Twenty-Seven, and the Engagement (Part 2)
As Dad said, we'd met once, so things stayed quiet for a while after that—no talk of the engagement or anything about President Yoon's family. Honestly, after that day, I'd pretty much forgotten all about Seoyeong or her little sister. It wasn't that they didn't cross my mind; it was more like I didn't have a moment to spare for thinking. I was swamped with work.
One of our overseas branches, the Tennessee site in the US, had turned into a total disaster. Torrential rains and gale-force winds had battered the area nonstop, flooding half the factory grounds and causing blackouts multiple times. Water had seeped into the warehouse floor, forcing us to move all the stockpiled inventory elsewhere, and the unstable power kept tripping equipment left and right. Reports poured in nonstop. The fallout had headquarters in Korea on high alert for days. Sure, the locals handled the cleanup, but sifting through those reports started landing on my desk too.
With my regular domestic projects piling up alongside this overseas mess, I was stretched thin. Dad's intentions were obvious—he was giving me a taste of factory ops everywhere, grooming me to take over an overseas branch someday. I got it on an intellectual level, but for a twenty-seven-year-old section chief, the schedule was brutal. And I'd been promoted to section chief way too early to begin with.
In the midst of those frantic days, a text came from an unknown number. Not KakaoTalk, but an actual SMS. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd gotten one, so I tilted my head in confusion for a second. It was from Seoyeong. Come to think of it, when we'd first met, the two of us—the actual parties involved—hadn't exchanged numbers. I'd only swapped contacts with her little sister... That jogged my memory of the day.
I saved Seoyeong's number and started texting back right away. She said she had something to discuss about the engagement and wanted to meet today if possible. Luckily, I was already near President Yoon's place for work, so we set something up for the evening.
The timing was awkward, though. I was starving. It was that in-between hour where no proper restaurant felt right, so I decided to grab something quick at a nearby convenience store. It had been ages since I'd set foot in one. Back in school, I'd pop in with friends all the time, but not since then.
I grabbed a cup ramen, sat at an outdoor table, and was about to dig in when—yep—another work call came in. Can't they give me a break? I let out a long sigh and picked up. Getting hounded by work even after hours was exhausting, no matter how many times it happened. Would've been nicer if they'd just kept me late at the office.
I hung up, shaking off random thoughts, and went back to my ramen. That's when someone spoke up beside me.
"Hi. Long time no see."
I turned and there was the little sister. I hadn't expected to run into her here of all places, so I was caught off guard.
"Mind if I sit? I got something to drink."
She set the plastic bag on the table and carefully took the seat across from me. My throat was parched anyway—perfect timing. ...Wait, no, that wasn't the point. Why was she here? What about school?
"I never do self-study."
That made sense. President Yoon and his wife probably forbade it because the streets at night were dangerous. But then came the real issue.
She pulled kimbap out of the bag and, without a second thought, dunked it right into my ramen broth. I was so stunned I couldn't even speak.
She glanced at me and flashed a bright smile, utterly unfazed. Then she stirred a piece with her chopsticks and said,
"Bet this is gonna be delicious, right? You want first bite?"
The kimbap soaked up the broth, looking undeniably tasty. ...But that didn't mean I was actually going to eat it.
I just sat there, untouched chopsticks in hand, staring blankly as she happily munched away. Outwardly, I played it cool, but inside? Total panic mode. I had no clue what was going through her head. We'd barely talked before, yet she acted like we'd been buddies forever. It made me even more on edge. I steeled myself—I needed to keep some distance here.
Still, sending her home alone at night didn't sit right with me. Since I was meeting Seoyeong nearby anyway, I offered to walk her that far. But as we went, she hopped up onto a low wall, teetering along like it was no big deal. I couldn't not watch.
I kept stealing glances, worried she'd fall, and sure enough—she lost her balance and pitched forward. Instinct kicked in; I lunged and grabbed her arm. She didn't tumble to the ground below, thank God, but she did plop down hard on her butt.
If she weren't so petite, it could've been dangerous. And yet she just giggled like it was nothing. Maybe I was overthinking it... but damn, she was cute. Felt like having a new little sibling or something.
"Um, can I borrow your back?"
Lost in thought, I barely registered her quiet request. Then I saw her legs shaking. Ah, she couldn't stand up. Sure, I could give her my back.
"Seojin—cha!"
Her adorable little grunt made me chuckle despite myself. At first, I figured she'd just climb down piggyback-style, no big deal. But nope—as she slid down, she wrapped both arms around my back in a hug. The unexpected contact reignited all my tension. Cold sweat beaded as she descended slowly. Hope I kept a straight face... don't think she noticed.
"There! Thanks!"
Her cheerful voice, beaming with that innocent smile, made me feel like I'd been the only one freaking out. Relieved, I matched her pace, walking slowly.
Then, out of nowhere, she started nagging me. Cup ramen for dinner? Gotta eat proper meals, you know. Sounded just like something Mom would say. But it didn't annoy me. Felt genuine, like she actually cared.
"You stole all the broth anyway."
I teased on impulse, and her flustered dodge was cute all over again. And... she was just fun to be around, somehow.
"You're a fun one, little sis."
The words slipped out naturally. Easier to talk to than family or friends, which was weird.
"Uuu~ You're being distant~"
She pouted and grumbled out of the blue. My mind blanked—had I messed up? But racking my brain, I couldn't think of anything, which confused me more.
She sighed at my bewilderment and said something unexpected: stop calling her "little sis" and use her name instead.
I hadn't forgotten it, but... weren't we too distant for first names? She clearly hated formal titles, though. I tried compromising with "Seojin-ssi," but she shot that down too. Said it felt comfy without the honorific—just her name.
...Not comfy for me. But eventually, I gave up internally and tried it carefully.
"Seojin-ah."
She lit up like the sun and stuck out her hand, like she'd been waiting.
"Nice to meet you properly—ajusshi!"
"Ajusshi...?"
I blanked out. I wasn't even thirty—ajusshi? Harsh.
"What, you want 'oppa'? Wow, no shame~"
I was speechless. Yeah, "oppa" from a high schooler would've looked weird. Ajusshi didn't thrill me, but coming from her... it wasn't terrible. So I told her to go with that.
She pushed her hand further, urging the handshake. I hesitated, but when she whined about her arm falling off, I caved. Impatient, she grabbed mine before I was ready and shook it vigorously up and down.
She kept catching me off guard. Made me laugh a lot, too. Such a strange kid. Just bantering about nothing, but it was weirdly fun.
By the time we reached her place, I felt a pang of regret. As I was about to say goodbye, it hit me—today was White Day. For some reason, I wanted to give her something. But I hadn't prepared anything. White Day for me was just buying candy for Mom and my sister, formality.
Fumbling in my pockets on a whim, I found a fruit candy I'd stashed after lunch. It was lame, but she took it with sparkling eyes and a huge grin.
Even after she left, and while talking with Seoyeong later, Seojin kept popping into my head. She was the first girl I'd held hands with, the first I'd given White Day candy to.
But we'd probably never meet again. What a relief.
"How about we keep the engagement but just pretend we don't see each other?"
...Or not?