Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Paris Souvenirs
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"Jeong Eun-seong...."
"Yeah."
"Your height...?"
I rubbed my eyes. I thought I was seeing things, but no, it was real. Why was this guy way up there?
Asking in a daze, Jeong Eun-seong proudly lifted his chin.
"Paris milk was delicious."
"Even so."
To grow this much in just a few weeks.
I saw Seo Jae-kyeom twice a week, so his growth didn't feel noticeable, but Jeong Eun-seong, whom I hadn't seen in ages, had changed dramatically.
Now it was impossible to tease him about being short, even as a joke. I looked up at him.
Wow....
This kid needs to buy a new uniform.
"You got back today?"
I nodded toward the carry-on abandoned against the wall. For someone who'd been abroad for weeks, the luggage was surprisingly light. At my question, Jeong Eun-seong cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I got you a present."
"Oh...."
That wasn't an answer to my question, but....
"Thanks...?"
"Heh."
Jeong Eun-seong let out a small sound and pulled the carry-on over.
Even so, it looked like a 20-incher, but he lifted it effortlessly with one hand. He rummaged through the eco-bag hanging on the handle and pulled out two books.
Two books with the same title. One paperback, one hardcover.
Un peu de soleil dans l’eau froide.
A Bit of Sunshine in Cold Water.
The book I'd said I wanted to read, one that still had no translation even 11 years from now.
The book I'd vaguely thought about buying if I ever went to Paris—a place I'd never been to because I couldn't get into Korea University, couldn't land a job, and never went abroad.
And there it was, right in front of me.
Jeong Eun-seong cleared his throat again.
"You said you wanted the prettier one. I agonized over it, but... they both looked pretty to me."
"......"
I took the books, feeling half-enchanted.
As I ran my hand over the shiny cover, Jeong Eun-seong rummaged through the eco-bag again.
"This is candy with spices inside—good for when you're sleepy. This is macarons—they don't have them in Korea. This is something everyone buys as a souvenir when they visit Paris. And this is... and that is...."
"......"
"Finally, this is hand cream."
He dumped a tin case that smelled amazing into my hands and said,
"There's a picture drawn on the back of the case."
I flipped it over at his words, and there was a price sticker. Jeong Eun-seong panicked and peeled it off quick, but I'd already seen it.
"Hey...."
Isn't this too expensive?
At my question, Jeong Eun-seong sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"I had cash left from my travel allowance."
"Still...."
"I won't be going abroad for a while, and leftover cash is a hassle."
"......"
"I bought the hair ties thinking they were the same brand, but turns out they have it in Korea too."
Jeong Eun-seong, uncharacteristically stumbling over his words, had sweat beading on the back of his neck.
It hadn't been long since the rain stopped, so it wasn't that hot out. Was he hot? Had he been outside too long?
"That eco-bag's yours too. And really the last one... these are snacks inside."
"This? This carry-on?"
"Yeah."
"All of it?"
"Yeah."
"......"
"It's nothing much. I bought them while getting gifts for my little sister."
Does your sister run a mukbang YouTube channel?
And you, Jeong Eun-seong....
"Are you the Happy Prince?"
Why are you giving me all this so generously....
"I hear that a lot. They say I look like a prince."
"Jeez."
......
"Thank you."
I gripped the carry-on handle tightly with both hands and said.
It wasn't just gratitude—there was this ticklish, indescribable feeling....
I didn't know how to put it into words.
My mind was blank. And I'm a top Korean language scorer.
What was certain was that the sky was incredibly blue right now, the air crystal clear, the sunlight blindingly bright, my fingertips tingling, and a sweet taste lingering on my tongue....
It felt like someone was fanning beneath my feet, making me float up into the air.
Float float.
"But I don't think I can carry all this...."
"Take the carry-on too."
"The carry-on's a gift too?"
"Yeah."
"......"
"Let's go. I'll take you home."
He'd just given it to me, but Jeong Eun-seong naturally picked up the carry-on himself. I'd tugged it earlier and it was heavy, but he stacked the eco-bag on top and lifted it with one hand.
"Why not just roll it?"
"This way the wheels don't get wet from puddles. It's new."
"Did you carry it all the way here too?"
"Yeah."
"It's heavy."
"It's light."
Yeah, his calm expression made it seem like no bluff.
"Thanks for the books. The snacks. The macarons. The hand cream."
"Study till you can read that fluently, and you'll ace your second language, right?"
"Probably."
"Work hard. Read it to me when you can."
"No thought of studying it yourself?"
"......"
"Hey. Don't dodge."
"Hing."
"You are studying, right?"
"I aaam...."
"What's gerrymandering?"
And cross-voting too.
I grabbed Jeong Eun-seong's arm—the one not holding the carry-on—then quickly let go. I didn't want him noticing my trembling fingertips.
We kept a little distance as we walked to my house.
Even after climbing those steep stairs with the carry-on, Jeong Eun-seong wasn't out of breath at all.
"That sister not here today?"
Jeong Eun-seong looked around for the Landlady and asked.
"Nope."
"Too bad. I wanted to say hi."
"No way. That lady's way too nosy about neighbors. Can't give her any openings."
"But where were you headed, Kang Da-hye?"
"Swinging by home, then going to Mom's shop."
"Ah. Your mom said she's all better now."
"Yeah."
"......"
"......"
Hm.
"Jeong Eun-seong, if you're free, wanna come to my mom's shop and grab some tteokbokki?"
Mom had been nagging me to bring you by. To thank you for helping during midterms.
"Not that you have to, just if you have time."
"I have the most time in the world."
Jeong Eun-seong shot back quick, then suddenly thrust his face right up to mine.
"What!"
I freaked and blocked with my hand.
"Just wondering if I'm handsome right now. Open your eyes wide. Use 'em as a mirror."
"Ugh, get lost!"
His fluttering eyelashes brushed my fingers.
"Why. I need a mirror right now."
"Use your phone!"
I pushed his plump cheek and ended up laughing anyway.
God, this ticklish feeling never lasts 30 seconds! ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "The milk was so good I drank two packs a day."
"You contributed to Paris's local economy."
"But the food was so greasy, I craved Korean stuff. Tteokbokki and kimchi jjigae."
"Look forward to it. My mom's tteokbokki is insane."
One taste of my mom's tteokbokki and all of Paris would faint. They'd never forget it and immigrate to Korea. France would empty out.
Wonder where all the French youth went. To the Middle East... no no, Korea. "I wanna go to Germany too. They say people there watch their neighbors well. If a suspicious Asian next door keeps 15 dogs and 5 cats, they report it right away."
"Really? Know anyone in Germany?"
...Hitler?
"Dead people count?" "Barcelona sounds fun too. They staff security with pickpockets. Approach tourists distracted shopping and snag their wallet... Jeong Eun-seong, you okay?!"
"I'm fine. Just a painful memory hit me." "What would you do in Barcelona? Anything you wanna do, Kang Da-hye?"
"Dunno. They have half-day tours."
"Half-day in Spain...?"
"Yeah."
"Did Japan invade Spain too?"
"Huh?"
"They even made tours, so the bad blood must run deep." "Not that half-day. Half-day as in half a day. Full-day or half-day."
"Oh... Thought Spain was one of us too." Chatting away like this, we'd arrived at the market with Mom's shop.
Jeong Eun-seong told me about his time in Paris (thankfully no pickpockets—makes sense, or he couldn't have bought all this), and I told him about how we tried cooking water chicken stir-fried noodles at Gyeong Se-in's house with friends and it turned into a disaster.
"That's the middle school I graduated from."
I pointed to the building behind the market, and Jeong Eun-seong craned his neck to look.
"Han Ji-su and Seo Jae-kyeom came from there too. Bang Eun-ji and Song Yeo-reum as well."
"Everyone lives around here, huh."
"Yeah. But Han Ji-su and Seo Jae-kyeom's houses are the opposite direction from mine... Huh?"
My steps halted abruptly as I headed into the market.
In a dark alley next to the mill that shut down last year with no new tenant, someone was crouched down. Face buried between their knees.
A high ponytail on top of their head, a smartphone in a bunny-ear case clutched in their hand. A gaudy short-sleeved T-shirt with loud patterns.
"Bang Eun-ji?"
At my call, Bang Eun-ji looked up.
As she squinted against the light and stared our way, a vivid red handprint stood out on her cheek.