The Distance Between Us
Ugh… seriously, this is so annoying. Why have I been in such a bad mood lately? Lee Dohyun…. Is it because of him? No, wait. Why should I be in a bad mood because of Lee Dohyun? No way. He’s the one acting like this on purpose just to ruin my mood. Just because I asked him to pretend we don’t know each other, he’s acting all sulky. Besides, he had his own complaints about me, didn’t he? That’s why he agreed so quickly, right? Actually, wait—wasn’t Lee Dohyun in love with me? How can someone who claims to love me make a decision like that so easily? He didn’t even hesitate. Yeah… he didn’t even try to stop me or think it over; he just said "okay." I really don’t get it. Lee Dohyun, who do you think you are… to act like that? Who are you to treat me this way? I might be able to dislike you, but you shouldn’t be able to dislike me. And it wasn’t just because I didn’t like him—I just started at a new school, and I wanted to meet new people. We’ve known each other for so long, right? So I just wanted some space for a while. Does he not even remember that I was the one who took him out to play until we were in middle school? And then what? He immediately sticks to Do Yuhwa and grins like an idiot. Is he kidding me? He’s acting like someone who was just waiting to be liberated from me. Is he actually insane? And that charger—he only carried it around to lend it to me, didn’t he? And who does he think he is, lending his hoodie to Do Yuhwa? Last year, I wore that hoodie more than he did. He knows that, and yet he hands it over to her so easily? And what is Do Yuhwa thinking, just taking it and wearing it like that? No!! And why is Do Yuhwa even hanging out with Lee Dohyun anyway? What does she even see in him? He’s just too nice, he has no charm. If it weren’t for me back in middle school, he would’ve just been a total loser. Ugh, I don’t know. Either way, the two of them are grating on my nerves, and it’s giving me a headache. And why does it have to be Do Yuhwa? She’s the prettiest girl in our school. Why is he sticking to someone like that? What, so you have an eye for quality now? You wanted to hang out with someone better than me, is that it? So you want to get revenge on me? Because I said those things to you, you’re acting like a petty loser trying to get back at me. Yeah… that’s why he’s doing that stuff in front of me on purpose, just so I’ll see. Even that Pepero at the snack bar earlier. He said that stuff right in front of me? Because Yuhwa wanted it? That’s hilarious, really. He knows better than anyone that almond-flavored Pepero is my favorite. He’s the one who bought me tons of them on Pepero Day. But he buys them for her because she wants them? He’s doing it on purpose, obviously. I can’t see it as anything other than intentional. And I hate that Do Yuhwa is just accepting it, too. "1st Fan," my foot…. It’s so ridiculous. Does she think she’s some kind of celebrity? What, is she happy being treated like a princess by Lee Dohyun? Does she think I’ve never been treated like that? If anyone hasn’t been treated like that, it’s you, Do Yuhwa. She’s starting such pathetic little power games. Lee Dohyun, who’s treating you like a princess right now, was originally my guy. He used to treat me like that……. ……. Whatever. Let’s see how long he can keep this up. Do Yuhwa will definitely get burdened and bored of him soon. She’ll start worrying about what happens if he suddenly confesses. But even if Lee Dohyun confesses, there’s no way Do Yuhwa would accept him. Let’s see what you’ll do when you get dumped by Do Yuhwa, too. If you come crawling back to me then, I’m never taking you back. You jerk. You’re the one who threw this away. I… have nothing to regret. Yeah…. Ugh, before that, I’m so annoyed I could die if I just let this slide…. I have to say something to Lee Dohyun today. With that thought, Hyein waited for Lee Dohyun at the corner of the street.
. . .
Hyein waited for a long time at the corner in front of the officetel. Why isn’t he coming? He doesn’t even have any other friends to hang out with. Could it be? With Do Yuhwa…. Just as that thought crossed her mind, a phone rang loudly in the corner of the alley. Since it was a quiet street, the sound reached Hyein’s ears easily. She turned her head toward the noise. In her line of sight, the back of Lee Dohyun, who was about to turn the corner, briefly appeared. It’s… Lee Dohyun. He came all the way here, so where is he going all of a sudden? With that thought, Hyein moved to catch him. "Hey…!" She shouted, but her feet, which had been moving diligently, soon came to a dead stop. "Ah! The hoodie!" Lee Dohyun’s voice drifted from beyond the corner. A hoodie…? Is he talking to Do Yuhwa? She’s the only one he’d say that to. Are they already at the stage where they talk on the phone? She stood still, lost in her own thoughts. And by the time she moved again, Lee Dohyun had already vanished from sight.
I walked back the way I came. After turning the corner, I answered the phone.
Something I forgot. Something I forgot. Hmm….
Right, I’d put on a hoodie this morning. Since I’d handed it over to Yuhwa first thing, I hadn’t even realized it was the one I’d been wearing.
A faint laugh tickled my ears. "I’m near my house." "Oh, really? Should I give it to you tomorrow?" "That works too." "No, wait, I’ll come to your place. It’s my fault for wearing it away."
For some reason, Yuhwa was being uncharacteristically kind. Usually, she would have told me to come to her. But that "some reason" didn’t feel like a welcome change; it was actually a bit of a shame. Right, I shouldn’t call Yuhwa over here right now. I don’t know how long Hyein might be lurking out there, and revealing my home address is a problem in itself. In that case….
"Should I just come over now? Where are you?" I said. I suddenly thought it was for the best. Hyein was already staking out the alley, so I didn’t want to pass by her for no reason. This worked out well. I figured Hyein would be gone by the time I met Yuhwa and came back. I didn’t have anything major to do anyway.
"I’m at a PC bang right now." A PC bang…? Do Yuhwa? She doesn’t seem like the type to frequent PC bangs. There was no such setting in the original novel, either. "Really? Why are you at a PC bang?" "Just because I had nothing to do. So, are you coming?" "Yeah, which one is it?"
I got the address from Yuhwa. Yeah, I’ve got nothing to do, so I might as well go. And while I’m at it, I should make it clear that she shouldn’t treat me like a shuttle anymore. As I was heading toward the PC bang Yuhwa mentioned while checking the map on my phone, a notification popped up in real-time, taking over the top banner.
It was a notification that I’d been tagged in a story posted by Do Yuhwa. When I checked the story, there was a selfie of Yuhwa wearing my hoodie. And next to it was a playful text: "If you don’t come get it soon, it’s mine!!" Seeing that, the corners of my mouth twitched involuntarily.
* A PC bang a bit outside the school area. I guess this is the neighborhood where Do Yuhwa lives. I took the elevator and got off on the second floor. I looked around the fairly spacious interior, starting to search for Do Yuhwa. It didn’t take long before her familiar back of the head came into view. I don’t know if it was because the back of her head was familiar or because her beauty stood out even from behind. But what was a bit puzzling was that she was sitting alone.
"Why are you alone at a PC bang?" I approached her naturally and spoke first. "Ah—damn! You scared me!" Yuhwa reacted with a violent start. She turned her chair toward me to look at me. She was sitting with both knees pulled up to her chest. I briefly wondered if that was a comfortable position, and then the heavy thought hit me that it was quite dangerous to sit like that while wearing a skirt. Because of that, I quickly shifted my gaze to Yuhwa’s monitor. The screen I looked at didn’t seem to be for games or homework. It was just playing a drama.
"A drama? Are you watching this at a PC bang?" I couldn’t help but poke fun at her inefficient behavior. "So what? Can’t I watch this here?" She retorted boldly. "…Usually, people come here to play games, right? Anyway, why are you here alone?" Furthermore, since she was watching this drama all by herself, I couldn’t help but be curious. It’s not like she doesn’t have friends to hang out with. "Forget it, just take your hoodie." Yuhwa said that, stood up, and started unzipping the hoodie herself. "Ah, right." "I was going to go find you and give it to you, you know?" Yuhwa said, looking a bit sorry that I’d made the trip all the way here. "I know. I’m the one who said I’d come." "Yeah…, but did you eat?" "Eat? Dinner?" "Yeah, aren’t you hungry?"
It’s a bit ambiguous to call it dinner time, but it wasn’t impossible to eat. It was about time I started feeling hungry, anyway. Even she had only eaten Pepero for lunch earlier. She was probably talking about it because she was hungry herself. "You want to have dinner?" I guessed. Yeah, it wouldn’t be bad for me to grab dinner while I was at it. "Yeah, I’ll buy. Since you came all this way." Yuhwa said she would buy. Honestly, this was unexpected. I hadn’t even hoped for it. I mean… considering how she usually treated me like a shuttle, this was completely out of character. It was almost bizarre. Come to think of it, the fact that she said she’d come find me earlier was the same. I don’t know why she’s suddenly acting like this. "Since I’m buying, can I eat what I want?" "Yeah, do whatever."
We left the PC bang together. She said she wanted to eat tteokbokki. I didn’t have any major complaints about that choice. The only thing I was a bit annoyed about was that it was quite far away. I wondered if we really had to walk that far just to eat tteokbokki. How many minutes had we been walking? We entered a bustling street lined with various shops on both sides. It had gotten dark while we were walking, but the colorful lights everywhere chased away the shadows. Combined with the noise created by countless pedestrians, I could really feel that this was a busy street. The air entering my nose didn’t feel clean, but it felt refreshing. Just as I was feeling the atmosphere around me, "Isn’t that Do Yuhwa?" "Oh, you’re right!" Such voices were thrown toward us. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say they were thrown toward Yuhwa rather than 'us.' Well, it was a voice I was hearing for the first time, too…