My Female Friend Comes to My Place
The first one to react to the word "boyfriend" wasn't anyone else — it was the kindergartner, Kim Hyeseong.
"Hyung! Are you Noonas boyfriend?"
Kim Hyeseong looked up at me with eyes that positively sparkled.
…I have no idea why he's staring at me like that, but it's kind of a lot of pressure.
"…Sorry, but I'm not Noona's boyfriend."
"You're not Noona's boyfriend…?"
His tone was tremendously deflated.
"…Yeah."
"But he isss…"
Wait, why are you getting all sulky about it?
I honestly couldn't figure out the reason. Was it just because he was a kindergartner?
Meanwhile, the kindergarten teacher — having gathered from our exchange that I was not, in fact, the boy's sister's boyfriend — clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry. The two of you just looked so good together that I was sure you must be…"
A small flinch.
Kim Hyewon flinched, just barely, beside me.
"Are you simply just friends, then?"
"Ahaha, yep. Just friends."
"I'm sorry. You two really make such a lovely pair that I jumped to conclusions."
Embarrassing enough to listen to, the kindergarten teacher kept emphasizing how well the two of us suited each other. And every time she did, the tight-lipped Kim Hyewon flinched again.
"And you see, in all this time, it's the first time Hyeseong's sister has ever come here with anyone else — and with a boy of all things — so I was quite surprised…"
"…I see."
So I'm the first person she's ever brought along. Thinking about it that way, the misunderstanding made perfect sense.
If you pressed the point, Kim Hyewon's cold, unapproachable looks made her personality seem that way too. So naturally, when a girl who always came here alone suddenly showed up with a guy in tow, anyone might jump to the same conclusion.
…Though I still couldn't tell you why she kept hammering on how "well we suited each other."
Just then—
"…Um, could I take my brother home now?"
Kim Hyewon, who had stayed quiet the whole time, finally stepped forward. The kindergarten teacher clapped her hands as if she'd completely forgotten.
"Oh! Look at me. I'm so sorry, you two — I kept you here without meaning to."
She bent down to meet Kim Hyeseong at eye level.
"Hyeseong, time to go home with your sister now. You'll see teacher tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Hehe, good boy. See you tomorrow, then?"
"See you tomorrow, Teacher!"
"Yes, yes. See you tomorrow, Hyeseong."
Kim Hyeseong said his goodbyes to the teacher and came toddling over to us. The teacher gave us a wave.
"…Thank you. I'll see you next time."
"Yes~ See you next time."
Only after the kindergarten teacher had disappeared back inside the building did we start walking toward the apartment complex.
Me on the left, Kim Hyeseong in the middle, Kim Hyewon on the right.
…Walking like this, the arrangement somehow felt a little like a family.
And sure enough.
"Noonaaa. Hold my hand."
Kim Hyeseong whined at her, asking for a hand to hold. She took his hand with the easy familiarity of long habit.
Which is exactly why they really do look like family.
Of course, the two of them were siblings, so family was the literal truth. But maybe because of the big age gap between them, it felt less like an older sister and her little brother and more like a mother and her son.
Not that this was in any way a comment on Kim Hyewon looking old.
It was simply that, in watching over her brother, the side of her that came through most strongly was that of a "guardian."
Then again, considering her family situation, that was probably only natural.
As I was mulling over the two of them, Kim Hyeseong gave my leg a little pat.
"……?"
"Hyung. You hold my hand too."
"No, Kim Hyeseong. That's a bother."
"How come? Can't you hold my hand, hyung?"
"Tch. No."
She scolded him for whining at me. I, however, didn't mind at all.
She called it a bother, but holding a little kid's hand was nothing to me, so I asked with a small smile,
"You want to hold my hand?"
"Uh-huh."
"Then should we?"
"Yeah!"
Kim Hyeseong grabbed my hand without a moment's hesitation.
Hyewon shot me an apologetic look, but it genuinely didn't bother me, so I shook my head.
"Sorry about my brother."
"It's fine. He's cute. I like him."
"…Thank you for saying that."
She gave a little laugh and glanced over at me.
"Still, don't tell him he's cute too often. If you say that kind of stuff to Kim Hyeseong, it goes straight to his head."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. He knows people think he's adorable, so sometimes he gets unbearably bratty about it. You have to raise him with a firm hand."
Be that as it may, I couldn't help noticing how easily she'd taken his hand when he asked for it earlier…
"This is so he doesn't go getting lost like last time."
"Ah."
So that's why she's insisting on holding on tight.
Just then, I felt a stare burning up at me from below and lowered my head.
Kim Hyeseong was looking back and forth between me and Kim Hyewon. And then, out of nowhere, he blurted:
"Hyung, are you really not our Noona's boyfriend?"
…
"?"
Hyeseong?
"…Kim Hyeseong. What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
I was still scrambling over his sudden question when Kim Hyewon snapped at him in a stern voice.
Naturally—
"You two look like a married couple! That's why I asked if you were boyfriend!"
—the logic did not work on Kim Hyeseong (age 6) (kindergartner).
If anything, being told we looked like a married couple only made faces go red.
"Kim Hyeseong, you can't just say things like—"
"I approve if it's the handsome hyung! You two go great together!"
"……"
Kim Hyewon's mouth snapped shut.
With nothing to say for herself, she was laughing awkwardly and scratching her head when her eyes met mine.
"……"
"……"
"Noona and hyung, are you really not dating? I'll cheer for you! You two go great together!"
It was mortifying.
Being told by someone else's little brother that I suited the girl standing right next to me.
Kim Hyewon was clearly every bit as flustered, because she looked away. The tips of her ears, peeking through her hair, had flushed a deep red.
"…Kim Hyeseong. You're banned from TV dramas for a while."
After parting ways with the Hyewon siblings at their door, I got back to my apartment and flopped onto my bed.
How should I put it — it had been a day that wore me out in any number of ways. Quite a lot had changed from the same old routine I'd been living. And at the center of all those changes was Kim Hyewon.
…Maybe I should ask her to go out somewhere sometime.
Not a date… or anything like that. Just a friend asking another friend to hang out, that's all. Sure, some people would call a guy and a girl going out together a date, but still.
Just as I was turning these thoughts over alone, my phone rang.
A call from my mother.
"Sweetie~"
The moment I picked up, my mother's warm voice came through.
"Have you been well?"
"Yes. I've been fine."
"Do you like the new place?"
Was that what she called to check on?
"Yes, I like it a lot."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Hehe. I'm glad you like it so much. I was worried our son might not."
"Not at all. I'm more than satisfied."
"Are you now?"
"Yes."
Truly.
Small compared to the main house, but this apartment was actually far too spacious for living alone. So I was satisfied — satisfied to the point of overflowing, even.
"I'm glad my boy seems to be doing well."
"All thanks to you, Mother."
"Hehe. Well, anyway — how are things with your girlfriend?"
"…My girlfriend?"
Out of nowhere?
"Yes. You know, that girl you were always hanging around with. Isn't she your girlfriend?"
I froze for a beat.
"…No. I don't have one."
My voice sank all on its own.
The girl my mother meant was Lee Chaeeun.
"…I don't have a girlfriend, Mother."
"…Oh dear."
Sensing the way my voice had dropped, she didn't press the subject any further.
"Son."
"Yes, Mother."
"I'll be coming to visit before long, so keep that in mind. It's been so long since I've seen your face. Understood?"
So Mother was coming out this way. There was no real problem with that, so I accepted readily.
"Of course. I'll be waiting."
"Good~ Then I'll hang up now, sweetie~"
"Okay."
"Oh! One more thing before we hang up."
…?
"Spend your allowance, son. I keep sending it to you every month, but you never seem to spend a single bit of it?"
"Ah."
"You really must use it. Understood?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Hehe. All right. Then I'll really hang up now. I love you, my son."
"I love you too, Mother."
Click.
The call ended.
Swoosh—
"…My allowance, huh."
It was true — a considerable amount had piled up in my account.
And an amount no high schooler could even imagine having, at that. All thanks to being raised in a family of entrepreneurs, with parents who gave allowance generously.
Except—
…There's nothing to spend it on.
That was the catch: even when the allowance came in, I had no real use for it. I'd spent all my time with Lee Chaeeun until now, so the only expense had been the occasional… not a date, just going out. I had no hobbies to speak of, so there was genuinely nowhere for the money to go.
Ah.
Ordering delivery, maybe? That was about it.
Come to think of it, I should order some delivery food.
Killing two birds with one stone — using my allowance and getting dinner — I opened the delivery app. What should I get? Chicken? Pizza? A burger? Jjajangmyeon?
Hmm… chicken it is.
Safest bet, after all.
Just then—
Bzzz—
A text from Kim Hyewon.
Aside from Lee Chaeeun, this was just about the first time anyone had texted me out of the blue, so I paused for a moment.
Live alone, eat alone — that's just how it works, no?
She obviously knew that, so why even ask? I figured it must just be small talk, something to keep the conversation going since neither of us had anything particular to say.
Bzzz—
…
After a short pause, her reply came.
"…In front of my place?"
Knock knock knock.
Ding-dong—
"?"
I rushed to the living room and checked the intercom — and sure enough, there was Kim Hyewon, waiting outside my door.
…I had absolutely no idea why she'd come, but I opened the door anyway.
And then—
"Hi. Baek Seojun, I came to hang out with you."