Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Friday #6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"………."
"………."
The gondola carrying Lee Sea, Yoon Jiu, and Yoon Jia was wrapped in silence.
Lee Sea stared blankly out the window, Yoon Jiu gazed at her, and Yoon Jia alternated glances between the two with an uneasy look in her eyes.
Yoon Jiu kept opening and closing his mouth as if to speak, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything while stealing glances at Yoon Jia beside him.
About five minutes after the gondola had departed from the ground, Lee Sea's tightly shut lips finally parted.
"Jiu."
Without turning her gaze, she simply called his name, and it felt somehow cold to Yoon Jiu.
"Yeah."
"Why did you want to ride the Ferris wheel with me?"
"Because I wanted to ride it with you."
Lee Sea shook her head slowly and spoke again.
"Why did you want to ride the Ferris wheel with just me?"
"……."
With just that one added word, Yoon Jiu's mouth clamped shut.
To hear his answer, Lee Sea finally turned her gaze toward him.
Yoon Jiu clenched his fist as their shining eyes met.
Meanwhile, Yoon Jia quietly slid to the opposite corner to avoid getting in their way.
"How about this, then?"
"……Huh?"
"Last time, when we went to see that movie. What did you mean by saying that in front of Ijin?"
Yoon Jiu bit his lip hard.
After glancing at Lee Sea for a moment, he stepped forward as if he'd made up his mind and spoke.
"Sea."
"Yeah."
"I like you. I've liked you since we were kids. Go out with me."
Suddenly, Yoon Jia, who had been watching from the side, choked on her breath.
But the two of them kept their eyes locked on each other without looking away.
"……Will you answer my question first?"
"This is my answer, Sea."
Heat rose in Yoon Jiu's eyes.
Lee Sea could feel the intense longing he directed toward her.
"I see."
With his response to her question, she now knew exactly what he had been thinking when he accepted Seong Yurin's suggestion.
And why he had lied to her to lure her to that spot.
It was something she'd suspected nearly a hundred percent, but now it was confirmed directly.
Lee Sea turned her head away again.
Then, forcing her reluctant lips to move, she uttered the words she hadn't wanted to say.
Once she said this, there might be no going back.
After a brief moment in time but a deep internal struggle, Lee Sea's decision was firm.
"Sorry. I can't accept your feelings."
I didn't want to hurt you.
Lee Sea had put off this moment as long as possible.
Eventually, no matter what, someone was bound to get hurt.
She liked Yoon Jiu, her childhood friend, as a friend.
Though on the other side of that arrow, he harbored different feelings.
A groan of despair escaped Yoon Jiu's lips.
Yoon Jia looked at them both with trembling eyes.
"……Because of Seo Ijin?"
"………Yeah."
Thud. Thud.
Yoon Jiu slowly closed the distance between him and Lee Sea.
Yoon Jia, who had been quietly watching the two, suddenly stood up.
"W-Wait a sec. Oppa?"
She called him by a title she rarely used, showing just how rattled she was.
Worried that Yoon Jiu might do something to Lee Sea, Yoon Jia tried to grab onto him.
"It's not like that, so stay out of it."
Shaking off Yoon Jia, Yoon Jiu stood right in front of Lee Sea.
Lee Sea
was still looking out the window.
Her eyes held a hint of apology toward Yoon Jiu, but they were filled with even denser resolve.
"You like Seo Ijin that much?"
To the silent Lee Sea, Yoon Jiu poured out his words.
His handsome face twisted in frustration.
"What's he got that I don't? He doesn't even like you back. And what about the other girls? Why stay quiet with a guy like that……."
"Stop it, Jiu…."
Lee Sea couldn't even look at Yoon Jiu as he ranted incoherently about people who weren't there, his head hot with anger.
"O-Oppa. Even so, you can't talk like that. Ijin oppa and you... you're friends."
"Friends. Ha. Right, friends. ...Friends."
Frowning, Yoon Jiu plopped down beside Lee Sea.
"Sorry. I ended up badmouthing people who aren't here."
Seeing his self-deprecating expression, Lee Sea turned to look at him.
"Yeah. I get it. I understand perfectly."
Yoon Jiu muttered with his eyes closed.
His excitement had died down, but he didn't look anywhere near okay.
"It won't change from now on either? Am I ruined?"
"……Ha. Since when? Why? Seo Ijin?"
"What do I lack?"
Yoon Jiu's mutterings continued.
Lee Sea was confused about what to say.
Should she comfort him, or push him away further?
Choosing the former might seem like leaving room for hope and make things harder for him.
Choosing the latter... might mean she could no longer be close to him.
Was it impossible to just stay comfortable friends like before?
Even as she thought that inwardly, Lee Sea let out a wry, self-mocking smile.
Pretending nothing happened didn't make it so.
Even if she was oblivious, what about Yoon Jiu's feelings toward her?
If she put herself in his shoes—imagine confessing to Seo Ijin and getting rejected like this…….
Lee Sea stopped thinking any further.
Just the horrific hypothetical made her stomach churn.
In the end, all problems would resolve only when Yoon Jiu's feelings for her faded.
Lee Sea stood and approached Yoon Jia.
The left-behind Yoon Jiu buried his head between his knees, continuing his soliloquy.
Yurin will be sad.
If Yoon Jiu couldn't overcome this heartbreak and left the group.
Lee Sea tightly grasped Yoon Jia's hand.
And whispered to her.
Asking her to comfort Yoon Jiu.
Any words of comfort from her wouldn't reach him anyway. They might even stir resentment.
Hearing Lee Sea, Yoon Jia approached Yoon Jiu.
"Oppa…."
Yoon Jia awkwardly comforted him.
They bickered often, but their sibling bond was ultimately strong.
Yoon Jiu's eyes lit up as he received her clumsy comfort.
It was the look of someone who had resolved himself. His eyes burned even fiercer than before confessing to Lee Sea.
But since his head was buried in his knees, the other two didn't notice.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ When the gondola finished its journey through the sky and returned to the ground.
Their atmosphere wasn't so bad.
Though he avoided eye contact with her, Lee Sea inwardly sighed in relief at Yoon Jiu's awkward smile.
Yoon Jiu seemed to be recovering faster than expected.
Maybe after this break, he'd bounce back? Lee Sea pictured an optimistic future.
As they exchanged halting small talk, the next gondola touched down.
Out stepped Seo Ijin and his group.
Lee Soyun, Seong Yurin, and Hong Yeonseo looked worriedly between Lee Sea and Yoon Jiu.
But surprisingly, the mood didn't seem bad, leaving all three puzzled.
Lee Soyun and Seong Yurin patted their chests in relief—similar motions, but with very different vibes.
And Hong Yeonseo approached Seo Ijin with a smile, as if sharing some amusing story.
Meanwhile, Yoon Jiu watched her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Whoa, it's high."
In his previous life, this Ferris wheel would surely have been the world's largest.
The three who rode with me chatted at first, unable to focus, but as we ascended into the sky, even they pressed against the windows like kids, gazing out. The night view from such heights was stunning.
After disembarking, I dragged my increasingly tired body toward the parade route.
The crowds were thronged even at night, welcoming us.
The others decided to watch from a bit farther away, and I followed the excited Lee Soyun, who pulled me into the throng.
I'd love to watch from back there too.
But it was her birthday, so I went along with it.
That said, tiny Lee Soyun probably wouldn't be visible in this crowd….
"Want me to carry you?"
"C-Carry me? Talking about me like luggage. Say 'want a piggyback?' or 'want a shoulder ride?' or something. There are better ways to phrase it."
Lee Soyun grumbled but handed herself over to me.
I gave her the shoulder ride she wanted.
Kids on piggybacks were common with parents around, so we wouldn't stand out.
And she looked kinda like a kid at a glance.
"Eek!? S-So high!"
After riding a Ferris wheel that touched the sky, this reaction?
As we waited for the parade, Hong Yeonseo poked my arm.
"Ugh. I can't see well either."
So... she wants a ride too?
"……Two might be tough."
"Tch."
Hong Yeonseo clicked her tongue.
Then Yoon Jiu wedged in—literally squeezing between me and Hong Yeonseo.
"Want me to give you a ride?"
"……Huh? Uh…."
Hong Yeonseo stammered, flustered.
Yoon Jiu looked at the hesitant girl and bent his knees.
"Hop on."
"N-No. Over there... I think climbing on a bench would work fine."
Intimidated by his forwardness, Hong Yeonseo refused.
As she walked away, Yoon Jiu dusted off his knees and stood.
Then he looked at me and said,
"Hey. We're friends, right?"
What? So random and lame.
"Yeah. We are."
Hearing my reply, Yoon Jiu smirked.
"Right. Best friends."
"Uh-huh."
Yoon Jiu glanced at Lee Soyun, then leaned in close to whisper just to me.
"Friends share even half a bean, right?"
"……What?"
Leaving behind that cryptic remark, Yoon Jiu followed after Hong Yeonseo.