White Lies
Riha Side.
First, let me say one thing. No matter how small and light Aju is, she is still a human being. At the very least, that means she weighs as much as a sack of rice.
So.
“Haah, haah… huuh…”
“Ri-Riha oppa, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah… haah, haah… I’m perfectly fine.”
“You don’t look fine at all…”
Having just gotten home, I was drenched in sweat even though winter was approaching, and my breathing had grown incredibly ragged. Carrying Aju up the stairs really had been too much after all…
But still, as a guy, there was no way I could embarrassingly say something like “It’s hard, can I put you down?” halfway through!
“Here’s some water. Drink it slowly.”
“Yeah, yeah… thanks. Gulp, gulp. Ack. Cough, cough.”
“Riha oppa!? Jeez… I told you to drink slowly.”
“Cough, cough… sorry.”
“Really… hehe.”
Aju wipes my face—which had spat the water back out after I choked—with her own handkerchief. Throughout it all, she wears a gentle smile.
“Oh, Hahu. Were you good while we were gone?”
As Daeho—who seemed to have just returned home—approaches us, Aju, unaware of the truth, strokes Hahu’s head in greeting. Daeho accepts the touch with a gesture he has grown used to.
“You look like you’re in a better mood now.”
“Yes, petting Hahu makes me feel incredibly good!”
And I found myself wearing a pleased expression at the sight of the harmonious siblings.
After returning home and sweating so much, I quickly showered and then ate the meal Aju had prepared. Once the cleanup was finished, Aju, Daeho, and I sat together at the living room table.
“All right, tell me. What exactly was that about earlier?”
“…Yes.”
In truth, Daeho had already told me something beforehand. The reason he hadn’t informed me about this incident on purpose wasn’t only because he didn’t want to worry me.
The biggest cause, he said, was the conflict between Hwayeon and Aju at the time. Once I heard that, the hurt feelings I’d had about not being told had already flown away long ago.
“First of all… the reason I didn’t tell you about this, oppa… is simply because I thought it was something that would pass with time. It’s absolutely not for any other reason.”
Anyone could see that Aju was framing it as her own fault out of consideration for Hwayeon. She was even avoiding my eyes slightly and fidgeting her fingers as if advertising that she was lying… Seeing her like this, I let out a deep sigh inside.
Aju, lying from the very first sentence… Haa.
The reason both Daeho and I are sighing is because of Aju’s personality—always showing consideration for Hwayeon even in a situation like this. Still, there’s no point saying anything else to Aju when she’s desperately trying to hide it.
“I understand. That part does sting a little. But go on and tell me the rest.”
“I’m sorry… But oppa, to be honest, I don’t know the exact, clear reason either.”
“What?”
“It’s just… the timing wasn’t clearly set, so I don’t really understand the cause myself.”
After listening to Aju, I glance sideways at Daeho. He gives a small nod.
It doesn’t seem like she’s lying about this part.
“When did it start?”
“The moment I clearly felt something was wrong… was around last summer.”
That was right around the time Aju had stopped coming to see me. I had assumed she was simply busy studying and hadn’t reached out, but she had been struggling all alone like that… Tsk.
“At first she only gave vague answers to whatever I said. Then she gradually started making excuses to brush me off… and now she doesn’t even listen to me at all.”
“Huu… Does your homeroom teacher know about this?”
“Yes. Our homeroom teacher knows too. And that teacher is actually…”
While mentioning the homeroom teacher, Aju hesitates for a moment.
“It’s Eunhye unnie.”
She drops a rather shocking statement.
“…What?”
“Our homeroom teacher… is Eunhye unnie.”
“…”
I’m quite stunned right now.
First, I’m surprised that woman is Aju’s homeroom teacher. No wonder the two of them didn’t seem particularly awkward when they met at the funeral. So that’s why she got prickly when I—of all people, after not keeping in touch—asked why she was suddenly worrying about Aju now.
And the other surprising part is this:
“So that woman knew you were in that situation and simply left you to deal with it?”
“…This isn’t Eunhye unnie’s fault.”
“Your teacher not helping her student when she’s struggling isn’t the teacher’s fault?”
“Eunhye unnie has her own position to consider. It’s not like I’m being openly bullied. From the beginning, the whole school already knows I’m related to Eunhye unnie. If she took my side in a situation like this…”
I understand what Aju is trying to say. But understanding it doesn’t mean I can accept it.
After all, the Eunhye I knew at least…
“Tsk. So that woman hasn’t done a single thing to actually help you?”
“She sometimes calls me in and encourages me to endure just a little longer. That alone gives me tremendous strength.”
“…Haa.”
Gives you strength, she says.
From the way she had been walking with her head down earlier, it hadn’t looked like she was gaining any strength at all.
More than that…
“…”
I can’t ask Daeho anything right this moment. But this guy would notice anyway.
Damn it. Hearing Daeho’s words that only I could hear, I almost cursed out loud. This was probably because of the fight with Hwayeon as well.
Haa… Seriously. Why does she keep showing that kind of consideration?
“Actually, there’s only half a year left now. So Riha oppa, please don’t worry too much. It’s not like the kids are hitting me or bullying me out in the open.”
Aju is… how should I put it.
She has always been kind and full of consideration. But perhaps as a reaction to that… she had come to treat lying as the natural thing to do.
I’m fine. It’s nothing. I’m not struggling at all.
I have never once gotten angry at Aju for telling these kinds of lies. Because… if I were truly reliable, she wouldn’t have needed to lie to me in the first place.
So this is my fault.
“Yeah. If that’s what you’re saying…”
When I called Aju’s name and entered the school earlier, I clearly heard whispering voices loud enough for us to catch.
Aju must have been hearing those kinds of voices the entire time she was at school. The reason she came out so late on the first day I went to pick her up was surely because she didn’t want to hear them.
And you’re telling me that’s not bullying?
That it’s okay?
“For today, I’ll let it go at this.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Lie.
The subject who can’t even smile properly because of the guilt of lying. Really…
“Aju.”
“Yes?”
I carefully place my right hand on the head of Aju, who is forcing an awkward smile, and gently stroke it.
“…Oppa.”
Aju looks up at me as I stroke her hair. Given her small frame, the head in my hand feels tiny, and even her fidgeting fingers look incredibly small.
Strangely, only the eyes on that small face sparkle brightly. Almost every part of Aju is small.
The one thing this tiny Aju learned before becoming an adult was… how to lie so she wouldn’t cause worry to others.
I know it was that kind of situation. I know she had no choice but to grow up that way.
But.
“Hang in there just a little longer.”
“Yes, Riha oppa.”
Knowing all that, I don’t want to simply watch over this Aju. At least in front of me, I want her to lean on me as much as she wants. At least in front of me, I don’t want her telling those kinds of lies.
You feel the same way, don’t you, you blockhead.
Daeho doesn’t avoid my gaze; he simply stares back. That alone is enough.
There are many times when words aren’t even necessary between me and this guy.
To put it in a cringy way, Daeho and I are perfectly in sync.
After the conversation with Aju ends, she stays in the living room saying she’ll continue studying. After glancing at her, I return to the room with Daeho.
Daeho brings up the main topic the moment we enter the room. Seriously, why didn’t you do anything when I wasn’t around?
“Why didn’t you do anything?”
“Tsk, what kind of answer is that?”
Like me? Did I do something that special…?
No, more than that.
“Forget it. First we need to properly understand the current situation. Hey, do you know who’s isolating Aju like that?”
“Then starting tomorrow, narrow the investigation down to those guys. Find out why they’re doing it.”
“Anyway, I’m right beside Aju. Neither yesterday nor today did I see anyone who looked like a stalker. You didn’t either, right?”
There was a strange pause in Daeho’s answer, but I didn’t pay it any mind right now. The priority was to resolve this matter somehow.
“I want to give those bastards a solid blow somehow. What would be the best way…?”
“…What the hell is this guy saying?”
I glare at Daeho, who—as her older brother—said something that shows he doesn’t understand Aju at all. Honestly, I never expected those words from him.
“Do you think Aju is some kind of saint? As you know, she’s just an ordinary high school girl.”
“In a situation where that Aju is suddenly being isolated without even knowing the reason… do you think she’ll think well of the people behind it?”
“Like you said, she might not want that. She herself would believe that’s the right thing, and if it’s Aju, she’d convince herself that’s her true heart. However.”
Aju is fundamentally kind and deeply considerate. Both Daeho and I know that well, and the students bullying her surely know it too.
That’s why those guys act without hesitation. They believe that even if they do this to Aju, there’s no chance they’ll suffer any consequences.
…Fuck. Thinking about it again really pisses me off.
“Would Aju really be able to smile and watch as the kids who bullied her graduate smiling like nothing ever happened?”
“What do you think? For a kind kid like Aju… could she really do that?”
This is a cheap question. The answer is already decided, and I already know how Daeho will respond, yet I ask anyway.
“You know it well.”
I smirk.
Yes, you always need to say it out loud like that before you steel your resolve.
Then we’re ready now, aren’t we?
After all, one of us is a jobless bum and the other is a cat. No matter what kind of mess we cause, there’s nothing to lose.
“Oh, then we’ll need some items.”
“Yeah. For espionage work, this kind of thing is basic.”
I turn on the computer and visit a certain site. After ordering the “item” from there—
“It’s not like I bought a wiretap. It’s just… a substitute for one.”
Yes, eavesdropping and recording are basics in espionage.
Besides, this isn’t illegal. Because—
“After all, it’s not something a person did, so what could be illegal about it?”
“From now on, your name is Black Box.”
Daeho sighs at my words and stares at the item he will soon wear with a complicated expression. It is a state-of-the-art product of civilization that even comes with recording functionality.
The name of that item is—
“You’ve made it big. You got yourself a several-hundred-thousand-won accessory~”