episode_0231

***

Shin Jeong-ah, dressed lightly, approaches me and Yoon Sia.

I walked one step and met her in the middle.

“Why are you here?”

Shin Jeong-ah’s eyebrows furrowed mercilessly at the words that came out of nowhere.

“Why? Can’t I come here?”

Words as spicy as soda came out of her mouth.

Shin Jeong-ah’s gaze stays on Yoon Sia over my shoulder.

Even a blind person would be able to tell that Shin Jeong-ah does not look at Yoon Si-ah with a favorable gaze.

“Who are you? That girl?”

“Wow, that woman…”

“Oh, I’m Inho’s tutor. Are you Inho’s friend?”

The moment she took a step further to stop Shin Jeong-ah, whose level of speaking was gradually increasing, Yoon Si-ah, who was behind her, stepped forward.

“……”

Upon hearing Yoon Sia’s self-introduction, Shin Jeong-ah closed her mouth and looked her up and down.

“Is it true?”

Then he looks at me and checks. I answered by nodding my head.

“I see.”

As if she had figured out the general situation, Shin Jeong-ah came out and looked at her with a more relaxed expression than before.

“So, why are you two here?”

However, people keep asking me if I still have a lot of questions.

“It’s just the same path…”

As he was about to turn around, Yoon Si-ah came close behind him and cut off his waist.

“Inho was taking me there because it was dark at night. And he said he was going to the convenience store for business.”

“Ah… really?”

As soon as the calm tone of voice ended, Shin Jeong-ah’s face crumpled slightly.

“Anyway, thank you for taking me here. Do your homework well.”

Yoon Sia stood next to me and looked at me.

She smiled happily, like a teacher looking at a student he admired.

Well, thank you for trusting me…

“……”

Looking at Shin Jeong-ah’s eyebrows gradually rising, I think she didn’t choose the right time.

“Then I’ll go.”

Yun Sia said hello and headed towards the bus stop.

Low-heeled shoes made a clicking sound as they crossed the night street.

Shin Jeong-ah and I looked at each other, listening to the distance between us.

“What is that?”

I pointed to the plastic bag in my hand.

“It’s no big deal.”

Shin Jeong-ah hid the plastic bag behind her back.

Something heavy shook left and right.

Well, not that I care.

“Really? Then what.”

I have to go buy a hot bar. I feel like it would be perfect to eat ramen and hot bar as a late-night snack.

“Hey, Kang In-ho.”

As I was about to enter the convenience store, Shin Jeong-ah caught me.

She pursed her lips, as if she had a lot to say.

When he brought his face closer to me as if to ask if he had something to say, this time he pulled his face back.

What is this, I’m confused.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

I feel like this is a conversation that will never end with non-verbal expressions, so I ask out loud.

“Can I go to your house today?”

She asks with subtle anticipation.

I immediately shook my head.

“No, no.”

“Really not possible?”

Shin Jeong-ah, who had retreated, comes closer again.

This time, I step back and increase the distance between me and her.

– Meow

Cats around the convenience store cried when they saw us.

A cool breeze passed through our bodies, and Shin Jeong-ah and I faced each other on the street, where only store signs and streetlights illuminated the street.

She came closer once more.

And asked.

“Really not possible?”

I ask with regret.

“Uh, really no way.”

He crosses his arms and speaks firmly.

“Why?”

Tenacious and unyielding.

“I don’t really like having people in my house.”

It completely blocks any openings.

“……”

Can’t you see any gaps? Shin Jeong-ah slightly puffed out her cheeks and turned around.

The plastic bag in her hand swung back and forth like a pendulum hanging on a string.

The chilly wind blew once more.

I put on my jacket over my slowly cooling body and slowly walked back toward the convenience store.

“Okay, then. If you change your mind, contact me.”

Shin Jeong-ah, who I thought would be more persistent, smiled brightly and greeted me.

“Huh? Uh… okay.”

The reaction was different from what I expected, so I was a bit taken aback.

“Goodbye.”

Shin Jeong-ah spoke behind me as I entered the convenience store.

– Meow

The cats around us watched this awkward conversation and each added their words.

***

“Uh….”

Yoon Sia, who was busy talking, missed the bus right in front of her eyes.

It was late at night, and she was sitting on a chair at the bus stop looking at her cell phone to wait for the next bus. She felt someone else and turned her head.

There was a friend of Inho’s who I had just met.

A woman carrying a plastic bag followed me into the bus stop and sat one seat away from me.

“See you again? Is… Inho’s friend?”

“This is Shin Jeong-ah.”

“Shin Jeong-ah. The name is really pretty.”

Yoon Si-ah praised her without any affectation, and Shin Jeong-ah snorted.

Yun Sia was offended by the younger child’s disrespectful attitude, but she did not show it outwardly.

“How many times do you ride?”

While the uncomfortable silence continued, it was surprisingly Shin Jeong-ah who broke the silence.

Yoon Sia looked at her face again to see if it was right to ask her, and Shin Jeong-ah looked into Yoon Sia’s eyes and asked again.

“How many times do you take the bus?”

“Me? Ah… I have number 320.”

“Same as me.”

After saying those words, Shin Jeong-ah took out her cell phone.

I don’t know if she was watching YouTube or chatting with a friend on KakaoTalk, but she didn’t say anything else until the bus came.

‘He’s an unusual kid.’

Yoon Si-ah compared the appearance in front of the convenience store with the appearance now.

In a situation where it was difficult to even talk to her first, Yoon Shia stared blankly at the nose of her shoes and waited for the bus to arrive.

Fortunately, the bus came quickly, and Yoon Sia got on the bus before Shin Jeong-ah.

Yoon Si-ah boarded the empty bus and sat in a seat near the entrance.

“?”

And with the aisle as a boundary, Shin Jeong-ah sat across from him.

The bus’s door closed, and it immediately started running down the street, making a loud engine noise.

Because the road had many corners, their bodies moved left and right.

As she sat on the bus shaking up and down, left and right, Yoon Sia thought about tomorrow.

‘I had to do something tomorrow.’

Living a hectic daily life, she did not waste this brief moment returning home.

She took out her notebook and started organizing tomorrow’s schedule.

I did this, I have to do this, I have to get here by what time, I have to deal with the requirements like this…

Yoon Sia wrote down various things with a cheap Monami ballpoint pen and planned for tomorrow.

And Shin Jeong-ah looked at Yoon Sia in silence.

“Are you close with Inho?”

Shin Jeong-ah suddenly asked.

“We’ve been talking a lot lately, but we can’t say we’re close.”

In response to the unexpected question, Yoon Sia thought about the meaning of the question for a moment, then returned her gaze to her notebook and answered.

” Right? It’s not like he did the tutoring because he wanted to.”

Shin Jeong-ah put strength into her words.

“But he did his homework and had a good attitude in class. Are you interested in studying?”

He said, recalling Inho’s recently changed attitude.

“Interesting?”

Shin Jeong-ah confirmed it again, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, interesting. Anyway, I’m fine. I noticed that they were receiving money without even going to class, but if you study hard now…”

“He’s doing it out of curiosity, so don’t worry about it.”

Shin Jeong-ah decided, cutting off Yoon Sia’s words.

Hearing the student’s words mixed with worry, annoyance, and disbelief, Yun Sia took her eyes off her notebook and looked to the side.

His face was frowning, as if he was so angry at nothing.

Shin Jeong-ah’s hard, distorted face welcomed Yoon Sia.

‘Oh, I feel bad because I’m afraid I’ll lose my friend.’

Only then did Yoon Sia understand the situation.

I had forgotten for a moment that Inho was not a very good student.

Because there will be similar people next to a student who is misbehaving.

This kid must be a problem too.

As her thoughts reached that point, Yoon Sia felt like acting foolishly.

“That’s right. You might be interested for a while out of curiosity.”

“Right. So…”

When Yoon Si-ah obediently admitted, Shin Jeong-ah quickly responded.

But this time, Yoon Shia cut her off.

“If I work hard, wouldn’t I be able to sustain that curiosity longer?”

“…What?”

“For example… if you study hard and get good grades, they give you a reward.”

Yoon Si-ah was speechless as she thought about what kind of reward she could offer to a rich child in order to be effective.

“Compensation? What reward?”

Yoon Sia’s attitude offended Shin Jeong-ah.

Shin Jeong-ah exuded coldness, forgetting even the honorific.

“Well… I haven’t really thought about it… Is there something that students of that age might like?”

When Yun Shia shrugged and spoke, a pouting sound came from the corner of Shin Jeong Ah’s mouth.

“I see….”

Shin Jeong-ah struggled to maintain a smile by raising the corner of her mouth, and Yoon Sia pressed the exit bell.

– Beep

As the stop got closer and closer, Yoon Si-ah stood up.

“Well… you said Jeong-ah, right? I get off here. You too, go in safely.”

As the bus gradually slowed down, Yoon Sia took a card and said hello to Shin Jeong-ah.

“Sister.”

As she was about to get off the bus, Shin Jeong-ah called her.

“Huh?”

“Unni, please go in carefully.”

Shin Jeong-ah smiled and said hello.

“They say there’s a lot of bullying these days.”