Spring Break (3)
“Haa~”
Seong Juyeon was letting out a deep sigh. What was going on? She’d seemed perfectly fine just a moment ago… Had something happened while she was in the bathroom? She stood there silently, staring at the fountain, lost in thought. After sneaking a glance at her for a bit, I came to a conclusion.
Yeah, Juyeon needs some time to sort out her feelings.
Looking into her pitiful eyes, I could pretty much guess what was up. Choi Seonwoo must’ve crossed her mind. No matter how much of a jerk he was, no matter how hard she tried to forget, he was someone she’d spent nearly ten years building feelings for. There had to be some lingering attachment. Even if she was laughing and hanging out with friends on the surface, the loneliness of his absence and the complicated swirl of emotions—like wondering if she even deserved to be happy—must’ve been churning inside her.
So, what should I do in front of a girl still hung up on her ex? Yeah, nothing.
If I comforted her now, when her heart was vulnerable, some weird feelings might sprout up. Juyeon would sort herself out eventually. I kept my distance, sat on a bench, and scrolled through my phone. Unfortunately, no messages. Normally, the other noonas or Yuyeong would ping me now and then, but not today. And nothing from Glass Mentality either. No SNS posts or chats since winter break ended. At this point, had she quit social media altogether?
The lack of contact was a good change, obviously. I’d been relieved about that all along… but part of me felt a little disappointed. At least say something before ghosting. Of course, I was worried too, but fortunately, I’d heard from the noonas that Yuli was doing fine. She’d probably decided to live in the real world. They said she was going to counseling and improving a lot.
“…Huh? When did you get here?”
As I was lost in my own thoughts, a startled voice came from beside me.
“Huh?”
I turned to see Juyeon’s eyes shaking. Time to play it cool here. Couldn’t let on that I’d noticed anything.
“Just got back. More importantly, what about our Hayan noona?”
I acted like I hadn’t noticed a thing.
“Oh? Ah, she saw a sale flyer for the big mart and went to check it out real quick.”
“Yeah?”
Avoiding Juyeon’s gaze fixed on me, I looked at the fountain and stretched.
“Ugh~ I’m starving. Why’s noona taking so long?”
“Sorry for being late.”
“What were you up to, noona?”
“They’re selling hanwoo sets at 70% off via lottery draw, right? I put in my entry slip.”
“No wonder you took so long. Good job.”
Results would come via text tonight, apparently.
“You must be hungry. Wanna head to the restaurant quick?”
“Yeah!”
We got up from the bench and headed to the eatery.
“Juyeon noona, what’s up? Let’s go.”
“Huh?…Yeah.”
She seemed to be staring at me blankly, but whatever. Probably just lost in thought again.
“Another barbecue place?”
“Their galbi’s supposed to be killer.”
Well, I liked meat anyway, so no complaints. Seemed like I ate out for barbecue more often when out with Hayan noona. She loved watching me grill.
“Taeyang, dig in.”
“Don’t say it like it’s a given.”
“……”
On the way to the restaurant, Juyeon was the only one unusually quiet. Hayan noona noticed too.
“Huh? Juyeon. Something wrong?”
“No, nothing. Anyway, Taeyang grills well?”
Juyeon quickly changed the subject.
“Yeah, even Gahee was impressed with his grilling skills.”
“Noona, come on, what’s that about?”
“That’s what Gahee said last time. Something like she finally got what I meant by ‘manly.’”
“…Pfft~ Don’t hype me up like that.”
Was that when I started stacking flags with Gahee noona? The first one was when noona leaked that teddy bear pajama pic. Those PJs didn’t even fit me anymore, and they wouldn’t look cute even if I wore them now. So Gahee noona would sort her feelings out soon too. No way she’d keep liking me just because I seemed “manly.”
“And since when is grilling meat manly?”
“You’re underselling your talent, Taeyang.”
“It’s not talent level.”
“I wanna see it sometime.”
“Right?”
With Juyeon chiming in, Hayan noona’s eyes sparkled.
“Ah, well… since Hayan says so.”
“Juyeon noona, no need to mind me.”
“Huh? Ah… yeah.”
Was she being careful with her words since I warned her earlier not to tease me about being siscon? Had I come off too harsh? Didn’t think so. Anyway, she’d be back to normal once she was full.
“Ooh, you’re actually really good at this.”
I took the tongs and started grilling proactively, earning a compliment from Juyeon. Hopefully that chased away whatever was on her mind.
“Here, Juyeon noona too.”
I placed the cooked meat in front of the noonas and took a bite myself. Sweet marinade with a deep smoky flavor. Good meat quality too.
“Just like you said, noona.”
“Tasty, right? Places like this, you gotta come before they blow up.”
My hands didn’t stop even as we chatted. I rolled up my sleeves, grilled in earnest, served the noonas first when done, and set the bones aside to cook slowly.
Compared to Hayan noona, though, Juyeon just glanced at me occasionally without really eating.
“Juyeon noona, not into meat?”
“Huh?…Ah, no.”
“Huh? Fire too hot? Don’t hold it too close, noona.”
Her face was flushed from the heat.
“Yeah… I’ll hit the bathroom.”
The siblings’ gazes met as they watched Juyeon go.
“Noona, why’re you looking at me like that?”
“Taeyang, you really didn’t notice?”
“Notice wha—pfft, no way.”
It couldn’t be. Just because a few girls around me liked me didn’t mean every girl did. Same with Seong Juyeon. So that thought I had was just a misunderstanding. We didn’t even have much overlap to begin with.
“What’s ‘no way’?”
Hayan noona pressed.
“Uh… no way Juyeon noona’s off because of me?”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
“No… I haven’t done anything to her.”
I’d been too busy with my own stuff today to mind her reactions. Honestly, dealing with this now would be overkill.
“Probably… Seonwoo hyung.”
I hadn’t wanted to bring up his name, but I told Hayan noona my hunch.
“Even while having fun like this, old childhood friends pop into your head sometimes. Hard to shake the lingering feelings.”
“……Seonwoo?”
Hayan noona muttered softly, looking away. Why’d goosebumps suddenly prickle my arms? Oh, they opened the window for ventilation. Weather was chilly.
“But you know.”
After a pause, Hayan noona continued.
“When I’ve seen Juyeon normally, she didn’t seem like that.”
“Dunno… hard to say for sure.”
“Gonna play dumb to the end, huh.”
“No, it’s not—”
“I noticed ages ago.”
“……”
Okay, fine, even if I gave her the benefit of the doubt, it was understandable to misread Juyeon liking me. Starting from her comments during that butler play, and when I hit over 180cm, she’d joked about getting butterflies. She’d probably started seeing me as a “guy” a little. She’d pull her hand away flustered while warming mine, or overreact when the clerk called her my girlfriend. But I’d ignored it on purpose. Act like it didn’t exist, and she’d think, Oh, he’s not into me, and move on. If I responded to every little thing, she’d get the wrong idea. It’d worked so far, and Juyeon saw me as…
“…Taeyang. Wanna repeat the same mistake?”
Haa~ Okay, enough self-rationalizing. Time to face reality. Juyeon was acting weird, and she’d been staring at me. Facts.
“I’ll talk to her later.”
Juyeon came back, but things were awkward now, so I didn’t chat with her. I avoided her glances too. Lunch wrapped up like that anyway.
After the restaurant, we headed to a big park near the bustling streets—the same spot where Glass Mentality and Friday Angel had met twice before. We strolled a bit, with Hayan noona somehow keeping the conversation going on neutral topics so Juyeon and I wouldn’t feel awkward.
We sat on a bench during the chat.
“Ah, hold on, phone call.”
Hayan noona shot me a secret signal and vanished. She’s giving us space—handle it.
Left alone with Juyeon. Awkward silence hung between us. As we sat quietly, she sank back into thought like at the fountain. Whew~ Deep breath. Steel myself.
“Hey, Juyeon noona.”
“Huh?”
She flinched and turned at my call. I couldn’t help a smirk.
“What’s with you since earlier? Something really up?”
“Just a bit tired.”
“Gotcha.”
I nodded and opened my mouth. Hated saying this out loud.
“No, you kept staring at me, so I wondered if I did something wrong.”
“What? When did I stare? Ahem, I didn’t!”
Ah, did I really have to say it?
“Really? I thought maybe you liked me or something.”
I said it with a grin, as casually and jokingly as possible.
“Wh-what? No way!!”
She recoiled on reflex. Hope that reaction was genuine.
“Just joking to cheer you up. I know there’s no way you like me.”
She stared blankly at me after yelling.
“Seriously, what kinda joke… haha, yeah, no way I’d like you, Taeyang.”
Juyeon laughed weakly at my “joke.” And then…
“I’m not Iri or Gahee, barging in out of nowhere… No way I’d like you. And… after getting burned by a guy like that…”
Tears streamed down as she laughed nonstop.
“Burned by some jerk… to me, you’re just a friend… that’s all…”
“Juyeon noona?”
“So don’t say weird stuff! Jokes have limits!! You’re crossing the line with noona!”
She yelled it all like a joke, ignoring the emotions spilling down her face.
“I’m out.”
Realizing she couldn’t hide it anymore, she bolted. Hayan noona, who’d been watching, chased after her.
I’d screwed up big time. But better than realizing a heroine’s state too late and dealing with yandere fallout later.
“Confirmed kill done. Now, gotta figure out what to do next.”