my wallet.

“Hurry up, I’m busy.”

“… 1400 won.”

“Yeah. 1400 won. I’ll tell you quickly. That’s how part-time jobs work!”

As he said that, he handed over the card and reached out for the banana milk in a hurry. He said something in the spirit of it, but he suddenly became afraid of the consequences.

He’s still glaring at me now.

Besides, somehow it seems like Hanna Yeon is also trying to grab the banana milk… .

“Eek… !”

I shivered in surprise at the slightly cool body temperature wrapping around my wrist. What Hanna Yeon was holding was not the banana milk, but me.

And the eyes were still scary.

“Sorry, sorry! That, ah, part-time job is hard too. I’ll give you 1,400 won, no, 14,000 won. T, let’s put this aside for now!”

Hannah Yeon’s hand is getting stronger. Her wrist is starting to hurt, so she tries to pull it out, but she doesn’t have the strength to do so.

“Don’t say it.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Don’t go around bragging about working here. It’s annoying.”

“Oh, oh! Of course. Don’t, don’t say anything. There’s no one to talk to… .”

Hanna Yeon had to be thankful that she was the one who came here. Not only was my mouth heavy, but there was no one who could make me open my heavy mouth. She was the perfect person to keep a secret.

“Yeah… .”

“Then work hard at your part-time job!”

As soon as Hanna Yeon released my wrist, I ran away and stepped back.

Of course I know he’s not a bad guy.

When I lent her my gym clothes, they were washed properly and had a nice fabric softener smell to them, which made me feel really good.

But what’s scary is scary. Even though I’m sure that Hanna Yeon won’t hurt me, I’m still overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

“Greetings… .”

But I felt it was a bit of a shame to break up like this, so I decided to try a little harder.

“… What?”

“Customer… is leaving… without even saying hello… .”

As I stood in front of the door muttering, Hanna Yeon looked at me like I was a strange person. Seriously. Her eyes looked like they were looking at filth.

So I started to regret it. I shouldn’t have done it.

“Oh, it’s nothing! See you at school!”

I walked out of the convenience store, touching my hot cheek.

Swaaa …

At the same time, heavy raindrops soaked the dry asphalt.

“Do you sell umbrellas by any chance…?”

“They all went out.”

The raindrops were too big to avoid.