Just for One Day (3)
Junhyuk’s face as we stepped out after the meal was as bright as the warm weekend sunshine. He’d thought today was the end of it, but now that the next outing had already been locked in—and at my suggestion, no less—he looked ready to take flight from sheer happiness.
I had no desire to rain on the parade and spoil the mood, so I left him to his pleasant delusions. There would still be time to correct him later.
Looking comfortably full, Junhyuk let out a long breath and asked me,
“That was delicious. Did you already know about this place?”
“Nope. I just walked in without thinking. We got lucky.”
I answered casually, arms folded, then asked about the rest of the schedule.
“How long to the bike rental place?”
“About thirty minutes on foot?”
“Perfect for digesting.”
He wasn’t wrong—my stomach felt ready to burst. I’d known my digestion had gotten weaker ever since that one bad bout of indigestion last time, but I never expected I wouldn’t even be able to finish a single cutlet.
Because of that I’d only managed a bite or two of the bibim-guksu as well, which meant I’d unintentionally subjected Junhyuk to food torture. Even with his healthy appetite, he had to be pretty stuffed by now.
“Want to grab coffee on the way? My treat.”
I nodded readily at his offer. Full or not, dessert stomach was a separate thing.
“One mint-choco latte and one iced americano, please.”
“For here or to go?”
When the barista asked, Junhyuk glanced my way. I shrugged.
“No rush, right? Let’s sit for a bit.”
“Okay.”
The barista overheard our exchange, smiled, and gave a small nod. The café was packed with weekend crowds, so I’d briefly worried we wouldn’t find seats, but a couple was just getting up from a window table and we claimed it without trouble.
“You know that movie?”
“Which one? …Ah.”
The one we’d said we’d go see next. Junhyuk was already so excited he might as well have bought the tickets, launching into an enthusiastic rundown.
“Human Realm and Demon Realm movie tastes are usually totally different, but this one was a massive hit in the Demon Realm too.”
“Sounds pretty good.”
“The Human Realm cares about mass appeal while the Demon Realm focuses on artistry, and this one somehow nailed both. Rare case.”
Hmm. Listening to him, I actually started looking forward to it a little.
“Did you hear about it from your parents? It must be the talk of the Demon Realm.”
“Ah? My parents…”
I’d completely forgotten because I never paid attention, but according to the setting I was a half-demon, half-human hybrid. Living in a nice house and never worrying about money in daily life was all thanks to having a high-ranking Demon Realm father.
The thought crossed my mind that if word reached him that an Academy student had attacked me, it might spark a global conflict on the scale of a U.S.–China trade war just because of me…
…What am I thinking? We don’t even keep in touch normally.
If we’d at least exchanged formal check-ins, I might have expected something. But nearly two months after becoming Philin, neither side had contacted the other once.
It never appeared in the game, so I couldn’t be sure, but maybe the relationship wasn’t exactly smooth. That thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Philin?”
“Huh?”
Only when I saw Junhyuk tilting his head, waiting for my answer, did I realize how deep I’d sunk into random thoughts.
“Uh, it’s been a while since we talked. Since it came up today, I should probably give them a call. Haha…”
“Yeah. Anyway, it’s supposed to be a really solid movie. You can look forward to it.”
Having to tell this bright-eyed Junhyuk saying “you can look forward to it” that it was all a misunderstanding… I didn’t have the heart.
Why am I so soft? Why was I born such a pushover? I sighed and looked out the window—
—and locked eyes with an all-too-familiar face outside. The sharp elf assassin with orange hair… though “tomboy” suited her far better than any cool epithet.
Serena?
I wanted to ask what she was doing there, but Serena’s expression said she wanted to ask me the exact same thing.
Oh crap.
Her look of pure disbelief was completely fair. After all, I’d firmly insisted that Junhyuk and I were nothing to each other. Now I’d been caught red-handed in a lie!
Well, strictly speaking we still weren’t anything. I’d only made time today to grant his earnest request for just one day… I needed to explain!
Serena vanished.
“Philin?”
“Huh? Ah… should I go grab the drinks?”
“Just sit. You look a little tired. Maybe we should skip the bikes too?”
“No! I’m fine. Just had something on my mind for a second. Yeah. That’s all.”
While I was making excuses, the vibration pager went off.
“Whoa, that startled me!”
I blurted an awkward exclamation, snatched the pager, and shot to my feet. On the way to pick up the drinks I quickly pulled out my phone and fired off messages to Serena.
I was so frantic I typed and sent those four lines at lightning speed before even reaching the counter. After collecting the drinks and returning to the table, I checked my phone again.
The “1” had disappeared.
Even while chatting with Junhyuk afterward, my phone kept nagging at the edge of my mind, but no reply ever came.
Knowing Serena’s personality, she might have read it and simply forgotten to answer. Or maybe she’d been briefly dumbfounded and then decided it wasn’t a big deal.
I decided to treat it the same way. Right now I needed to focus on Junhyuk.
By the time we finished our coffee and reached the riverside, we ran into a new variable.
“There’s really not a single one?”
“Nope. We sent every last one out for maintenance yesterday, so nothing’s available until tomorrow. Sorry about that.”
The shopkeeper looked apologetic explaining it to us, but Junhyuk’s face had gone far more ashen. This might have been the highlight of today’s schedule, and of all days there wasn’t a single tandem bike left.
“You wanted to do that that badly?”
“No, not exactly, but…”
Yeah, right. Look how dejected he is. I couldn’t help a small laugh at the flimsy excuse.
“I dragged you out today and I haven’t led a single thing properly.”
“Hey. Who cares about that? Still… um…”
I searched for something comforting to say to the gloomy Junhyuk, and the words just slipped out.
“You did pick out every single thing I’m wearing today.”
Which meant I’d spent the whole day dying of embarrassment under every stare imaginable.
“That’s true.”
Thankfully the remark seemed to cheer him a little; he gave a sheepish smile. Enjoy it while you can. Today is the last time you’ll ever see this mortifying combination of short-shorts and a skin-tight ribbed cardigan, you little brat.
“Since we came all this way, how about we fulfill something close to your wish instead?”
“How?”
I pointed at the people sitting near the river, chatting over drinks.
“Instead of fries, snacks are fine too, right?”
Junhyuk’s face lit up and he nodded. So we headed to a convenience store to finish the last item on the schedule.
On the way, Junhyuk casually hooked a finger around mine, clearly angling to hold my hand.
“Hmm.”
I shoved both hands into my pockets.
No way. Earlier I’d only grabbed his hand because I was genuinely too flustered. He looked a bit crestfallen and I felt a little sorry, but it couldn’t be helped. Hand-holding was absolutely off-limits.
Guys who hold hands with their guy friends are pretty rare, after all.
“Four cans of beer should be about right, yeah?”
While Junhyuk chose the beer, I picked up two bags of snacks and agreed.
“Two cans each sounds nice and light.”
“If we don’t finish them we can just take them home.”
Way better than drinking alone in some pathetic mood.
For a second I wondered whether, if I’d brought Junhyuk along a few days ago, nothing would have happened at all.
We sat on a bench with a good view of the river and opened the snacks and cans. Clink—we lightly tapped the cans together, took a couple of sips, and then—
It was fun.
“Philin. You look happy.”
“Yeah. I am.”
Weekends before and after had always been spent alone. A weekend that wasn’t alone… was pretty nice too.
Lost in that thought, a contented smile crept onto my face without me noticing.
I finished one can quickly and cracked open another. I’d drunk so fast the second one was still ice-cold.
Junhyuk, who still hadn’t finished his first, eyed me with mild concern.
“Philin. Aren’t you drinking a little too fast?”
“It’s just beer.”
“Beer gets you drunk if you chug it.”
How many cans had I already cracked open alone in my studio? I answered with a dismissive laugh and put the new can to my lips without hesitation.
“If you don’t want me stealing all the snacks, you’d better eat faster.”
“No, just take it slow…”
I waved off his protests and took another long swallow.
There were people around, a breeze was blowing, the sunset was soft, and the sound of the river was refreshing.
All of it made me happier than when I was alone.
I just wanted this good feeling to last a little longer.
“Philin. Hey.”
“Hm?”
“Want some ramen?”
“Ramen all of a sudden?”
“We could use more snacks, and some broth would be nice…”
He clearly thought I was overdoing it. When I saw him quietly slide the remaining can over to his side, I snorted a laugh.
“Think I’m gonna get drunk?”
“I think you’re already overdoing it plenty.”
I might already be a little tipsy. At his words I propped my chin on my hand and grinned.
“Leave me alone. Just…”
If I went home now, the people, the wind, the sunset and the river sounds would all disappear.
I’d be left alone again in a silent house.
“…I just don’t want to go home yet.”