Seventeen, and the Misunderstanding (3)
I thought the forced shopping spree would end after picking out clothes, but it dragged on into round two: choosing shoes. I figured plain sneakers would do just fine, but my sister insisted on matching them to the outfit, her eyes blazing as she tore through the store. The clothes were one thing, but I had no idea picking a single pair of shoes could wear someone out like this. In the end, after about as much time as the clothes took, she finally settled on a pair of ivory flat shoes. What did she call them again? Flat shoes? They had a little ribbon on the front and a soft, rounded shape overall. They went perfectly with the new pink dress. Anyone who didn't know better would swear they were sold as a set.
My sister really does have an eye for this stuff... I had to admit that much.
...The part I still couldn't wrap my head around was why I had to be the one wearing them.
By the time we'd gotten everything—clothes and shoes—and made it home, the house erupted into chaos. Mom and Dad were grinning from ear to ear, gushing about how pretty it was, bouncing around like kids. Dad was especially touched, which was rare for him. He even dug out the camera he hardly ever used and started snapping photos left and right, turning the whole thing into a mini photoshoot. I was dying of embarrassment, but the three of them were all over me, saying how cute it was, which only made it worse.
The moment I finally broke free, I kicked off the shoes first, shoved them back into their box, and buried the box deep in the corner of the shoe rack. No way I'd ever wear them again, but letting dust pile up on them felt wrong too. Then I hung the dress and cardigan neatly on hangers.
"Wow... it's really pretty..."
On the night I was supposed to meet Seojin, I tried it on before bed and slept in it. In the dream, Seojin—who tried it on too—was even happier than when she'd first gotten her high school uniform. She lifted the hem of the skirt with both hands and spun around in circles, absolutely delighted. I wanted to put the shoes on her too, but there was no way I could sleep with shoes on in bed, so I gave up. Seojin looked a little disappointed, but she was still over the moon.
Thinking someday she might actually wear this out and about for real made me feel oddly proud. For that reason alone, I felt a twinge of gratitude toward my sister, even if she'd forced it on me.
...Of course, if the reason was for a date, that'd be a whole different story. No thanks to that.
"But oppa, when are you gonna go out in this?"
Seojin, who'd been spinning happily, suddenly came over to me and lifted her skirt hem just a bit as she asked.
"Go out where in this?"
Her out-of-nowhere question had me blinking in confusion.
"What are you even talking about? Sis bought this for you to wear. Why would I wear it?"
"Aw, c'mon, saying that again."
Seojin puffed out her cheeks and planted her hands on her hips.
"If you think about it, it's basically for you to wear anyway, oppa!"
"No way. Quit saying weird stuff."
"You know better than anyone who sis picked this out for, but you're pretending not to~"
She narrowed her eyes at my firm denial, then spun around again, lifting the skirt hem to show it off.
"Besides, if it suits me, doesn't that mean it'd suit you too?"
"I'm never wearing it. No reason to go out in it either."
I stated it flatly, but Seojin squinted suspiciously and flashed a sly little grin.
"Hmmm~ Okay, if you say so."
She looked like she had more to say, but then she changed her expression, squatted down in front of me, and switched topics.
"Anyway, anything new with ajusshi lately? I'm dying to know!"
The subject change was honestly a relief. And talking about ajusshi? I actually kinda liked that. Sure, Seojin sometimes tossed in questions that made me cringe, but whenever we chatted about him, my mood lifted. No idea why.
Anyway, I told her everything that'd happened that day, and her eyes sparkled brighter and brighter. Then she started saying stuff like "He's totally falling for you soon," and other nonsense, so I'd flick her forehead a few times. That sparked a fight, and soon we were pinching and rolling around, causing a huge ruckus. But in the end, I won again. She kept getting the upper hand for a bit, but a kid can't beat a grown-up.
After playing around like that for ages, we said our goodbyes, and I woke up from the dream. Opening my eyes, I saw the familiar ceiling. Sitting up, I carefully took off the dress and cardigan I'd slept in. I folded them neatly, opened the closet door, and shoved them into the deepest corner where I wouldn't easily reach. Closing the door made my heart feel so much lighter. Those clothes were under permanent seal. Give it time, and I'd forget all about them. They were for Seojin to wear anyway, not me.
But seriously, why did both my sister and Seojin keep jumping to these weird misunderstandings? Fine, sis might've done it out of curiosity since she doesn't know who the other person is. But Seojin, who hears all my stories? I didn't expect that from her. Lately, it even felt like betrayal. She's getting smarter, talking more, even starting to rebel a bit. One of these days, I'm gonna give her a proper scolding.
*
Another weekday meant dragging myself back to school to fill the boring hours. Back in the day, I'd thought school flew by in a flash, but reliving it now? Time crawled like never before. The tedium just kept building, so during breaks, I couldn't put my phone down. Lately, I wasn't seeing ajusshi as much, so our texting had ramped up instead.
Then my finger slipped, and the chat with my sister popped open. The most eye-catching thing was the photo she'd taken of me. I hadn't saved it to my gallery yet, but it turned out so well that I kept obsessing over it. Should I save it or not...? Not like I'd show anyone anyway.
...I'll decide later.
I was staring blankly at the photo when—
"Seojin, whatcha looking at?"
Hyeji suddenly stuck her head over from the side.
"N-nothing!"
I jolted and yanked the phone to my stomach on reflex. Luckily, she probably didn't get a good look at the screen.
"Why so jumpy? Super suspicious~"
At her words, the kids nearby started dragging their chairs over one by one.
...If they see this, it'll be gossip fodder for weeks. Just the thought sent chills down my spine. One wrong photo flash, and it'd be "date outfit" drama all over again. No thanks to that headache.
"I said it's nothing! Just killing time scrolling random stuff."
"Pfft~ You hid it like you'd seen a ghost though?"
The kids weren't buying it, eyes full of suspicion. I dodged with small talk until I caved and turned the screen back on. Obviously not my sister's chat—I pulled up a page full of animal pics instead. Dogs, cats, and other cute critters popped up in a row.
"See? This is all I was looking at."
The screen filled with a dog sticking out its tongue mid-laugh, a fluffy cat, an otter pulling a goofy face—tons of them.
"Aww, so cute~"
"What, seriously nothing?"
"Look at that cat jumping—pfft!"
Cute always wins. The curious buzz flipped to coos in seconds. I was finally relaxing thanks to the animal pics when—
"But~ there's a pretty cute bunny right here too, y'know?"
Someone said that and plopped a hand on my head.
"...What're you doing?"
I gritted my teeth and looked up to see Eunju peering down at me.
"What else? Healing time~"
Eunju grinned and ruffled my hair with her palm.
"Stooop!"
I tried swatting her hand away in protest, but it was too late.
"You do kinda look like a bunny though. Hair's all soft and fluffy."
That kicked it off—girls' hands came at my face from everywhere. Petting my head, pinching my cheeks...
"Kyaa, so squishy!"
"What's with these cheeks? Chewy~"
"Quit it! I said stop! I'm serious, cut it out!"
I flailed my arms, yelling, but they just squealed playfully and clung harder. No escaping with them surrounding me. It didn't hurt or anything—they weren't pinching hard or hitting. It just embarrassed me to death and pissed me off beyond words. Was a high schooler—hell, an adult in high schooler years—supposed to get babied like this?
Glancing around made it even more ridiculous. All the close ones were girls: petting, poking... total doll treatment. The boys stood a step back, snickering as they watched. Their warm, amused gazes ticked me off—they clearly enjoyed the show too much to intervene.
You useless jerks, read the room! Help me out here!
All I could do was scream internally since I couldn't shake off the girls' hands.
"Man, this is addictive. Mind if I tug the cheeks reaaal good?"
"Nooo!"
In the middle of the chaos, my eyes met Kim Yuha's.
...Dude. Help out for once, seriously.
I signaled desperately with my eyes. But the second our gazes locked, he whipped his face away like he hadn't seen. His cheeks looked a bit red, but probably my imagination.
Right, what was I even expecting from him?
Expecting help was my mistake. Idiot me for trusting that guy. I sighed inwardly a few more times and just accepted my fate as the girls' plaything.