She's a Twin
"Yeah. Unnie. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you all alone. Forgive me just this once, okay?"
Without even knowing why, she pulled me into her arms. Apparently my body wasn't too filthy for her. The hand stroking my back felt so good, and her breath against the nape of my neck finally made it feel like I could breathe again.
As her warm touch settled my heart and my tears slowly ran dry, she asked why I'd been crying. I tattled on everything that had just happened without leaving out a single word. I didn't leave out a thing.
Starting from the two hungry-looking women who'd come into the bathroom, to how they'd cursed me out, all the way to how they seemed to want revenge on her — I told her every last syllable.
The longer I talked, the stiffer her face became, and by the time I finished, it had gone so red it looked ready to burst. She was furious.
"Don't worry, Unnie. You'll never have to see those bitches again."
"... Yeah... Thanks."
"Don't mention it. I'm the one who should be sorry."
I didn't even know their basic descriptions, and honestly I didn't have much hope they'd actually be caught, but she kept emphasizing it like she was trying to put me at ease.
"I'll definitely catch them. So don't worry too much anymore, Unnie."
"Yeah... Thanks."
The conversation died for a moment, and we quietly looked at each other. I was the first to look away.
If this had been before, I wouldn't have backed down from a staring contest even out of pride — but things were different now. I was just embarrassed. My chest felt ticklish. I simply couldn't meet her eyes. It was mortifying.
She was like a prince out of a fairy tale, come to rescue the princess.
When I subtly averted my gaze, she pulled a handkerchief from somewhere and wiped my face clean, and with that careful attention of hers even the stains on my clothes came right off. After wiping me down herself, she tucked the handkerchief into her pocket and held out her hand. I took it.
"Shall we go eat now too?"
"... Can we just eat at home...?"
"There's a restaurant right next door. You must be starving, Unnie. You haven't eaten a thing all day. It'll take a while to get home."
She saw right through me.
Honestly, I was starving. I'd gone the whole day without a bite, my insides in knots, and on top of that I'd burned through calories crying — my stomach felt like it was glued to my spine. At this point I could have gratefully eaten a triangle kimbap fished out of a toilet bowl, only slightly exaggerating.
But the fear was bigger.
"... I want to eat at home..."
Their mockery wouldn't leave my head — the kind of thing that would show up in nightmares. That brazen death threat about chopping me into pieces made it hard to breathe. What if we went to the restaurant and they were sitting there eating? Heejin was with me now, so I'd be safe — but scary was still scary.
She looked at me with concern, then seemed to steel herself. Her expression turned stern as she spoke.
"No, Unnie."
"Whyyy..."
"This could turn into a trauma. Are you never going to go outside again?"
"N-no, th-that's not it... I'll do it later..."
"Later will be too late, Unnie. I'll be right beside you. Let's go eat together."
"... You don't even know how I feel..."
The truth was, she'd made this decision precisely because she knew how I felt. If I went home now, just as she'd said, I had no intention of ever setting foot outside again. It was a judgment only she — who knew me better than anyone — could make. She was trying to treat my trauma.
That was why even as I grumbled on the surface, I couldn't help but feel warm inside. I nestled back into her arms as we set off for the restaurant.
Just as she'd said, the restaurant was so close it didn't even take a minute. Her building and the place were attached.
It was a luxurious high-end restaurant even at a glance, and when we opened the door, the staff standing in a line all bowed their heads to us in unison.
"Welcome! Have a wonderful day, Boss!"
Technically it was directed at her, not me, but the sight of the staff bowing so low it was almost groveling was rather pleasing. She was mine, and the way they treated her was, in a sense, mine as well.
"Shall I show you to your usual table?"
One of the lined-up staff asked Heejin and me. I didn't know where her usual table was, but I had a hunch it was something like a private room, so I poked at the underside of her chest as a signal — poke, poke — but she ignored it and stated her own preference.
"We'll just eat on the second floor."
"Yes~ I'll show you up right now~"
The second floor was a wide-open space. Just as I could see other people, they could see me, and even though it was still early for dinner, the floor was packed enough to be bustling.
"P-put me down... I can walk..."
"No."
Worried the other customers' eyes would turn our way the way they had in the first-floor lobby, I pleaded with her, but of course it didn't work. No matter how I squirmed, she simply pulled me tighter against her and subdued me with ease.
Regardless, the staff led us to an empty table in the corner, and maybe because there were so many people, the surrounding chaos meant no one seemed to pay us any mind. It was as if they didn't even notice we'd arrived.
I sat in the chair the staff pulled out for me. She ordered food, and only after the waiter left with our order could I finally catch my breath.
"... I really hate you..."
"Hehe. Sorry, Unnie."
I said that, but I didn't hate her at all, and she probably knew it too. Still, I was grateful for these little considerate gestures of hers — scratching her head like she was sorry.
I shot her a sidelong glare to show I was sulking, and she played along, pretending to be flustered. Just as a laugh was about to burst out at this ridiculous little play we were putting on—
"Well, well~ What's a woman-crazy bitch like you doing here?"
Without even asking if she could join us, a woman plopped herself down across from our table. The audacity was one thing, but the most shocking part was that she and Heejin looked identical — a perfect mirror image, like a carbon copy of each other.
"Hee— Heejin, there's two of them?!"
Of course I was startled at first, but the fact that there were two Heejins secretly made me so happy I couldn't hide the goofy smile spreading across my face. And so the retaliation was a given. She pinched my tender thigh without mercy and twisted.
"Nngh! S-sorry..."
No matter how hard I tried to hold it in, it hurt so much tears leaked out. I wanted to whimper, but I couldn't put on a show of pain against those murderous eyes of hers.
"Tsk tsk. You shouldn't treat a girl like that."
The woman clicked her tongue as if she felt sorry watching me.
Heejin and I glared at her in perfect unison, as if our gazes had kissed. Who did she think she was, clicking her tongue when this was all her fault?!
But while Heejin was allowed to glare at the woman, I was not.
"Guhh... h-huuuhngh..."
Heejin pinched and twisted my already-shredded-feeling thigh again, as if punishing me for looking at the woman without permission. It hurt so badly I genuinely thought a chunk of flesh had been torn off.
This was all because of that woman who looked exactly like Heejin. Instead of glaring at her, I glared at the table, nursing my resentment.
"What's your name?"
"Hey. Get lost."
"Kid, I asked what your name is."
"... I distinctly told you to get lost."
The thing I least wanted to happen, happened. The woman seemed interested in me. As if Heejin snarling right in front of her wasn't scary at all, she half-ignored Heejin and kept talking to me with infuriating persistence.
"Kid. This unnie asked you a question. Unnie gets scary when she's mad, you know? You gonna answer or what?"
"........"
"Hey. I said answer."
"........"
The woman was a typical thug-unnie type. That slouchy attitude, the way she tossed out words like they were nothing — everything about her had an edge.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to answer. Heejin was scarier than some woman I'd just met today. And now that I'd realized my feelings for Heejin, there was no way I'd betray her.
I wondered if Heejin knew how I felt. I hoped she did...
In the end, the first one to give up was none other than the thug-unnie.
"Wow... You've really trained this one properly. Impressive. Seriously impressive."
The woman muttered something I wasn't sure who it was directed at, and finally took her eyes off me. Then she tossed out one last line — one I couldn't possibly let slide.
"But did you know? That bitch has a girlfriend."
"... What...?"
In that instant, it felt like time had stopped. The sound of my heartbeat became a giant second hand, booming through my skull. The noisy surroundings faded away.
Has a girlfriend. Has a girlfriend. Has a girlfriend. Has a girlfriend.
Side piece. Side piece. Side piece. Side piece...
The woman's loaded last words filled my entire head.
"Hey, don't say weird shit like that!"
Heejin seemed to be arguing back, but I couldn't even hear that.
I was sitting still, but the world around me started spinning. Like I'd been strapped to a merry-go-round.
Girlfriend...
My girlfriend has a girlfriend. On top of my already churning stomach, that dizzying sentence piled on, and a nausea I couldn't hold back surged up.