Chapter 22

After school, I was planning to go to Choi Ahyeon’s house with Sohee.

So, a visit to the sick.

Honestly, I… was someone who had already been with her this morning, so I wondered if I really needed to make the trip again.

But for Sohee’s sake, I ended up agreeing to go along.

It seemed like she didn’t want to go alone by herself.

That’s probably why she suggested we go together.

She even said she’d already handled all the contact herself.

“Sohee said Ahyeon’s mom is heading back to their main house soon, so I thought we could grab something to eat and head over at this time?”

Walking down the street from school, Sohee said that.

So her mom came and is already going back. Well, Ahyeon’s mom works a job, so she must have taken a day off work today.

She probably doesn’t have much time to stay.

I thought that to myself.

“Yeah, then… let’s grab something simple to eat and go.”

“Okay.”

With that, we walked through the busy street near Choi Ahyeon’s house.

Sohee, walking beside me, was humming a little tune.

Then she suddenly stopped and pointed at something with her finger.

“Wow-! That matcha ice cream place is really good!”

With Sohee’s words, at the tip of her finger was a small independent cafe.

A cafe with an open counter where you could order from outside.

And that cafe was… one I’d been to with Choi Ahyeon a few days before school started, right after moving here.

Back then, Choi Ahyeon had said something similar.

‘This place is super popular on Insta-! Let’s go here!’

Something like that.

Both Ahyeon and Sohee. If they’re both saying that… it must really be famous.

Anyway, her suddenly saying that means…

“You want to get that…?”

“Yeah! What do you think? Is it okay? It’s really good-! You haven’t tried it yet, right, Jino? Then let me introduce it to you!”

Sohee said it like an excited kid in front of a snack stand.

But… I’ve already tried it before.

“Hey, you know. I’ve had it too.”

There was no reason to hide it, so I just said it plainly.

“Really? You go out to eat stuff like this? That’s surprising.”

I knew what Sohee meant by that.

Guys don’t usually spend money on desserts like this, right?

She was probably asking in that sense.

Even I… if it weren’t for Choi Ahyeon, I probably wouldn’t have even known that store existed.

“Yeah, Choi Ahyeon asked me to come here before. I wouldn’t go alone either.”

I brought up the past again, just as it was.

And for some reason, I think I had a slightly wistful look on my face at that moment.

“…Oh, is that so?”

Sohee reacted subtly.

It sounded like she’d bitten into an astringent persimmon and spat it out.

“Yeah… th, that’s true. But it was good… should we get some?”

I felt pressed down by the strange atmosphere.

Then, Sohee seemed to think to herself for a moment.

“Yeah, let’s get some!”

She soon erased that bitter expression and returned to being a carefree child.

She was probably a little embarrassed that she’d wanted to introduce it to me, but I’d already tried it.

We headed to the cafe, and we didn’t bother going inside.

We weren’t going to eat there anyway.

“Should we pack some up for Ahyeon too?”

“She can’t eat cold stuff though, right?”

“Oh, right. She said she has tonsillitis.”

“Yeah.”

Sohee probably brought it up with good intentions.

The phrase “pure and innocent like a little kid” really fits her.

It’s that desire to get something delicious for someone, you know.

“That’ll be 11,800 won.”

After ordering two matcha ice creams, I naturally pulled out my check card to hand it over.

This is a habit, if you can call it that.

Whenever I went to places like this with Choi Ahyeon… unless it was a special day, I usually paid.

And back then, it was because I wanted to.

Knowing Choi Ahyeon’s financial situation, I thought it was better for the person with more leeway to handle it.

Thinking about it now… it’s kind of funny. We weren’t even dating, but I kept doing it all by myself.

“Can I pay by card?”

“Yes, just scan the barcode at the front.”

“Okay.”

But in the meantime, Sohee had already held out her phone and was paying.

“Oh, how much should I send you?”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. I’ll get it. I’m the one who wanted to come here.”

I tried to settle the bill right away, but Sohee said that with a casual expression.

“No, still…”

“I have lots of money!”

Sohee puffed up with a proud look, acting like it was really fine.

And I could feel there wasn’t a single lie in her words.

It felt like she was saying she had money because she really did have money.

She reeked of being raised well, like a real rich man’s daughter.

Well, come to think of it… students at this school probably all have comfortable backgrounds.

“Next time… I’ll get it for you.”

In the end, I made that promise for next time, saving a bit of my pride.

And so, each holding an ice cream, we walked down the street again.

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A little while later, at a nearby mart.

We began our preparations for the visit in earnest.

“Usually fruit is best, right?”

“Hmm….“

“How about apples? Apples sound good.”

Sohee asked while browsing the fruit section.

Certainly… fruit naturally comes to mind for a sick visit.

But apples are probably a bad choice.

She’s not the type to peel one herself. She’s probably never even done it.

But there was something Choi Ahyeon did eat well.

She really liked Shine Muscat. Probably because they’re easy to eat.

Once I washed them, all she had to do was pick them off and eat them.

And so, without realizing it, I found myself staring at the Shine Muscat.

“Shine Muscat? Does Ahyeon like Shine Muscat?”

Sohee must have noticed my gaze, as she moved over next to me.

But… well, Shine Muscat is just delicious. It’s not like she especially liked it.

“I think so. Probably because they’re easy to eat.”

“I like them too. They’re tasty!”

“Really? Then that works out. Let’s get one of these.”

“Yeah, but I really love strawberries.”

Huh?

She’s suddenly revealing her personal tastes.

Sometimes, Sohee’s pace is hard to keep up with.

“Strawberries? Yeah, strawberries are good too.”

“Right. I especially love the combination of strawberries and chocolate. Oh! We should get some chocolate snacks too.”

And then, as if she was going to buy chocolate snacks, she quickly headed toward the snack aisle on her own.

I started following Sohee too, but…

“But… I’m pretty sure she doesn’t really like snacks.”

It might be a mood killer, but I said it anyway.

The Choi Ahyeon I knew didn’t particularly like snacks.

If anything… if she had a preference, it’d be bread.

Yeah, Choi Ahyeon was a famous bread enthusiast.

“Really? She doesn’t like snacks?! Whoa….”

“Yeah, let’s get bread instead. She likes bread.”

I said that and headed toward the bread section first.

And Sohee scurried along after me.

“Oh… you two definitely have that childhood friend vibe. It’s kind of fascinating.”

Sohee walked beside me with her hands behind her back.

Hearing that… I feel it anew.

Yeah, I really do have a lot of traces left in my head.

Without me even being conscious of it, it just naturally flows out like this.

Because of that, I could only manage a bitter smile.

After walking a few more steps.

“So does Ahyeon know everything Jino likes too?”

Suddenly, that question came from Sohee.

From Sohee’s perspective, it might have been a natural line of thought.

We’re childhood friends, and I know all of Choi Ahyeon’s tastes.

Naturally, she’d assume the reverse was true too.

But even though it was a natural thought, it was something I’d never considered before.

I’d never once thought about whether Choi Ahyeon knew my tastes.

My thinking had never extended that far.

So, honestly, I was curious too. Whether Choi Ahyeon knew my tastes like I knew hers.

But I realize that curiosity is something I need to cut off now.

Yeah, what’s the point of wondering about that now?

“Who knows…. I’m not sure. I never asked.”

I said it flatly.

I thought it was the right choice to just conclude it that way and move on.

Without thinking any deeper, just like that.

***

“Ahyeona-! Are you okay?! What happened… I heard you collapsed. Are you in a lot of pain?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine now. Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Thank goodness. This is… we bought it together so Ahyeon can eat it and get better soon.”

The moment we arrived at Choi Ahyeon’s house, Sohee went straight to her and spoke in a warm voice.

She held out a bulging plastic bag.

“Whoa… I’m so moved. Thank you. I’m really grateful that Sohee came to see me… sniffle.”

“Of course I had to come-! Ahyeona’s sick. I was so worried too.”

“Really? There’s no one like Sohee…!”

“Hehe, so get better soon!”

Oh boy.

It made me think that instinctively, the two of them were… having a conversation that was a bit too sweet for me to just watch.

Exchanging warm words in voices full of aegyo.

It’s probably common for girls, but it was a bit much for me.

So I just quietly walked to the sink and started washing the Shine Muscat we’d bought.

“Oh, I’ll do that!”

Sohee, who had been having a saccharine bonding moment with Ahyeon, suddenly stood up and said.

“Just let her do it. She’s only doing it because she has nothing else to do anyway.”

And Ahyeon stopped Sohee.

Well… what Choi Ahyeon said wasn’t wrong.

Honestly, it’s true that I was doing this because I felt awkward just standing there.

“Oh, but still.”

“Soheeyah, help me pick this out. What I should wear on audition day.”

Sohee glanced at me briefly, but then Ahyeon sat her down next to her.

She seemed to be starting another conversation.

Because of that, Sohee ended up sitting down next to Ahyeon.

And then, a little while later.

I heard the sound of rummaging through the plastic bag we brought.

“Wow- you bought so much bread? I really love bread, how did you know.”

I could hear Ahyeon’s surprised voice from over my shoulder.

The loud sound of water rushing from the sink faucet made it hard to hear clearly, but I could tell it was something like that.

“Yeah. Isn’t it amazing?! Eat a lot and get better soon!”

And it seemed Sohee only answered that much.

In a normal flow, since Ahyeon said she likes bread… I thought it would go something like that.

It was phrased as a question, after all.

Is that awkward flow just… my imagination?

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