Chapter 16

Jino drinks the Platycodon tea that he brewed for her at school yesterday.

She takes a sip and gazes at the tumbler filled with the tea.

A warm feeling spreads through her chest as a pleased smile forms on her face.

He’d been so cold for days… but still, the moment I said my throat hurt, he went out of his way to take care of me like this.

Maybe he’s feeling a bit better now.

Right, yesterday he was… acting pretty warm toward me too. And he actually brewed this tea for me.

I guess it’s safe to say he’s in a better mood…?

After all… our friendship isn’t the kind that would be damaged by something like that.

Alright, now I can focus comfortably on the audition.

Lately, I’ve been having so many distracting thoughts… I haven’t been able to focus properly.

Besides, I know Jino wants me to get good results at the audition.

I’ll focus on what I need to do and get a good outcome. Then afterward, I’ll have a celebration party with Jinho and tell Jino that it was all thanks to him…

Yeah! That’s probably the most ideal scenario.

“Hi.”

As she was thinking those thoughts, Sohee greeted her.

“Hi, Sohee.”

“Whoa… Ahyeon, your voice sounds terrible! Did you catch a cold?!”

Sohee immediately noticed that her voice was wrecked.

“It’s not… a cold. My throat just got a little messed up.”

“Seriously? Are you okay? The audition is right around the corner.”

“I’m fine. It’ll recover quickly. I’m even drinking this awful stuff right now to help it heal.”

She showed the tumbler in her hand.

Sohee perked up with curiosity.

“What is it? What are you drinking?”

“It’s Platycodon tea. Apparently it’s good for your throat.”

“Really? Wow—did you brew it yourself?”

“No, Jinho brewed it for me.”

Sohee’s face turned into one of surprise at those words.

For some reason, seeing Sohee’s expression brought a smile out of Ahyeon.

“Jinho takes care of you like that too?”

“Yeah, it’s really thoughtful, right?”

She could feel her shoulders unconsciously puffing up with pride.

“Super thoughtful! I mean, what other friend would go this far for you?!”

“There is someone like that, actually. And… he’s not just a friend. We’re childhood friends.”

“Wait, did you tell Jinho about that?!”

“…Huh?”

What’s up with her.

Why is she suddenly saying something like that.

Looking at her eyes… it doesn’t seem like she said it on purpose.

“Oh! Sorry. That’s not what I meant… I’m sorry. I was being thoughtless.”

Once Ahyeon made an awkward face, Sohee seemed to finally realize what her own words had implied.

Right… Sohee isn’t the kind of person to do that.

She’s just so innocent that she didn’t realize.

“Yeah… it’s, it’s fine. Haha…”

Let’s just let it slide.

I like Sohee after all. She helps me a lot when she’s around, and since we’re friends walking the same path… I can easily share my worries with her.

And I know Sohee is a genuinely kind person.

“So when are you going to practice with Jinho? I want to try it soon.”

“Oh… about that… I’ll contact Jinho separately.”

To be honest… she had been putting it off on purpose.

That’s how her heart felt about it.

She’d said it didn’t matter back then, but afterward, she got this vague reluctance about the whole thing.

Right, I was planning to ask Jino first and then tell her, but Sohee went and asked Jino herself first and got permission… that also bothered me a bit.

And Jino just readily agreed too… Something about it felt off.

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That small feeling had settled in her chest.

After school, on the way home.

“Oh…”

The sight before her made her let out a small gasp.

How should she put it…

Awkward?

Sohee is her friend, and Jino is her childhood friend.

The two of them didn’t know each other originally, and if she hadn’t introduced them, they probably would have stayed strangers forever.

She introduced them, and that’s how they met.

But seeing the two of them together like this, without her… it stirs up such a strange feeling.

Awkward. A little flustered.

It’s like a collision of worlds? An error? That’s the kind of feeling it is.

Like having your paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother in the same room—that peculiar awkwardness.

What is this…

And how on earth did the two of them end up together anyway?

#

“Wh-why are you two…?”

Ahyeon looked back and forth between us with a voice and expression full of confusion.

Her face clearly asking how the two of us ended up together.

Well… I suppose that’s a reasonable face to make.

“Oh! We ran into each other on the way down.”

Sohee stepped away from my side and moved closer to Ahyeon as she spoke.

There was no lie in those words.

We genuinely just happened to run into each other on the way.

It was already a coincidence that we met up, so of course Choi Ahyeon would find it curious.

Since Sohee had already answered everything, I didn’t add anything more.

“I-I see.”

“Yeah!”

Unlike Ahyeon, whose reaction was somewhat lukewarm, Sohee gave a bright reply before glancing at me for a moment.

“Since we’re all here anyway, should we practice together today? That thing… you know.”

That’s what she said.

If it’s “that thing”… she’s probably talking about how she wants to show me her acting.

I didn’t mind.

If anything, like Sohee said, it might be better to do it while we’re all gathered here.

There was also a bit of a “let’s just get it done” feeling to it.

Besides, I was planning on doing script reading practice today anyway.

“Oh… but today is…”

However, for some reason, Ahyeon had a troubled look on her face.

Why.

If she was planning on practicing today anyway, wouldn’t it just be fine to go right now?

“We can just head over now. Let’s go.”

Leaving Ahyeon behind with her displeased reaction, I looked at Sohee and said.

“Great, great! Oh, but I’m a little nervous. Now that I’m actually going to perform in front of Jinho.”

“Come on, just pretend I’m invisible and relax.”

“Pfft, how can I do that!”

With that, the conversation flowing between Sohee and me lightly swept over Ahyeon’s inner feelings.

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And so, we gathered at Choi Ahyeon’s place.

With three people in a small studio, it couldn’t help but feel quite cramped.

This was a space that had only ever known our two hands before… with a third person, it was hard to even find a place to settle.

For starters, the only chairs were the ones the two of us used.

Because of that, I just leaned against a wall in some awkward spot and stood.

“Wow, Ahyeon, your place is really tidy.”

“Is it? Well… there’s not much to make a mess of anyway.”

True, that’s fair.

It’s a small place to begin with… barely any furniture. Not much to mess up.

Though, this girl has long, thick hair…

Even after just one day, hair strands multiply all over the floor, and that’s what could be considered messy.

It’s super noticeable to me, but she doesn’t seem to care at all…

I used to get so bothered that I’d clean it all up every so often.

Well… I don’t do it as much anymore. Even if it bothers me, what can I do?

It’s her place to handle now.

“Alright, so… should we start?”

Setting aside the scattered atmosphere, I looked at Choi Ahyeon and said.

With two people to handle, I figured I should speed things up compared to before.

It’s not like I don’t have things to do when I get home. I need to practice for my performance evaluation.

“Okay—then I’ll start from scene one.”

Ahyeon lightly cleared her throat and picked up a piece of paper that looked like a script.

Then she immediately shifted her demeanor and dove into her acting.

“How could you do this to me? How can you be like this? We… we used to be. We used to act like we couldn’t live without each other. But… but how can you do this? How can a person change like this?!”

It started off calm, then the emotion burst out at the end, as if venting deep resentment, echoing through the small studio.

The flow of emotion was very natural, and it pulled the listener in immediately.

But it wasn’t like this before.

Before, she’d acted it cold all the way through, with an air of disbelief, as if resigned to this harsh reality that had already shattered. That’s how she played the character.

“Whoa… that’s actually scary. Like… my body just froze naturally and I had nothing to say.”

I gave my honest impression.

I don’t know anything about this field, and I’m not about to pretend I do.

I think it’s right to just say what I felt.

And it seems like Ahyeon has been trying different things with me in that regard.

“Wow—Ahyeon, you’re really good at acting. I even got chills watching you. The way your voice trembled when you screamed at the end… that was seriously amazing.”

Sohee, who had been watching the performance, also left her impression.

She definitely knows the finer details better than I do.

Well, of course she would.

With an expert right here beside me… I’ve got nothing more to say.

“Sohee, how was it? Was it okay?”

“Yeah. Are you really someone who’s never had proper training? You’re this good?!”

Sohee showered Ahyeon with praise.

Watching that, I felt a small sense of relief.

Knowing that even someone with formal training thought she was genuinely good.

Since we’d only ever practiced together, I couldn’t really gauge where Choi Ahyeon stood objectively.

Of course, she’d had a few small auditions and tests in between… but nothing much came of them.

I figured there had to be a reason, but Ahyeon didn’t seem to want to tell me.

Then again, I understand not wanting to explain why you got rejected.

Anyway… I’m glad.

Yeah, I’m glad.

I’d been carrying this burden, this worry that maybe I’d led Ahyeon down a ridiculous path.

But seeing her just now, she seems fine… so I feel relieved.

Of course, she didn’t choose this path solely because of my recommendation. Ultimately, it was her own choice.

But still… it had been weighing on me a little.

That’s part of why I wanted to stay with her through the audition. And I also didn’t want to hear some nonsense about her failing because of me.

Anyway, I think I’ve lightened that burden just now. And along with it… I’ve let go of the guilt I was carrying in my heart.

Because I can see she’ll do just fine on her own without me.

The relief I felt was probably more rational than I thought.

It’s not some lingering attachment—it’s a conviction that it’s okay for me to leave like this.

And it also hits me with the cold reality that I wasn’t that important to her.

The feeling that even if I leave this place, Choi Ahyeon will be fine on her own.

Yeah, my heart feels lighter.

“Well then, now it’s your turn, Sohee. Honestly, I’ve never seen you act seriously before… so I’m curious!!”

Breaking through my thoughts, Ahyeon passed the turn to Sohee.

I looked at Sohee without much thought.

Sohee rummaged through her bag and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

Then she stood in front of me hesitantly…

For someone who’d been acting so smoothly, like she’d been waiting for this moment, she seemed to hesitate a bit.

“Please take care of me. I don’t really… know much, but I’ll try my best.”

I spoke to Sohee first.

Sohee glanced at Ahyeon.

Their eyes met, and then Ahyeon asked Sohee.

“What? What’s wrong? Are you nervous?! Come on, he’s just a regular guy, what’s there to be nervous about—!”

She seemed to be trying to ease the tension or awkwardness.

However, Sohee’s next words revealed that it wasn’t about nerves or awkwardness at all.

“It’s, it’s not that. What I prepared is… a bit of a sweet, lovey-dovey scene…”

Excuse me?