78. Unchanged Even as a Second-Year (4)

Time continued to flow, until it was right after the final exams.

Barely three weeks shy of summer break, on a sweltering day in July.

Aki, her friend Ha-ram, and I found ourselves at a coffee shop near the school.

The stated reason: a four-way hang-out, including my friend Seung-woo and Aki’s friend, Ha-ram.

The real reason, known only to Aki and I: a staged opportunity for Seung-woo and Ha-ram to spend time alone.

“Woo-joo~chan, when is the boy Ha-ram likes supposed to arrive?”

“Eep?! Aki, what are you even saying…?!”

“Why? It’s true, isn’t it? You always DM me about him…”

“Shhh, shhh! He might hear if he’s on his way…!”

Ha-ram’s face flushed crimson at Aki’s light teasing.

Listening to their back-and-forth, like a comedy duo, I chuckled and pulled out my phone.

[Where are you?]

Sent, thinking it was about time he showed.

– *Ttiriring.*

The reply came quickly.

[Almost there]

[About 5 minutes, I think]

[Got it~]

“He says he’ll be here in five minutes.”

“Huh, five minutes…?!”

“Yep, five minutes.”

I answered casually, then slipped my phone back into my pocket.

Upon hearing that Seung-woo would arrive in five minutes, Ha-ram, looking increasingly nervous, placed a hand on her chest and started taking deep breaths, *’Hoo, hoo….’*

“Hey, Ha-ram-ah…?”

Aki gently took Ha-ram’s hand.

“Oh, uh. What is it?”

“Really, really, really sorry, but… Woo-joo~chan and I have to head out now.”

“……Huh? Why?”

“Umm, well…”

Aki made brief eye contact with me, then blinked.

A signal that it was my turn next, and I should prepare.

“So, we weren’t going to hang out, the four of us…?!”

“Yeah, that’s what we originally planned? But something urgent came up for Uju~chan and me. So, it can’t be done.”

“Urgent? What, what kind of thing…?”

“My parents, they work in the States, but they said they’re briefly popping into Korea sometime after lunch today. So I have to take Aki and say hello. My parents don’t know we’re going out yet.”

I waited for a beat, then jumped in just a touch.

“Ah, really? Your parents are coming…?”

“Sorry. I only found out late last night, so I couldn’t tell you beforehand.”

“Ah, I see. Well, then, I guess there’s nothing we can do….”

‘……Aki, was I not awkward?’

‘Perfect. Oscar-worthy performance, Uju~chan…!’

A quick exchange of glances, hidden from Haram.

Aki and I glanced at the dejected Haram, then stifled our laughter at the same time.

Judging by the reaction, she totally fell for it.

Now it’s time to move on to the next operation.

“So, play without us. Just the two of you.”

“……Huh? Just the two of us?”

“Yeah, just the two of you. Seung-woo and you, Haram.”

“…….”

“Why, you don’t want to?”

“Ah, no! It’s not that, but….”

Haram’s voice faded a little.

Being switched from hanging out with the four of us to just the two of them, she seems to be feeling some kind of complex, subtle emotion, a mix of quiet happiness and bewilderment.

‘About here is where we slowly….’

The uninvited guest has to gracefully bow out.

I gestured with my eyes at Aki and got up from my seat.

“We’re a bit rushed, so we have to go now, but can you explain the situation for us?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah….”

“Okay, then we’ll be going. Seung-woo doesn’t have any plans until late tonight, so have fun, you two.”

“Haram-ah, fighting!”

“……Yeah!”

Lee Haram, a determined fist clenched tight.

Aki and I slipped out of the coffee shop, leaving Haram behind. I immediately shot Seungwoo a message, telling him to come to the innermost window seat.

[Come to the innermost seat at the coffee shop]

[Okay~]

“……Done.”

Any moment now, Seungwoo and Lee Haram would be facing each other alone in that coffee shop, without us.

My heart yearned to watch, even from afar, but that would be lacking in grace, wouldn’t it?

-Haaah….

Glancing at Haram as we passed the window, I saw her frantically fanning her face, tight with nerves. But now, there was nothing more we could do. We could only hope Haram would manage somehow.

“Aki, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Why did you even lie to get us out of there? We could have just hung out together this time, and set up a separate meeting later.”

I thought their chances would have been better that way, you know.

Aki shook her head decisively at my reasoning, which I thought was quite sound.

“No way. Haram would be less nervous then.”

“Huh? Isn’t less nervous a good thing?”

“Nope, then it won’t be as fun when we hear the stories later…!”

“Ah….”

I see.

Is Aki some kind of genius…?

Genuinely impressed, I nodded several times.

“But, what if Lee Haram gets *too* nervous and it doesn’t go well?”

“Don’t worry about that. Haram’s only like that at first. Once she relaxes, she’s really outgoing. Probably even more than me?”

“Oh, really? More easygoing than *you*, Aki?”

“Uh-huh, really. She was like that even in freshman year, so you can trust me.”

“Oh, I see. That’s kind of fascinating….”

‘……Come to think of it, she didn’t seem particularly nervous when she first met *me*, did she?’

Nervous in front of Seungwoo and Aki, but not in front of me.

Where does that difference come from? I was about to ask about it, but before I could, Aki suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Woojoo-chan, let’s go take some pictures.”

“Photos? Oh, you mean those instant four-cut booths?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s been a while since we took pictures together.”

“Okay, let’s do that. We’ll get those four-cuts and…”

“Then a movie, there’s a new release out, you know?”

She then wriggled her fingers together, interlacing them, and continued, a joyful lilt to her voice.

“It’s called ‘Abigail’. Apparently, it’s a horror movie about a vampire who’s also a ballerina. Sounds fun, right?”

“Ah, a horror movie…”

I trailed off without realizing it.

The thing is, I’m not really good with horror movies. Or rather, I’m really bad with them.

It’s not that I’m scared, exactly. It’s just… how should I put it?

Even though I know the ghosts are fake, they look so real that I end up getting startled by the most insignificant scenes, and I hate that. Is that it?

It’s not like I’m actually scared.

Really…

“Heheh, what’s wrong? Uju~chan, are you maybe scared?”

“…What are you talking about? Of course not. Do you think I can’t handle something like a horror movie?”

“Hmm… Is that so? Then I guess it’s okay to watch it. Right?”

“…………Yeah.”

The answer came a beat too late.

“…Ah, seriously.”

Aki looked at my hesitant self, seemingly finding it adorable, and stretched her lips into a long smile, tapping my thigh.

“Uju~chan, why are you so cute today…?”

“Cute? Don’t be ridiculous…”

I couldn’t fathom what she saw in me to call me cute.

I responded a little tersely without meaning to, but Aki just chuckled, “heheh…” as if even that was adorable.

“Ogu ogu, is that so? Is our Uju~chan angry because her big sister said she was cute?”

“…What are you doing?”

“Heheh, what does it look like? I’m comforting our Uju~chan…”

“Don’t do that. It feels weird…”

“Eung, is that so~? Does it feel weird to our Uju~chan when her big sister does this~?”

“I said stop it…”

“Heheh, is that so? Our Uju-chan…your Onee-san…”

“…Ah, jeez, stop it!”

* * *

After taking a four-cut photo booth strip with Aki, who, as if forbidden made it more tempting, teased me relentlessly using the same old routine.

Aki, looking at the four-cut photo strip capturing my pouty face, muttered, “Haaah, so cute, I wanna take you home…!” and kept giggling, while I deliberately avoided looking her way, glued to my phone.

[Hey Ju Uju]

[You called me out here to do this from the start, didn’t you?]

[I thought something was up]

[lol]

[You’re enjoying it, though. Have a drink~]

[Enjoying it my foot, I’m dying of awkwardness]

“Uju-chan, what’s your friend saying? Is it going well?”

“…Dunno.”

“Heheh…so cute. Still sulking?”

[Still, the kid seems okay, right?]

[Yeah, seems like it, I guess]

[I still don’t really know. They’re both so nervous, they haven’t been able to talk much]

[Huh? Why? Even if he’s like that, you’re not exactly a newbie at this]

[I don’t know, either. Maybe it’s ’cause she’s prettier than I thought…]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Whoa, what’s with the flirting line]

“I wonder, why does our Uju-chan just keep getting cuter as the days go by…?”

Aki bit off one half of a Double Decker ice cream bar.

Sitting on a convenience store’s outdoor table chair, I s*cked on the remaining half of the Double Decker bar, pretending not to hear Aki’s words.

[I was just stating a fact, why is that flirting?]

[Yeah, that’s flirting~]

[Whatever…. Ah, anyway]

[I’m going to lunch now, so I’ll text you again later]

[Of course, you’re eating together, right?]

[Yeah, there was a pizza place nearby, so we decided to go there]

[Always avoid cheese pizza when we eat.]

[Why?]

[k*ssing after eating cheese pizza is kind of…pastry.]

[Oh, please.]

[Kekekeke]

“…Tch!”

*Whoosh.*

Aki hugged me from behind.

Seemed like she’d circled around behind me sneakily since I was deliberately avoiding her gaze.

“Oh my, what’s this? You two look like you’re getting along~?”

“…Heavy. Get off.”

“Mmm, no way. I’m gonna cling to Uju~chan. …Nom.”

Aki deftly snatched my half of the Ssangsseungba.

And without biting, *schloop.*

She s*cked on it with such exaggerated noise I could hear it even standing right next to her, a meticulous dedication to the task.

“…Slurp, mmm.”

Aki smacked her lips lightly, savoring the flavor of the Ssangsseungba.

For some reason, the way she licked her lips with her tongue looked awfully bewitching.

“Shall we go see a movie now, Uju~chan?”

“……”

“Not that movie, something Uju~chan wants to see. How’s that sound?”

“…Maybe?”

I instinctively perked up.

And then I immediately regretted it, but before I could say anything, Aki laughed a *heehee* laugh, as if she knew all along.

“Aish, really…. Uju~chan, aren’t you just too cute…?”

“I told you not to call me cute….”

“*Hee*, alright, alright. I’ll call you cool then. Uju~chan, you’re so cool~”

“That feels even more like you’re teasing me…?”

Still, being called cool is better than being called cute, I guess.

I slowly stood up from my seat. Aki naturally followed suit, rising with me.

“Alright, my lovely Woo-joo~chan. What movie do you wanna see~?”

Aki, speaking in a way that was neither quite honorific nor informal, looped her arm through mine.

As would be expected, Aki’s chest pressed against my arm.

Not just a light touch, but a firm, soft sensation that crept up my skin.

“Action, romance? Or maybe a blockbuster~?”

“I think… we should go take a look first.”

“Ah, is that so? Should we go pick out something after looking at the pamphlets in person?”

Squeeeeeze.

“……”

Something I’d been thinking about for a while now.

Aki seems to enjoy pressing her chest against me.

Otherwise, there’s no explaining why she’d cling so tightly while intertwined like this, to the point of squeezing.

“Let’s go, Woo-joo~chan~!”

“……O-Okay.”

Well, not that I’m complaining…