We're Back!! (2)

The clinking of rice bowls gradually died down, and the cleanup after the lively dinner was mostly finished. In the living room, the sound of Seolah's father snoring heavily from all the drinks blended peacefully with the quiet chatter of our two mothers. Just then, my father, who was putting on his jacket near the veranda, jerked his chin at me.

"Minjun. I'm going to smoke a cigarette and take a walk to help with digestion. Come along."

"Huh? Oh, yes."

The memory of my father's grim(?) warning that he wanted to talk alone made my shoulders flinch for a moment, but I obediently grabbed my outerwear and followed him out into the night yard.

Creak. Click—. The moment we stepped through the gate, the cool autumn night air pierced refreshingly into my lungs. A quiet country road where only the faint chirping of crickets could be heard. Father pulled a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

Hiss. Puff—. The acrid yet savory smoke scattered along the autumn breeze.

We started walking slowly, side by side, toward the dark entrance of the neighborhood.

Father exhaled a thick puff of smoke and gave me a sideways glance.

"Do you smoke, by any chance?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I don't."

At my frantic hand-waving, Father gave a faint smile and chuckled softly.

"Hehe, good. Don't pick up bad habits like your old man."

Father gazed at the night street again and continued in a calm voice.

"How's life away from home? Managing okay?"

"Ah, yes. Well... I'm keeping busy one way or another."

"What about school? Keeping up with your studies isn't too hard? No one's bothering you or anything?"

"It's fine. I think I did pretty well on the midterms, so I'll probably be able to keep my scholarship."

"Really? You little rascal, that's impressive. Are you eating properly? If you're short on money or having a tough time, don't keep it to yourself—tell Mom and Dad right away."

As he walked, Father tossed out ordinary, everyday questions. About school life, adjusting, worries over living expenses. It was unmistakably the warm, concerned check-in of a normal father who had sent his child off to a faraway place.

'What? He just called me out because he was worried about his son.'

The tension that had me wound tight finally drained away, and I let out a breath of relief. I secretly sighed in the darkness and comfortably matched my steps to Father's pace.

But it happened as we rounded the corner of an alley where the streetlight glowed faintly.

Father suddenly stopped walking.

"......"

I stopped too, not understanding why.

Father took the cigarette from his mouth, tapped off the ash, then blew the remaining smoke long into the air. The usual cheerful, playful face of the 'village head' vanished completely, replaced by endlessly serious, heavy eyes that stared straight at me.

"Minjun."

"Y-yes?"

The low way he said my name sent tension flooding back into my body.

Father looked at me piercingly and asked in a careful but resolute voice.

"You... you're really not dating Seolah?"

"......!!"

Thump—. My heart, which had been beating peacefully, felt like it dropped straight to the ground.

"Uh... what? Oh, no, why are you suddenly asking..."

When I stammered in a panic, pupils shaking, Father let out a small laugh and scattered the last of the smoke.

"Don't get too nervous. It's not like your dad's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going to eat you alive."

"Ah, haha... Yes."

Noticing my stiff expression in the darkness, Father laughed it off lightly and continued in a calm tone.

"Truth is, it's not that Seolah's parents don't trust you. But they seem quite reluctant about two grown young adults of the opposite sex living under one roof."

"Ah......"

"After all, wasn't it this dad who pushed hard for your cohabitation in the first place? You two have been glued together since you were kids, and it looked good to me. Having someone to rely on and lean back on in an unfamiliar place is a very good thing."

Father kept his hands stuffed in his pockets as he gazed at the night street bathed in faint streetlight.

"But that doesn't mean I can keep insisting to your uncle and aunt that they should approve you two living together forever. She's their precious daughter, after all. How could they not worry?"

"......Yes."

"You saw how Yongseok hyung-nim exploded at dinner earlier, right? That wasn't just drunken talk. Actually, even before you two came down to the hometown, they were already seriously looking into school dormitories, share houses, women-only accommodations, that sort of thing."

My heart sank at the bombshell that came from Father's mouth. Seolah's parents had already been looking for a separate room? That meant our cohabitation would inevitably end once this semester was over.

In my head, all the ordinary days I had spent with Seolah flashed past. Waking up to each other's messy faces every morning, eating together without needing to decide who went first, those nights of bickering and pulling all-nighters during exam season. The thought that all those routines—so natural I hadn't even been conscious of them—could vanish completely the moment we had separate rooms made my chest turn chillingly cold.

Father, who had been quietly watching me turn pale, tapped my shoulder and dropped a heavy mission on me.

"So you'll have to persuade them yourself. Seolah's parents."

It was a perfect checkmate with no escape route in sight.

Father looked at my deathly expression, then let out a deflating chuckle.

"You little rascal, fix ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your face. You look like someone died."

"......Ah, no. You suddenly said something like that, so..."

Father tapped my shoulder once more with his hand still in his pocket and spoke in a much lighter voice.

"I feel like I'm meddling too deeply in my grown son's love life, and I'm sorry... but working at the county office, I see quite a few decent, pretty girls who get assigned from the city. But maybe because it's a rural area, honestly, to my eyes our Seolah looks far prettier and brighter than any of them."

Father looked up at the streetlight and continued indifferently.

"Seolah would probably meet a good person and live well even without you. She's friendly, proper, and pretty. She's not the type who'd get overlooked anywhere."

"......"

"Human relationships are such mysterious things. When someone's naturally by your side, you don't realize ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how precious they are. Of course, not living together doesn't mean your bond will snap right away... but honestly, you already have a feeling, don't you?"

I held my breath at Father's words.

"If you get separate rooms and start living apart like this, it feels like it'll eventually just fade away. Am I wrong? Once you're apart, there won't be any excuse or justification for you two to stick together all the time."

He was exactly right. For now, living in the same house made it natural. But if the physical distance grew, even that excuse might lose its power.

"Plus, you little rascal, if you live separately you'll probably go back to not making friends at school and just drifting around by yourself. It's only because it's that good-natured Seolah that she drags you around and takes care of you so you won't be alone."

"......Ugh."

"You rascal, opportunities are meant to be seized when they come. What's the privilege of youth? Isn't it the guts to charge forward without worrying about what you might lose? As a man, huh?!"

Father laughed heartily and gave my back a sharp smack.

Ring— ring—. Right then, Father's phone started vibrating in his pocket. After checking the screen, he waved his hand and turned around.

"Ah, Dad has a meeting with the village head and some local elders, so I need to stop by the town center for a bit."

"Huh? You're going now?"

"Uhahaha! What can I do? Isn't Dad the biggest superstar in this neighborhood right now? There are so many places calling for this village head that I'm busy, so busy."

Father laughed heartily as he walked off into the darkness. After a few steps he stopped, turned his head, and looked straight at me. All playfulness was gone from his face.

"Anyway, Minjun. Make a choice you won't regret later."

With those short words, Father's back disappeared completely into the darkness.

"Sigh......"

I roughly scratched my complicated head, let out a deep sigh, and turned my steps back toward the house.

When I got home, the house was emptily quiet compared to the bustling atmosphere earlier. Seolah's parents, who had filled the living room, seemed to have already returned to their own house.

"Hey!"

The moment I opened the gate and stepped into the yard, Seolah, who had been sitting on the porch, popped up and grabbed my arm.

"Oh, you scared me. You hadn't left yet?"

"Let's go to the convenience store together. It's boring going alone."

"Why the convenience store?"

"Ah, it looks like Mom didn't buy any snacks for us while she was shopping. She says there's nothing to eat at home. Hurry up, you're coming with me."

In the end, I adjusted my jacket and let her drag me back out into the night road.

The hometown night street we walked together alone after so long. Maybe because it was right after taking Father's direct hit, the presence of the girl walking beside me felt strangely more noticeable than usual.

"Hey, do you remember this road?"

Breaking the silence, Seolah giggled first and opened her mouth.

"When you were in second grade, you got chased by the neighborhood dog here, got scared, and completely pissed your pants. And it wasn't even a fierce dog—it was a Chihuahua the size of your palm. Haha. I went around telling the whole neighborhood about it."

"Damn it, why bring up ancient history! Hey, what about you then!"

I fired back with a dark history of my own.

"In middle school, I caught you secretly reading a dirty romance novel."

"Eeeeek!! You crazy bastard!!!"

Before I even finished speaking, Seolah's solid smack landed on my back. Her face flushed bright red as she looked around frantically and shouted.

"No!! That, that was! You were reading it right next to me too!!"

"You're the one who said there was something really fun and shoved it at me first to read together!!"

"This... Shut up, seriously! Before I rip your tongue out!!"

Seolah thrashed about in shame, wildly trying to cover my mouth. After bickering and exposing each other's dark histories for a while, we somehow ended up on the way back home, swinging a convenience store bag.

We passed by our old middle school again—the same one where we'd gotten off the bus earlier—with all its lights now off in complete darkness.

"Hey. All the lights are out on the middle school playground... Want to have a drink over there?"

"Huh? No, what do you mean drink at school..."

"Ah, why not~ We just have to clean up the trash afterward! So unromantic."

Seolah scolded me and stared straight at my face.

"But why have you been so stiff since earlier? What did you talk about with your dad? You seem like a broken robot."

"Huh? No, what! When did I!"

Hit right on the mark, I panicked and waved my hands. Seolah glared at me suspiciously, then grinned.

"Anyway, we're drinking, right? Ah! These days honey butter almonds are the absolute best as beer snacks. My classmates recommended them so I bought some."

In the end, we slipped through the hole in the chain-link fence and familiarly snuck onto the middle school playground.

Sitting side by side on the stand steps, we popped open the cans and clinked them together.

"Krr~ It's sweet, so sweet."

Seolah, sipping her beer while sitting on the autumn night stand, stretched and let out a groan.

"Ugh, I guess I really am getting older. My whole body aches after that long bus ride."

"A twenty-year-old complaining about age. Are you an auntie now?"

"Don't call me auntie, you brat... I'll kill you for real."

Seolah swung her fist through the air and grumbled.

As we sipped our drinks, using old stories and trivial jokes as snacks, quite a bit of time passed. The four cans of beer that had been in the convenience store bag were now completely empty.

"Hehe......"

Seolah's cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol. She slowly leaned her head on my shoulder. The familiar scent of her good shampoo mixed with the sharp smell of alcohol tickled my nose.

"Heyy...... Minjunaa."

"Yeah, why? Are you drunk?"

"Should we... buy more alcohol? Hmm? Let's drink more......"

Seolah started acting cute, hugging my forearm with a slightly slurred voice.

The defenseless warmth pressing against me nearly made my reason fly away.

'Hmm? Is she actually drunk? That's unexpected.'

Considering her usual tolerance, she wasn't the type to act like this after just a couple cans of beer. While I tilted my head slightly,

"Hey, are you drunk by any chance—"

"Let's go! We're buying soju mix!"

Before I could finish, Seolah grinned and snatched my hand. The slurring from before had vanished, and her eyes were completely clear.

In the end, I was helplessly dragged along and had to raid the convenience store again.

We returned with soju, more beer, and even an ice cup, settled back onto the playground stand, and started the second round in earnest.

"Hehehe!! It's sweet, so sweet!!!"

Seolah coolly gulped down the soju-beer mix she'd poured in a perfect ratio into the paper cup and let out a "Krr—" like a middle-aged man. The fragile cuteness from before was gone, replaced by full-blown energy.

After we noisily downed a couple more cups like that, Seolah's phone, which she'd flipped face-down on the stand floor, started ringing loudly. The caller ID read [Mom].

"Ah....... It's Mom."

Seolah answered as if annoyed.

"Ah... yeah... I got it. Yeah. Ah, I'm planning to stay out a little longer before coming in."

Her mother's worried voice could be faintly heard through the receiver. Seolah played along roughly, as if used to it.

"Yeah, Minjun's next to me. We're eating together. Mhm...... About two hours?? I'll stay about that long before heading back."

But suddenly, from the other side of the phone, her father's lion-like roar burst through the speaker loud enough for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even me to hear clearly from where I sat. Seolah yanked the phone away from her ear, furrowed her brows deeply, and shouted.

"Ah, Dad!! I said I got it!!! Why are you worrying about every little thing! You never even call me first usually!!"

Click—! Seolah irritably jabbed the end call button and tossed the phone aside.

"Ugh, seriously! Why is Dad suddenly so obsessed with me? He knows perfectly well that I'm with you, Minjun, but he's still throwing a tantrum demanding I come home right now."

Seolah fumed as she started pouring soju into the beer glass with a glug glug glug.

I fiddled with the paper cup in my hand and swallowed a bitter smile.

"Well... It's been a while since he's seen his daughter, so he's probably just worried."

When I tried to take her father's side, Seolah pouted and clicked her tongue.

"Totally sounds like an old man. Tsk tsk, that's why you don't have a girlfriend."

Seolah was sipping from her paper cup while scolding me when her eyes suddenly began darting toward me with a strangely playful glint. Then she made a circle with her thumb and index finger on her empty hand and wiggled it up and down as if to show off.

"Since we don't have much time because of Dad anyway. Should I take it out here??"

"What, what?! Are you crazy?!"

I nearly spat out my beer in shock. Seolah smiled slyly and scooted closer on the stand.

"No~ The atmosphere is perfect right now. It's nice and dark. And you've been sneaking glances at me since earlier. Don't tell me you've been secretly wanting it too?"

"......"

Then she brought her lips right next to my ear, blew out a hot breath, and whispered softly.

"I've leveled up my skills quite a bit while we've been apart, you know? ...Aren't you curious?"

The hot breath tickling my earlobe and the mischievous provocation made my face burn.

But I soon pointed out a very rational and fatal fact.

"......We've already done it several times back at the studio apartment, haven't we? The skills have long since been compared more than enough......"

At my valid point, the strange atmosphere shattered instantly. The embarrassed Seolah furrowed her brows and smacked my forearm.

"Aish!! You talk way too much for a guy!!"