Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Forsythia Festival (3)
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The next event on the Forsythia Festival schedule was lunch.
We decided to grab lunch at one of the food stalls inside the festival grounds.
What, there are stalls inside the festival?
Well, "stalls" might not be the right word. Food trucks fits better.
There were food trucks scattered around the festival where you could get a proper meal, and Seol-i and I headed to one to order something.
"What do you want to eat, Haneul?"
"Anything's fine for me."
"Really? Hmm... But wouldn't it be better to get something you actually want?"
She had a point.
Convinced by Seol-i, I offered my own suggestion.
"Let's get something substantial, like a real meal."
"Something substantial? Like rice?"
"Rice dishes would be good. Or kimbap if we have to."
"Rice... kimbap..."
Murmuring my words to herself, Seol-i pointed at two food trucks with her finger.
"How about one of those two?"
Her tiny fingertip was aimed at a kimbap truck and a beef sushi truck.
The kimbap was something Seol-i and I ate often, so no pressure there. The beef sushi, though, held a special memory for us.
We'd eaten it together at Dreamland, and it had been delicious.
"I'm good with either. Pick whichever you want, Seol-i."
"Whichever I want?"
"Yeah, both look tasty."
"They do, but..."
Her voice trailed off a bit, then she toddled off toward one of the trucks.
I followed silently behind her, but she ended up at a slightly different spot than I'd expected.
I knew Seol-i preferred kimbap over beef sushi, so I'd figured that's where we'd go.
But surprisingly, she chose the beef sushi truck.
"Um...! Beef sushi, 12 pieces, please...!"
"Beef sushi, twelve pieces~!"
"Oh, and...! Um, no wasabi on five of them...!"
"No wasabi on five! Got it~!"
Seol-i handled the order all by herself like a pro and flashed a big grin.
I leaned in and asked her softly.
"Why only five? Shouldn't it be six?"
We'd ordered twelve pieces, so half was six.
She answered matter-of-factly.
"Six wouldn't be enough for you, Haneul."
Her tone was firm, but she was spot on. Six pieces definitely wouldn't fill me up.
Thinking back, it had been the same at Dreamland. She'd given me an extra piece while skipping the wasabi for both of us.
The memory warmed me up inside, making my chest feel all fuzzy.
But things had changed since then.
I'd grown a lot taller, my voice deeper. And Seol-i... she wasn't quite as childish-cute anymore.
Instead, she'd matured, become even prettier. Sure, less of that little-kid cuteness, but she was still the second-cutest person in my life.
She remained my cool, kind, adorable friend—no doubt about that.
"Thanks for the extra piece."
"Heehee, if it's not enough, you can have another one!"
"It'll be fine~ But won't you be a little short?"
"I don't eat that much."
"Still, you might want a snack later~"
"Yeah... you're right...?"
She nodded lightly, and I chuckled as I watched her.
"I'll come back here later and get you a snack."
"No...! I'll buy my own snack!"
"I eat at least two more pieces than you. Gotta make up for it."
"Ugh... Fine, then just get me one."
"Deal. Something tasty."
While we chatted, the twelve pieces of beef sushi arrived.
They'd thoughtfully separated the no-wasabi ones from the wasabi ones.
Thanks to that, Seol-i enjoyed her delicious beef sushi without any wasabi mishaps, and I got a whopping seven pieces courtesy of her.
After a hearty lunch (though honestly, a bit light for me), our next stop was the face painting booth.
Face painting—how could it not be fun?
They paint designs on your face with washable paint. Pure entertainment.
I let Seol-i drag me to the booth.
The moment she saw it, she burst into giggles and asked me,
"Haneul, what design are you getting?"
"Isn't it all forsythia anyway?"
"Yeah! But it could be just one flower, or a bouquet vibe like that, or even a whole forsythia field!"
I checked out the designs she pointed to.
There were tons of forsythia patterns.
Just like she said: single flowers, bouquet styles, field scenes.
"How do they even do something like that?"
"The complicated ones are probably stickers you stick on and peel off!"
"Oh... But isn't that cheating face painting?"
"Huh, yeah?"
Her laughter made it hard to care.
As long as it looked pretty, who cared.
Problem was, I didn't really want to do it.
Come on, what guy wants flowers painted on his face? It'd probably make me look weirder.
I wanted to tell her: Do I have to? Can you just do it?
Of course, those words stayed locked in my throat. I'm not that socially hopeless.
Earlier, Seol-i had felt terrible because I suck at drawing.
It wasn't her fault or mine. I just can't draw. That's not on her. Or me. Not a crime.
Still, she'd apologized nonstop, and it bothered me seeing her upset.
So, what to do? Simple. Close my eyes and let them paint one flower on my cheek.
"...Just one flower. Feels more like real face painting that way."
And if we're doing it, might as well do it right.
Seol-i nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah...! Totally! Guess I'll do one flower too...!"
Her bright response made me nod back.
"Right, one flower each."
"Hehe."
Her beaming smile washed away any trace of her earlier guilt. What a relief.
After face painting and grabbing snacks while wandering around, we skipped the other experience booths and just hung out normally.
We strolled through the mountain blooming with forsythia, laughing here and there, and time flew by.
From 3 p.m. to 4, then 5. Our fun day was winding down.
The sun began to set, and Seol-i and I walked the mountain paths under the sunset sky.
She spoke in a wistful tone.
"It's ending already..."
"Yeah."
The festival continued tomorrow, but we weren't coming back.
Too exhausting, plus tomorrow was drawing contests and poetry readings—not our thing.
In other words, today was our last time seeing this forsythia field this year.
Maybe that's why her voice was full of regret.
"...I want to stay longer."
"Let's walk a bit more."
"Okay..."
We kept walking in silence, heading up the mountain instead of down.
How far did we climb? Seol-i stopped and pointed somewhere.
"...Haneul, look over there."
Her finger pointed to a field bursting with forsythia blooms.
Under the sunset sky, the pretty flowers showed off their beauty.
"It's gorgeous."
Seol-i gazed at the field as the sun dipped lower, smiling softly.
I looked at the sunset, the field, and her incredibly lovely smile before replying.
"...Yeah, it's gorgeous."
The sunset was breathtaking. The field, too.
I never imagined I'd call a natural view pretty, but there it was.
Not like me at all.
Why had I said that?
I glanced at Seol-i without thinking. At the girl gazing at the same view as me.
She smiled at me, brighter than I deserved.
Seeing that smile, I knew.
I called this scenery pretty because I was seeing it with her—with Seol-i.
Maybe it only felt beautiful because she was in it. Yeah, that had to be it.
"So pretty. Really."
To the scenery, to the girl sharing it with me, to myself.
At my words, Seol-i smiled brighter than ever before.
Brighter than any smile I'd seen.
[]
Later, after walking her home and returning to my house.
"Oppa! You have a flower blooming on your cheek!!!"
I hugged Dasom as she giggled and welcomed me.
The flower she saw was probably the forsythia on my cheek...
But somehow, it felt like she meant a different one.
A flower bloomed from emotions I'd hidden from everyone—even myself.