The Path We Walk Together

I sat in the chair, catching my breath a little longer, while the two of them struck up conversation again. They seemed to get along well enough—or maybe they didn't. It was hard to tell. What really surprised me, though, was just how sociable Lee Jiyeon turned out to be. Far more than I'd ever expected.

"So, which company are you trying to get into?"

"Protect Security. Would you even know it if I told you?"

The moment Jiyeon learned Hyojin was younger than her, she dropped the formal speech entirely and started talking to her like they'd known each other for years. Then she proceeded to make Hyojin explain, one step at a time, exactly why she'd decided to become a bodyguard.

For the record, Hyojin and I were the same age. Jiyeon was two years older than both of us.

...Maybe I should start calling her Jiyeon from now on.

The remarkable thing about Jiyeon was that her conversation with Hyojin never once stalled. It should have, by all rights—but she just kept the thread going, one topic flowing into the next without a hitch. So this was what a social butterfly looked like. I was actually witnessing one in the wild.

...And yet when she talked to me, she could barely string two words together.

Was being a man enough to turn a social butterfly into a total recluse? For reasons I couldn't quite name, I found myself appreciating the preciousness of this world all over again.

"...Shall we get going? The sun's about to come up."

We'd left around 5:30, arrived in a little over ten minutes, and it was now six in the morning. The world around us was beginning to wash over in gray—the first sign that the sun was on its way.

"Let's take it a little slower this time... I want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to watch the sunrise, too."

"Yes..."

Hyojin and Jiyeon both bowed their heads. We started back the way we'd come. This time, our pace was distinctly slower than before. And this time, we ran in single file.

"Chaeho-ssi, you said you didn't used to jog much, right?"

"How is it? Running like this, breathing in the morning air?"

Hyojin spoke from behind me. To keep the two of them from charging off at full speed, she'd taken the rear, I ran in the middle, and Jiyeon led up front. It was definitely a little easier this way than before.

"...It's... hah... good... hah..."

Not that I had the luxury of holding a casual conversation. I'd only rested a little, and I'd just spent ten minutes running at about sixteen kilometers an hour. That wasn't going to bounce back so easily.

"Ah! I'm sorry—you don't have to talk!"

With that, we fell into a quiet run.

"Chaeho-ssi, did you know?"

Or not.

Before I knew it, Hyojin had pulled up alongside me.

"I used to run here alone for years, you know."

"Always at full speed. I'd tear through this path at the fastest pace I could manage."

She turned her head. I followed her gaze. The sun was just beginning to rise.

"So I spent most of it looking straight ahead. If you don't, you trip, you collide with things, you lose your way."

"I knew there was nothing more beautiful than a sunrise, but all I ever did was glance at it."

"Looking at it properly like this, though... it's different. It really is."

"I never knew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running a dark path could feel this alive."

"And this is the first time I've ever been able to tell someone a thought that just popped into my head."

"I guess I'm just learning a lot of new things today."

She looked at me and smiled. The first light of dawn met her reddish hair, and the two of them sparkled together.

.............

"Y-yeah...! Hah..."

"It really... is!"

I did my best to smile back at her. But the more I thought about it, the more unfair it started to feel. Why was I the only one struggling here? I wasn't that out of shape, was I?

Those thoughts drifted through my head as we ran, and before long we were approaching our starting point.

"W-we're almost there! Hang in there!"

Was that directed at me? I'd never given her permission to drop the formal speech, but she was older, so whatever.

"Unnie! Shouldn't you work on that stuttering thing you only do with Chaeho-ssi?"

Hyojin said it with a look of triumphant glee.

...They were competing over this, too?

"Sh-shut up!"

"Oh? There you go stuttering again. Were you talking to Chaeho-ssi just now?"

"Nngh!"

Flustered and embarrassed, Jiyeon started running even faster. Before we knew it, she'd pulled far ahead of us.

"Shall we not chase her? We did say we wouldn't go too fast."

Hyojin whispered to me. I smiled with her and gave a stealthy nod.

We ran a little farther and found Jiyeon already waiting at the finish.

"W-why are you so late...! Come on..."

She started to get angry, then saw my face and ducked her head.

"I-I... sorry for going ahead..."

"It's fine. It was actually nicer running with just the two of us, you know?"

Hyojin shot her a look. Jiyeon glared right back, and Hyojin promptly hid behind me as if to say, go ahead, try me.

"Haha..."

The two of them went back and forth with what wasn't quite teasing and wasn't quite not, and after a moment they started exchanging farewells.

"That was fun. It was my first time running with someone else, and I think I have you to thank for how enjoyable it was, unnie."

"No, no. After I started working, I only had one friend left. I'm just happy we could get close like this."

What is this. Why is it so wholesome all of a sudden.

Not that things hadn't been wholesome ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up to this point, but them suddenly talking this warmly was new. Women really were complicated.

The two of them finished their goodbyes and even went so far as to exchange phone numbers.

"This is your number, right, unnie?"

"Yeah. Just save it as Kang Hyojin."

"We exchanged numbers on our third meeting, you know. You two are fast."

I chimed in from the sidelines, and both of them startled for their own reasons.

"Huh? Ah, well... exchanging numbers with a man isn't exactly easy, so..."

Hyojin turned her head slightly, looking a little embarrassed.

"Wait, three times? You exchanged numbers after meeting three times? How?"

Jiyeon stared at her, muttering in a daze.

...Yeah. That was probably the normal reaction in this world.

"...Anyway, you'll run with us again tomorrow, right?"

"...Huh? Ah—I mean, yes! If you're okay with it, Chaeho-ssi, I'll absolutely run with you!"

I looked at Jiyeon. She seemed to be wrestling with some deep internal conflict, chewing on her fingernail. Then, with the pained expression of someone who'd just made a monumental decision, she answered.

"...I'm sorry... only when I have time, occasionally..."

She had a job, so that made sense. Come to think of it, when she'd been talking with Hyojin earlier, I think she'd mentioned that if she missed the six o'clock subway she'd be late. Waking up earlier than five, or running even faster than this, would be too much for both of us.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow, Hyojin-ssi."

"Yes—yes!"

I said goodbye to her and headed home. Jiyeon and I were going the same way, but she'd still been talking with Hyojin by the time I reached the apartment, so we didn't walk back together.

Beep-beep-click, ding-dong~!

I walked into my apartment in a strangely fluttery mood. Normally, after a jog, I'd come home without a second thought, find the place empty, and feel a little hollow. That had become something of a routine. Today had been nothing like usual.

The promise I'd made with him had been an overwhelmingly happy one. And making a new friend had been its own kind of joy. It was nothing compared to exchanging phone numbers with him and then rolling around my room glued to my phone all day—but I was still glad to have a new friend to text.

"Whew... alright. Time to study hard today."

Before sitting down to study, I started putting away the things I'd taken on the run, so I could change clothes.

"...Ah."

And then I hit a wall. Or perhaps an ordeal would be the better word.

I stared at the water bottle. The water bottle he had drunk from.

I'd actually cleaned it quite thoroughly beforehand, since I knew he might drink from it. It wasn't like I'd brought it with some dirty thought about getting my saliva on him. I'd packed it out of pure goodwill—a water bottle just for him.

...Of course, that didn't mean I could completely erase the thought of an indirect kiss.

But this was a different matter entirely. This was a water bottle with his saliva on it. I hadn't planned it, but the lock mechanism didn't sit flush against the drinking spout, so nothing had mixed or been wiped away. It was the pure, unadulterated essence of him.

I could tell myself I hadn't had any impure thoughts when I prepared it—but seeing it right in front of me, the weight of it was something else entirely.

"Th-this..."

I stared at the bottle again.

"...Ahh... all of a sudden... I'm so thirsty? I must've run too fast after all!"

I started slowly pouring water into the bottle. Look, I still didn't have any dirty thoughts this time either! I was just so thirsty after the run that I didn't have time to wash the bottle first!

Watching the water fill the bottle, looking at that completely separate lid, my heart began to pound faster and faster.

"Heh... heheh..."

Once there was enough water to drink, I twisted the lid shut.

"Alright..."

I closed my eyes. And immediately pressed my lips to the bottle.

"Hnn..."

The faintest stickiness against my lips sparked something in my imagination. I lifted the bottle a little higher, still like that. It felt as though his presence came flooding in along with the water—the thought of an indirect kiss, paired with a strange, nameless thrill at using the same bottle as him, at sharing this state together.

I drained it in one go, then slowly pulled my lips away.

"I-I knew this kind of thing was..."

And so I drank about two more liters.

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

The alarm went off, and I got up immediately. I turned it off and did a light stretch right there on the spot. Then I made the bed and stopped by the bathroom. Since I was going to exercise, I didn't wash up properly—just splashed some water on my face.

I came out of the bathroom, drank a glass of water, and went into my room. A glass of water first thing in the morning was important.

First, I changed into my workout clothes. Pajamas went in the washer. I brushed my hair and tied it up—it had a slight wave to it, so brushing helped. Then, before heading out, I checked the rice I'd made for breakfast. Sometimes I forgot to cook it and had to go buy instant rice. Today, luckily, I hadn't forgotten. And it had turned out pretty well, too.

After that, I gathered what I needed and left the house. The running spot was close enough to walk.

Originally, the routine went like this: run for a while, come home, eat, study, go out to exercise again, study, eat, sleep. That cycle, over and over. Morning exercise hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been anything special. Just a way to eat a good breakfast and loosen up the body.

But starting yesterday, it was a little different.

"Chaeho-ssi!"

"Ah, Hyojin-ssi!"

It was just running. Nothing more. And yet it had become the thing I looked forward to most in my entire life.

From today on, I had a feeling that falling asleep would be a joy.