The Promise to Stop Teasing Me
I've been overthinking my head for a while now ever since I found out that Eonni and I share the same dreams.
Sharing dreams is one thing, but discovering that I was actually inside the same scenes in the exact same dreams as Eonni felt so bizarre and special it made me question whether there's some deeper connection at play.
"I've never really believed in fate."
I've started thinking about it sometimes—whether the fate thing might not apply to Eonni and me after all.
Shared dreaming is that kind of special, after all.
"Phone call incoming."
I checked the caller ID on my vibrating phone and saw it was Jina, the friend I'd known since elementary school and still kept in touch with all this time.
"Yeah, Jina."
"Jaehee-ya, I'm so bored."
"Where's Yua?"
"Yua said she's busy with student council stuff all day today."
Jina told me about her middle-school coming-out back when she had feelings for a girl, and it turned out that girl was Yua.
"I have class soon so I'm getting ready for it."
"Ah, right, you're studying math."
"Yeah, with one of the seniors I know."
"How's it going? Is math fun now?"
She used to be my first math tutor. Unfortunately I realized my math brain was shattered and she couldn't keep going the whole time, but...
"Yeah, it's actually fun lately. The explanations are so clear."
"Really? I'm glad. Looks like the day you start getting interested in math is here."
"I had fun learning from you."
"Aw, that's so sweet, thank you."
"Ah, Jina, how did you start liking Yua when you were in middle school? Like... the feelings or thoughts you had when you realized you were lesbian."
I could practically feel her smile through the phone screen.
I'd never asked her something like that before.
"Did you have someone you found interesting?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"The senior who teaches math, right?"
"...What?"
"You know exactly. We've been friends for years."
It's pointless to hide anything from Jina—I've always been terrible at it.
"I'm still a bit shy about it."
"That's okay."
"I felt it the moment I first saw Yua. That she was my destiny."
"Eh? First sight? And you're both girls?"
"It felt weirdly like that. So I tried to get close to her, and once I was friendly I kept trying to get even closer."
The fate idea had popped up briefly in shared dreams, but it wasn't the same proper feeling as Jina's.
The effort to get close is still ongoing.
"Somehow, when I'm with Yua it just feels all soft and warm."
"Soft and... warm?"
"Yeah! When I first noticed my own feelings changing only around Yua, that was the moment I really got it."
I didn't fully understand the first part of what she said, but the second thing definitely landed in my head.
"Wow."
"How's Jaehee around that senior?"
"Um, same as she does with everyone else."
"But why does it bother you?"
"About the shared dream?"
"I told you Eonni and I share dreams. Of course I left out the dream parts."
"How amazing. Shared dreams are real."
"Right? Ever since I found out about it, I've been thinking about it nonstop."
"You mean you're thinking about it because of the shared dream itself, not because of any actual feelings?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"Then don't stress too much about it. A lot of other people probably worry about that too."
"Yeah, I guess. I was overthinking it because of that."
After Jina gave me her advice, I hung up and felt a lot clearer in my head.
It was too early to start liking Eonni just because we shared dreams or because I realized I'm a lesbian.
**DING!**
I stepped outside when the doorbell rang and opened the door. Eonni stood there with a bright smile, waving cheerfully.
"Hi, Jjaehee."
"Hi, Eonni."
"Let's study hard today too."
"Yes, Eonni."
"Mom? I don't see her."
"She had some business and stepped out for a bit."
"Mom must be making sure we have a proper date."
She crossed her arms and winked instantly. I just smiled back lightly while watching her.
Eonni is always overflowing with energy.
Thanks to her, I can raise my own tension level even higher.
"I need to study, Eonni."
"We can date after you're done studying."
"Going out?"
"Today's home date."
"We have nothing fun to play with at our place."
"Time will fly just talking to you, so don't worry."
I headed straight to my room and dove into the most important math homework.
It had been two weeks since I started getting math lessons from Eonni, and progress had been smooth and steady the whole time.
She always praised me for understanding everything, but it was mostly because she explained so well. Whenever she taught a new concept, she broke it down with analogies like on the very first day, which was incredibly helpful.
"Perfect! Our Jjaehee is solving problems so well now."
"But the hard ones are still too tough for me."
"No worries. Jjaehee's strength is that she never gives up and tries everything. That's actually super important in math."
I listened to the constant praise, solved problems, and repeated the process over and over.
Two hours passed without a single break, and I wrapped up class today.
"Great job, Jaehee. You were really focused today."
"Thanks to Eonni's great teaching. And I got a lot of stuff too."
She gave me designer clothes, a laptop, and a tablet.
Even if I only received them by fulfilling the conditions I set at the beginning, keeping up the appearances she first showed me would probably be good for our relationship too.
"Eonni, can I use the bed?"
"Of course, make yourself comfortable."
"Uchaa. Mm, smells like Jaehee. So good."
She lay face down on the bed, hugged the pillow tightly, and started sniffing with obvious enthusiasm.
It wasn't gross, but the intensity of her focus on my scent made me feel a little embarrassed.
"What do you do when you're not teaching me, Eonni?"
"Think about you."
"Not that."
"Really. All day I just think about you. How to make you fall for me, what to do after that, what kind of relationship to try."
"It seems like you've already planned the whole forest hunting."
"I even thought about marriage."
She hummed a song while rolling around on the bed, then stretched out her hand.
I reached for it, and we ended up sitting on the bed holding hands.
"Actually, I don't do anything at home."
"Do nothing at all?"
"If I ask what I do besides thinking about you, this is the answer I get."
"I bet you're bored."
"If I think you're bored..."
I was about to continue when I saw her typing something on her phone.
My own phone rang at the same moment.
I checked the notification—it was a message from Eonni. It included an address that looked like her home address.
"Anytime you can come over to my house and play."
"You can't just give out your house address like that, Eonni."
"I already know your house address."
"That's not the same thing."
"Anyway, promise to come over to my house within a week."
I didn't understand how the situation had turned out this way, but I was curious about what her rich Eonni's house looked like.
We shook pinky fingers a few times to seal the promise, and she gently stroked my hair.
"You look so handsome today too, Jjaehee."
"Eonni is pretty every day."
"She's teasing me again. I told you not to do that."
"I never said not to."
"Aigoo, smart comeback? I'm five years older than you."
She lightly pinched my cheek and shook it side to side. I grabbed her opposite hand and just stared blankly until I broke into a grin and laced our fingers together.
"I caught you, Jjaehee. Now you're mine."
"I'm mine."
"Then who was holding hands? Holding hands like this is dangerous."
"What could be dangerous about it?"
When I asked, Eonni yanked our laced fingers apart hard.
I had no choice but to move, and I ended up on top of her like I was covering her completely.
"You keep touching Eonni's chest, Jjaehee?"
"Huh? Ah... I didn't notice."
The sudden pull startled me, and I moved my free hand only to grab her breast.
I quickly pulled away but still covered her chest with the back of my other hand.
"Want me to touch the other one too?"
"No, you can't just touch my chest like that, Eonni."
"I only do it to you."
The position was a little uncomfortable, so I was about to adjust when I accidentally pushed harder.
"Aaaang♥ You can't press my chest like that, Jjaehee."
Eonni deliberately let out an extremely lewd sound.
Watching her like that made me smile with pure delight.
"How should I react? Should I kick you out?"
"You don't like it? You keep touching your friends' chests all the time."
"You said 'go ahead and touch it,' but you don't do it like Eonni."
"What exactly is 'like Eonni'?"
"You don't talk dirty."
She let out a short sigh and sat up, then lay back down and rolled her legs around while staring at me intently.
"Mm, I like it."
"Like what?"
"I won't tease you like this anymore. No matter how hard I try, it's not working so I might as well stop. It only makes Eonni lose face."
"You didn't even have a losing face."
"Already... at that stage?"
*Thump!* Just kidding.
I glared at her with a straight face and reached out to hold her hand again.
"This is how I get my mood back."
"What? Who gave you permission to get your mood back?"
"If you don't, I won't hold your hand."
"Cheater. Cheater."
"When did you start liking girls, Eonni?"
"From the moment I was born. Instead of crying when I heard 'oooh,' I cried 'lesbian.'"
"That's just nonsense... I mean, what an odd thing to say."
"I was trying to say nonsense to you!"
But it really was nonsense.
What baby cries 'lesbian' instead of 'oooh'?
Ah, somehow it actually fits Eonni.
"I just liked girls. It wasn't like I preferred boys or wasn't interested in either."
"When was your first love?"
"High school. I had a pretty innocent first love."
"Your last love..."
*Sigh.*
She gave a deep, earth-shaking sigh as if the ground was opening up.
I remembered she always sighed like that before.
"Damn it, that yellow-haired idiot."
"Yellow hair?"
"It was yellow. So yellow-haired. Anyway, it wasn't a good relationship. I wouldn't say there were no good memories, but the ending wasn't great."
I felt bad for bringing up something unnecessary, so I pulled the chair closer and stroked her hair to try to forget it as fast as possible.
"Is this okay?"
"Jaehee, you're using me too much as your girlfriend."
"I'm sorry. I made you remember the bad parts."
"If I date Eonni, I could forget everything completely."
I pulled my hand away and pushed the chair toward the desk to create some distance.
"See, you're cold."
"You have fun with Eonni."
"You keep teasing me without letting me get close, and you feed me the whole time. You're really good at managing me, Jjaehee."
"Mm, that doesn't sound like a compliment."
"Yeah, it's not. I was insulting you."
"Then I can insult you too."
"Where do you get the courage? Thwack. Then you'll lose the right."
*Puahahaha!*
When I'm with Eonni, the conversation always flows naturally.
I realized that from now on, this kind of moment will probably stay in my memory for a long time. And that made me able to enjoy every single second with genuine delight.