Dragon and Departure
The day had come.
That long-awaited day we'd been waiting and waiting for had finally arrived.
"I get that you dressed up, but sunglasses too?"
"Heh heh. I swiped them from my mom's collection at home. She was always singing about how they're luxury brands. If not now, when am I ever gonna wear them?"
"Ji-yeon, what if you lose them?"
"I'll just get chewed out real good, that's all. Besides, I have zero intention of losing them, so don't worry."
It was that perfect stretch between spring and summer—a bright morning with clear skies and just the right temperature. The entire second-year high school class had gathered on the school grounds.
Since there was no need for uniforms today, everyone had shown up in their own casual styles.
Do Ji-yeon strutted over with total confidence, rocking the luxury sunglasses she'd "borrowed" from home along with a light blue tennis skirt and a white T-shirt, dragging a massive black suitcase behind her.
Choi Hoon? Well, guys' fashion was all pretty much the same.
And then there was Ha-yan.
"Luxury brands? You're really going to wear something like that around? I heard Jeju Island gets crazy windy. And one of the places we're going has boat rides, right? What if they fly off?"
"There's always a way, you know? Don't worry about me. Anyway, Ha-yan, your outfit today is so cute! And those stockings are adorable! When it comes to great legs, it's gotta be our Ha-yan's!"
"Huh? Uh... th-thanks?"
Ha-yan was wearing black stockings that really showed off her slender legs, paired with slightly longer denim hot pants and a boxy T-shirt on top.
She'd also brought a pretty big suitcase of her own—though of course, I'd been the one dragging it.
Me? Well... guys' fashion was all the same anyway, so whatever.
As we chatted about this and that after meeting up, our homeroom teacher's voice soon called out from where the buses were lined up.
"Everyone~! Stop chatting over there and get on your assigned buses! Message me on KakaoTalk once you've boarded!"
"Yeees!!"
At the teacher's words, the students grabbed their luggage and climbed aboard. Naturally, the big suitcases went into the bus trunks, and we only took what we could carry on board.
"Whoa~ It's a premium bus? Not just a regular one!"
"So that's why they said only four groups per bus. This is awesome!"
"The ride to Incheon Airport's gonna be super comfortable!"
Instead of the tightly packed seats of an ordinary bus, luxurious premium seats that let everyone travel in comfort appeared before our eyes.
"Siu! Over here! Let's sit here!"
Ha-yan, who'd boarded ahead of me, was already sitting in the window seat of the very front pair of seats, patting the spot next to her and calling me over.
I didn't really care about bus seats one way or the other, so I sat where Ha-yan wanted. Naturally, Do Ji-yeon and Choi Hoon took the seats right behind us.
They always seemed like they were on bad terms, yet they stuck together like that all the time.
"Want some?"
"Ugh. Mint chocolate can go die. Can't you at least give me something that isn't chocolate? And take those sunglasses off inside the bus."
Bickering and poking at each other, the two of them always hung out together just fine.
Either way, since we were all in the same group, we'd be stuck together for the next five days until we got back home.
At least with those two, Ha-yan and I could freely get affectionate without worrying. If it had been other friends, we might have had to watch ourselves a bit. The other kids didn't seem to realize just how special Ha-yan and I were to each other, the way Choi Hoon and Do Ji-yeon did.
And there were still a few who looked at us with a bit of jealousy. As long as they left me and Ha-yan alone and just thought whatever they wanted, it didn't matter.
Soon after, our homeroom teacher finished checking the other buses, boarded ours, and spoke up.
"One, two, three... Yeah, everyone's here. The ride to Incheon Airport isn't long, so listen carefully to the driver! We're not stopping at any rest areas on the way, just so you know. You all got that?"
"Yeees~~!!"
"Good. Since you can answer so well, let's take it easy, yeah? Ready to go, driver."
"Yes, sir~"
After the teacher finished the check and got off, the bus soon pulled out.
The moment the bus started moving, Ha-yan rustled around in the backpack she'd brought on board, then immediately held something out to me.
"Here! Ahh~~"
"You're already eating snacks?"
"Hehe. If not now, when else am I gonna snack on a bus?"
"You don't usually eat them much, right?"
"I just never had a reason to! And there's the atmosphere, you know!"
While chatting with her, I snuck a peek inside Ha-yan's bag. It was packed full of all sorts of snacks and drinks, with stick cookies as the base.
"So after all that effort using magic yesterday to sneak them past your mom... it was just this?"
"Just this?! Mom never lets me eat snacks! She's always telling me to eat more actual meals instead. I don't get why she won't let me have tasty stuff."
"Okay, okay. Don't get so worked up. Hmm?"
With that, Ha-yan popped a snack right into my open, dazed mouth.
What more could I say when she looked so happy munching away? All I had to do was enjoy them with her.
As I crunched and munched on the snack,
Tap-tap.
I felt Ha-yan poking me.
I swallowed the snack in my mouth and turned toward her—only to find myself giving her a slightly sly smile as I spoke.
"Isn't this a bit too bold? You're going way too far just because the kids behind us can't see."
"Mmmph! Nnngh..."
There was Ha-yan, the chocolate end of a stick cookie clenched between her lips, her face flushed red as she stared straight at me.
Honestly, every once in a while—just every once in a while—she would suddenly go full throttle like this.
But missing a chance this good would make me the weird one, wouldn't it?
I leaned right in and bit down on the other end of the stick cookie with my own mouth.
Crunch.
Crunch-crunch.
Crunch-crunch-crunch.
A few bites later, Ha-yan's face had drawn right up in front of mine.
And if we took just one more step from here...
Snap!
"Hey! You two already? Starting from the get-go? Is that something you should be showing two single people sitting right here?"
Do Ji-yeon, who had been watching our little stunt through the gap between the seats, finally couldn't take it anymore and crushed the stick cookie between us with her hand.
"Ha-yan, I may have been egging you on lately, but you've gotten way too aggressive these days. All good and fine, but can you please spare us two singles from that kind of stuff?"
"Ugh... J-Ji-yeon, you were the one who told me to be bold on the school trip even if it's embarrassing! You even picked out the swimsuit for me! Do you know how much I agonized over this last night?"
"Ha-yan, you slept like a total baby last night with me—"
"Even so, this is too much! How can you drive a stake right through a single person's heart like that!"
"Hey, that's just you. I was sitting next to you with zero thoughts—"
"Both of you shut up!!"
"...Yes, ma'am."
And so Hoon and I had no choice but to sit quietly the whole way to the airport, listening to Ji-yeon and Ha-yan bicker nonstop.
Though from the sound of their conversation, it was all about Ha-yan making moves on me.
Was this really something I was supposed to be overhearing?
Between the four of us, we talked about snacks, about school, about how far Ha-yan and I had progressed in our relationship—and before we knew it, the bus had pulled up in front of the domestic terminal at Incheon Airport.
It wasn't an international flight, just a domestic one, so check-in didn't take long at all.
But whether domestic or international, duty-free shops were naturally still available.
Whoever had planned the trip, they'd at least given us about thirty minutes to browse the duty-free stores.
"Hehe. Self-praise much?"
"Maybe a little. Everyone's having such a comfortable school trip thanks to me, after all."
"Well, that's true."
Ha-yan shot me a slightly exasperated look at my self-congratulation, but since I wasn't wrong, I decided to let it slide.
And then, right there—
"What the heck is this? Aren't these the exact same sunglasses as mine? Why are they so cheap here? My mom was always bragging about how ridiculously expensive these were!"
"Is this your first time at a duty-free shop? Of course everything's cheaper here. Why else do people clean the place out?"
We'd reached the row of luxury brand stores.
Do Ji-yeon seemed to have gone a little blank after confirming the real price of the sunglasses she was wearing.
I walked right past the two of them and picked out a pair of sunglasses that would look perfect on Ha-yan.
It had been bugging me a little ever since Ji-yeon showed up wearing hers, after all.
The weather on Jeju Island for this school trip was going to be absolutely perfect the whole time—so protecting Ha-yan's eyes was a must.
"Y-You want me to try them on all of a sudden? Why? I'm fine. I put on plenty of sunscreen on my face and skin!"
"That's a little different from this. Just try them on for a second. I already got your mom's okay about spending this much."
"Really? Th-Then okay."
The moment she heard that her mother had given permission, Ha-yan snatched the sunglasses right out of my hand.
Honestly, I hadn't gotten direct permission from her mother—I'd just assumed. But so far she'd never once complained about me buying her daughter nice things or treating her to delicious food.
"How is it? How is it? Cute? Cool? Do you like them?"
"I like you."
"Nngh! S-Suddenly?!"
My sudden love confession made Ha-yan's face flush crimson in an instant.
She pushed the sunglasses deeper onto her face to avoid my gaze, but I could still see it—the way her pupils were trembling nonstop.
Yeah. This was the good stuff. This steady, reliable flavor was exactly why I hung around with Ha-yan.
"Th-These! Buy me these! And if Mom already said it was okay, then a few more things should be fine too, right? There's a perfume I've really wanted this time!"
"As many as you want. I'll buy them for you wherever."
"Then let's go over there!"
Ha-yan immediately lit up, grabbed my hand, and dragged me off in search of the perfume.
As for Do Ji-yeon and Choi Hoon still bickering over the sunglasses behind me—well.
As long as we made the flight on time, it was fine. We were going to be stuck together for five whole days anyway. I could take a little time like this with Ha-yan, couldn't I?