Connections (10)
Saturday. The day we were supposed to gather in one place for our group project. The morning felt unusually peaceful. I opened the closet wide and rummaged through my clothes. Since I usually just threw on an outer layer over my school uniform, I hadn't put much thought into it… but this guy, the way he dressed was something else. My own sense of style wasn't great either, but his was on another level. At least stick to the basics, I told myself. Where did he even get all these flashy clothes? Sigh… Maybe I should set aside a day to go shopping with him sometime.
I settled on a plain hoodie and a pair of loose-fitting pants, then grabbed my bag. I'd probably need my laptop. My gut told me the girls wouldn't be bringing one.
*
The café Ji-su had scouted out beforehand. I arrived to find her already waiting.
“Oh! You got here pretty early!”
I happened to run into Ji-su first. She looked surprised that I'd shown up ahead of schedule, even though she herself was already there. Truthfully, I'd kind of expected her to be early. Couldn't explain why, but the feeling had been there.
“Yeah. I figured you'd be early too.”
“Me? Why?! I mean, I really did get here fast, though.”
“Just… had a feeling.”
“That's a compliment… right?”
“Of course. It'd be harder to actually insult you.”
Yeah. There probably wasn't anyone who could badmouth this girl. She never even appeared in the original story, yet here she was now, getting dragged into all this mess because of me. Thinking about it that way… maybe even Ji-su, who would've lived a normal life, got tangled up in this because I messed with the original timeline.
“Really? Then I'm glad.”
“Yeah. Let's head inside.”
Ji-su and I went into the café together. As expected, neither Yu-hwa nor Hye-in had arrived yet. We'd both come earlier than planned.
“Let's grab seats first. There are four of us.”
“Yeah, there's a good spot over there!”
We found a table, and just as we were about to order drinks—
“What, you two are already here?”
Yu-hwa walked in and spotted us. She'd arrived early too. That was unexpected from her.
“Whoa—! Yu-hwa, you're seriously gorgeous! You look like a doll!!”
Ji-su blurted out her admiration without any filter the moment she saw Yu-hwa. Honestly, even I was a little surprised when I saw Yu-hwa in casual clothes. No wonder she had princess syndrome. Someone who knew she was pretty and didn't bother hiding it… she really was breathtaking. She wore a white short-sleeved dress that seemed to capture all the warmth of spring sunlight. It wasn't skin-tight, and the hem fell gracefully just above her knees. It almost looked like a proper dress.
“Right? Do-hyun, isn't Yu-hwa super pretty?”
Ji-su turned to me, fishing for agreement.
“Yeah, she definitely is.”
No reason to lie, so I just said it honestly. Ji-su stared at me, eyes wide with shock.
“Whoa… no way. He actually said she's pretty!! Yu-hwa—! Do-hyun said you're pretty!!”
What? She asked me that question, and now she's acting shocked when I answer truthfully? We're not elementary school kids here.
“……I know.”
At Ji-su's over-the-top reaction, Yu-hwa glanced at me and replied in her usual prim tone. Classic Do Yu-hwa. The princess was still a princess.
“Anyway, let's go order drinks. What does everyone want? I'll pay with my card…”
I brushed off the sudden commotion and pulled out my card.
“Wait, Hye-in isn't here yet.”
Ji-su seemed determined to wait for Hye-in. She really was thoughtful.
“Ugh, Seo Hye-in again? There's nothing about that girl I like.”
Yu-hwa crossed her arms, her voice dripping with displeasure. People really could be that different. Still, Hye-in wasn't actually late yet. We'd just all arrived early.
“I'll call her! Just wait a sec.”
Ji-su picked up her phone and dialed Hye-in.
. . .
“Hye-in said she'll be here soon.”
After hanging up, Ji-su relayed the message.
“Really? Then should we wait?”
I asked, still holding my card.
“She said to go ahead and order without her.”
“Got it. What are you two having?”
I took their orders naturally. It seemed easier if one person handled everything. Yu-hwa wanted a strawberry smoothie. Ji-su and I both went for iced americanos. I committed the orders to memory and headed to the counter alone.
“Two iced americanos and one strawberry smoothie, please.”
“Got it. Three drinks total?”
“Yes.”
A moment later, the buzzer went off. I carried the drinks back on a tray.
“Hmm… I don't really know the senior either.”
“Yeah? He looked like he might be on the student council.”
“Not sure. What about you, Do-hyun?”
“He's been…”
While I was gone, the two of them had been talking quietly, facing each other. The moment I returned, they both clamped their mouths shut like they'd been caught. I didn't pay it any mind and handed out the drinks before sitting down next to Ji-su. We'd sat like this at school too.
“Oh, looks like Hye-in's here. I'll go meet her real quick.”
Ji-su glanced at her phone, said that, and left her seat. That left just Yu-hwa and me. We sipped our drinks in silence.
“I-do, sit here.”
Yu-hwa suddenly patted the chair beside her with her palm.
“Why?”
“……I don't want to sit next to her.”
Her expression was full of obvious distaste. Not that I could blame her. Still, switching seats felt awkward.
“Just sit. You sat next to me at school too.”
“That was unavoidable. This is different.”
“……”
I hesitated, unsure what to do.
“Then I'll move.”
Yu-hwa started to stand, ready to switch seats herself. Geez… she really hated Seo Hye-in that much.
“Ah, I'll go.”
Watching her, I finally got up. Ji-su's stuff was already piled on the seat next to me anyway, so it would look weirder if Yu-hwa tried to sit there now.
A little later, Hye-in returned with Ji-su, drink in hand. She sat down next to Ji-su without a second thought. Ji-su glanced at me sitting beside Yu-hwa but didn't comment, just accepted it.
“Alright, should we start gathering information together?”
At Ji-su's suggestion, we all quietly got to work. The girls pulled out their tablets while I opened my laptop.
*
Once we'd finished collecting information and pooled everything together, we ended up all looking at my laptop in the middle.
“Want to make the PowerPoint right now?”
I said as I opened the program. Honestly, making the slides was simple. I'd already downloaded several templates just in case.
“Oh… you're really well-prepared.”
Ji-su sounded impressed—maybe even a little surprised.
“Well… it's better to get it done quickly.”
Just as I was about to brush it off—
“I-do, are you good at studying too?”
Yu-hwa, sitting beside me, asked out of nowhere. Studying… Well, I used to be good at it. Not sure about this body in this life, though. Whether that carried over here was another question.
“I-do?”
But apparently the important part of that question wasn't the studying. Ji-su zeroed in on the nickname.
“Yeah, it's a nickname for Lee Do-hyun. I made it up. What do you think? Pretty good, right?”
Yu-hwa answered Ji-su with a proud voice.
“Yeah, it's cute. I was wondering what it meant.”
“But do you know what I-do calls me? ‘Do-yu.’ Isn't that the worst?”
“Really? I think Do-yu is cute too.”
The two of them laughed lightly as they chatted. Then—
“Let's just finish the PowerPoint. I… don't have much time.”
Hye-in spoke up, addressing the two of them. Honestly, hearing her say that sent a chill down my spine. It felt like she'd just given Yu-hwa another reason to dislike her. I'd been trying to be careful lately…
“Why? Got another appointment after this?”
Yu-hwa shot Hye-in a sideways glance, her voice sharp. This was turning into an emergency. Yu-hwa wasn't exactly the patient type, and Hye-in's words had clearly rubbed her the wrong way.
“Yeah. But even aside from that, I'd rather we just focus and get it done fast. Chatting just drags things out.”
Hye-in smiled as she spoke. On the surface, it looked pleasant enough.
“That's rich coming from someone who double-booked.”
“Whoa, whoa, you guys…?”
Ji-su's troubled expression caught my eye between their back-and-forth. Ha… this wasn't good.
“Enough. I'll just make the PowerPoint myself. Let's call it here for today.”
I closed my laptop with my hand and spoke. My voice probably carried some irritation. After that, the table fell silent for a while.
*
In the end, we all left the café together. Honestly, even I was a little angry just watching it happen. More than anything, I felt bad for Ji-su.
“Well, I'll head out first.”
Hye-in gave a curt, formal goodbye and left. She really must have had another appointment. Ji-su saw her off with the gentlest voice she could manage.
“Are you two heading home now too?”
Ji-su asked, glancing between us. The way things had ended clearly bothered her.
“I'm hungry. What about you guys?”
Since I didn't want to part on this note either, I casually suggested we grab food together.
“Then let's eat together?! There are lots of good places around here…!”
Ji-su reacted like she'd just heard the best news. Her emotions were always written all over her face. She seemed a little simple sometimes. Not that I minded—if anything, I was relieved she reacted that way.
“Yeah, sounds good.”
Yu-hwa didn't seem to have any complaints either. She glanced at me once before agreeing.
“Whoa—! Great. Then I'll look something up!!”
Ji-su immediately perked up and started searching for restaurants on her phone.
“What do you want to eat? Anything you can't have?”
“I like pretty much everything. But I do prefer spicy stuff.”
While Yu-hwa and I discussed, I stepped back a little. It was probably better to let the girls decide on food.
. . .
We'd been walking around the main street for a bit when—
“Ah, it's Olive Young! Yu-hwa, should we stop by for a bit?”
“Oh, sure. I was planning to go anyway.”
On the way to lunch, the two of them suddenly stopped in front of Olive Young and wouldn't move. What exactly was Olive Young to girls…? And Ji-su had said “look around”…?
“Do-hyun, can we stop by there real quick?! Wanna come with?”
Ji-su turned to ask me. Right then, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. The steady, persistent buzz told me it was a call.
“Ah, I'll take this call real quick and catch up.”
I pulled out my phone as I answered. The caller ID read “Hana Bi.” Seeing that name on the screen brought an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
“Yeah, got it. We'll be browsing!”
Ji-su and Yu-hwa went into Olive Young while I looked for a quieter spot to take the call. Somehow, I'd ended up in a secluded alley within the busy shopping district. People were smoking here. Well… couldn't be helped. Just as I was about to answer—
“Hey, you drinking later?”
“Yeah. Planning to drink at the pavilion in Blue Park.”
“You got girls?”
“Why the hell would I drink if there weren't? Think before you talk, dumbass.”
“Who? Wait, is that Seo Hye-in chick coming?”
“She's just a backup. I already asked her to drink with us before, but she said she doesn't drink. She's such a pain. That part really pisses me off.”