Halloween 2
It was finally the weekend that Sia and I had promised each other.>
I was preparing for the day even in the morning, about to head out the front door to meet her at the clock tower in front of the subway station as agreed.>
“Are you off to meet Sia, son?”>
Mom called out to me, as if she’d been asleep the whole time.>
“Ah, yeah. I didn’t realize you were up…”>
“I woke up the moment I heard you moving around. So where are you going today?”>
“I don’t really know either, but since we’re meeting in front of the subway station, I figured it probably won’t be too far.”>
“Hmm… that makes sense… Then this is definitely necessary.”>
Before I could finish speaking, Mom immediately pulled a single card from behind her back.>
It was the check card she had been giving me every time I went anywhere.>
“Here, use this to eat something tasty with Sia.”>
“Ah… yeah…”>
I took the check card Mom handed me and reached for it, but then a strange thought crossed my mind and I froze.>
“Um… Mom.”>
“Hm? What is it?”>
“Instead of giving it as a check card, wouldn’t it be better as allowance?”>
“Allowance? Suddenly?”>
I’d never received cash allowance from Dad or Mom; I always used the check card she gave me.>
Whenever I went on field-trip learning or just to have fun around the city, she’d hand me the card and I’d use it, so I never had to ask for pocket money separately.>
That meant the money I received was almost nothing unless it was something special like New Year’s money, and right now I couldn’t cover the exact amount I needed.>
“Hmm… when I’m in high school I won’t need much… but if I’m suddenly saying I need money like this… something must be up….”>
“……”>
“Are you being harassed by someone?”>
“What…?”>
“I’m just worried, that’s all.”>
“I’m not being harassed! And honestly I have no real problems with the upperclassmen!”>
Of course I had run into them a few times, but if I told Mom that, she’d storm in here with Dad in a flash, so I left that part out.>
After hearing me out, the sharp glare she’d been giving me finally softened a little.>
“Hmm… so why do you need it, then?”>
“…That’s…”>
Mom’s question wasn’t finished yet.>
From her point of view, I’d been using the check card she’d been giving me so well until now, and now I was suddenly asking for allowance.>
If I tried to explain why I needed money as allowance, it would be embarrassing to say aloud.>
But she wouldn’t just hand over cash for allowance anyway, so the moment I decided I’d tell her later, she surprised me.>
“Yeah… I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking, but I kind of get why you’re doing it, Siwoo.”>
“……”>
“For now, just use it as a check card today, okay?”>
“Ah… yeah…”>
Thankfully, Mom agreed with a pleased smile.>
“You’ve been studying so well all this time, that’s why I’m doing this. Got it?”>
“Yeah!”>
“Haha, good good. But how much do you need?”>
“Ah… that’s…”>
I hesitated, then whispered the exact amount I needed in her ear.>
“……What are you trying to buy?!”>
Mom was shocked at first…>
“Yeah… just come back safely.”>
“Yeah…!”>
She still gave me permission in the end.>
I’d get permission from Mom too.>
Feeling happy, I headed straight for the subway station.>
There were still about ten minutes until our meeting time, but as expected, Sia was already waiting there early.>
“Sia, did you wait long?”>
“Ah, Siwoo!”>
As soon as I approached, Sia called my name and ran over to me.>
But…>
ㅡSniff sniff sniff sniff>
“Si… Sia?”>
“Hehe, Siwoo smell.”>
The instant she hugged me, Sia started sniffing my scent.>
It was embarrassing because I’d jumped out of bed in a hurry and was a little sweaty, so I tried to pull away gently…>
ㅡThud!>
Sia grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go, and then…>
ㅡRub rub rub rub>
Sia was vigorously rubbing her head against my chest.>
It didn’t matter if it was just the two of us, but in a public place like the clock tower in front of the station, it was starting to feel embarrassing.>
Of course it was a weekday and a bit early, so there weren’t many people around, but the station was still busy enough that people were passing by.>
So I tried to pry her off by lightly placing my hands on her shoulders…>
“Si… Sia…?”>
Instead, my own arms got pulled away by Sia.>
“…Hehe. You’ve filled up your Siwoo property quota, so let’s go already!”>
A little later, Sia finally let me go and took my hand, leading me into the station.>
She looked the same as usual, but when I glanced at her from behind, I noticed Sia’s ears were a bright red.>
After taking the subway, Sia and I headed to…>
“What’s this place…?”>
“It’s Halloween, right? That’s why I came here; there’s a pop-up store selling Halloween props and costumes!”>
The whole street was filled with Halloween-themed shops.>
The atmosphere was completely Halloween now, with people walking around everywhere.>
I wondered if Sia had come here because of Halloween, but since there were quite a few people, I just held her hand instead of asking.>
“There are a lot of people…”>
“Ah… yeah…!”>
After we laced our fingers together, Sia and I began exploring the street properly.>
From cheap plastic decorations sold at the convenience store to beautifully made ones, everything was on display.>
If I had to pick the most amazing one, it would be…>
“Siwoo! Is that real pumpkin?”>
“It looks like one. It’s a real Jack-o’-lantern.”>
“Whoa… it’s so cool…”>
It was a genuine Jack-o’-lantern carved from a big pumpkin.>
They’d scooped out the inside, carved a face, and placed an LED light inside it.>
“No light means no fire, huh…”>
“Whoa, this pumpkin looks like it was used to make pumpkin sweets and candied apples!”>
In addition, they were selling all kinds of food made using the same pumpkins that went into the Jack-o’-lanterns.>
“Want to try one?”>
“Sure, let’s!”>
So I bought a bag of candied pumpkin, and Sia and I walked around eating one each.>
While we wandered half the street together, I noticed something odd.>
“But… why are there so many couples around…?”>
“…Yeah…”>
There really were a lot of couples on the street.>
Of course it was the weekend, so maybe they were on a date… but even after checking, almost everyone was a couple.>
Halloween was fun to watch, but I wondered why they’d come all the way here.>
At this time of year when the leaves were already falling, there were far more romantic spots anyway.>
But I didn’t need to know the reason; I just dropped the thought.>
Because right now there was something more important.>
That something was…>
“Sia, did you come here because you wanted to buy something?”>
That was why Sia had come here.>
Of course I had no intention of interrogating her; I was just curious why she wanted to spend time with me like this.>
“Eh…? Why…?”>
Suddenly Sia looked flustered and started spinning her eyes around wildly.>
Normally I’d have just ignored it thinking she didn’t want to talk, but her weird reaction made me want to ask.>
“Hmm… something suspicious… isn’t it?”>
“I don’t know…”>
“……”>
The flustered look had disappeared, but acting completely normal after acting suspicious made it even weirder.>
So I stared at Sia while walking, and she couldn’t hold my gaze anymore and opened her mouth.>
“…I’m not mad, right…?”>
My words had been “don’t get mad,” so it was a little strange, but since there was nothing to be mad about…>
“Of course not,” I said naturally.>
“I wanted to try a Halloween party… so I came.”>
Sia spoke carefully.>
I thought she didn’t need to be so careful, so I let out a small laugh without meaning to.>
“Why are you being so careful?”>
When I asked why she was being careful, Sia hesitated.>
“No… I just… I couldn’t help it…”>
That cute side of hers was adorable.>
Normally Sia was the one who always approached me and suggested we do something together, but she’d shown this cute side more and more lately.>
Especially in the past year.>
“You guys want to do it at home?”>
“…Yeah.”>
“Good, I’ll go. Don’t worry about the food.”>
“Really?!”>
“Yeah, really, so don’t worry.”>
“Haha, thank goodness.”>
Hearing that I’d go to the Halloween party, Sia looked incredibly happy.>
This kind of thing was just decided on the spot if I said I’d go.>
After that, we kept exploring the street, but this time Sia and I were actually looking more seriously.>
At first we were just strolling around, but now that we were looking for props to decorate for the Halloween party, we were checking which decorations would fit Sia’s house properly.>
Of course at first I’d just been sightseeing without thinking, but now that I was looking properly, there were quite a few decorations that caught my eye.>
After walking around seriously to pick the ones that looked the best, both Sia and I started feeling hungry.>
The time had also passed noon.>
“Should we eat first?”>
“…Yeah.”>
The rest we’d do after eating lunch.