A Meeting — Hyunji and Rahi's Side
The moment Hyunji and I smiled at each other, I felt the café stir around us, but I did my best to ignore it. I might have been in the middle of a shift, but Hyunji mattered more — and there was yesterday, too. Looking at that pretty smile blooming right in front of me, nothing else even came to mind.
"Welcome. You're early today."
"I left early so I could see your face, Oppa."
"Yesterday was rough, wasn't it?"
"......Ah, no...... Did I whine too much?"
"No. You were cute."
From somewhere in the café came a strangled little sound.
"C-cu... cute......"
It drifted out alongside a sigh that sounded almost like a lament. I thought it might not be the worst thing if the crowd thinned a little over this. Being swarmed like this first thing in the morning was too much.
"......Um, then, an americano. Iced, please."
"Sure. One second."
She held out a card that was nothing but pure black, no decoration at all, and I tilted my head as I took it. Cards like that existed? Drop it at night and you'd never find it. That was beside the point. The moment my fingers brushed hers, Hyunji clapped a hand over her mouth in a panic, her face going red. She was still embarrassed by something like this.
"There. All paid."
"......O-okay......"
"Do well at practice today."
"I will!"
And that was the moment. The café door opened, and on the breeze that slipped in came a scent I knew — the same scent that, only this morning, had squirmed shyly in my arms.
"Ah. Shinwoo."
"......?"
Hyunji, still tilting her head, met Rahi's eyes. I tensed without meaning to. I knew, rationally, that yesterday's talk had actually turned out well, but knowing it in my head was one thing. I couldn't help the lurch in my chest. This was the first time for something like this. I poured every bit of my instinct into the moment. If anything felt even slightly off, I needed a plan to smooth it over. I swallowed quietly, schooled my face into something as natural as I could manage, and opened my mouth.
"Ah, Hyunji. This is the trainer I told you about yesterday. Her name's Oh Rahi. Rahi, this is Lee Hyunji — the one who was on the call with us yesterday."
"Oh......"
They breathed it out at the same time, and I watched them without blinking. The last time I had been this keyed up was that meeting the bastard of a boss dragged me into, back when the investment offer first came in. Only a heartbeat passed, but to me it stretched.
"Ah, hello! I'm Lee Hyunji."
"Hello. I'm Oh Rahi."
The two of them smiled at once and took each other's hands, and I nearly let the breath that had been climbing up from somewhere deep in my gut spill out as a sigh. I was sure I'd gotten past the worst of it, but I couldn't relax yet. Even puppies meeting on a walk needed time before they warmed up.
"What do I even do. You're so pretty. My god."
"H-Hyunji, you're beautiful too."
"I'm too skinny. It's not a good look."
"N-no. I know how hard it is to stay this healthily slim."
"Not being able to eat what I want is so hard. Is it like that for you too, unni?"
"I know exactly what you mean. Still, one day off should be fine......"
I listened quietly as they started to chatter and the conversation slowly bloomed. Two pretty girls like that really did look like a painting. But my senses were locked on the air between them. Was this the kind of probing women did with each other, or were they genuinely glad to meet? Just then a table opened up. Sitting them there so I could listen in would have been best. I tried to steer them toward it.
"Rahi. What do you want to drink?"
"Ah, um...... an americano, please."
"Hot?"
"Yes. Hot, please."
"Okay."
At that, Hyunji startled and turned to me.
"Oppa. Not a paper cup — put it in a proper cup. Unni, if you have a minute, want to talk for a bit? We can complain about Oppa together. Yeah?"
She said it as if she'd read my mind. Had I been treating her as too young? Or was Rahi the shy one? Watching Hyunji step forward and make a place for the conversation herself looked incredibly endearing. Of course it was too early to decide this was her staking out rank. Thanks to her, the two of them could talk where I could see them, and if I felt any of that tension, I was ready to step in even if it meant abandoning the counter.
"Good. That works out. Rahi, you start at ten, right?"
"Ah, yes. You're right. This is perfect. After what I heard yesterday, I really wanted to meet you."
"I'm glad. There's a table over there — let's sit."
"Then I'll put both of yours in cups."
"Okay."
I took Rahi's order slip, handed it to the owner, and whispered.
"Sorry if this is a hassle. Someone I know came in. Could you switch these to cups?"
"It's fine. Almost everything else is americanos to go. This is easy."
"Then I'll take orders while I clean."
"Would you?"
The owner really was kind of cool when she was working. A professional, I guess. She'd been busy enough that she apparently hadn't caught our conversation. On a normal day I might have teased her, but I wasn't stupid enough for that right now. When I thanked her she gave a small nod, and the tips of her ears flushed red. Even then, every nerve I had was aimed at the table in the corner. The world, I was learning all over again, did not turn to suit my taste.
"......Welcome. I'll take your order."
As if they'd been waiting, the café door opened and closed without end. The one mercy was that as the morning commute wore on, the people sitting inside started to clear out, until no one was left around Hyunji and Rahi.
"I wanted to meet you."
"Me too."
"Is it okay if I call you unni?"
"Yes, of course. Then I'll......"
"Call me Hyunji. And please, speak comfortably."
"Ah, okay......"
Hyunji smiled brightly and caught the straw between her lips. Those pretty lips drew together, and Rahi stared at them in a daze. Without realizing it, she clenched the hand that had started to rise toward her own mouth and pinned it against her thigh.
"Mm. As expected. The owner's coffee here is really good. Have you tried it?"
"Yes. But I take my caffeine separately, so I end up avoiding coffee."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"Are you...... a model? Or dance?"
"Ah, dance. You could tell right away...... Being this skinny is a real complex. And......"
Hyunji glanced at Lee Shinwoo, still taking an order, then slowly ducked her head and began to whisper.
"......I was so worried Oppa might not like it...... You have no idea how much I worried."
"......I understand. Me too...... because of my chest...... Every time I stand in front of him, I'm scared. E-especially in front of Shinwoo, I feel like I shrink......"
"Ah, unni. Me too. God, you don't know how relieved I was when he smiled...... Especially with the performance right now, it's worse......"
At Hyunji's honesty, Rahi smiled and drank her coffee. Rahi lifting the cup was quite a sight. In the light from the window she almost seemed to sparkle, and with her hair pinned up, the fine strands by her ears and along her neck didn't look messy at all — they only made her look cleaner, more innocent. Hyunji gazed at her softly and murmured.
"As expected. You're so pretty. Your skin, too...... I'm jealous......"
"N-no. M-my chest is too big...... I wish I were a little smaller, too......"
Rahi said it as if it were nothing — words that would have made Lee Shinwoo faint if he'd heard them — then quietly set the cup down, cradled it in both hands, and whispered as if to herself.
"......Actually, I was really worried."
"Worried?"
"That you'd tell me to stop seeing him."
Hyunji smiled gently and answered in a whisper.
"Why would I? If anything, I was so relieved. I think you'd understand that, unni."
"......You're right. I knew he was an...... unusual man, but still."
"God, just the fact that he offered to break it off already makes him such a gentleman...... But that confident voice from yesterday is still ringing in my chest. I...... fell for him all over again."
"......Me too. Th-this is the first time I've ever liked someone like this......"
"Me too. Unni, you're exactly like me."
"I know."
"I even wondered if this was how women felt back in the days of polygamy, the stuff we learned about in school."
"If it had felt this good, it never would have disappeared."
"......Right. When you look at it that way, how lucky are we."
"You're right, Hyunji. And you...... y-you don't mind sharing a bed, either......"
Rahi's face went scarlet as she muttered it, and under the table she softly stroked her own stomach. Hyunji's gaze went hazy at the words, and she nodded.
"I know...... I thought things like this only happened in romance movies. He always says such lovely things, and he's honest with me...... and he wants me. These days...... I'm so happy."
"Me too. I'm also scared it'll...... suddenly end......"
"Yeah......"
The tension slowly drained from Rahi's hands. It was Hyunji's honesty that did it. Rahi smiled and lifted her cup, and Hyunji quietly took the straw between her lips and sipped.
"S-so...... actually, there was something I wanted to say."
"What is it?"
"Last night...... were you with him?"
"......Yes."
At Rahi's hesitant answer, Hyunji's eyes sparkled, and she leaned even farther across the table.
"......Were you all right, unni......?"
"What do you mean......?"
Hyunji glanced around with her face burning, then dropped her voice even smaller.
"I...... felt like one huge firework went off inside my b-body, and then it was morning......"
"......Ah, th-that...... Y-you too, Hyunji......?"
Rahi's face flushed just as red. Their eyes met, and without either of them going first, they swallowed at the same time.
"U-unni, you too...... That...... it's incredible, right......?"
"......Yes. Like my h-head was coming apart......"
"R-right? It's not just me?"
"......I was worried he might hate me, because I...... howled like an animal......"
"......gulp. Yeah...... I did that too......"
"And in the morning...... when I looked in the mirror, I thought I was going to pass out all over again......"
"......I even screamed."
"......I understand."
Hyunji reached for her cup with a trembling hand. Rahi, as if she were hot, unzipped her padded coat.
"S-so...... the whole time I was alone yesterday, every kind of thought ran through my head."
"......I didn't mean for it to happen. I-I'm sorry......"
"It's okay. It doesn't bother me anymore...... But then there was one thing that stuck with me......"
"What......?"
"I've never even heard of anything like it, but...... what if...... Shinwoo isn't satisfied with just us......"
Rahi, halfway through lifting her cup, set it down with a clatter. When Hyunji looked at her, Rahi was staring at the trembling cup in shock, as if Hyunji's words had just made something click.
"......I-I never thought of it that way. I thought once a man...... f-finishes, that's it......"
"I thought so too, but...... Oppa, I...... did it with my mouth...... once, and right after, he still......"
"......W-with your mouth? Really? He let you?"
"Yes...... H-he liked it, even......"
"Ah...... I couldn't even bring it up, I was so afraid he'd hate it. Th-that's amazing."
"I-I wasn't thinking straight then either. My head just...... went. A-anyway."
Hyunji hurried down a sip of coffee and let out a thin sigh. Rahi swallowed and waited for her to go on.
"Even when morning came, he was even more...... full of energy...... And the night before that, he was with me...... And still...... he met you, unni...... gulp."
"Ah...... now that you say it......"
"Y-you know the kind of men who see...... lots of women, right......? I-I've only heard about them, but......"
"Right. But even those men — I've never heard of them going again and again in a row like that...... Come to think of it, yesterday Shinwoo didn't even seem to realize he was being looked after."
"He seems to know everything about me, but sometimes he doesn't know the most obvious things. Isn't that cute?"
"Pfft. Yeah."
They burst out laughing at the same time. Somewhere along the way they had leaned in until they were meeting over the middle of the table, talking from very close.
"I'm glad. I thought there was something wrong with my body......"
"That's why I...... This morning I even thought about going to the hospital."
"Really? I did too, but practice was too busy...... A-anyway......"
She sucked down the rest of the coffee. Air wheezed through the straw, and the ice clinked. Hyunji looked at the cup, stirred the straw, and carefully went on.
"......If I start to think Shinwoo...... isn't satisfied with us...... my chest hurts."
At that, Rahi clutched the front of her padded coat over her heart.
"Me too, then...... You mean we should share what we know?"
"Yes...... Unni. I-I don't think I can live without Oppa anymore......"
"Me neither. But...... i-if he finds us a burden......"
"That's why I need you, unni. If it really seems like he's left wanting, the way I think...... ahem. I want us to satisfy Oppa ourselves, even if it's just the two of us......"
"Okay. I think so too. And...... even if someone else comes along later......"
"Right. After going through something that...... incredible, it's frightening, even...... Twice — I can't even imagine it......"
"......D-doing that twice...... I-I couldn't take it. I don't think I could even get up in the morning."
"That's why. I-if she's a good person, then together...... This is my first time with a man, too...... I think figuring it out together would be nice......"
"Okay. I agree."
"......I'm really glad you understand, unni."
"N-no, I am. I'm a little shy with people. And...... this was something I hadn't even thought of......"
"Me too, though. Hehe."
"Then, maybe your number......"
"Ah, yes."
They took out their phones and saved each other's numbers. The time on the screens made them both gasp, and they shot up from their seats at once. Lost in talk, they were cutting it close.
"Ah! I-I'm going to be late."
"M-me too. Let's go."
"Okay. Unni, I'll text you."
"Okay. H-Hyunji."
"Yes?"
"......Let's get along from now on. I-I like you, Hyunji."
"......Me too. I'm counting on you, unni."
Hyunji smiled softly and took the hand Rahi offered. Much later, when I heard that this was the moment the Lee–Oh line was born, I laughed for a long time.
"I'm so happy. It's like I got an unni."
"Me too. It's like I got a little sister."
And the two of them, still holding hands as if it were the most natural thing in the world, slowly rose and left the table.