episode_0019

Unlike vacation time, time passed quickly. I think it’s definitely proof that something is being done.

As each day passed by in an instant, the dates were already being burned on several pages of the calendar in front of my eyes.

When I opened my eyes this morning, I couldn’t easily accept that today was Thursday.

After today, it’s Friday, and on Friday I decided to have a drink with Hansol.

At the time, it seemed like I had a fun time making the appointment, but now I felt a subtle sense of distance, perhaps feeling a little sorry.

“I wish I hadn’t heard it.”

If I hadn’t heard Hansol’s feelings at that time, I would have been a little more proud.

I felt the bitter taste of memories in my mouth.

If it hadn’t been for that, we could have ended things a little more neatly.

I lifted my heavy eyelids and stood up. I glanced at the mirror on the dressing table, then went into the bathroom and washed my face.

Everything was perfect: I washed my hair, got dressed, and even put on makeup.

With my confused mind, I moved my legs.

“Sister, are you awake?”

“Yes. I only have morning classes today.”

I packed my major books, writing utensil, and laptop in my bag.

There was so much to prepare that we were busy starting in the morning.

As I left the room with my bag on my back, Hansol left the room, scratching his messy hair.

I smiled and walked away as usual.

“Then do you want to come back with me?”

“No, I have an appointment today, so I’ll go alone.”

As I was busy putting my shoes on my feet, Hansol peeked his head out and suggested that we go to school together.

Well, that would be nice, but I couldn’t do that today.

Because the MT had been forcibly taken from me before, the story became a bit long, so I had to talk to the manager.

So I gently declined Hansol’s offer and opened the front door.

“… okay. You didn’t forget about tomorrow, right?”

“You know.”

Hansol looked regretful and remained silent for a moment.

He soon shrugged his shoulders with an expression that said there was nothing he could do. And he spoke as if he was confirming his promise for tomorrow.

I grinned and nodded my head in response to what Hansol said.

Only then did Hansol look satisfied.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Yes. Goodbye.”

I said my final goodbyes to Hansol and came out of the house.

The fresh air that can be smelled in the morning filled my lungs.

Fresh sunlight announced the morning, and cars on their way to work filled the roads.

If I took the bus to work, I couldn’t make it to class on time, so I had to take the subway.

sister. I sent you a photo of the hotel I booked.

I looked at my smartphone while listening to the signal that the subway was coming.

After watching for a while, a messenger came from Hansol. When I checked, there was a photo of the hotel I had chosen before.

It was flashy, clean, and looked good. They say that 30 per day is the Maginot Line, but I had no idea they would pick such a good place.

Still, since it was my first time there, I smiled and said it was worth choosing, and turned off the screen of my smartphone.

It was a day where my thoughts became a little complicated. Maybe it’s because of something that happened yesterday.

[Next station is-]

Whenever I think of Hansol, my heart feels tight.

When Hansol said he liked me, I couldn’t like him.

Hansol’s feelings were a burden to me, and I couldn’t give him a positive answer.

No matter how much I crossed the line, the question arose as to whether I could take a further step.

I sighed and stared at the subway window, which was shaking violently.

“Ha Yoon-ah. I heard you missed the lecture yesterday afternoon because you were sick?”

“Uh… Did Minah tell you?”

“Ungh. Yesterday, when you checked attendance, you raised your hand and said, right?”

When I arrived at school, leaving all my thoughts behind, Soobin approached me with a worried look on his face.

When I tried to recall the memories of yesterday with a nervous expression, Soobin nodded.

I was glad that Minah spoke well.

I was relieved and took a deep breath. It doesn’t change that it’s a missed class anyway, but it still seems better to skip it because it hurts than to skip it without permission.

“Hayun came today? I was going to say that I would have been sick today if I hadn’t come today.”

“You don’t have to do that. It’s okay today. I heard you spoke well yesterday? Thank you.”

While chatting with Soobin about yesterday’s attendance, I turned my head to find a place to sit in the classroom.

I heard a clicking sound coming from behind me, and then a hand was placed on my shoulder.

When I shuddered in surprise, Mina laughed behind me and put her head forward.

When I saw Mina’s face, my stiff mind relaxed from surprise and I burst into laughter.

I laughed along with Mina and expressed my gratitude for yesterday’s events.

“Minaya. Come to think of it, I heard that Hayoon skipped going to MT tomorrow?”

“What? Is it true?”

“That’s right. So, after today’s lecture, the manager invited me to talk.”

Subin looked at what Minah and I were talking about and hit his palm with his fist.

Subin, who looked as if he had remembered something, mentioned the fact that I would not be attending the MT.

Oops. I wanted to. After listening to Soobin, Mina opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

With Soobin and Minah next to me like this, I felt like I was being questioned, so it became a thorn in my side.

Embarrassed, I smiled dryly and shook my shoulders.

“Why did our Hayun suddenly withdraw from MT~?”

“Eeeee.”

Mina opened her eyes and glared at me, then grabbed my cheeks and stretched them.

I, the shortest one, was surrounded by Soobin and Minah and was bombarded with questions without being able to run away.

I rubbed my stinging cheek and averted my gaze.

“Okay. Tell me.”

“… My parents went on a business trip and said they were coming back this time.”

“Ah. Are you trying to make us feel guilty by condescending to our parents?”

Subin nodded and urged him to answer.

Hansol and I decided to have a drink alone and then go to a hotel and sleep. Since I couldn’t say that, I was worried about what to say.

While trying to figure out what to say in response, I remembered that my parents were coming this weekend and came up with an appropriate answer.

Then Minah looked at Soobin with a horrified expression.

Subin must have had the same thought as he was making eye contact with Mina with a puzzled expression.

“No. It just happened to overlap.”

Although I was a little heartbroken, I couldn’t tell the truth straight away, so I naturally lied.

It was true that my parents would be visiting on the weekend, so I was able to say that without even a change in my complexion.

“Now that I think about it, Hayoon’s younger brother also took out MT.”

“Then there is nothing we can do. Family gatherings are more important.”

Subin is my partner. and clapped their hands.

Then Minah listened carefully to Soobin’s words and nodded.

Apparently, Danny and his friends were taking it easy for family reasons.

*

After the lecture, I looked around the classroom blankly and heard footsteps getting closer.

“Hayun, right? Is it okay for a moment?”

“Ah, yes. It’s okay.”

Before I could get there, a third-year senior came up to me and started talking to me.

I shook my shoulder and turned my head in the direction of the sound.

The senior, who was tall and handsome, looked at his watch for a moment and sat down in the empty seat next to him.

As the kids slowly left, it seemed like they were just going to talk here.

“I heard you canceled the MT due to family issues. What exactly happened?”

“My parents are often away from home on business trips, but I heard they were coming home for the first time in a while, so I decided to eat out for the first time in a while.”

The senior seemed to secretly enjoy prying into other people’s private lives.

Because of this, dealing with a third-year senior was a bit burdensome.

But since I suddenly canceled my participation in MT not even a week ago, I opened my mouth thinking that might be the case.

“I see. Then there is nothing we can do. So, are you going to participate in the next festival after-party?”

“Mmm. well. I think I need to see the atmosphere at that time.”

The senior seemed to be thinking about something, sighed out loud, and turned his head again.

Perhaps because he was a little disappointed about missing this MT, he said something promising for the next time.

Since I was the type of person who spontaneously participated in meetings, there was no way I would be able to answer that question now.

I shrugged my shoulders and appealed that I wasn’t sure.

“Really? Umm, you know that this MT fee is non-refundable, right? I already made a reservation for that number of people.”

“It’s okay.”

The senior kept looking like he was trying to squeeze out something to say.

What did he want to say that made him hesitate without leaving his seat?

After waiting for a while, it became a story about cost.

I was prepared for that as it was a reckless cancellation. I answered with a smile.

“… okay. Meet your parents well.”

“Yes.”

Finally, the senior seemed to have run out of things to say, so he remained silent for a moment.

Then he waved his hand and nodded slightly as if to say hello.

I slightly raised my hand and said hello to the senior who made a gesture indicating that I knew something.

There were no classes after that, so I wanted to go home quickly, but it was a bit difficult to let him go now.

There is no person more difficult to deal with than someone who keeps trying to continue even though they have nothing to say.

“Uh. Sister!”

“En? what. Why are you here?”

I was exhausted from dealing with my senior, so my shoulders slumped.

As I helplessly left the department building, Hansol was waving happily at me on the first floor.

I told him to go first, but I was curious why he was still here.

I thought quite a bit of time had passed since my senior kept taking up my time, but I never thought I would wait for that.

“Other seniors passed by and I thought my sister would come out soon, so I waited. Are you on your way to an appointment now?”

Hansol spoke while looking at the students bustling by around him.

I waited, knowing it would come out soon. It was a very Hansol-like answer.

“No. I’m on my way out after just finishing.”

There won’t be anything to do anyway. I smiled as I approached Hansol.

The crowd quickly dispersed and moved outside with noisy noises.

When I looked up at Hansol for a moment in the quiet hall on the first floor, I saw Hansol staring at me.

“Today is Thursday, right?”

“Ungh. We’re going out for drinks tomorrow.”

“Shh.”

I tapped Hansol’s stomach with my elbow and walked out.

As I walked ahead and asked what day of the week it was, Hansol suddenly started talking about having drinks tomorrow.

The chief would still be here anyway, so it was difficult to hear that.

So I turned around and faced Hansol and put my index finger to my mouth.

Shh. When he made the gesture, Hansol seemed to be surprised and became as frozen as ice and closed his mouth.

“What is it? Oh, that’s right.”

Hansol was taken aback for a moment and asked me what was going on, but soon realized the reason and covered his mouth.

“… What if other people hear it? Is this still the department building?”

“Okay. Okay.”

When I warned him, Hansol raised both his hands and showed his palms as if trying to calm me down.

I stared at Hansol, then lowered my head, sighed, and turned around again.

Hansol was so careless that it was a disaster.

If someone heard it, they might have suspected their relationship, but Hansol seemed to have relaxed some of those limitations.

I needed to be a little careful.

“Sister. Is there a bar nearby?”

“Just a bar near the hotel?”

“Good.”

Hansol followed behind me and quickly caught up with my pace.

Hansol, who was walking next to me, asked in an excited voice like a child going on a picnic the next day.

Maybe he’s excited because it’s his first time going to a bar with me.

I answered lazily, but Hansol seemed to be satisfied with what I said and hummed in response.

“… What are you doing?”

“I just suddenly wanted to try it.”

“Go home and do it. There are too many people watching here.”

As we were returning home side by side, something heavy suddenly rested on our shoulders.

I looked up to see something that was grazing my neck and draped over my shoulder, and I immediately realized that it was Hansol’s arm.

I was silently surprised and glared at Hansol, but Hansol seemed embarrassed and dropped his arm as if making an excuse.

I closed my eyes and patted the shoulder where Hansol had placed his arm.

“No.”

“Huh?”

“To save it until tomorrow.”

But Hansol heard me and shook his head.

What’s wrong with the kid? I raised my eyes and looked at Hansol, shrugging his shoulders and humming.

“Then that’s right… .”

I sighed, looking at Hansol’s unchanging appearance.