Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Summer Vacation
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Final exams were over.
They'd been tougher than midterms, but even so, I still felt like I'd managed pretty well.
My average came out about the same as last time, so I was pretty satisfied.
I'd actually been worried my grades might drop a bit more, but I'd successfully defended them.
Honestly, scores like this might just be par for the course.
Seol-i and I had spent over a month preparing for finals after the sports festival ended.
After studying that hard for more than a month through finals and all the performance assessments, it'd be unfair if the results weren't good.
"Haneul, how'd you do?"
Seol-i, who was sitting across from me grading together, asked.
I nodded at her without a second thought.
"Same as last time."
"Same as last...!"
Seol-i's eyes were fixed on me.
They sparkled so brightly it was almost burdensome, but it made me feel oddly good.
"How about you, Seol-i?"
"I think I did better than last time...! If the essay questions are okay, I might even break 90!"
"Average 90?"
"Yeah!"
Seol-i nodded vigorously. It might sound weird saying that between friends, but she was incredibly impressive.
Most kids see their grades drop when they move from middle school to high school. Even mine had fallen a bit from middle school.
But Seol-i had not only held steady—she'd actually improved.
She might've pulled off even better results than me.
"Guess I should grant you a wish or something."
"A wish?"
"Yeah. You improved your grades, so pretty much anything reasonable is yours."
At my words, Seol-i looked intrigued, tilting her head as if deep in thought.
Watching her gave me chills. What on earth was she pondering so hard?
I'd said it casually, but if she wished for something too burdensome, I'd bolt. Even I have my limits.
Of course, I didn't think Seol-i would wish for anything that heavy. She's way too sweet to burden me like that, right?
Seol-i kept mulling it over, then asked me in a small voice.
"Haneul... um..."
"Um?"
"...During break, could you meet up with me from the morning?"
She was super tense. I was dying to know what wish she'd make.
But this one...
"...That's easy enough."
It was a breeze. So easy I could've done it anytime.
It might even be good for me. During break, I tend to get lazy without realizing it.
But thinking about it, it didn't quite add up.
"...But Seol-ah."
"Yeah? What?"
I dropped a crucial fact on the beaming Seol-i.
"...You pretty much came over to my house every day last break too. Starting in the morning. Was there really a need to use a wish for that?"
"Oh...?"
Seeing her blink in confusion nearly made me burst out laughing.
It might be rude to say, but right then, Seol-i was adorably dumb. If Dasom had said that, I'd have hugged her tight on the spot.
...If it were just Seol-i and me alone, I might've actually done it.
At some point, I'd completely lost any resistance to hugging Seol-i. Lost it so much that I'd even initiated a few times myself.
She usually asked first or hugged me, but occasionally I'd go for it too.
There's a big difference between a girl initiating a hug and a guy doing it, but I'd cut off those thoughts with, 'It's the same action anyway, so who cares!'
Anyway, that's not the point.
"Wish for something else anytime. Doesn't have to be now."
"You'll grant anything?"
"Yeah, anything I can manage."
"Anything..."
Seol-i murmured the word, then started nodding.
Suddenly, that look made me nervous again, but I held back the fear.
I decided to change the subject.
"Seol-ah, what do you wanna eat? We should grab lunch soon."
"Oh, right. Lunch...!"
I got up with Seol-i and naturally headed out of the cafe.
Then, just as naturally, toward the department store with the food court we always went to.
"Seol-ah, food court for lunch?"
"Huh? Well... takeout?"
"Takeout?"
"Yeah! So Dasom and Auntie can eat too!"
How could someone be this sweet? Thinking of Dasom and Mom—our Seol-i really is an angel.
I really picked the best friend. That's for sure.
I took Seol-i's hand firmly and headed to the underground food court.
And instead of our usual tteokbokki, we ordered something different.
"Seol-ah, this today?"
"Yeah! Unless you don't like it, Haneul?"
"Nah, I like it."
Seol-i's pick was surprisingly sweet and spicy chicken.
"You know how much I love sweet and spicy chicken."
"Hehe, good thing. Let's get whatever flavors we want!"
This place lets you pick flavors and pack them into a container by weight—that sets the price.
We'd always said "let's try it sometime" but never had, so we hesitated a bit.
"Seol-ah, start with safe yangnyeom first."
"Yeah, and... how about soy sauce chicken?"
"Sounds good. Honey chicken too."
Seol-i and I huddled close, picking out flavors.
Once we'd chosen plenty, we paid and headed out.
It cost a bit more than our usual dinner budget.
We'd gotten extra so Dasom and Mom could eat too.
"Haneul, hurry!"
"Yeah, but your clothes or bag okay?"
Seol-i shook her head at my question.
"It's fine! I have casual clothes inside anyway!"
By the way, Seol-i had fully fallen for casual clothes too.
When given a choice between uniform and casual, she picked casual more often.
"Why not just wear casual for the exams instead of uniform? Any reason?"
Seol-i answered matter-of-factly.
"Somehow, solving problems in uniform helps me do better."
Some routine thing? Guess no need to worry.
Routines can be sneaky important.
*
Back home, Seol-i and I showed the sweet and spicy chicken to Dasom, who came running out.
"Dasom~ Let's eat chicken~"
"Chickie!!"
Dasom giggled and bounced around adorably, but as her brother, I had something to say.
"Dasom-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Go wash your hands first!"
"Okaaaay~!"
Dasom nodded big and dashed to the bathroom like she'd run to us, while Mom smiled awkwardly at Seol-i.
"You really got some for Dasom and me too? Must've been pricey..."
"No...! Eating together is better...!"
"I'll give you some allowance later—take it."
"I'm fine, I get plenty...!"
"Still, Auntie hasn't mooched off our Seol-i that much yet~"
Seol-i beamed and nodded as Mom gently tugged her cheek affectionately.
Seol-i backed off easier than expected, and Mom took the chicken from us, glancing between her and me.
With a 'You two wash up too~'
We dropped our stuff roughly, washed hands together in the bathroom, and headed to the table.
Dasom sat primly, grinning and waiting, so Seol-i and I hurried over for her.
What followed was a delicious lunch.
"We'll eat well~"
-Crunch!
"So gooood...!"
Dasom was hooked on the crispy chicken, munching happily, while Seol-i and I ate too.
Then Mom called us in a somewhat serious tone.
"Haneul, Seol-i."
"Yes, Auntie."
"Mom, what's up?"
What came next was huge news.
"...This summer, our family and yours were thinking of going on a trip together. What do you think?"
Both our families vacationing together—it was shocking.