episode_0562

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On days when fluffy clouds drift warmly past the window, the name “subway” feels oddly out of place.

Even trivial thoughts I occasionally entertained were momentarily forgotten. I let myself be carried along in the bustling subway before disembarking at an unfamiliar station—one I’d normally have no reason to visit.

This was at Seol Da-bin’s request. She had asked if we could meet somewhere like this if possible.

As far as she knew, she didn’t have any friends living around here.

Of course, if it were just the two of us meeting, I could understand perfectly.

After all, Seol Da-bin still hadn’t told anyone about what happened with Baek Ji-ho.

If rumors about her being seen with me started circulating, it could lead to complicated gossip among the students. That was something she likely wanted to avoid.

I figured there was a high chance of that happening too.

But this time, Baek Seo-yeon was also with us, so even if we ran into someone, they’d probably assume it was just a casual gathering among friends.

Maybe she was worrying too much…

“…Ah, sunbae. They’re here. Seo Woo-jin.”

“See? I told you it’d take about ten more minutes.”

“Yeah, you were right.”

Well, being overly cautious is better than being too relaxed.

Choosing to think positively, I joined the two girls waiting in front of the station.

Unsurprisingly, Seol Da-bin had come wearing the same mask as last time.

Not only that, but she seemed to have made an attempt at disguising herself—she had even let down her hair, which she usually kept tied up.

Even so, nothing else about her was concealed, making it painfully obvious that it was Seol Da-bin. Still, I could at least appreciate the effort.

In contrast, Baek Seo-yeon looked like she had put in a bit more care into her appearance than usual.

From what I remembered, she usually couldn’t be bothered with her outfits, wearing nothing but the academy uniform or, more recently, a pitch-black long padded coat every day, looking no different from a penguin.

But today, Baek Seo-yeon was dressed in a short, snow-white padded jacket I’d never seen before, with an outfit underneath that looked freezing.

“One of you is obviously Seol Da-bin. Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”

“…Haah. Is that really the first thing you say after seeing my face in so long?”

“Your pants. With your thighs exposed like that in this weather, you must be freezing.”

“You like this, don’t you? …Always touching them at the most random times.”

Maybe she took it as criticism for her poor disguise.

Her sharp eyes above the mask looked thoroughly displeased, but Baek Seo-yeon was the one who spoke up first.

While looking around for a decent café, likely because she was cold, Baek Seo-yeon hesitantly asked with reddened nose:

“Anyway, was that really the first thing you wanted to say?”

“What did you want me to say?”

“…A New Year’s greeting. We haven’t seen each other in person yet.”

“We did it over the phone a few days ago.”

“But not face-to-face.”

“…Fine. Happy New Year. You too, Seol Da-bin.”

“…Hmph.”

“Happy now?”

“…Yeah. Well… Ah, must be nice. Getting congratulated as a bonus.”

What’s the big deal?

She smiled faintly to herself.

562

Given how cafés are practically more common than stray cats these days,

we only had to walk a few steps before finding one. After taking off our coats, we began talking.

“You could’ve waited inside instead of out in the cold.”

“…I waited outside so you wouldn’t have trouble finding us.”

“You could’ve just told me the name of the place. It’s right in front of the station anyway.”

“Next time, I’ll do that. Happy?”

“…Yeah. Next time, don’t wait outside the station like that… Hmm…”

To be precise, it was mostly Baek Seo-yeon and I talking, but still.

Seol Da-bin quietly observing the situation was to be expected.

Thinking about her behavior so far, she was never the type to chatter away like Yozora.

Honestly, Baek Seo-yeon being unusually talkative today felt more out of place.

It wasn’t like she’d picked it up from her friend Yozora—she’d been quiet even during Christmas.

But today, she seemed oddly talkative.

Was she deliberately trying to lighten the mood like Yozora would?

“……”

Well, at least this was better than both of them sitting there in silence.

Deciding to break the ice with the still-tense Seol Da-bin, I nudged her.

“Did you two greet each other?”

“…Me and sunbae?”

“Yeah.”

“We did. Did you think we’d just sit here silently otherwise?”

“You two weren’t talking much, so I wondered.”

“Well, there’s nothing in particular to talk about right now.”

“You were the one who said you wanted to meet her.”

“…I did say that, but I’ve seen Seo-yeon sunbae before, so…”

I guess her curiosity wasn’t as strong as I thought.

That explanation made enough sense.

“I was originally going to introduce you to someone else, but she said she was busy with hero studies. So I postponed it.”

“…Hero studies. Another girl from the academy, I assume?”

“Yeah. For all you know, you might’ve crossed paths with her at the academy.”

“Haah… If it’s you we’re talking about, you probably hit on some pretty girl again… I can think of a few, but…”

“But?”

“…Even after getting with the prettiest one here, Seo-yeon sunbae, you still can’t curb your greed, huh?”

Maybe because being complimented on her looks was embarrassing, Baek Seo-yeon, despite sitting right next to us, pretended not to hear and averted her gaze.

If Yozora had said the same thing, she would’ve snapped back with something like, “That’s noisy,” but since it was Seol Da-bin, she just quietly sipped her café mocha.

Amused by her reaction, I was promptly kicked under the table.

While thinking how much that resembled Seol Da-bin, she continued.

“…By the way, that girl you mentioned introducing me to next time… She’s not related to Ha-yoon, is she?”

“Not entirely unrelated.”

“Eck…!”

“To be precise, she knows Lee Ji-yoon.”

There probably is some connection, but honestly, I’m not sure how deep it goes.

Last time, when Yozora begged to meet her, she even scolded me, saying, “What if you actually end up meeting her?”

I only know the outcome—the details of how it happened are something only Lee Ji-yoon and Yozora know.

Even if they’ve talked, I doubt they’re particularly close.

“Does that mean she’s also a first-year?”

“Ah, now that you mention it, that would be obvious.”

“First-year… First-year…”

Seol Da-bin muttered under her breath, resting her chin on her mask.

After a moment, she brought her straw to her lips and stared blankly into space, deep in thought.

If she had just asked me for the name, I would’ve teased her a bit before telling her.

I guess the version of me in her head isn’t the type to share that willingly.

Taking a sip of my coffee, I countered with a question.

“You’re already trying to get closer to Lee Ji-yoon. Why does knowing someone connected to her bother you so much?”

“Of course it bothers me. …Eventually, we’ll have to reveal our relationship, after all.”

“I mean, if you want to keep it hidden forever, I’d respect that.”

Best friends together.

Or with Lee Ha-yoon’s younger sister, her friend.

In places she doesn’t know about.

That kind of “unconventional experience” is undeniably tempting.

I won’t deny that I’m greedy for it, but if the risks are too high, I’m not eager to push it.

There’s still so much I want to do with them—losing it all after just a year would be a real shame.

But Seol Da-bin answered firmly.

“I’ll tell her. Eventually.”

With a face full of worry,

as if she had countless mountains to climb.

“If that’s what you want, then fine.”

“…Does it seem frustrating? My childhood friend… used to say that sometimes. That I can be oddly stubborn about certain things.”

“I get what she means, but I don’t really care. It’s just how you are.”

“……”

“Thinking about it, you’ve always been like this. Hating to owe people anything.”

“Yeah… I really hate that.”

“You even refused to let me pay you back for laundry money back then.”

“That’s right.”

That was a long time ago.

As I reminisced, Seol Da-bin, who had been stirring her drink with a straw like it was chopsticks, spoke up again.

“I just wish there was nothing awkward between people. Whether it’s debts or lies.”

“…Da-bin. For someone who says that, you seemed to enjoy cheating quite a bit.”

“…! Th-That’s not what I meant… I mean…”

Baek Seo-yeon, who had been quiet until now,

…chimed in dryly.

“Weren’t you actually turned on by having sex behind your boyfriend’s back? That kind of forbidden thrill was new to you, right?”

“…Ah, um… well…”

“Plus, your boyfriend never kissed you like this, did he? Never touched you until you were trembling? Never loved you until you were drenched in sweat…?”

“……”

“Admit it. As much as you pretend to be a good girl, the truth is, as long as it feels good, lies don’t matter to you.”

“……”

There were other customers around.

A group of middle-aged women. A college student studying.

But Baek Seo-yeon kept going.

“Honestly, I don’t like hypocritical acts like earlier. …Since we’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”

“……”

Seol Da-bin sat frozen for a moment.

Baek Seo-yeon leaned in slightly, whispering

a few words to her.

“You don’t even like talking like this right now, do you? …You’d rather just lock yourselves in a room and have sex. Am I wrong?”

“…Th-That’s…”

“…Want to go first? Or should I?”

“I… I’d rather… hurry…”

“I see.”

“……”

With that, she stood up quietly.

“…Then I guess we have no choice. We’ll have to share.”

“…Huh? Sunbae…?”

The remaining 36 hours or so of the weekend.

As if every minute, every second, was too precious to waste.