“Ha Yena…?”
It slipped out unconsciously.
So even I was surprised.
I said it, and then heard my own words with my own ears.
It felt like I was trying to process whether what I’d seen with my eyes was really true.
And that made sense… because looking at what she was wearing right now, it was hard to believe even with my own eyes.
If anything, the theory that I was mistaken was closer to the truth.
Besides, it hadn’t been long since I’d first etched Ha Yena’s face into my memory.
Anyway… that absurd call of mine didn’t seem to reach Yena’s ears.
Well, if she had no awareness that someone might call her… even if her name came up, she probably wouldn’t easily realize it was meant for her.
As I quietly followed the person I assumed to be Ha Yena with my gaze, she started getting closer and closer to me.
As if her original path just happened to pass right by here.
So… honestly, I thought about ducking into a store to hide, but it took a while for that thought to turn into action.
As Yena walked this way, her gaze naturally drifted to the surrounding buildings.
And within that flow of vision, she spots me.
Yeah, I could see her pupils lock onto me, like a camera lens focusing… then snap wide.
Eventually.
“Huh…?”
Yena let out a sound like that.
Her fluster was practically radiating off her.
Then came a gesture of not knowing what to do.
“Hi…?”
I gave a sheepish face and lightly waved my hand.
At that, Yena squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and then—
-Thudthudthudthudthud.
She bolted into a full sprint.
Even in those high platform heels… how was she that fast?
But when someone suddenly starts running right in front of you, your body reacts too, you know?
Maybe it’s part of instinct.
That instinct that says if someone runs, you chase and catch them first.
So I ran too.
Just blindly.
And… there was one more ability installed in my body…
When I run out of nowhere like that, a stupid grin just leaks out of me.
I really don’t know why that is, but…
When I set my pace from the start it’s fine, but when I get into these sudden chase situations, I start grinning like a little kid.
Which is why I probably look like this right now…
“Heh heh heh hahaha.”
“Ah, you crazy bastard!! Why are you chasing me?!”
“Heh heh, w-wait a sec!!”
“Ahhhhh!! Please just stop coming. I’m exhausted…!!”
“Th-then… you just stop. I don’t want to be doing this either!”
Yeah, as someone who enjoys running… there was no way I’d lose this chase.
Honestly, I could’ve caught her right away, but grabbing some part of her body with my hands felt a bit off.
So I deliberately kept the distance and waited for her to stop on her own.
Eventually…
“Hah, hah, sorry. I won’t run, hah, anymore… so please, hah, stop.”
With her stamina depleted, Yena bent over and placed her hands on her knees.
She was declaring surrender.
She kept gasping for air. Looked like she’d pushed herself to the limit.
But I have no idea why she’s apologizing and telling me to stop.
“Yeah… sorry. It was involuntary. Calm down first.”
“I thought you were genuinely insane!! I was so scared…!! What the hell is wrong with you?!”
After running for a while, we ended up in some place I didn’t even recognize.
We exchange a few words.
“I mean, you suddenly started running. So I just… reacted.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you chased me!”
“Because you suddenly started running…”
“Stop. Phew-. Okay. Fine. Done?”
“Yeah….”
With that, I take in Yena’s outfit again.
Honestly, I want to ask about it right now, but I decided to test the waters first.
Even though the guy who chased her all the way here doesn’t exactly have room to be tactful, but still.
“So, uh… where are you headed?”
I try asking indirectly.
Right, she was that girl who said she was too busy to even properly participate in our performance evaluation.
Dressed like that, what exactly is she so busy with after school?
“…You don’t need to know.”
“You said you were busy… is it related to that?”
“Yeah, so I’d appreciate it if you stopped asking.”
“Ah….“
If she’s rejecting it that hard, I can’t really keep prying.
So I just acted like I had no choice and was about to give up.
“W-wait.”
Then, Yena spoke up urgently.
Like it was something she absolutely had to say.
“What?”
“You… don’t tell anyone about today, got it? Don’t say anything.”
“What, that I saw you here?”
“Yeah. That too… just don’t talk about me at all. …Don’t be curious about this stuff either.”
She lightly touched her own clothes with her hand.
She clearly seemed aware that her current outfit was unusual.
Well… I wasn’t planning to say anything anyway, and honestly, I don’t even have anyone to tell.
“Yeah….”
“Seriously… I mean it. I’ll kill you. Either you die or I die, one of us is going down.”
She’s fidgeting and making this earnest plea—or maybe it’s closer to a threat, whatever.
Honestly, it just makes me more curious about why she’s going this far.
“Then at least tell me why. So I can…”
“No. Ughh-! Pleaaase-! Just do me this one favor, okay?”
Yena even resorted to begging now.
She really doesn’t want to tell me.
Fine, I’ll drop it.
I won’t make things more awkward for her.
“Alright, got it. I’ll keep it… a secret.”
“Yeah… you really have to keep it.”
-Ring ring♪
Right as Yena and I were making that confidentiality pact, my phone went off.
Oh, right.
I came here with Junyong.
Guess he called because I vanished without a trace.
[Hello?]
I answered the call right in front of Yena.
She looked up at me with suspicious eyes.
I could clearly see the motion of her gulping.
[Bro, I pulled an A-grade!! Absolute legend!!]
His excitement came blasting through the phone.
So much so that I had to hold it away from my ear for a second.
What’s an A-grade that he’s making this much of a fuss over?
And wait… he wasn’t even looking for me?
[C-congrats. So, you’re done with everything?]
[Yep, but where are you?]
Now he finally asks where I am.
But even if he asks… I don’t even know where I am right now.
[Ah, I honestly don’t know. I’m in some alley…]
[What? The hell are you talking about?]
[I mean…]
[What… what’s around you?]
While he was talking, I lowered the phone briefly… and tried to check the map.
I also switched the call to speakerphone.
Yeah, I’m not a little kid. And these days, getting lost is actually the harder part.
“Eeek!!!“
Just as I was looking at the map, Yena’s sharp scream rang mercilessly through the narrow alley.
A pitch and frequency like a siren going off.
“What, what?”
Startled by the sound, I asked with my hand holding the phone trembling slightly.
“A-b-bug!! There’s a bug!! On my shoulder!!!”
In front of me, Yena was hopping around in every direction like popcorn popping, showing off some frantic moves.
With all that chaotic movement, I honestly couldn’t even spot the bug on her shoulder yet.
No, if you’d just stay still for a sec…
“Please! Please do something about this!! Pleeease!!”
Eventually, Yena shoved herself toward me, asking for help.
Calm down first, and stay still, will you?!
And more than that, how is it still on you with movements approaching supersonic speed?
With that thought, I finally grabbed Yena’s flailing shoulders with both hands.
Yeah, I had no choice. I wanted to be careful too, but… the situation was spiraling way too fast.
This was me practically being forced into it.
You have no idea how panicked I was—I threw the phone I was holding right on the ground and used both hands.
“H-hurry…”
Once caught in my hands, Yena seemed to calm down a bit. She turned her head to the other side and offered her shoulder.
I quickly flicked the bug off her shoulder in that opening.
A caterpillar…? A looper moth larva.
Gross as hell. How did that even get on her.
“It’s, it’s gone. I guess you had a right to be startled….”
“Phew- god, I thought my heart was going to drop. I absolutely despise bugs.”
“You scared me more than the bug did.”
“I couldn’t help it?! B-but, your phone…”
Only then did I see the carnage I’d caused.
The phone lying face-down on the ground.
Junyong’s voice was still poking out of it.
[Huh? What? Hey!! What’s going on? Where are you going?!!]
At least the sound was still coming out… so it probably wasn’t broken.
I picked it up and turned it around.
The screen was cracked in a pattern resembling modern art.
“Oh no… I’m sorry. I-it’s because of me…”
“Ah… it’s fine. I’m the one who did something stupid.”
Yeah, it’s my slow brain’s fault.
I could’ve just put it in my pocket, but I was so flustered… it’s that stupid brain of mine that decided to just chuck it.
[Hey!! Gu Jinho!? You hearing me? What are you doing?]
[Ah, sorry. There was a little incident]
[What incident? And who are you with? I heard a girl’s voice earlier…]
Of course, I’d switched to speakerphone before dropping it.
So all that noisy commotion must have leaked through.
And when Junyong said that, Yena looked at me with tense eyes.
Well… no need to be that scared…
[No… what are you talking about. Like I’m meeting anyone]
I say that, sure.
But I have no idea if Junyong will believe it.
I don’t even know how much of our noise reached his ears in the first place.
[Ah- true. Anyway, where are you? If you don’t come fast, I’m just heading home?]
Ah- true.
What’s that supposed to mean.
[Hold on, I’ll come back. Send me your location via text]
[Okay. I’ll wait five minutes]
With that, I ended the call with Junyong.
“…I’m heading off now.”
I said that to Yena, then casually pocketed the phone with its miserably shattered screen.
“Oh, um… I’ll pay for that, so…”
“Forget it. I’ll just get a new one. Anyway, bye.”
***
The next morning.
I head out for a run again.
Choi Ahyeon now wakes up on her own without issue.
“I talked to the others yesterday.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Ahyeon said it in a plain voice.
There was a slight sense of her gauging my reaction, but it wasn’t too different from usual.
Maybe… Ahyeon thinks this whole thing is settling into a stable phase.
This moment where I’m tying up loose ends one by one.
That’s probably it, since I haven’t been showing much on the outside while continuing what I’ve been doing.
“And… I also told them we were actually really close from a long time ago.”
“Is… that so.”
I gave a lukewarm response.
Because that long relationship was now heading toward its end.
Though Choi Ahyeon wouldn’t know that. Well, she could say that precisely because she didn’t know.
“They were all genuinely shocked.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
“And… they also said they feel bad toward you and want to apologize in person.”
I can already guess what their apology is going to sound like…
It was just a joke. I didn’t think you’d take it that badly.
That’s how it’ll end. So predictable.
And that kind of thing is useless now anyway—I have no intention of accepting it.
They can just remain bad people in my memory for the rest of their lives.
“Forget it. I have no intention of accepting an apology now. Tell them I won’t accept it.”
“…R-right, that makes sense. Sorry. Yeah, I should’ve done something sooner.”
With that, a brief silence passed.
“Oh! Jino is doing the performance evaluation too, right?”
“Yeah. Right.”
“Is it in groups?”
“Yeah. Three people.”
“How is it? Going okay?”
There was a time I thought it was going to be a disaster, but I guess you could say it’s worked out now.
“I mean, it’s fine? Not bad.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Who are you with? Is it… with Junyong?”
I wish I could’ve done it with Junyong, honestly.
But the world isn’t that forgiving.
More importantly, would she even know who I mean if I told her?
“Yeah.”
I brushed past it with that. No need to give her the details.
Then…
“Let’s go. I’ll give you that food I mentioned.”
I stood up from my seat first.
.
.
.
So, before school, in the still-early dawn.
I stop by Choi Ahyeon’s house briefly.
I set my bag on the table first and pull out the food I brought from home.
Nothing too special—a few frozen items, some meal kits. And side dishes my mom made.
“You… you really eat this a lot.”
Among the food I’d given her before, the ones that ran out fastest—I brought extra this time.
Mostly spicy things, or ones with red seasoning.
Then I filled out the rest with simple stuff you just pop in the microwave.
“Oh! Right! How did you know? This is literally my all-time pick!!”
It’s not like I’ve only done this once or twice—it’d be weirder if I didn’t know.
And among the side dishes my mom makes… the stir-fried anchovies.
“Stir-fried anchovies!! This is a total rice thief!”
Just as I expected, Ahyeon had a big reaction to the anchovies.
I take it for granted, of course.
But looking back now, I realize this was never something to take for granted.
And conversely, I’m reminded of how much I actually know about Choi Ahyeon.
And… whenever I gave her food like this, I used to say something jokingly.
‘What would you ever do without me,’ I used to say.
.
.
.
But… I decided not to say that now.
Because that wasn’t something to joke about anymore.