Seventeen, and the Accomplice (6)
After finals ended, the classroom mood lightened up completely. Was it because vacation was right around the corner? Hardly any teachers were actually giving proper lessons. They just made us self-study, or in some cases, even played movies. Back in my high school days, we never got this treatment—it's kinda surprising. Looking around the room, everyone had that tension-drained, excited look on their faces. Of course, that only applied during regular class hours; self-study night was still in full swing, so the complaints hadn't gone anywhere.
"The bastard who invented self-study night deserves to die..."
"Agreed. What kind of trash came up with this?"
I'm not sure who started it, but the grumbling spread like wildfire, and soon the whole class was united in cursing the inventor of self-study night. It almost felt maniacal. If I pointed out that vacation wouldn't change much here, it'd probably get even worse. Even though the curses flying between desks were half-joking, half-serious, the atmosphere had turned pretty cutthroat—enough to make me a little tense. Especially since some kids were shooting oddly resentful glares at those who skipped self-study.
"Seojin... my shirt button fell off. Can you maybe sew it back on? Jisu and Hyeji said you'd do it if I asked..."
While I was quietly gauging the mood amid all the sharp complaints, Eunju's voice suddenly pulled my attention. I turned to see her shuffling toward my desk with a near-pouty expression. She was wearing her gym clothes over her uniform shirt, and one glance told me the missing button was in a pretty sensitive spot.
"Hold on a sec."
I opened the pocket next to my bag and pulled out my sewing kit. Normally, I'd keep it in the inner pocket of my uniform shirt, but summer uniforms didn't allow for that. Anyway, I spread Eunju's shirt slightly over my desk and got to work prepping.
"Got the button?"
"Nope, it's gone. No idea when it fell off..."
"Can't be helped. We'll use the spare inside then."
I didn't carry extra buttons separately, so I felt around the side label inside the shirt for the spare one. Not all shirts had them, but most did. Found it. Knew it'd be there. I snipped a thin thread with my sewing scissors and detached the spare button from the label. I'd seen buttons pop off in that exact spot countless times since middle school, so it was familiar territory. My hands moved on autopilot.
"Seojin, you're seriously so handy."
"What're you talking about?"
As I threaded the needle, I brushed it off, and Eunju continued with a grin.
"Kids from our middle school said so. They told me if a button fell off or your clothes got a little tear, you'd fix it right up. And for picnics, they'd always target your lunch first."
I kept my responses short, focused on sewing, but honestly, I didn't really get it. Sewing buttons on was just because it was embarrassing to see kids wandering around all sloppy, and cooking was purely a hobby. Was that really something to call "handy"? People with real talent would handle sewing machines too, not just hand-stitching like this. I couldn't even touch one, so that wasn't even on the table.
...Still, I remembered every kid who'd snatched my lunch back then. The ones who at least offered to trade theirs got a pass. And Kang Mincheol—I decided to let him slide too.
"There, all done."
I tied off the last knot, tidied the thread, and gave the button a couple test presses.
"But if you keep cinching your uniform like that, it'll pop off again."
"Ahaha... you noticed?"
As if I wouldn't. I'd seen countless kids get scolded by teachers for the same thing in my past life. This life, I'd witnessed it even more—buttons bursting off in awkward moments included. Probably because kids these days develop faster, filling out in all directions. Sigh, it was such a waste to ruin perfectly good uniforms like that. High schoolers still had growing to do, after all.
...Not me, though.
"Anyway, thanks a ton! You saved me!"
"Yeah, yeah. Hit me up anytime you need something sewn."
Eunju unfolded her shirt to check, confirmed the button was secure, and her face lit up. Seeing her beam like that lifted my mood too. I hated bothersome chores, but hearing genuine thanks gave me this weird sense of satisfaction. Plus—
"Here, my thanks! Thank you, thank you!"
She plopped a small drink on my desk before heading off. These little snacks as payment were a nice bonus. Apple juice this time. Perfect—I wasn't craving soda anyway.
I drank the apple juice Eunju gave me on the way home. It had warmed up a bit from sitting in my bag, but the taste was fine, so no big deal. I did get some death glares from the poor kids facing self-study night... but what could they do? That was their fate. I pretended not to notice and hurried along.
Today, I wasn't heading straight home. Nothing major—just that the fridge was running low, so I detoured to the big supermarket. Tomorrow was Saturday; no ingredients meant trouble. Cooking for ajusshi had become kinda fun, in its own way. Mom gave me separate cash for groceries, so food costs weren't an issue.
Hmm, what should I make this time? So far, I'd improvised based on what was in the fridge, but pushing a cart through the aisles suddenly brought on a wave of indecision. He ate anything I made without complaint, so I didn't even know his real favorites. I wanted to make something he truly loved.
"Mommy! I wanna eat meat, meat!"
A kid's whiny voice from somewhere made me turn. Over by the meat section, a time-sale sign caught my eye. Pork bulgogi today, apparently. It felt like they always had this on sale whenever I came—was it just my imagination? But would ajusshi like it?
...Ah! Why not just ask if he likes it?
I whipped out my phone, fired off a quick message, and decided to finish the rest of my shopping first. The sale ended in 30 minutes, so if he replied in time, I'd grab it; otherwise, something else. Spinach, bean sprouts... My list was long, but all light stuff—no heavy load to carry.
"Huh? Reply already?"
The vibration hit in under five minutes. Sure enough, there was his response. What the—doesn't this guy work? Oh, right, he must be off by now. I should've asked like this ages ago. From now on, Fridays or Saturdays before shopping, I'll definitely text what he wants.
He likes pork bulgogi too? Unexpected. I figured a rich guy would prefer fancier dishes... Guess I'll put extra effort in tomorrow. But seriously, couldn't he drop the "haha"? It felt like one of those obligatory replies when he had nothing to say. Kinda awkward to look at.
Anyway, with that settled, I decided on pork bulgogi for dinner tonight too. Dad loved it. And I tossed in a bunch of other meats besides. That led to a massive blunder.
After checkout, as I grabbed my bags to leave, the weight hit me way harder than expected—I couldn't handle it alone. Volume-wise, it was like two full 20L trash bags. Mostly veggies and odds-and-ends that took up space without much heft, but the meat tipped it over the edge. Did I overdo it...?
I stood by the exit, clutching the cart of bagged groceries, shifting from foot to foot, when—
"Our little Seojin~ Grocery shopping?"
Sister's voice from behind. No clue why she'd hit the supermarket right after class, but perfect timing. Luck was on my side today.
"Sis... it's too heavy for me alone. Can you grab one...?"
A little scheming never hurt; going full pitiful-little-sister mode was the play here. Our soft-hearted sis would cave for sure.
"I can carry it, but what's with buying so much? You can't even lift it."
She grumbled a bit, but her hand was already on one handle of my bags. As expected—she never let me down.
"What brings you here anyway? Shopping for something?"
I nodded at the bag in her other hand, and she grinned, tilting it toward me.
"This? Ta-da~"
"...Ugh, what is that—makgeolli?"
Her basket was stuffed with every variety of makgeolli. Different labels, probably different flavors, but to me, they all just looked like white booze bottles. I could handle soju mixes, but makgeolli was a hard no.
"Meeting friends tomorrow to drink like crazy, so I stocked up!"
Her kid-like excitement drew a sigh from me. With that mindset, I could already picture her getting rowdy at the apartment entrance tomorrow. Starting to worry already.
Well, I partied with friends in college too... but not that hard. Maybe that's why—watching her so carefree after making me fret annoyed me enough to poke a little tension her way.
"Oh? But sis, isn't tomorrow your date with that guy?"
"Eek."
My sneak attack landed perfectly; she whipped her head away, avoiding my eyes. Ooh, effective. Better come up with an excuse quick.
"I-I mean, just a quick meetup in the afternoon. Friends are evening..."
She stammered it out, but her voice wavered at the end. The teasing urge bubbled up—I wanted to grill her more—but she was carrying my stuff, so pushing too far felt wrong. I knew the deal anyway, so I'd let it slide today.
"So, what's our Seojin got in here? Let's see why so much."
She smirked like she was counterattacking and peeked into my bags. Nothing special—just groceries.
"Extra meat today, huh? Wait... pork bulgogi? Blech..."
Oh right. Sis hates this stuff.
Her face twisted a bit at the sight, and I felt a twinge of guilt. I'd make her favorite next time to make up for it.