The Frail Male
"Because you're cute. That's why."
"......Every time you say things like that, Shinwoo...... i-it's too much for me......"
"If you don't like it, then stop."
"I-I don't not like it. I like it. That's why......"
I listened to Rahi's heart thudding away and waited quietly for her to go on. She swallowed hard, then carefully opened her mouth.
"......Would you...... go on a morning run with me......?"
"......That's all?"
"......Y-you don't want to, do you......?"
"Here I was, thinking you were about to ask me to do it right this minute. First thing in the morning."
"Ah! No, I mean, that would be nice too—no!"
"Oh. So you really have been thinking about it."
"Th-that's just imagination! Only imagining, that's all......"
Flustered by the teasing, Rahi's face settled back into its usual expression. At the very least, she seemed to have forgotten how miserable her period had been making her. The effort had been worth it. I smiled and stroked her cheek, and she swallowed again, staring at me blankly as I leaned in and whispered.
"Then maybe I should head to the gym a little early too."
"......Y-you'll come with me?"
"Yeah. I ought to see where my Rahi works. And I've got something I want to ask about myself."
"About working out?"
She was staring at me with round eyes, but I only nodded, offering no explanation. She'd find out soon enough. I wanted to leave it as a surprise. Still, the simple fact that I was coming along seemed to please her; she smiled so softly that I pressed a quiet kiss to her lips and got up.
"I'll go wash up. There's coffee over there."
"Ah, okay......"
"You don't need to stop by your place?"
"I already brought my workout clothes."
"Got it."
I was heading for the shower when the washing machine caught my eye, and something occurred to me.
"Oh, and I ran your panties through the dryer too. I didn't get them into a laundry bag first, though."
"Ah! Y-yes!"
"They should be in the machine."
Her face went scarlet. I snorted a laugh as she scrambled up and hurried to the washer, then finished my shower and came back out. Rahi had already changed and was cleaning the living room.
"You don't have to clean."
"It's fine. At least this much...... Hurry and get dressed."
"All right. I'll leave it to you, then."
"Okay."
She smiled as if that pleased her more than anything. I scratched my cheek, went into the bedroom, threw on some clothes, and came back out to find her sipping coffee while she waited. She stood as soon as she saw me. A plastic bag dangled from her hand, and I spoke as I packed my own bag.
"Give me that. I'll put it in here."
"......Ah, I-I can carry it."
"That's not something you should just swing around out in the open."
"......Okay...... Thank you......"
"You thank me for the strangest things."
She grinned shyly and held the bag out. I smiled back, tucked the plastic bag in with my workout clothes, and asked,
"Isn't this a little early? It's only seven-thirty."
"This time is perfect. Nobody's on the bus."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. It's a bus heading out of Seoul."
"Ah, that makes sense. So we transfer once?"
"Yes."
We were still talking as we stepped out the front door, and Rahi slipped to my left as if she'd been waiting for the chance, taking my hand. I shifted the sports bag on my shoulder, held that hand tight, and drew in a breath of morning air that sank all the way into my chest.
"How long does it take?"
"About forty minutes."
"......Hmm. That is pretty long."
I was starting to think I might need a car of my own. Until now I'd never had reason to leave the neighborhood, so a car hadn't even crossed my mind. Looking for a place around Rahi's work, though, might weigh on her more than she could bear. Just then I turned toward her. She'd been hesitating, lips parting and closing, and when she caught my look she avoided my eyes and murmured, almost under her breath.
"......T-today, with you here, Shinwoo, I think it'll actually feel short."
"Oh, what's this. You know how to say things like that?"
"......I-it is embarrassing. But from now on...... I want to say them too. The things you always tell me...... they make me happy. I want you to be happy too......"
"Yeah. It was nice to hear."
"......Okay."
I watched her blush in silence and sank into thought. An hour and a half round trip was a bit much. I'd try the commute for a few days and decide then. Time poured out onto the road felt too precious to waste. When we reached the bus stop, the eyes of the women around us gathered on the two of us.
"Ah......"
Rahi flinched under those looks and started to let go, but I quietly closed my hand around hers. She turned to me. I gave her a stern look, and she grinned instead, squeezing back.
"Ah, it's here."
"Yeah."
We boarded, and every passenger's gaze swung to me. It was quiet for a morning, though I couldn't exactly call it empty. Come to think of it, this was the first bus I'd taken since the world had changed. Stepping farther in, I asked Rahi in a whisper.
"How far?"
"About ten minutes on this one, then we transfer."
"Then let's stay near the door."
I took a strap and stood there, and a seated woman looked up at me with wide eyes. I gave her a small nod. Her face flushed in an instant, and she dropped her gaze. That was when I felt Rahi tugging my bag back behind me. I'd turned it forward on purpose.
"What? You'll bump the person behind us."
"......No. You have to be careful too, Shinwoo. If anything, the others would like it."
"Huh?"
"......There's a thing about that."
"......?"
I tilted my head at her, not following, and the woman standing beside us let out a sigh, gave Rahi a nod, and passed behind me. Ah. I understood.
"......I even have to watch out for brushing against people?"
"......Of course. You never know where a woman's switch is going to flip. If a man goes out of his way to be considerate like this, they're incredibly grateful."
"Ah. Right......"
The subway hadn't been like this. Or had I simply not noticed? Maybe that woman had looked down on me because I'd been careless.
"Shinwoo, has it been a while since you rode a bus?"
"Yeah. I almost never had reason to. I take the subway."
"Usually, if a man's standing, people give up their seats."
Rahi was staring at the back of the head of a woman sitting hunched over her phone. That fierce glare made me flinch before I knew it. It was the look she wore when she trained. I hurried to whisper.
"......I'm not some old man, you know. And you said it's only ten minutes."
"No. These are priority seats for frail males. Even if it's five minutes, this isn't allowed."
The words hit me like a blow to the head.
F-frail males......?
Now that I looked, the cover on the seatback was blue, a shade close to the men-only cars on the subway. A round little sun face and a sunflower flashed through my mind, and the words stuck in my throat. Right then, the middle-aged woman sitting behind the one with her head down tapped her on the shoulder.
"Young lady. Young lady."
"Ah, yes......?"
"Don't you see the young man standing right there? What are you doing, not giving up your seat?"
"......Ah, ah. I-I'm sorry. This was a f-frail male seat."
"Tsk. Even if it weren't, a student ought to be the one standing. Don't make ridiculous excuses. Get up. A college girl as big as you are, honestly."
"I'm sorry......"
The woman stood and came to Rahi's side, glancing nervously around. It was so absurd I lost my words all over again and nearly let out a hollow laugh. Rahi, for her part, smiled and bowed her head to the woman behind us. The woman smiled and nodded back, then raised a thumb and wagged it at her.
"Aigoo, lovely to see. Young man, sit down. Your legs must be tired."
"Ah, yes......"
"Where are you two off to, all done up so pretty this early? A date?"
"Ah, no. I'm heading to work...... My boyfriend said he'd see me off."
For a second I blinked, unsure what I'd just witnessed, and looked up at Rahi. It was exactly that sort of thing. The Chanel mark showing in the corner of an Instagram photo posted as nothing but coffee. The Porsche crest on a headrest, slipped into frame during a selfie taken in the car. Rahi had finished the whole performance in a single sentence.
......Rahi had a side like this?
The moment she finished, every eye around us began to gather. Most of the looks aimed at Rahi were thick with envy. The woman standing beside her scanned her up and down as if the sight offended her, but Rahi never so much as glanced sideways. She only smiled at the older woman, shy.
"Aigoo, that young man is a true romantic."
"......Not at all."
I certainly wasn't trying to embarrass Rahi. And it wasn't that I minded. I was just a little struck by this unexpected side of her. It wasn't bluster, and it wasn't a lie, so there was no problem.
"Lovely to see. There ought to be more men like you. Aigoo, sorry. This old lady won't get in your way. Have a good day, both of you."
"Thank you. Have a good day too, ma'am."
Then my eyes met Rahi's as she came over, and when I narrowed mine at her she looked away, caught out. Before long she glanced at me and pressed the bell. I rose from the seat, bowed to the woman behind us, and stepped off the bus.
"......Come here."
"Ah...... Sh-Shinwoo......"
I took her cheeks and drew them gently upward. Soft as they were, it was the funny face she made looking up at me that had me smiling as I spoke.
"Hmm. Still a little short."
"......Huh?"
"I wanted to see if the corners of your mouth would catch on your ears."
"......I'b sowwy......"
"No. You've got nothing to apologize for. I just didn't know my Rahi had a side like that."
When I let her cheeks go, I felt eyes gathering on us at the stop. Rahi glanced around, then touched her cheeks and whispered.
"......I-I wanted to show you off too, Shinwoo. That's why......"
"I know how you feel. I told you, it's because you're cute."
"......A-are you really okay with it......?"
"Yeah. If you like it, do it all you want. Right now I'm...... never mind."
All that had shocked me was the phrase frail male. I'd braced myself, more or less, for being called an older man, but that word dropping on me out of nowhere had done real damage. I was going to have to start taking care of myself in earnest.
"......I'm going to work out hard."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But go easy on that damned 'one more.' Five in a row is a bit much."
"......Ah, b-but...... the last one is the real one......"
"Sure. I've got a method of my own, anyway."
She looked at me for a moment, head tilted, but the instant I smiled with something lewd in it, her eyes went round and her face flushed all at once. Only now, it seemed, did that night in bed come back to her.
"Ah, ah...... th-that......?"
"Yeah."
She fidgeted, sneaking looks at my face, then swallowed and answered in a trembling voice.
"......Th-then...... I'll work even harder......"
She was giving me exactly the reaction I wanted, and satisfaction welled up full as I nodded. I knew perfectly well she wasn't putting me through workouts just to torment me. I wanted to stoke a little drive, for myself and for her. Of course, it wouldn't be long before I regretted this. There was no way of knowing that yet.
"I-it's here......"
"Let's go."
Small mercy: the transfer lined up dead on. Boarding the bus that pulled in, the first thing I saw was an interior that was utterly empty. Few passengers, no question. A rush-hour bus with only five people, counting us, was strange enough to marvel at. I followed as Rahi went all the way to the back and sat.
"Even so, this is way too empty. At this rate the route's going to disappear."
"Look at the other side and you'll change your mind."
I'd muttered it after sitting down beside her, and she pointed out the window at the bus across the way. I looked, and nodded without a word. Packed to that density, you'd suffocate even in a crock of bean sprouts.
"......Shouldn't they space the buses further apart?"
At that she let out a soft little laugh and carefully wrapped her arms around mine. I lifted my head and looked around. It was only one grandfather and two grandmothers, and perhaps because of that, they didn't pay us any particular attention.