Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Shin So-hee, having succeeded in winning me over with familiar flavors, looked thoroughly pleased. It seemed my completely genuine reaction had landed as far more convincing than the exaggerated praise I'd given before. If nothing else, one thing became abundantly clear from this: I should never, ever try acting.
Even though Shin So-hee didn't know what I really felt, seeing that satisfied expression was a relief. The final dish had perfectly hit my taste preferences, and that saved me.
Of course, since I'd already sampled a bite of everything earlier, I couldn't eat much of the tteokbokki.
But while I was relieved to see Shin So-hee's personal mission come to an end, and while Shin So-hee herself seemed reassured that she'd won, one person still wore an intensely uncomfortable expression.
That was Yu Ha-neul.
She hadn't intended it, but the situation had ended up looking like she'd deceived Shin So-hee into thinking she was rich. In reality, she was just a kid from an ordinary working-class household who'd already tried everything we ate today at least once. She could only feel sorry toward Shin So-hee, who had dragged her around insisting on feeding her food she'd supposedly never tasted before.
Unlike Lee Su-a, whose eyes had sparkled at every unfamiliar dish, or me, who'd been moved by the nostalgic taste of food I hadn't eaten in ages, Yu Ha-neul had been slowly chewing her tteokbokki with an expression that looked deeply uncomfortable.
...That said, stepping in to explain on her behalf wasn't my place. No matter how I brought it up, the dynamics would turn strange.
For various reasons, this meal didn't involve much conversation either. The only sound was the quiet scrape of forks.
Maybe it was because everyone here was a teenager, but even though I couldn't finish my portion, not a single bit of tteokbokki went to waste. None of the kids in this group were particularly overweight, so I genuinely had no idea where all that food was disappearing to.
Well, having no leftovers isn't exactly a bad thing.
Staring at the plate with only sauce left behind, I felt a quiet sense of admiration.
*
On the way out after the meal.
Even though Lee Su-a and Yu Ha-neul had offered to pay, Shin So-hee had stubbornly insisted on covering the bill with her own money. She looked like she was in a great mood.
"So? Pretty decent, right? Makes you want to come back sometime?"
"Yeah, it'd be nice if I could come again."
I meant that. The flavors were exactly the kind I liked. Too often and I'd get sick of it, but it was definitely worth returning to now and then when the craving hit. Assuming I ever managed to stray off the usual route on my way home from school again.
"Everything we ate today was delicious."
The one actually filling the role of 'rich young lady deeply moved by commoner food' was Lee Su-a. I'd only been genuinely impressed by the last dish, the tteokbokki, but Lee Su-a's eyes had been sparkling the entire time we ate. Enough to make me wonder if eating was her hobby.
"You treated us again today, so next time it's on me. I've lived in this neighborhood for quite a while, so I know a lot of good spots."
"O-oh, really?"
Shin So-hee looked a bit flustered when Lee Su-a proactively made that offer.
"Yeah! When someone treats you, you've got to treat them back just as well!"
Lee Su-a had reacted similarly back when she'd had a meal at my mansion. Did she have a philosophy that favors had to be repaid? A healthy mindset. It seemed her upright nature wasn't just about her appearance. Then again, in the original story, from beginning to end, whether she appeared as a supporting character or became a romance target herself, she was consistently, thoroughly the good one.
She was kind enough to have deliberately approached Ye Sa-ra, who had no friends and almost ended up without a single photo at her graduation, to strike up a conversation. So this reaction was only to be expected.
Shin So-hee, however, was making a face like she might break out in a cold sweat at those words.
Because, of course, Lee Su-a was also a rich kid. When she said she was going to 'treat' us, there was a significant chance the food wouldn't be cheap. The phrase 'places I know' meant the same thing as 'oh, there's a great sundae-gukbap place in this neighborhood', but the caliber of the establishment was not the same. It could be a high-end restaurant with per-meal prices that made you wince, or a buffet attached to an expensive hotel.
And despite her appearance, Shin So-hee, like Lee Su-a, had a remarkably healthy mindset. She also believed in repaying hospitality in kind, which meant this was bound to be just as overwhelming for her as when I'd treated her to a meal.
But there was no way she could refuse someone smiling so innocently and making the offer like that.
It looked like this back-and-forth meal-treating was going to continue for a while.
"Ah, well..."
And then Yu Ha-neul, who had still seemed unsettled, finally opened her mouth.
"I'm sorry!"
She bowed her head deeply toward Shin So-hee and practically shouted it. A few people walking along the street turned to look.
"Ah, you startled me. Wh-what's this about?"
Shin So-hee had flinched at the outburst, and now, feeling the eyes of passersby, her face flushed slightly as she asked.
"No, it's just, you know..."
Yu Ha-neul hesitated as if unsure how to start, pressing her two index fingers together and avoiding Shin So-hee's eyes. Then, as if finally steeling herself, she squeezed her eyes shut and said it.
"Th-the truth is, everything I ate today—I've had it all before, plenty of times!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
I'd known what kind of character Yu Ha-neul was even before I met her, so I had nothing to say. Lee Su-a had spent enough time with her to have had ample opportunity to figure out that Yu Ha-neul was from an ordinary background. Actually, even just from the rumors going around, it would have been easy to pick up that Yu Ha-neul was a scholarship student admitted from outside.
But Shin So-hee, who went to a different school and had only met her two days ago, would have had no way of knowing unless Yu Ha-neul told her directly.
"Uh... so, I mean."
"I'm a scholarship student who got in as an outside admit. I'm sorry!"
"No, no, wait. Hold on."
Shin So-hee pressed her fingers to her forehead with an expression that said she was getting a headache.
"So what you're saying is, you're not actually a rich young lady. You're someone who got in from outside... meaning, a kid from a regular household."
"Yeah."
Yu Ha-neul answered with an incredibly guilty expression. Shin So-hee furrowed her brow at her.
"Then why are you apologizing for that?"
"Huh?"
"Whatever I assumed about you, if it was a misconception, it was a misconception. If I misunderstood, I misunderstood. You didn't do anything wrong, so there's no need to apologize."
Shin So-hee folded her arms, looking genuinely baffled.
...Going by appearances alone, the composition looked like a bully harassing a loser, but the content of the conversation was so kind it created a strange sense of cognitive dissonance.
"B-but, weren't you trying to surprise us with the food?"
"And you were surprised, weren't you? She was."
Shin So-hee jerked her thumb at me.
"Huh?"
Yu Ha-neul, still wearing a dumbfounded expression, let out another blank sound. Shin So-hee let out a deep sigh, scratched her head, and spoke.
"Look, even if it's a school for rich kids. How many people actually live in a mansion that huge? Most of them are in spacious high-end apartments or expensive-looking detached houses, right? Plus, the place she lives in is... some kind of cultural property, isn't it?"
"Registered Cultural Property."
"Yeah, that."
When I quietly supplied the term from beside her, Shin So-hee nodded.
"A rich kid on her level was the only one I figured might never have tried commoner food. Honestly, even most rich kids who walk to school have probably tried street food at least once."
Beside me, Lee Su-a nodded vigorously. She'd definitely given off the impression that she'd already tried a fair amount of street food.
"And if you live somewhere like an apartment, you've definitely gone around to all kinds of places with friends. No matter what, how common do you think it is to find someone who lives like a cartoon character the way she does?"
I completely agreed with that, but aren't you a tanned-blond woman who looks like she walked out of a drawing yourself?
I had no intention of saying that out loud and stirring up unnecessary trouble.
"So, yeah. You don't need to be sorry about something like that. It's not like you deliberately lied about it."
Maybe Yu Ha-neul's stare, her mouth slightly open, eyes fixed on Shin So-hee, was a little overwhelming, because Shin So-hee slightly averted her gaze as she spoke.
Yu Ha-neul stared blankly at Shin So-hee with that same expression for a moment, then murmured, sounding genuinely impressed,
"You're... a really good person, aren't you..."
"Why is that what you're taking away from this?"
Shin So-hee looked horrified.
"She is a good person."
But I didn't miss the timing. Ah, teasing the tanned-blond girl—irresistible. Though, of course, Yu Ha-neul had said it in earnest, not as a tease.
"Yeah. A good person."
Seeing the two of us pile on, Lee Su-a joined in. Though, knowing her, she probably meant it sincerely too.
A person who radiated light from her face, plus two others who gave off a softer but still brighter glow than Shin So-hee, all saying that—it created a slightly strange atmosphere. But well, that glow was only visible to me anyway.
"Gah, stop it. You guys, seriously, cut it out."
Shin So-hee's face turned red enough to be clearly visible even on the dark street.
...It seemed like teasing her any further might actually make her angry, so I said nothing more.
Though her getting angry would probably be more cute than scary—there had been an event in the game where she had a heavy hand, after all.
*
"..."
Maybe because I'd come home even later than yesterday, Yang Hye-in was waiting all the way out at the front gate today. Standing there in her black coat worn over her maid uniform, hands folded neatly above her waist, Yang Hye-in looked a little intimidating, honestly. She was already a sharp-featured person, which only added to the impression.
"Welcome home, young lady."
Yang Hye-in bowed to me with perfect courtesy.
"Ah, yes."
A bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I gave a small nod.
When I glanced back, it seemed I wasn't the only one feeling the weight of the moment.
Bringing all three of them inside the house again didn't feel quite right, so I decided to say my goodbyes here.
"Thanks for walking me all the way back."
"How could we just leave someone with your sense of direction to fend for herself?"
Shin So-hee said it with exaggerated lightness, as if trying to ease the heavy atmosphere.
"Thanks for today."
At my words, Shin So-hee was momentarily at a loss, then cleared her throat loudly with a cough, whipped her head to the side, and said,
"W-well, if you liked it that much... I might, you know. Go with you again sometime."
It was such a textbook tsundere reaction that it actually lifted my mood.
"You two as well. Thanks for spending the day with me again."
"No need to thank us. We do it because we enjoy it."
Yu Ha-neul said it with firm emphasis.
"Yeah. We do it because we enjoy it. We're the ones who should be thanking you."
Lee Su-a chimed in as if unwilling to be outdone.
I smiled at each of the three of them and waved goodbye.
"Goodnight. See you tomorrow."
With that, I turned around. Yang Hye-in fell into step behind me as I walked toward the mansion.
...I didn't look back on purpose, but for a long while, I didn't hear the sound of three sets of footsteps turning to leave.