episode_0014

“Isn’t this day? Wow, I see all the celebrities here. Where are they? Do you have time?”

“… No.”

“Oh, really? But can’t we talk for at least 10 minutes? ”

“… … Sorry.”

The male students who are joking around next to me are annoying. I usually try to respond to them out of consideration for their courage, but I don’t have the luxury of doing so right now.

Well, I’m tailing Hanna Yeon right now.

“This is completely ironclad? When talking about people, do you at least look at their faces?”

“… … .”

“Oh, oh… Yeah. Oh, where does it hurt? You don’t look well either, so let’s talk about it later.”

When I briefly turned my gaze from Hanna Yeon to the male student, he hesitated, scratched the back of his head, and stepped back.

Since I am just as good as Hannah Yeon in terms of impression, I tried it just in case and it was quite effective.

Squeak─ chwiik… .

As I was defeating the boys and chasing after Hanna Yeon again, the bus that had just arrived stopped at the stop.

This is why I followed Hanna Yeon. There is no room to escape on the bus.

I swiped my bus card and walked over to the seat where Hannayeon was sitting.

“Hanna Yeon.”

I called out to her while sitting down next to her, but Hanna Yeon, who was looking out the window, didn’t move at all.

A crowd of students rushing past the window. The bus has started, so I can hold onto Hannayeon for a while. Let’s take it slow, don’t be impatient, and say what I wanted to say.

“Hannayeon, I really thought about it hard. Even though you have a bad impression, I don’t think you’d ever hurt others based on your mood, right?”

I kept thinking about it after lunch, even putting aside classes. Because I couldn’t understand Hanna Yeon’s change. Even though the time was short, I thought we had become deeply acquainted by sharing our stories with each other.

“… Did I see something wrong?”

“Oh. I saw it wrong.”

Finally, Hanna Yeon’s gaze turned to me. Her deep brown eyes were staring at me intently. Even though we were clearly looking at each other, I felt like I was staring into space alone.

“Yeah, I see… .”

A bitter smile spread across her lips. Hanna Yeon doesn’t even know what kind of face she’s making right now. She’s a kid who’s just as bad at lying as she is at telling jokes.

“I’m sorry, Hannah Yeon. I can’t trust you this time.”

I held Hanna Yeon’s shoulder tightly to prevent her from running away and continued speaking.

“Why did you do that? What happened? Is it something you shouldn’t tell me?”

Hanna Yeon wiggled her shoulders a few times, then quickly turned her head to the side and avoided eye contact.

It was a good decision to take the bus. When we went home from school, there were hardly any people on the bus, and if we sat next to each other in the same seat, there wasn’t even enough room to move.

“If you suffer alone, nothing will change.”

I even grabbed Hanna Yeon’s cheek and turned her towards me. It was an action I would never have imagined under normal circumstances, but I was not in my usual state right now.

“I feel much better after you told me about the future. I feel like I have more support. I’m glad you understand.”

Honestly, I was getting angry. I might have been relying on Hanna Yeon for no reason. You could say it was my selfishness, but I still didn’t want to let go of Hanna Yeon.

Because we’re new friends.

Because it was the first time I brought up my daughter to a child my age.

Because the mature and blunt Hanna Yeon accepted it all.

“So why don’t you tell me too? What are you thinking? If you keep your mouth shut, I can’t help but hate you. Are you okay with that?”

“Wait… Wait… … .”

Hannah Yeon’s lips, which had been tightly closed, opened slightly. Although she didn’t use any makeup, her lips looked moist, as if she had applied lip balm to keep them sufficiently hydrated.

But why are the lips so clearly visible?

“… Close.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry… .”

It seems that he was so excited that he pushed Hannayeon. Hannayeon was almost half-lying down and was pushed all the way to the window. If someone saw him, they would think that I had pounced on Hannayeon.

“Ah… !”

I tried to back away in a panic, but ended up twisting my ankle and getting closer instead.

The neat facial features that suddenly became close, and the thin breath that tickled the lips.

I tried my best not to be conscious of it since Hanna Yeon acted as if nothing had happened, but the situation naturally made me recall the memories of that morning.

“What are they?”

“I don’t know, I guess I was in a hurry.”

I could hear the girls in the backseat giggling.

“읏… .”

I felt no strength in my body. The burning sensation seemed to represent my complexion.

“Hannayeon… Please wake me up.”

As I whispered to Hanna Yeon, she stared at me blankly and pushed my shoulder with one hand.

The body spun around and settled on the backrest. Hanna Yeon looked over to see if she was really okay, and there was a faint blush on the tips of her ears.

Of course, it’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing because we’re not even family, but friends.

“So what? Why did you ignore me? Depending on the answer, I might not be able to send you back safely.”

I calmed my rapidly beating heart and grumbled for no reason. If I didn’t do this, they might find out that I was conscious of it. I was the one who accidentally covered it up, but it’s strange that I’m still paying attention.

“… This day.”

As I was chasing away my various thoughts with those thoughts in my mind, Hanna Yeon called my name in a heavy voice.

“Huh?”

“Why are you so persistent?”

Asking me that question at this time? I momentarily held my breath, wondering if he didn’t like it, but I trusted my intuition and decided to go out shamelessly.

“Because you’re the only one I can stick to. Because of whom I lost my friends… .”

I glanced at Hanna Yeon and wiggled my lips. It was the expression I made whenever Mirae was upset, but it came out naturally without me knowing. They say that if you spend a long time together, you start to resemble each other, and it seems like it wasn’t wrong.

“… Then just fall.”

It was rare for Hanna Yeon to show a weak side. She always had a sense of pressure, even if she was not very energetic, but now she just felt like she was facing the future.

“I enjoy being with you the most, what should I do?”

Maybe that’s why I gave a light-hearted answer that didn’t fit the serious atmosphere. But I’m okay with this. I think it’s the best way to express my feelings.

“You just said you lost your friends because of me.”

“Yeah, so you can be my friend?”

I smiled at Hanna Yeon, who was staring blankly at me. I don’t know what was going on, but I could understand Hanna Yeon’s worries to some extent.

I’m sure he was worried about what happened the first day. After I met Hanna Yeon, Hyunseo and Minji started avoiding me.

“To put it simply, I’m asking you to take responsibility.”

But that story didn’t apply to me at all. I’d like to avoid becoming friends with those kinds of people.

“Responsibility… .”

“What do you think? Will you take responsibility? Do you hate being with me?”

Hannah Yeon is enough for me. I’ve been doing fine on my own up until now, so what? I’m okay as long as I have one friend I can trust.

“… Sigh.”

Hanna Yeon, who was looking at me, let out a sigh. Then she glanced at me and spoke softly.

“… Okay.”

After saying that, Hanna Yeon hurriedly turned her head and ran away. It seemed that she was embarrassed by the embarrassing conversation. In fact, I also thought that maybe I had come off too strong.

However, I had no intention of letting Hanna Yeon go here.

“Then shall we listen to the story now? Why did our Hanna Yeon avoid me?”

* * *

“Huh, Hannah Yeon has cute sides too?”

“… I didn’t say that because you liked it.”

“How about that? Should I stop someone passing by and ask them?”

He questioned Hanna Yeon about everything, from overhearing gossip in the bathroom to the time when Hanna Yeon scolded the girls.

Honestly, I didn’t know that people’s perception of me would be that low, but after hearing it, I felt relieved.

“So, to make it easier for me… … .”

“Hanna Yeon.”

But I didn’t feel good. No, my heart was too heavy to just like it.

“… Why.”

Hanna Yeon answered in a stiff voice, as if she knew what I was going to say.

“Don’t do that again.”

I didn’t intend to speak so seriously, but my throat got choked up and the atmosphere became heavier than I expected.

But there’s nothing I can do. Hanna Yeon has taken on the pain for me, so I can’t just jump around and say I’m happy.

As I turned my head with a bitter smile at that thought, Hanna Yeon, who had been wiggling her eyebrows, let out a weak answer.

“… Yeah.”

He listens well. What should I do with this big, stray cat?

“Then let me say thank you this time!”

Solved! He smiled coolly and walked away. Even if I drag it out, I can’t go back in time and stop Hanna Yeon. It would be better to be honest and thank you now.

“Hehehe… .”

“… … .”

I let out a slightly foolish laugh as I walked forward, but then I stopped in my tracks when I felt someone staring at me from behind.

By the way, why is Hanna Yeon next to me?

“…Hanna Yeon, why did you get off here?”

“Because the story isn’t over.”

Hanna Yeon is doing something special today. I’m happy. Of course I’m happy, but… .

“What about part-time job?”

“It’s a day off.”

It’s the first time I’ve heard that. Hanna Yeon doesn’t usually talk about herself at all. No, she doesn’t really talk in the first place.

“I see… So it’s your day off?”

A good idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Narin is still in school?”

“Until 8:00.”

The timing is just right.

Today is the day that Mirae comes home from her pajama party at daycare. It’s not a party, it’s just that they put the kids in their pajamas and give them dinner and snacks. I guess it’s meant to give the parents a little bit of a break.

The pajama party also ends at 8 o’clock.

Okay, the plan is perfect.

“Then do you want to come to my house and sleep? We have to meet early tomorrow morning anyway. And we have a spare room.”

“… Why?”

“Why is that good? Come and see our daughter. She and Na-rin aren’t that much older than each other, so it would be good to get to know each other in advance.”

“Is that so… .”

It was a very lukewarm reaction. But I didn’t care and instead faced Hanna Yeon with a more confident attitude.

“It’s not like that, it’s like that. Okay, I’ll send you the address, so give me your number.”

And while doing this, do you naturally get the number?

“… I said I was going to sleep yet.”

“It’s going to be fine anyway, right?”

“… … .”

Hanna Yeon, who couldn’t refute and just kept biting her lips, eventually took my phone and started to dial the number with clumsy hands.

I thought about using this as an excuse to tease him, but I decided to hold back since today was the first day I had a friend’s number on my phone.

Because I was more touched than I wanted to tease Hanna Yeon.