Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Let's Improve Little by Little
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“Haaaaah...”
“What should we do with our little Seol-i...?”
Seung-ah and Ye-eun let out deep sighs.
I had no choice but to glance nervously at the two of them.
They knew better than anyone that I liked Ha-neul.
I'd never told them directly, but they'd figured it out on their own.
They even subtly helped me out. Whenever there was something to do, they'd always pair me up with Ha-neul.
The problem was that I didn't have the courage to confess to him.
“Ughhh...”
“Seol-ah, you've really never confessed? Not even hinted at it indirectly?”
“N-no...”
I nodded, and the two of them pressed their hands to their foreheads, sighing even deeper.
But I wasn't without my own excuses.
“But... Ha-neul doesn't see me as a girl...?”
Ha-neul had never once seen me as a woman. He hadn't even been aware of me that way.
Even back when he lived at my house, when he accidentally saw me changing clothes, he felt morally sorry about it, but there wasn't a hint of seeing me as the opposite sex.
If he saw me as a friend, I could at least try something. But Ha-neul didn't even seem to see me as a friend.
If I had to put a label on it...
“...He doesn't see me as a woman or even a friend—he sees me as a little sister.”
Little sister. Yeah, that word fit perfectly. Like a much younger one who needed a lot of looking after.
I could feel it even more strongly now that I was helping take care of Da-som.
The way he looked at Da-som, the gentle tone he used with her, the way he fussed over her.
It was all exactly the same as how he treated me.
So I knew. Ha-neul didn't see me as a romantic interest at all.
“How can someone be this oblivious?”
“He doesn't have eyes, seriously.”
“Right, right.”
As the two started badmouthing Ha-neul, I jumped in to defend him right away.
“He's not like that... Ha-neul's actually really perceptive...! With Da-som... if his little sister looks like she's about to cry, he notices right away and picks her up to comfort her.”
I'd defended him without thinking, but soon realized it was a pointless argument.
The 'perceptiveness' they were talking about was in a completely different realm from what I meant.
My friends were busy teasing me about it.
“Aww, is that so~? Kang Ha-neul's so perceptive~”
“Sure, sure~ He's perceptive~ So perceptive~ That's why you like him so much?”
“Ughhh...”
I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
But there was no mouse hole in sight, and they weren't about to give me the chance anyway.
From their perspective, I was the perfect target—a friend they hadn't teased like this in ages.
“So, Seol-i's homework is to make Kang Ha-neul see you as a girl, right?”
“Yeah...”
Right. That had to be the starting point.
If Ha-neul saw me even a little as a girl, I might actually work up the courage to confess.
I had no idea where to even begin, though.
As I sat there silently agonizing, Ye-eun across from me asked a question.
“Seol-ah. What if...”
“What if...?”
“...you learned to do makeup?”
It was completely out of left field.
As I sat there speechless, Ye-eun explained.
“Seol-i, you've got such a cute base to work with. A little makeup and you'd be way cuter. It might be tricky at first, but you'll get the hang of it quick.”
“Yeah, and you don't have any blemishes or anything, so it'll be super easy for you. You'll look gorgeous.”
“Really...?”
“Of course!”
“Even if you're lying, wanna let us do it for you?”
“I'd love that...”
I really would. I was dying to see what I'd look like with makeup.
But we were short on time.
Ha-neul would be here any minute.
Sure enough, the door—shut tight against the winter chill—burst open.
“I'm back~ Got some cola here.”
“Ooh~ Thanks~”
Ha-neul handed out drinks to Seung-ah, Ye-eun, and me the moment he arrived.
But as soon as Seung-ah took hers, she shrieked.
“Hey! Not this one! Something else! Give me a different one!”
“Why? It's zero sugar cola too.”
“This one's gross!”
Ha-neul started chuckling at Seung-ah's wail.
Oh god, what do I do.
He was just teasing her and laughing...
But even that smile looked so cool, and I felt a little jealous of Seung-ah getting teased by him.
I really, really like Ha-neul.
I felt it deep in my bones again today.
*
We ate some tteokbokki together, then parted ways with Yu Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun.
Seeing Seol-i hug the two of them goodbye made my heart ache just a little.
You could really feel how much she liked them.
Still, it was a relief that she had friends at school who cared for her just as much as Seung-ah and Ye-eun did.
It made me grateful for Lee Ji-yun all over again.
After the touching farewell(?) with those two, Seol-i and I headed to the bus stop.
“You really don't have to walk me home! You need to go see Da-som!”
“If I let you go alone, you might be fine, but my mom won't forgive me.”
Half of that was true. If I let Seol-i walk this long way home by herself? Mom would definitely kill me.
In Mom's eyes, Seol-i was like the daughter she never had. Basically treated as the second child. Family.
Leaving family like that alone? I'd be dead meat.
“The year's almost over...”
“Yeah.”
Her words really drove home that this year was ending.
December... already December.
And at the end of this December was Seol-i's birthday.
I asked her, just in case.
“Seol-ah, got any presents you want?”
“Presents?”
“Yeah. If it's something I can buy...”
Before I could finish, she shook her head no.
“Nah, it's fine. I don't need anything.”
“Aw, come on, you gotta get a birthday present.”
“I didn't get you one for your birthday...”
“That's not because I didn't want to.”
My birthday's October 3rd. And that October 3rd fell right in the busiest time of the year for me.
When Da-som first came to live with us.
We weren't letting any visitors in, the whole family was adjusting our routines around her, and things were so hectic I didn't even realize my birthday had passed.
Mom and Dad felt terrible when they realized, but honestly, I hadn't noticed either.
Da-som was that important to take care of, and that precious.
“So if there's anything you want, tell me. I'll get you another one.”
“...Then for my birthday, will you hang out with me?”
“Obviously.”
Of course I would.
If I wasn't spending Seol-i's birthday with her, who would I spend it with?
Seol-i blinked those big, bright eyes at my answer, then broke into a beaming smile.
“Thanks...”
“No need to thank me. I'll treat you to something yummy on your birthday. Sound good?”
“Yeah! Awesome!”
I pulled out my phone and opened the calendar.
Seol-i's birthday was marked there, and I added a new note under it.
'Buy Seol-i something yummy'
Couldn't ask for a better plan.
I put my phone away, got on the bus with Seol-i, and saw her all the way home.
She spent the whole ride apologizing to me.
“The bus ride's... too long, isn't it?”
“It's fine~”
“It's not... You're riding it for four hours today...”
“More like three.”
“Same difference...!”
To school once, to the tteokbokki place once, dropping her off once, and back home once.
Four trips total.
Sure, it was tiring, but I didn't mind.
It was all my choice.
“I chose to do it, so it's fine. I'd worry more if I sent you off alone.”
“I'm really okay...”
She grumbled like that, but ended up smiling softly anyway.
Moments like this made Seol-i seem so pure. Her emotions showed right on her face.
Before long, the bus reached her stop. We got off, and I walked her to her door.
“See you, Seol-ah.”
“Yeah...! See you!”
Though I said that, she'd probably come over to our house tomorrow. It was the weekend, so she'd come play with Da-som.
Still, calling it 'next time' meant she didn't have to if it was too much trouble or tiring. Riding the bus for nearly an hour was tough for her, after all.
She probably didn't read that much into it.
But that's what made her even cuter—pure, transparent, and innocent.