Chapter 137
Chapter 137
Yu Ha-neul's father was a somewhat blunt man.
Unlike her mother, who worried about everything Yu Ha-neul did, her father always just answered, "Sure, got it."
Of course, that didn't mean Yu Ha-neul and her father weren't close.
He might have given off the blunt impression of an old novel or drama, but his actions were exactly what you'd expect from a dad in an old novel or drama.
He was the kind of dad who, even without Yu Ha-neul asking, would notice what she wanted and buy it for her birthday or Christmas. When she said she wanted to go to the most prestigious high school in Korea, he supported her without a word. If he heard there was a problem with his daughter's health, he'd somehow take off work and be by her side.
That was why Yu Ha-neul never once disliked her father. Even though he was blunt and never called first, she could always feel his love for her as family.
Their relationship was built on trust, the kind where you didn't need words.
And that father called her first.
It was something he normally never did.
Whenever Yu Ha-neul said she was sleeping over at a friend's, her mother would start worrying and try to pack her all sorts of things. But her father, once Yu Ha-neul told him, would never ask about it again.
Unlike her mom, who would often ask about the names or relationships of the friends she hung out with, her dad never bothered with such things.
It felt less like a lack of interest and more like he was too shy to ask.
His way was not to show his worry by calling or asking first, yet he was always worrying about her. That's why, when something actually happened to her, he'd rush over.
That father rarely called on his own.
Yu Ha-neul was surprised by the situation itself.
"Uh, Dad?"
She stepped out into the hallway and answered.
[Yeah, Ha-neul.]
Her father's voice was no different from usual. A low, blunt tone that might even sound a bit curt.
"...Did something happen?"
Knowing full well her father never called first, Yu Ha-neul always called home whenever she was staying over at Sara's. She let them know where she'd be and roughly when she'd be back the next day. Naturally, she had done the same today.
And yet her father, who normally would have ended the call with an "Okay" after that, had called her this time.
[The place you said you were sleeping over at tonight—was it a friend named 'Ye Sa-ra'?]
"...Yeah."
His tone was still her father's usual tone, but Yu Ha-neul felt a strange sense of incongruity in his voice.
...He clearly never cared to ask about her friends.
It wasn't that Yu Ha-neul didn't talk about her school life. She was a bit of a talker, after all, and she told plenty of stories during meals with her mom and dad.
Except for the hard stuff, of course.
She kept out the too personal, too serious things, and only told the fun stories, as she liked to say.
That was because if she told them about tough times at school, they'd only worry.
Lately, though, the things to worry about had decreased, so talking had gotten a lot easier.
[Alright, okay.]
"Is something wrong?"
It seemed like her dad was about to hang up after just that, so Yu Ha-neul quickly asked again.
[No. Have fun.]
But all she got back was a blunt, short reply.
And with that, the call ended.
"...."
Yu Ha-neul looked down at the disconnected phone.
...What was that about?
...Actually, she couldn't say she had no idea what the issue might be.
Her dad asking about Sara.
Normally, whoever Yu Ha-neul played with, he'd never ask for the friend's name. Though the way he listened quietly during her school stories did show he was curious enough.
Since he usually paid attention to what she said, he could remember her friends' names.
...But this was the first time he'd gone out of his way to confirm the name of the friend she was staying with.
So it was probably something to do with Sara. Since he'd gone as far as to check the name "Sara."
Just what had Choi Na-kyung done?
Yu Ha-neul bit her lip.
Yu Ha-neul's father didn't work at Yujin Group. But that didn't mean it was impossible for the company he worked for to have some connection to Yujin Group.
A feeling of guilt began to creep up from deep inside Yu Ha-neul's chest.
There wasn't a person alive who wouldn't feel guilty if their family ended up suffering because of their own choices.
"But...."
But she couldn't tell Sara this.
Because this was happening because of Yu Ha-neul's own choice.
Saying she hadn't thought about it would be a lie, but it was also true that she'd been thinking way too naively about it all.
Yu Ha-neul herself had already been saved once by Sara.
To wish for another kind of salvation from Sara... was she asking for too much?
Resolving to definitely talk to her dad once she got home, she turned back toward the room.
And then she realized that Su-a, who had been waiting in the room, had disappeared.
*
—In the end, a deal that wasn't really a deal was struck.
Under the pretense of making bath time more efficient, the agreement was to take turns bathing together with "Sara."
For something supposedly about "making bath time efficient," there wasn't exactly an option for So-hee and Su-a to bathe together, or for Yu Ha-neul to bathe with the other girl.
Despite knowing full well that they liked her, "Sara," who was bizarrely dense in this regard, accepted the terms without issue.
Did she think that way because she truly believed nothing could ever develop between her and the other girls?
That naive side of her felt a little cute.
Not that it meant she was as cute as Sara, of course.
But even seeing that cute side, Yu Ha-neul, who had received that phone call earlier, couldn't feel at ease.
"Ha-neul."
And the first to notice that psychological change in her was,
"Did something happen?"
"Sara."
Staring right up at her and asking that question, "Sara" was cute enough to stop a heart.
Because her appearance was exactly Sara's appearance.
Yu Ha-neul clearly recognized that Sara and "Sara" were different people, but still, showing this cute side in the same body was cheating.
At least outwardly, they were one and the same.
If the two of them were twins and had different bodies, would she still have reacted like this?
Thinking that gave Yu Ha-neul a small sense of self-loathing.
"...It's nothing."
"Do you think I'm dumb? If something happened, say it quickly. It's written all over your face."
"Huh?"
"When you're with Sara normally, you've always got that 'I'm so happy I could die' look on your face. So if you're wearing such a gloomy face now, do you think I'd worry or not?"
"Huhh?"
At those words, Yu Ha-neul's face involuntarily flushed.
"Y-You can tell the difference?"
"What, am I stupid?"
"Sara" crossed her arms and tilted her chin up at Yu Ha-neul.
"Normally, you guys are the ones who stick to me the most, you know? You know what's funny? If you add up the time you guys spend sticking to me, it's way longer than the time I spend with Yang Hye-in. Sure, normally I'm just watching you guys through her eyes, but I've at least got that much sense."
She gave a little snort and went on.
"If you think you're all masters of the poker face, you'd better give it up. Even without being a professional gambler, your colorful expressions are super easy to read. Especially when someone who's usually beside you grinning ear to ear is wearing a gloomy face, it's especially obvious. Right?"
Having said that, "Sara" looked around the room, searching for agreement.
So-hee and Su-a nodded quickly.
"See, they agree too. So just spit it out. It's bugging me."
"...Did it really show that much?"
"I just said so, didn't I?"
"...."
At "Sara's" words, Yu Ha-neul stared directly at her.
"So, you're saying you want to help me?"
And she asked a question that came completely out of nowhere.
"Sara" made a face that said, "What in the world are you talking about?"
"Obviously. I can help with anything. As long as it's not something involving a person's lifespan, I can probably help out somehow, right? Ah, scratch that. Even if it involves a person's lifespan, I'd do my best to help."
"...."
Yu Ha-neul quietly looked down at "Sara" mumbling to herself, and then—
"Uwah!?"
In a sudden ambush, she wrapped her arms around "Sara" in a tight embrace.
"Sara," who didn't see Yu Ha-neul as anything more than a "close friend," seemed completely flustered by the act.
"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
And "Sara," who had already nearly been "had" by Yu Ha-neul once before, felt a tremendous threat from this action.
She squirmed, like a hedgehog that had ended up in a lion's embrace, but Yu Ha-neul's arm strength wasn't something "Sara" could do anything about.
"Let go of me!"
"...Really, thank you."
The struggling motion of "Sara" stopped at Yu Ha-neul's words.
"...Really."
"...Oh, uh...."
"Sara," seeming not to know what to do, stayed held in Yu Ha-neul's arms for a while like that.