The Worried One (Revised Edition)
Time had flown by quickly.
If I closed my eyes and recalled those memories, it felt as if I had only just returned from my first field trip experience, but it had already been two years.
Now, it was almost the end of the winter vacation for the second year of high school.
That meant we would soon become third-year students together.
And lately, I had been spending more time at Sia’s house.
The reason was simple.
“Siwoo… different class…”
We had been split into different classes upon entering third year.
Until our second year, we had been in the same class, but now we were separated.
Our class was the ninth, and Sia was in the seventh, while I was in the first. It felt like we were at opposite ends of the entire school.
Because of that, Sia kept complaining that we should spend time together, so I started spending more and more time at her house.
I was fine with it. The time with Sia was wonderful.
But the surprising part was how my parents reacted.
Before, they had hardly let me sleep over anywhere, but now they were more than happy for me to stay at Sia’s house.
That was how I ended up living at Sia’s place.
Spending time at Sia’s house was always the best.
My aunt would bring out fruit and help us study together.
My uncle would take us outside so we wouldn’t get bored.
I liked my uncle, but it seemed Sia didn’t.
After all this time, I had gotten a good sense of Sia’s mood.
Every time my uncle suggested going out together,
“…”
She would glare at him.
It was clear she didn’t like leaving the house.
So I tried saying to my uncle,
“How about we just play at home?”
“No way! This moment can’t wait! Come on, let’s go outside! Today is the sledding hill!!”
And with that, Sia and I would be sandwiched between us as we headed to the sledding hill and had a fun day together.
Of course, Sia’s icy gaze was still there.
Every day, the time I spent with Sia…
March 2nd.
The day of opening ceremonies.
Today, as usual, my mom and I were heading to school.
“Siwoo, I’m sorry, but can you make it by yourself today?”
“Huh…? Yeah… okay.”
“Great, thanks.”
And with that, she left first, busy as always.
I began walking alone to Sia’s house.
Since entering third year, I had promised to walk with Sia instead of being driven to the school gate in a car.
My steps weren’t fast, but I made steady progress and reached Sia’s house just in time.
There, Sia and my aunt were already waiting for me.
“Siwoo!”
“Siwoo!”
“Ah…”
As I rushed over, Sia ran toward me too.
“Did walking tire you out?”
“Huh? No?”
“I see…”
“Siwoo, if it’s too much for you, I can drive you to school.”
“No, it’s fine. Sia, let’s go.”
“Ah… yeah…”
The distance to school was only about ten minutes, so my aunt didn’t need to take me.
I held Sia’s hand and started ahead, and she followed carefully.
Since the third-year classrooms were on the fourth floor, we went up together and walked all the way to Sia’s class.
“Sia, see you after school.”
“Yeah… see you later.”
I said goodbye to Sia and slowly made my way to my own class.
Inside the classroom, I found a seat and simply leaned over my desk.
Looking around, I saw friends from first year and even some from second year in the distance.
The others were already chatting, but I didn’t feel like starting a conversation myself.
I sat quietly, set my bag aside, rested my arms on the desk, and buried my head in my arms.
‘I miss Sia…’
That thought filled my mind completely.
※※※※※※
In the morning, preparing for school, Lee Sia heard some news from her mother, Kim Jieun.
“Sia, Siwoo walked here all by himself today.”
“All by himself? Why?”
“Siwoo’s mom said she was busy…”
“Recently… you’ve been like this too much…?”
“I know… the distance is quite far… I’m worried…”
“How about Mom talking to him?”
“It should be done… but since it’s Siwoo’s family, it might be rude to do it casually.”
“Even so, it’s better for Siwoo’s sake.”
“…Yeah, I’ll talk to him.”
“But… where is Siwoo?”
“He’s already nearby, I think. Let’s get ready and head out together.”
“Yeah…”
After a short wait outside, I spotted Park Siwoo walking from afar.
“Siwoo!”
“Siwoo!”
When Sia called his name, he turned his gaze toward us and started running.
“Ah… you didn’t have to run…”
“I’ll go.”
Sia ran over and met him.
After greeting him, she checked him over carefully. Thankfully, he didn’t seem injured.
Still, just in case, she asked if he was okay. Siwoo said he was fine and took Sia’s hand to walk.
As expected, Siwoo looked perfectly fine.
But Sia could feel something was off.
Normally, the gentle, caring hand he held was warm.
Today, though, the grip felt strangely strong.
Of course, it wasn’t tight enough to hurt.
‘Something… is weird…’
Sia couldn’t hide her unease.
Siwoo was just too different from his usual self.
But she didn’t say anything out loud.
I don’t know how he would react if she did.
After seeing Siwoo off at the door of his class, Sia wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words.
“Sia, see you after school.”
“Yeah… see you later.”
She had no choice but to watch him leave.
After confirming he had entered his own classroom, Sia went into hers.
The moment she stepped inside, all the students’ eyes turned toward her.
Especially the boys were staring intensely.
But Sia ignored every single one of them and headed straight to the window seat right in front of the empty desk.
This seat was the one kids hated because they had to crane their necks to watch the TV.
Luckily, it was completely empty, so she sat down without a word and opened her bag.
Tap tap.
Someone had hit her shoulder.
But Sia didn’t react and kept organizing her bag.
When she ignored the second hit, it came again.
Thud.
“Ah!”
Sia turned her head in surprise and saw a boy leaning in with his face close.
“Hey! What’s your name?”
“…”
Thinking it might be for some errand, she ignored the question and kept sorting her bag.
Yank!
Her hair was yanked hard.
This time, Sia didn’t stay silent.
She quickly pulled out a pencil sharpener from her pencil case and jabbed the hand that was pulling her hair.
“Ow!”
Luckily, the sharpener had been inserted on the pencil so it wouldn’t break, so no blood was drawn.
But it was enough to make the boy drop her hair in surprise.
To the boy who was holding his hand, Sia warned coldly,
“Hey. I’m not interested in you, so get lost.”
“W-what?!”
The bright, gentle smile she used to show Siwoo was gone. In its place was a fierce, wild look.
The boy was flustered and at a loss for words.
Sia took it as victory and pulled out a small mirror and comb from her bag.
Then she began combing through her hair that had gotten messy.
Swish swish swish.
Her hair, which she had cared for even more carefully since Siwoo once praised its softness, made her even more sensitive to the mess.
‘Agh… this is annoying… I can only let Siwoo touch my hair…’
While thinking that, Sia kept combing her hair until the teacher came in.
※※※※※※
A month had passed since entering third year.
The cold weather had already left, and cherry blossom season was near.
On the way to school with Sia, cherry blossom buds could be seen blooming on the trees.
This year, it was a blessing that the uncle’s departure had been delayed.
There were several reasons. The first was that he had bought a new ship.
Besides the one they were already using, he had purchased another, larger one.
So they needed a little more time to get used to the new ship, which was why the departure was a bit late this time.
When we heard that, we decided to go see the cherry blossoms together.
Our families—Sia’s family included—would go to the Han River for cherry blossom viewing, just like the park last time.
Sia’s family was completely fine with it, so only our family remained.
And because my company was less busy at this time, I thought it was possible.
But the world never goes according to my expectations.