Bazaar of Secret Services

The church interior buzzed with the lively chatter of children. I sat in one corner with Shin So-yeon noona. While I was glancing at the console game console on the podium, she poked me lightly from the side.

"Juwan, bored~?"

"Huh? Oh... no, not really."

"Liar~ Here, take this~"

Shin So-yeon noona handed something to me. Looking down, I saw scraps of paper in her hand. I immediately recognized what they were.

Talents. What she offered were the "Talents" used as currency at the church bazaar.

"I earned these selling baekseolgi today~ I'm giving them to you. Hehe."

Why give me Talents...?

She handed over fifty Talents. I accepted them, though there was nothing I particularly wanted to buy. Even setting aside the lack of appealing items, the idea of mingling with the kids and joining the bazaar felt awkward. This was a children's event. As a university student, I had no reason to participate, and nowhere to spend the Talents anyway.

Well... it's not like they've set up anything for adults to join...

Shin So-yeon noona smiled at me again as I stayed seated with the Talents in hand.

"Why? Go buy some snacks or something."

She pointed to a table on the opposite side piled high with snack bags.

Maybe I should just grab some snacks and share them with noona?

While I hesitated, a bright, innocent child's voice rang out.

"Teacher! I'm here~!"

"Oh my~ Yuchan. You came to the bazaar too~?"

"Yes!"

The owner of the cheerful voice was a boy with a rather cute face. He had to place both hands on the table where Shin So-yeon noona was selling baekseolgi and stand on tiptoe just to show his face. His small stature somehow made him look even cuter.

The kid... is actually pretty handsome.

The boy Shin So-yeon noona called Yuchan had distinct, handsome features—good enough to be a child model.

"Teacher! What are you selling?"

"Baekseolgi~ Remember the white rice cakes I sometimes brought during Bible study~?"

"Ah! Those were delicious!"

Yuchan and Shin So-yeon noona seemed quite close. He addressed her politely as "Teacher" every time.

"How much is the baekseolgi? I want one!"

"Five Talents, Yuchan. Did you save up plenty?"

"Yeah! But Dad's holding onto them."

"Pfft."

Shin So-yeon noona's expression while talking to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yuchan was endlessly fond.

"Yuchan. You left your Talents with Dad?"

"He said I have to ask permission whenever I want to buy something weird."

"Oh my~ That's too much~ Those are the Talents you worked so hard to earn. He should just let you spend them~"

"Hehe. Hyung left all his Talents with Dad too."

"Ah. Kyuchan came too?"

Yuchan and Shin So-yeon noona continued their cheerful chatter. Then Yuchan's gaze shifted slightly toward me. The boy stared at me intently. Feeling awkward, I offered a greeting.

"......"

"Hi...?"

Yuchan kept staring with wide, sparkling eyes and gave no reply. I tried greeting him because our eyes met, but he simply continued watching me in silence. His gaze was endlessly clear and pure, filled with curiosity yet carrying a hint of wariness. Curiosity toward a stranger made sense, but why the trace of caution?

Shin So-yeon noona spoke to the boy who still hadn't answered.

"Yuchan~ This is Juwan hyung. Say hello~?"

"...Hello~"

His tone is way more casual than when he greeted noona earlier.

After the half-hearted greeting, Yuchan kept staring at me. Then he suddenly spoke clearly.

"Hey~ I decided to marry Teacher So-yeon later~"

"...Huh?"

"Pfft. Kyahaha."

The sudden marriage declaration left me bewildered. Shin So-yeon noona burst out laughing beside me. The words slipped out before I could stop them.

"R... really?"

"It's true!"

"Kyahaha. Pfft. Hahaha."

Yuchan answered confidently with his adorable face while Shin So-yeon noona clutched her stomach laughing. Marry Shin So-yeon noona? What was he talking about? And why tell me like it was some kind of challenge?

Unable to make sense of the situation, I stood there stunned until Yuchan turned back to Shin So-yeon noona.

"Teacher! I'll go get Talents from Dad! I'm buying baekseolgi!"

"Pfft... Okay, Yuchan~ I'll wait right here~ But... you're just too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cute~"

"Hehe."

Shin So-yeon noona gently pinched Yuchan's cheek as he prepared to leave, her face melting with affection. Yuchan grinned back at her before heading off to find his father.

Watching the small boy's retreating figure, I asked noona quietly.

"What was that? You're getting married, noona?"

"Kyahaha! Kyah! Maybe~ Should I marry Yuchan~?"

Shin So-yeon noona exploded into laughter again at my question, slapping my shoulder repeatedly while holding her stomach. After laughing for a while, she finally calmed down enough to explain.

"No... it's just, one day Yuchan had this really gloomy look. Then he said something like he asked his mom to marry him, but she said she was already married to Dad~"

Still wiping tears of laughter, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she continued.

"Then he suddenly asked me to marry him instead~ So I told him if he comes find me when he's grown up, I'll marry him~ Kyah~ Isn't Yuchan just the cutest~?"

I nodded along as she happily recounted the story. She kept going for quite a while.

"Wow~ I had no idea noona had a fiancé."

"Aigoo~ What fiancé~ By the time Yuchan grows up, how old will I be..."

Then I remembered how Yuchan had called her "Teacher."

"By the way, why does that kid call you Teacher?"

"Hm? Ah~ I teach Sunday school for the little ones and sometimes volunteer to teach music... so they call me Teacher~"

"Ah~"

Now it made sense. Shin So-yeon noona was the "Teacher" who guided Yuchan and the other children at church every weekend.

"Yuchan listens the best and is the sweetest. He's the complete opposite of his brother~"

"...Brother?"

"Yeah. Kyuchan, Yuchan's older brother. Pastor Song has two sons. Kyuchan is such a troublemaker. They look alike, but how can they be so different..."

Does noona like gossiping?

Shin So-yeon noona seemed to enjoy chatting about this and that. Before I knew it, I'd learned that Yuchan had an older brother named Kyuchan and that both were Pastor Song's sons.

She's nothing like her Hotstagram.

When I'd spent time with her in Lee A-young's room before, I'd scrolled through Shin So-yeon noona's Hotstagram. Every photo showed her elegant and beautiful. Especially the ones without glasses and with a blank expression—she looked aloof and cool, a fox-like beauty with a high nose bridge. That was the image on Hotstagram: a music major elegantly playing the flute in fancy clothes, or showing off her slim figure. Plenty of shady guys had sent her dirty messages, apparently drawn to those photos. She seemed fairly popular there.

But right now...

"Ah, come to think of it, whenever there's a guy next to me, Yuchan always brings up that marriage thing~? I guess he's jealous~ Hehe. He's seriously too cute~ What do I do~? Should I really marry Yuchan~? Hehe."

The Shin So-yeon noona outside the photos chattered like a cheerful lark. She seemed far warmer and more human. She smiled fondly while imagining Yuchan's jealousy.

Hmm... did he really get jealous?

Listening to her, I recalled Yuchan's sparkling eyes when he'd peeked over the table at her. That gaze hadn't been merely friendly. It had been filled with affection. Between that jealous look and his bold marriage declaration, it seemed Shin So-yeon noona was Yuchan's first love.

Thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Shin So-yeon noona... was beautiful. And children were honest about appearances. A beautiful college student who taught them every week? She was more than enough to become Yuchan's first love.

First love. A pure footprint left in an untouched heart by someone who appears and vanishes like a passing shadow. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Like footprints on fresh snow, first love never fades easily. Perhaps Yuchan would remember Shin So-yeon noona until the day he died. Even if he couldn't recall her exact face decades later, he would never forget her existence. The trembling he felt when looking at her. The childish certainty that he could have her. And the strange emptiness after she disappeared from his life. Everything would linger like fragrance, constantly reminding him of that first love.

Now that I think about it, Shin So-yeon noona must be an incredibly special person to Yuchan...

Lost in thoughts of first love, Shin So-yeon noona suddenly smacked my left arm.

"Ah~! Talents! Juwan, you should spend the Talents I gave you earlier~ Isn't there anything you want to buy~?"

Huh? Ah... I'd completely forgotten.

Only after she mentioned it did the fifty Talents she'd given me come back to mind.

Do I really have to spend these surrounded by kids?

Holding the Talents, I fell into the same dilemma as before. The church bazaar was an event for children. It would've been nice if adults had something to enjoy too...

At that moment, a quest window appeared in midair.