Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Worried About You
A little later.
Before opening the academy door, Yuri habitually peeked through the small square window.
As expected, she was there.
Mari unnie sat inside with her chin resting on one hand, the top button of her white shirt casually undone.
For some reason, her face looked darker than usual, like storm clouds had gathered over it.
Yuri glanced down at the two iced Americanos in her hands.
She had bought one for Mari, and the timing felt perfect.
Creak.
As soon as she opened the door and stepped inside, Mari turned her head toward her.
Yuri lifted both cups to chest level and shook them lightly.
“Need some caffeine?”
She gave her a bright grin, and Mari gave a short nod.
Yuri walked over to Mari’s desk, gently placed the cold cup beside her, then sat down at her own seat and rested her face on the desk.
Leaning forward, she looked up at Mari from below with sparkling eyes and a blooming smile.
Mari flinched and looked away.
“Did something happen?”
“Why?”
“Your expression doesn’t look too good.”
At Yuri’s question, Mari silently wrapped both hands around the cup covered in condensation.
The cold seeped into her skin, cooling the tangled mess inside her, if only a little.
“It’s nothing.”
Even after hearing that indifferent answer, Yuri kept staring at her with her cheek resting on the desk.
“Did the Association say something again?”
Mari narrowed her eyes at her.
“Why would you think that?”
“Who else is there to make your life difficult besides them?”
Yuri answered casually.
Mari stared at her for a moment before turning her gaze toward the window.
“It’s about Pink Witch.”
“Again?”
“She’s the only thing I need to worry about.”
The words, “She’s the only thing I need to worry about,” hit Yuri strangely.
Twisted in her head, it almost sounded like a confession.
Her lips pressed shut.
A short silence settled between them.
Still leaning on her desk, Yuri put the straw between her lips and took a sip.
Lately, I’ve been staying quiet, so why do those Association people keep pressuring our unnie?
At times like this, what she needed was unconditional support.
People gained strength when someone stood by their side.
Even if Yuri wasn’t sure whether she was truly on Mari’s side or not.
Still, the Association bothering her made them the bad guys for now.
Cursing the Association in her heart, Yuri spoke carefully.
“You’re doing really well, though.”
“……”
“Really. I think the Association is completely in the wrong.”
Mari didn’t answer.
Yuri didn’t force one either.
She just watched her quietly and took another sip of coffee.
Wait.
Now that I think about it… all of this is happening because of me, isn’t it?
The moment she realized she was the root of Mari getting scolded by the Association, the straw between her lips froze.
Her conscience stabbed at her.
While her eyes rolled awkwardly, Mari suddenly looked at her and spoke.
“The straw.”
“The straw…?”
Yuri blinked and looked down at the straw in her cup.
Did something get on it?
She inspected it carefully.
“You chewed the end again.”
Mari said it with a weak smile.
Only then did Yuri look at the tip.
Because she’d been gnawing on it so much, it was flattened and marked with bite lines.
Don’t most people chew on straws?
If something’s in my mouth, I just naturally chew on it.
Feeling embarrassed, Yuri glanced at Mari’s straw.
The tip of hers was smooth, like it had just been unwrapped.
Only a little moisture glistened on it.
The part unnie’s lips touched…
Yuri suddenly felt her throat heat up and bit her lower lip.
Just think about the straw.
Its smooth tip came to mind.
Unnie doesn’t chew on them.
Come to think of it, she had never once seen Mari chew or crumple a straw.
It was always stiff and neat, like new.
That felt very Mari-like.
Clean. Precise. Proper.
After that brief straw appreciation, an awkward silence settled between them.
Only the occasional sound of sipping coffee could be heard.
A lukewarm breeze slipped through the half-open window and stirred the thin curtain.
Then the instructor entered, and class began.
Using the dull lecture as background noise, Yuri absentmindedly scribbled in the corner of her notebook.
I should quit the academy now.
Maybe I should get a part-time job.
She had Jieun’s academy fees to pay and living expenses piling up.
Selling Mari’s pictures was one thing, but she couldn’t keep doing that.
She wasn’t a paparazzi.
…Right?
Or maybe I could use my powers for balloon art.
If I mixed in a little adhesive magic, I could even make robot shapes.
As she killed time with random thoughts, her drunken behavior from that wine night came back to her.
Ugh…
Clinging to Mari’s arm, stumbling around, confessing she used to be a boy.
Seriously, I did everything.
Yuri carefully wrote in the corner of her notebook.
Her round handwriting looked cute enough that she felt satisfied.
Maybe unnie would find it cute too.
[I’m sorry for acting drunk like that
She slid the notebook toward Mari.
At the same time, she raised the corners of her lips into a pretty smile and let out a soft, sweet laugh.
While Mari read it, Yuri lowered her smile and made a guilty face.
Her heart pounded as she watched for her reaction.
Mari looked at the rounded handwriting for a moment, glanced at Yuri’s face, then pushed the notebook back and whispered.
“That didn’t seem like drunken behavior.”
“But I did that at an expensive place.”
The rows of zeros on the menu flashed through Yuri’s head.
Lee Yuri, what were you thinking?
Ordering expensive drinks without any sense.
The more she thought about it, the more foolish and miserable she felt.
It made her want to cry.
“It wasn’t expensive.”
“It was really expensive.”
“It wasn’t.”
“It was.”
They whispered back and forth, bickering quietly.
Mari glanced at her and let out a small sigh.
To Yuri, that sigh sounded as huge as a typhoon.
Did I push too hard?
Now she wanted to take it back and agree it wasn’t expensive.
The chalk tapped sharply against the board.
Yuri pulled the notebook back toward herself and picked up her pen.
Scratch, scratch.
[I think I’m quitting the academy.]
She pushed it back over.
Mari read it.
This time, her hand didn’t move right away.
Yuri waited.
Finally, Mari picked up the pen and wrote one short word.
[Why]
Yuri wrote underneath.
[I need to get a part-time job. I have to take care of my dongsaeng too.]
Mari wrote again.
[Why another job]
Yuri smiled faintly as she wrote.
[You need money to live.]
Mari’s pen stopped on that sentence.
No more words followed.
Then instead of sliding the notebook back, Mari pulled it to her side and covered it with her palm.
Yuri tilted her head.
“Unnie?”
“Pay attention in class.”
“…You took my notebook.”
Yuri muttered with a sulky expression.
Mari ignored her and stared straight ahead.
Yuri glared at her profile for a moment before speaking softly.
“Are you going to keep coming here?”
“No. I’m quitting too.”
“Why?”
Is it because of me?
She swallowed the rest of the question.
Maybe it was too much.
And what if the answer was no?
That scared her.
Mari answered calmly.
“Just. My main job keeps me busy.”
“Ah.”
Right.
Unnie was a very busy hero.
Yuri felt the small expectation swelling inside her quietly deflate.
She turned her eyes back to the board.
What was I even expecting?
The boring voice of the instructor filled the classroom.
Without her notebook, Yuri just sat there blankly, staring at the board.
When class ended, she packed her things and hurried after Mari’s back as she left.
Should I ask her to go to a café?
Should I beg her to hang out longer?
The disappointment from before faded quickly.
That cold, indifferent back of hers looked so cool today.
But the strange atmosphere made Yuri shrink into herself like a snail.
Even as they reached the point where their paths split, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
Hiding her disappointment deep inside, she only waved and said goodbye.
She stood there for a long time, watching Mari’s retreating back until it disappeared completely.
I’ll call her again tonight…
Maybe then she’d say something.
She was already looking forward to it.
Slowly calming down, Yuri turned toward home with lighter steps.
The wide, crowded Han River bridge.
At the top of one of its middle pillars, Yuri sat perched.
Under the dark sky, a strong breeze blew, making the hem of her black dress flutter wildly.
Her umbrella rested across her knees.
She just sat there quietly.
Below her, the surface of the Han River shimmered with the city lights.
Car headlights shattered across the water.
Honking horns and tires roared endlessly over the bridge, but from this height, even that sounded strangely romantic.
Nice atmosphere.
Really.
Yuri dangled her legs in the air and stared at the water below.
It had been a while since she’d seen such a wide stretch of water.
I want to see the ocean someday too.
I could go.
But not alone.
The moment she thought of someone to go with, warmth swelled from her stomach up into her chest.
Would Mari unnie like looking at the ocean too?
How would it feel to see it together?
The thought of Mari made the corners of her lips curl up—
Then she remembered Mari’s troubled expression at the academy, and her smile faded.
She looked troubled… maybe I shouldn’t call her.
Yuri played with the tip of her umbrella as she looked down.
It would look pretty if I hung colorful balloons on the bridge pillars.
Paint them nicely too.
Wouldn’t drivers feel happy seeing that?
And then unnie would definitely come.
It seemed like the Association had said something to her, but Yuri had no way of knowing.
It was frustrating.
Calling out someone already busy and tired would just be a nuisance.
Maybe, like Jieun said, she was really exhausted.
Yuri let her lips droop and absentmindedly pointed her umbrella at the bridge pillar.
Since when?
At some point, beams of light had begun tracing lines.
A huge heart shape.
Lost in thought, she’d unconsciously started drawing on the pillar and cables.
Yuri blinked and stared at what she’d made.
That wasn’t the plan.
But she praised herself for at least choosing sky blue to match the bridge.
“Ah…”
A short sigh escaped her.
She looked below.
People, tiny like ants, were already holding up their phones and staring.
They’d noticed.
Yuri ran her hand through her messy pink hair and fixed it with a stylish motion.
Then she put on an elegant expression.
“It’s Pink Witch!”
“She’s drawing on the bridge!”
“Sir! Stop staring and move your car already!”
I’m insane.
I actually did it.
Yuri smacked her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.
But ending it with only sky blue felt lacking.
As an artist, her pride wouldn’t allow it.
Well.
If I’ve started, I should finish.
Since it’s the Han River, fish and whales would fit.
And since people are watching, I should be careful.
Scratch, scratch.
With her tongue peeking out slightly, she drew across the pillar and cables with her umbrella.
As the finale, she attached balloons to the very top.
The finished piece looked pretty good.
Hmm… not bad.
Small gasps of admiration rose from the road below.
“Oh? It’s pretty.”
“Isn’t that a whale?”
After adding the detailed splash of water from the whale’s blowhole, it really did look like a work of art against the night view.
Yuri rested her chin in her hand and admired her creation.
Maybe I really am a genius.
The full moon in the dark sky looked like a lighthouse.
The stars reflected on the water like a silver river.
Everything in sight looked perfect.
“Why are you sitting somewhere this dangerous?”
“Unnie!”
She came.
My dedicated hero.
Mari stood straight on the opposite bridge pillar, dressed sharply in her suit.
Her long black hair and blazer fluttered in the wind.
Did she jump all the way up here from the road below?
Happy to see her, Yuri smiled brightly.
Mari returned it with a faint, dying smile.
“Why…”
Why have you been troubled since earlier?
You can smile at me.
Yuri swallowed those words and pointed at her graffiti with the umbrella.
“Unnie, what do you think of my work?”
“Is that what matters right now?”
“It does. Really. What do you think?”
Mari let out a short sigh and looked toward the painted pillar.
A sky-blue whale sprayed water across the bridge pillar.
Against the night view, it looked surprisingly good.
People below kept gasping in admiration.
Mari said nothing.
Her expression was unreadable, and the mood sank to the ground.
Yuri decided to forcefully interpret the silence as praise.
“It’s pretty, right?”
“Come down.”
“…Can I ask just one thing?”
“What.”
Standing atop the pillar, Yuri looked straight at Mari.
“Did something happen?”
Mari met her gaze.
“If you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to.”
Yuri hurried to add—
“I’m just… worried about you.”