Date (1)
The next afternoon.
"Wake uuuup!"
"Whaaa—!"
"Kyaaah!"
Jeong-a and I, who'd been sleeping soundly in bed, jolted awake as the covers were yanked off and a deafening voice drilled straight into our ears.
I shot upright, head whipping around, and found Seoyeon standing there with her hands on her hips, fuming as she glared at us.
"Wh-what?! What's going on?!"
"……What time is it."
"What time… it's three."
I answered after checking the clock on the wall, and her face twisted like she didn't care for the answer one bit.
"And your exam? Did you do well?"
"……My exam? Of course I did well. While Hajun was snuggled up in bed with that bitch Jeong-a, I got up first thing in the morning and took it just fine."
Seoyeon bit out every word, seething, while Jeong-a sat beside me half-asleep, reading the room with a dazed look.
So basically, she was just as exhausted from screwing all night, still dragged herself up at dawn to sit an exam, and then came home to find us still sleeping — and that pissed her off.
"Fine, Hajun's one thing. But you……"
"Hey. Drop the 'this bitch, that bitch' talk already."
"……You're talking down to me too!"
"I'll stop. Jeong-a noona."
"O-oh? Uh… okay…"
Caught in the crossfire like a shrimp between two whales, Jeong-a just rolled her eyes back and forth, gauging the mood.
"……Doesn't Jeong-a unnie have work? Can she really just sleep all day like this?"
"…………Ah! I—I should go! I haven't written a single word in days — my buffer ran out yesterday and I completely forgot!"
Jeong-a stared at me blankly for a second at Seoyeon's question, then scrambled out of bed and started grabbing her clothes.
She bolted out of the house even faster than the day she'd barged in after pounding on our door.
"…………"
"…………"
We watched her go, then turned and met each other's eyes.
One look at Seoyeon's face told me she still hadn't cooled off.
No — if anything, now that I'd taken Jeong-a's side, she looked outright sulky.
I knew exactly how to handle this.
"Seoyeon."
"What!"
"Want to go on a date?"
"…………Huh?"
Ever since things between Seoyeon and me had turned into this, my daily routine had been nothing but home and the gym.
And Seoyeon, following me, had spent her life cooped up indoors the same way.
We'd never once gone out on an actual date.
Sure, we'd left the house — but almost always for something as mundane as the convenience store downstairs.
"If you don't want to, just say so————"
"No! I—I do! For real? We're really going on a date?"
The Seoyeon who'd been icing over the whole room with that sharp glare vanished, replaced by a puppy that threw herself into my arms and nuzzled her face against mine.
If I'd known she'd like it this much, I would've taken her out every now and then — not constantly, but sometimes.
Watching her light up like this, I almost felt guilty.
"Yeah. For real, for real."
"Kyaaaa! Hurry! Let's go right now! What should we do? A movie? A café? An escape room?"
She latched onto my arm and tried to drag me straight out the door. I blocked her and tried to calm her down.
"W-wait! I just woke up! I haven't even showered!"
"What are you doing! Get up! Go wash! Put clothes on!"
A second ago she'd been hauling me toward the exit; now she was shoving me into the bathroom.
—Bang!
"Hurry up and wash!"
"…………"
She'd practically thrown me into the bathroom and slammed the door, already nagging from the other side.
Haa. I'm already tired.
The date hadn't even started and my head was already throbbing. I shook it slowly from side to side.
"Let's goooo!"
"Hey, hey! Keep it down!"
We were walking down the street when Seoyeon suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.
She'd been ridiculously hyped ever since we left the house.
It felt less like a date and more like I'd taken a little kid out to play.
"But! I'm just so happy!"
"Haa……"
Every single person who passed us turned to stare.
"So where are we going?"
"Dunno… maybe a movie?"
I hadn't actually decided on a destination.
There just happened to be a theater within walking distance of the apartment.
"Okay! Let's go!"
"…………Haa."
The second we had a destination, every last restraint on Seoyeon's behavior came off.
She linked her arm through mine and started striding ahead with big, purposeful steps.
Maybe I shouldn't have suggested a date.
We could've just watched a movie on the TV at home.
But regretting it now was already too late.
"This one! Let's watch this!"
"Suuure……"
I was already drained just from getting to the theater, so I just tapped the movie she pointed at and checked the seats.
Barely any left. I had no choice but to grab tickets for the most secluded corner seats available.
A quick glance told me it was a globally popular superhero franchise.
Seoyeon had hung around me exclusively since we were kids, so her tastes had apparently shifted that way too — completely blindsiding my expectation of a romance film.
"Come on! Popcorn! What's a movie without popcorn!"
"…………Haa."
When is the usual Seoyeon coming back?
The second the tickets were printed, she hooked her arm through mine again and charged straight for the concession stand.
I got that she was excited for our first real date. But in a place this crowded, it was a little……
—Yo, yo. Isn't that Yu Seoyeon?
—What? Why would she be here… wait.
—Holy shit, what? She came with a guy? Yu Seoyeon? That Yu Seoyeon?
See? People are recognizing her——
"Huh?"
How do people even know who Seoyeon is?
I turned toward the voices and found three guys glancing over at Seoyeon and me.
"Seoyeon."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know those guys?"
"Who…… no? I don't."
Seoyeon looked where I was pointing and tilted her head.
The three guys, realizing I was pointing at them, casually turned away and pretended not to notice.
They were probably from the same university as her.
If not, there was no one who knew Seoyeon that I wouldn't recognize.
Her campus wasn't far from here, but I hadn't expected to run into people who actually knew her face.
"Eh, whatever."
"More importantly! Hurry up! Popcorn! Popcorn!"
Haa.
Still exhausted.
"It's been forever since I've been to a movie theater! Right?"
"Yeah, yeah… Once the movie starts, you have to be actually quiet, okay? Got it?"
"Yes! I got it already!"
"…………"
One way or another, we finally made it into the screening room and sat in our assigned seats.
On the way in I'd caught a glimpse — those three guys who'd recognized Seoyeon were in the same theater as us.
They pretended otherwise, but I could see it. The constant sideways glances.
Just what kind of reputation does Seoyeon have at school for them to look that shocked just because she showed up at a movie theater?
—Click. Click. Click.
The lights went down and the movie started.
Seoyeon snapped her gaze forward and locked onto the screen in an instant.
I snuck a look at her profile, then reached over and took her hand.
"Hm?"
She glanced down at the sudden touch, then turned her head toward me.
Our eyes met, and she started grinning.
"Hehe."
It had been a long time since I'd seen Seoyeon look this bright.
That pure, open smile she used to wear back when we went to middle and high school together.
"You like this that much?"
"Obviously! Totally!"
I leaned toward her and whispered it against her ear, and she nodded with that same pure smile still on her face.
I smiled back and started turning toward the screen — then felt a stare and looked that way, locking eyes with someone.
The three guys who'd recognized Seoyeon, sitting diagonally ahead of us.
Not one of them was watching the movie. All of them were looking our way.
The second our eyes met, they flinched and whipped their heads forward.
"…………"
An idea came to me.
Having a thought like this even in a situation like this made me feel like a genuine pervert, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Seoyeon had made me this way.
"Hm?"
I let go of her hand, and she turned to look at me.
I just grinned at her.
"Why…… h-hk!"
She'd been about to ask why I'd suddenly let go — then she frantically clapped a hand over her own mouth.
The sudden hand slipping into her pants had nearly made her cry out; she barely managed to stop it.
With her mouth covered, she stared at me, eyes gone round and huge.
"…………You're not."
The hand working into her pants was already sliding past the waistband of her panties.
She shook her head left and right, trying to signal stop, but I ignored it completely and pushed my hand even deeper.
"H-hnnph!"
My fingertips, creeping steadily downward, finally brushed against something.
One spot in particular was sticking out, swollen and firm.
I started rubbing it gently with the tip of my finger.
"H-hnnngh…… n-nooo……!"
One hand still clamped over her mouth, she grabbed my wrist with the other and tried to pull it out.
I brought my face right up to her ear.
"If people notice, we'll probably end up on the news, don't you think? You don't want that, right? So you have to stay quiet until the movie's over. Got it?"
"…………"
Seoyeon's pupils trembled like an earthquake had hit them.