Picked Up Along the Way
The alarm blared — a sound I hadn't heard in quite some time — and I sat up. I'd gone to bed so early the night before for the morning jog that I wasn't particularly sleepy.
"Breakfast after the run...... now, something decent to wear......."
I rummaged through the dark room in a haze of unfamiliar sensation. By the time I'd gotten myself together piece by piece, our meeting time was nearly upon me. I finished getting ready to head out.
The door clicked open.
"Haaah....."
The dawn air filled my lungs, and just like that, I felt refreshed. I savored the crispness as I made my way downstairs at an easy pace.
"........Hello?"
"Y-yes? Ah, h-hello....."
And just like that, I ran into someone. The neighbor I'd now seen for the fourth time.
I honestly hadn't seen this coming. What reason would anyone have to be out at five in the morning? Today was Sunday, no less. On weekends, the decent thing to do was stay planted in bed until at least ten.
Of course, Hyojin had said she ran at this hour even on ordinary days, but she was clearly the exception. She was someone with an actual goal, after all.
"What brings you out at this hour...?"
"Ah, I-I was just taking out the trash..... I forgot yesterday, so...."
She spoke while avoiding my eyes.
"Then, Chaeho, are you perhaps......"
.....Had I told her my name?
I started digging through my memory. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure I had, the second time we met. We'd even introduced ourselves. Her name was... Lee Jiyeon, was it?
"Um..... uh, well......"
Right. She'd asked me a question, and I'd just been standing there zoning out.
"Ah, I'm out for exercise. Meeting a friend to go for a light run."
She looked up at me, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
"C-could I maybe come along too?"
"Huh?"
I hadn't seen that coming at all. Was this just how outgoing people operated? Then again, the woman standing in front of me didn't exactly scream social butterfly.
I fell into thought. Wouldn't it be rude to bring her along without checking with Hyojin first? Well, that could be solved with a quick text asking permission. And this person — could she even keep up with our run? Hyojin and I had agreed to go at a fairly intense pace.
And more to the point — why so suddenly? Seriously, why? Was this her plan after the failed confession — start as friends first?
"I-I'm already wearing workout clothes, so I can run right away.... and I was on the track team in high school, so I'm confident I can keep up....."
The track team thing piqued my interest? Well, it wasn't completely unconvincing. Of course, the track team story was probably just an excuse, and the real reason was that she wanted to get involved with me. That explanation made a lot more sense.
"......I'll check with my friend first."
.....That's actually fine, right?
"Did your friend give permission?"
"...Yeah. Do you need to grab anything?"
"Ah, th-then just a second — water and my shoes....."
She darted back inside and came out with something strapped around her waist. A running belt, by the look of it.
"Shall we?"
"Yes!"
"........Someone I know...."
Kang Hyojin stared holes through her phone. Then she scrolled up and looked over the conversation she'd had with him last night.
Talk of looking forward to tomorrow. His bluster that he'd never gone running before, but she could go as hard as usual and he wouldn't mind. And then, since the topic had come up, the suggestion that they start first thing in the morning.
The feelings from each of those exchanges came flooding back, one by one. And then, scrolling back down, those words: someone I know.
She felt somehow betrayed.
"His only friend..... well, of course I'm not, but still."
That part didn't particularly bother her. But even after all those conversations, she hadn't even heard about this "someone he knew," and that left her strangely depressed.
"Ah, Hyojin!"
"Ah! Hello, Chaeho!"
She waved at him. He waved back — but the woman standing beside him was a little hard to ignore. He started talking with her about something, and Hyojin smiled, a bitter little curve of the mouth.
He seemed to finish the conversation, then ran over to her alone.
"Hyojin, I need your help."
"Huh?"
I stuck close to Hyojin's side. Thinking it over, something about this was off.
The first time, she'd just come by because of the noise from upstairs, so I hadn't thought much of it. The second time, I'd figured it was related to the first, so I hadn't thought much of that either. The third time, I'd been too sleepy to care.
But looking at it now — wasn't something strange here?
Fine. Running into each other could be a coincidence. But suddenly inserting herself into a planned meetup? What was that about? I'd been too caught off guard when she asked to notice how weird it was, but thinking it through, it was definitely not normal.
And on the way over here, I'd found myself wondering all over again why I'd started being so careful with my body.
......I'm not about to get stabbed, am I?
She didn't look like she was carrying anything strange, but crazy people had a way of doing crazy things you never saw coming, in ways you never expected.
Which brought me to the plan that had occurred to me: ask Hyojin. She was aiming to become a bodyguard, so she'd know relatively well how to handle something like this.
The moment I reached her, I peeled that woman off me and explained the situation.
"Ah..... so that's what happened. In that case, could you have her run behind us for now?"
"If I keep her on my side, she at least won't be able to do anything to you, Chaeho."
"She said she was on the track team, so if I suggest we match paces, she won't refuse."
She looked faintly pleased about something, but I decided not to dwell on it. Either way, once we'd finished talking it over, I called Lee Jiyeon over to us.
"Jiyeon, was it? Chaeho is new to running, so let's have him run behind us, and the two of us can be the pacemakers?"
"Yes! That sounds great."
What's with that bright reaction.
She kept it up, too — all the way through exchanging names with Hyojin and a light handshake. Was this just how it was between women? The stammering, trembling way she talked to me had always felt a bit much to be her normal self, honestly.
Hyojin and I exchanged a look. She didn't seem as strange as I'd been worried she would. Still, I wasn't quite ready to let my guard down completely.
The three of us started stretching. Jiyeon went through the motions with a fairly professional air, so the track team story apparently hadn't been a lie.
"Chaeho, a lot of people get hurt because their legs are too stiff, you know."
"Shall I give you a hand?"
I thanked her, and she started helping me stretch. Jiyeon watched with openly envious eyes, and I thought I heard a pfft from somewhere — but that was probably just my imagination.
"Alright, shall we get started? Jiyeon, you're all stretched out too, right?"
Hyojin asked one last time, checking.
"We're doing an easy eight kilometers out and back today."
"Chaeho, you just need to follow behind us."
And with that, we started running.
"Whew, it's been a while since I ran."
"Will you be alright? It has been a while."
"Please~ Eight kilometers? A sixty-year-old could do that. If anything, isn't that a little short for a morning run?"
"Well, we're running with Chaeho. I can't just take off at my own pace just because I happen to be good at this."
I ran at a moderate clip behind them, eavesdropping on their conversation. I wasn't struggling yet, but I had no idea how they were chatting so comfortably while running.
"You ran like that back on the track team too, I take it? Or wait — were you always at the very back, so you had to sprint all the time?"
"Haha, no~ I was always up front setting the pace, I'll have you know~ They even called me a prodigy."
"I guess I was on the track team so long my sense of distance got warped~ Eight kilometers is just about right for a regular person."
They started running faster.
Uh, uh, excuse me?
I was starting to get short of breath.
"Haha, you were on the track team that long? So you're an athlete now, then?"
"Ahaha......"
Jiyeon laughed awkwardly, then dipped her head slightly to glance at Hyojin's chest.
"No~ I quit for a reason Hyojin probably wouldn't understand~"
"Ah~ no, actually, I understand perfectly~"
I had the distinct impression both of them were clenching their teeth.
Wait. You're not even out of breath?
And as if answering the question in my head, they picked up the pace a little more.
"Hah.... hhah......."
I deliberately made my breathing a bit louder, but the gap between us had widened enough that they didn't seem to hear it.
"So what do you do now?"
"I just got a job and I'm getting by well enough~ What about you, Hyojin?"
"I-I'm aspiring to be a..... bodyguard....."
"Ah~ I see? That happens~"
Hyojin sped up even more.
Hey. Excuse me? A little help here?
I screamed it internally and pushed myself to run even faster, chasing after them.
"Haha, you said you were being considerate of Chaeho — aren't you overdoing it a little?"
"Why? Are you tired? Don't worry, we're already there."
She pointed at a bench.
"Chaeho! We made it..... Chaeho?"
"Hhehk..... hah..... hhahk......."
I wrung out every last scrap of strength I had left and ran. Then I collapsed onto the bench and sprawled out flat.
".......We did four kilometers in fifteen minutes? And you said you were being considerate."
"Did you know? Twelve kilometers an hour is a regular person's all-out sprint."
"......It took seventeen minutes."
Is that really what matters right now.
I lay on the bench and slowly caught my breath. Lying down, I almost felt like I might live. The problem was, the moment I could breathe again, my throat started screaming for water.
"Kkugh..... water........"
"Ah, if it's water!"
"Chaeho!"
They each started pulling out the water bottles they'd prepared.
"I brought this for you, Chaeho."
"I-if it's alright with you, please take this....!"
And they held them out to me at the exact same time.
"........."
"That one looks like it's been around since high school. Just use this."
Hyojin said it after giving the bottle a thorough once-over.
"Ah, no it hasn't? I bought it recently!"
"And when was recently?"
"Two.... three years ago......"
Hyojin looked at Jiyeon with something approaching pity.
"Three years isn't weird, okay! Then how old is yours!"
"I bought mine last year? And it's a sports drink, so it's better for thirst anyway!"
"H-hey, calm down..... I'm fine now, and you both need to drink anyway, right?"
"I can handle that four kilometers without a sip. I just brought this for Chaeho."
Jiyeon nodded as if she agreed.
What? You ran like that and you're fine without a single swallow of water? Am I the one with the bad stamina?
"Hmm...... then I'll take Hyojin's. A sports drink does sound..."
"Ah.... a-ah, th-that's understandable........"
"Right? Chugging water right after a run can actually be bad for you!"
I took Hyojin's drink and downed it in one shot.
"Kahhh....."
I stared at the empty bottle.
"..........."
".......I'm still thirsty. That one too...."
Color bloomed across Jiyeon's face. An all-out sprint like that demanded far more hydration than I'd imagined.