A New Encounter, A New Acquaintance
The moment someone clamped down on my shoulder, I flinched hard.
Someone who knows me? …Who?
The voice sounded vaguely familiar once I actually listened to it…
Turning those thoughts over in my head, I slowly looked back.
And what I saw was—
"…Ah, Heewon."
It was Heewon, a regular at our convenience store.
Being Saturday, she seemed to be off work — she was dressed in casual clothes instead of her usual suit.
Running into her somewhere other than the store felt oddly novel. She came by the market to shop fairly often, but I'd never once crossed paths with her here before.
With a faintly glad feeling, I opened my mouth.
"It's been a while. Have you been doiiiing well?!"
"Did that convenience store go under?!"
And under the force of her shaking my shoulders for all she was worth, I was—!?
W-wait, too much shak—!
"Hee, Heewon! Time-out, just a second…!"
"I'd been so busy for a while, and I finally made time yesterday to go, and the building was just wrecked! There was construction going on or something, and I tried to find out what happened but I don't even have anyone's contact info…!"
"Time-out……!"
Was she always this strong…?!
And for all how close she seemed to be with Jaeseop, they didn't even have each other's numbers?
Ah, wait, my head's spinning…
"Uh, huh?"
"Uweh…?"
Just as the world started to whirl in front of my eyes, the shaking suddenly stopped.
Fighting through a mild dizziness, I rolled my eyes and took in the surroundings.
The market street. Stares that were now openly fixed on us.
Heewon's two hands still clamped on both my shoulders.
And—
"L-let's just calm down for a second…?"
Cecilia, looking tense, gently took hold of Heewon's arms.
She'd been so scared she'd hidden behind me — and yet here she was, trying to stop an agitated Heewon. I couldn't help but feel a little admiration.
Even though she was frightened herself…
It was impressive.
"Ah, aah. I'm sorry."
That careful, tension-filled touch seemed to be enough to settle Heewon down. She flinched in surprise and hurriedly pulled her hands off my shoulders.
Then she stared past me for a moment without moving, until—
"…Huh?"
She tilted her head, as if only just now noticing Cecilia.
"Wait, is that…?"
"…Who is that person, Eunhyuk?"
Heewon, eyes sparkling in front of me, and Cecilia, whispering from behind. Caught halfway between the two of them, I spoke quietly.
"…Shall we move somewhere else?"
I could feel the stares and the murmuring pouring in from every direction.
At least these weren't the same looks as before — the ones that treated her like some rare animal on display. If that counted as a silver lining, well… maybe.
"So young, and already…"
"Tsk tsk tsk…"
"This is why men and women…"
"…That boy is really…"
"A two-timer, that's what he is. A two-timer."
…Actually, this might hurt even more.
Yeah. Well. Right.
…I'd almost forgotten that market streets are full of people with far too much free time and far too many opinions.
"Don't go cheating, young man!"
"A man should only date one woman at a time!"
"But both of those young ladies are real lookers… Guess the boy's got something going for him."
It's not a love triangle, aunties and uncles.
I could feel the muttering slowly starting to mix with laughter. Feeling my own face go stiff even as my heart oddly lightened a little… I led the two of them somewhere else.
"First of all, I'm sorry…"
"No, well, um, yeah."
And so we arrived at an unmanned café.
It was a place that had opened recently near the market, and true to the "unmanned" name, the prices were quite cheap. More importantly, there were surprisingly few people. Perfect for a quiet conversation.
"After finishing overtime on top of overtime, I finally made it to the convenience store, and it was, you know… completely wrecked, so I got so worried that…"
"Worried about me? Or the store?"
"…About Jaeseop."
"Wow. Honest of you."
At my words, Heewon hung her head, looking embarrassed. Honestly, I was the one who felt awkward.
These two were so… pure.
Two full-grown adults who hadn't even exchanged numbers, just stuck in that sweet-and-bitter stage of mutual interest. Even elementary schoolers these days didn't operate like that.
It was kind of fascinating.
"I'll give you his number in a bit, so you two can sort that out yourselves. And, um…"
I tried to change the subject, but nothing suitable came to mind, so I trailed off. Scratching the back of my head, I glanced sideways.
"…"
A wary cat was staring back at me.
Pressed snugly against one of my arms, Cecilia was shooting Heewon a look full of open suspicion.
"Looks like you've made an enemy."
"I-I'm sorry. I just came running at you out of nowhere…"
Heewon bowed her head belatedly, but it didn't seem to help much. First impressions had clearly been terrible — which was understandable.
Still, if things stayed this frosty, it would be awkward for me too. I was just thinking I should try to mediate somehow when—
"…Is she Jaeseop oppa's girlfriend?"
"Oh?"
"Huh?!"
Both Heewon and I flinched at Cecilia's words. Heewon in particular nearly fell out of her chair.
"I heard about it when we had dinner before. That there was someone he ran into a lot at the convenience store…. …Is that person her?"
"Ah~. Now that you mention it, yeah, that did come up. Yeah. That's her. Not his girlfriend, though."
"Aha…"
A flicker of curiosity mixed into Cecilia's eyes. Under that gaze, Heewon was still stuck in shock, face flushed, stammering incoherently.
"Oppa said she was a really kind, sensible person…"
"O-oh, really?"
"But. ……"
"Ugh."
Cecilia tilted her head without another word. At that tiny, trivial gesture alone, Heewon clutched at her chest with a thoroughly devastated expression.
…Poor thing.
Even if she'd brought it on herself, I still felt bad for her.
Hmm. Maybe I should help a little?
"She is a sensible person, for the record. She only gets like that when it comes to Jaeseop."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Actually, she gave us a gift once. Remember the white wine?"
"White wine? …Ah!"
After a moment of thought, Cecilia let out a short sound of recognition, as if the memory had clicked into place.
"The person who gave us that sweet alcohol back then?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"It was really delicious. Mmm."
She said it while smacking her lips. Heewon looked at her with a strangely hopeful gaze.
"Really? You liked it…?"
"Well, ……yeah!"
After a moment of hesitation, a bright answer followed, and—
"I'm so glad~."
—only then did Heewon relax, smiling with visible relief. Being a beauty to begin with, even just that was enough to make her look quite lovely.
"I fretted so much over whether you'd like it~. So. Was it good?"
"Y-yeah."
"…How cute~. Ah, I happen to have another bottle at home. Want it?"
"Really…?!"
Still clinging to my arm, Cecilia leaned forward eagerly. Her eyes shone with delight, and Heewon beamed right back at her.
At least both sides seemed to have let their guard down a little. That was a relief.
…Though if my memory served, that wine had originally been a gift someone else gave her. Of course, it had been a gift Heewon herself hadn't particularly welcomed…
Well, Cecilia seemed to like it, so if she was offering, I'd gratefully accept.
"Of course! Ah, but before that, do me one favor."
"A favor?"
"Yeah. Something simple."
Chatting cheerfully with Cecilia, Heewon suddenly glanced my way — looking for permission. Well, it should be fine, right?
I gave a small nod.
"…Would you call me Heewon unnie?"
Ah. Thankfully, a perfectly reasonable request. If she'd asked to pet her or something, I'd have shut it down immediately.
"Heewon unnie?"
"Auuugh~~!!"
Cecilia tilted her head slightly as she said it. At that single phrase, Heewon hugged herself with an expression of pure bliss.
I wondered if it could really make someone that happy — but at least it was nice to look at.
"I'll bring it over today~. Eunhyuk, could I get your number along with Jaeseop's?"
"Sure, sure."
"Thank you, unnie…"
Looking back and forth between a blissful Heewon and a still slightly awkward Cecilia, I nodded. They were getting along surprisingly fast.
…Was this also the power of alcohol, when you thought about it?
"Ah, unnie, I have one question…"
"Hm?"
Cecilia spoke up then. Quietly letting go of my arm, she leaned toward Heewon and said—
"…Unnie, do you like Jaeseop oppa?"
"Huh?! Uh, ah, u-uhh."
"Then why haven't you confessed…?"
A truly simple question that was somehow hard to answer. I was curious myself, so I quietly watched Heewon as her eyes darted around.
"I-I like him, but I just can't seem to say it properly, you know…? I'm already happy enough with how things are now, and I'm worried that if I confess, things might get awkward…"
In the end, what came out after a moment was a thoroughly ordinary answer. For all how unusual their relationship seemed, the reason behind it wasn't anything special… I just nodded.
"U-uhh. …Aha."
Cecilia nodded too. Somehow, though, her nod seemed mixed with understanding and quiet acceptance.
"…Well then, I should get going."
"Oh? Leaving already?"
"Ahaha…. Well, um, I actually had plans. I only meant to grab some groceries and go, but then I got carried away."
"Busy even on a Saturday. Ah, give me your phone."
Heewon handed over her phone, and I entered my number and Jaeseop's before handing it back. She took it with a full, radiant smile. A moment later she stood and bowed to us.
"Sorry for grabbing you out of nowhere. You too, Cecilia. Sorry for scaring you?"
"Mm, it's okay. I wasn't that scared."
"Aww, so cute. Let's hang out again sometime? Bye-bye!"
With a final smile and a wave, Heewon left the café. The little jingle of the door was the last sound, and then quiet settled over the place.
"…That was like a storm. Really, yeah."
She hadn't always been someone with that much energy. Meeting a beastkin she adored so much in person must have sent her half into overdrive.
Well, looking at it that way, maybe it was lucky she hadn't charged straight at Cecilia.
"…Happy enough already, but worried a confession might make things awkward…"
"Hm? Ah, what Heewon said earlier? Well, if someone likes a person but can't confess, it's usually for a reason like that…"
…Though saying it out loud, it didn't exactly feel like someone else's problem.
Trying to hide what I was thinking, I laughed an "Ahaha…" and turned toward Cecilia.
"…I think I kind of get it."
"You do?"
"Yeah. …Yeah?! Ah, j-just a little! I only get it a little bit."
"U-uhh."
And then, watching Cecilia suddenly fluster, I got flustered right along with her.
It had been a while since I'd seen her react like this.
…Was the romance topic embarrassing for her?
"…Yeah."
After a stretch of flustered blushing, Cecilia suddenly rested her head against my shoulder. I reached out naturally and gently stroked her hair.
"…Mm♪"
A cute little sound tapped against my ear, and a warm weight settled on my shoulder.
It felt good.
"Unnie said she'd bring it today, right…?"
After enjoying that for a while, Cecilia spoke up. When I glanced over, she continued.
"…Let's drink it together tonight?"
"You want to drink?"
"Yeah. I just… feel like it."
Cecilia looked up at me with upturned eyes as she said it. Who in this world could refuse a request that cute?
I nodded, and as a sign of agreement, gently stroked her ear.