37. Familiar, and Then New.
37. Familiar, and Yet New.
"Mmmnngh......"
As So-jeong woke from sleep and shifted her body, she heard a groggy sound escape her mouth on its own.
Although a sensation far plusher and softer than her usual bed enveloped her entire body, it felt like every muscle in her was screaming in protest.
"Uggghhh......"
With her eyes still closed, So-jeong slowly loosened her stiff body and hazily tried to recall where she was.
'Yesterday, I definitely followed Baek-seol to drink, we talked a bit, and then I came to Baek-seol's house......'
"Gasp!"
As the memory fully surfaced, So-jeong ignored her muscle pain and shot upright in bed.
The place she was lying in was, as expected, Baek-seol's room. The clean, ivory-colored wallpaper and the matching large, plush bed.
It was the same comfort she'd always felt, saying it felt nice to sink into whenever she slept over at Baek-seol's, but she couldn't just enjoy that comfort without a care right now.
"Then what happened yesterday...... it, it wasn't a dream?"
So-jeong muttered, lightly slapping her own cheeks.
It had been too vivid to be a dream, yet too fantastical to be reality.
The events of the previous night rose hazily, obscured by the darkness, but the pleasure, happiness, and satisfaction So-jeong had felt during that time still felt vividly tangible, as if she could grasp them in her hand.
"Ahh, huuuuu......"
Feeling her face flush hotly, So-jeong buried her face in her hands.
As she shook her head, not knowing how to define these swirling emotions,
"Oh, you're awake."
The door opened and Baek-seol's calm voice came through.
"Hih!"
At Baek-seol's voice, So-jeong flinched, startled, but couldn't bring herself to look up and see her.
"What's with that reaction."
Baek-seol's voice held a faint trace of laughter, as if So-jeong's strange sound was funny.
"How's your body? I put some medicinal patches on you before you slept."
"Patches? Ah."
Only then did So-jeong feel the sensation of the patches stuck to the small of her back and the inside of her thighs. Perhaps the reason she could even move like this was because the patches had been applied while she slept.
So-jeong peeked up and glanced at Baek-seol leaning against the doorframe.
Baek-seol was as beautiful as always. Her appearance, with a large oversized shirt sloppily covering her upper body and hips, exuded both a languid and sophisticated air, and the long legs extending from under the shirt accentuated her allure.
From behind the steam rising from the mug she held in both hands, her sharp features, partially obscured, gave off a gaze that seemed indifferent yet was carefully watching So-jeong.
"I, I think I'm a bit better now......"
Facing Baek-seol's sculpted figure seemed to bring a slight sense of reality back to So-jeong, and she finally managed to answer.
"That's good."
Baek-seol lifted the corner of her mouth slightly and approached the bed, sitting down gently on the edge.
"I was worried yesterday when you crawled out of the shower looking like you were about to collapse any second. Want some coffee?"
"Ah, yeah......"
Taking the offered mug, So-jeong fidgeted her fingers over the warm surface and carefully took a sip of the black coffee. As the appropriate bitterness and flavor of the coffee bloomed in her mouth, she felt the caffeine wash away her sleepiness and let out a satisfied sigh, "Hoo."
Glancing at Baek-seol sipping her coffee again, So-jeong cautiously spoke first.
"Baek-seol, aren't you sore......?"
"Well, aside from feeling a bit stiff, I think I'm okay."
Baek-seol said, lowering the mug from her lips.
"Maybe it's because I exercise regularly."
"Ahaha......"
So-jeong laughed awkwardly and looked back down at the dark liquid sloshing in the cup she held.
There was another question she really wanted to ask.
But before she could give voice to that question, Baek-seol spoke first this time.
"Yesterday, um, thank you."
"Huh?"
At the unexpected thanks, So-jeong looked at Baek-seol's face.
Baek-seol was still staring blankly into space with a cold expression, but So-jeong somehow felt she was deliberately avoiding eye contact to continue speaking.
"For listening to my story...... and for, well, repaying me for all the help you usually give me."
Come to think of it, she had heard that excuse yesterday.
The kind pretext Baek-seol had created first, just when it seemed like her emotions and instincts were about to explode uncontrollably.
"And there's something I need to apologize for a bit."
Baek-seol continued, still consciously not looking at So-jeong.
"Apologize?"
"Anyway, I made you worry, didn't I? You could feel good receiving my help, but it seems like I couldn't do the same."
"Ah."
"Actually...... when doing that kind of thing, I just don't know what expression to make."
Baek-seol's long fingers tapped lightly on the mug. *Tap tap tap.*
"Seeing you make such a happy expression because of me makes me very happy too...... but I guess it feels like it might come out as a really strange expression. So I think I end up acting without realizing it. Acting like it's nothing."
"So...... please don't think too much that I'm completely unaffected, or that I'm just helping you out of obligation. Yesterday...... I was incredibly embarrassed, but it was also good at the same time."
After saying this in a voice that grew progressively quieter, as if her throat was burning, Baek-seol lifted the mug and gulped down some coffee.
So-jeong only then noticed that the tips of her fingers and her ears were slightly red.
"......!"
It was as if an untimely firework had gone off in So-jeong's heart.
That cute side of Baek-seol, who always seemed mature and composed, was downright cheating.
The thing between her legs, which had become another part of herself, was roaring to pounce on that cute and adorable creature right that instant.
So-jeong wasn't entirely immune to that cry either, but her aching muscles, which throbbed with even the slightest movement, stood in the way of her actions.
'Besides, if I suggest doing it again in this atmosphere, I'll really look like an animal......'
Barely managing to calm herself down, So-jeong instead pouted her lips slightly and changed the subject.
"But it's a bit unfair that my whole body aches like this and you're just fine."
At So-jeong's slightly teasing tone, Baek-seol finally looked at her eyes as usual and replied.
"That's why I keep telling you to exercise regularly."
"Ugh, maybe I should really start again after this?"
"But if you exercise, you'll keep feeling muscle soreness, is that okay?"
"Huh?! Why would it work like that?"
"Well, to make your body healthy......"
"To not hurt, you first have to hurt? That doesn't really make sense."
Exchanging light, cheerful topics like usual, So-jeong ran her hand over the bed she was sitting on once more.
The cozy sensation of the bed, which had once felt awkward, now felt soft and warm under her touch, as if soaked in sunlight.
It wasn't that she disliked it; it was just that the newness had been awkward.
Realizing that tiny, simple truth, So-jeong smiled a small smile.
***
"Ha-na-yah, here."
After the weekend ended and she returned to the classroom, So-jeong sought out Ha-na before class started and held out a small, prettily wrapped box.
Though it had become a bigger deal than she thought, it was true that thanks to Ha-na's advice, her relationship with Baek-seol had grown stronger, so So-jeong had gone downtown the previous day to prepare a thank-you gift for her.
"Oh? Unnie, what's this?"
"Remember the advice you gave me at the convenience store last time?"
"Of course."
"Yeah. She said it helped a lot and told me to give this to you. It's that cake you said you wanted to try last time."
"Gasp! Really?! That one sells out so fast if you don't go early in the morning, I've never managed to get it even once!"
"Ahaha, so I went and stood in line early yesterday to buy it. I'm not sure if it'll still be good after a day... my friend was worried it might not be."
"It's fine, it's fine! I overslept today and didn't get to eat breakfast anyway, I should eat it right now."
A thought occurred that she should save a bit of the cake she'd wanted so much, but Ha-na had already unwrapped it and, after cutting a piece of the cake—clearly packed with rich chocolate—with her fork, popped it into her mouth.
"Mmmnn~!"
Letting out a voice that seemed to melt, Ha-na stomped her feet happily but then stuck her fork back into the cake and said.
"So Unnie, did something good happen with your friend?"
"Um, you could say that?"
"That's a relief. Hehe."
Ha-na beamed as if it were her own matter.
"Please tell your friend that it's important to convey your heartfelt feelings from now on. Hiding things for the other person is good too, but sometimes it's necessary to open up like that. Ah, is saying this much being a bit nosy?"
"No. I'll definitely tell her."
So-jeong nodded in agreement with Ha-na's words.
After that night with Baek-seol, So-jeong had felt something new sprouting within her heart.
Because this feeling was unfamiliar, because it was new and awkward, So-jeong had avoided it without deeply considering what it truly was.
But, as Ha-na said, So-jeong resolved inwardly to no longer turn her eyes away from it and to face it properly from now on.
So that she could convey her heartfelt feelings to the person she cherished most in this world.
***
"Baek-seol-ah."
On the way to the next class after the lecture ended, when So-jeong called out, Baek-seol looked at her and answered.
"Yeah."
"The semester's ending soon, right?"
"There are finals before that, though."
"Ugh... let's not talk about that right now."
"Okay. So?"
"Um, so,"
So-jeong looked up at Baek-seol and grinned.
"Do you want to go on a trip during break?"