Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Going on a Date with Ji-ah Unnie After a Long Time!
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This afternoon, while scrolling through Yuna's tweet, I couldn't help but smile.
That was right.
Four days after visiting Yuna's family home, her move was finally settled.
The place was right next door to Chae-yoon Unnie's—turning the two people who bickered the most in all of Blue LUV into neighbors, by public acclaim.
No exact date had been set yet, but it looked like it'd happen sometime this month.
I could still picture Yuna beaming from ear to ear when it was decided.
Minseo had seemed pretty bummed about it, though.
Speaking of which, that just left Ji-ah Unnie now.
I wondered when Unnie would move.
From what I'd mentioned to the President recently, it felt like it'd be no later than this year.
"Oh shoot."
Was I too lost in thought?
I'd completely forgotten I needed to head out soon.
Today was the day Ji-ah Unnie and I were going bakery hopping.
"Tofu, Mom's heading out! Make sure you eat properly, okay?"
"Nyaaang."
I waved at Tofu and rushed out of the house.
With a beep-boop, the front door shut behind me, and while waiting for the elevator, a strange sense of excitement wrapped around me.
It had been so long since I'd hung out just the two of us with Ji-ah Unnie.
Hehe, I hoped it'd be a fun time.
During the subway ride to our destination after meeting up with Ji-ah Unnie, I couldn't take my eyes off her.
Sensing my gaze, Unnie tilted her head and asked.
"Why's our maknae been staring holes into Unnie since earlier?"
"Hehe, 'cause Unnie looks so pretty today."
"R-Really? Did I overdo it a bit?"
I answered innocently, and Unnie blushed, checking her outfit this way and that.
Sure enough, as she said, it felt like she'd put in a little extra effort.
A sky-blue shirt over a thin black polo-like top.
A checkered khaki half-coat as an outer layer.
Jeans below, and walker-style shoes.
What can I say—it gave off such a cool, stylish Unnie vibe that she looked incredibly pretty.
Come to think of it, I'd always imagined Ji-ah Unnie liking floaty, fresh outfits.
But she actually wore a lot of denim or slightly girl-crush styles.
Her mature aura made it all suit her perfectly.
"Speaking of, Da-jeong looks super cute today too? And it's a new outfit I haven't seen before?"
While I was admiring Unnie's fashion sense and clicking my tongue in approval, she looked at me and spoke, probably feeling awkward receiving all the praise herself.
For reference, my outfit was a pink knit with a beige tennis skirt—a pretty ordinary combo.
I did like pink, but it felt too cutesy, so I didn't usually wear it as clothes.
There was a whole story behind suddenly wearing this.
"Yeah, I bought it while shopping on the way back from visiting my family home with Yuna the other day. I wasn't sure if it suited me, but Yuna insisted it was totally my style and bought it for me..."
"Pfft, so Yuna. But it really suits you. Super cute."
"Uuu..."
C-Cute? That's, like, a million light-years away from me!
Still, it was a relief that Ji-ah Unnie thought it looked okay.
Better to get any compliment than hear it doesn't suit me.
Honestly, I heard "cute" so often that I'd gotten used to it by now.
Not that I was admitting I was cute or anything!
- This is our stop...
"Da-jeong-ah, we get off here."
"Okay, Unnie."
Chatting amiably with Unnie like that, we'd arrived at our destination station before I knew it.
With a jolt, the doors opened, and Unnie and I hopped off, taking the escalator up to street level.
"Whoa, there are so many people here too."
"Makes sense—lots of young folks come around here. First time for Da-jeong?"
"Yeah, first time."
It wasn't long before a huge plaza-like area appeared to greet us.
The streets were absolutely packed with people.
To the point where I worried we might get swept away.
Ugh, I always felt this way—crowded places drained me.
Just looking made my stomach churn.
Guess home really was best for a shut-in like me.
"Uu, Unnieee..."
"Hm? What's wrong? You feeling okay?"
Unable to withstand the surging crowd, I leaned into Unnie's arm.
She looked at me with worried, surprised eyes.
"N-No, it's nothing. Just a bit tense with all the people."
"True, you're not great with places like this. My bad—I should've thought of that. Maybe we should've started somewhere else."
I shook my head, saying it was fine.
But Unnie still fretted, blaming herself with a troubled expression.
Seeing that made me feel bad—we were finally hanging out just the two of us, and here I was ruining the mood.
"N-No, it's okay. Um, c-can you hold my hand instead?"
"Hand? Of course. I wanted to hold our Da-jeong's hand anyway."
"Hehe, really?"
Emboldened, I asked despite the embarrassment, figuring it'd give me strength—and Unnie smiled brightly, taking my hand.
Sure enough, holding her hand eased the tension way more than before.
Thanks to that, we headed to our first bakery destination, hands clasped tightly.
This one was new, so even Ji-ah Unnie hadn't been before.
Probably because it was a hot new spot, the line was pretty long.
But neither Unnie nor I minded waiting much.
So we stood at the end, chatting like usual to pass the time.
Then Unnie looked down at me gently, smiling as she spoke.
"I was really surprised, you know."
"Surprised about what?"
"When I said I was going bakery hopping this week, you jumped in first saying you'd come along. I didn't expect that, since you don't like wandering around much."
Ah, so that's why Unnie had that shocked reaction back then.
Of course, she was right—I wasn't big on going out.
But that was only alone; anywhere was fine if it was with the members.
"Hehe, hanging out with Unnie is always fun."
"...Ugh, I can't hold back anymore!"
"Nyaaak?!"
I spoke my honest feelings, and suddenly Unnie pulled me into a tight hug.
She crossed her arms to pin my squirming self in place.
I ended up like a baby kangaroo in its mom's pouch, buried in Unnie's chest and gasping for air.
"How can you say such pretty things? Our maknae."
"Ubbup... W-What're you even saying..."
In that state, she even ruffled my hair so intensely it felt like it'd come off.
I had no idea when her affection meter had spiked like this.
Come to think of it, it felt like forever since Ji-ah Unnie had shown affection this intensely.
She always had this mature, composed vibe.
So she usually just treated me like a cute little sister—patting my head now and then.
Not hugging me out of nowhere and rubbing up like Yuna or Ra-hee Unnie.
Not plopping me on her lap and hugging from behind like the President.
Not charging in to knead my cheeks like Chae-yoon Unnie.
For Ji-ah Unnie to show this much love...
I found it a bit surprising, but at the same time, super happy.
"Um... next customer? You can come in now..."
"Ah, Unnieee... w-we gotta go in now."
"Oh, right. Sorry, got carried away adoring our cute maknae."
The problem was—happiness aside—we'd been caught red-handed by a staff member coming out, with me baby-carried by Unnie.
Uu, this was kinda embarrassing.
Who knew Ji-ah Unnie went full throttle once her switch flipped?
I'd never seen it much, so I hadn't realized.
For a sec there, she even reminded me of Ra-hee Unnie.
O-Of course, Ra-hee Unnie would've just carried me inside like that...
In that sense, I was grateful Ji-ah Unnie knew her limits. Yeah.
Anyway, we went in, bought the breads we wanted, and sat at an empty table.
I tried to pay for mine, but Unnie insisted since I came with her, she had to treat—so I couldn't even pull out my wallet.
Before, I'd panic not knowing what to do in these situations.
Now, I could accept the kindness, thinking I'd treat next time.
That felt like real growth—as long as I didn't forget to be grateful.
"Whoa, Unnie. The bread here is so good."
"Yeah? Good thing. It was my first time too, so I worried it'd be bad."
True to form for a bakery Unnie picked, the bread was delicious.
Especially the chocolate croissants stuffed full of chocolate.
Paired with milk, it was perfection.
"Hehe, maidd..."
"Pffft..."
I absentmindedly stuffed my mouth full and chomped away—then laughter came from across the table.
Thinking she'd seen something funny, I followed her gaze... straight to me.
Eh? What's up?
"Da-jeong-ah, can I take one pic? You're too cute like that."
"Eh? Sure, I guess..."
She suddenly asked to take a photo, so I nodded dazedly.
Click—she checked her phone and burst out laughing again.
Wondering what was so hilarious, I leaned forward to peek—and froze.
"Ah, Unnieee! Delete that right now!"
"It's fine, you look cute."
"I'm not cuuuute!"
I shot up from my seat, flailing my arms to delete it.
And rightly so—in the pic, I was grinning innocently like a squirrel prepping for hibernation, mouth stuffed with bread, oblivious to the black chocolate and white milk smeared all over my face.
And as expected, that photo soon hit the Blue LUV group chat.
I could only curse myself for allowing my own black history to leak.