The First Meeting of Three
“...She’s pretty shy around new people...”
“She’s started going to school, hasn’t she? She needs to practice getting over that shyness. And matching the energy of a shy kid isn’t hard. Both of us are good with people.”
“That’s right.”
“...Still, what if she gets scared by all the noise from the people around us...”
“Want to move to a private room? There’s no one here right now anyway. Actually, no—I’ll just move us while you’re off picking her up.”
“That’s right.”
“...If they find out I like her, things might get a little awkward between us...”
“Can you keep your mouth shut, Eunhwan?”
“Of course I can.”
“There you go. Even we wouldn’t bring up something someone genuinely wants to keep private. We just want to see her face once.”
“...Well.”
“If you’re out of excuses, hurry up and go get her already.”
Meat sizzled and cooked on the grill while Jaeseop hyung tossed out the words with a sly little laugh.
An unexpected company dinner, a barbecue place with my coworkers. I’d accidentally let my romantic feelings slip, and now I was being thoroughly cornered for it.
“Is the person Senior Eunhyuk’s crushing on pretty?”
“...Yeah, she is.”
“Ooooh.”
“Don’t make that sound, hyung.”
“What’s her figure like? Her personality?”
“She’s goo—no, you stop asking already.”
I let out a small sigh as I watched the two of them snicker happily. We hadn’t even started drinking yet, and their energy was already sky-high.
“Does she drink?”
“She does drink, but she probably won’t outside.”
“Then we should wrap up the alcohol with what’s already out. It wouldn’t be any fun if she’s the only sober one surrounded by drunk people.”
“...”
If these two had just been trying to meet Cecilia to mess with me, I would have shut them down hard. But they were clearly having fun with my situation while still showing a decent amount of consideration, so it was hard to refuse outright. That didn’t mean I wasn’t still hesitating, of course.
“Still thinking it over?”
“Not very manly of you~.”
“Shut it.”
“Hey, Eunhyuk. Think about it.”
Hyung cracked open a soju bottle with a sharp pop, poured a steady stream into a glass, and kept talking.
“It’s just the two of you living at your place, right? No one else?”
“Yeah, well. Obviously.”
“So even if you left food ready for her, that means she’s going to eat alone in a quiet, lonely room while you’re out here eating meat.”
“...”
“Picture it. A quiet little studio, cold air inside. Lukewarm soup and rice she half-heartedly reheated without any appetite—”
“Okay, I give up. You’re right, so there’s nothing I can say...”
Imagining it exactly the way hyung described made me feel like I’d done something truly rotten. Of course, Cecilia had eaten alone plenty of times before—I had evening part-time shifts, after all. But there was a clear difference between “having no choice but to eat alone” and this situation right now, just like he’d said.
I stood up from my seat. Hyung looked up at me and muttered cheerfully, “Should’ve done that from the start.”
“...Just so you know, if she says she doesn’t want to, she won’t come.”
“Got it.”
“Ah, Senior. Can I ask one thing before you go?”
“Hm?”
“What happened that a guy and a girl are already living together? And what’s this about her being a student...? Wait, don’t tell me...!”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but no, you idiot.”
I stared at Eunhwan in disbelief as she crossed both arms over her chest. Sure, there was material for misunderstanding, but still.
I glanced around carefully. It was still early, so the place was nearly empty. After confirming no one was close enough to overhear, I lowered my voice.
“...She’s an otherworlder. A beastkin.”
“Ooooh...!”
Eunhwan made an exaggerated show of surprise. Watching her eyes go round, I spun on my heel.
“I’ll go get her. Give her a quick explanation while I’m gone, hyung.”
“I don’t mind, but I don’t know all the details of your situation either.”
“...Then just leave it. I’ll explain when I get back.”
I shrugged on my coat and headed for the door. Before stepping out I glanced back once; the two of them were waving their hands in little flutters. Ignoring the sight, I opened the door and left.
The air outside was already quite chilly. Fallen leaves were starting to scatter here and there. Winter would be here soon.
“Haa.”
The small breath I exhaled shattered white against the cold air. Feeling the chill settle into my cheeks, I waited for Cecilia in front of our building.
The wait didn’t last long. Before long a familiar silhouette appeared in the distance.
“There she is.”
“...?”
The familiar silhouette lifted her head. She tilted it curiously for a moment, then quickened her steps with light little taps.
“Eunhyuk!”
“Welcome home, Cecilia.”
“Why are you out here? Are you just getting back?”
She’d been completely expressionless while walking over. The lively look that bloomed the instant she saw me made me smile too. Her eyes opened wide, the corners of her mouth lifted. Her steps brightened, and even under the hood I could see the silhouette of her cat ears giving a little twitch.
It wasn’t a huge change. But it was unmistakably a happy one.
“Something came up, so I’m taking a break from work for a while. I was just meeting up with some coworkers about it.”
“I see...”
Cecilia gave a small nod of understanding, then naturally took the lead and headed inside the building with me.
“...Are you okay for money? If you’re not working, you won’t be earning anything.”
“I’ve got a decent amount saved up, so it’s fine. And I’ll probably be able to start working again soon anyway.”
Our boss was the type who treasured his shop like his own life, after all. He was probably already throwing money at a quick restoration right about now.
“I see.”
Cecilia nodded along as we climbed the stairs side by side. She opened the door with a creak, set her bag down, and spoke.
“So we’re eating dinner together tonight, then?”
“About that, Cecilia.”
“Hm?”
At my words she whipped her head around to look at me. Gazing into those incredibly beautiful sky-blue eyes, I opened my mouth.
“My coworkers and I were talking about grabbing a meal together. Outside, at a restaurant. The boss is covering the bill.”
“Okay.”
“And while we were talking, your name came up a little, and, uh...”
I paused there to check her reaction. She was still looking at me with pure curiosity, so I continued.
“...They all said they’d like to meet you once. And eat together while we’re at it.”
“Hmm, how many people?”
“Two besides me. If you don’t want to, it’s completely fine to say no.”
After hearing that much, Cecilia went “Hmm” and rested a hand on her chin. She even furrowed her brow a little; she seemed to be thinking harder than I’d expected.
A quiet stretch of time passed. After fretting and fretting in silence, she finally spoke.
“I have one question.”
“Yeah.”
“...Are those people trustworthy?”
This time it was my turn to think. I dug through my memories for a moment before answering.
“Yeah.”
I’d known Jaeseop hyung for quite a while. Among my not-exactly-wide circle of people, he was the one I could rely on the most while still being close. Eunhwan I hadn’t known for nearly as long, honestly. But she was so easygoing that it hadn’t taken much time to get a read on her. She couldn’t lie to save her life and was friendly toward people. She wasn’t a bad kid.
“I can trust both of them. I’ve known them a decent while, and I’ll keep knowing them for a long time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
At that, Cecilia gave a small nod of acceptance. She still fretted a little longer, then finally opened her mouth again.
“Hmm. Okay, I’ll go.”
“...I feel bad asking after I already talked you into it, but are you sure? You get shy around people.”
“Haha... Well, it’ll be fine. They’re people you thought were okay, right? They won’t treat me badly.”
She laughed without much confidence and slipped her right hand under her hood, fidgeting as if she were grooming the fur there.
“And you said we’ll be knowing each other for a long time, right?”
“Yeah. That’s true.”
“Then we’ll probably meet someday anyway. No harm in meeting them early.”
“I’m still nervous, though,” she added with a soft little smile. The sight was so endearing and so admirable that I gave her head a light pat right over the hood.
“Nyaang.”
A cute little sound came back. Satisfied, I smiled and pulled my hand away.
“Let’s go, Cecilia. We’ll talk, eat a ton, and come back.”
“...Okay!”
With that we opened the door and stepped out again. The cold wind greeted us, but this time it didn’t feel cold at all.
And now, the present.
“Ooooh...!?”
Staring at the meat grilling across the entire grill, Cecilia’s eyes were sparkling brighter than I’d ever seen them.
“Here, eat plenty!”
Hyung was cheerfully grilling more meat while watching her, and...
“Can you tell me more about the other world~?”
Eunhwan, already flushed from just a few drinks, was asking in a friendly drawl with the corners of her mouth stretched wide.
...Huh.
How did things end up like this again...?